Prison in SF

SF provides a rich field for examination of prisons, prisoners, and the psychology of imprisonment, from alternatives to penal servitude, to examining Earth-like penal colonies and prison systems in other settings.

Women in prison

A whole genre of its own. See women in prison.

Penal colonies

Penal colonies are common, as a device for creating a settlement, as an examination of class issues, and as a way to create a dystopic, lawless environment. Works include:

• Movies such as Escape from New York and sequels, in which some cities have been abandoned to criminals and walled off as prisons
• Worlds established as prison colonies, such as the world in Illicit Passage by Alice Nunn; the movie Alien 3; and "Borders of Infinity" by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Prison rescues

• "Borders of Infinity" by Lois McMaster Bujold

Prison revolts

• Illicit Passage by Alice Nunn (not so much a functioning prison)

Prisoner/Prison-keeper psychology

• The Red Rose Rages (Bleeding) by L. Timmel Duchamp
• Susan R. Matthews' Jurisdiction Universe stories, featuring Andrej Koskiusko as official torturer; particularly number two, which takes place on a prison planet