I teach in the Arizona women’s prison. Everything said by the author is true. Our judicial system is pathetic- kind of like our healthcare. I could and probably should write a book. A small example- is against state law for a corrections officer to have sex with an inmate. A man was fired , rehired, and fired again for same offense. Still works for DOC. Still raping inmates.
I had a woman in transition. The inmates were super protective. Eventually was sent to mens prison.
I don't have an answer to this but I think a lot of people see abolition and assume that it means that people who do harm will not be held accountable or experience consequences for their actions even if they won't take accountability. While maybe some people are making this argument I think a lot more are saying that yes people who do harm should experience consequences but prisons/our current "justice" system aren't actually doing that and so we need to be having conversations and asking questions about how to address actually harm and people who do harm especially when they're not open to or willing to change while also dismantling our current system. It's a both/and situation.
Yeah, I think you're right. It's strange to think of but almost all crimes are rooted in trauma, mental illness or neurodivergency, so the first option of dealing with it should be healthcare/healing. Even psychopaths etc aren't choosing their illness so should be treated with compassion because the rest of us are lucky not to have been born like that, or maybe have grown to be like that through trauma.
Most crime isn't caused by mental illness, most "crime" is caused by poverty and authoritarian definitions of how people are allowed to move, live, and occupy public life.
Given the massive injustices of the carceral justice system, we should not take for granted its definitions of "crime." Is using a substance something we really need to prevent with punishment? Is sleeping in public a "crime"? Is loitering? Is stealing food to feed your family? Is carrying a gun to defend yourself from rival gangs? Conversely, why is firing disabled employees a "crime" that comes with no jail time? Or discriminating against queer people in housing? The very conception of "crime" itself needs to be upended. Mariame Kaba's We Do This Til We Free Us is a good place to start to reflect more deeply on all of this.
Yeah, I agree. It's easier for me to empathise with some crimes (eg those which are caused by addiction (an illness) or result directly from poverty, such as stealing food), but more difficult with those which result in trauma or death for innocent people or are done with malice, or perhaps show an extreme lack of empathy or consideration for others. Also it's important to remember that killing or hurting others is morally wrong still and what we're talking about is a radical approach to reducing people hurting themselves and others by committing immortal or unhealthy acts (and really the justice system is only a part of that). I think some Scandinavian countries have a much better approach to justice, and much better outcomes. I'll also just add that I've found that poverty (or historic family poverty) is also a huge cause of mental illness and that mental illness often keeps a person trapped in poverty, so the two are intertwined. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out 👍
They aren't fantasies everywhere in the world. The fact that these changes haven't already been implemented everywhere (especially countries which consider themselves humanitarian) given the success rates really says something about the reasoning behind prison systems. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-48885846
I teach in the Arizona women’s prison. Everything said by the author is true. Our judicial system is pathetic- kind of like our healthcare. I could and probably should write a book. A small example- is against state law for a corrections officer to have sex with an inmate. A man was fired , rehired, and fired again for same offense. Still works for DOC. Still raping inmates.
I had a woman in transition. The inmates were super protective. Eventually was sent to mens prison.
Thank you for such a clear and powerful statement.
Excellent essay. Thank you.
I partially agree with you, but what's the alternative? I'm mainly concerned with violent people who have and would hurt others.
I don't have an answer to this but I think a lot of people see abolition and assume that it means that people who do harm will not be held accountable or experience consequences for their actions even if they won't take accountability. While maybe some people are making this argument I think a lot more are saying that yes people who do harm should experience consequences but prisons/our current "justice" system aren't actually doing that and so we need to be having conversations and asking questions about how to address actually harm and people who do harm especially when they're not open to or willing to change while also dismantling our current system. It's a both/and situation.
Yeah, I think you're right. It's strange to think of but almost all crimes are rooted in trauma, mental illness or neurodivergency, so the first option of dealing with it should be healthcare/healing. Even psychopaths etc aren't choosing their illness so should be treated with compassion because the rest of us are lucky not to have been born like that, or maybe have grown to be like that through trauma.
Most crime isn't caused by mental illness, most "crime" is caused by poverty and authoritarian definitions of how people are allowed to move, live, and occupy public life.
Given the massive injustices of the carceral justice system, we should not take for granted its definitions of "crime." Is using a substance something we really need to prevent with punishment? Is sleeping in public a "crime"? Is loitering? Is stealing food to feed your family? Is carrying a gun to defend yourself from rival gangs? Conversely, why is firing disabled employees a "crime" that comes with no jail time? Or discriminating against queer people in housing? The very conception of "crime" itself needs to be upended. Mariame Kaba's We Do This Til We Free Us is a good place to start to reflect more deeply on all of this.
Yeah, I agree. It's easier for me to empathise with some crimes (eg those which are caused by addiction (an illness) or result directly from poverty, such as stealing food), but more difficult with those which result in trauma or death for innocent people or are done with malice, or perhaps show an extreme lack of empathy or consideration for others. Also it's important to remember that killing or hurting others is morally wrong still and what we're talking about is a radical approach to reducing people hurting themselves and others by committing immortal or unhealthy acts (and really the justice system is only a part of that). I think some Scandinavian countries have a much better approach to justice, and much better outcomes. I'll also just add that I've found that poverty (or historic family poverty) is also a huge cause of mental illness and that mental illness often keeps a person trapped in poverty, so the two are intertwined. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out 👍
Those kinds of fantasies are fantasies for justice, but the carceral system very rarely provides it.
They aren't fantasies everywhere in the world. The fact that these changes haven't already been implemented everywhere (especially countries which consider themselves humanitarian) given the success rates really says something about the reasoning behind prison systems. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-48885846