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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Those kinds of fantasies are fantasies for justice, but the carceral system very rarely provides it.