Introduction to Prison Abolition Movement

• "Abolish the police abolish prisons" - rallying cries grown since George Floyd murder 2020
• Prison abolition transformed from extreme/unrealistic to full-blown social movement
• Angela Davis 2003 book "Are Prisons Obsolete?" - prison considered so natural, hard to imagine life without it
• US has one of highest incarceration rates in world

Historical Context of Prisons

• Western prisons only existed since late 1700s
• Before late 1700s: jails for short-term confinement only
• England/colonial America: almost everything punishable by death
• Prisons initially seen as humane alternative to death penalty

Jeremy Bentham's Deterrence Theory

• 19th century philosopher arguing punishment purpose: keep people from breaking law (deterrence)
• Two deterrence methods:
  • Serious penalty scaring would-be criminals
  • Physical prevention through incarceration
• Bentham's panopticon design:
  • Circular building with open center space
  • Cells lining walls, one prisoner each
  • Central watchtower with guard visibility into every cell
  • Prisoners can't see guard
  • Psychological effect: prisoners always know guard might be watching

Michel Foucault's Panopticon Analysis

• 150 years later, appropriated Bentham's idea
• Panopticon as metaphor for power system influencing all society
• Extended to prisons, hospitals, factories
• "Big brother might be watching" concept
• People become their own wardens, internalizing power structure
• Described as "cruel ingenious cage"
• Modern application: digital surveillance through security cameras, technology monitoring

Three Categories of Criminal Justice

Retributive Justice

• "Eye for an eye" approach
• Avenging victims
• Few modern theorists/advocates openly subscribe
• Feels outdated/medieval

Reformative Justice

• Modern Western approach
• Aims to correct behavior, not just penalize
• Language reflects this: "correctional facility," "corrections officer"
• Treats criminality as treatable condition
• Theory: criminal enters prison, law-abiding citizen exits
• Problem: failure to reform creates de facto retributive system

Restorative Justice

• Third alternative approach
• Addresses needs of all crime participants
• Views crime as violation of social relationships, not just law
• Requires offenders to repair harm done
• Example: Victim Offender Education Group
  • Pairs offender with surrogate victim
  • Exchange stories for mutual understanding/healing
• Focus on understanding pain on both sides
• Currently small-scale experiments, no large civic-level implementation

Angela Davis and Prison Industrial Complex

• Named network of surveillance, policing, imprisonment systems
• Addresses economic, social, political problems through incarceration
• Modeled after "military industrial complex" concept
• Financial beneficiaries:
  • Police forces
  • Private prisons
  • Companies providing food to incarcerated people
  • Prison labor users
• Wrapped up with pervasive racial inequalities

Prison Abolitionists' Arguments Against Current System

• Prisons harm more than help
• US prison overcrowding affects:
  • Living conditions
  • Safety
  • Access to meaningful programs
  • Mental health services
• Isolation from family/friends
• Post-release harm: criminal records prevent employment, housing
• Reformative intent creates new harms instead

Alternatives to Prison System

• Decarceration: reducing incarcerated population
• Prison abolitionists suggest:
  • Restorative justice approaches
  • Robust crime prevention services
  • Mental health programs
  • Substance abuse programs
• Tommy Shelby's reform position:
  • Agrees alternatives more effective than current system
  • Still sees need for incapacitation of violent offenders
  • Envisions radically reduced prison system

Political Theory and Imagination

• Political theory about imagining better world
• Setting aside practical considerations temporarily
• Thinking about who we want to be
• Prison abolition movement reminds: current system not inevitable
• We are active agents deciding world we want to live in