Inmates on the Gwinnett County, Georgia, work crew cut grass off Highway 124. (AP Photo / Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Johnny Crawford)
As Angela Davis, a strong abolitionist of prisons, remarks, “what we need is not new prisons, but new health care, housing, education, drug programs, jobs, and education” (Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex). Prison’s aren’t meant for capital use, but to rehabilitate. The Prison Industrial Complex thrives on investments into social ruin. Private prisons are subject to less accountability and poor living conditions. The world outside of prisons has been structured to promote recidivism. Prisoners are exploited and hidden away from the world. There is an obvious lack of dealing with the true issues and hide away the “symptoms” that are caused by the current social structure around and based on the industrial prison complex. Rehabilitation should be the goal, it is what abolitionists are working towards. Current day prisons do not fix societal harms. I much prefer seeing the three pillars of abolition as pillars, not steps like John Washington had written it. Excarceration is the most appealing to work towards in social organizations. As citizens we must fight for a country that decarcerates and prevents further building of our current prisons. Excarceration helps those who are released and those from entering the cycle. While decarceration is working towards getting individuals out of inhumane facilities not truly made for them.
Illustration: Golden Cosmos
The largest concern is that people aren’t given a chance to be reintegrated into society. Individuals are labeled as criminals and are restricted in housing, jobs, healthcare and other civic opportunities. The United States recidivism rate is one of the highest in the world.
The Prison Industrial Complex is one of the most challenging issues to address in this country. I agree with you that the base idea of incarceration should be to rehabilitate those who committed crimes as well as serve as punishment. However, I think that the American public is focused on the latter, especially for more egregious crimes such as murder, which may explain why there is less willingness to solve the inhuman conditions. It is understandable, as some individuals have done things that are simply no redeemable in my personal opinion. But the collective ideal of punishment, does harm to everyone involved, including those with non-violent drug charges which does tends to impact minority populations more than others. What type of action would you propose to address this issue and do you think it is reasonably feasible in an increasingly political nation?
I am wondering if you have any knowledge of how the United States imprisonment and incarceration rates compares to other countries. I know it’s very bad but after reading what you wrote I’m starting to think that the United States might be one of the worst places in the world to be a criminal. But do you have any ideas on how to combat and fight these horrible conditions? Are there any actions that people like me can do to help support the victims of the prison industrial complex?