Contemporary Anarchist Criminology by Nocella Anthony J. II / Seis Mark / Shantz Jeff

Author:Nocella, Anthony J., II / Seis, Mark / Shantz, Jeff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing
Published: 2018-10-25T12:29:28+00:00

5. From Prison Abolition to Transformative Justice

Laura Magnani

It should be enough, in arguing for prison abolition, to demonstrate that the prison system does not work. Prison does not make us safe, nor does it rehabilitate prisoners or avenge wrong doing. The 60–80% recidivism rates around the country attest to prison failure (https://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/Pages/welcome.aspx). In fact, an incarcerated person becomes acculturated to a system of violence and domination, which infantilizes its subjects and offers little preparation for life on the outside.

Aside from the prison system’s failure, there is the moral bankruptcy of a setting that justifies violence in the name of punishment, engages in sophisticated forms of racial profiling and racial segregation, and allows itself to become—for all practical purposes—a hate factory. This social and psychological injury does not stop at the gates. All people coming into contact with the prison system are damaged: family members, workers at the facility, children of incarcerated parents, and people who are victims of crimes. All of these parties are “doing time.” To justify the prison system as it currently operates is to legitimize a system of extreme personal violence and alienation. Prisons force us to normalize inhumane conditions and to normalize the social and psychological damage done to families. Prison legitimates the beatings and “justifiable homicides” law enforcement perpetrate frequently, compromising our humanity.

As I sit in my office today, at the American Friends Service Committee, I am receiving word that a prisoner granted parole after 30 years, who had no write-ups inside prison during his tenure, was “detained” at release based on an outstanding warrant. The warrant was for a misdemeanor forgery charge dating back 30 years. The local jurisdiction has set bail at $100,000 for this misdemeanor after the man has served more time in prison than his offense←73 | 74→ warranted (misdemeanors carry a maximum of one year). When governments are given absolute power over people there is a constant danger of the abuse of that power. Citizens pay taxes for a criminal justice system that often abuses its power in the name of “justice” by violating citizens’ humanity and dignity. This scenario is played out again and again daily. Whenever courts require the release of a person held too long, law enforcement challenges the order. Though the criminal justice system purports to be guided by the rule of law, enforcers too often see themselves as above the law, as is frequently demonstrated. In 1971, the American Friends Service Committee issued a policy statement which reads as follows:

We submit that the basic evils of imprisonment are that it denies autonomy, degrades dignity, impairs or destroys self-reliance, inculcates authoritarian values, minimizes the likelihood of beneficial interaction with one’s peers, fractures family ties, destroys the family’s economic stability, and prejudices the prisoner’s future prospects for any improvement in his economic and social status. It does all these things whether or not the buildings are antiseptic or dirty, the aroma that of fresh bread or stale urine, the sleeping accommodation a plank or an inner-spring mattress. (American Friends Service Committee, 1971 p.

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