Let’s Abolish Prison, Not Reform It

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Does mass incarceration actually ensure “public safety” at all? Theresa Runstedtler and the prison abolition movement think not.

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Are Prisons Doing Their Job?

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Hugo Martins thinks prisons should be more than just temporary housing for criminals.

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Throwing Away the Key

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Sarah Schineller spent some time at an all-women’s prison, and watched as they were able, despite the odds, to get out of the revolving door legal system.

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“I Will Continue to Break Laws”: A Statement at Sentencing

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Jeremy John was sent to prison for six months for civil disobedience. This is what he said to the judge at his sentencing.

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You Do the Math

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Lisa Hickey, on why the prison system in America just doesn’t add up.

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Prison

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Prison: A special series. Links to all of our posts in this section.

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Prison Is Our Mirror

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Tom Matlack wants drugs and prison to become a part of every American’s life. He’s not as crazy as you think.

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Eyewitness to an Execution

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Henley’s sister turns around and sweeps us with her eyes. “Not a tear in the bunch,” she sneers. “Y’all’s a bunch of dogs.”

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Blood Spattered

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An excerpt from The Good Men Project book: Julio Medina’s story.

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Skinners, Rats, and Good Inmates

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In this excerpt from Rob Reilly’s upcoming book “The Cooler,” he finds out that no inmate is easy to read.

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They Always Call Me Sir: Policing, Prison, and Privilege

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Our justice system is racist, Hugo Schwyzer writes, and that needs to change.

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Is There a Rational Approach to Prisons?

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Our prisons, L. Edward Day writes, need to become a place for rehabilitation, not a place for punishment.

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Politics Kills Prisons

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America has become a place, Cameron Conaway writes, where we punish thoughtlessly and don’t think thoughtfully.

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Making the Streets Safe

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After spending 10 years in prison, Abrigal Forrester is working hard to reduce violence in some of Boston’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

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A Prison Poem From a Youthful Offender – Day One In 18 x 80

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A Description Of Day One In an 18 x 80 Foot Dormitory For A Youthful Offender in 1980 – A Broadside Poem By Jack Varnell -

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He Has A Gun

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Jeremy Adam Smith’s son asked, “Did they get the bad guys?” Turns out, that was a really difficult question to answer.

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