We have come now to question the 13th amendment which states neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. This leads us now to question how we ourselves punish other humans. Incredibly informative and a pretty easy read. They are limited to the things they get to do, things they read, and who they talk to. It did not reduce crime rate or produce safer communities. It is no surprise that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Davis calls for the abolition of the present system. We should change our stance from punishing criminals to transforming them into better citizens. Disclaimer: Services provided by StudyCorgi are to be used for research purposes only. In the 19th century, Dorothea Dix, a women reformer and American activist, began lobbying for some of the first prison reform movements. The number one cause of crimes in the country is poverty. Interestingly, my perception does not align well with what I know about the prison system, which becomes evident after familiarizing myself with the facts from the book. On the contrary, they continue to misbehave as the way that had them chained up. Therefore, it needs to be clear what the new penology is. Stories like that of Patrisse Cullors-Brignac, who is known for being one of the three women who created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, created a organization who fights for the dignity and power of incarcerated, their families, and communities (Leeds 58) after her brother was a victim to sheriff violence in the L. A. In a country with a population being 13% African American, an increasing rate of prisoners are African American women, which makes one half of the population in prison African American. She asked what the system truly serves. This essay was written by a fellow student. Many prisons have come into question how they treat the inmates. This is leading to prisoners going to different places and costing the states more money to build more prison 's. We have lost touch with the objective of the system as a whole and we have to find new ways of dealing with our crime problems. Eye opening in term of historical facts, evolution, and social and economic state of affairs - and a rather difficult read personally, for the reflexions and emotions it awakens. The US prison contains 2 million prisoners, or twenty percent of the worlds total 9 million prison population. Next, Dorothea Dix addresses the responsibility many families take on my keeping insane family members at home to help them from being mistreated in jails. Some of my questions were answered, but my interest flared when we had the 10-minute discussion on why the system still exists the way it does and the racial and gender disparities within. I guess this isn't the book for that! She almost seamlessly provides the social, economic, and political theories behind the system that now holds 2.3 million people, and counting, in the United States. And she does all this within a pretty small book, which is important to introduce these ideas to people who are increasingly used to receiving information in short, powerful doses. to further examine the impact of the prison industrial complex, rather than continuing with prison reform. Then he began to copy every page of the dictionary and read them aloud. If the prison is really what it claims to be, shouldnt prisoners be serving their time with regret and learning to be obedient? With adequate care and conditions, released inmates will able to find jobs, start families, and become functioning members of society rather then returning to, In the documentary film Private Prisons, provides insight on how two private prisons industries, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Geo Group, generate revenue through mass incarceration. by Angela Y. Davis is a nonfiction book published in 2003 by Seven Stories Press that advocates for the abolition of the prison system. The number of people incarcerated in private prions has grown exponentially over the past decades. The bulk of the chapter covers the history of the development of penitentiary industry (the prison industrial complex, as it was referred to at some point) in the United States and provides some of the numbers to create a sense of the scope of the issue. that African American incarceration rates can be linked to the historical efforts to create a profitable punishment industry based on the new supply of free black male laborers in the aftermath of the Civil War. 162-165). As of 2008 there was 126,249 state and federal prisoners held in a private prison, accounting for 7.8 percent of prisoners in general. There are to many prisoners in the system. In Peter Moskos essay "In Lieu of Prison, Bring Back the Lash", he argues that whipping is preferable to prison. Are Prisons Obsolete? A compelling look at why prisons should be abolished. (2018), race is defined as the, major biological divisions of mankind, for. We should move away from the punishment orientation of the present system and focus on reparation. These laws shoot the number of prisoners to the roof. Foucault analyzed how knowledge related to social structures, in particular the concept of punishment within the penal system. 764 Words4 Pages. As a result of their crimes, convicts lose their freedom and are place among others who suffer the same fate. Just a little over 30 years ago the entire prison . Author's Credibility. There are to many prisoners in the system. StudyCorgi. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses. The US has laws and violation of these laws has accountabilities. It makes a reader/listener of the poem be more interested and intrigued to know more and look forward to whats next even though each line does not directly follow the other. While I dont feel convinced by the links made by Davis, I think that it is necessary for people to ponder upon the idea and make their own conclusions. In addition, it raises important ethical and moral questions and supports the argument with responsibly collected and well-organized data. Throughout the book, she also affirms the importance of education. As Angela Davis brilliantly argues, supported by well documented examples and references, prisons are an accepted part of our society - we take them for granted, and unless we have the misfortune of coming into contact with the system, they have become omnipresent and thus invisible. Offers valuable insights into the prison industry. (Davis 94) The prison boom can be attributed to institutionalized racism where criminals are fantasized as people of color (Davis 16) and how their incarceration seems natural. The book encourages us to look beyond this direct scope and understand the motives behind the legislation. Moreover, the Americans with different disabilities were kept in the prison-like houses, but the reform sought to have the establishment of some asylums. But overall it 's a huge bureaucracy that consumes resources in order to incarcerate people. book has made me realized how easily we as humans, jump into conclusion without thinking twice and judging a person by their look or race without trying to get who they are. This led him to be able to comprehend the books he read and got addicted to reading. She suggested alternatives to imprisonment. Mixed feelings have been persevered on the status of implementing these prison reform programs, with little getting done, and whether it is the right thing to do to help those who have committed a crime. Copyright 2023 service.graduateway.com. The book examines the evolution of carceral systems from their earliest incarnation to the all-consuming modern prison industrial complex.Davis argues that incarceration fails to reform those it imprisons, instead systematically profiting . In the colonial days, American prisons were utilized to brutally punish individuals, creating a gruesome experience for the prisoners in an attempt to make them rectify their behavior and fear a return to prison (encyclopedia.com, 2007). The prison industrial complex concept is used to link the rapid US inmate population expansion to the political impact of privately owned prisons. It is expected that private correctional operations will continue to grow and get stronger, due to a number of factors. The new penology is said, not to be about punishing individuals or about rehabilitating them, but about identifying and managing unruly groups in society. examines the genesis of the American correctional system, its gendered structure, and the relationship between prison reform and the expansion of the prison system. The following paper is a reflection on the first two chapters of Angela Davis book Are Prisons Obsolete? I am familiar with arguments against the death penalty, and the desire to abolish it seems evident to me. Prison is supposed to put an end to criminal activities but it turns out to be the extension; crime keeps happening in and out of the prison and criminals stay as, Though solitary confinement goal is not to deteriorate inmates mental health, it does. prison, it should cause us to wonder whether we should not try to introduce better alternatives. By instituting a school system that could train and empower citizens and criminals, the government will be able to give more people a chance for better employment. It examines the historical, economic, and political reasons that led to prisons. match. With that being said the growth in the number of state and federal prisoners has slowed down in the past two to three years, there is still expected to be a huge increases in the number of inmates being held and with state and federal revenues down due to the recession, very few jurisdictions are constructing new prisons. This nature of the system is an evident of an era buried by laws but kept alive by the prejudices of a flawed system. "Prison Reform or Prison Abolition?" Summary Davis believes that in order to understand the situation with the prisons, you should remember your history. Who could blame me? I was waiting for a link in the argument that never came. It also goes into how racist and sexist prisons are. I appreciate everything she has done, and I did learn lots from this, but my two stars reflect my belief that it was presented/published as something it was not, an argument regarding the abolition of prisons. That part is particularly shocking. Understanding the nuts and bolts of the prison system is interesting and sometimes hard. The author then proceeds to explore the historical roots of prisons and establishing connections to slavery. The book really did answer, if prisons were obsolete (yes). She is a retired professor with the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is the former director of the university's Feminist Studies department. According to the book, the legislation was instituted by white ruling class who needed a pool of cheap laborers to replace the shortage caused by the abolition of slavery. Solutions she proposes are shorter sentences, education and job training programs, humane prison conditions, and better medical facilities and service. Although race and ethnicity relate to one another they are different. For the government, the execution was direct, and our society has focused on this pattern of rules and punishment for a long time. Davis." Its become clear that the prison boom is not the cause of increased crime but with the profitability of prisons as Davis says That many corporations with global markets now rely on prisons as an important source of profits helps us to understand the rapidity with which prisons began to proliferate precisely at a time when official studies indicated that the crime rate was falling. While in the world they were criminals running from the law and while in prison. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Michel Foucault is a very famous French intellectual who practiced the knowledge of sociology. According to the author, when he was in the Charlestown Prison, he was not able to fully understand the book he read since he did not know the most of the words. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. She begins to answer the by stating the statistics of those with mental illnesses in order to justify her answer. What kind of people might we be if we lived in a world where: addiction is treated instead of ignored; schools are regarded as genuine places of learning instead of holding facilities complete with armed guards; lawbreakers encounter conflict resolution strategies as punishment for their crime instead of solitary incarceration? Although, it wasnt initially the purpose when Rockefeller started the war on drugs, but he started something bigger than he couldve imagined at that time. The members of the prison population can range from petty thieves to cold hearted serial killers; so the conflict arises on how they can all be dealt with the most efficient way. This created a disproportionately black penal population in the South during that time leaving the easy acceptance of disproportionately black prison population today.