Some Ways You Can Explain Mass Incarceration
I want to make sure you’ve got some ways to explain mass incarceration to the people you care about—and even to the people you don’t care for at all.
Two humanoid robots in conversation over coffee | Created by Jay W. Austin & DALL•E
There’s not a single way to explain mass incarceration.
Even if there were, that single way wouldn’t resonate with everyone who needed to understand how shitty this situation is.
That’s why I’ve divided these explanations into several perspectives: racial, socioeconomic, control, and health.
Think of these perspectives as lenses.
I’ve found it incredibly effective to put on different lenses when talking to people with different viewpoints than me.
It might feel uncomfortable or unnatural to do at first, but keep trying it. Take my suggestions and tweak them. Find the lines that work for you.
It’s crucial that you do.
From a racial perspective…
Mass incarceration is the direct descendant of slavery.
We can draw a straight, uninterrupted line from that “peculiar institution” to our system today.
From slavery to convict leasing. From slave patrols to policing. From the black codes to Jim Crow. From the 13th Amendment to the overcriminalization of drugs and situations that turned black folks into felons.
We see racial disparities all throughout the criminal legal system. When it comes to who is behind bars, black and brown people are overrepresented in the data.
African-Americans make up ~13% of our country’s population, but more than 30% of our incarcerated population. Latinx and Native American people are overrepresented too. White folks aren’t.
From a socioeconomic perspective…
Mass incarceration is fueled by poverty.
And it’s likely that your socioeconomic status is a more accurate predictor of your potential to be incarcerated than your race.
The system preys on poor folks and creates poor people.
Lots and lots of people are unemployed before being incarcerated, and many remain unemployed after they’re released. Not because they don’t want to work, but because many companies won’t hire them.
From a control perspective…
Mass incarceration is the result of an overreach of government control, especially over the country’s most vulnerable people.
The criminal legal system inherently creates caste systems—racial, socioeconomic, or both—through a slow erosion of our constitutional rights.
This is especially true when it comes to law enforcement.
Combine qualified immunity, SWAT culture, and a still-militarized war on drugs and POOF! There goes the Castle Doctrine. Up in smoke.
That smoke can suffocate people far and wide. Especially when that SWAT team raids the wrong house.
Courtesy of Jamelle Bouie
From a health perspective…
Mass incarceration is a reflection of how we fail people living with mental illnesses and addictions.
An estimated ~20% of incarcerated people are living with a severe mental illness. And perhaps ~60% are living with a substance use disorder.*
*Note: The % of incarcerated people with an SUD comes from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA is generally an anti-drug organization. It’s very possible that NIDA has over-diagnosed SUDs.
At its roots, it’s a sign of unaffordable healthcare. Or at the very least, inaccessible healthcare.
The negative health effects of mass incarceration extends far beyond mental health and SUDs.
Any amount of solitary confinement can possibly shorten someone’s life, even after they’re released from prison.
Even families with incarcerated loved ones face health consequences: worse overall health, lower well-being, and a 2.6 year shorter life expectancy.
And let’s not even talk about mass incarceration’s perpetuation of Covid-19.
Aye, I hope this leads you to more empathetic and persuasive conversations with others about mass incarceration and decarceration.
Good luck!
Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.
Learn about my ventures here, check out my non-profit initiative here, or explore my consultant services here.