Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Incarceration Reuben Jonathan - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Incarceration

Reuben Jonathan Miller, PhD, MSW

Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow New America Foundation Assistant Professor University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration

An open letter to Angela Davis

“…And so, Newsweek, civilized defender of the indefensible… puts you on its cover, chained.”

Ask any Mexican, any Puerto Rican, any black man, any poor person

…if one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen… …ask the wretched how they fare in the halls of justice, and then you will know…

A matter of citizenship

Racial Difference

• “Contrary to popular

belief, Africans did not sell their brothers and sisters into slavery. They sold strangers…

• …In order to betray your

race, you had to first imagine yourself as one.”

Making race (and racist ideas)

Making whiteness

Racial Innocence

Making Black Criminality Or, the construction of black guilt

The Stats for Black Americans

• Twice as likely to be arrested
• 5 times more likely to be incarcerated
• 60% of high school drop outs will do time
• 30% of high school graduates will do time

Mass Incarceration and Population Health

• HIV prevalence in prison 5x’s higher
• Hepatitis C prevalence 9 times higher
• Between 12 and 35% of all individuals with

communicable diseases passed through a prison

• The population is rapidly aging
• Negative mental health outcomes

– Prisoners, their partners children and community members

A question of Legitimacy

• Stop and Frisk

– Black and Latino Americans stopped despite evidence – Found unconstitutional

• Exonerations

– Over 2,000 since 1989 – Spent 9 years in prison on average – 2/3 were black or Latino

A matter of citizenship

• 40 million police stops

each year

• “The police are our

government.”

• Soss and Weaver 2018

Carceral Citizenship

• Unique Restrictions

– 48,000 laws, policies and sanctions – Conditions of release (laws on top of laws)

• Unique Rights

– Risk scores and services – Counseling and housing when convicted of abuse or neglect

• Unique Responsibilities

– Giving back – Need to convince others of your moral worth – Engagement in care work

• A different experience of American Democracy

Putting the prison in context

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000

Currently Incarcerated

Prison vs. the carceral continuum

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 4,000,000

Currently Incarcerated Probation and parole

Prison vs. the carceral continuum

2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000

Currently Incarcerated Probation and parole Jail, Detention and Lockup Facilities

Prison vs. the carceral continuum

2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000 16,000,000 18,000,000 20,000,000

Currently Incarcerated Probation and parole Jail, Detention and Lockup Facilities Felony Convictions

Prison vs. the carceral continuum

10,000,000 20,000,000 30,000,000 40,000,000 50,000,000 60,000,000 70,000,000

Currently Incarcerated Probation and parole Jail, Detention and Lockup Facilities Felony Convictions Criminal Records

Criminal punishment’s multiple sites and actors

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Guards and Correctional Staff POs and CORs Police, Courts, Guards, Staff Third Parties, Govt Officials, Families and Friends

Population under carceral control (in millions)

Criminal Records Prisons Probation and Parole Jails, DCs and Police Station Lockups

Community is Where the Action Is

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Mass Incarceration (U.S. Jail and Prison Population) Mass Supervision (Other Identified Forms of Penal Supervision)

Mass Incarceration or Mass Supervision?

3% 97%

Prison vs. the Carceral Continuum

Prison and Jail Population All others affected by Carceral Expansion

The prison:

Just one part of a vast carceral network

National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction

All of them

• 1,523 unique laws,

administrative sanctions and regulations including:

– 954 Business, occupational and professional licensure – 87 limit political and civic participation – 63 limit access to housing – 64 constrain family and domestic rights

The Story of Michael

– Incarcerations begin early – Being put “outdoors” – Group homes and familial separation – A profound sense of loneliness

Bridgette and her kids

• “It’s like, the more they know about me the

more vulnerable I am.”

• ”You should be happy.”
• “I’m still a formerly incarcerated woman.”

The Price of Carceral Citizenship

• Exclusion from the political economy and

culture

• Laws on top of laws
• Different sets of expectations
• You can’t treat your way out of this

How we get free

• Structural problems require structural solutions

– Advocate to change law and policy (Do we need 48,000?) – Provide a “bridge” to resources – Promote the intrinsic humanity of people in this situation – Launch a careful media campaign center experiences over

• utcomes

– Move beyond recidivism and employment as central measures

• f success

– Focus on human thriving rather than risk reduction – Leverage healthcare resources at federal level for local state support – Think carefully about disability, SSI eligibility, and appropriate supports for ill and disabled prisoners – Leverage resources for the support of families – Vote

Most Importantly

• Listen to formerly incarcerated people

– The most effective organizations are lead by directly impacted people

• Civil Rights Movement
• Women’s Rights Movement
• GLBTQ Rights Movement
• Welfare Rights Movement
• Landless people’s movements
• The movement for full and unqualified citizenship for

formerly incarcerated people!

Closing thoughts

• We live in strange and marvelous times

– Were we to set every prisoner free today we would still live in a supervised society

• We must ask different kinds of questions
• The question before us is really an ethical

question:

– What kind of society do we want to live in?

Thank you

!

R.I.P. “Big Homie” 1960-2014