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(mostly US centered). While this does not necessarily imply that the US government continues to discriminate, the statistics presents an alarming irregularity that is worth investigating. 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. Review and plan more easily with plot and character or key figures and events analyses, important quotes, essay topics, and more. The book outlined the disturbing history behind the institution of prisons. However, what impressed me the most was not the effective use of statistics but rather the question with which the author opens the chapter. It is for this particular reason that Davis says we must focus on rehabilitation and provide services for inmates while incarcerated and before they are released. 4.5 stars. Majority of the things that go on we never hear about or know about. Are Prisons Obsolete? does a lot. 764 Words4 Pages. According to Davis, US prison has opened its doors to the minority population so fast that people from the black, Latino, and Native American communities have a bigger chance of being incarcerated than getting into a decent school. Davis adds women into the discussion not as a way just to include women but as a way to highlight the ideas that prisons practices are neutral among men and women. From the 1960s to 2003, US prison populations grew from 200,000 to 2 million, and the US alone holds 20% of the world's prison population. With such traumatic experiences or undiagnosed mental illnesses, inmates who are released from prison have an extremely hard time readjusting to society and often lash out and commit crimes as a result of their untreated problems. All rights reserved. She traced the increase in women prison population from the lack of government support for womens welfare. 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. Billions of profits are being made from prisons by selling products like Dial soap, AT&T calling cards, and many more. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is. Amongst the significant claims that support Davis argument for abolition, the inadequacy of prison reforms stands out as the most compelling. With prison becoming a new source of income for private corporations, prison corporations need more facilities and prisoners to increase profits. 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. The prison industrial complex concept is used to link the rapid US inmate population expansion to the political impact of privately owned prisons. StudyCorgi. He also argues that being imprisoned is more dangerous than being whipped, because the risk of being beaten, raped, or murdered in prison is, In the world we live in today there is, has been, and always will be an infinite amount of controversies throughout society. A deeply revelatory read that made me revisit a lot of assumptions I had made about the origins and purpose of prisons and the criminal justice system generally. According to Walker et al. The abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment resulted to shortage in workers and increase in labor costs. It does that job, sometimes well, sometimes less than well. We need to look deeper at the system and understand the inconsistency of the numbers and what possible actions lead to this fact. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (States with and without The Death Penalty). examines the genesis of the American correctional system, its gendered structure, and the relationship between prison reform and the expansion of the prison system. Reform movements truthfully only seek to slightly improve prison conditions, however, reform protocols are eventually placed unevenly between women and men. 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. Registered address: Louki Akrita, 23 Bellapais Court, Flat/Office 46 1100, Nicosia, Cyprus Search. What if there were no prisons? As a result, an effort to abolish prisons will likely seem counterintuitive. Incarceration is the act of placing someone in prison. submit it as your own as it will be considered plagiarism. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis Chapter 2 Summary: "Slavery, Civil Rights, and Abolitionist Perspectives Towards Prison" Slavery abolitionists were considered fanatics in their timemuch like prison abolitionistsbecause the public viewed the "peculiar institution" as permanent. Investment should be made in re-entry programs for former inmates and retraining programs for former prison workers. Michel Foucault is a very famous French intellectual who practiced the knowledge of sociology. The book encourages us to look beyond this direct scope and understand the motives behind the legislation. Author, Angela Y. Davis, in her book, analyses facts imprisonment in our society as she contrast the history, ideology and mythology of imprisonment between today's time and the 1900's, as capital retribution has not been abolished yet. Offers valuable insights into the prison industry. His theory through, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, is a detailed outline of the disciplinary society; in which organizes populations, their relations to power formations, and the corresponding conceptions of the subjects themselves. She is marvelous and this book along with the others, stands as testimony to that fact. Why is that? Get help and learn more about the design. Where walking while trans is the police assumption that these people are sex workers. (Leeds 68). Therefore, it needs to be clear what the new penology is. Aside from women, the other victims of gender inequality in prisons are the transgendered individuals. To prove this argument, first Gross starts off by, In her book, The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander who was a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar, reveals many of Americas harsh truths regarding race within the criminal justice system. Davis purpose is to inform the reader about the American prison system and how it effects African- Americans and those of any other race, though blacks are the highest ranking number in the, Davis also raises the question of whether we feel it is humane to allow people to be subjected to violence and be subdue to mental illnesses that were not previously not there. Generally, the public sought out the stern implementation of the death penalty. Lastly, she explains the treatment necessary for the insane and the, In chapter Are Prisons Obsolete? Angela Davis strictly points out factors in results of the elites methods to be in total control. Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis Chapter 3 Summary: "Imprisonment and Reform" Davis opens Chapter 3 by pointing out that prison reform has existed for as long as prisons because the prison itself was once viewed as a reform of corporal punishment. Few predicted its passing from the American penal landscape. In this book, mass incarceration not only refers to the criminal justice system, but also a bigger picture, which controls criminals both in and out of prison through laws, rules, policies and customs. This led him to be able to comprehend the books he read and got addicted to reading. Over the past few years, crime has been, Gerald Gaes gives a specific numerical example involving Oklahoma, a high-privatization state, where a difference in overhead accounting can alter the estimate of the cost of privatization by 7.4% (Volokh, 2014). Private prisons were most commonly smaller than the federal or state prisons so they cant hold up to the same amount of prisons. If the prison is really what it claims to be, shouldnt prisoners be serving their time with regret and learning to be obedient? Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, and the debate about its abolition is the largest point of the essay written by Steve Earle, titled "A Death in Texas. This book The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander has made me realized how the United State has one of the largest population in prison. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. 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. by Angela Y. Davis is a nonfiction book published in 2003 by Seven Stories Press that advocates for the abolition of the prison system. Prisons are a seemingly inevitable part of contemporary life. 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. In this journal, Gross uses her historical research background and her research work to explain how history in the sense of race and gender help shape mass incarceration today. Are Prisons Obsolete? Private prisons often have stricter rules that result in extended sentences for what are usually minor, The consequences of this means that when inmates are released back into society, they are unable to function as productive citizens and are more likely to be repeat offenders. Prison population just keeps growing without any direct positive impact to the society. We should change our stance from punishing criminals to transforming them into better citizens. As Ms. Davis clearly articulates, the inducement of moral panics, fear- and hate-mongering is also integral Just talk to our smart assistant Amy and she'll connect you with the best All these things need to be stated again and again, so there is no complaint so far. match. Using facts and statistics, Gopnik makes his audience realize that there is an urgent need of change in the American prison system. It did not reduce crime rate or produce safer communities. Imprisonment has not always been used for punishment, nor has it always thought about the prisoners themselves. The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. Realizing the potential of prisons as source of cheap and legal labor, they orchestrated new legislations that include a variety of behaviors not previously treated as criminal offense. I appreciated the elucidation of the historical context of the prison industrial complex and its deeply entrenched roots in racism, sexism and capitalism. Many prisons have come into question how they treat the inmates. Eduardo Mendieta constructs an adequate response to Angela Davis Are Prisons Obsolete? "Prison Reform or Prison Abolition?" Summary Davis believes that in order to understand the situation with the prisons, you should remember your history. (93-4) Where the Black Codes were created as a list of punishable crimes committed only by African Americans. Considering the information above, Are Prisons Obsolete? The US prison contains 2 million prisoners, or twenty percent of the world's total 9 million prison population. As noted, this book is not for everyone. Davis." According to Alexander, Today, most American know and dont know the truth about mass incarceration (p. 182). This paper was written and submitted to our database by a student to assist your with your own studies. Some corporations had found more subtle but nevertheless more profitable means of exploiting the system. After reconstruction, prisoners are leased to plantation owners. 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. In case you can't find a relevant example, our professional writers are ready On the contrary, they continue to misbehave as the way that had them chained up. ), they have been fast growing in recent decades and taken advantage of for their corporate profit value - or another form of slavery. Incarcerated folks are perhaps one of the most marginalized populations: "out of sight, out of mind", used as free labor, racialized, dehumanized, stripped of rights, etc. The more arrest in the minority communities, mean more money towards their, This essay will discuss multiple different races and ethinicities to regard their population make up within the prison system. While the US prison population has surpassed 2 million people, this figure is more than 20 percent of the entire global imprisoned population combined. In this era prisons were used more as a place where criminals could be detained until their trial date if afforded such an opportunity. Che Gossett, a self identified black trans/gender queer femme, who fights to normalize transgender identities because of the criminalization of queer people. Instead of solving the crime problem, prison system introduced a social ill that needs to be addressed. The New Jim Crow is an account of a caste-like system, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class statusdenied, In chapter two, of The New Jim Crow, supporting the claim that our justice system has created a new way of segregating people; Michelle Alexander describes how the process of mass incarceration actually works and how at the end the people that we usually find being arrested, sent to jail, and later on sent to prison, are the same low class persons with no knowledge and resources. requirements? I am familiar with arguments against the death penalty, and the desire to abolish it seems evident to me. Most of these men have mental disorders. This form of punishment should be abolished for 3 reasons; First, It does not seem to have a direct effect on deterring murder rates, It has negative effects on society, and is inconsistent with American ideals. Chapter 1-2 of Are Prisons Obsolete? by A. Davis. Some of them were raising their grandchildren. In the section regarding the jails, she talks about how the insane are locked up because they pose of a threat to the publics safety not confined somewhere. County Jail. In addition, solitary confinement, which can cause people severe and lasting mental distress after only 15 days, breaks individuals down and leaves them with lasting negative ramifications. Violence in prison cells are the extension of the domestic violence. "Chapter 1-2 of Are Prisons Obsolete? by A. The stories that are told in the book, When We Fight, We Win by Greg Jobin-Leeds, are of a visionary movement to reclaim our humanity. She made the connection that in our past; slavery was a normal thing just as prisons are today. Jacoby and believes that inmates that havent committed a huge crime should not experience horrors in prison? I've been watching/listening to her interviews, downloading cool looking pictures of her and essentially scouring through articles/speeches by and about her with the sole aim of stalking her intellectual development. The sides can result in a wide range of opinions such as simply thinking a slap on the wrist is sufficient; to even thinking that death is the only way such a lesson can be learned. StudyCorgi. presents an account of the racial and gender discrimination and practices currently in effect inside (mainly US) prisons. Davis cites a study of California's prison expansion from 1852 to the 1990s that exemplifies how prisons "colonize" the American landscape. 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. 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. Columnist for the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby in his essay "Bring back flogging" asserts that flogging is superior to imprisonment and advocates flogging as an excellent means of punishment. but the last chapter on alternatives to prisons leaves the reader with a very few answers. Davis makes a powerful case for choosing abolition over reform, and opened my eyes to the deeply racist structures inherent in the prison system. The US prison contains 2 million prisoners, or twenty percent of the worlds total 9 million prison population. [D]emilitarization of schools, revitalization of education at all levels, a health system that provides free physical and mental care to all, and a justice system based on reparation and reconciliation rather than retribution and vengeance (Davis, 2003, p. 107) are some of her suggestions. I find the latter idea particularly revealing. 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. 1. This will solve the problem from the grassroots. The creation of the prisons seems to be the good solution in regarding of securing social safety; yet, there are many bad consequences that appear to affect the prisoners the most, which those effects involve exploitation of the prisoners labor, wasted capital resources that can be used to do other things that can help improve the community, and the way the prisoners are treated is similar to the way slaves were treated. Daviss purpose of this chapter is to encourage readers to question their assumptions about prison. Although the things they have done werent right but they are still people who deserve to get treated right. While in the world they were criminals running from the law and while in prison. Many criminal justice experts have viewed imprisonment as a way to improve oneself and maintain that people in prison come out changed for the better (encyclopedia.com, 2007). Retrieved from https://studycorgi.com/chapter-1-2-of-are-prisons-obsolete-by-a-davis/, StudyCorgi. Angela Davis is a journalist and American political activist who believes that the U.S practice of super-incarceration is closer to new age slavery than any system of criminal justice. But contrary to this, the use of the death penalty, Angela Davis in her book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, argues for the overall abolishment of prisons. Just a little over 30 years ago the entire prison . However, one of the main problems with this idea was the fact that the prisons were badly maintained, which resulted in many people contracting fatal diseases. Lately, I've been asking myself, "what would Angela do?" 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. Are Prisons Obsolete? The prisoners are only being used to help benefit the state by being subjected to harsh labor and being in an income that goes to the state. "Chapter 1-2 of Are Prisons Obsolete? by A. This created a disproportionately black penal population in the South during that time leaving the easy acceptance of disproportionately black prison population today. She adopts sympathetic, but stern tone in order to persuade advocates towards the prison abolishment movement. It attempts to deconstruct the idea of prisons, it proposes that punishment never was and never will be an effective antidote to crime, and that under capitalistic, racist, sexist, and classist societies, prisons are bound to be exploitive, oppressive and discriminatory institutions. Today, we are not sure who they are, but we know they're there" (George W. Bush). She exhibits a steady set of emotion to which serves the reader an unbiased. For generations of Americans, the abolition of slavery was sheerest illusion. Very informative and educating. The abolition of the prison system is a fight for freedom that goes beyond the prison walls. Moskos demonstrates the problems with prison. Additionally, while some feminist women considered the crusade to implement separate prisons for women and men as progressive, this reform movement proved faulty as female convicts increasingly became sexually assaulted. Another inmate protest was in 2013, where there were hunger strikes involving thousands of inmates protesting to reform the long-term solitary confinement, where inmates can be locked in their cells for more than twenty-two hours a day. Davis's purpose of this chapter is to encourage readers to question their assumptions about prison. In other words, for the majority of people, prisons are a necessary part of modern society. Prison industrial complex is a term used to characterize the overlapping interests of government and industry that use policing, surveillance and imprisonment as a result to social, economic and political problems. Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis Chapter 1 Summary: "Introduction: Prison Reform or Prison Abolition?" Davis begins her examination of prison reform by comparing prison abolition to death penalty abolition. The articles author also assumes that readers are familiar with specific torture tactics used on prisoners,the United States is facing one of its most devastating moral and political debacles in its history with the disclosures of torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other such prisons (293). Davis' language is not heavy with academic jargon and her research is impeccable. In the 19th century, Dorothea Dix, a women reformer and American activist, began lobbying for some of the first prison reform movements. In addition, some would be hanged especially if they continued with the habit. Davis raises many questions and challenges about the use of prisons in today's world. We have many dedicated professionals working to make it function right. Description. In addition, it raises important ethical and moral questions and supports the argument with responsibly collected and well-organized data. By Angela Y. Davis, Davis talks about the prison system and whether or not they are useful. Dont Behind the walls and gates of prisons its a whole different world. Women prisoners are treated like they have no rights. 7 May. Similarly,the entrenched system of racial segregation seemed to last forever, and generations lived in the midst of the practice, with few predicting its passage from custom. This practice may have worked 200 years ago, but as the world has grown more complex, time has proven that fear alone does not prevent recidivism. 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. Incarceration serves as a punishment for criminals due to their actions against the law. (2016, Jun 10). He spent most of his time reading in his bunk or library, even at night, depending on the glow of the corridor light. StudyCorgi, 7 May 2021, studycorgi.com/chapter-1-2-of-are-prisons-obsolete-by-a-davis/. 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). Author, Angela Y. Davis, in her book, analyses facts imprisonment in our society as she contrast the history, ideology and mythology of imprisonment between todays time and the 1900s, as capital retribution has not been abolished yet. Many inmates are forced in to living in horrible conditions that threaten their health and wellbeing. It is a solution for keeping the public safe. We should move away from the punishment orientation of the present system and focus on reparation. Previously, this type of punishment focused on torture and dismemberment, in which was applied directly to bodies. She states a recent study has found that there may be twice as many people suffering from a mental illness who are in jail or in prisons, rather than psychiatric hospitals. Her arguments that were provided in this book made sense and were well thought out. Larger prison cells and more prisoners did not lead to the expected lesser crimes or safer communities. 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. The US constitution protects the rights of the minority, making US the haven of freedom. According to her, this makes the prisons irrelevant and obsolete. Women who stand up against their abusive partners end up in prison, where they experience the same abusive relationship under the watch of the State. They are subjected to gender inequalities, assaults and abuse from the guards. Prisoner rights have been among her continuing interests; she is the founder of Critical Resistance, an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex. However, once we dive a little, In America we firmly believe in you do the crime you must do the time and that all criminals must serve their time in order of crime to be deterred. This money could be better invested in human capital. If you cure poverty, you eliminate crime, and thus have a safer community. The book pushes for a total reformation that includes the eradication of the system and institution of revolutionary ways of dealing with crime and punishment. While the figure is daunting in itself, its impact or the lack of it to society is even more disturbing. The words of the former President Bush clearly highlight the fear of the . Solutions she proposes are shorter sentences, education and job training programs, humane prison conditions, and better medical facilities and service.