July 2023
What measures can the United States take to reduce mass incarceration while maintaining a criminal “justice” system that functions effectively? This issue was curated by NACDL’s Decarceration Committee and includes feature articles and book reviews by members of the committee.
Articles in this Issue
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Affiliate News
What events are NACDL affiliates hosting this month? Find out here.
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An Uneasy Journey
The brother of NACDL member JoEllyn Jones was murdered in 1998. Ryan Young was released from prison in 2013, and she ran into him at a restaurant. This was her chance. For years, she rehearsed everything she wanted to say, imagining that she would curse him and tell him that he had torn her family apart. At that moment, however, something inside her shifted. JoEllyn asked Ryan if they could work together – and the healing began.
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Book Review: Mass Incarceration Nation by Jeffrey Bellin
This month Robert Sanger reviews Mass Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became Addicted to Prisons and Jails and How It Can Recover by Jeffrey Bellin.
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Book Review: Prisoner of Politics by Rachel Elise Barkow
This month Sonya Pfeiffer reviews Prisoner of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration by Rachel Elise Barkow.
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Book Review: Wilkes Syndrome by Charles Sevilla
This month Al Menaster reviews Wilkes Syndrome: Trials of a Defense Attorney by Charles Sevilla.
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Can We Wait 75 Years to End Mass Incarceration?
To achieve a meaningful decarceration (i.e., reducing the number of people in correctional facilities), policymakers must reduce prison admissions and scale back sentence lengths – both for those entering prisons and those already there. The growing movement to take a “second look” at unjust and excessive prison terms is a necessary first step. As the country grapples with an uptick in certain crimes, ending mass incarceration requires accelerating recent reforms and making effective investments in public safety.
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Correctional Reform: The Norwegian Model
Norway stands out as an innovator in corrections reform. The Scandinavian country is increasingly being studied for its success not only in improving living and working conditions for both individuals in custody and staff, but also because of its significantly lower recidivism rates. In Norway, life in prison resembles life outside as closely as possible. People in custody often wear their own clothes, cook in communal kitchens, and live in spaces that look more like dorm rooms than prison cells. Could this work in the United States?
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Decarcerating Our Communities, Psyches, and Practices
How Holding Space, Education, Empowerment, and Speaking Truth to Power Can Deconstruct a Racist System
The United States incarcerates the most people of any country in the history of the world – and it has chosen whom to incarcerate, starting with people of color first. Oregon defense attorney Justin Rosas writes that any effort at creating a just society is going to involve decarcerating our society, accepting the invitation to truly hear one another, and speaking truth to power about the racial injustice the system was designed to inflict on communities.
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From the President: Thank You
The public’s idolization of the law enforcement industry serves as an impediment to reform. It blinds us from addressing the misdeeds of individual bad actors.
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NACDL News: Broad Coalition Launches to Restore the Constitutional Right to Trial
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: Calling Out Florida Prosecutor’s Memo on Seeking Tougher Penalties for ‘Hispanic’ People
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Bestows Award on Lisa Wayne
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: Decrying Louisiana Bill to Create a Crime of Approaching On-Duty Law Enforcement Officer
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: James Willis Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From Nation’s Defense Bar
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: NACDL Commends President Biden’s Commutations, Calls for Further Action
NACDL News for July 2023
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NACDL News: NACDL Day in Cincinnati!
NACDL News for July 2023
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The Fight Against Mass Incarceration
Some people believe that mass incarceration is not a bad thing. It is. Mass incarceration is a public health hazard, promotes racism, increases the wealth gap, strains the economy, and increases crime and violence. It is unjustly meted out according to wealth and privilege, and often is most harshly used against the most vulnerable. How can the United States overcome its addiction to incarceration?
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Torture on Our Watch: A Call to Conscience
While often justified as a way to deter violence inside facilities, solitary confinement is more often used to punish non-violent transgressions such as dress code violations, refusal to work, or lack of respect toward correctional officials. Despite the failure of the U.S. Supreme Court to find that solitary confinement per se violates the Eighth Amendment, increasing numbers of stakeholders, including correctional officers, have called for its abolition.