Breaking the Cycle: Exploring the Failures of Mass Incarceration

1. Introduction

I will preface this paper by first addressing my own positionality. I am white, nonbinary, and a soon-to-be lawyer. I am entering the nonprofit world where I will be working with unaccompanied minors, helping them to secure legal status. I am an empath, driven by all the inequities I have witnessed and experienced firsthand. I was drawn to social justice activism early on, bearing witness to the violence of systemic discrimination across different institutions and in everyday life. In educating myself on my privilege and the histories that inform our present realities, I have come to realize my principles align with “radical” and “progressive” perspectives on race; though I am not sure how anyone who is educated on these issues could be content with anything less. I believe that the capitalist system we live under will continue to create an environment for racism to flourish until we meaningfully address the conditions that create poverty and impede access to healthcare and mental health services. My answer to the question, is mass incarceration working is simple: obviously not. The complicated part is figuring out how to address the roots of this systemic failure to pave the way for radical solutions. 

2. The Problem Defined

The current criminal legal system is designed to profit from the incarceration of Black people. Private prisons earn more money when they are full of bodies. Companies profit from modern-day slave labor extracted from incarcerated Black people. In this way, mass incarceration is inextricably tied to capitalism. Mass incarceration is not the result of an uptick in violent crime or the state’s desire to keep the public safe. Rather, it is the consequence of broad sweeping policies (such as the War on Drugs, the three strikes policy, etc.) that are intended to capture and punish POC. The racial disparities embedded in mass incarceration are only the beginning of the problem. Once people are released from confinement, the collateral consequences of incarceration, such as intergenerational economic and psychological harm, lead to recidivism and perpetuating the subjugation of Black communities. The scope of harm caused by mass incarceration will not happen at a single time or in a single way. However, until we make meaningful change, “the debt is owed and keeps accruing.”

3. Is Mass Incarceration Working? 

By this point, it is clear that mass incarceration is not working (nor has it ever worked) if the goal is to create safe, healthy, thriving communities. However, for the purpose it was actually created (to perpetuate the oppression of POC, criminalize poverty, and fuel our capitalist system), it functions perfectly. By 2000, Human Rights Watch reported that in seven states, Black people constituted 80-90% of all those sent to prison on drug charges, and in at least fifteen states, Black people were admitted to prison on drug charges at a rate 20-57% times greater than that of white men. By 2008, 1.7 million children had a parent in state or federal prison, and over one-quarter of Black children were estimated to have experienced a parent incarcerated before their 18th birthday. Today, the racialized effects of mass incarceration are still seen and felt. Thirty-seven percent of people in prison or jail are Black, even though Black people only constitute 13% of the U.S. population. 

The carceral ethos that built this system “was built on policymakers’ and the public’s willingness to devalue, dismiss, or ignore [B]lack lives.” For this reason, I believe that an abolitionist framework is the only way to address the white supremacist logic embedded in all of our institutions and social relations. The U.S.’s “colorblind” approach and unwavering obsession with brightline rules have created and maintained the current system. Continuing to operate within these confines will only reproduce violent results. 

4. So, What Now?

Instead of concentrating on reform methods that should already be prioritized to alleviate and mitigate existing racial inequities (e.g., decriminalizing non-violent offenses, offering alternative sentencing, removing employment restrictions for people with criminal histories), I prefer to focus on the larger goal of dismantling the white supremacist roots of the criminal legal system. We need to deconstruct the carceral ethos and punitive ideologies that perpetuate racialized logics at all points of the criminal legal system. We should reimagine the carceral ethos and replace it with logics of care, compassion, abundance, and support. We must move beyond due process and “rights logic” that have contributed to our current broken system. A new system could be based on the restorative justice model, bringing together crime victims and perpetrators to facilitate healing in a trauma-informed manner. This will help to create inclusive social and political communities that value and protect Black lives. 

5. Conclusion 

The failures of mass incarceration are glaring and deeply ingrained in our society. As we navigate these institutions, it is imperative to recognize the interconnectedness of systemic racism, capitalism, and punitive ideologies within the criminal legal system. Mass incarceration not only perpetuates the oppression of Black communities but also exacerbates intergenerational collateral harms on a financial, relational, and emotional level. Moving forward, we must prioritize dismantling the white supremacist foundations of the criminal legal system by embracing principles of care, compassion, and support. Reimagining the system through a restorative justice lens offers a pathway towards true accountability and healing. By advocating for transformative, holistic alternatives, we can build a better system and, in turn, a better world.