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A review by deep_in_the_reads
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
3.0
Video Review Here
Angela Davis’ book on prison abolition is a good introduction to the rotten institution that is the prison-industrial complex in the USA, including its racial/gendered dimensions. The book is very accessible, easy to read, and filled with good examples to illustrate Davis’ talking points on how bad the current penal system is. Most of the book is an overview of the history and dreadful state of penitentiaries in the US, with some harrowing examples of just how badly many inmates are treated. The ongoing injustices will churn your stomach. I agree wholeheartedly with Davis' assessment that drastic changes are needed, and this book will help convince people who believe prisons are fine as they are. Unfortunately, when it comes to actual abolition talking points, Davis’ argumentation isn’t always the best. I wasn’t moved towards agreeing that prisons need to be outright abolished.
The book opens with Davis lamenting that it’s hard to conceive of a society without prisons. But Davis does little to illustrate a prison-free society, without falling into utopianism. When she gets around to providing alternatives to prisons, she concludes that a better society will result in less crime, and thus less need for prisons—putting the cart before the horse. While I completely agree with every societal reform she proposes (decriminalization of drugs/sex work, better education and mental health care, social programs/reallocation of public money to eradicate poverty, dismantling systems of oppression in all spheres, etc), all of these things take time and sustained effort. What do you do with prisons/criminals in the mean time? Although her prescriptions would lower prison populations, it doesn’t seem that it would make prisons altogether obsolete. The conclusion that “we won’t need prisons once our society becomes a utopia” is far from satisfying.
A society without prisons begs the question—without prisons, what should be done with murderers and rapists? Davis gives an anecdote about a couple of murderers who, after being forgiven by the family of their victim and showing their regret (with the help of mediation), are set free, never to murder again. I’m not denying that situations like this can’t happen, or that murderers can’t be reformed, but to pretend that this single anecdote fits the profile of every criminal is extremely naïve.
While I’m critical of unfettered capitalism as Davis is, I find it overly simplistic for her to put the lion’s share of blame for prisons on capitalism. The examples of capitalist prison woes that Davis points to, such as convict leasing, can readily be found in the prison systems of communist dictatorships, including North Korea and China (who have been caught leasing prison slave labour numerous times). The East German communist regime relied heavily on forced prison labour and even ransomed prisoners in exchange for money with the West. However, Davis is right on the money in showing how an increased privatization of prisons is inherently harmful, as the prioritization of profits leads to an incentive to arrest more people and keep them incarcerated longer. I agree that prison should be socialized, restoring the incentive to reform inmates. And ultimately, that’s what Davis is getting at—we should prioritize rehabilitation rather than revenge regarding penalized people--a stance I totally agree with.
Speaking of rehabilitation, Davis mentions instances where prisons are successful in rehabilitating the people in them—she uses Malcolm X and numerous prison education/writing programs as examples. She seems to inadvertently argue not for prison abolition, but for prison reform, since she admits that she’s able to envision effective prisons if the goal is shifted from revenge to rehabilitation and reconciliation. Unfortunately, she never mentions prison systems of Scandinavian countries like Norway, which has the lowest criminal recidivism rates on earth. Norway does this largely by taking a restorative approach that humanizes their residents and treats them with respect and dignity, giving them the tools they need to rebuild their lives. Davis doesn’t talk at all about recidivism rates, or the variables that play a part in reducing them. If she did, she’d have to admit that penitentiaries have the potential to function as intended, and that abolition may not be the answer after all. It's a pretty significant omission, and feels like an evasion. At the end of the day, I don’t feel Davis is very substantive in answering the titular question.
Despite the issues I had with “Are Prisons Obsolete?,” I’d still recommend it. It’s a short, concise, accessibly-written introduction to the prison abolition movement, and it made me exercise my own critical thinking on an issue I normally don't think about. The section on the history/conditions of US prisons makes for valuable reading by itself. While I still fall into the ‘radical prison reform’ camp instead of the ‘prison abolition’ one, I would recommend it to anyone who takes the status quo of prisons for granted.
Also, consider donating your unwanted books to prisons! Inmates are often in need of good reading material. :)
Angela Davis’ book on prison abolition is a good introduction to the rotten institution that is the prison-industrial complex in the USA, including its racial/gendered dimensions. The book is very accessible, easy to read, and filled with good examples to illustrate Davis’ talking points on how bad the current penal system is. Most of the book is an overview of the history and dreadful state of penitentiaries in the US, with some harrowing examples of just how badly many inmates are treated. The ongoing injustices will churn your stomach. I agree wholeheartedly with Davis' assessment that drastic changes are needed, and this book will help convince people who believe prisons are fine as they are. Unfortunately, when it comes to actual abolition talking points, Davis’ argumentation isn’t always the best. I wasn’t moved towards agreeing that prisons need to be outright abolished.
The book opens with Davis lamenting that it’s hard to conceive of a society without prisons. But Davis does little to illustrate a prison-free society, without falling into utopianism. When she gets around to providing alternatives to prisons, she concludes that a better society will result in less crime, and thus less need for prisons—putting the cart before the horse. While I completely agree with every societal reform she proposes (decriminalization of drugs/sex work, better education and mental health care, social programs/reallocation of public money to eradicate poverty, dismantling systems of oppression in all spheres, etc), all of these things take time and sustained effort. What do you do with prisons/criminals in the mean time? Although her prescriptions would lower prison populations, it doesn’t seem that it would make prisons altogether obsolete. The conclusion that “we won’t need prisons once our society becomes a utopia” is far from satisfying.
A society without prisons begs the question—without prisons, what should be done with murderers and rapists? Davis gives an anecdote about a couple of murderers who, after being forgiven by the family of their victim and showing their regret (with the help of mediation), are set free, never to murder again. I’m not denying that situations like this can’t happen, or that murderers can’t be reformed, but to pretend that this single anecdote fits the profile of every criminal is extremely naïve.
While I’m critical of unfettered capitalism as Davis is, I find it overly simplistic for her to put the lion’s share of blame for prisons on capitalism. The examples of capitalist prison woes that Davis points to, such as convict leasing, can readily be found in the prison systems of communist dictatorships, including North Korea and China (who have been caught leasing prison slave labour numerous times). The East German communist regime relied heavily on forced prison labour and even ransomed prisoners in exchange for money with the West. However, Davis is right on the money in showing how an increased privatization of prisons is inherently harmful, as the prioritization of profits leads to an incentive to arrest more people and keep them incarcerated longer. I agree that prison should be socialized, restoring the incentive to reform inmates. And ultimately, that’s what Davis is getting at—we should prioritize rehabilitation rather than revenge regarding penalized people--a stance I totally agree with.
Speaking of rehabilitation, Davis mentions instances where prisons are successful in rehabilitating the people in them—she uses Malcolm X and numerous prison education/writing programs as examples. She seems to inadvertently argue not for prison abolition, but for prison reform, since she admits that she’s able to envision effective prisons if the goal is shifted from revenge to rehabilitation and reconciliation. Unfortunately, she never mentions prison systems of Scandinavian countries like Norway, which has the lowest criminal recidivism rates on earth. Norway does this largely by taking a restorative approach that humanizes their residents and treats them with respect and dignity, giving them the tools they need to rebuild their lives. Davis doesn’t talk at all about recidivism rates, or the variables that play a part in reducing them. If she did, she’d have to admit that penitentiaries have the potential to function as intended, and that abolition may not be the answer after all. It's a pretty significant omission, and feels like an evasion. At the end of the day, I don’t feel Davis is very substantive in answering the titular question.
Despite the issues I had with “Are Prisons Obsolete?,” I’d still recommend it. It’s a short, concise, accessibly-written introduction to the prison abolition movement, and it made me exercise my own critical thinking on an issue I normally don't think about. The section on the history/conditions of US prisons makes for valuable reading by itself. While I still fall into the ‘radical prison reform’ camp instead of the ‘prison abolition’ one, I would recommend it to anyone who takes the status quo of prisons for granted.
Also, consider donating your unwanted books to prisons! Inmates are often in need of good reading material. :)