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A review by loriley
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
2.5
My relatively low rating for this book has mostly to do with the fact that it failed my expectations of what it was supposed to be about.
If I was to read this book with the same expectations I had for “The New Jim Crow“ then I would give it 4.5/5 stars. However, since it was framed as an argument for how/why we should eliminate prisons, I honestly want to give it one star, so I went in the middle.
If you were expecting a book, explaining how prisons fail to produce the solutions to problems they supposedly address and instead how those problems can actually be addressed, then this is NOT what you were looking for. Davis at the end of the book mentions that there is a “growing body of literature on reshaping systems of justice around strategies of reparation rather than retribution as well as a growing body of experiential evidence of these approaches to justice and of the democratic possibilities they promise”. That body of literature, however, is NEVER discussed at all, or even referenced for readers to then investigate on their own. Those possibilities are not explored. This is not a book about that topic.
If you were looking for a book about the history of incarceration, the development of mass incarceration in United States, the intertwining of capitalism and mass incarceration, and the inherent racism, sexism, and classism in the US penal system then this IS the book you were looking for. Davis does a FANTASTIC job of covering the history of imprisonment and why our system is so inherently unjust.
The title of this book should not be “Are Prisons Obsolete”, it should stead be something along the lines of “The Injustice of Imprisonment-Why Mass Decarceration is Imperative”. However, mass decarceration is less definitive and inflammatory than saying completely obsolete. In a way the title is almost click-baity and that it never actually argues what it says in the title.
I have read several books about the injustice of the Industrial Prison Complex in the United States from racism and classism or combo perspectives. This echoes all of those sentiments.
I want to be clear I support mass decarceration, I support removing ALL and ANY type of imprisonment for personal drug use charges, and many other ‘petty’ and non-violent crimes.
I also support the preventative concepts briefly (and I emphasize briefly) discussed at the end of this book of massively increasing funding for mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, general healthcare, welfare, housing initiatives, AND overhauling the American education system to interrupt the School to Prison pipeline.
However, preventative measures prevent crime. They do not in anyway address what we should do with people who have committed crimes previously.
What infuriated me about this book was I don’t think Davis ever effectively argued that prisons are obsolete (meaning that they should be ENTIRELY eliminated because they are useless). She effectively argued that imprisonment is largely unjust, racist, classist, sexist, and abusive. I agree. Mass decarceration is necessary. An overhaul of prisoners rights and treatment is necessary. BUT they are not “obsolete”. They need to be massively scaled down. However, when it comes to violent crime, repeated violent crime, child abuse, pedophilia, rape, and murder, I don’t see an alternative to imprisonment. I understand how certain preventative initiatives can reduce the incidence of these crimes, but that does not mean that those crimes should go unaddressed or treated similarly to non-violent crimes. Davis proposes that we should uncouple the concept of crime and punishment and envision other alternatives but then does not propose other alternatives. Especially in cases of repeat offenders and child abusers I cannot see any alternative to imprisonment. At the very end of the book Davis gives an example of a murder victim’s family forgiving and helping release their daughter’s murderers. While in a way it is nice to see that forgiveness and peace the family gained, I in no way see that as a blanket response that can be given to any and all violent criminals.
Davis ends the book by saying she will not address what we should do with “murderers and rapists” since it is a topic with “numerous debates over the last decades” and as“growing body of literature on” addressing those issues. But I personally have been looking for information on specifically that and have not found a comprehensive source for that information and Davis does not provide it.
If I was to read this book with the same expectations I had for “The New Jim Crow“ then I would give it 4.5/5 stars. However, since it was framed as an argument for how/why we should eliminate prisons, I honestly want to give it one star, so I went in the middle.
If you were expecting a book, explaining how prisons fail to produce the solutions to problems they supposedly address and instead how those problems can actually be addressed, then this is NOT what you were looking for. Davis at the end of the book mentions that there is a “growing body of literature on reshaping systems of justice around strategies of reparation rather than retribution as well as a growing body of experiential evidence of these approaches to justice and of the democratic possibilities they promise”. That body of literature, however, is NEVER discussed at all, or even referenced for readers to then investigate on their own. Those possibilities are not explored. This is not a book about that topic.
If you were looking for a book about the history of incarceration, the development of mass incarceration in United States, the intertwining of capitalism and mass incarceration, and the inherent racism, sexism, and classism in the US penal system then this IS the book you were looking for. Davis does a FANTASTIC job of covering the history of imprisonment and why our system is so inherently unjust.
The title of this book should not be “Are Prisons Obsolete”, it should stead be something along the lines of “The Injustice of Imprisonment-Why Mass Decarceration is Imperative”. However, mass decarceration is less definitive and inflammatory than saying completely obsolete. In a way the title is almost click-baity and that it never actually argues what it says in the title.
I have read several books about the injustice of the Industrial Prison Complex in the United States from racism and classism or combo perspectives. This echoes all of those sentiments.
I want to be clear I support mass decarceration, I support removing ALL and ANY type of imprisonment for personal drug use charges, and many other ‘petty’ and non-violent crimes.
I also support the preventative concepts briefly (and I emphasize briefly) discussed at the end of this book of massively increasing funding for mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, general healthcare, welfare, housing initiatives, AND overhauling the American education system to interrupt the School to Prison pipeline.
However, preventative measures prevent crime. They do not in anyway address what we should do with people who have committed crimes previously.
What infuriated me about this book was I don’t think Davis ever effectively argued that prisons are obsolete (meaning that they should be ENTIRELY eliminated because they are useless). She effectively argued that imprisonment is largely unjust, racist, classist, sexist, and abusive. I agree. Mass decarceration is necessary. An overhaul of prisoners rights and treatment is necessary. BUT they are not “obsolete”. They need to be massively scaled down. However, when it comes to violent crime, repeated violent crime, child abuse, pedophilia, rape, and murder, I don’t see an alternative to imprisonment. I understand how certain preventative initiatives can reduce the incidence of these crimes, but that does not mean that those crimes should go unaddressed or treated similarly to non-violent crimes. Davis proposes that we should uncouple the concept of crime and punishment and envision other alternatives but then does not propose other alternatives. Especially in cases of repeat offenders and child abusers I cannot see any alternative to imprisonment. At the very end of the book Davis gives an example of a murder victim’s family forgiving and helping release their daughter’s murderers. While in a way it is nice to see that forgiveness and peace the family gained, I in no way see that as a blanket response that can be given to any and all violent criminals.
Davis ends the book by saying she will not address what we should do with “murderers and rapists” since it is a topic with “numerous debates over the last decades” and as“growing body of literature on” addressing those issues. But I personally have been looking for information on specifically that and have not found a comprehensive source for that information and Davis does not provide it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation