Prison Abolition Research Articles

David Greenberg on prison abolition, an interview by John Clegg

David Greenberg, who passed away in July 2024, was a pioneer of radical criminology as well as polymath who excelled in several disciplines, including physics, history, and mathematical sociology. In November 2022, I spoke with David about some research I was doing into the history of prison abolitionism in the United States. David had been the author of “The Problem of Prisons,” a pamphlet written in 1969 which was one of the first sustained arguments for prison abolition to have been published in the post-war United States. He also edited and was a main contributor to The Struggle For Justice, a coauthored book published in 1971 by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). This book would become a key reference in the emerging field of radical criminology and would influence early Quaker prison abolitionists like Fay Honey Knopp and Ruth Rittenhouse Morris, as well as later abolitionist groups like Critical Resistance. In his later writings, however, David was critical of prison abolitionism. 1 I was curious about how and why his views changed, so I sat down with him in a Greenwich village cafe and recorded our conversation. The following is an edited transcript of that recording.

Abolition, scholar-activism, and deterrence: Reflections on Tommie Shelby’s The Idea of Abolition

In The Idea of Prison Abolition, philosopher Tommie Shelby critically analyzes the case for prison abolition advanced by scholar-activists such as Angela Davis. Abolition is understood as the dismantling and permanent abandonment of incarceration as a method of responding to a social problem like crime. In Shelby's view, abolitionists do not successfully show that prisons must be abolished. Prisons for him retain a necessary and morally defensible function: preventing serious crime. In my commentary, I first suggest that Shelby implicitly evaluates some of Davis's arguments on the terms of success of a scholar, not those of a scholar-activist, and does not consider an objection to his conclusions that scholar-activists are likely to raise. Second, I problematize the basis for Shelby's claim that punishment remains necessary to prevent the most serious crimes.

Thinking about prisons: A response to O’Flaherty, Sethi, and Murphy

I provide a response to the commentaries on my book The Idea of Prison Abolition (2022) by Brendan O’Flaherty and Rajiv Sethi and by Colleen Murphy. With respect to the first commentary, I briefly discuss the comparison of US prisons to Norwegian prisons; the deterrent effect of well-crafted sentences; and the prospects of a world without prisons. In response to the second commentary, I argue that the methods of the scholar-activist and those of the analytic political philosopher are not incompatible with meaningful engagement and disagreement on the abolition-versus-reform question despite these methodological differences.

Police abolition and transformative justice in the footsteps of Thomas Mathiesen’s penal abolition

Thomas Mathiesen’s theories, his activism and his scholarship are needed, important and useful for contemporary researchers concerned with social change and social justice. At this moment in time, when strong social movements and abolitionism are back on the agenda, Mathiesen’s theories can not only be revitalised, but moved forward in the everlasting unfinished fashion. Mathiesen’s work might be of support to researchers and activists confronted with the ‘system members’ as he calls them, to identify the structures of power one is up against and its strategies. His work provides a roadmap of how to handle repressive powers to reach the long-term goal of penal abolition. In this article, I will outline Mathiesen’s central theories of penal abolition as they are connected to political activism, then trace the role of the police in his abolitionism and, finally, I will argue for the relevance and development of Mathiesen’s abolitionist thinking in the contemporary and burgeoning field of transformative justice and police abolitionism. I aim to show the continuing relevance of Mathiesen’s theories for contemporary abolitionist movements and scholarship, and how they contribute to push these theories forward into new areas.

The Rise of Progressive Prosecutors in the United States: Politics, Prospects, and Perils

Throughout much of the United States, progressive chief prosecutors (PCPs) have campaigned for office by pledging to end mass incarceration and reduce disparities therein. In this review, we summarize the progressive prosecution movement and the evidence base concerning PCPs. We attribute the rising number of PCPs to a disjuncture between the criminal justice policy preferences of state-level policymakers and voters. Although voters, especially in urban areas, prefer reforms aimed at reducing excessive punitiveness and increasing fairness, state-level policymakers have been reluctant to enact such reforms. PCPs bridge this gap by using their authority to implement local reforms without altering state laws. We detail the number of PCPs leading prosecution in urban counties, examine their characteristics, discuss the controversies surrounding PCPs, and critically review the emerging body of evidence concerning the influence of PCPs on sanctioning and public safety.

On prison systems

In The Idea of Prison Abolition, Tommie Shelby evaluates arguments for and against the elimination of incarceration as a mode of punishment. In this article, we discuss and expand upon Shelby's arguments, using two very different systems—those of Norway and the United States—as examples to illustrate some general principles.

The Carceral Logic of Female Eligibility Policies: Gender as a Civilizing Narrative, the Science of Sex Testing, and Anti-Trans Legislation1

Female eligibility policies punish people for gender nonconformity and normalize patriarchal rule. These policies were used first to exclude women deemed “too masculine” from competing against women who more closely conform to gender stereotypes. In recent years, this form of discipline has dovetailed with efforts to determine the circumstances, if any, under which transgender women may compete against cisgender women. Modern sport, as a set of institutions, does not stand apart from capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and heteropatriarchy. In this article, I use a prison abolitionist lens to connect anti-trans campaigns and female eligibility policies that police sporting identity to the carceral logics of racial capitalism to make the argument that sex surveillance is related to race, social control, and capital accumulation.

Mass incarceration as a driver of the tuberculosis epidemic in Latin America and projected impacts of policy alternatives: A mathematical modeling study.

Tuberculosis incidence is increasing in Latin America, where the incarcerated population has nearly quadrupled since 1990. The full impact of incarceration on the tuberculosis epidemic, accounting for effects beyond prisons, has never been quantified. We calibrated dynamic compartmental transmission models to historical and contemporary data from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru, which comprise approximately 80% of the region's incarcerated population and tuberculosis burden. Using historical counterfactual scenarios, we estimated the transmission population attributable fraction (tPAF) for incarceration and the excess population-level burden attributable to increasing incarceration prevalence since 1990. We additionally projected the impact of alternative incarceration policies on future population tuberculosis incidence. Population tuberculosis incidence in 2019 was 29.4% (95% UI, 23.9-36.8) higher than expected without the rise in incarceration since 1990, corresponding to 34,393 (95% UI, 28,295-42,579) excess incident cases across countries. The incarceration tPAF in 2019 was 27.2% (95% UI, 20.9-35.8), exceeding estimates for other risk factors like HIV, alcohol use disorder, and undernutrition. Compared to a scenario where incarceration rates remain stable at current levels, a gradual 50% reduction in prison admissions and duration of incarceration by 2034 would reduce population tuberculosis incidence by over 10% in all countries except Mexico. The historical rise in incarceration in Latin America has resulted in a large excess tuberculosis burden that has been under-recognized to-date. International health agencies, ministries of justice, and national tuberculosis programs should collaborate to address this health crisis with comprehensive strategies, including decarceration. National Institutes of Health.

Restorative justice in Brazil: does it provide a place for community involvement and a path to penal abolition?

Abstract This article addresses the major criticisms of Brazilian restorative practices, which mainly focus on the offender and are shaped by the idea of punitivism. In this scenario, it is crucial to understand the centrality of Judicial Power in the implementation of restorative justice. That this approach risks refreshing old practices of criminal justice, under the cover of innovative discourses, is widely ignored. Such consequences have become reality, with recent research highlighting the absence of the victim, the individualization of the conflict and the lack of debate on the context of structural injustices prior to the conflict. We argue that the exclusion of the community and limited involvement by civil society might be the biggest obstacles for the inclusion of restorative justice in the development of a Brazilian transformative justice towards an abolitionist future.

Correction: Prison Abolition for Collective Freedom: Facilitating Co-Resistance to Binary Colonial Prisons

Correction: Prison Abolition for Collective Freedom: Facilitating Co-Resistance to Binary Colonial Prisons

‘The rent is too damn high’ meets ‘pay the rent’: practising solidarity with the dispossessed*

This paper reflects on the Housing Justice in Unjust Cities Project that unfolded in so-called brisbane in 2021, in response to concerns over how the framing of demands and solutions to the present housing crisis in so-called australia can reinvest in and further legitimise colonial-carceral-capitalist logics and structures. Using critical co-constructed autoethnography as methodology, the authors reflect on their own involvement in housing struggles as settlers on unceded Aboriginal land, the recent history of these struggles in so-called brisbane, and the lessons and reflections that instigated the Housing Justice in Unjust Cities Project, and which emerged from our experiences organising together. The project, comprising a series of radio interviews and broadcasts followed by a public forum, was an attempt to foreground what ongoing Aboriginal sovereignty means for struggles for housing justice, and to challenge the colonial logics and common sense that often permeates settler-led housing politics. Drawing on Indigenist research approaches and police and prison abolition discourse, we offer some partial reflections on building communities of struggle that refuse to accept a housing justice that begins and ends with a more equitable distribution of stolen land.

Prison Abolition for Collective Freedom: Facilitating Co-Resistance to Binary Colonial Prisons

Prison Abolition for Collective Freedom: Facilitating Co-Resistance to Binary Colonial Prisons

Prison Abolition in a Time of Overcrowding: Sowing the Seeds for Change

Prison Abolition in a Time of Overcrowding: Sowing the Seeds for Change

Sufficient Magic: Queer Prison Comix as Liberation Praxis

ABSTRACT: Prison art has many functions, from representation to healing to rehabilitation, and it can make use of many different kinds of media, including comix. For prison abolitionists, prison art is most powerful when it is connected to larger struggles against the criminal punishment system, and comix offer unique affordances to abolitionist movements. From cells to movement blur to the gutter, comix enable artists to interrogate carcerality and gendered oppression simultaneously. Through close readings of comix and correspondence with artists and organizers, this article examines the world-making praxis of incarcerated trans artists who are creating and distributing original comix with the abolitionist organization ABO Comix. While most scholarship on prison art explores state-sanctioned programs, ABO Comix is independent from the prison system, producing alternative possibilities as well as unique challenges for artists and organizers. In comix by trans artist Krysta Morningstarr* as well as other artists, incarcerated LGBTQ artists use comix as a form of world-making, mutual aid, and collective praxis within and beyond the prison borders.

Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform

Reducing the pretrial detention population has been a cornerstone of movements to end mass incarceration. Across many US cities, there are ongoing public debates on policies that would end pretrial detention due to the inability to afford bail, with some raising concerns that doing so would increase community violence. To evaluate changes in firearm violence after New Jersey's 2017 bail reform policy that eliminated financial barriers to avoiding pretrial detention. This case-control study used synthetic control methods to examine changes in firearm mortality and combined fatal and nonfatal shootings in New Jersey (2014-2019). New Jersey was chosen because it was one of the first states to systematically implement cash bail reform. Outcomes in New Jersey were compared with a weighted combination of 36 states that did not implement any kind of reform to pretrial detention during the study period. Data were analyzed from April 2023 to March 2024. Implementation of New Jersey's cash bail reform law in 2017. Quarterly rates of fatal and nonfatal firearm assault injuries and firearm self-harm injuries per 100 000 people. Although New Jersey's pretrial detention population dramatically decreased under bail reform, the study did not find evidence of increases in overall firearm mortality (average treatment effect on the treated, -0.26 deaths per 100 000) or gun violence (average treatment effect on the treated, -0.24 deaths per 100 000), or within racialized groups during the postpolicy period. Incarceration and gun violence are major public health problems impacting racially and economically marginalized groups. Cash bail reform may be an important tool for reducing pretrial detention and advancing health equity without exacerbating community violence.

Paying for Freedom: Community Payment of Fines as Collective Resistance to Australia’s Criminalisation of Race and Class

Since colonisation, Australia’s criminal apparatus has targeted people on the basis of race and class through changing modes of legal control. This article explores two examples of collective resistance to this. In 2019, Sisters Inside’s FreeHer campaign enlisted community members to pay for the freedom of Aboriginal women imprisoned for non-payment of fines in Western Australia. Simultaneously, in the United States, bail funds enabled people to free those imprisoned due to inability to afford cash bail. In both examples, by paying for the freedom of strangers, the community inserts itself into otherwise opaque criminal processes, challenging the very reason for a person’s incarceration and disrupting the rhetorical divide between the community and the criminalised. Through the framework of demosprudence (ie, collective citizen mobilisations which are democracy-enhancing) and prison abolition, this article demonstrates the capacity for these forms of participatory resistance to contribute to transformative social and legal change.

Rethinking Utopia as Form: Failure, Time, and the Political Subject of Anti-Capitalism

Abstract: This essay theorizes utopianism as distinct from radical or revolutionary action and so capable of instantiating a desire for a world so different it cannot be represented. Asking whether "failure" is in fact a productive condition of possibility for utopianism, the essay considers a number of theoretical interventions including those of Fredric Jameson and Kathi Weeks. Drawing out the benefits and limits of these perspectives, the essay articulates utopianism's features and offers the demand for prison abolition as an example. Not only does this demand confront the impossibility of a different world, but it draws on the potentiality of past political agency and so posits what occupying the "no place" of utopia can be for those who have historically been denied the very temporalities upon which utopia has traditionally relied.

Examining Mass Incarceration: Rachel Kushner’s The Mars Room

Rachel Kushner’s 2018 novel The Mars Room examines the nature and causes of mass incarceration in the United States. The novel follows American prison literature conventions in showing what prisons conceal, and departs from them by not having its characters undergo personal transformations or speak for broader communities. Most distinctively it employs several narrative voices, which facilitates a multidimensional analysis of mass incarceration, and by distancing the reader from the engaging main character, helps Kushner deliver a structural critique. Beyond immediate factors like harsher sentencing laws and plea bargaining lie poverty and abuse that track mostly lower-class people into prison. The violence Kushner depicts saturating American society suggests the difficulty of ending mass incarceration.

Prison Abolitionism and the Liberal Imagination

Abstract One of the most controversial political demands to emerge from the mass protests of the summer of 2020 was the abolition of police departments and prisons. This review article takes stock of the rationale behind prison abolitionism and of the philosopher Tommie Shelby's The Idea of Prison Abolition, a recent effort to initiate a dialogue between Angela Davis, the intellectual vanguard of contemporary abolitionists, and Shelby's own style of liberal political philosophy in the tradition of John Rawls. Although it shares a name with the successful nineteenth century movement to end slavery, today's abolitionists have much broader and far-reaching aims. The antislavery movement claimed to be bringing liberal society in line with liberalism's own values by abolishing chattel slavery, but Shelby's argument reaffirms that the prison, for its part, actually has a deep conceptual and historical compatibility with liberalism. Prison abolitionists, conscious of the connections between liberalism and incarceration, therefore, level their attacks not only at imprisonment but against liberal society as a whole. The close entwinement of liberalism and incarceration and deep disagreements about the meaning of basic terms like reform and criminality mean that long-term collaboration between liberals and abolitionists is probably unrealistic, both theoretically and politically.

Pain in Vain: Penal Abolition and the Legacy of Louk Hulsman. Edited by Justin Piché (J. Piché and J. Hulsman Trans.). (Red Quill Books, Ottawa, 2023, 290pp. £26.99 pb)

Pain in Vain: Penal Abolition and the Legacy of Louk Hulsman. Edited by Justin Piché (J. Piché and J. Hulsman Trans.). (Red Quill Books, Ottawa, 2023, 290pp. £26.99 pb)