Podcast
Mass Incarceration
Source:
NPR: Throughline
August 15, 2019
Category:
Criminal Justice
The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s, to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration. (NPR)
Isaiah's Description:
"We can talk about how to change institutions, but if we don't change the culture, if we don't change people's understanding by educating them, then we're not going to have long-term cultural change." -Jed Shugerman,
Mass incarceration is a product of both culture and policy. The American prison has proven to be an ineffective method of criminal reform since its inception. After the civil war, policies such as Jim Crow were set up to maintain the dynamics of slavery. Laws and policing were unjustly set up to target blacks and fuel a new form of indentured servitude masked behind criminal justice.
Like the late 19th century, cultural prejudice continues to fuel the perceptions and policies of the justice system. Despite over a hundred years of evidence, the United States continues to promote tough on crime narratives that fuel an ineffective and costly prison system.
The content of this podcast is essential to understanding the history of the prison and justice system. Unfortunately, the themes presented in the podcast are still relevant today.