By Gloria Oladipo
Prison “reform” is useless until we radically expand our definitions of who is “worthy” of humane treatment and practices. Prison “reform” is useless unless the ultimate goal is for the abolition of all carceral institutions and tracking mechanisms.
2019 has been the year of prison reform, with many initiatives proposed and enacted to create more “humane” conditions for those who are incarcerated on a federal and local level. In Congress, many are celebrating the First Step Act as the “most significant criminal justice reform legislation“ for reducing the use of mandatory minimums and increasing the opportunity for people who are incarcerated to earn “good time credits.”
Additionally, states such as Massachusetts, North Dakota, and Arizona are also creating comprehensive criminal justice reform policies. A recently passed Massachusetts’s bill decriminalizes some offenses for minors and requires better conditions for those in solitary confinement. In Arizona, reformers are pushing for bills that would make it easier for those incarcerated to gain early release and empower judges to ignore mandatory minimums more often. North Dakota lawmakers have passed a bill that would remove mandatory minimums for those convicted of manufacturing or delivering controlled substances multiple times.
I have no idea why these initiatives are being lauded as anything “significant” when they implicitly justify that thousands of people being constructed as “criminal” continue to be left behind. I have no idea how this is anything close to revolutionary when the carceral state is still being viewed as a responsible and humane way to discipline those who commit America’s understanding of “crime.”
Prison reform continues to be structured around arbitrary definitions of who does and doesn’t deserve humane treatment, who does and doesn’t deserve freedom from one of the most abusive environments in the world. The sliding definition of “criminal” continues to morph, always finding a way and reason to imprison Black folk.
Since 1986, white lawmakers decided that those who possessed or distributed crack cocaine, compared to powder cocaine, were dangerous and needed jails and prisons to address their issues punitively. People who are struggling with the disease of addiction (and just so happen to be Black) are “criminals” while those who are white are victims.
In America, there is no such thing as an “innocent” Black person. Standing near a building while Black (otherwise known as loitering) is “criminal.” Sitting in a coffee shop while Black is “criminal.” Even those who are breaking no law can still be found guilty and face punitive consequences. Tamir Rice was holding a toy gun when he was shot down by police. Was he not “innocent”? Sandra Bland was brutally dragged out of her car and assaulted by an officer, then was unrightfully charged with assaulting a police officer. She was found hanging in her cell the next day. Wasn’t she “innocent”? Eric Garner, who was supposedly selling untaxed cigarettes in Staten Island, died in a chokehold from Officer Daniel Pantaleo. Protests disputing his death and calling for justice were mocked via counter protests by pro-police people chanting things like “I can breathe.”
If Black people are automatically criminalized, to truly address the issues of Black people, we need to contend with how all “criminals” (not just the one’s deemed non-violent) are treated. Anything less is leaving massive components of the flawed criminal justice system in tact and forsaking the people oppressed by it.
What about the Black people who do steal or commit murder or commit a series of other misdemeanors and felonies? Who is calling for their “humane” treatment? What about those who commit robbery? Where are the marches and protests to free those who drive drunk? Does “justice” demand that we ignore the real structural implications of anti-Blackness that force millions of Black people into those kind of situations? Does a “guilty” verdict mean that those people are meant to spend years and years behind bars, suffering from all kinds of abuse? Is that really the kind of criminal justice system that we want for ourselves, for those around us?
When we are only willing to center our calls for prison reform and abolition around those who are non-violent offenders, it means that we are ok using abusive and dehumanizing tactics as a disciplinary measure for others. It means that we don’t care if we ultimately replicate forms of violence through the abusive cycle that is the American carceral state, as long as it looks politically correct.
The ultimate goal for those of us who are truly invested in a humane form of justice should be to create restorative and reformative practices, ones that involve active conversations between perpetrators, victims, and their communities. Prison reformers forget that one of the main purposes of the American carceral state has always been to imprison and track Black people. Any new “reforms” for more “humane” treatment within this state will only pass as the definition of “criminal” is expanded to include more Black people.
We should always refuse to be satisfied with the current systems and continually call for their demolishment and replacement. In the meantime, if we want to truly think of ourselves as people who are concerned with the well-being and humanity of those who are incarcerated, we need to drastically broaden who we believe deserves fair treatment to (especially) include those who are “guilty.”
The same systems of white supremacy that create circumstances for violence do not get to determine what we do with people who are “guilty.” In a world where simply existing for Black people is already denoted as an act of criminality, we should be completely mistrustful of any part of the system that tries to determine who does and doesn’t deserve their humanity. No one should be left behind.
Suggested Readings:
Jess Krug, “All prisoners are political prisoners: the #VaughnUprising and how ignoring hostage strategy forgoes our freedom.“, 2017
Angela Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete?, 2003
No Cop Academy Website, ongoing
Gloria Oladipo is Black woman who is a sophomore at Cornell University and permanent resident of Chicago, IL. She can be found via email at gaoladipo@gmail.com and on Instagram @glorels.
