The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an extra toll on prison populations. Prisoners in Wisconsin were infected at a rate five times higher than the general population, and inmates were not given priority during vaccination rollout. This is just one of the injustices of the United States’ mass incarceration program. Another is that prisoners can’t vote—yet […]
Debunking Myths About Mass Incarceration
The United States has the largest population behind bars (a record 2.3 million in 2016) and the highest incarceration rate of any country (698 per 100,000). It’s a big problem, and yet many Americans accept this reality due to the widely held belief that prisons keep us safer. That’s a myth, though, says journalist Victoria […]
Facing the Pandemic in Prison
Throughout the pandemic, prisons have been one of the hardest-hit spaces for inmates and staff alike, with high rates of infection and minimal to no proper protective equipment or access to adequate hygiene. Back in April, Cook County Jail in Chicago suffered the worst COVID-19 outbreak the country had seen. For today’s episode, Wednesday host […]
The Road to Restorative Justice with Danielle Sered
For today’s pledge drive show, Ali is in conversation with Danielle Sered, executive director of Common Justice, about restorative justice and her new book, Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair. Danielle Sered is executive director of Common Justice, a Brooklyn-based organization that offers alternatives to incarceration for people charged with […]
Bail and the bigger picture in Dane County
The fight against mass incarceration is a fight to fundamentally challenge the assumptions that drive our systems of policing, jails, and prisons in America. It’s also a fight against the practice of cash bail, and there are several groups in Madison who have banded together to take that on. The Free The 350 Bail Fund […]
The History of Mass Incarceration with Kelly Lytle Hernández
Nearly 2.3 million adults are currently incarcerated in the United States, which represents the highest incarceration rate in the world. How did this come to be? What led to the construction of the carceral state? On today’s episode, we learn about the history of mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond with UCLA history professor Kelly […]
