Lecture 6: Prison Abolition Flashcards
What issue does the example of HMP Berwyn highlight regarding prison reform?
Prisoners isolated from families
What do abolitionists see as a key failing of reformist changes?
Strengthening legitimacy of imprisonment
What argument suggests reforms reinforce prison rationales?
They expand systems without changing core functions
The crisis of conditions 3 main reforms:
- Improvements post- Woolf
- Smarter and better prisons
- Importance of rehabilitation
Criticism of the crisis of conditions reforms:
Location still an issue
What problem’s can reform solve?
- Number crisis
- Crisis of injustice
- Crisis of conditions
Crisis of injustice reform:
Procedural fairness and decent living conditions
Criticism of crisis of injustice reform:
Prisoners have legitimate expectation to be treated fairly BUT not an absolute legal right to be treated humanely
What term describes repeated ineffective reforms?
Penal treadmill
What do attempts at penal reform tend to do?
Reproduce the prison and consolidate its rationale and form, rather than transforming it
Have how reforms failed?
- Become tedious/ monotonous
- Based on same techniques and knowledge
- Result is the production of homologous prisons
Why is reformism seen as MAD and FUTILE?
Because its repeating the same action but expecting a different result
What argument do abolitionists make regarding criminal justice fairness?
Social inequalities skew practices and outcomes
How do abolitionists see reformist changes to prisons and criminal justice?
As strengthening resilience of flawed systems
What term refers to reforms designed to undermine systems?
Non-reformist reforms
What “non-reformist” response do abolitionists recommend to overcrowding?
Immediate prisoner releases
What stance does penal reductionism take?
Reducing use but improving prisons
What argument opposes total abolition of prisons?
Some grounds for confinement existing
Whats a Durkheimian argument for reform?
A nexus of prison reform
What problems can reform solve?
- The number crisis
- Crisis of conditions
- Crisis of injustice
What attachment is there to prisons?
Imprisonment as a social institution
What does prison abolition question?
Questions the efficacy, morality of incarceration
Reforms often fail to reduce prison use because they:
Expand systems without changing functions
Which stance sees changes as strengthening prison legitimacy?
Abolitionist
‘Non-reformist’ reforms are intended to:
Undermine and shrink harmful systems
What change do abolitionists want regarding crime?
Structural reforms
Which view sees sentencing policies as skewed by inequalities?
Marxist
Penal reductionism argues for:
Restricting then reforming imprisonment
Reforms often expand prison systems while failing to:
Reduce overcrowding and scale
Abolitionists want:
Investments in alternative responses
Why do abolitionists oppose most reformist changes?
They reinforce prison rationale
Which view sees social inequalities affecting criminalization?
Marxism
What change to overcrowding do abolitionists want?
Immediate prisoner releases
Penal reductionism argues for:
Restricting prisons before improving them
Why do abolitionists see reformist changes as problematic?
They reinforce legitimacy of imprisonment
Which view sees criminal justice systems as inherently skewed?
Abolitionist
‘Non-reformist’ reforms are intended to:
Undermine and shrink harmful systems
What core change do abolitionists want regarding crime?
Structural reforms
Why can’t criminal justice systems be fair according to abolitionists?
Social inequalities skew practices
Penal reductionism supports:
Restricting imprisonment before reforming it
Many reforms fail to reduce overcrowding and scale because they:
Expand flawed systems
Which view criticizes reforms strengthening prison legitimacy?
Abolitionist
What mechanisms lead to marginalized groups being criminalized according to abolitionists?
Institutions advancing interests
Why can prisons not be made fully humane or legitimate according to abolitionists?
Power dynamics are inherent
Penal reductionism wants:
Some continued imprisonment after restrictions
Reforms often perpetuate prisons by:
Failing to address root causes
Abolitionists believe sustainable change requires:
Challenging assumptions about crime
Which view sees specific reforms as strengthening resilience of imprisonment?
Abolitionist
What mechanisms sustain flawed criminal justice systems according to abolitionists?
Institutional self-interest
Penal reductionism wants initial:
Restriction of imprisonment
Sustainable change requires challenging assumptions about:
The nature of crime itself
Reformist changes often perpetuate imprisonment by:
Increasing system capacity and budgets
What does Martin et al 2014 state the prison emphasises?
‘The problematic and illegitimate aspects of control – the inherently problematic power dynamics affecting those whose lives are touched by the prison experience’
What does Ryan and Sim 2007 argue is needed for reform?
‘Reforms have consistently worked to expand rather than reduce prisons. What is needed are strategies that denaturalise the prison and move towards a radical reduction in the use of imprisonment’
- Reform only helps to strengthen the prison and make it more resilient
Examples of 3 non-reformist reform strategies:
- Work to reduce the size, scope, and power of the system
- Challenge the assumptions that underpin and sustain the system
- Link to a wider vision of change that will reduce our reliance on prisons
What would traditional reformers do for problems caused by ageing prison population?
Call for new funding for specialised services.
What would abolitionists do for problems caused by overcrowding?
Push for early or compassionate release - not as easy as you think it is - what do we want prisons to do?
What did Frances cook argue for penal reductionism? What should we start with doing?
Prisons are “fundamentally unjust”, requiring a “radical overhaul, starting with a swingeing reduction in the number of people we imprison”
Arguing for the total abolition of prisons is thought to be a hopelessly x goal?
Utopian goal
What are two problems of non-reformist reforms?
- Problems caused by the ageing prison population
- Problems caused by overcrowding
