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loriley's review against another edition
2.5
If I was to read this book with the same expectations I had for “The New Jim Crow“ then I would give it 4.5/5 stars. However, since it was framed as an argument for how/why we should eliminate prisons, I honestly want to give it one star, so I went in the middle.
If you were expecting a book, explaining how prisons fail to produce the solutions to problems they supposedly address and instead how those problems can actually be addressed, then this is NOT what you were looking for. Davis at the end of the book mentions that there is a “growing body of literature on reshaping systems of justice around strategies of reparation rather than retribution as well as a growing body of experiential evidence of these approaches to justice and of the democratic possibilities they promise”. That body of literature, however, is NEVER discussed at all, or even referenced for readers to then investigate on their own. Those possibilities are not explored. This is not a book about that topic.
If you were looking for a book about the history of incarceration, the development of mass incarceration in United States, the intertwining of capitalism and mass incarceration, and the inherent racism, sexism, and classism in the US penal system then this IS the book you were looking for. Davis does a FANTASTIC job of covering the history of imprisonment and why our system is so inherently unjust.
The title of this book should not be “Are Prisons Obsolete”, it should stead be something along the lines of “The Injustice of Imprisonment-Why Mass Decarceration is Imperative”. However, mass decarceration is less definitive and inflammatory than saying completely obsolete. In a way the title is almost click-baity and that it never actually argues what it says in the title.
I have read several books about the injustice of the Industrial Prison Complex in the United States from racism and classism or combo perspectives. This echoes all of those sentiments.
I want to be clear I support mass decarceration, I support removing ALL and ANY type of imprisonment for personal drug use charges, and many other ‘petty’ and non-violent crimes.
I also support the preventative concepts briefly (and I emphasize briefly) discussed at the end of this book of massively increasing funding for mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, general healthcare, welfare, housing initiatives, AND overhauling the American education system to interrupt the School to Prison pipeline.
However, preventative measures prevent crime. They do not in anyway address what we should do with people who have committed crimes previously.
What infuriated me about this book was I don’t think Davis ever effectively argued that prisons are obsolete (meaning that they should be ENTIRELY eliminated because they are useless). She effectively argued that imprisonment is largely unjust, racist, classist, sexist, and abusive. I agree. Mass decarceration is necessary. An overhaul of prisoners rights and treatment is necessary. BUT they are not “obsolete”. They need to be massively scaled down. However, when it comes to violent crime, repeated violent crime, child abuse, pedophilia, rape, and murder, I don’t see an alternative to imprisonment. I understand how certain preventative initiatives can reduce the incidence of these crimes, but that does not mean that those crimes should go unaddressed or treated similarly to non-violent crimes. Davis proposes that we should uncouple the concept of crime and punishment and envision other alternatives but then does not propose other alternatives. Especially in cases of repeat offenders and child abusers I cannot see any alternative to imprisonment. At the very end of the book Davis gives an example of a murder victim’s family forgiving and helping release their daughter’s murderers. While in a way it is nice to see that forgiveness and peace the family gained, I in no way see that as a blanket response that can be given to any and all violent criminals.
Davis ends the book by saying she will not address what we should do with “murderers and rapists” since it is a topic with “numerous debates over the last decades” and as“growing body of literature on” addressing those issues. But I personally have been looking for information on specifically that and have not found a comprehensive source for that information and Davis does not provide it.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
headachesince03's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual harassment
Lynchingashleybeereads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
jessthanthree's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, and Deportation
bootsmom3's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
flamingtashhh's review against another edition
5.0
Some things I’d like to explore more following this book:
1. The colonization of the land by prisons. What effect on the environment and our connection to it does the logic and PHYSICAL fact of prisons have?
2. Racial capitalism and borders. How does the global migration of labor impact prisons? What similarities does this share with the Atlantic Slave Trade?
3. Gender-making and prisons. What does the logic of prison reform do to our notions of gender? How is this related to colonial notions of gender and citizenship?
4. Punishment and violence, specifically an expansion of the idea that domestic and sexual violence is the basis of punishment in women’s prisons.
There’s more.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nickshutter's review against another edition
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Islamophobia, Grief, and War
amberinbookland's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use