Hi my name is dancer122 and I am a university student who is personally connected with the prison system. My father was incarcerated for charges and I have personally seen how the prison system has affected him and our family negatively. Just like me, many people are affected by the prison system, which has encouraged me to learn more about the prison system as a whole and how it impacts society. The goal of this project is to spread awareness and knowledge about how the current prison systems takes advantage of people inside prisons for personal benefit. The purpose of connecting with an insider was to share our experiences through this project, to give people an opportunity to learn about the cruelty and mistreatment that the general public is missing.
My name is Money Mitch and I am grateful for the Exchange for Change experience and my partner on the inside, known as Zoso. I have a personal connection with this project as I have family members who have been incarcerated and deal with being convicted felons. I am passionate about restorative justice and creating alternatives to mass incarceration. The goal of this project is to keep the conversation going about what occurs in prisons and to give a voice to those on the inside. I hope our work in this project displays what we have learned and what we look to change as we create a better society.
Foundational make-up of Prisons and it's Setbacks:
- Prison policies and procedures have not changed with the times. Ex: a lack of mental health prioritization for insiders.
- For delivery of rehabilitation programs and new implementations to work, outdated policies need to be altered
- The security of the prison as a whole is prioritized over the stability of individuals the prison is supposed to aid
This historical image of a prison resembles todays current prison systems, showing what little change has occurred.
Is Abolition an option?
- Abolition of a "prison mindset"- the idea that prisons are the first option for rehabilitation- is possible since prisons do not accomplish that goal to begin with.
- Prisons can be a last resort for people who need immediate separation from general society to prevent one from harming himself, herself, or others.
- The idea of changing the perspective where prisons are viewed as the first "solution" to "problems" instead of focusing on the root cause of actions that are viewed as unacceptable.
- We can create a vision for the world that we want implement into society, to redesign the meaning of a prison.
Constitutional Law Violations
https://youtu.be/5zBVAAy4lkE (Related to above image)
Constitutional law is the basic foundation of freedoms that have been violated by the American prison systems. This has led to disrespect towards basic human rights. The constitutional law is the body that defines the powers and roles of the government, establishing a system that is mean to protect the people's rights.
Fourth amendment violation: no unreasonable searches and seizures; People are searched internally and externally without an option. There are not many options for choosing personal space or privacy.
Eighth amendment violation: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Prison officials are violating the eight amendment through an unreasonable risk of assault; the prison officials are failing to respond to improper treatment and lack of protection for inmates.
Prison System Triad:
- 1. Prisons
- 2. Policing
- 3. Criminal Justice
Link shows guards being abusive towards inmates with an unnecessary amount of force utilized to control a situation (one of the main prison sections that needs to be rebuilt).
Letter Exchange
What needs to change in the prison system?
Response: "I agree with you that we need to go back to the constitution as it was meant to be created with the intention of specifically granting rights based on what the Creator has given us. Unfortunately, humans are not nearly as perfect as G-d, and have clearly not done the best with selfishness and greediness being present at the time the constitution was written. The prison system has created an opportunity to have “segregation forever” as the foundational make up of how prisons were created and has morally separated us from our creator and his intentions (23). This emphasizes how people were acting with animalistic senses to create a system that only benefits those who are in control. Currently, prisoners are disregarded and ignored by those who are ignorant about the deep rooted problems that are involved in the prison systems. People “should not underestimate the complexity” of the system as that is part of how it has evolved up until now (14). The lack of attentiveness to prisons and the systems is what has led to so many people being wronged by a system that should be involved in improving society. We can not fix issues in society if we do not begin where the problem started. It is important to bring awareness to these issues so that many more people in the future do not fall victim to the unfortunate circumstances caused by those who built the foundation of the prison system."
Response: "As you mention the Constitution I think the founding fathers engraved fundamental human rights into the document that are being infringed upon in today’s society. Many people need to understand that we do not live in a police state and people are being deprived of their constitutional rights daily. I hate to hear that you were not given the proper due process that you were constitutionally guaranteed. As far as sentencing I definitely agree with many of the points you made. Many prosecutors overcharge and over sentence in order to maintain a high conviction rate. It is sad to think that a high conviction rate is the ultimate goal when dealing with human beings losing their livelihood. No one should ever feel pressured to plead guilty for a lower sentence in fear of being convicted for a much longer time if they lose their trial. And the violent component should only be added accordingly and it’s a shame you were charged with that statute. State required sentencing only adds to the problem of mass incarceration and feeds into that corrupt, unconstitutional system. As far as prisons are concerned I do think they are obsolete and should only be used for true violent offenders at this point. The outliers of society will work themselves out or be disciplined accordingly. It is true that there has to be “something” more progressive as history has shown, and more constitutional. All I know is that prison is no longer the way to deal with punishment in this country."
Works Cited
Lil Baby. Lil Baby - The Bigger Picture (Lyric Video) - Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zBVAAy4lkE.
Davis, Angela Y. Are Prisons Obsolete? Seven Stories Press, 2011.
Credits:
Created with images by shaiith - "Many vintage keys and one lock as concept" • airdone - "Businessman Break Wall of Obstacle. Business Challenge Conquering Adversity Concept"