Crime and Prison
Derek Chauvin and the Myth of the Impartial Juror
What should “impartiality” mean for jurors in a historically unequal criminal legal system?
A Parable and Parody of Restorative Justice
The Netflix series Dead to Me suggests that we might get closer to justice by forgiving each other and ourselves for the sometimes literally fatal flaw of being human.
The Logic of Eugenics Still Haunts Virginia
Elizabeth Catte’s new book examines how Virginia progressives believed the forced sterilization of poor whites would pave the way to a bright future—and how their legacy endures in national parks and prisons.
Police Sexual Violence Is Hidden in Plain Sight
Forms of gender-specific violence are baked into the structure of law enforcement. Reform efforts will fail until we eliminate police discretion over women’s bodies.
How the Law Killed Ahmaud Arbery
In many states, legal regimes sanction the predictable murder of innocent black men. Justice will not be served until the law changes.
The Problem Isn’t Just Police—It’s Politics
Sociologist Alex Vitale explains how the U.S. policing crisis begins with politics—the decision to embrace neoliberal austerity and to turn the social problems it creates over to police.
Getting Judges on the Side of Abolition
Success in transforming the criminal justice system will depend on convincing judges to shift how they relate to—and rely upon—police in their criminal courtrooms.
Accept Nothing Less Than Police Abolition
Reform efforts drain public money that could instead have been invested in caring for communities.
Hold Prosecutors Accountable, Too
In order to achieve lasting change, we must remedy systemic problems across the criminal justice system—not just among police.
In the Fight for Policing Reform, LGBT Is a Threadbare Alliance
White gay men and trans women of color often have little in common.
Why Has COVID-19 Not Led to More Humanitarian Releases?
Jalil Muntaqim, a Black Panther imprisoned since 1971, is one of thousands of elderly prisoners the United States has refused to free during the pandemic.
The Struggle to Abolish the Police Is Not New
Prison and police abolition were key to the thinking of many midcentury civil rights activists.
Power over Policing
Reform efforts will fail. Only a power shift to communities can improve public safety.
The Minneapolis Uprising in Context
A proper understanding of urban rebellion depends on our ability to interpret it not as a wave of criminality, but as political violence.
Let the People Go
States should release from prison far more than the very small percentage of low-level, nonviolent offenders they hold.
COVID-19 and the Revival of the “Welfare Queen” Myth
Conservatives have long been sounding the alarm about “undeserving” people receiving public assistance.
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