29 Quotes About Mass-incarceration


  • Author Angela Y. Davis
  • Quote

    The very existence of the prison forecloses the kinds of discussions that we need in order to imagine the possibility of eradicating these behaviors.Just send them to prison. Just keep on sending them to prison. Then of course, in prison they find themselves within a violent institution that reproduces violence.

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  • Author Michelle Alexander
  • Quote

    7.3 million people currently under correctional control, only 1.6 million are in prison. This case system extends far beyond prison walls and governs millions of people who are on probation and parole, primarily for nonviolent offenses. They have been swept into the system, branded criminals or felons, and ushered into a permanent second class status- acquiring records that will follow them for life.

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  • Author Diane Guerrero
  • Quote

    My work on Orange has taught me this: Human beings are not categorically bad because of their mistakes. They can learn from their errors and get back on track. No one should be forever written off because of one part of his or her history.

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  • Author Peter T. Coleman
  • Quote

    Person-situation fit: There is considerable evidence to support the idea that people prefer situations that 'fit' with their dominant personality characteristics. Extroverts tend to like busy environments, whereas introverts prefer less stimulating places. When a person gets stuck in an antithetical environment for a long period of time (like a prison or university), his or her personality will tend to change over time to better fit the situation.

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  • Author Erica R. Meiners
  • Quote

    States do not grapple with decarceration strategies & explore alternatives bc of an ethical recognition of the continuing harms of prisons or an understanding of the intertwined histories of capitalism, white supremacy, & punishment in the US, but rather bc coffers are empty, and prisons & punishment consume ever-growing portions of shrinking revenues.

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