A Journal of Ideas

Prisons

Moving Beyond the Snake Pit

How prisons became the de facto “treatment” center for those with mental illness.

By Nancy Tomes

Mass Incarceration Is a Local Affair

And it is there that we will have to defeat it, no matter who may occupy the Oval Office.

By John Pfaff

Jeff Sessions Just Doesn’t Care

The motivation behind Sessions's minimum sentencing policy is simply punishment for punishment's sake.

By Roy L. Austin, Jr. Myesha K. Braden

A Prison Education

The need for education inside our justice system is real. Thankfully, a prison writing program in South Florida is leading the way.

By Kathie Klarreich

Is the Private Prison Industry Still Too Big to Fail?

The astronomical rise of the private prison industry has coincided with a parallel rise in mass incarceration since the 1980s. To defeat one, we must defeat them both.

By Carl Takei