More than 3,300 people have liked the graphic on Facebook and more than 1,100 people around the world have tweeted about the graphic on Twitter.
by Sadie Gold-Shapiro,
May 5, 2014
In preparation for this year’s Pi Day (3/14), Prison Policy Initiative released the report “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie,” which features a graphic that answers the question “How many people are locked up in the United States?” The response has been overwhelming; to date, more than 3,300 people have liked the graphic on Facebook and more than 1,100 people around the world have tweeted about it on Twitter.
The graphic is the first of its kind to compile data from multiple sources in order to give an accurate count of the current incarcerated population of the United States. As Sara Mayeux, creator of the Prison Law Blog, tweets:
Rebecca McCray, a criminal justice writer and former ACLU staff member tweets:
Continue reading →
Among the findings is that "the evidence of political inequities in redistricting due to the way the U.S. Census Bureau counts prisoners is 'compelling'"
by Leah Sakala,
May 2, 2014
This week the National Research Council of the National Academies released a major report, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. The report was released by the Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration —which includes PPI board member and Temple University Professor Heather Thompson — and offers wealth of information in a comprehensive
summary of what is known today about the sources of the rise of incarceration in the United States; how it has affected people, communities, and society; and the implications of that knowledge for public policies determining future rates of incarceration. (p. 18)
We’re particularly excited to see that the report’s section on “Wider Consequences for U.S. Society” repeated the National Research Council’s previous conclusion that prison gerrymandering is a concern: “The evidence of political inequities in redistricting due to the way the U.S. Census Bureau counts prisoners is ‘compelling'” (p. 310).
Interested in joining the Prison Policy Initiative team? Now's your chance, because we're hiring!
by Peter Wagner,
May 1, 2014
Are you interested in joining our dedicated team to produce cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization? Do you want to spark creative advocacy campaigns to create a more just society?
If so, our new employment opportunity Policy & Communications Associate might be for you. Please spread the word, and if you think the position is for you, please apply.
Leah Sakala will be attending graduate school at Brandeis, and we are hiring a Policy and Communications Associate.
by Peter Wagner,
April 29, 2014
I am pleased to announce that a long-time member of the PPI team, Policy Analyst Leah Sakala, will be this fall attending the Masters of Public Policy Program at Brandeis University. Leah has worked full time with PPI for three years, and prior to that, another three years part-time while she was an undergraduate at Smith College.
PPI has grown by leaps and bounds since Leah first joined us in 2008. She’s helped us develop new ways to explain our work, new ways to share our findings and helped us tackle new issues. Much of Leah’s work has been transformative behind the scenes, but she’s most well known for some of her reports. She is the author of Return to Sender: Postcard-only Mail Policies in Jail, which the National Institute of Corrections called “required reading for policy makers and anyone working with individuals in jail custody.” She also co-authored Reaching too far, coming up short: How large sentencing enhancement zones miss the mark, Please Deposit All of Your Money: Kickbacks, Rates, and Hidden Fees in the Jail Phone Industry, and Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie.
She’ll remain full-time with us through June 20th, and after taking some much deserved time off and starting her new graduate school program, she’ll be returning this fall to us one day a week as a Senior Policy Analyst.
And yes, since Leah will no longer be working full time at the Prison Policy Initiative, there is a new employment opportunity opening up. We’ve posted an opening for a Policy & Communications Associate. Please spread the word, and if you think the position is for you, please apply.
In the mean time, please congratulate Leah on her next steps at Brandeis!
Bill H.1434 proposes to build a whole new "Women's Pretrial Facility." More jail cells should never be the first response to overcrowding problems.
by Leah Sakala,
April 25, 2014
Yesterday we submitted testimony in opposition of Massachusetts bill H.1434, which would build a new jail in Middlesex County specifically for women who are awaiting trial and thus haven’t been convicted.
It’s true that we’re facing some pretty serious overcrowding problems here in Massachusetts, and that continuing to cram more women into MCI Framingham is by no means a solution. But throwing taxpayer money into building new jail cells for women who are just waiting for their trial dates isn’t a smart or sustainable solution either. As we explained to the Joint Committee on The Judiciary:
Many people who are in pretrial detention are incarcerated only because they lack sufficient funds to pay their own bail fees, which are sometimes as little as $500. It would irresponsible and misguided for the Legislature to invest millions of Massachusetts taxpayers’ dollars in constructing a facility that is designed to confine women who simply cannot afford to buy their freedom while they await trial.
We know that reforming our bail and sentencing policies, relying on already-existing methods of reducing the number of people in jail, and investing in community services would all be a far more healthy, humane, and efficient ways to solve the overcrowding problem.
If you are a Massachusetts resident and want to weigh in on jail expansion in our state, you can contact your legislator, too.
"I am treated as a fellow colleague, and my experience at PPI has helped me to gain an in-depth understanding of the latest issues affecting the U.S. criminal justice system."
by Yoo Eun Kim,
April 24, 2014
I am currently a sophomore at Smith College, pursuing a major in economics and a minor in religion, and I’ve been a work-study Research Associate at PPI since December 2013. Throughout my academic career, public service has allowed me to understand and combat social ills. By working in the White House and Key Club International, I was able to broaden my perspective regarding social advocacy. Interacting with American citizens and service leaders and hearing their concerns about social and economic disparities motivated me to improve the wellbeing of underserved populations. So when my friend talked about Prison Policy Initiative, I became interested in prison gerrymandering and wanted to help the members of socially marginalized groups affected by mass incarceration. I applied to be one of the Prison Policy Initiative’s work-study Research Associates; few weeks after my submission, I received an invitation to work at the organization’s Easthampton office.
As a Research Associate, I have handled multiple projects. One of my first assignments was using Google Earth and Google Maps to crosscheck the data in the Prison Policy Initiative’s Locator database with the information provided by the United States Census. Following fellow intern Catie‘s departure, I have led the state legislator outreach project in order to identify state legislators who have sponsored bills that aligned with PPI’s mission. Other projects have included helping with PPI outreach mailings, conducting research on district school boards, assisting with informational video filming, and of course, recording my experience in PPI!
I highly admire PPI because the organization provides a lot of opportunities for its work-study students and holds high expectations. When I come to work, there is something productive to do. I don’t make coffee or push pencils. I am treated as a fellow colleague, and my experience at PPI has helped me to gain an in-depth understanding of the latest issues affecting the U.S. criminal justice system, such as sentencing enhancement zones. Another memorable experience was learning about the ways that prisons and jails restrict incarcerated people’s communication with their loved ones. Prisons and jails overcharge phone calls to receive higher commission rates, and jails also limit incarcerated people’s access to letters – actions that hinder an incarcerated person’s wellbeing during and even after his or her release.
Learning about the lack of socioeconomic mobility and opportunities for oppressed groups made me realize the significant effects of mass incarceration on both individual and national welfare. At PPI, Peter, Leah, and Aleks encourage interns to read articles, see presentations, and borrow books that focus on mass incarceration. After analyzing graphs and reading books written by prisoners, I became even more aware of how many people, especially those of color, are often marginalized by our society.
My work here helps strengthen my analytical and communication skills to inform the public about current U.S. criminal justice policy. Working in PPI will not only equip me with the resources and knowledge to become a steward of change, but also understand the current strategies for creating lasting and sustainable improvement in the American criminal justice system.
Heather's nominated article reveals the many ways that our nation's unprecedented use of incarceration has distorted our political landscape.
by Leah Sakala,
April 16, 2014
We are thrilled to announce that historian and Prison Policy Initiative board member Heather Thompson has been chosen by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency as a 2014 Media for a Just Society Award Finalist for her fantastic piece in The Atlantic, “How Prisons Change the Balance of Power in America.”
Heather’s piece reveals the many ways that our nation’s unprecedented use of incarceration has distorted our political landscape. As she explained,
…locking up unprecedented numbers of citizens over the last forty years has itself made the prison system highly resistant to reform through the democratic process. To an extent that few Americans have yet appreciated, record rates of incarceration have, in fact, undermined our American democracy, both by impacting who gets to vote and how votes are counted.
Of course, one of the ways mass incarceration distorts democracy is via prison gerrymandering:
Today, just as it did more than a hundred years earlier, the way the Census calculates resident population also plays a subtle but significant role. As ex-Confederates knew well, prisoners would be counted as residents of a given county, even if they could not themselves vote: High numbers of prisoners could easily translate to greater political power for those who put them behind bars.
Congratulations, Heather!
Think Progress covers the push for the APA to recognize that pharmacists have a moral imperative to refuse to participate in the state-sanctioned administration of death.
by Leah Sakala,
April 14, 2014
Our friend and colleague Kelsey Kauffman is urging the American Pharmacist Association to join virtually all other leading medical associations in declaring that the Hippocratic Oath bars medical professionals from participating in executions. As Tara Culp-Ressler reported in Think Progress:
States are turning to so-called “compounding pharmacies” — facilities that are outside of the regulatory scope of the Food and Drug Administration — to get the ingredients they need for untested cocktails like the one that killed McGuire. Compounding pharmacies, which repackage drugs to keep down the cost of filling prescriptions, are already controversial from a public health perspective. For instance, in 2012, a compounding pharmacy was identified as the source of a deadly meningitis outbreak that killed 36 people. Since then, Congress has worked to crack down on these unregulated facilities, although some public health advocates don’t believe the recent legislative push goes far enough.
Some compounding pharmacies have agreed to manufacture the drugs that states need to kill people, but state officials won’t always reveal the details. States like Oklahoma and Missouri claim that publicizing where they’re getting their lethal drugs will result in too much public pressure on the compounding pharmacies to stop producing them. So the methods they’re using for executions are increasingly kept secret, and it’s not entirely clear whether they’re violating the Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Kauffman hopes that, if the American Pharmacist Association adopts a new policy position that forbids pharmacists from assisting in executions, this will all become moot because the employees at compounding facilities won’t be able to continue supplying these drugs. And, after attending APhA’s annual meeting at the end of last month, Kauffman believes senior officials in the pharmaceutical industry are receptive.
“I look at the American Pharmacist Association as a partner in this process, and when it comes to almost all of the pharmacists I spoke to, I see them as future allies,” she said, pointing out that medical professionals don’t have to be personally opposed to the death penalty to agree that it’s against their code of ethics to participate in them.
Kelsey is working with corporate accountability organization SumOfUs on a petition collecting 50,000 signatures to urge the American Pharmacists Association to ban its members “from participating in executions in any way.” Please sign if you haven’t already!
John Green responds to Hank's video about Mass Incarceration with his own insightful comments on racial disparities and why the U.S. has the world's highest incarceration rate.
by Peter Wagner,
April 11, 2014
The other half of the Vlog Brothers, John Green, responds to his brother Hank’s amazing animated video about Mass Incarceration in the U.S. with his own insightful comments on racial disparities in prison and the one of the key reasons why the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world: because sentences in this country are so much longer than for the same offense in other countries.
The best part is from 0:47 to 1:35:
I was also thrilled to see that one of John’s sources was this excellent article in The Economist America’s prison population: Who, what, where and why which was based on our briefing Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie.
by Peter Wagner,
April 5, 2014
We’re thrilled to have helped Hank Green of Vlog Brothers, Kurzgesagt, and Visual.ly produce this amazing under-4-minute video about Mass Incarceration in the United States.
