Prompt Cast
The History and Origins of Mass Incarceration in the United States
TLDR The history of mass incarceration in the United States can be traced back to the Eastern State Penitentiary, which laid the foundation for the current problem. The driving force behind mass incarceration today is the immense power and discretion held by prosecutors, leading to harsher policies and the need for systemic change.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country, and a third of American prisoners are black, leading to a need to understand the history and origins of mass incarceration in order to find solutions.
04:52
Eastern State Penitentiary was initially built with good intentions to create a more humane and reflective prison system, but its design and approach to imprisonment laid the foundation for the mass incarceration problem that would occur more than a century later.
09:26
De Tocqueville's visit to Eastern State Penitentiary in 1831 revealed the harsh reality of the system, with prisoners experiencing isolation and despair, leading him to conclude that prisons do not reform, but rather kill, yet the model was still adopted by the French government and other European countries, leading to the spread of the idea that criminals needed rehabilitation through prison.
15:00
After the Civil War, the 13th Amendment's exception for punishment for a crime allowed white Southerners to create new economic and labor systems that relied on the arrest of large numbers of African American men, leading to the passage of the Black Codes and the devastating impact of incarceration on the Black community.
19:51
By the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws were passed that criminalized Black economic and political progress, leading to a dramatic increase in Black prison populations and the establishment of the convict leasing system, which further solidified the idea that those convicted of crimes could be used as laborers.
25:02
The stereotype of Black criminality emerged as a way to justify the control of Black people and was reinforced through social science and statistical analysis, leading to the oppression and predation of Black communities in both the North and South.
30:40
The driving force behind mass incarceration today is not the war on drugs or an increase in non-drug-related crimes, but rather the immense power and discretion held by prosecutors in the criminal justice system.
35:37
The increase in mass incarceration is not solely driven by drug convictions, mandatory minimums, and private prisons, but rather by the immense power and discretion held by prosecutors, who have become increasingly influential and politically ambitious since the 1940s.
40:12
Voters' perception of crime, often influenced by media and stereotypes, drives them to elect prosecutors who are tough on crime, even if they themselves do not directly experience it, leading to harsher policies and more people being incarcerated.
44:27
Progressive prosecutors across the country are leading efforts to end mass incarceration by refusing to prosecute certain crimes, advocating for reforms, and pushing for early release, but the underlying culture and politics that criminalize African Americans must also be addressed in order to truly end mass incarceration.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
