No justice for inmates, in schools or prisons

By Laura Bonham 

Illustration by Kevin "Rashid" Johnson

Institutionalized racism has moved into the forefront of the American consciousness following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri, the ensuing protests, an an innocent verdict by the Grand Jury. Then came numerous reported accounts of similar police encounters resulting in death in communities across the nation. In his article "Why We Won't Wait", Robin D.G. Kelley clearly articulates the reality of communities of color underpinning the racial strife occurring now. Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow further illustrates how institutionalized racism has resulted in mass incarceration. So much for justice and the rule of law in America.

Recall the 2013 California prison strike. The strike lasted two months before an agreement was reached with the prisoners who were demanding an end to long-term solitary confinement, a harsh form of psychological torture. A hearing was held in the state assembly, outrage was registered by elected officials, and the torture policy remained unchanged. To hell with justice and the rule of law.

Evidence shows the US prison system is becoming more and more privatized and with this comes a disincentive to rehabilitate prisoners and maintain or increase recidivism rates. The corporatization of the prison system demands profit, and that requires prisoners in cells and the bilking of taxpayers for services which can be provided more cheaply by the state. The goal is to keep building more prisons to warehouse more prisoners, and to pass more and more laws criminalizing behavior, which target poor and working people and people of color at an alarmingly higher rate than in richer white communities. According to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), "In 2010, black men were incarcerated at a rate of 3,074 per 100,000 residents; Latinos were incarcerated at 1,258 per 100,000, and white men were incarcerated at 459 per 100,000."

Justice demands that people convicted of crimes should undoubtedly be held accountable, but accountability does not require torture, or necessarily even incarceration for that matter. It is in the best interest of crime victims, the community in which the crimes occur, and the criminals themselves to partake in restorative justice practices, which can eliminate the need for incarceration except for the worst and most violent offenders. For the prison industrial complex, there's just no profit in real justice.

PRB goes on to say that, "Prisoners also tend to be less educated: The average state prisoner has a 10th grade education, and about 70 percent have not completed high school."

The relationship existing between education and mass incarceration, known as the school to prison pipeline, is directly connected to corporate America as well. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RTTT) are the direct result of corporate America's endless thirst for profit. The penalties of these policies result in low performing schools, (which are mostly located in communities of color and in poor and rural districts), losing funding and qualified educators, and along with it, the one opportunity our children have to break free of the pipeline. We are basically seeing the warehousing of students until they finally commit a crime, which is often related to the War on Drugs. Where's the justice for these communities? How a child caught in this circumstance should be expected to become a valuable member of civilized society buggers belief. 

The direct cost of incarceration to states exceeds $5.4 billion annually. If we were to establish restorative justice practices and imprison only the worst and violent offenders, we could afford to fund our failing schools and cut the flow of inmates before the first crime is committed.

It has been far easier to privatize prisons than privatizing schools, because we don't regard criminals and convicts as deserving--they are the "bad guys" after all--and they don't have well-educated unions, like the teachers, fighting for their very limited rights. Corporations recognize the power teachers wield and are doing their best to break teacher unions. Unfortunately even at their zenith, teachers do not have the power to overcome the wealth and power of big corporations. There is a disturbing trend whereby we set adrift entire communities of innocent children in poor underfunded school districts, knowing full well that a certain and growing percentage of them will land in jail--and that's okay. Well, it's not okay--not for our children, and not for our prisoners, either.

Quarterly profits are not the reason that we created schools or prisons. Education is paramount in a democratic society and to achieve a prosperous economy. Prisons are a necessary evil, but restorative justice can reduce incarceration rates, recidivism rates and help heal victims and their communities. The Justice Party affirms that we all profit in numerous ways when our children grow up to become productive members of society. We profit through the realization of entrepreneurial spirit and scientific discovery. We profit from minimizing poverty and through better health practices, not to mention the savings realized when we don't need to imprison our youth. We profit when young black and brown men provide for their families rather than wasting in jail.

Laura Bonham is a grassroots organizer, current member and past co-chair of the Justice Party. She is an acting board member of Move to Amend.org for which this article was written. The article has been revised by the author and republished here.