Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration

Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration Presented by: Mr. Miller Date: 16 Mar 2022 A Catalog of Disaster - "You're having a terrible time - By the time you are 30, you've been through a certain kind of mill ... - The millions of details, 24 hours of everyday, which spell out to you that you are a worthless human being.” Sinner Man - The river, it was boiling - The sea, it was bleeding The rock said, • - "I am not going to hide you guy" The Lord said, "Go to the devil" • "He was waiting" Race and Mass Incarceration - Black Americans • 2 x's more likely to be arrested • 5 x's higher incarceration • Serve lengthier sentences • More likely to serve mandatory minimums • CJ contact disproportionate to reported crimes A Focus on Prisons and the Police - A curious, yet equally historic phenomenon remains hidden in plain sight • - The rise of a supervised society Mass supervision has transformed the lifeworld's of the poor • We must rethink the scope of the problem A Supervised Society Population under carceral control (in millions) - Third Parties, Govt Officials, Families and Friends • - Police, Courts, Guards, Staff • - Jails, DCs and Police Station Lockups: 10 POs and CORS • - Criminal Records: 80 Probation and Parole: <10 Guards and Correctional Staff • Prisons: <10 The Prison: Prison vs. the Supervised Society - Prison and Jail Population • - 3% All others affected by Carceral Expansion • 97% We Must Rethink the “Revolving Door" - 2014 Bureau of Justice Statistics report tracking 400,000 prisoners released in 30 states between 2005 and 2010 • 77% recidivism after five years  50% re-arrested in one year  33% within six months • 4.9 average convictions • Almost half the sample had been arrested 10 or more times. To Understand it, You've Got to Get Close - A radical doubt and a persistent proximity - My question • - What's it like to live in a supervised society? My work: • A political ethnography of Mass Incarceration's Afterlife  Chicago (2008-2014)  Detroit (Since 2014)  New York City (Since 2016 All Politics Are Local - 1,463 unique laws, administrative sanctions and regulations including: • 583 limit acquisition of business licenses and property • 556 that target employment • 186 limit political and civic participation • 54 constrain family and domestic rights • 21 limit access to housing What Does this Mean? - In Most States • You cannot hold public office • You cannot groom dogs or become a barber • You may not adopt or foster a child • You may have to give up your parental rights • You may not live in public housing • Your job application may be denied • You may be fired or evicted on a whim • Your relationships are fundamentally different What Does this Look Like? - The Curious Life of Jimmy Caldwell The Power of Third Parties - Employers - Landlords - Criminal Justice actors and agencies - Licensing bodies and government officials - Families - Social Service Providers - Almost anyone else they come in contact with Helping is Risky Interpretation of liability law - Families face eviction • "Good landlords" do not allow people with records on their premises - Fatigue of parents, partners and children - Employers, landlords, and social service agencies are made responsible for their actions • Law suits • Reputation loss from bad press • NIMBY Even Higher Stakes for People with Criminal Records - Legal exclusion makes them at once dependent on others and undesirable candidates for help - Largely unaccounted for vulnerability • Arguments with a partner = a bout with street homelessness • A problem with a co-worker = loss of a scarce work opportunity • A missed appointment or "pissing hot" = a trip back to prison • A misunderstanding with a case manager = loss of a job, food, transportation, drug treatment, counseling or family reunification An Economy of Favors The new "catalog of disaster" - Fundamentally changes the nature of everyday interactions • Third parties have incredible leverage  Empowered by legal exclusion  Relationships are now asymmetrical • Exchanges of resources considered a "favor" • The "ex-offender" must put others at ease to meet basic human needs • This new social arrangement has life or death consequences A return to Jimmy Caldwell - Three important women • Ruth, his mother (cannot support him) • Tabitha, his sister (will not support him) • Cynthia, his partner (relationship as debt) Economy of Favors - Alters the nature of social life in the American city - Creates a power imbalance - Shapes even the most intimate of social relations - The law is in-between us