Abolition requires a continuum of alternatives, not prisonlike substitutes
Evidence
An abolitionist approach that seeks to answer questions such as these would require us to imagine a constellation of alternative strategies and institutions, with the ultimate aim of removing the prison from the social and ideological landscapes of our society. In other words, we would not be looking for prisonlike substitutes for the prison, such as house arrest safeguarded by electronic surveillance bracelets. Rather, positing decarceration as our overarching strategy, we would try to envision a continuum of alternatives to imprisonment—demilitarization of schools, revitalisation of education at all levels, a health system that provides free physical and mental care to all, and a justice system based on reparation and reconciliation rather than retribution and vengeance. — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 284
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines decarceration’s concrete policy continuum — schools, health care, reparative justice.
- XREF: The constellation-of-alternatives framing echoes civil rights and education-reform literature. — connects to: Abolitionist analysis exposes the prison-industrial-AI complex as one system — , The Braided Reading EPUB: 5-Year…, 2601; Slavery’s abolition parallels the conceivable abolition of prisons; Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition
#expands(0.85) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286 - Slavery’s abolition parallels the conceivable abolition of prisons
#expands(0.80) - Decriminalization of drugs and sex work advances abolitionist decarceration
#exemplifies(0.65) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 291 - Free voluntary treatment outside criminal justice is the abolitionist standard
#exemplifies(0.60) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 290