A colleague directed me to an article I had missed from 2022 called The Dangerous Few, Taking Seriously Prison Abolition and its Skeptics, by Thomas Ward Frampton.
Thanks for your comment! This reflection is responding to the critique of abolition that says that prison must be preserved for a certain set of people who have done especially violent things. That's not a retributive argument -- it's about deterrence and safety. There are other arguments that would pertain to retribution.
On retribution: Danielle Sered, who founded and leads the organization Common Justice in New York City and wrote the book "Until we Reckon," has reported that most survivors of serious violence have one thing in common: they want to avoid that violence happening to anyone else again. If you accept the evidence that prison tends to increase crime and harm, whereas other interventions decrease it, and crime survivors and their families are most interested in preventing future violence to others, then there's really nothing left in support of prison. Regardless of whether you accept these claims, I encourage you to check out her book. She's a brilliant thinker!
What has been omitted are those that want retribution. I don't think they will change their minds.
Thanks for your comment! This reflection is responding to the critique of abolition that says that prison must be preserved for a certain set of people who have done especially violent things. That's not a retributive argument -- it's about deterrence and safety. There are other arguments that would pertain to retribution.
On retribution: Danielle Sered, who founded and leads the organization Common Justice in New York City and wrote the book "Until we Reckon," has reported that most survivors of serious violence have one thing in common: they want to avoid that violence happening to anyone else again. If you accept the evidence that prison tends to increase crime and harm, whereas other interventions decrease it, and crime survivors and their families are most interested in preventing future violence to others, then there's really nothing left in support of prison. Regardless of whether you accept these claims, I encourage you to check out her book. She's a brilliant thinker!