The Idea of Prison Abolition - (Carl G. Hempel Lecture) by Tommie Shelby

About the Book

"An incisive and sympathetic examination of the case for ending the practice of imprisonment. Despite its omnipresence and long history, imprisonment is a deeply troubling practice. In the United States and elsewhere, prison conditions are inhumane, prisoners are treated without dignity, and sentences are extremely harsh. Mass incarceration and its devastating impact on black communities have been widely condemned as neoslavery or "the new Jim Crow." Can the practice of imprisonment be reformed, or does justice require it to be ended altogether? In The Idea of Prison Abolition, Tommie Shelby examines the abolitionist case against prisons and its formidable challenge to would-be prison reformers. Philosophers have long theorized punishment and its justifications, but they haven't paid enough attention to incarceration or its related problems in societies structured by racial and economic injustice. Taking up this urgent topic, Shelby argues that prisons, once reformed and under the right circumstances, can be legitimate and effective tools of crime control. Yet he draws on insights from black radicals and leading prison abolitionists, especially Angela Davis, to argue that we should dramatically decrease imprisonment and think beyond bars when responding to the problem of crime. While a world without prisons might be utopian, The Idea of Prison Abolition makes the case that we can make meaningful progress toward this ideal by abolishing the structural injustices that too often lead to crime and its harmful consequences."

Book Synopsis

An incisive and sympathetic examination of the case for ending the practice of imprisonment

Despite its omnipresence and long history, imprisonment is a deeply troubling practice. In the United States and elsewhere, prison conditions are inhumane, prisoners are treated without dignity, and sentences are extremely harsh. Mass incarceration and its devastating impact on black communities have been widely condemned as neoslavery or "the new Jim Crow." Can the practice of imprisonment be reformed, or does justice require it to be ended altogether? In The Idea of Prison Abolition, Tommie Shelby examines the abolitionist case against prisons and its formidable challenge to would-be prison reformers.

Philosophers have long theorized punishment and its justifications, but they haven't paid enough attention to incarceration or its related problems in societies structured by racial and economic injustice. Taking up this urgent topic, Shelby argues that prisons, once reformed and under the right circumstances, can be legitimate and effective tools of crime control. Yet he draws on insights from black radicals and leading prison abolitionists, especially Angela Davis, to argue that we should dramatically decrease imprisonment and think beyond bars when responding to the problem of crime.

While a world without prisons might be utopian, The Idea of Prison Abolition makes the case that we can make meaningful progress toward this ideal by abolishing the structural injustices that too often lead to crime and its harmful consequences.

Review Quotes

"Thorough and enlightening."---Henrietta Cullinan, Peace News

"A valuable contribution to analytic philosophy of criminal law and punishment because it directly engages with abolitionist views from outside the academy."---Amelia M. Wirts, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"A strong book on an important topic."---Eleanor Healy-Birt, Liberator

"The Idea of Prison Abolition is the work of a well-read, clear-headed, and sober-minded thinker, and it seldom gives good cause to disagree with its careful arguments. It will be indispensable for anyone working on its subject."---Benjamin Ewing, Mind

"Necessary reading."---Mike Nellis, Punishment & Society

"

The time is right for a book like Tommie Shelby's The Idea of Prison Abolition--one that closely and carefully examines, in detail and with rigor, some of the best arguments on behalf of abolishing prisons, and does so with philosophical sophistication, crystal-clear prose, and admirable breadth.

"---Jennifer Lackey, Journal of Philosophy

"A good intellectual case against abolitionism."---Andy West, The Philosopher

"Winner of the Easton Award, Foundations of Political Thought section of the American Political Science Association"

"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year"

About the Author

Tommie Shelby is the Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author of Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform and We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity.