Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav
“Prisons Make Us Safer” by Victoria Law
Add to bookshelf
Add to Bookshelf

Look Inside

“Prisons Make Us Safer”

And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration

And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration

By Victoria Law

By Victoria Law

By Victoria Law

By Victoria Law

Best Seller

Part of Myths Made in America

Part of Myths Made in America

Paperback $17.00

Apr 06, 2021 | ISBN 9780807029527

Ebook $12.99

Apr 06, 2021 | ISBN 9780807029626

All Formats
+
    “Prisons Make Us Safer” by Victoria Law
    Paperback $17.00
    Apr 06, 2021 | ISBN 9780807029527

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (1) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $17.00

      Apr 06, 2021 | ISBN 9780807029527

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Apr 06, 2021 | ISBN 9780807029626

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    *This title is not eligible for purchase to earn points nor for redemption with your code in the Reader Rewards program

    Buy the Ebook:

    About “Prisons Make Us Safer”

    An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.

    The United States incarcerates more of its residents than any other nation. Though home to 5% of the global population, the United States has nearly 25% of the world’s prisoners—a total of over 2 million people. This number continues to steadily rise. Over the past 40 years, the number of people behind bars in the United States has increased by 500%.

    Journalist Victoria Law explains how racism and social control were the catalysts for mass incarceration and have continued to be its driving force: from the post-Civil War laws that states passed to imprison former slaves, to the laws passed under the “War Against Drugs” campaign that disproportionately imprison Black people. She breaks down these complicated issues into four main parts:

       1. The rise and cause of mass incarceration
       2. Myths about prison
       3. Misconceptions about incarcerated people
       4. How to end mass incarceration

    Through carefully conducted research and interviews with incarcerated people, Law identifies the 21 key myths that propel and maintain mass incarceration, including:

       • The system is broken and we simply need some reforms to fix it
       • Incarceration is necessary to keep our society safe
       • Prison is an effective way to get people into drug treatment
       • Private prison corporations drive mass incarceration

    “Prisons Make Us Safer” is a necessary guide for all who are interested in learning about the cause and rise of mass incarceration and how we can dismantle it.

    About “Prisons Make Us Safer”

    An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.

    The United States incarcerates more of its residents than any other nation. Though home to 5% of the global population, the United States has nearly 25% of the world’s prisoners—a total of over 2 million people. This number continues to steadily rise. Over the past 40 years, the number of people behind bars in the United States has increased by 500%.

    Journalist Victoria Law explains how racism and social control were the catalysts for mass incarceration and have continued to be its driving force: from the post-Civil War laws that states passed to imprison former slaves, to the laws passed under the “War Against Drugs” campaign that disproportionately imprison Black people. She breaks down these complicated issues into four main parts:

       1. The rise and cause of mass incarceration
       2. Myths about prison
       3. Misconceptions about incarcerated people
       4. How to end mass incarceration

    Through carefully conducted research and interviews with incarcerated people, Law identifies the 21 key myths that propel and maintain mass incarceration, including:

       • The system is broken and we simply need some reforms to fix it
       • Incarceration is necessary to keep our society safe
       • Prison is an effective way to get people into drug treatment
       • Private prison corporations drive mass incarceration

    “Prisons Make Us Safer” is a necessary guide for all who are interested in learning about the cause and rise of mass incarceration and how we can dismantle it.

    Also in Myths Made in America

    Is Science Enough?
    "They Take Our Jobs!"
    "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!"
    "You're in the Wrong Bathroom!"
    "All the Real Indians Died Off"

    Also in Myths Made in America

    Is Science Enough?
    "They Take Our Jobs!"
    "You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!"
    "You're in the Wrong Bathroom!"
    "All the Real Indians Died Off"

    Product Details

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Beacon Press
    Apr 06, 2021 | 240 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | ISBN 9780807029527

    Category: Domestic Politics

    Ebook | $12.99
    Published by Beacon Press
    Apr 06, 2021 | 240 Pages | ISBN 9780807029626

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Buy other books like “Prisons Make Us Safer”

    ‹ ›
    A Murder Over a Girl
    A Murder Over a Girl
    Ken Corbett
    Gideon's Promise
    Gideon’s Promise
    Jonathan Rapping
    How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?
    How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?
    Moustafa Bayoumi
    Carceral Capitalism
    Carceral Capitalism
    Jackie Wang
    Inside This Place, Not of It
    Inside This Place, Not of It
    Remembering Satan
    Remembering Satan
    Lawrence Wright
    The Lucifer Effect
    The Lucifer Effect
    Philip Zimbardo
    Loving
    Loving
    Sheryll Cashin
    Policing the Planet
    Policing the Planet
    Inside the Criminal Mind (Revised and Updated Edition)
    Inside the Criminal Mind (Revised and Updated Edition)
    Stanton Samenow
    Guilty by Reason of Insanity
    Guilty by Reason of Insanity
    Dorothy Otnow Lewis, Ph.D.
    Why Didn't We Riot?
    Why Didn’t We Riot?
    Issac J. Bailey
    The Three Christs of Ypsilanti
    The Three Christs of Ypsilanti
    Milton Rokeach
    The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer
    The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer
    Carol M. Langford and Richard A. Zitrin
    Savage Inequalities
    Savage Inequalities
    Jonathan Kozol
    The Storm Is Upon Us
    The Storm Is Upon Us
    Mike Rothschild
    Is There No Place on Earth for Me?
    Is There No Place on Earth for Me?
    Susan Sheehan
    Beyond Bars
    Beyond Bars
    Stephen C. Richards Ph.D.
    Deer Hunting with Jesus
    Deer Hunting with Jesus
    Joe Bageant
    Drug Use for Grown-Ups
    Drug Use for Grown-Ups
    Dr. Carl L. Hart
    Oppression and the Body
    Oppression and the Body
    The Shame of the Nation
    The Shame of the Nation
    Jonathan Kozol
    The Price of Silence
    The Price of Silence
    Liza Long
    No Pity
    No Pity
    Joseph P. Shapiro
    The Story of Psychology
    The Story of Psychology
    Morton Hunt
    The Color Complex (Revised)
    The Color Complex (Revised)
    Ronald Hall, Kathy Russell and Midge Wilson, Ph.D.
    Are We Born Racist?
    Are We Born Racist?
    Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Jason Marsh and Jeremy A. Smith
    Winning the Race
    Winning the Race
    John McWhorter
    The Agenda
    The Agenda
    Ian Millhiser
    Beyond Bars
    Beyond Bars
    Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D. and Stephen C. Richards Ph.D.
    Defund Fear
    Defund Fear
    Zach Norris
    Captives
    Captives
    Jarrod Shanahan

    Praise

    “Convincing, creatively effective arguments for the dismantling of mass incarceration.”
    —Kirkus Reviews

    “Law has offered us a very important tool. Her careful and accessible analysis, her feminist approach, and her methodical demystification of widely held views about incarceration enable precisely the kind of understanding we need at this moment.”
    —Angela Y. Davis, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of California, Santa Cruz

    “Law brilliantly uses facts, figures, and moving and enraging stories from incarcerated people to bring to light important and misunderstood facets of our singularly massive criminal legal system. . . . An essential book that demands attention and action.”
    —Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison

    “In this timely, powerfully persuasive, and relevant book, Law looks at some of the most damaging myths and misconceptions about mass incarceration. This is a must-read for those interested in the truth about mass incarceration and solutions to address it.”
    —Talitha LeFlouria, author of Chained in Silence

    “Think you haven’t fallen prey to the myths around mass incarceration? Think again. . . . This is the book we need, as movements sweep across the US challenging injustices in policing and incarceration, to show us our history, analyze our current policies, and chart the way forward.”
    —Jeanne Theoharis, author of A More Beautiful and Terrible History

    Table Of Contents

    A Note on Language
    Introduction

    PART 1: WHAT DRIVES THE MASS INCARCERATION BOOM? MYTHS ABOUT THE CAUSE OF MASS INCARCERATION

    CHAPTER 1
    The system of mass incarceration is flawed and not working as designed (or, A brief history).

    CHAPTER 2
    We need prisons to make us safer.

    CHAPTER 3
    Prisons are places of rehabilitation.

    CHAPTER 4
    Private prison corporations drive mass incarceration.

    CHAPTER 5
    Private corporations and profit from prison labor drive mass incarceration.

    CHAPTER 6
    Race has nothing to do with mass incarceration (or, If people of color are disproportionately incarcerated, it’s because they commit more crimes).

    CHAPTER 7
    “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” People need to take personal responsibility for their actions.

    PART 2: THE MYTHS OF PRISONS AS SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SAFETY NETS

    CHAPTER 8
    Jails and prisons provide people with needed mental health care.

    CHAPTER 9
    People in prison “jump the line” for life-saving medical care.

    CHAPTER 10
    Incarceration is an effective way to get people into drug treatment.

    PART 3: THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WALLS

    CHAPTER 11
    Mass incarceration only affects Black cisgender men.

    CHAPTER 12
    Bringing up a history of abuse and violence is simply an “abuse excuse.”

    CHAPTER 13
    Mass incarceration and immigrant detention are unrelated issues that can be addressed separately.

    PART 4: HOW DO WE END MASS INCARCERATION?

    CHAPTER 14
    Most people are in prison for nonviolent drug offenses. Let them out and we’ll end mass incarceration.

    CHAPTER 15
    People in prison don’t resist or organize against abusive conditions.

    CHAPTER 16
    Prisons keep us safe from murderers and rapists.

    CHAPTER 17
    Incarceration and sex offender registries are necessary to keep our children safe.

    CHAPTER 18
    The system is broken and we simply need some reforms to fix it.

    CHAPTER 19
    We should make our prisons more like those in Norway.

    CHAPTER 20
    Prisons are the only logical and evident way to address violent crime and meet the needs of victims.

    CHAPTER 21
    Even if societal and political conditions are to blame, there’s nothing we can do about it.

    For Further Reading
    Acknowledgments
    Notes
    Index

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates from Victoria Law
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook