In a special episode of Rattling the Bars, the Prison Policy Institute convenes activists fighting jail expansion from coast to coast to discuss strategies and methods to fight back.
The resources below were curated and shared by the Prison Policy Initiative and webinar panelists from Building Justice in Berks, Families for Justice as Healing, and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. We hope they will be useful in your follow-up work fighting jail expansion projects in your communities.
Arguments against jail expansion (Prison Policy Initiative)
A how-to guide: Critically reviewing a jail assessment calling for a bigger jail (Prison Policy Initiative)
Does our county really need a bigger jail? A guide for avoiding unnecessary jail expansion (Prison Policy Initiative)
Smoke and Mirrors: A cautionary tale for counties considering a big, costly new jail (Prison Policy Initiative)
A guide to public records requests for advocates seeking reform of the criminal legal system (Prison Policy Initiative)
Winnable criminal justice reforms in 2023 (excerpt): Establish moratoriums on jail and prison construction (Prison Policy Initiative)
Incarceration Trends: a data tool from the Vera Institute of Justice
Empty MCI-Framingham, close it forever; and never build another prison in Massachusetts, by Andrea James (Boston Globe)
Inside the battle over a new women’s prison for Massachusetts, by Dan Atkinson (Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism)
Follow up: Mass is still ignoring public input and trying to build a new women’s prison, by Dan Atkinson (DigBoston)
Massachusetts organizers call for no new women’s prisons and an end to their construction, by Tamar Sarai (Prism)
Stop Building Prisons (podcast) with Sashi James, Maggie Luna, and Avalon Betts-Gaston (Failed Architecture) (featuring members of the National Council)
See also: The Free Her Institute and No New Women’s Prison webpages from Families for Justice as Healing and the National Council
A Co-Governance Success Story (Berks County)
Building Justice in Berks says jail decision premature without additional analysis
Criminal justice group calls for limiting pretrial detention on eve of final film in series (Berks County)
CGL response to community questions about jail assessment (Berks County)
Berks needs new jail with nearly 1K beds, assessment says (This article includes Building Justice in Berks’ critique of the assessment), by David Kostival and Jaccii Farris (Berks Regional News)
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** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
