"Prisons Make Us Safer"

"Prisons Make Us Safer"

Adult nonfiction
"The United States incarcerates significantly more of its
residents than any other nation. Though it has only 5 percent of the
world's population, with 2.2 million people in jails and prisons, it
has nearly 25 percent of the world's prisoners..."
If locking people up kept everyone else safer we'd be the safest
country in the world. You know that isn't so. So why do we keep on
perpetuating this sorry state of affairs?
A lot of people are finally asking that question. Some, after
calculating the costs to individuals, families, communities, and
society as a whole, are advocating abolishing prisons and jails. When
they try to explain this concept they're hit with all kinds of
objections, even from people who accept part of the message:
*But we need prisons to keep us safe.
*But in prison people get rehabilitation, drug treatment, and mental
health care.
*Race got nothing to do with it.
*Maybe the system is a little bit messed up. But we just need to
tweak it.
In "Prisons Make Us Safer": And 20 Other Myths About Mass
Incarceration Victoria Law shreds each and every objection. She
combines thorough research with an engaging voice to create a highly
accessible narrative that combines scholarship and personal stories.
If you're truly concerned about mass incarceration and its
consequences consider this fine book to be a must read.
On a purrrsonal note, the rest of my work week went just fine. We had
not one, but two accepted student days. So at Wells on Thursday and
Friday as I did tables I got to play hostess--making sure all our
guests had a fine dining experience and talking up UMaine and Wells.
The guests are so appreciative of this attention! And it's so
exciting when students enthusiastically announce they've chosen UMaine.
We're only one week of classes and finals week away from the end of
the semester. It seems to have flown past. And I got the good news
I've been waiting to hear for months. Clean Sweep is on for the first
time since 2019. It's the yard sale made up of all the items students
leave behind in the dorms to raise funds for Black Bear Exchange. We
get so much stuff we fill the ice hockey arena with merch. (Jules)
I hope she gets some time off before she starts her internship. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our accepted students and their very
proud parents with wishes for good luck in navigating this major
transition.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway






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