Heather Hodges’ Post

"A Deliberate Retreat" is now on display at The Historic New Orleans Collection as part of the new exhibition Captive State. The video (edited and co-produced by me) traces the moves of New Orleans' hub of incarceration over time. Louisiana’s present-day distinction as the world’s incarceration capital is rooted in three centuries of history. Throughout this history, people in power have used systems of enslavement and incarceration to hold others captive for punishment, control, and exploitation. Black Louisianians have suffered disproportionately under these systems. Through historical objects, textual interpretation, multimedia, and data visualization, Captive State investigates these throughlines and arrives at an irrefutable truth: that the institutions of slavery and mass incarceration are historically linked. Captive State tells this story in two parts. The first part outlines how Louisiana’s colonial and early American governments created race-based systems of oppression through legislation, policing, imprisonment, and violence that matured as New Orleans became the hub of the domestic slave trade. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime, permitted Louisiana to evolve its methods of racial control and embrace convict leasing and forced prison labor, particularly at a plantation known as Angola. The second part of the exhibition traces how the Louisiana Constitution of 1898, written to maintain white supremacy, enabled an era of mass incarceration in the 20th and 21st centuries. Through nonunanimous jury verdicts and “tough on crime” legislation, incarceration rates skyrocketed, with far-reaching impacts. Among them are the growing number of people serving life sentences without parole. This has resulted in an aging state prison population, making the work of incarcerated volunteers in the hospice program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary essential. Lori Waselchuk photographed this program in Grace Before Dying, displayed in the mezzanine of the Tricentennial Wing. The exhibition concludes with a reflection question, reading recommendations, and information on ways to get involved on issues related to mass incarceration. https://lnkd.in/dWz9WjUH

At Comic Books for Justice (CB4J), we have an idea that can help stop the cycle of mass incarceration in the U.S. using the power of literacy, art, and comic books—one comic book, in particular. It’s called I, COMIC. But we need your help. I, COMIC—in collaboration with the Social Justice Network (SJN), New York Public Library Jail & Prison Services, and Hudson Link for Higher Education—aims to bring reading, art, building mastery, and self-soothing skills to incarcerated citizens, all in one book. The inability to read is directly connected to incarceration. Once incarcerated, the cycle continues: inability to read is directly connected to high rates of recidivism. 70% of all incarcerated adults read below a fourth grade level. Fostering literacy has been proven to have significant, positive effects on stopping the cycle of mass incarceration. Art programs also have remarkable, proven benefits, dramatically reducing the amount of disciplinary infractions and parole violations, and even easing racial tension in correctional facilities. Comics are where literacy and art intersect, and we can bring all of that to incarcerated citizens in New York State. We can effect real change. Will you help? Visit us at http://kck.st/3XfREH7 or email me at luisabcolon@sjnus.org to find out more.

"Few issues have received more sustained attention from U.S. policymakers over the last decade than the country’s unique overuse of incarceration. After decades of growth in imprisonment rates, states have attempted to reduce the number of people behind bars. Their reforms have been driven by a recognition that incarceration is expensive and often counterproductive and by research demonstrating that many people can be safely supervised in the community. Much incarceration is also unnecessary. According to a 2016 Brennan Center for Justice report, nearly 40 percent of the U.S. prison population is incarcerated without any compelling public safety justification. Incarceration degrades people’s humanity, disrupts their social networks, and causes lifelong social and financial disadvantage through restricted access to education, jobs, and housing. It also devastates families and communities, disproportionately affecting society’s most marginalized segments. For a half century, the federal government has harnessed its grant-making power to spur states to incarcerate more people and to impose longer sentences, making the United States the most punitive country in the world. It can now use that same funding power to reverse course." #prisonreform #criminaljustice #massincarceration

One common explanation for mass incarceration is that it is the latest in a series of institutions created to enforce the racial hierarchy in the United States. Despite this perspective’s prominence, it has been rarely tested empirically with extensive quantitative data. In this article, we begin to fill this gap by examining whether individuals charged with felonies experience worst-case outcomes when they are charged in counties that had high rates of slavery in 1860. Using multiple regression models that include state-year fixed effects and account for historical county-level factors and contemporary individual characteristics, we find that a criminal charge in a county with high levels of slavery in 1860 increases the likelihood of pretrial detention, the probability of a sentence of incarceration, and the length of incarceration sentences. These results hold for the full sample and for Black and White individuals separately. The United States incarcerates its people at the highest rate in the world (Walmsley 2018). Perhaps the most notable feature of the criminal justice system in the United States is the disproportionate impact that it has on Black individuals and families (Tonry 1995; Western and Wildeman 2009; National Research Council 2014). For instance, in 2017, the adult imprisonment rate was nearly six times higher for Blacks than it was for Whites (Bronson and Carson 2019). At any given time, nearly 2 percent of Black individuals are imprisoned in state or federal prison, and more than a quarter of Black men experience incarceration by the time they are in their mid-30s (Western and Pettit 2010; Bronson and Carson 2019). One explanation that has been given in both public discourse and the academy is that contemporary levels and disparities in incarceration can be attributed at least in part to the legacy of slavery in the United States (Alexander 2010; DuVernay 2016). In short, this perspective argues that incarceration is part of a lineage of punitive institutions used to enforce the racial hierarchy in the United States (Alexander 2010; DuVernay 2016). From this standpoint, slavery was the primary approach used to enforce the racial hierarchy prior to its abolition (Alexander 2010). Once slavery was abolished, Jim Crow was put in place to enforce the racial order (Alexander 2010). And finally, once Jim Crow was no longer legal, the seemingly color-blind approach of mass incarceration was employed to ensure that the racial hierarchy was maintained (Alexander 2010). https://lnkd.in/dk3xVAq6 https://lnkd.in/dBPXgvtj

Here’s a win in the youth incarceration space in the Northern Territory - 89% of the youth who engaged with our service intensively, have had significant declines in spending time within incarceration, including reduced offending.   After a few years of data collection, we’ve synthesised over 1800 hours of data between January 2022 – June 2024 across 1291 direct and individual youth engagements through our service. As a all First Nations, Not-for-profit service with a team of up to 3 staff, we worked with the equivalent of 8% of all youth of whom went into youth detention/ prison in 2023. This may seem like a small percentage, but if you look into the savings and impact our small privately funded team provides to our community in reductions of incarceration, police resources, property damage, court resources, health resources and housing supports, then the reality is multi-million dollar savings to tax payers. Some key themes of what drive success for our intensive servicing are: -         Impact through connectivity to cultural, social and emotional wellbeing determinants. NOT criminogenic risk -         Family unit referrals, not just individual based. -         Peer group engagement. Strengthening positive social groups -         Family and youth decide what type of service they receive. -         Afterhours engagements, recognizing at risk times for youth -         On site Education support -         Onsite Employment supports and work readiness -         cPTSD engagement principles whilst working with clients. Establishing safety and stability -         A consistent, healthy and knowledgeable workforce of local First Nation’s men -         Advocacy in courts, schools and community It’s clear we need to do better by our children, our women and each other. Government/s must listen to the localised evidence of what is working.  Knock on your local politician’s office or Government bureaucrats office, and tell them 89% is the success rate of a little First Nation’s philanthropically funded org… and then give them this figure, 94%, that’s the recidivism rate for youth who go into Youth Detention in the NT.  It's a broken system. They won’t listen to us, so will they listen to the data? Better yet, what happens when the broader community (voters) take on the data? Look out for a deeper dive into our model and the evaluation, in our upcoming impact report and our annual report in 2025.

Project 2025 vs. Vice President Harris's Proposals: Impact on Justice-Involved Individuals Project 2025 Key Points: Increased Law Enforcement Funding: Emphasizes more funding for police. Tougher Sentencing: Supports reinstating and expanding mandatory minimum sentences. Reversal of Progressive Reforms: Plans to roll back reforms aimed at reducing mass incarceration (The Marshall Project). Impact: Higher Incarceration Rates: Stricter sentences likely increase incarceration, affecting minority communities disproportionately. Reduced Rehabilitation: Focus on punishment over rehabilitation limits reentry support. Community Tensions: Enhanced law enforcement presence may strain relations with underserved communities (SCIL News). Vice President Harris's Proposals Key Points: Ending Mandatory Minimums: Seeks to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses. Police Reform: Advocates for national standards for police conduct and accountability. Rehabilitation and Reentry: Proposes expanding support programs for reintegration. Decriminalizing Marijuana: Supports decriminalization and expunging past convictions (SCIL News). Impact: Lower Incarceration Rates: Reducing mandatory minimums and decriminalizing certain offenses can decrease incarceration rates. Enhanced Reentry Support: Improved programs facilitate reintegration into society. Better Police-Community Relations: Police reforms aim to build trust and reduce misconduct (The Marshall Project) (SCIL News). Conclusion: Project 2025 emphasizes stricter law enforcement and sentencing, potentially leading to higher incarceration and community tensions. In contrast, Harris's proposals focus on reform, reducing incarceration, and supporting reentry, aiming to improve outcomes for justice-involved individuals.

Key Insight: Factors that contribute to a high incarceration rate are multifaceted and deeply rooted in our society. It's crucial to consider these factors when making decisions about sentencing and imprisonment. Let's dive into this complex issue together! ⚖️ When we examine the reasons behind a high incarceration rate, it becomes clear that trauma plays a significant role. Trauma can shape an individual's life, leading them down paths they otherwise might not have taken. ️ The environment where one comes from also influences their likelihood of ending up incarcerated. Growing up in unhealthy households or neighborhoods can increase the chances of involvement with crime. A lack of stability and positive support systems creates additional challenges for individuals seeking better opportunities in life. ️ ⚫ Financial struggles often exacerbate the risk of imprisonment as well. Poverty and not having access to sufficient funds limit educational prospects, healthcare options, and overall quality of life, pushing some towards illegal activities out of desperation for survival or quick gains. Moreover, an inadequate education system contributes significantly to higher rates of incarceration within certain communities. Without proper resources or guidance, young individuals may find themselves trapped in cycles perpetuated by limited knowledge and opportunity gaps - leaving them vulnerable to criminal influence instead. -> Considering all these factors combined paints a clearer picture as to why black males constitute both the highest percentage among incarcerated individuals and simultaneously face disproportionate representation within our prison population compared to their overall share in society. This reality calls for introspection when it comes time for sentencing decisions or contemplating locking someone away permanently—understanding that addressing root causes rather than focusing solely on punitive measures is key if we aim for lasting change within our justice system. #Incarceration #JusticeReform #SocialJustice #CriminalJusticeReform

Associate professor Evan McCuish's latest paper demonstrates "an alternative way of studying the relationship between incarceration and reoffending that addresses selection bias by using a first-differenced fixed effect estimator to examine the relationship between period-to-period within-individual changes in incarceration and future period-to-period within-individual changes in reconvictions." https://lnkd.in/gD8TGNdJ

The massive increase in incarceration in the United States has been well publicized. In the 1970s, there were around 340,000 Americans incarcerated; today, there are approximately 2.3 million.[3] One consequence of this dramatic increase is that more mothers and fathers with dependent children are in prison. Since the war on drugs began in the 1980s, for example, the rate of children with incarcerated mothers has increased 100 percent, and the rate of those with incarcerated fathers has increased more than 75 percent.[4] Current estimates of the number of children with incarcerated parents vary. One report found that the number of children who have experienced parental incarceration at least once in their childhood may range from 1.7 million to 2.7 million.[5] If this estimate is on target, that means 11 percent of all children may be at risk.[6] The rate of parenthood among those incarcerated is roughly the same as the rate in the general population: 50 percent to 75 percent of incarcerated individuals report having a minor child.[7]

https://lnkd.in/gD8TGNdJ Over the last several years, there has been a lot of discussion in Canada, and especially British Columbia, about (1) what to do about perceived increases in serious and violent offending and (2) whether incarceration reduces or increases reoffending. These discussions occurred in policy briefs, news articles, and media interviews. Across all sources, regardless of the perspective or claim, reliance on empirical data was almost always absent. This motivated the writing of the current paper. Before discussing the paper, I want to be clear that it would be a mistake to interpret its findings as support for expanding the use of incarceration. Findings also do not imply that Canada’s correctional system should maintain the status quo. However, we found that within-individual increases in time spent incarcerated were prospectively associated with within-individual decreases in reconvictions. In the paper, we demonstrate an alternative way of studying the relationship between incarceration and reoffending that addresses selection bias by using a first-differenced fixed effect estimator to examine the relationship between period-to-period within-individual changes in incarceration and future period-to-period within-individual changes in reconvictions. We used a sample of 1,719 youth involved in serious and violent offenses whose patterns of incarceration and reoffending were measured at each year of age from age 12 up until age 35. A year-over-year increase in incarceration between time t-3 and time t-2 was associated with a year-over-year decrease in convictions between time t-1 and time t. In plain language, an increase of one month spent incarcerated from two years ago to one year ago was associated with a 0.19 decrease in number of convictions from one year ago to present. We were sure to analyze the data in a multitude of ways (e.g., controlling for exposure time during the follow-up period, different conviction types, different age-stages, birth cohorts). Each time we reached the same conclusion. It is unclear whether reductions in convictions resulted from incarceration having a deterrent effect or a rehabilitative effect. We are not suggesting that incarceration was a positive experience for study participants. The custody environment in British Columbia may simply be an improvement from severe forms of marginalization experienced in the community. This is only one study and reflects a unique sample of all incarcerated persons. Nevertheless, it hopefully provides a roadmap for further research on the relationship between incarceration and reoffending, including how to study the impact of incarceration while being attuned to threats to reliability that are created by selection bias.