Mass incarceration is a term used to refer to the rate in which America imprisons its people. The United States of America incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world. America, on average, invests more financially into prisons than it does the education system in high minority, economically disadvantaged communities. The harm created is not a partisan issue. During President Clinton’s tenure, Washington slashed funding for public housing by $27 billion (a reduction of 61 percent) and boosted corrections by $19 billion (an increase of 171 percent), ‘effectively making the construction of prisons the nation’s main housing program for the urban poor’ (Bohlinger, cited below). If money represents the priorities of a society, it is evident by federal spending that this country’s priorities are not in improving the lives of its people in need but hiding them away in human cages.

According to the BBC, “half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia. Prison rates in the US are the world's highest, at 724 people per 100,000. In Russia the rate is 581 (BBC). These increasingly high numbers are devastating. The more these numbers rise, the more it seems America boasts for being the world’s leader of incarceration.

Who is most affected?

It is well known that the criminal legal system disproportionately impacts communities of color. The Prison Policy Initiative’s analysis of the 2020 Census revealed that most of the people in prison are poor.

These are the people who pay the price if they are represented by an attorney who is not competent, not trained, or not well-resourced. These are the people who suffer the consequences of an indigent defense system that involves high caseloads, no oversight, and undue influence from judges and officials, driving mass incarceration.

“As soon as the civil rights movement saw some wins in the 1960s, an intentional mass incarceration policy began. The resulting daily dehumanization we see in courtrooms, jails, prisons, and by police departments rips apart the lives of anyone who might be labeled as ‘less than’ by systems actors: people who are struggling with poverty, mental health issues, or racial discrimination. Justice is about making people whole again, and the system of mass incarceration does exactly the opposite by not just failing to give people what they need, but actually forcing those most in need to suffer historically egregious human rights abuses every single day countless times in every city in our country. We can do better.”

- Drew Willey, CEO of Restoring Justice

While jails and prisons are supposedly required to provide basic healthcare for their inmates, the quality of this care is abysmal. Those subjected to human caging in jails and prisons will face psychological harm. Those who might have entered prison with mental health issues do not get the necessary treatment to handle their situation which leads to an almost certain deterioration of their mental health. Oftentimes, the greatest aid a person has is connection to other people. American prison and jail cages by nature are designed to cut off their inmates from society and often from other prisoners within the same institution. This level of isolation creates a higher risk of depression and anxiety among inmates. Our system of mass incarceration creates a revolving door of exacerbating human needs, and then judging people for not relieving their human needs on their own and in the face of such insurmountable obstacles that the realities of incarceration creates.   

Mass incarceration also rips apart families, communities and everything in between. This is why Restoring Justice exists to assist marginalized communities with holistic legal support, bail bonds, social services and trauma care. We believe holistic, loving, and client-centered representation by the local community is the only solution to mass incarceration.

We fight for people’s rights to prevent unnecessary and wrongful incarceration while changing fear-based perceptions in our system to love-based hope. We provide individualized care to lift people out of our system, while simultaneously reforming our system to one of restorative justice, based in making communities whole again. As shown through the realities of mass incarceration above, we have a LONG way to go, but with your help, we can make a difference one client and heart at a time. 

scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/20537/Bohlinger_oregon_0171N_11630.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

“In Depth.” BBC News, BBC, 20 June 2005, news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2page1.stm.