<p>One issue on which Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton all agree is that America&rsquo;s prison system needs to be reformed. ;</p>
<p><em>Where the disagreement comes in is how it needs to be reformed.</em> ;</p>
<p>President Trump met last week with state leaders to talk about prison reform amid calls from the far left to abolish the entire system. ;</p>
<p>Those calling to abandon the prison system, AKA &ldquo;abolitionists,&rdquo; are the same people calling to abolish ICE, do away with the death penalty, and decriminalize drug use. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Proponents envision a future society in which, rather than having better carceral conditions than we have today, there exist literally no prisons at all,&rdquo; notes <em>Politico</em>. They say we should not use punishment as a way to address harm.</p>
<p>Abolitionists argue that America&rsquo;s criminal justice system is inherently cruel and racist, and that abolishing the entire system is the &ldquo;only truly humane direction we can head in as a society &#8211; that is, if we really aspire to live in a world rid of interpersonal harm and racial inequality,&rdquo; continues <em>Politico. ;</em></p>
<p>Abolitionists also like to point out that incarceration doesn&rsquo;t seem to prevent recidivism (which makes me feel like prison sentences should be longer, not shorter). ;</p>
<p>According to author ;Maya Schenwar, abolition is &ldquo;the acceptance of an understanding that prison does not work to any good ends.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In her book <em>Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn&rsquo;t Work and How We Can Do Better</em>, Schenwar argues that the current system upholds white supremacy, capitalism, and oppression, but does not keep us safe or protect society in a productive way. ;</p>
<p>Regarding the entire prison system, Schenwar writes, &ldquo;Once we understand that basically its roots are rotten, then we understand that we can&rsquo;t just replace certain aspects of it or improve it or make prison kinder and gentler; we actually have to uproot it.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>The abolitionist movement began in the late 20th century with a group of black feminists who saw ;the current prison system as a continuation of slavery. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;There is overwhelming evidence that mass incarceration evolved as an outgrowth of Jim Crow laws, which itself was a system rooted in the subjugation of former slaves,&rdquo; argues rookie politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ;&ldquo;According to legal scholar Michelle Alexander, there are more African-Americans under correctional control today than were enslaved in 1850&#8230;before the Civil War.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>There are currently more than 2.2 million people locked up in America&#8217;s prisons.</em></p>
<p>The ;purported connection between prisons and slavery <em>kind of</em> makes sense in light of two facts:</p>
<ul>
<li>Incarceration rates disproportionately impact people of color ;</li>
<li>Inmates are commonly used for menial tasks and hard labor</li>
</ul>
<p><em>But ;is the solution to the problem really to let criminals run free? ;</em></p>
<p>According to abolitionists, the two biggest obstacles in gaining support for ;the movement are:</p>
<ul>
<li>The widespread idea that we need prisons to keep us safe</li>
<li>The mentality that we should hurt people who hurt others</li>
</ul>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really, really hard for people to imagine a world without prisons, but we had that world before,&rdquo; ;argues podcaster Kim Wilson. &ldquo;The system that we currently have is supposed to be more humane than if we just tortured someone, but we&rsquo;re just torturing people in a different way.&rdquo; To prevent crime, explains Wilson, our goal should not be to lock up as many criminals as we can. Instead, we should figure out &ldquo;what conditions exist in people&rsquo;s interpersonal relationships, in their homes, in their communities, that lead someone to commit harm.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Abolitionists&#8217; key complaint about retributive justice is that it dehumanizes people who break the law. Instead, they insist we should implement policies that treat people like people and not like animals. ;</p>
<p>Recent polls suggest that up to 60% of Americans see rehabilitation as more appropriate than prison for nonviolent offenses. Abolitionists want to take that sentiment one step further to include violent offenders. ;</p>
<p>Abolitionist Carlton Williams insists we should treat criminals with &ldquo;mutual support and love&rdquo; instead of locking them in cages. But as Williams admits, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s hard to tell someone who experienced sexual violence that their rapist shouldn&rsquo;t be punished.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Editor&#8217;s note: I&#8217;m very afraid of the naivete of these people.</p>