The United States of Incarceration
The Criminal Justice Assault on Minorities, the Poor, and the Mentally Ill
by
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The modern prison system is a relatively new phenomenon in history, one that is utilized to enforce political priorities (the drug war) rather than punish real crimes. It is also manipulated by political ambitions rather than a genuine concern for justice. The results of the war on drugs are not to decrease use but rather the opposite. Illegal drugs are now a $100 billion dollar industry in America, while the drug war itself costs citizens $19 billion, even as the price of operating the justice system are exploding.
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About the Book
When police agencies began grabbing more power in the 1960s, it began a vicious cycle of relying on imprisonment to solve socio-political, financial, and mental health problems.
The reality is that this approach hasn’t worked, and it’s actually diminished our quality of freedom. Meanwhile, police officers have begun to look at citizens not as people to serve and protect but as enemies.
Tim Anderson takes an in-depth look into how the misguided prison-industrial complex unfairly targets minorities, the mentally ill, and the poor. It supports the argument made by Angela Davis, who said, “Prisons give the appearance of performing a magic trick. However, prisons don’t make problems disappear—they make people disappear.”
Neoliberals continue to try to convince the public that we need to equip our police officers with weapons that make them seem more like military ground troops. But if we continue down this course, we’ll all just be one more target to be eliminated in The United States of Incarceration.
About the Author
Tim Anderson founded Alabaster Box Ministries—dedicated to prison reform. Anderson served in the Marines and the National Guard. He earned an associate’s degree in law enforcement technology from Somerset Community College, a bachelor’s in physical education from Eastern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Kentucky University.