More American residents are behind bars than any other nation. While the U.S. Criminal Justice System was established to regulate peace and order, it has since become the catalyst for criminalizing of people of color. Fueled by initiatives like Nixon’s “War on Drugs” campaign, which unfairly targeted communities of color, mass incarceration has steadily been on the rise. Despite the staggering amount of people behind bars, the crime rates haven’t exactly been on the decline, raising the question: do prisons actually keep us safe?

On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Sydne Clarke interviews Victoria Law whose groundbreaking book investigates the brutal history of mass incarceration in the United States, showing how dismantling mass incarceration starts with unpacking the myths surrounding it. 

BOOK: Prisons Make Us Safer: And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration

GUEST: Victoria Law

PRODUCER: Sydne Clarke

MUSIC: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

PRODUCTION: Pod People - Hannah Pedersen, Danielle Roth, Shaneez Tyndall, and Michael Aquino.

SHOW NOTES: Link to Victoria Law’s work