Fifty years into the era of mass incarceration, states like Arkansas, Montana, California, and Colorado are pushing to build new prisons and expand immigrant detention. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa talks with Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project about how federal and state governments are doubling down on new prison construction and ICE contracts to expand the prison-industrial complex, what sets the US criminal justice system apart from other countries around the world, and how organizers are fighting for real prison population reductions instead of more cages.

Guest:

• Nicole D. Porter, named a “New Civil Rights Leader” by Essence Magazine for her work to challenge mass incarceration, manages The Sentencing Project’s state and local advocacy efforts on sentencing reform, voting rights, and confronting racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Since joining The Sentencing Project in 2009, Porter’s advocacy and findings have supported criminal legal reforms in several states including Kentucky, Maryland Missouri, California, Texas and the District of Columbia. Porter’s areas of expertise include research and grassroots support around challenging racial disparities, felony disenfranchisement, in addition to prison closures and prison reuse. Her research has been cited in several major media outlets including Salon and the Washington Post, and she has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and on National Public Radio and MSNBC.

Additional links/info:

• The Sentencing Project website, Facebook page, and Instagram
• Lisa Armstrong, Essence, “The new Civil Rights leaders”

Credits:

• Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

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