More than 2 million people are locked up in seriously flawed American prisons that need extensive reforms, says lecturer Martin F. Horn.
“The consequence of imprisonment goes well beyond the walls of the prison. They affect the children, families and neighborhoods in which the imprisoned live and the political and economic dynamics of these communities as well,” Horn said in a lecture on human dignity given in the Center for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
“More than 10,000 children are in adult prisons and jails, and over 2.7 million have a parent in prison or jail,” Horn added.
“Crime and imprisonment affect discrete sections of our communities. Prisoners in every jurisdiction come from just a small number of communities, mostly concentrated in the poorest neighborhoods with the least resources and the most problems of health, housing and nutrition,” Horn said.
“One cannot divorce the discussion of imprisonment from the discussion of race in our country. As a result of federal census rules and federal funding schemes, we redirect money away from communities in need to prison communities and through discriminatory voting rules we diminish the electoral power of the most poor and disenfranchised communities,” according to Horn.
“Most prisoners are men between the ages of 18-35, and they are disproportionately Black and Latino,” Horn said. “This is the time most young men should be building their lives, their families and careers. It is a time when young men are at their most vital, physical, social and aggressive.”
“They have been left to live on their own, been abused or raised in state institutions. They have left the church, been suspended or expelled from school. They have been homeless and often suffer from untreated mental illness. Many have not finished high school and are functionally illiterate.”
Horn recommends a series of changes including:
• Repair the damage to the communities where released prisoners return
• Prisons should support and help involvement of caring communities, such as faith groups and businesses
• Teach inmates and staff respect for the law and others
• Support educational programs for prisoners
• Don’t imprison the mentally ill
• Increase transparency
• Make prisons safe and drug-free
• End demonization of prisoners.
