@phillipaald.bsky.social
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Prison Mail Rules Are Changing to Prevent Drugs. Has it Worked?
Prison Mail Rules Are Changing to Prevent Drugs. Has it Worked?
Oregon no longer allows many forms of physical mail. It’s become harder for people to send incarcerated loved ones Christmas cards.
prisonjournalismproject.org
December 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Prison Mail Rules Are Changing to Prevent Drugs. Has it Worked?
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If you’re trying to abolish “American carceral norms” or whatever, that’s very different from abolishing “prison.”
November 15, 2025 at 4:39 PM
If you’re trying to abolish “American carceral norms” or whatever, that’s very different from abolishing “prison.”
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This is incredibly vague. What is the mechanism of “regeneration,” and how does abolition (as opposed to reform) prevent those mechanisms from operating?
November 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This is incredibly vague. What is the mechanism of “regeneration,” and how does abolition (as opposed to reform) prevent those mechanisms from operating?
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Ok, but that new prison would properly be described as “An American Prison with Norwegian Characteristics.” So American prisons would not in fact be abolished.
It’s not just bad marketing, it’s actively misleading!
It’s not just bad marketing, it’s actively misleading!
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Ok, but that new prison would properly be described as “An American Prison with Norwegian Characteristics.” So American prisons would not in fact be abolished.
It’s not just bad marketing, it’s actively misleading!
It’s not just bad marketing, it’s actively misleading!
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“Read theory.” The closest Angela Davis comes to talking about an alternative in her book, Are Prisons Obsolete, is talking about how a white American forgave a Black South African man for killing their daughter during riots immediately prior to the fall of apartheid
November 14, 2025 at 8:25 PM
“Read theory.” The closest Angela Davis comes to talking about an alternative in her book, Are Prisons Obsolete, is talking about how a white American forgave a Black South African man for killing their daughter during riots immediately prior to the fall of apartheid
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Yeah, like.. is it so hard to just praise Norway or something?
That's already like beyond the wildest utopia compared to the current US of A that even milk detainees for just wanting to call their dears
That's already like beyond the wildest utopia compared to the current US of A that even milk detainees for just wanting to call their dears
November 14, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Yeah, like.. is it so hard to just praise Norway or something?
That's already like beyond the wildest utopia compared to the current US of A that even milk detainees for just wanting to call their dears
That's already like beyond the wildest utopia compared to the current US of A that even milk detainees for just wanting to call their dears
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I think the better abolitionists do at least put the vision out there which is valuable, but I think a lot of the work of actually getting us there is done by different people, and/or people who are sympathetic to abolition but don't make it their *policy* focus at this time.
November 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
I think the better abolitionists do at least put the vision out there which is valuable, but I think a lot of the work of actually getting us there is done by different people, and/or people who are sympathetic to abolition but don't make it their *policy* focus at this time.
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"the current system isn't good. it doesn't work & I think we need dramatic changes. but I don't know if your idea of how to fix it will work. how would you deal with, for instance, serial SA?"
"well what if I tell you the CURRENT system isn't good and doesn't work?"
every time
"well what if I tell you the CURRENT system isn't good and doesn't work?"
every time
November 20, 2025 at 7:59 PM
"the current system isn't good. it doesn't work & I think we need dramatic changes. but I don't know if your idea of how to fix it will work. how would you deal with, for instance, serial SA?"
"well what if I tell you the CURRENT system isn't good and doesn't work?"
every time
"well what if I tell you the CURRENT system isn't good and doesn't work?"
every time
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one thing i do think klein is basically right about is that we had a period of progressive discourse where "i don't answer that question" was basically a standard discourse move. we *asserted* our ideas without arguing for them. this was, i think, a huge-ass mistake.
September 28, 2025 at 2:20 PM
one thing i do think klein is basically right about is that we had a period of progressive discourse where "i don't answer that question" was basically a standard discourse move. we *asserted* our ideas without arguing for them. this was, i think, a huge-ass mistake.
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"Make immigration work like most Americans think it works" as the far-out radical reform position.
November 17, 2025 at 5:18 AM
"Make immigration work like most Americans think it works" as the far-out radical reform position.
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The community being the one to mete out justice also provides no recourse for wrongful convictions either. Does anyone *really* think that the community deciding what should become of William Heirens would have been an improvement? Because it wouldn't have.
November 16, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The community being the one to mete out justice also provides no recourse for wrongful convictions either. Does anyone *really* think that the community deciding what should become of William Heirens would have been an improvement? Because it wouldn't have.
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The thing that gets lost in prison abolition discourse is that abolitionists seem to ignore the *other* side of "what do we do with Bad People?"
That other side is "Vigilantism is bad, so how we do protect murderers (or worse) from a member of the general public trying to kill them?"
That other side is "Vigilantism is bad, so how we do protect murderers (or worse) from a member of the general public trying to kill them?"
November 16, 2025 at 1:03 AM
The thing that gets lost in prison abolition discourse is that abolitionists seem to ignore the *other* side of "what do we do with Bad People?"
That other side is "Vigilantism is bad, so how we do protect murderers (or worse) from a member of the general public trying to kill them?"
That other side is "Vigilantism is bad, so how we do protect murderers (or worse) from a member of the general public trying to kill them?"
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I do not, in fact, think an alternative to prisons where the "community" carries out capital punishment is preferable.
November 16, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I do not, in fact, think an alternative to prisons where the "community" carries out capital punishment is preferable.
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honestly fascinating that people don't understand this is sentencing someone to a pretty horrible death
November 17, 2025 at 10:37 PM
honestly fascinating that people don't understand this is sentencing someone to a pretty horrible death
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Like, it doesn’t matter if one thinks it’s a good or fair question, there has to be an answer or the whole concept isn’t going anywhere with the public.
April 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Like, it doesn’t matter if one thinks it’s a good or fair question, there has to be an answer or the whole concept isn’t going anywhere with the public.
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And yes, even prison as a punishment *is* that old.
If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
December 27, 2024 at 11:14 PM
And yes, even prison as a punishment *is* that old.
If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
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I'm not talking about mass incarceration there or the scale; I'm talking about prisons in general. Prisons *are* thousands of year olds - what's changed is the *scale*.
I'm sorry you don't like that fact but it doesn't change it.
I'm sorry you don't like that fact but it doesn't change it.
December 27, 2024 at 11:01 PM
I'm not talking about mass incarceration there or the scale; I'm talking about prisons in general. Prisons *are* thousands of year olds - what's changed is the *scale*.
I'm sorry you don't like that fact but it doesn't change it.
I'm sorry you don't like that fact but it doesn't change it.
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If you’re an advocate for an issue and want to convince people that your view on the issue is right, then when they have the first thought they’re going to have, and express it, giving them the answer you give above is alienating them to feel superior, nothing more.
November 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
If you’re an advocate for an issue and want to convince people that your view on the issue is right, then when they have the first thought they’re going to have, and express it, giving them the answer you give above is alienating them to feel superior, nothing more.
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I am pretty much an open borders guy but if I was running for any kind of national office I would talk about "Ellis Island Immigration" because it would be substantially nearly the same thing but in more palatable language
November 17, 2025 at 4:22 AM
I am pretty much an open borders guy but if I was running for any kind of national office I would talk about "Ellis Island Immigration" because it would be substantially nearly the same thing but in more palatable language
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I might be among the most normal advocates, lol
FWIW, “incapacitation” is going to have to be part of *any* optimally responsive regulatory system. Ppl will howl about the use of it, but imo the challenge is to minimize the use thru game-theoretical policies that use incapacitation as a last resort.
Not enough John Braithwaite on BlueSky yet, so I will carry the mantle of spreading his good news. Here's another "basic assumption" pyramid, for almost any policy arena (criminal law, securities regs, cannabis, schools, etc). Work your way up the pyramid, always.
November 17, 2025 at 4:17 AM
I might be among the most normal advocates, lol
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Yeah like I get it from a personal POV but also like what if I’d gone to college and nobody taught me Calculus because they already knew it and were tired of teaching the basics?
November 17, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Yeah like I get it from a personal POV but also like what if I’d gone to college and nobody taught me Calculus because they already knew it and were tired of teaching the basics?
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“Ok, can you just tell us where to find what you used to say when you did answer it?”
“…no”
“…no”
November 17, 2025 at 4:16 AM
“Ok, can you just tell us where to find what you used to say when you did answer it?”
“…no”
“…no”
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“What do we do about people who can’t live meaningfully integrated with society?”
“By that question you are presuming that the police handled Ted Bundy perfectly.”
This type of non answer answer is some debate club bullshit, or at best a zen koan in place of a real answer.
“By that question you are presuming that the police handled Ted Bundy perfectly.”
This type of non answer answer is some debate club bullshit, or at best a zen koan in place of a real answer.
November 17, 2025 at 4:12 AM
“What do we do about people who can’t live meaningfully integrated with society?”
“By that question you are presuming that the police handled Ted Bundy perfectly.”
This type of non answer answer is some debate club bullshit, or at best a zen koan in place of a real answer.
“By that question you are presuming that the police handled Ted Bundy perfectly.”
This type of non answer answer is some debate club bullshit, or at best a zen koan in place of a real answer.
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I’ve said repeatedly that while I support prison abolition in theory, I’ve never been able to fully commit to it- this fucking administration has truly opened my eyes and I am at the point now of advocating simply opening the doors and letting everybody out no questions asked.
It is fucking horrific that our system affords whoever exercises the powers of the presidency the ability to arbitrarily torture people, and that the man exercising those powers is so eager to do so.
NEW: President Biden commuted the death sentences of most people on the federal death row before exiting office.
President Trump is now effectively looking to retaliate, and to detain those people in the most brutal conditions in the federal system. Bolts reports:
boltsmag.org/death-row-cl...
President Trump is now effectively looking to retaliate, and to detain those people in the most brutal conditions in the federal system. Bolts reports:
boltsmag.org/death-row-cl...
November 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I’ve said repeatedly that while I support prison abolition in theory, I’ve never been able to fully commit to it- this fucking administration has truly opened my eyes and I am at the point now of advocating simply opening the doors and letting everybody out no questions asked.