On this page, we present insights on some of the main implications of our ten-country research, all commissioned from leading experts in these jurisdictions. These short, accessible pieces alert us to worrying developments, engage with thorny policy dilemmas, and shine a path to lasting change.
Throughout June 2021, over 20 specially commissioned pieces of content will be released, all dealing with specific aspects of over-incarceration.
Catherine Heard discusses the 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex, Reproduction, Drug Use, HIV, Homelessness and Poverty, noting their potential to reduce the disproportionately harmful impacts of imprisonment on marginalized and stigmatized communities
Arienne J. Jones is an attorney who advocates for a reimagined justice system. She currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. Here, as a companion to her first article discussing the criminalization of poverty, Arienne discusses the criminalization of homelessness.
Arienne J. Jones is an attorney who advocates for a reimagined justice system. She currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. Here, Arienne discusses the criminalization of poverty and its impact on public benefits recipients. Next week, she will continue the discussion by highlighting how homelessness is criminalized.
Dr Sarah Lamble is a Reader in Criminology and Queer Theory at the School of Law, Birkbeck and researches issues of gender, sexuality and imprisonment, as well as alternative forms of justice. Sarah is an organiser with Abolitionist Futures and a founding member of the Bent Bars Project, which coordinates a letter-writing programme for LGBTQ prisoners in Britain.
Here, Sarah reflects on Justice Edwin Cameron’s recent ICPR annual lecture, titled: 'Do prisons work? If not, do prisons inspectorates do more harm than good?’, applying the concept of ‘non-reformist’ reforms. This term, coined by Austrian philosopher André Gorz with reference to political economy, was further developed by prison abolitionists Thomas Mathieson and Angela Davis.
Dr Sharon Shalev, a world expert on solitary confinement, and prisons expert and activist Nuno Pontes (European Prison Observatory), discuss the meaning of solitary confinement and its psychological impacts.
Homer Venters is a physician and epidemiologist working at the intersection of incarceration, health and human rights. Dr. Venters has recently been appointed to serve on the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Since April 2020, Dr. Venters has focused on addressing COVID-19 responses in jails, prisons and immigration detention facilities. Dr. Venters is the former Chief Medical Officer of the NYC Correctional Health Services and author of Life and Death in Rikers Island. Dr. Venters has also worked in the nonprofit sector as the Director of Programs of Physicians for Human Rights and President of Community Oriented Correctional Health Service. Dr. Venters is a Clinical Associate Professor of the New York University College of Global Public Health.
Realities on the ground are discussed by Rafael Godoi, a sociologist and researcher at Rio’s Universidade Federal (UFRJ), and Alessandra Félix, an activist from Brazil’s north-eastern state of Ceará, member of the group Vozes (‘Voices of mothers and relatives’) and of Brazil’s Frente pelo Desencarceramento (decarceration front).
Patrick Cacicedo is a Public Defender based in São Paulo. Patrick holds a PhD from the University of São Paulo (USP), and is a researcher in prison matters. Here, Patrick reflects on the work of the Public Defender's Office and the alarming situation of Brazilian prisons during the current health crisis.
Maria Teresa dos Santos is the chair of the Associação de Amigos e Familiares de Pessoas em Privação de Liberdade (Association of friends and family members of people deprived of liberty) in the state of Minas Gerais. Two of her sons have experienced detention. One of them was transferred to house arrest due to Covid-19 (under Recommendation 62 of the National Council of Justice). Maria Teresa also advocates for the Frente Estadual pelo Desencarceramento (State Front for decarceration) in Minas Gerais.
Carole Berrih, a lawyer specialising in public law, is the director of Synergies Coopération. She studies and evaluates international programmes and projects. She has been active in the prison sector for 20 years and is currently carrying out doctoral research at the Université Grenoble Alpes. Her research focuses on the role of prisoners in the maintenance of order in Nigerian prisons. Here, Carole discusses the impact of informal governance on prisoners’ access to healthcare.