Reuben Jonathan Miller dissects the impact of mass incarceration

Reuben Jonathan Miller, JLUSA board member and Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, spoke at Boston College’s Gerson Family lecture about the impact of mass incarceration.

“Most states restore voting rights to individuals after they are released from prison, but citizenship is about much more than voting, Miller said.

“‘Citizenship is also about belonging to a political community,’ Miller said ‘It’s about recognition as someone of value who can fully participate in the political economy and culture—and what we have is an alternate legal reality for people who have made mistakes.’

“Miller explained that even after release from prison, full reintegration into society is challenging because there are 44,000 laws across the United States that place restrictions on people with criminal records. …

“Miller emphasized that people of color are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration. Black people are twice as likely as white people to get arrested and five times more likely to be incarcerated after arrest, according to Miller.

“’Mass incarceration is an American problem,’ Miller said. ‘We overwhelmingly punish racial and ethnic minorities. We overwhelmingly punish our poor.’

“Miller said that while people are in prison, they are made to feel like they are voiceless and powerless.

“’More than anything else, it tells them that their voice doesn’t matter, that they’re a group that we shouldn’t care about,’ Miller said. ‘It sends a message about their democratic participation being unwanted. It tells me that their voice is unwelcome. There’s no place for them here.’

“The prison system goes beyond mere punishment, inflicting lasting harm on vulnerable people, Miller said.

“Mass incarceration is a series of crises. It’s a public health crisis. It’s a housing crisis. It’s an employment crisis. It’s a political crisis. It’s a problem of citizenship. It’s about how we prey on our most vulnerable among us.”

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