From the coauthor of "Rehabilitation in Prison"
Sean D. French - On behalf of the NATIONAL LIFER'S ASSOCIATION
America is plagued with mass incarceration, inequality, & Jim Crow-esque laws that continue to drastically affect black & brown communities!
As noted in the previous letter, if we truly seek to reform our justice system alongside prison reform, then the etiology of crime is where we must first look to.
Studies have shown that 2/3 of black & brown offenders who victimize (be it through drug crimes or crimes more physical in nature), have also themselves been victimized through various forms of systemic racial abuses, the condition of their environments, (i.e., the culture of these environments), broken family units, addiction and mental illness. Because of this, it is absolutely imperative to look deeper into the causes of crime and criminal behavior rather than the effects.
Epistemology (the theory of knowledge), it is here that advancements are made. The knowledge that one possesses about a thing, is what equips them to perform wisely. Wisdom brings about understanding and understanding leads to sound and just decisions! The psalmist states, “get thee wisdom and knowledge, but above all, get thee understanding.” This is the type of wisdom that will usher in just & righteous acts!
America, Michigan included, has for many decades, refused to look at the damages that its biased racial system has caused black & brown people. How its draconian policies have given birth to counterproductive ambitions, most of which are out of the necessity to survive both subjugation, oppression, & the psychological and physical abuses that these dilapidated environments create! To fully comprehend this, the justice system and the MDOC must establish constructive and empathic systems that are better equipped to rehabilitate rather than retaliate against.
The MDOC must look to restorative justice!
Facilities geared towards this philosophy, would be more efficient in meeting the psychological & social needs of those who have been systematically ostracized and deemed “expendable!” Institutions like these, would stand upon moral principles and not just their bottom lines!
The current “criminalized institutions” warehousing black & brown men shackled to long and indeterminate mandatory sentences as “chattel for profit,” continue to destroy black & brown families and their respective communities. This can be likened to a slow form of genocide veiled in a mirage of MORAL DURESS!
By using laws created by the status quo as a “lawful” Means to justify their nefarious Ends, the cycle of Mass Incarceration continues to be perpetuated. Governor Whitmer must understand that if she fails to put an end to this, she must see herself as being complicit; a willing puppet in perpetuating systemic racism, mass incarceration, subjugation disenfranchisement, and so on!
Prison reform & restorative justice is the only viable solution for what continues to take place in this state and within the MDOC!
Retribution is a unilateral approach that serves the needs of the status quo and those who profit from penal institutions! Retribution and mandatory sentencing is destructive, insensitive, and more often than not, deplorable!
The effects of the current regime of the MDOC & Mass Incarceration especially pertaining to black & brown men, are more deleterious to them than to their white counterparts, simply because of how white America perceives these men upon their return to society,…this must be rectified!
The State, the MDOC, and the status quo, must now be held accountable for their role and the damage in which they have brought upon this caste of people. They need to “understand” that for most black & brown men, punishment, psychological abuses, rejection, shackles, and various forms of slavery, is an innate part of their psychosis. As a race, these innate psychological issues have yet to find resolution because they are still taking place.
Engrams: Psychological Instincts/fears that are genetically passed on from mother to child, often influence the psychology of black and brown children; inadvertently molding and shaping the ideal of self, their perspective of life, and what their environment is showing them.
This, too, must be incorporated into the etiology of crime.
Engrams show up as personality disorders in the black & brown race.
These disorders gain momentum through experiences with life, and are exacerbated through the environment that the child is reared in. This, notwithstanding the function of the amygdala, hippocampus, cellular memory, & the neocortex wherein, complex memories are kept for long term storage.
Common disorders found to be present in black & brown youth reared in urban and oftentimes impoverished families and communities are follows:
1. Solitary Aggressive Conduct disorder – Are selfish, non communal, don’t relate well to others, and lack an appropriate sense of guilt. Common responses; “it is what it is!” & “I’m doing me!”
2. Group Conduct Disorder – Are loyal to their peers (such as a gang), often at the expense of outsiders. Many black & brown children will show signs of both Solitary & Group Conduct Disorder.
3. Oppositional Defiant Disorder – Display negative, angry, defiant behavior without violating the rights of others, they understand right from wrong but are victims of environment and oppression. This disorder is typically found in black and brown drug dealers.
The list goes on and on and is a study that must be incorporated into the etiology of crime.
It is well past time for the governor to start looking to pedagogic methods illustrated through Critical Criminology as a means of breaking through the myths suggested by Paulo Freire; myths that vindicate the criminal justice system.