Skip to content Skip to footer

Smoke and Mirrors: Inside the New “Bipartisan Prison Reform” Agenda

Smoke and Mirrors is a series that dives into the details of “bipartisan prison reform” to reveal the right-wing, neoliberal carceral sleight of hand that’s really at work.

Smoke and Mirrors is a series that dives into the details of "bipartisan prison reform" to reveal the right-wing

Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.

Smoke and Mirrors is a series that dives into the details of “bipartisan prison reform” to reveal the right-wing, neoliberal carceral sleight of hand that’s really at work. By asking hard questions about the content and consequences of various proposals and exploring ways in which commitments to unregulated free markets, privatization and states’ rights drive the agenda, Smoke and Mirrors shows how this new generation of reforms will reinforce structural racism, intensify economic violence and contribute to the normalization of a surveillance society.

The Daunting Task of Decarceration
Tuesday, 08 September 2015
By Nancy A. Heitzeg, Critical Mass Progress | Op-Ed

Moneyballing Justice: “Evidence-Based” Criminal Reforms Ignore Real Evidence
Sunday, 29 March 2015
By Kay Whitlock and Nancy A. Heitzeg, Truthout | News Analysis

Prison Reform, Proposition 47 and the California Shell Game
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
By Kay Whitlock and Nancy A. Heitzeg, Truthout | News Analysis

“Bipartisan” Criminal Justice Reform: A Misguided Merger
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
By Kay Whitlock and Nancy A. Heitzeg, Truthout | News Analysis

The Perils of Criminal Justice “Reform” and the Promise of Abolition
Thursday, 18 December 2014
By Nancy A Heitzeg, Critical Mass Progress | News Analysis

Faith, Inc. and Criminal Justice Reform
Thursday, 11 December 2014
By Kay Whitlock, Critical Mass Progress | News Analysis

The Fallacy of Right-Wing Appeals to Race in Criminal Justice Reform
Thursday, 04 December 2014
By Nancy A Heitzeg, Critical Mass Progress | Op-Ed

Community Corrections: Profiteering, Corruption and Widening the Net
Thursday, 20 November 2014
By Kay Whitlock, Critical Mass Progress | Op-Ed

The Myth of “Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform”: Mississippi Close-Up
Thursday, 13 November 2014
By Nancy A Heitzeg, Critical Mass Progress | News Analysis

Confidence Men and “Prison Reform”
Thursday, 06 November 2014
By Kay Whitlock, Critical Mass Progress | Op-Ed

Smoke and Mirrors: Essential Questions About “Prison Reform”
Thursday, 30 October 2014
By Kay Whitlock and Nancy A Heitzeg, Critical Mass Progress | News Analysis

Urgent appeal for your support: 9 Days Left

With Trump’s fascist agenda driving the narrative, it’s the duty of independent media to disrupt corporate propaganda.

Yet, at such a pivotal moment, donations to Truthout have been declining. Why? Blatant political censorship from Big Tech.

As we face mounting repression, Truthout appeals for your support. Please donate during our fundraiser — we have 9 days left to raise $50,000.