Truthout
The Road to Abolition
Exploring abolition — both in imagination and in practice — and the movement toward a more liberated future.
Series Introduction
Amid this galvanizing moment of uprisings and calls to defund the police, Truthout has gathered together some of our most important work on the abolition of policing and prisons. For a decade, we’ve been documenting this work and the ideas behind it. In this feature, we’ve gathered together some recent and past pieces that can help us to envision abolition — both the imagination and the practice of it — and move together toward a more liberated future.
A Victory for Abolitionists: ICE-Run Immigration Prison Shuts Down Today
It took nearly a decade of exposing the patterns of abuse and neglect at the facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Let’s Abolish Systems That Criminalize and Punish Survivors of Abuse
U.S. courts often reject domestic and sexual violence as legitimate justifications for self-defense.
Record Police Killings in 2022 Show Need to Continue Organizing for Abolition
Building power and transformation is about encouraging the grassroots while confronting a resilient carceral state.
Let 2023 Be the Year of Dismantling Incarceration
I asked organizers working to dismantle incarceration what is giving them hope for 2023. Here’s what they shared.
These Incarcerated Organizers Won Their Freedom. Now They Face Deportation.
After decades in prison, they were paroled and organized for immigrant rights. Pardons would prevent their deportation.
Over 25,000 People in Prison Await Decisions on Their Clemency Applications
Across the U.S., people in prison are hoping for compassion — and clemency — allowing them to rejoin their loved ones.
California Organizers Are Creating Momentum for Statewide Prison Closures
There will be one less prison in California, after a judge thwarted Susanville's effort to block closure of its prison.
Kevin Johnson Speaks From Death Row About His Impending Execution This Month
The 37-year-old father will face state-sanctioned murder this month unless his sentence is commuted.
We Need a New Paradigm to Halt the Unprecedented Growth of Electronic Monitoring
Electronic monitoring has gone far beyond ankle bands. Let’s challenge the meteoric expansion of this form of policing.
California Is Dependent on Prison Labor for Fighting Fires. This Must End.
CAL FIRE’s decades-old reliance on prison labor is coming to an end. The state should invest in firefighting jobs.