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.
I’m 1 of More Than 600 People on CA’s Death Row. Newsom Must End Death Penalty.
Twenty-three states have abolished the death penalty. California should join them in ending state-sponsored executions.
Biden Should Go Beyond Commutations for Death Row and Commute Life Sentences Too
It's long past time to repair the harm done by sentencing guidelines that President Biden supported as a senator.
Daniel Penny’s Trial Underscores the Need for Real Systems of Accountability
The criminal legal system isn’t designed to deliver justice for Jordan Neely. Here’s how we can.
Having Pardoned His Son, Biden Faces Pressure to Enact Mass Clemency
Advocates say Biden must repair harm caused by harsh anti-drug and crime laws he championed in the 1980s and '90s.
Abolition Work Shows Us There’s Joy to Be Found Even as the World Is on Fire
Care work and parenting work are not an accessory to abolition — they are core to the struggle itself.
“An Imagination Party”: How My Toddler Fuels My Vision for Liberation
In cataclysmic moments, what can we learn from the free imaginings of children?
Victims of Family Policing Are Leading a Movement to Abolish It
In Colorado and nationwide, a powerful movement against family policing is coalescing.
Dispatch From Missouri: Mourners Decry Execution of Marcellus Williams
Bearing witness to Missouri’s latest state-sponsored killing, mourners spoke out at a vigil outside the execution room.
In Vermont, Abolitionists Are Fighting a Prison-Building Boom
Why is “progressive haven” Vermont spending millions on new prisons? Abolitionists like Jayna Ahsaf are fighting back.
Illinois Aims to Spend $900 Million Revamping Prisons. Let’s Close Them Instead.
Rebuilding decaying prisons isn’t the answer -- shuttering them is.