Truthout
The Road to Abolition
Exploring abolition — both in imagination and in practice — and the movement toward a more liberated future.


Law-and-Order Policies Make Us Less Safe. The Trajectory of the ’90s Shows Why.
Across the U.S., Democratic politicians are embracing playbooks that put mass incarceration into overdrive in the ‘90s.

Biden Is Still Issuing Calls to Increase Police Funding
Racial justice advocates say both parties are exploiting “defund the police” for political gain.

Design Firm Wants to Build “Feminist” Jails and Prisons. Abolitionists Say “No.”
You will never find healing when you are isolated from those that help you feel cared for, says organizer Kami Beckford.

Students Like Me Can Target School Boards to Get Police Out of Schools
Students can challenge injustices like school policing by organizing and making their voices heard at school boards.

A New Play Imagines the End of Isolation for All Incarcerated People
"The Box" shows the humanity of the people being subjected to solitary, says playwright Sarah Shourd.

Grassroots Defense Committees Support Criminalized Survivors of Violence
The criminal legal system in the United States forces survivors to choose between their freedom and their lives.

Here’s Why Arab Americans Like Me Are Supporting Efforts to Defund the Police
As an Arab American whose community has endured chilling surveillance, I back the movement to defund the police.

NYC Activists Push Back Against Proposed “Feminist” Women’s Jail in Harlem
Opponents of the proposed women's facility in Harlem affirm “there is no such thing as a feminist jail.”

Mayor Eric Adams Is Siphoning Funds From Public Schools to Fortify NYPD
Adams's plan lowers education department funding by nearly $1 billion, while raising the NYPD budget to $11.1 billion.

We Don’t Need More Evidence That Police Can’t Be Trusted. We Need Real Safety.
We must demand systems of care and accountability that affirm and sustain life and our environment for the long term.