By Angelyn Frazer
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
According
to the Bureau of Justice, the United States currently incarcerates 2.3
million people. Of that number, close to 200,000 are incarcerated for
drug offenses. Long time prison reform activist and author, Lois Ahrens,
has advocated against “unprecedented growth” of prison facilities and
the number of people incarcerated within the last 30 years, and has
stressed the importance of understanding the “real costs” behind the
system. In order to facilitate that understanding, Ahrens authored, The
Real Cost of Prisons Comix, an educational primer that describes our
overreliance on incarceration, particularly as it relates to the war on
drugs, in a clear and concise manner.
The book offers an
explanation of the various mechanisms that ensnarl individuals in the
prison industrial complex. In addition, it provides the reader a
glimpse into the world of those mired in negative social and economic
realities and the subsequent collateral consequences that besiege those
with a criminal conviction.
Initially a series of three comic
books modeled after Mexico’s popular photo novella or “picture stories,”
the book is illustrated by political artists, and consists of a Preface
by Ahrens describing the neo-liberal policies that have helped create
our prison culture and an Introduction by Professor Ruth Wilson Gilmore
and Craig Gilmore that illuminates the direct social, fiscal, and human
costs of mass incarceration. Ahrens’ inspiration to create a comic book
was drawn from her life experiences, her desire to reach those affected
by the system, and her goal of educating those with little knowledge of
how the prison industrial system has developed. Her ultimate objective
was to create a resource that approached complex issues in a simple and
comprehensive way. She aptly accomplishes this feat by succinctly
presenting accessible statistical information and anecdotal stories
often prerequisites in policymaking.
Ensconced within the
historical context, the book houses the three comic books appropriately
titled “Prison Town: Paying the Price,” a reflection of a town whose
leaders plan for prison expansion under the guise of economic
development; “Prisoner of the War on Drugs,” which explores the war on
drugs and mandatory minimums, through the lens of poverty, gender, and
race; and “Prisoners of a Hard Life: Women and Their Children,”
providing an examination women who are affected by harsh drug penalties
and how their increased incarceration further fractures already fragile
communities.
These comics allow readers of all ages to become
educated voices against policies that keep us wetted to an often unjust
criminal justice system, in the name of economic development. This is
all the more important as Senator Dick Durbin, and Illinois Governor Pat
Quinn, recently supported the move of Guantanamo prisoners to an
Illinois prison, as “…an opportunity to dramatically reduce
unemployment, create thousands of good-paying jobs and breathe new
economic life into this part of downstate Illinois.” In The Real Cost of
Prison Comix, Ahrens compels the reader to cautiously approach the
discussion of prison development as necessary for “job opportunities”
and “national security.”
Ahrens encourages society to realize
that prisons are a great cost to our nation and it is only through
working together on solutions that we will be able to combat our
reliance on our overburdened prison system. As such, The Real Cost of
Prisons Comix offers recommendations and alternatives on how we can turn
the tide away from the existing system of incarceration, including
re-directing prison budgets to education, housing and job training. The
Real Cost of Prisons Comix is a highly recommended resource for the
novice and expert seeking to reform criminal justice policies.
About the Reviewers
Angelyn Frazer is NACDL’s State Legislative Affairs Director and Susana Inda was a former NACDL intern from UC Merced.
