Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen

Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen


“Prison Reform” We Can Do Lots Better. Now.

July 22, 2020

The current system clearly tends to worsen already bad situations. Forcing people to see who they are as “bad,” not just they they did bad things. Did you ever think about how we came up with the prison system in the first place? Consider the word penitentiary! On this show, we examine what passes for “prison reform” in 2020. Victoria Law is co-author of “Prisons by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms.” A whole village pays the price today, not just the prisoner.  What does “community policing” actually mean? And what about the drug war? What if a system tells people they are valuable and are a needed part of the community? This may be aunique moment in history for positive change.