Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment and why have their ideas been so difficult to communicate and garner widespread support? This book outlines the long and nuanced history of penal abolitionism and shows how these ideas have continued topicality.
Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment? And why have their ideas been so difficult to popularise or garner the political will for change? This book outlines several different approaches to penal abolitionism and showcases their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination, and repression.
This exciting and innovative edited collection shows how abolitionist ideas have continued topicality and relevance in the present day and how they can collectively help with devising new ways of thinking about social problems as well as suggesting alternatives to existing penal policies, practices and institutions.
David Gordon Scott works at The Open University and is Co-Founding Editor of the journal Justice, Power and Resistance.
Author/Editor details at time of book publication.