[Opinion. Our prisoners are not a great ad for the “Land of the Free”. 580 Americans per 100,000 are not free. In fact, our two million show that to be a lie. A million of those committed crimes of violence so maybe a percentage of those need prison. But mostly prisoners need education, counseling, rehabilitation through work at minimum wage, not 20¢ an hour. Unless, that is, we are monsters fully committed to vengeance for the mildest of crimes. Dostoevsky wrote, "A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” America’s record is poor.] How to Stop a Jail In These Times: 12 Jun 2026 SOURCE: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-to-stop-a-jail/ Across the United States, jails are crumbling and overpopulated. Community groups have clear ideas about how to meet people's needs, but have to fight to be heard. To further complicate an already fraught question of what to do, if not build new jails to replace old ones, is the looming threat and reality of ICE detention centers quickly coming into communities. A coalition in Atlanta has made gains in its ongoing fight to stop the construction of a new mega-jail. Similar efforts are underway across the United States. Three prison abolitionists wrote No New Beds. The Community Over Cages coalition, Women on the Rise and Families for Justice as Healing were part of a campaign in Massachusetts fighting to stop an over-$300 million women's prison. "A lot of times—when we are always screaming, 'Hey, close the jail or don't build a new jail!'—they're looking for, ‘OK, if we don't, then what?’” Hassan explains. “And I think once we filled that hole, it filled that gap and gives them solutions, instead of just giving them what they should be doing. “That's when it opened up their eyes."
