Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms
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- Create Date：2021-09-10 19:21:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Maya Schenwar
- ISBN：1620976978
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Summary
A crucial indictment of widely embraced “alternatives to incarceration” that exposes how many of these new approaches actually widen the net of punishment and surveillance
“But what does it mean—really—to celebrate reforms that convert your home into your prison？”
—Michelle Alexander， from the foreword
Electronic monitoring。 Locked-down drug treatment centers。 House arrest。 Mandated psychiatric treatment。 Data-driven surveillance。 Extended probation。 These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons。 But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net， weaving in new strands of punishment and control， and bringing new populations， who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment， under physical control by the state。
As mainstream public opinion has begun to turn against mass incarceration， political figures on both sides of the spectrum are pushing for reform。 But—though they’re promoted as steps to confront high rates of imprisonment—many of these measures are transforming our homes and communities into prisons instead。
In Prison by Any Other Name， activist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law reveal the way the kinder， gentler narrative of reform can obscure agendas of social control and challenge us to question the ways we replicate the status quo when pursuing change。 A foreword by Michelle Alexander situates the book in the context of criminal justice reform conversations。 Finally， the book offers a bolder vision for truly alternative justice practices。
“But what does it mean—really—to celebrate reforms that convert your home into your prison？”
—Michelle Alexander， from the foreword
Electronic monitoring。 Locked-down drug treatment centers。 House arrest。 Mandated psychiatric treatment。 Data-driven surveillance。 Extended probation。 These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons。 But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net， weaving in new strands of punishment and control， and bringing new populations， who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment， under physical control by the state。
As mainstream public opinion has begun to turn against mass incarceration， political figures on both sides of the spectrum are pushing for reform。 But—though they’re promoted as steps to confront high rates of imprisonment—many of these measures are transforming our homes and communities into prisons instead。
In Prison by Any Other Name， activist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law reveal the way the kinder， gentler narrative of reform can obscure agendas of social control and challenge us to question the ways we replicate the status quo when pursuing change。 A foreword by Michelle Alexander situates the book in the context of criminal justice reform conversations。 Finally， the book offers a bolder vision for truly alternative justice practices。
Reviews
Roxana Sierra
，
If you are wondering how we can begin to think about society without imprisonment， I recommend you read this book。 I am someone who truly believes that there is a more compassionate and humane way of supporting personal-change and providing resources to those that are forced ot interact with police and the greater prison industrial complex。 This book not only inspired me to think of the ways non-prison remedies can look like， but gave me hope in what others are already doing to build commnity ce If you are wondering how we can begin to think about society without imprisonment， I recommend you read this book。 I am someone who truly believes that there is a more compassionate and humane way of supporting personal-change and providing resources to those that are forced ot interact with police and the greater prison industrial complex。 This book not only inspired me to think of the ways non-prison remedies can look like， but gave me hope in what others are already doing to build commnity centered work and support networks。 This is a 10/10！ When I wasn't busy undergoing major life moves， I was glued to this book and it was amazing。 Each section provided new insight and made me question my own understanding of what incarceration looks like in the everyday。 。。。more
Philip
，
I'm kind of bummed after reading this book， I wanted to like it more than I did。The authors cover a lot of crap practices here。 They shine a much needed light on the ills surrounding the already well-known and documented over-incarceration issue in the U。S。 I can't say that I learned a ton， simply because there's very little new information in this book。 The majority of what "Prison by Any Other Name" adds to the discussion is further anecdotes illustrating just how devastating the criminal surv I'm kind of bummed after reading this book， I wanted to like it more than I did。The authors cover a lot of crap practices here。 They shine a much needed light on the ills surrounding the already well-known and documented over-incarceration issue in the U。S。 I can't say that I learned a ton， simply because there's very little new information in this book。 The majority of what "Prison by Any Other Name" adds to the discussion is further anecdotes illustrating just how devastating the criminal surveillance society can be - and indeed， it should be criminal！The book covers things like extended probation and parole （under severely limited mobility， draconian restrictions， prohibitive costs， and other factors that appear designed for failure and increased recidivism）， mandated therapy， oppressive and counterproductive policing， excessive electronic surveillance， sex offender registration， and other programs sold as positives。 "Reforms" sold as solutions to the problems with the criminal justice system， that makes things much worse。Overall， I think the authors did a good job showing that these practices cause more harm than they do good。 True， more data would have been nice。 Yet， this is not a secret， pretty much all research point to the same conclusions。 That the system creates criminals， drives recidivism numbers， and dehumanizes undeserving swaths of the population has been well-known since before， even， most of the current practices were bad ideas in a politician's head。 Regretfully， common sense and knowledge is not the driving force behind criminal justice legislation - rather， self-interested fearmongering and twisted priorities are。 The discussion surrounding criminal justice systems and their goal usually vacillate between prevention and punishment。 Prevention "best practices" focus more on addressing underlying causes of crime and post-crime rehabilitation。 Punishment， well， focuses on punishment。 In doing so， it drives crime。 This too， the book makes abundantly clear。 So far so good， and I just can't give a book that covers all this anything less than a 3-star review。 I'd recommend this book as an "intro to shit practices in criminal justice" to anyone。 Where my disappointment enters is with the authors' own biases and activism。 To me， these take too much space and could allow people to dismiss the very real problems that the book covers。 For one， the book focuses way too much on racism and homo- and trans-phobia as the main causes of all the evils it discusses。 Don't get me wrong， I too am aware that both demographic groups have been and continues to be disproportionately victimized by the criminal justice system。 However， with such a laser focus on specific （almost） predetermined victim profiles， it's easy to lose sight of just how prevalent these abuses are across the board。Even more troubling though， are the "solutions" the book champions。 The authors mention how the current system is something of a fever dream of a solution， doomed to fail。 Their own version of a solution isn't much better。 They're pushing community solutions， restorative justice programs， a lot of anti-patriarchy， anti-capitalism， prison and police abolishment， and other kumbaya （in the hippie removed-from-reality sense， not the racist-y/cultural appropriation sense） ideas。They sound nice， and I'm not saying that things like community building shouldn't be part of a better world。 However， as the saying goes， "great idea， wrong species。" To support this claim the authors argue， among other things， that we've done fine without prisons in the past。 Which is kind of true， back in the day we just chopped off hands and heads instead。 What I mean is， I do not think we'll get away from needing both police and prisons anytime soon。 In fact， in many ways even the shitty current system is an improvement on prior "justice" practices。The authors give a few examples of what they think are good practices。 Including a restorative justice anecdote that centered around concepts that are far from universally accepted or uniformly defined - making it even less universally applicable since restorative （and transformative） justice build on willing participation of victim and perpetrator （who has to acknowledge and accept that they have caused harm - and that's not at all a given）。 Speaking of good practices， these are - of course - mostly being done by activist organizations according to the authors。 And sure， I kind of have to give them that point。 However， when they then say that government should pretty much just get out of the way of activists who already know what they're doing。。。 yeah， that's not a good idea。 Organizations like that tend to be a little blinded by their specific cause， to say the least。。。 Thus they should not be in charge of wider policy。 This should not be a difficult concept for the authors to grasp， it's essentially what has happened with police who target minorities in neighborhood policing efforts。So， in summary， I like this book for shining a light on crap policy and the steady decline into a police state。 In fact， I really like it for this - albeit that it's mostly a collation of known information。 I like it less for some choices in what to focus on。 And I flat-out dislike it for its proposed "solutions。"Still， definitely recommended。 。。。more
Chris Boutté
，
Our prison system in the United States is awful， and a lot of it is due to the prison industrial complex。 I’m a huge believer in prison reform， and when I came across this book from Shenwar and Law， I was curious because it was coming from a different angle。 When we think about prison reform， we often think about prisons and prison sentences， but these two authors wanted to focus on all of the other aspects of the justice system。 This book dives into probation， home confinement， addiction and me Our prison system in the United States is awful， and a lot of it is due to the prison industrial complex。 I’m a huge believer in prison reform， and when I came across this book from Shenwar and Law， I was curious because it was coming from a different angle。 When we think about prison reform， we often think about prisons and prison sentences， but these two authors wanted to focus on all of the other aspects of the justice system。 This book dives into probation， home confinement， addiction and mental health treatment， schools， and so much more。 This book brought up so many issues that I hadn’t even thought of， and I think most of us assume that something like an ankle monitor or probation is far better than prison， but that shouldn’t be where the conversation ends。 This is such an important book， and I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about prison reform as well as how we police our communities。 In the final chapter， the authors lay out some excellent alternatives to the current systems。 As a recovering addict who has worked in mental health and addiction treatment， I didn’t 100% agree with some of their ideas on treatment， but I think they’re definitely worth having a conversation about。 But at the end of the day， the authors are humble about their ideas and opinions for reform， and that’s all we can ask for from any author with big ideas about changing our systems。 。。。more
Jill
，
Absolutely phenomenal。 This book carefully and meticulously walks the reader through so many of the systems present in our society that are not literal prisons， but that nevertheless enact much of the similar control and harm。 Solutions to our current punitive and trauma-perpetuating “justice” system necessarily require reconsidering how we confront and deal with harm and what NOT to do。 This book addresses just that。 After walking you through the ways things like child welfare， drug rehabilitat Absolutely phenomenal。 This book carefully and meticulously walks the reader through so many of the systems present in our society that are not literal prisons， but that nevertheless enact much of the similar control and harm。 Solutions to our current punitive and trauma-perpetuating “justice” system necessarily require reconsidering how we confront and deal with harm and what NOT to do。 This book addresses just that。 After walking you through the ways things like child welfare， drug rehabilitation， mental health institutes， schools， and probation programs can perpetuate control， surveillance， violence， and injustice， it ends on a truly inspiring note of exploration and imagination for a world of true community safety， justice and provision of needs。I think this book should be essential reading for anybody who lives。。。 in a society haha。 It challenges our thinking and solutions at the very root， the very definition of radical， and invites new possibilities that feel grounded and truly hopeful。 100/5 stars。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Broadsnark
，
I want to buy this book for everyone I know。 This is a book to hand to everyone who asks， but if not police then what。 I really cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we don't allow ourselves to be sucked into "alternatives" to prison that are really more of the same。 I want to buy this book for everyone I know。 This is a book to hand to everyone who asks， but if not police then what。 I really cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we don't allow ourselves to be sucked into "alternatives" to prison that are really more of the same。 。。。more
Nina Leitenberg
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When they talked about drugs they were all about those safe injection sites w clean needles， medical staff， etc。。。。 But no mention of safe supply。 Very careful to use the language of "decriminalization" and providing access to "resources" rather than straightforwardly calling for a safe supply of drugs。 Weird omission for a book that is otherwise very direct and clear and radical （for lack of a better word） in advocating for people's bodily and mental autonomy When they talked about drugs they were all about those safe injection sites w clean needles， medical staff， etc。。。。 But no mention of safe supply。 Very careful to use the language of "decriminalization" and providing access to "resources" rather than straightforwardly calling for a safe supply of drugs。 Weird omission for a book that is otherwise very direct and clear and radical （for lack of a better word） in advocating for people's bodily and mental autonomy 。。。more
Ceris
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Really engaging and thorough and comprehensive！！ I’d really recommend this。 Wish I owned a copy to pass around （luckily the library does so I don’t need to）
Jd Lancaster
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It is hard to review this book without comparing it to that of The End of Policing 。 I think in every aspect that EoP falls show， Prison by Any Other Name makes up for it， and then some。 This book is masterfully written， and easy to understand as someone who at the time， knew little about the abolition movement。 It was really sobering to see the ways in which the prison complex effects all aspects of life。 It is hard to review this book without comparing it to that of The End of Policing 。 I think in every aspect that EoP falls show， Prison by Any Other Name makes up for it， and then some。 This book is masterfully written， and easy to understand as someone who at the time， knew little about the abolition movement。 It was really sobering to see the ways in which the prison complex effects all aspects of life。 。。。more
Ashe Herbertson
，
An absolute necessary read if you aren’t sure what it means to abolish the police or abolish prisons。 Answers the question of what’s the problem and what it could be instead。
Marie
，
essential！！！ paints abolition as the only reasonable path fwd
Siobhán
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Really interesting read。 I wish there was more space dedicated to the sex offenders register and examples of people on it who were convicted of rape and other serious crimes， rather than the examples give。 I also acknowledge that Schenwar and Law mention that the examples in the book are not universal， I again would’ve liked more space on what happens with rapists and child abusers。 The one anecdote in the final chapter did not feel enough， especially given it took place within the context of ac Really interesting read。 I wish there was more space dedicated to the sex offenders register and examples of people on it who were convicted of rape and other serious crimes， rather than the examples give。 I also acknowledge that Schenwar and Law mention that the examples in the book are not universal， I again would’ve liked more space on what happens with rapists and child abusers。 The one anecdote in the final chapter did not feel enough， especially given it took place within the context of activist circles where the RJ could take place 。。。more
josie
，
mandatory reading。 one that I’ll be seeing bits of everywhere
Lena Lee
，
Every American needs to read this book and immediately start putting the ideas into practice。 I am starting today。 Will you join me？
Brady Koetting
，
While there wasn't too much for me in regards to having new revelations from this book， I still appreciated the personal stories and thoughts around how these "kinder prisons" affect people's lives。 When thinking about ways to change the justice system， everything needs to go back to three main questions in my mind。1。 Does this truly address the root cause of crime。2。 Does this not take away someone's autonomy or subject them to increased surveillance。3。 Does this heal the affected community。Thi While there wasn't too much for me in regards to having new revelations from this book， I still appreciated the personal stories and thoughts around how these "kinder prisons" affect people's lives。 When thinking about ways to change the justice system， everything needs to go back to three main questions in my mind。1。 Does this truly address the root cause of crime。2。 Does this not take away someone's autonomy or subject them to increased surveillance。3。 Does this heal the affected community。Things like body cameras， electronic monitoring， and probation， fail these questions。 Things such as mutual aid and transformative justice pass these questions。 。。。more
Ai Miller
，
A hugely important book to read for folks looking and thinking about alternatives to incarceration and the ways that most of the "reforms" that are being currently offered are in fact functionally the same as prison and may， in some cases， be worse in terms of stretching out a person's punishment for far longer than if they had been sent to prison for the original crime they were accused of。 It's infuriating at every step （I started out reading this book right before I went to bed and ended up h A hugely important book to read for folks looking and thinking about alternatives to incarceration and the ways that most of the "reforms" that are being currently offered are in fact functionally the same as prison and may， in some cases， be worse in terms of stretching out a person's punishment for far longer than if they had been sent to prison for the original crime they were accused of。 It's infuriating at every step （I started out reading this book right before I went to bed and ended up having to swap up my book line up because I would get so angry I couldn't sleep，） and I could see people reading this and being frustrated that more time isn't spent on alternatives that are actually useful （though they do discuss alternatives a little bit， it's not the entire focus of this book and really only shows up in the last chapter，） though I felt like it was fine and does the work it's meant to。 In a larger line up of books about ending the PIC， I would put it a little later （it's a great follow up to We Do This 'Til We Free Us，） but nonetheless it's a hugely critical read that energized me to continue to try to fight these forms of punishment and confinement that do nothing to stop harm and in fact only increase its prevalence。 。。。more
Megan Mac Littel
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Really informative， I learned so much。 This would be a great book to discuss with others。
Eli Maczuzak
，
This book does a fantastic job of identifying less considered or "more humane" components of mass incarceration。 It also provides real recommendations for non-carceral solutions to injustice， which can sometimes be hard to come by in frequently recommended abolitionist works。 I do highly recommend Angela Davis'， Ruth Wilson Gilmore's， and Michelle Alexander's works as background/further reading if possible as they're frequently cited and the authors of this book build upon their ideas rather tha This book does a fantastic job of identifying less considered or "more humane" components of mass incarceration。 It also provides real recommendations for non-carceral solutions to injustice， which can sometimes be hard to come by in frequently recommended abolitionist works。 I do highly recommend Angela Davis'， Ruth Wilson Gilmore's， and Michelle Alexander's works as background/further reading if possible as they're frequently cited and the authors of this book build upon their ideas rather than keeping everything at a purely introductory level。 I'd also recommend the podcast You're Wrong About's episode on Sex Offenders to get more details on the harm caused by the Registry。 。。。more
Jennvw
，
Great foundational reading for anyone exploring abolition， or trying to understand why reforms do not work to address the core of problems within the criminal "justice" system。 Great foundational reading for anyone exploring abolition， or trying to understand why reforms do not work to address the core of problems within the criminal "justice" system。 。。。more
Clare
，
Good for abolitionists who want to start getting a bit more in the weeds about non-prison carceral punishments。 I knew very little about probation， mandated/forced treatment programs， or electronic monitoring before this book， and I think it was a great primer on these and other faces of the PIC。
Nora Murad
，
Prison By Any Other Name is an accessible， detailed and convincing explanation of the prison industrial complex。 It uses real people's experiences to expose how "prison" in the United States is far more than a concrete building where bad people are housed。 The prison industrial complex （or carceral state） is a deeply embedded and often invisible institutional and cultural system that relies on surveillance of us all to target and control people。 It has eyes and arms in all parts of society inclu Prison By Any Other Name is an accessible， detailed and convincing explanation of the prison industrial complex。 It uses real people's experiences to expose how "prison" in the United States is far more than a concrete building where bad people are housed。 The prison industrial complex （or carceral state） is a deeply embedded and often invisible institutional and cultural system that relies on surveillance of us all to target and control people。 It has eyes and arms in all parts of society including our families， schools， healthcare systems and workplaces。 Authors Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law， who are national leaders in abolitionist discourse， highlight the way poverty， illness and race are criminalized， how the system incrementally invades and controls people's lives， and how very profitable the system is。 The book shows how criminal justice reform provides cover for expansion of the system。 Like Schenwar and Law's excellent public talk and articles， Prison By Any Other Name is an essential contribution to abolitionist thinking and action。 。。。more
Lauren
，
Such an important read full of great examples and ideas。 Definitely very readable。 However， I don’t think this is a good “starting point” for folks who haven’t read about prison reform or the carceral state yet。 Each chapter， while meaty and full of good ideas， also felt like it was missing something to connect the dots。
Natalie
，
A must read！
Riley T
，
As someone ardently involved with prison reform and abolition movements， I like to consider myself knowledgeable about this subject。 This book didn’t teach me much， but contextualized a lot of scattered information and forced me to challenge many of my conceptions of “good” and “bad。”
Caroline
，
-ideas， low evidence
Paige
，
This book was a very informative rundown of prison "alternatives" that are gaining more attention as defunding police and prisons become more popular positions。 It was a useful read， to me， because I wasn't familiar with the specifics of most of them and it broke down how so many reforms are really an expansion of the carceral state， and before reading this I probably would not have had many objections to reforms like probation， house arrest or mandated drug treatment when presented as a way to This book was a very informative rundown of prison "alternatives" that are gaining more attention as defunding police and prisons become more popular positions。 It was a useful read， to me， because I wasn't familiar with the specifics of most of them and it broke down how so many reforms are really an expansion of the carceral state， and before reading this I probably would not have had many objections to reforms like probation， house arrest or mandated drug treatment when presented as a way to divert people from prison cells。 But what I liked most about the book was the last section， where the authors listed actual noncarceral solutions and provided real examples of the work being done， while still being realistic that in the short term there will be times someone is forced to call 911。 With most books on abolition and police， I've always learned a lot about why our current criminal justice system is bad， but very little about what to do instead。 。。。more
Joy Messinger
，
[5 stars] An investigative exploration of how many proposed “alternatives” to policing and incarceration still reinforce and perpetuate carceral violence and harm。 Skillfully wove together race， gender， class， disability， harm reduction， and abolitionist lenses for a truly intersectional picture of the impact of policing and prison systems’ insidious expansions on BIPOC， cis women， trans and queer people， parents and birthing people， disabled folks， migrants， sex workers， drug users， and low-inc [5 stars] An investigative exploration of how many proposed “alternatives” to policing and incarceration still reinforce and perpetuate carceral violence and harm。 Skillfully wove together race， gender， class， disability， harm reduction， and abolitionist lenses for a truly intersectional picture of the impact of policing and prison systems’ insidious expansions on BIPOC， cis women， trans and queer people， parents and birthing people， disabled folks， migrants， sex workers， drug users， and low-income and poor communities。 I appreciated the blend of individual stories and data-driven research， and the tone read like long-form journalism rather than dense academic prose。 Recommended for people interested in abolitionist theory and solutions， regardless of your current level of knowledge， and anyone wanting to learn more about the harms of expanding the criminal legal system， especially methods like electronic monitoring， mandated psychiatric treatment， drug courts， and “community policing” that are often touted by reformers as key solutions。 Note: I could’ve done without the few pages in the last chapter that portrayed Malcolm London’s sexual violence as a redemption arc （he has since been accused of additional instances）， and wish the authors had more specifically centered Kyra’s process and experiences only。 Goodreads Challenge: 20/60Reading Women Challenge: about incarceration Popsugar Reading Challenge: seen on someone’s bookshelfBookriot Read Harder Challenge: takes place in the Midwest （partially） 。。。more
Analena
，
Needed very long to get through because it is so dense， but it goes through a lot of different things with many case examples and provides a good insight into the prison industrial complex and what is wrong with it。 I would have hoped for a bit more detailed account on alternatives， it was merely the last chapter that went into it， but I did get ideas for alternatives to the current justice system in place。
Brianna Vinci
，
I decided to read this after seeing Victoria Law speak on a panel。 It was really interesting and it made me think a lot。 I think it’s going to be a really important piece in my ongoing efforts to be a better ally， a better person， and a better advocate。 I recommend to anyone interested in learning more about abolition， especially if it’s challenging for you to think about that process。
Leah
，
this one got lost in the Great January Reading Slump but I'm glad I finally went back to this one。 it was helpful to me because it gave specific reasons why different institutions are actually harmful， even if it didn't， like， revolutionize my thinking about any of them （thank u for tuning into another episode of leah is bad at explaining her feelings about something） this one got lost in the Great January Reading Slump but I'm glad I finally went back to this one。 it was helpful to me because it gave specific reasons why different institutions are actually harmful， even if it didn't， like， revolutionize my thinking about any of them （thank u for tuning into another episode of leah is bad at explaining her feelings about something） 。。。more
C
，