Portside

There are 2.4 million people in U.S. jails; and the burden of mass incarceration falls heavily on the many families of inmates who can’t pay off thousands of dollars in debt after paying court-related costs. According to a report published Monday, the average family of an inmate incurs $13,607 in court-related debt, one-third of the families go into debt to pay for phone calls and visits, and 83 percent of the family members responsible for these costs are women.

In Chicago, over a 5 year period from 2005-2009, there were: 851 blocks with over $1 million committed to prison sentences; 121 blocks with over $1 million committed to prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses. This is wasteful spending at its worst, especially given that research has shown that incarceration does not necessarily reduce crime in neighborhoods. The good news is that there are many innovative, common-sense, and creative alternative approaches.

"We march to shed a light on the national crisis of police brutality and the system that allows it to continue," said march director Carmen Perez, who also heads Gathering for Justice. "We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities."

In the November, 2014, special issue of Socialism and Democracy, "The Roots of Mass Incarceration in the US: Locking Up Black Dissidents and Punishing the Poor," provides a penetrating analysis of a range of the issues involved and points toward the steps that are needed to turn around these horrors. This publication couldn't be more timely and relevant, as the mighty river of the Black Lives Matter movement flows across and brings new life into the country.