Event Recording: Behind the Walls: A Conversation on Prison Conditions in America

There is growing recognition that America’s prisons require urgent attention. Staffing shortages, aging infrastructure, and limited access to programming are creating conditions that endanger officers and residents while undercutting efforts to reduce recidivism and improve public safety. And recent proposals, suggesting transfers to harsh foreign facilities or advocating the softer approach used in Scandinavian countries, illustrate the vast gulf in views about the purposes of incarceration. 

Leaders from the Council on Criminal Justice’s Centering Justice project led a thoughtful discussion on how prison conditions affect those who live and work behind bars—and what that means for safety, fairness, dignity, and accountability.