The Strong Stance: The Injustice of Incarceration

From CeCe McDonald’s imprisonment for defending herself in an assault, to Laverne Cox’s portrayal as Sophia Burset in Orange Is the New Black, to Jennicet Gutierrez’s White House protest of transgender detainee treatment in ICE custody. Today we have two guests joining us to discuss the current state of the American prison system, the concept of abolition and the reforms necessary to protect transgender and gender non-conforming prisoners.

Prison Stats: The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's prisoners. (2014 stat) In 2010, the U.S. spent $80 billion on incarceration. (2014 stat) In 2012, one in every 108 adults was in prison or jail and one in 28 American children has a parent behind bars. (2014 stat).

LGBT youth make up only 6 percent of the general population but represent 15 percent of people currently in juvenile detention. (http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/9/18/helping-queer-youth-affected-school-prison-pipeline) 40% of Transgender Prisoners Are Sexually Abused, which is 10 times the rate of prisoners in general. (https://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/federal-survey-40-of-transgender-prisoners-are-sexually-abused-each-year/)