Prison Capital

Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana

By Lydia Pelot-Hobbs | Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

About the book

Every year between 1998 to 2020 except one, Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of incarceration in the nation and thus the world. This is the first detailed account of Louisiana’s unprecedented turn to mass incarceration from 1970 to 2020.

Through extensive research, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs illuminates how policy makers enlarged Louisiana’s carceral infrastructures with new prisons and jail expansions alongside the bulking up of police and prosecutorial power. At the same time, these infrastructures were the products of multiscalar crises: the swings of global oil capitalism, liberal federal court and policy interventions, the rise of neoliberal governance and law-and-order austerity, and racist and patriarchal moral panics surrounding “crime.” However, these crises have also created fertile space for anticarceral social movements. From incarcerated people filing conditions of confinement lawsuits and Angola activists challenging life without parole to grassroots organizers struggling to shrink the New Orleans jail following Hurricane Katrina and LGBTQ youth of color organizing against police sexual violence, grassroots movements stretch us toward new geographies of freedom in the lineage of abolition democracy. Understanding Louisiana’s carceral crisis extends our understanding of the interplay between the crises of mass criminalization and racial capitalism while highlighting the conditions of possibility for dismantling carceral power in all its forms.

Editions of Prison Capital

Hardcover
ISBN 9781469675107
Paperback
ISBN 9781469675114
EBook
ISBN 9781469675138
EBook
ISBN 9781469675121
PDF
ISBN 9798890862778
PDF
ISBN 9781469679723

Read an Excerpt

Every year between 1998 to 2020 except one, Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of incarceration in the nation and thus the world. This is the first detailed account of Louisiana’s unprecedented turn to mass incarceration from 1970 to 2020.

Through extensive research, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs illuminates how policy makers enlarged Louisiana’s carceral infrastructures with new prisons and jail expansions alongside the bulking up of police and prosecutorial power. At the same time, these infrastructures were the products of multiscalar crises: the swings of global oil capitalism, liberal federal court and policy interventions, the rise of neoliberal governance and law-and-order austerity, and racist and patriarchal moral panics surrounding “crime.” However, these crises have also created fertile space for anticarceral social movements. From incarcerated people filing conditions of confinement lawsuits and Angola activists challenging life without parole to grassroots organizers struggling to shrink the New Orleans jail following Hurricane Katrina and LGBTQ youth of color organizing against police sexual violence, grassroots movements stretch us toward new geographies of freedom in the lineage of abolition democracy. Understanding Louisiana’s carceral crisis extends our understanding of the interplay between the crises of mass criminalization and racial capitalism while highlighting the conditions of possibility for dismantling carceral power in all its forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Prison Capital about?

Every year between 1998 to 2020 except one, Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of incarceration in the nation and thus the world. This is the first detailed account of Louisiana’s unprecedented turn to mass incarceration from 1970 to 2020.

Through extensive research, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs illuminates how policy makers enlarged Louisiana’s carceral infrastructures with new prisons and jail expansions alongside the bulking up of police and prosecutorial power. At the same time, these infrastructures were the products of multiscalar crises: the swings of global oil capitalism, liberal federal court and policy interventions, the rise of neoliberal governance and law-and-order austerity, and racist and patriarchal moral panics surrounding “crime.” However, these crises have also created fertile space for anticarceral social movements. From incarcerated people filing conditions of confinement lawsuits and Angola activists challenging life without parole to grassroots organizers struggling to shrink the New Orleans jail following Hurricane Katrina and LGBTQ youth of color organizing against police sexual violence, grassroots movements stretch us toward new geographies of freedom in the lineage of abolition democracy. Understanding Louisiana’s carceral crisis extends our understanding of the interplay between the crises of mass criminalization and racial capitalism while highlighting the conditions of possibility for dismantling carceral power in all its forms.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Prison Capital?

Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity

Where can I read a sample of Prison Capital?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469675107

How long is Prison Capital and how many pages does it have?

Prison Capital has 392 page(s)

Is Prison Capital part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series Justice, Power, and Politics

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Prison Capital?

Lydia Pelot-Hobbs

Who is the Publisher of the book Prison Capital?

The University of North Carolina Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Prison Capital is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469675107) and paperback(ISBN 9781469675114) and ebook(ISBN 9781469675138) and ebook(ISBN 9781469675121) and pdf(ISBN 9798890862778) and pdf(ISBN 9781469679723)

Where can I buy Prison Capital online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Prison Capital from below

Where can I buy Prison Capital?