The Hooks Institute Policy Papers
Profiting from Punishment Drift: The Case for Abolishing For-Profit Prison Communication
Abstract
Dr. Lindsey Raisa Feldman, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Memphis, in the paper titled “Profiting from Punishment Drift: The Case for Abolishing For-Profit Prison Communication,” describes the experience of social isolation for families of incarcerated loved ones. Drawing on ethnographic research with women in Memphis, TN, she argues that charging fees for communication between prison and the outside world causes undue harm, and calls to undo the for-profit communication regime currently at work in U.S. prisons. Although there are many features of the U.S. prison system that must be addressed, Dr. Feldman underscores that communication is fundamental to humanity, which is stripped away in this current era of mass incarceration.
Recommended Citation
Feldman, Lindsey Raisa
(2024)
"Profiting from Punishment Drift: The Case for Abolishing For-Profit Prison Communication,"
The Hooks Institute Policy Papers: Vol. 2024, Article 7.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/hookspolicypapers/vol2024/iss1/7
