The Public Sector Death Knell: Consequences of Fiscal Austerity Prison Reform

• In Event: Values in Criminal Justice Policy, Values in Our Research

Abstract

Over the past decade, the political landscape in the realm of criminal justice policy has shifted towards broad support for prison reform, even in unlikely locations such as Mississippi. After decades of steadily increasing its prison population, Mississippi in the past several years has reduced the number of people sent to its state prisons. The state has fit criminal justice reform into its broader efforts to reduce state expenditures. This paper examines some of the consequences of prison reform in the context of fiscal austerity. Developments such as reduced numbers of inmates in state prisons and the end of convict labor programs on the surface seem like positive improvements. However, if taken in a wider context, these developments are actually part of the destruction of the public sector, not progressive prisoner rights reforms. Consequently, the effects have been detrimental to Mississippians, in particular the most marginalized and poor who bear the brunt of austerity politics. Tracing the ideological underpinnings of the 2014 prison reforms and reform coalitions and then several key consequences of the reforms, the paper draws from an analysis of state research publications, legislative floor debates, state and local newspaper coverage, as well as state and county budgets and prison data. Mississippi is exemplary of many states pursuing similar reforms and therefore provides a cautionary tale for the direction of prison reform in the United States.

Author

• Sarah Cate, University of Southern Mississippi