it’s a long shot, but i really really really hope...

gourmetpunk:

keplercryptids:
keplercryptids:
keplercryptids:
it’s a long shot, but i really really really hope these social distancing, self-isolation protocols make people reconsider our justice system. people are struggling with staying in the comfort of their own homes for a few weeks, with all their shit, food delivery options and internet access. and of course, it IS a struggle, i am not diminishing that! but hopefully this sheds a light on just how inhumane it is to put someone in a cell for 25+ years. hopefully it hints at how solitary confinement is actual, literal torture. anyway abolish prisons.
also just as a note, the first federal prisoner died of covid19-related complications in the US recently: a man serving a 27-year sentence for nonviolent drug crimes.
based on the fact this post hasn’t even broken 300 notes and ive already gotten about 8 replies saying some variation of “but some people deserve state sanctioned torture!!!” i can see i was correct. even this experience won’t encourage compassion in everyone.
hey, this just in: the state shouldn’t be allowed to torture anyone. full stop. no matter what. the fact that this is considered too radical is uhhhh making me wanna go back to bed for 12 hours.
I would love to believe that this would change people’s minds, but unfortunately (and maybe it’s just the online circles of people I’m connected with) I’ve seen pretty much the opposite happen - many people, even those who I know normally think of themselves as “liberal”, “left”, or “critical of the prison system” (and I generally avoid having online connections that skew rightwards of “liberal” in the first place) have shown a disturbing amount of support for increasing police presence and sentencing in the face of the pandemic. It’s really making me lose faith in people’s understanding of the politics they claim to support, though I guess that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at this point.