Christopher Poulos: What I Learned Visiting Alaska's Only Maximum-Security Prison

Date:  09-09-2021 The reforms at the Spring Creek prison show what can be done when people are treated humanely and prepared for life on the outside

From The Guardian: Having spent two and a half years in prison by the time I was 26, I never thought I’d be invited to Alaska’s only maximum-security prison 10 years later. But on 20 September 2019, I received a phone call from Spring Creek correctional center that would change my perspective forever. My path brought me from experiencing trauma, addiction and federal incarceration to attaining sobriety, graduating from law school and interning in the Obama White House. Now I work on criminal legal system reforms at the state and national levels. Through this work, I have a deep understanding of prisons, but I am not a proponent of using mass incarceration to “cure” society’s ills. I have found that incarcerating people rarely addresses underlying causes and conditions such as poverty, trauma, addiction and mental illness. Much more often, it compounds them. Continue reading >>>