Radical Acts of Justice: How Ordinary People Are Dismantling Mass Incarceration

Former New York City public defender Simonson debuts with an enlightening examination of how ordinary people are “resisting mass incarceration in their neighborhoods” using tactics such as bail funds, courtwatching, and participatory defense. Citing studies that show people who are “held in jail pretrial are more likely to be sentenced to prison time, and to serve longer prison sentences, than people who are released,” Simonson explains how community bail funds (usually collected from hundreds of small donations) “interrupt this process.” Regarding the practice of courtwatching, in which members of the community observe criminal proceedings at the courthouse and then “share their observations and analysis with the larger public,” Simonson notes that when courtwatchers enter the courtroom “as a visible collective” in order to “watch all” of the cases instead of one, they “disrupt the routine of forced, casual submission.” Participatory defense groups—community members who get together to work on a case, such as by helping “dissect discovery documents”—“demand entry into legal spaces that are designed to be exclusionary,” according to Simonson. Drawing on case studies and firsthand experience, Simonson persuasively shows how engaging in “collective work” enables communities to challenge a seemingly implacable system. This is a must-read for justice system reform advocates. (Aug.)