ABSTRACT
Garland offered two essential features to define mass imprisonment: “sheer numbers” and “social concentration of imprisonment’s effects.” Scholars argue that mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial disparities in incarceration are the legacy of slavery. In the 21st century, racial disparity “permeates every stage of the US criminal justice system, from arrest to trial to sentencing to post-prison experiences”. It is important for readers who are interested in studying mass incarceration to understand that criminal laws, policies, and practices provide the foundation that mass incarceration is built upon. The courts and their actors also sustain mass incarceration. Many people are negatively impacted by mass incarceration. Mass incarceration has separated incarcerated people from their families, and for many, for a substantial period of time. Youth under the age of majority are usually processed in the separate juvenile justice system. Mass incarceration also encompasses people who are detained in immigration detention centers.
