"Civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson said, 'Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.' [...] Collectively, we have reached a critical point where the justice reform movement can no longer ignore or discount the voices of the people who are most intimately familiar with the criminal legal system. We must be front and center in the fight to end mass incarceration because we bring the necessary urgency and innovative strength that the movement requires. This is what we know, and we know it better than anyone else."

What We Know is a powerful collection of essays that will redefine the way you think about criminal justice reform. The authors point out that the title of "criminal justice reform expert" is often given to those with no personal and direct experience in the carceral system: police, judges, lawyers, and policymakers. In reality, the people who know this system best are those who have been directly impacted by it - currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. They lived the conditions of prisons and jails, and they faced barriers to reentry after being released. They benefitted from prison educational programs and saw what programs were the most effective at rehabilitating and retraining imprisoned populations. Each essay in this collection is written by a formerly or currently incarcerated person - the directive was that they recommend a policy solution informed by their experience in the criminal justice system. The editors (both of whom were also incarcerated) received hundreds and hundreds of responses. They chose the 23 best essays for this book, and each one of them is powerful and distinct in its own way. Most of them center around the idea of productive reentry into society: preparing prisoners with job skills, technological knowledge, and soft skills to help them find gainful employment after release, earn a living wage, and not turn to crime again. If we can all agree that this is the end goal of incarceration - to punish a crime and then have that person reenter as a contributing member to society, we need all of these reforms.

The editors note that some of the policy solutions do not go far enough - for example, one author who was imprisoned for life for a robbery he committed at the age of 17 - after a failed escape attempt, he was sentence to three consecutive life sentences and long-term solitary confinement. In solitary, he cannot access educational or rehabilitative programs. He would be paroled at the age of 50 or 60, with no work history, marketable skills, savings account, support network, or knowledge of basic life skills. How is that helpful to anyone? He will then likely turn to crime as a way to earn money, and then be sent back to the carceral system. The author, Aaron Striz, proposes The 20/20 Program: Anyone who commits a crime before the age of 20 and has served at least 20 years of his sentence will be enrolled in a vocational and rehabilitative program. Upon completion of that program, they would be granted parole. To some like myself, that solution does not go far enough - serving 20 years for a crime committed as a juvenile seems ridiculous. But Striz cites the rationale for this program within clear evidence-based research - that 20 years is enough for a person to develop the moral and critical thinking faculties he may have not had as a juvenile, and 20 years is enough of a punishment to satisfy most. In his "tough on crime" state of Texas, arguments like this go a long way.

Striz's policy recommendation is just one of many, many smart, well thought out, and seemingly obvious solutions in the collection. Authors recommend that each state bookmark a certain number of jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals and give companies a tax break for participating in the program; that prisons be outfitted with more modern computers so that those who are released are not lightyears behind current tech, which is now a basic skill; that Texas create an independent citizen review board to assess conditions within prisons and provide an external check on corruption and mistreatment (this one is a particular shocking essay with a no-brainer policy recommendation). Many of these essays are brilliantly, poetically written. Authors of these essays have won PEN Awards, received Bachelor's and Master's degrees while imprisoned, and more. Some of these could easily be turned into full-length books about their time in the system.

I cannot recommend this collection enough, particularly to those who care about the justice system. Putting these voices at the center of the "criminal justice reform" conversation is key to making actually impactful change, as they know better than anyone else what needs fixing. You will surely be inspired and galvanized to act on what you read, and I hope those in positions to make these changes will take heed. Thank you to the New Press for the ARC!

I think the most important thing a person can do when they read this book is to sit down, take a step back, and listen. Depending on your degree of knowledge of the US judicial and prison systems you may or may not agree with some solutions, and you may hear yourself saying “OMG” out loud at times. But what is really, really important is that you let each and every essay sit with you for a while, and listen without judgement or need to analyze and react. Let those who have had real experience of being incarcerated by and in the US judicial and prison systems take the podium and discuss reforms.

In one of the first essays we are asked to really imagine ourselves behind bars. Not just imagine yourself for a moment, and then step away from that image, but really stand in the place he describes: feel it, smell it. That’s when you can start to see the huge disconnect that lies between what we imagine we are doing in terms of prison reform, and what actually takes place in prisons across the country. That is the disconnect that we need to really understand when we read through the remaining essays.

Digital literacy, the school to prison pipeline, prison debate clubs, ideas on how to make re-entrance into society easier and safer: there are so many ideas in this book, as well as many different views of how the prison system works in different states. Did you know that in Maryland a sentence of life with the possibility of parole doesn’t mean anything different than a sentence of life without the possibility of parole? I didn’t. Now I do, and now I also know that I need to look deeper into systems in the state of California where I currently reside.

Mass incarceration is a scourge on our society, one that is tightly woven with systemic racism and white supremacist policies, and overally affects Black and Hispanic communities. Earlier this year I was invited to attend the opening of a very important exhibition at the California Museum here in Sacramento. Entitled smallasaGIANT, it was a large-scale photo and conceptual art exhibit created by artist Ise Lyfe, containing the documentation of how devastating the US history of juvenile incarceration is. During the opening we had the chance to listen to the stories of several former incarcerated people who were convicted as adults while they were still children. These men, and one woman, spent decades in maximum security prisons for crimes they committed as children. While the school to prison pipeline is no secret to anyone, hearing personal stories from people who were locked inside this pipeline made it all the horrifying. This is why I think that What We Know is a must-read: we can fight for justice and the dismantling of these horrific policies, but unless we actually understand deep down how prisons work the changes we can make will not be effective.

Compiled and edited by Vivian Nixon (Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship) and Daryl V. Atkinson (JustLeadershipUSA), What We Know is a compilation of 23 essays written by formerly incarcerated and incarcerated people, depicting an array of different reforms that could improve the justice system as it stands today. I recommend this to anyone interested in prison reform, but also to those who don’t understand what needs to change - this is a necessary read.

Thanks to Netgalley and The New Press for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

A compelling collection of essays from justice-involved individuals offering their proposals for changes within the criminal justice system. ⁣
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I was particularly touched by a few entries: Teresa Y. Hodge’s convincing call for digital inclusion efforts, C.T. Mexica’s description of his experience as a youth in the prison pipeline, Terah Lawyer’s passionate advocacy for homes for recently released individuals, Mika’il DeVeaux’s reflection on prison labor as slavery, Arthur Longworth’s devastating account of his experience as a ward of the state within the justice system, and DeAnna Hoskins hopeful nudging towards a more humane system. ⁣
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The unifying theme I noticed across the essays was a woeful lack of support upon release that in many ways encourages recidivism. The experiences of the people highlighted in this collection really hammer home the inhumanity of our current justice system which functions as harsh, repetitive punishment instead of rehabilitation and accountability. ⁣
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Interestingly, it was one of the essays (Sreedhar Potarazu’s coverage of illiteracy) that is the source of my only significant critique: if his numbers are correct, at least 70% of all incarcerated individuals cannot read above a fourth-grade level. I would have liked to see some inclusion of those voices in some way, as submitting a proposal for publication was likely a daunting prospect for this wide swath of the population. ⁣

"I met a man in a Norwegian prison who said whenever he gets depressed he watches a documentary about U.S. prisons and thanks God he is in Norway."

This is but one of many passages I highlighted while reading this book. The editors have compiled a stellar group of essays focused on novel ideas for prison reform in the United States. With many scholars focused on this topic, what makes this collection unique? All of the essays are authored by currently or formerly incarcerated individuals.

This collection of ideas is exceptional. The best non-fiction books invoke the same range of emotions as a good novel, and this book does that, no question. I was angry, sad, hopeful, and i learned a lot. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and The New Press for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.