Category: Abolitionism

You were born an enslaved person in the Caribbean. The stories of the elders in the ‘slave quarters’ inspire you to gain your freedom. Journal your efforts to be free as well as the consequences of those efforts:

November 20th, 1853

Dear Diary,

My name is Shinnel Haggard and I am currently thirteen (13) years of age. I was born on September 14th, 1840 to enslaved parents on Spring Hill Farm, a historic slave plantation located in Ellicott City in Howard County, Maryland, United States. (cite). During that time, slavery was yet to be abolished (cite), which seemed almost impossible.  My parents were in the process of attaining their liberty papers. With those documents, we would have been able to have the same rights as the mulattos (cite), who were freed individuals of black and white descent owning wealth and property (cite). That opportunity had the potential to open many doors to our emancipation (cite); however, our applications were denied on numerous occasions, probably because we were not mixed. We eventually gave up and my parents died shortly after our last attempt.

I miss them so much. If only God had taken me instead! Now I have to fight all on my own. I am exhausted. I feel like my own life does not belong to me, but isn’t that the case? These ‘white devils’ continue to take more of us, slaves, every day, regardless of whether we have flesh or meat. Every day I pray for some miracle to happen so that I can be free from all the bondage, or else I would be forced to take my own life! I can no longer suppress the agony. I just wish I was never born. Nevertheless, I’ll try to remain positive and pray for that miracle. Master Prince (cite) is here now, I have to go!

September 14th, 1855

Dear Diary,

Today is my birthday. I am now 15 years old. As I grow older, and the more I think about my parents’ death, I become more and more disgusted by slavery and my heart sparks with a flame of rebellion.  Today I even overheard the men in the slave quarters giving accounts of ex-slaves who successfully escaped and I am definitely now inspired. I finally feel like there is hope for me. The thought of wanting to escape is pending heavily on my mind, but I am also afraid that, if I am caught in the process, I will be badly punished. Therefore, I have to plan my escape strategically. The next time you hear from me, I will be a free woman! This I promise you!  

December 19th, 1855

Dear Diary,

After constantly hearing about the successful attempts for freedom by ex-slaves, I was determined to escape Spring Hill Farm. I had decided that I would not let another year meet me here. I waited until midnight, when the security shift had changed, to make my first escape. I escaped and made approximately 1.5 km. My heart was pounding with tremendous joy already! I had not yet escaped fully but felt as if I had already succeeded. Suddenly after, I heard the barking of the hounds and began running even faster. I immediately felt devastated. I was eventually caught and they took me back to the plantation and placed me in the sweatbox for only 6 hours, probably because it was a first-time offense. The sweatbox is a method of solitary confinement used in humid and arid regions as a method of punishment. Anyone placed in one would experience extreme heat, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and even death, depending on when and how long one was kept in the box. (cite). The box will normally be nailed shut and placed in the hottest area of the plantation in the summer and the coldest area in the winter (cite). I cried my eyes out in the sweatbox. I even felt like just staying there until death. I had almost given up. They had only recently released me from the box and, of course, I still feel depressed and deterred. They are now monitoring my every move, but due to my resilient nature, I am still determined to become free and will continue to pray for a miracle.

February 18th, 1856

Dear Diary,

Today was a fantastic day. My prayers have somewhat been answered. God is so wondrous to me! The miracle I have been praying for seems to have finally arrived! Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading slaves to freedom before the Civil War (History.com Editors, 2019), had come to speak with us, slaves, today at the plantation. She told us a little about herself and that she was inclined to assist us in our escape to liberation via the underground railroad (cite). The Underground Railroad is a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2011). She couldn’t say much to us, because she feared being found by the patrollers, but she advised us to prepare for our ‘big escape’, which is expected to take place on the night of December 14th (seven (7) days from now). In preparation, she instructed us to walk with light refreshments, warm attire, and medical supplies. She also advised us to be punctual, otherwise, we would be left behind. I am so exhilarated, but trying to not seem conspicuous to Master Prince or anyone else. She advised us to be prepared to disguise ourselves upon advent so that slave hunters wouldn’t easily catch us (cite). I am about to pray and sleep. Freedom is around the corner!

February 21st, 1856

Dear Diary,

Today was horrendous! I was about to return to my duties after lunch, and on arrival, I spotted Punto (another plantation slave) being flogged. Flesh and blood were flying everywhere! Master Prince was complaining about how Punto had lost some of the cattle while they were grazing today. Punto, of course, expressed his regret, but then the worst part came. Master Prince pulled out the fire poker and pierced it through Punto’s left eye, after which he fell to the ground, dead (cite)! I immediately felt nauseated. This was an incentive to make my second escape. I figured I could no longer wait for the ‘big escape’ with Harriet Tubman in four (4) days, and was now desperate to achieve liberation in any way possible. Resultantly, I decided to make another run for it. I had cut my hair shorter than it already was, dressed in men’s attire, dabbed make-up on, and wrapped my head in bandages to pose as an injured white man (cite). I honestly had no idea where I was headed, but I was off to somewhere! Suddenly, before I could have left the plantation, I heard footsteps following me and I looked behind and saw Master Prince and another white man chasing me. At that point, I surrendered. I had ceased. They caught on to me and took me back to the plantation where they gang-raped and flogged me. Now, here I am, lying on the ground, crying more than I have ever cried. Why didn’t they shoot and kill me instead?! Now they have taken away God’s greatest gift to me, my virginity! I resent them so much! I really hope they die in their slumber tonight!

February 25th, 1856

Dear Diary,

Last night was the night of the ‘big escape’. Seven (7) slaves, including myself, rendezvoused with our leader, Harriet Tubman, and her three (3) brothers, destined for freedom. Some of the slaves did not get to leave with us as patrollers had caught on to them at the plantation. The journey thus far has been extremely tedious! While endeavoring to cross the Christiana River, we had to hide in a straw-covered wagon, pulled by bricklayers. Soon after crossing the bridge, we spotted slave hunters, so the bricklayers pretended to be boisterous drunkards returning from a binge (cite). Our hearts were pounding! Thankfully; however, the slave hunters had dismissed us (cite). Nevertheless, I am so jubilant that we have made it out of Spring Hill Farm successfully, at least. We have recently stopped to rest at what Ms. Tubman calls a ‘safe house’, as it will soon be bright so that we would not be at risk for encounters with slave catchers. Here, we had the opportunity to change our wet, dirty clothes and hang them out to dry, and we replaced them with the clean apparel we had packed. We have also decided to take a nap. We asked the conductors at the safe house to inform us of when it was dark again so that we could continue our journey safely. I am ecstatic and look forward to the rest of this journey! I know I am not yet quite ‘free’, but I soon will be! I feel liberated already! All thanks to Harriet Tubman!

April 27th, 1856

Dear Diary,

This past month has been the worst part of our journey thus far! The weather is becoming more frigid, so we have gotten frostbite. We have even run out of food and I am beginning to feel very weary, weak, and dehydrated. I feel like I may soon give up and stay at one of the safe houses, but I have to remain strong! I have not come this far to imperil going back to bondage. No way! What is even worse is that one of our mates, Shonna, is now lamentably sick. She is having difficulty breathing, has a very high fever, and is constantly vomiting. Consequently, we have decided to stop at another safe house until she recuperates. The lady here has offered us food and is caring for Shonna, but nothing seems to be of help. The lady suspects that she may have Pneumonia, a fatal disease caused by swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs, usually due to a bacterial infection (Mayo Clinic, 2018). I am praying and hoping that Shonna recovers quickly so that she is not left behind on this journey. May God be with her!

May 26th, 1856

Dear Diary,

We have now resumed our journey to liberation. Only six (6) of us have remained. Unfortunately, Shonna had succumbed to her illness at the last safe house, where she was then buried. That depressed me so badly, but I must carry on! Additionally, Ms Tubman and her brothers have left us, as we are already more than halfway through our journey, leaving Corey, the eldest slave, to lead the mass. We had come across another impediment, where we had to cross a river that we hoped was frozen to easily accommodate our passage; however, it was not frozen, and we had no other option but to swim through the ice-cold water. It was the worst experience ever! I felt like I was dying with each stroke! I was screaming for the entire swim. Nevertheless, we have made it across, alive and well, to another safe house. Here we were offered hot tea, coffee, and blankets to help warm us up. I am now about to retire. Goodnight!

March 2nd, 1857

Dear Diary,

Alas! We have definitely reached our destination. We have arrived in Canada, the promised land (cite). It was an arduous and tiring journey, but it was indeed worth it. As I write, tears of ecstasy are streaming down my cheekbones. I cannot believe I am now free! I can now own things as opposed to being owned, unlike before. A white Canadian family, with a Christian background, The Hobbits, has already offered me a place in its home and is treating me humanely. I am so grateful for the family’s hospitality. They have even already offered to educate me and send me to school. Of course, I have accepted. I am already so excited to start school! Maybe not all white people are ‘devils’, after all! I just wish my parents were still around to celebrate and share my success with me. I know they would be proud to see how far I have come. Anyway, that is all for now. Mr. Hobbit is calling for family worship. You may hear from me soon again, but no promises! I am a free man now! God is alive!

References

1. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. (2005, June 16). Box (torture). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_(torture)
2. History.com Editors. (2019, April 2). Harriet Tubman. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman
3. American Heritage Dictionary. (2011, July 17). Underground Railroad. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad
4. Mayo Clinic. (2018, March 13). Pneumonia. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumonia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354204

The abolitionist movement was not an abject failure to a limited extent due to the lack of organization and unity within the movement meant aims, methods, and goals were never fully decided. Despite this, the limited organization did mean that the movement was ‘heard’. As historian Hugh Tulloch states: ‘…All these were practical activities outside the private pursuit of Garrisonian perfectionism.

The historian’s response to the abolitionist movement was to be shaped, then, not primarily by judging the movement’s ends, but rather by assessing the legitimacy of the various means employed to achieve those ends.’ This goes to show that whilst the movement did not have one organizational body that solidified methods and aims, each individual helped the cause and took them closer to their shared goal. For as Howard Temperley explains it was easier for the abolitionists to agree about ends than about means, which could often seem vague, contradictory, and impractical, owing to the seemingly insuperable obstacles the movement faced. Before 1820, the movement was limited in thought.

Mostly limited to the creation of the American Colonisation Society in 1816 which aimed to transport free blacks and emancipated slaves to the west coast of Africa. It gained prominent support from leading figures such as Jefferson, Madison, Clay, and Lincoln. However, in the early 1830s, this policy became increasingly rejected as it was considered ‘moral evasion’. In the 1830s most abolitionists adopted immediatism as its central doctrine. In a world that was becoming increasingly developed with better communications and transport advances, abolitionists began to gradual emancipation as old fashioned. This is where the abolitionist spectrum began to develop, often described as ‘abolitions second wave’, Tulloch describes the abolitionist movement after this point as the movement being ‘made up of a large spectrum ranging from Garrisons absolutism at one end to those who advocated political means and co-operation within the existing party system on the other.’

On one end you have Garrison and his followers, or the Garrisonians, who held strong beliefs in immediate emancipation and refused to compromise. On the other hand, you have the believers in gradual reform who seek change through political activism. This, one may argue, had a more profound effect as it led to the formation of the Liberty Party (1844), the Free Soil Party (1848), and then to the formation of the Republican Party who were committed to the prevention of the expansion of slavery. Despite the view that all abolitionists furthered the cause through various practical activities such as postal campaigns, assisting the Underground Railroad, political action albeit fighting the fugitive slave laws or the gag rule, and voting for anti-slavery parties. Despite this, some people such as Senator Henry Wilson (Republican Vice-President, 1873-75) doubted Garrison’s methods. Garrisonians rejected politics, hence they were seeking change but wouldn’t cooperate with the Republican Party, a political organization that had the power to bring about the change that they were seeking. Additionally, they preached ‘moral suasion’ yet rejected the church. Therefore, Garrison marginalized his cause by going against the common patriotism, partisanship, and religious sentiments of the majority of his countrymen in the North.

The word courage can be defined in many ways by many people. To some it means fearless or brave. How I define courage is someone who will risk their life for the people they love. To take action in a heartbeat without even thinking about it. Courage is a big word with different types of meanings. Here’s why this is my opinion on courage.

When you are living in a war zone with a whole family, how do you keep them safe? My grandfather had to do it. My grandfather was born in raised in Afghanistan. He says “those were the best days of my childhood.” After he grew up, he then got married to my grandmother. She gave birth to six kids, three boys and three girls. They all were growing up an Afghanistan. While my mom was in college that is when things started going bad in Afghanistan. This was happening in the late 70s to the 80s. It wasn’t going to well.

“It started feeling like a dictatorship,” my grandfather says. He didn’t feel safe there for himself and his family. He had to do something and had to do it fast. My grandfather hurried and packed his valuables while his children and wife gathered the necessities. Clothing, toiletries, pictures, etc… They hopped on the first bus out of Afghanistan just in time before all the chaos started. That’s when they got to India. A whole different country, language, and culture. I didn’t know how my grandfather can do something so brave and courageous like that. Leave his hometown for the first time to an unknown land they have never heard of. In Afghanistan there was no technology to see if there were hotels and car rentals. My grandfather went off on a whim. Luckily he knew just a little of what he was doing. He bought a house in India for a few years and things were totally fine.

He then wanted to leave India and start a fresh life with his family. He then migrated to Europe. More specifically Germany. They travelled there and went to a whole new Continent again without any knowledge of what it is like there. They lived a life there and learned a new culture. My grandfather enjoyed staying in Germany. He liked the life there and wanted to live there for his family’s safety.

What my grandfather did was very courageous. He fled his country while carrying his family on his back. Making sure each and one of them is safe. That is my definition of courageous. Doing something in a heartbeat for the people you love. He migrated to two different countries without knowing the consequences. He had to sell his valuables so he can get his family a home, food, and just basic needs for a human. He was very brave trying to figure out everything on his own with no help, just the support from his family. Something could have went all wrong and they could’ve ended up with nothing. Which was the scariest consequence other than death. My grandfather was smart and brave which are characteristics of having courage.

While I think my grandfather had courage, there is a historical figure that has courage. An African American woman who helped slaves into freedom. Harriet Tubman had so much courage that is unbelievable. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery. She then escaped in 1849 to freedom towards the North. She then become the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She risked her life to save hundreds of enslaved families to freedom. She conducted a secret system that people then called the Underground Railroad. She knew what the punishment was. It was death. Yet she wasn’t afraid of the consequences. Harriet Tubman was a woman in the 1800s that was black. If that is not courageous of her actions I don’t know what is.

She took 19 trips to the North. That means she took 38 trips in total of going up north and coming back to the south to help more slaves. She risked her life not once, not twice, but 38 times. She could’ve gotten captured in the south and get enslaved again, but she risked that to save other people that are strangers to her. She took over 300 slaves to freedom. In all her travels she “never lost a single passenger.” One of her famous quotes says, “ I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” She is saying that some slaves didn’t know they were being slaves because they thought it was the normal life. Harriet Tubman knew and she wanted to help others to know and help them to freedom.

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland. She changed her name to Araminta Ross. She had 8 siblings in her family. She also had an adopted daughter named Gertie. Harriet Tubman is the most recognized icon in American history. Her legacy has inspired people to be courageous in every race and background.

This literature review will overview current theory and knowledge regarding the crisis facing the British prison in the UK. It will utilise prison based literature to highlight a radical theory of penality (Paris, 2007) presented by Angela Davis, Joe Sim and others. The current situation surrounding the British prison is often cited in official reports and academia, alongside the strong presence of mainstream media control (Ibid). Using prison based literature, this review will use existing empirical evidence to draw data led conclusions, highlighting the radical theory in a push towards abolitionism.

Despite this, there is limited ongoing research concerning the British prison crisis, yet the requirement for change is salient among the existing literature. The recent inspection of HMP Liverpool provides empirical evidence of this crisis and the issues surrounding the removal of HMP Birmingham from the private sector further entrenches the requirement for change and highlights the crisis in action. Joe Sim provides theoretical evidence for the prison crisis and his work will be drawn together with the existing empirical evidence to evidence the crisis. By utilising existing literature concerning the prison crisis, the ultimate conclusion for this review will address the possibility of a world without prisons (Lamont Hill, 2013) and assess the abolitionism stance.

This literature review will be broken down into a number of categories which highlight the prison crisis. These will be; empirical evidence (HMP Liverpool and HMP Birmingham), theory (Sim) and the abolitionism stance (Marc Lamont-Hill, Angela Davis). The first section will overview the existing data and theoretical concepts, followed by an evaluation of the literature based on their credibility to support the abolitionist alternatives to the prison.

The search strategy for this literature review aimed to identify any pre-existing literature regarding the British prison crisis. This was undertaken using a scoping strategy of the Discover data base at Liverpool John Moores University and the British Journal of Sociology. This began with general search terms such as “prisons” and “prison crisis”. Additionally, the search strategy was influenced by existing knowledge on the British prison crisis, which was previously explored in 2018. This was developed by using names and general terms combined. This included “Joe Sim” AND “prison crisis” which revealed various theoretical standpoints. Further search terms included “Legitimacy AND prisons” which led to the British Journal of Sociology. There were no time range restrictions on this literature review, this was done as the relevance of evidence and theory is still salient in the 21st century prison.

Empirical evidence

The most reliable evidence to support the prison crisis is the existing empirical data gathered daily on the state of prisons in the UK. A report published concerning the conditions within Liverpool prison highlights the conditions seen across the penal estate and describe the “abject failure of HMP Liverpool to offer a safe, decent and purposeful environment” (Sim, 2017). Further describing the conditions at HMP Liverpool to be the worst reported, with every aspect of the regime at the institutions being criticised (Ibid). To highlight this as a salient issue in need of immediate attention, evidence from the Woolf Report and the White Paper published in 1992, indicates the ongoing prison crisis and the seeming lack of policy implementation to improve this (Prison Reform Trust, 1991; Morgan, 1992).

The 1990 riot at Strangeways prison in Manchester against the conditions and treatment of prisoners, resulted in an estimated £60million of damage to the interior and exterior of the prison (Gunn, 1992). Gunn (1992) goes on to identify the ripple effect this had on the penal estate with numerous other institutions experiencing smaller scale rioting based on similar dissatisfaction with their conditions and treatment. In reaction to these incidents was the publication of the Woolf Report highlighting the endemic problems concerning the penal estate at that time. Some elements from the inquiry are still prominent with the modern prison and concern issues such as, lack of staff training, unsanitary and overcrowded physical conditions. In terms of lack of staff training, the Howard League for Penal Reform published a Global Prison Trends pull-out section in 2016, highlighting an increase in inadequate numbers of staff, impacting the prisoner to guard ratio (Penal Reform International, 2016) and leading to a justification for lack of adequate staff training in order to maintain the safety and security which the paper highlights as important.

In addition to this, the Howard League for Penal Reform support the neglect in the role of the prison officer, identifying that low staffing levels and insufficient training have a clear impact on their ability to achieve their aims (Howard League for Penal Reform, 2019). The research briefing frequently cites the lack of training officers receive, especially in the private sector and the implications this can have on the prison environment.

In regards to overcrowding the Howard League reports that almost all prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded, with Leeds, Wandsworth and Exeter being the highest. HMP Liverpool reported a Certified Normal Allowance (“CNA”) of 607, yet is currently holding 697 inmates (Ibid). The conditions concerning prisons in England and Wales are readily available and relatively easy to access, in the form of reports, reviews and media coverage. They represent everyday evidence that the prison as a system of punishment and rehabilitation is failing in its core aims and why more radical interventions are required to prevent the continuation of this failure. This section has utilised empirical evidence to support the prison crisis and highlighted the need for immediate radical intervention which takes penal reform policy beyond contemporary reform measures and towards abolitionism.

Theoretical Standpoints

The main theoretical standpoint on the penal crisis, is drawn from the work of Joe Sim. Sim breaks down the British penal crisis into five main sections: Visibility, authority, conditions, containment and legitimacy. This theory is based on the concept of the ‘revolving door’ (Tombs and Whyte, 2009), resulting from high levels of recidivism experienced within the British prison, which has led to the increase in the prison population. As a result of this, the conditions within the prison have deteriorated extensively as previously outlined and can be attributed to Joe Sims theory. Due to the scope of this literature review, authority, conditions and legitimacy will be the only crises explored. These are the most significant elements, as they are the most prominent crises existing in the British prison today. Visibility within the prison has been combatted through the publication of reports, access granted to media personnel as well as more formal narrative such as independent monitoring boards and the use of unannounced inspections.

Authority within the prison has seen a significant decline, with a number of factors influencing a breakdown in the role of the prison officer and their relationship with offenders. Major riots experienced throughout 1990, notably the Strangeways prison riot, which Boin and Rattray (2004) identify as resulting from a combination of administrative breakdown and imposed change. The recent riot at HMP Birmingham, support the argument made by Boin and Rattray which identifies conditions deemed necessary for a riot to take place. They develop a theoretical framework for prison riots and base this on a breakdown in the nature of interactions between prisoners and staff (Ibid). Useem and Kimball (1987) developed a theory of prison riots, which they stress that there is no one set theory for prison riots, they identify the variation in riots and highlight the importance of analysing the “processes at the level of micro-mobilisation” (Ibid:115). Micro-mobilisation is an area which requires further research and begins to unpick the complex topic of prison riots. The physical act of rioting is simply the beginning of a complicated case of penal failure, made clear among the prison-based literature and advocated by activists such as Angela Davis and Marc Lamont-Hill, who advocate for more radical measures to curb the crises which Joe Sim outlines.

The roles of the prison officer have been increasingly undermined as a result of heightened tension experienced within prisons and ongoing austerity measures. As a result of this, the prison officer has, as a result experienced cuts to training and pay. With general feelings of safety at work being consistently undermined the ability for prison officers to perform their role in accordance with maintaining their legitimacy and authority within their institutions contributes to the prison crisis within the contemporary British prison.

Conditions within the prison have been explored using HMP Liverpool. Sim highlights the deterioration of the conditions of British prisons, he attributes this to the construction of a large portion of the British prisons in the nineteenth century (Sim, 1982) and the continuation of their use into the 21st century. Mulchay (2013) attributes the conditions within prisons to be a result of overcrowding and the rapid increase in the prison population between 1995 and 2013. He notes that this rapid increase in the population outpaced prison-building programmes and resulted in prisons being unable to accommodate the increasing numbers of prisoners. In assessing this increase in prison populations, Mulchay (2013) supports Pratts’ (2006) penal populism theory, which utilises penal sanctions as ‘repressive techniques’ which are increasingly made essential for the control of the criminal milieu (Haney, 2006:200).

Legitimacy has been undermined in a number of ways. Due to the increasing number of prisoners in England and Wales, tension has grown due to overcrowding and the evidence concerning why riots have taken place support the legitimacy crisis. Legitimacy is characterised by Sims’ other crises and each of them can be related to the legitimacy of the contemporary British prison. For this reason, the crisis of legitimacy is the most important standpoint from Joe Sims theory.

Another salient theme emerging from the literature is the abolition narrative, heavily supported by Angela Davis and the theory that the prison is entrenched in a reform motion that it is unable to remove itself from this narrative. The evidence indicates that abolition is far from being implemented into the British criminal justice narrative due to the deeply rooted nature of reform within contemporary society. Penal reform has long been the only option concerning the future of the penal system and this literature review has mapped the existing prison based literature and used this as a springboard to support abolitionist narratives for the future of the contemporary British prison and as a solution to the prison crisis. Angela Davis has advocated prison abolition and provides literature which supports the empirical evidence presented by Sim. In the current state of the penal estate, rehabilitation is simply not possible, the surge in numbers and austerity cuts have impeded the effective running of the prison. Therefore, the outcome of this literature review emphasises a radical theory of penality, which bases abolition on manageability. Managing offenders through a process of non-imprisonment is likely to provide a more sustainable and effective outcome for the reduction of the penal estate and the future of the British prison.

Analysis

There are a number of common themes which emerge from the literature reviewed. The literature consistently supports the narrative that the prison system is in crisis and is clearly evidenced using real-world examples of HMP Liverpool and Birmingham. By researching prison based literature, there are consistencies regarding why the British system has, in the eyes of many, failed in its contemporary role. This role while heavily disputed, generally involves the premise of protection, deterrence and rehabilitation (Leopold, 1966). Each of these roles have been proven throughout the literature to have failed and this has been supported through the case of prison riots and official statistics on the prison population, as well as recidivism rates and deaths in custody.

The work of Joe Sim provides the most concise theoretical standpoint for the prison crisis and indicates five key areas in which the prison crisis is present. Some are more significant than others, yet all provided evidence that the contemporary British prison is in crisis. As a result of this, there is requirement for a more radical alternative to be implemented. This is based on the work of Angela Davis, a prominent penal reformer, whose work highlights the failures of the contemporary prison through the abolition narrative. She highlights the constant pattern of reform and argues that prison reform has become entrenched within contemporary narratives of the prison, which make “prison” and “reform” unable to be separated (Davis, 2003). As a result of this, the theory presented by Sim and Davis, supports the empirical data presented by HMP Liverpool and Birmingham. The failure in reforms indicated by Davis is supported by the crises highlighted by Sim and these standpoints can be linked and used as a springboard to initiate a more radical theory of penality (Paris, 2007).