The Circuitous Reach of Carceral Censorship
Abstract
Carceral censorship functions as a repressive apparatus obstructing flows of information and knowledge needed to transform individual lives, as well as bring about criminal justice reform and social change. This article examines the ambiguity and irrationality of U.S. carceral censorship in relation to every human’s right to pursue knowledge and fulfill their potential for growth. For the imprisoned, this becomes an impossibility when the need to nurture relationships and sense of belonging are denied. The right to live with dignity, learn, and grow must honor the basic human need to connect with others and build community. Our analysis explores the role of censorship in disrupting these essential human needs for people in prison, and the extended network of people imprisonment impacts, as the era of mass incarceration unfolds.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v8i3.7920
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