The Golden Anniversary of Mass Incarceration in America

• Published date: 01 June 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855241240131
• Author: Arthur J. Lurigio
• Date: 01 June 2024

The Golden Anniversary

of Mass Incarceration

in America

Arthur J. Lurigio

Abstract

The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of mass incarceration in the

United States. For six decades, the U.S. incarceration rate has been near

the top among all countries worldwide. In f‌ive major sections, this article

offers a brief retrospective on mass incarceration. The f‌irst def‌ines the

nature of prison sentences. The second describes the current prison popu-

lation’s characteristics. The third examines the growth of the prison popu-

lation, highlighting politically motivated policies and laws. The fourth

provides a reckoning of the collateral damage caused by mass incarceration.

The f‌ifth and f‌inal section considers strategies to reduce imprisonment and

its attendant harms.

Keywords

mass incarceration, imprisonment binge, war on drugs, war on crime, truth

in sentencing, three strikes you’re out

Introduction

The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the onset of mass incarceration

in the United States. For six decades, the U.S. incarceration rate has hovered

consistently near the top among all countries worldwide. The so-called

“imprisonment binge”def‌ined the character of our nation’s penal system

Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Arthur J. Lurigio, Dean’sOff‌ice, Loyola University Chicago College of Arts and Sciences, Cuneo

Hall 408, 1032 W. Sheridan Ave., Chicago, IL 60660, USA.

Email: alurigi@luc.edu

Article

The Prison Journal

2024, Vol. 104(3) 271–295

© 2024 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855241240131

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

and established its reputation for being harsh among leading democracies.

Since 1973, the U.S. prison population has climbed by 500%. Today,

almost 2 million people –disproportionately Black Americans –are incarcer-

ated in our nation’s prisons and jails (Carson, 2023a), representing an incar-

ceration rate that now ranks sixth in the world (World Prison Brief, 2023).

Unfortunately, “America’s 50-year experiment with mass incarceration has

been a profound moral and policy failure, perpetuating cycles of despair

and retribution, tearing apart communities, and destroying countless

lives”(Sentencing Project, 2023, p. 1).

This article offers a brief retrospective on mass incarceration, examining

decades-long f‌luctuations in the size of the incarcerated population that are

attributable to a wide range of factors, such as sentencing policies, politics,

laws, structural racism, law enforcement strategies, and prosecutorial man-

dates. This article also examines mass incarceration remedies, including

various decarceration methods. The literature reviewed here emanates from

several academic f‌ields, recognizing mass incarceration’s transdisciplinary

interest and importance.

The review comprises f‌ive major sections. The f‌irst def‌ines the nature of

prison sentences and sentencing guidelines. The second describes the

current prison population’s characteristics in terms of gender, race, age, socio-

economic status, and COVID-19. The third examines the growth of the prison

population and its contributory factors, highlighting politically motivated pol-

icies and laws. The fourth provides a reckoning of the collateral damage

caused by mass incarceration. The f‌ifth and f‌inal section considers strategies

to reduce imprisonment and its attendant harms.

Sentencing Types and Purposes

After a guilty verdict, judges impose penalties guided by sentencing statutes

and presentence investigations. Juries generally are involved in the penalty

phase of a trial only in death penalty cases. Incarceration, or imprisonment,

lies at the severe end of the sentencing continuum, which also encompasses

less-punitive options, such as suspended sentences, f‌ines, community

service, probation, and home conf‌inement (Chemerinsky & Levenson,

2022; Travis et al., 2014). Length and type of imprisonment are subject to

sentencing enhancements that depend on the seriousness of the offense and

aggravating factors surrounding the crime.

Sentencing enhancements are def‌ined by statute and can be imposed based

on the offender’s criminal history, type of crime victim (e.g., children, the

elderly, or the disabled), and severity of injury or loss to the victim of the

offense. Aggravating factors also can include the use of a weapon to

272 The Prison Journal 104(3)