Penal Populism and the Problem of Mass Incarceration:

Abstract

In this paper, Copson explores the question of what might be done in order to enable us to imagine responses beyond mass incarceration. She considers Albert Dzur's general calls for the creation of spaces for democratic deliberative participation and his particular reimagining of the jury as one such potential space. Drawing connections between such calls and David Harvey's “spaces of hope,” Copson argues that whilst such remedies to reinvigorate criminal and penal policy-making as meaningful sites of civic engagement are an important element in challenging the tendency towards punitive penal responses, we cannot and should not detach questions of crime and justice from the more holistic examination of society if we are to avoid simply reifying and further legitimating existing penal responses. Finally, invoking the emerging “utopian method” identified by Levitas, Copson suggests a possible conceptual means to achieving this end.

Legitimacy of parole as a consequence of policy shock: The lived experiences of incarcerated persons during the parole moratorium in Pennsylvania, U.S.

“…History has taught that changes in punitive sentiment and penal policies are far from random. Penal populism (Copson, 2014), punitive sentiment (Ramirez, 2013), and moral panics (Jennings et al, 2020) can all lead to policy shocks. Ramirez (2013) indicates that the framing of crimes by political leaders can influence public attitudes toward crimes.…”

COVID-19 and European carcerality: Do national prison policies converge when faced with a pandemic?

“…Literature on penal populism, as well as penal nationalism, can be helpful here. If dominant state discourse stipulates that the general population must be protected from the threatening ‘other’ (Copson, 2014; Garland, 2001; Todd-Kvam, 2018), not prioritizing prisoners’ rights may be perceived as a rewarding policy to which public opinion may react favorably. An outcome of this approach in the context of a pandemic may be that the health of the general population suffers, since contagions are less likely to be prevented within a policy frame that does not prioritize the wellbeing of prisoners.…”