Race/Related: Family and Incarceration (Part 5)

December 21, 2019

By Lauretta Charlton

Race/Related Editor

This week, Race/Related partnered with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the U.S. criminal justice system, to present a special series on family and incarceration during the holidays.

We looked at the hidden cost of incarceration, how video visitation can often be frustrating and faulty, how one couple spends the holidays crafting for Christmas and how remote prison towns and strict visitation policies make it hard to stay in touch with an incarcerated loved one.

We received a number of letters from families and friends in response to the collaboration. Many of you had your own story to share about how incarceration has affected your family life.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and it’s worth repeating that most of the men and women behind bars are black and brown. I hope this series helped bring some more awareness to the fact that the consequences of America’s broken criminal justice system extend well beyond prison walls.

You can subscribe to The Marshall Project’s weekly newsletter on Life Inside here. And Race/Related will return to its usual Saturday schedule next week.

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