The Irony of Mass Incarceration

Shon Hopwood is a serial robber who spent 11 years in federal prison. But when he walked out of prison in 2008, Shon couldn’t have predicted an incredulous twist: earning the title ‘Professor’ at Georgetown University while raising his young family.

While the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, there is little evidence to show that with more people in the prison system, crime rates are significantly reduced or that public safety is ensured. In this episode, we discuss the irony of the American criminal justice system. On the podcast, we explore if prisons are aimed to rehabilitate, the vicious cycle created by the prison industrial complex, and how one former inmate remarkably started his legal career within the four walls of prison.

Featuring policy and advocacy insights from: Professor Shon Hopwood, Former Inmate and Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University; Dr. Annahita Mahdavi West, Activist and Associate Professor at Long Beach City College; and Dr. Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Senior Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project. In conversation with Hazami Barmada, Activist & Founder of the Humanity Lab Foundation.