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Chai Chat is an interactive gathering where we explore current social concerns and other issues that affect our spiritual and communal cultivation.
We invite you to read ahead of time, join us with your favourite tea or coffee, and engage in critical and constructive conversation.
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On Wednesday, April 28th at 7:30 pm CDT we will gather to discuss the article entitled “The Punishment Bureaucracy: How to Think About ‘Criminal Justice Reform’” by Alec Karakatsanis.
We invite you to read the article and join us in a robust discussion on the American carceral system. The discussion will be led by Nour Abdul-Razzak.
An excerpt from the article:
A lot of people are talking about “criminal justice reform.” Much of that talk is dangerous. The conventional wisdom is that there is an emerging consensus that the criminal legal system is “broken.” But the system is “broken” only to the extent that one believes its purpose is to promote the well-being of all members of our society. If the function of the modern punishment system is to preserve racial and economic hierarchy through brutality and control, then its bureaucracy is performing well.
…In this Essay, I examine “criminal justice reform” by focusing on the concepts of “law enforcement” and the “rule of law.” Both are invoked as central features of the American criminal system. For many prominent people advocating “reform,” the punishment bureaucracy as we know it is the inevitable result of “law enforcement” responding to people “breaking the law.” To them, the human caging bureaucracy is consistent with, and even required by, the “rule of law.” This world view—that the punishment bureaucracy is an attempt to promote social well-being and human flourishing under a dispassionate system of laws—shapes their ideas about how to “fix” the system.
Nour Abdul-Razzak’s research seeks to explore and understand ways social policies and programs can reduce violence and improve life outcomes for youth living in urban settings, with a focus on mental health. She holds a BS in civil engineering and political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago.
