What does prison do to families, communities, and the ties that hold them together? A doctoral candidate on incarceration, care, and the case for abolition
Candice Crutchfield is a doctoral candidate in sociology. Using qualitative methods, her research explores how incarceration shapes connections to family, friends, and communities. We spoke with her about the carceral system and the case for abolition.
Your work examines the harms incarceration imposes – especially on formerly incarcerated Black men – and you advocate for prison abolition. How does the current system damage individuals and communities, and how might abolition address those harms?
As I argue in my second-year paper (which finally has an R&R – truly a long time coming!), the U.S. carceral system damages communities by disrupting social ties, separating loved ones both physically and emotionally, and limiting access to the resources people need to thrive. Drawing on a Black Feminist Criminologist perspective and life-course frameworks, my work examines how incarceration affects not just individuals but broader networks of care and support, particularly within Black communities – reshaping relationships with children, parents, and partners. My dissertation extends this to how women experience incarceration alongside long histories of caregiving, trauma, and gendered violence. From an abolitionist perspective, prisons reproduce instability rather than creating safety. If the system truly solved harm, why do the communities most heavily incarcerated continue to experience violence and insecurity? The centuries-long persistence of these inequalities suggests incarceration manages social problems rather than solving them.
What evidence – empirical or experiential – supports the promises of prison abolition?
This brings me back to my candidacy exams! When I teach CRIM 3410, I often start from the idea that mass incarceration has failed to resolve the problems it was meant to address. The U.S. incarcerates around two million people, yet those most impacted continue to experience violence and instability. The prison has been an experiment, and the persistence of these inequalities suggests it isn’t working. Research – including my own – shows incarceration disrupts families, weakens social ties, and limits employment, while investments in community support are far more effective at promoting long-term stability. My work with advocacy groups and my interviews with formerly incarcerated people reinforce the argument that punishment alone can’t heal communities or address the conditions that produced the harm.
Is it possible to abolish prisons and jails without destabilizing the most vulnerable communities? If so, how?
I’d argue our current reliance on prisons and jails has already destabilized communities – using the carceral system to “solve” social problems is what got us here. As a student of abolition, I encourage rethinking how we define safety and respond to harm. Abolition isn’t about shutting the prison down tomorrow; it’s more about rebuilding than destruction. Drawing on scholars like Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Angela Davis, that means real investment in social infrastructure – healthcare, housing, job training, and prevention. It’s a gradual process, and in places it’s already happening: restorative justice in schools that interrupts the school-to-prison pipeline, diversion programs and health resources for people struggling with addiction, bail reform, and more.