Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future

Despite reform efforts that have grown in size and intensity over the last two decades, the machine of American mass incarceration continues to flourish. After spending more than twenty years in prison, formerly incarcerated activist, essayist, and organizer Emile DeWeaver believes the root of the problem is white supremacy. During his time in prison, DeWeaver covertly organized to pass legislation impacting juveniles in California's criminal legal system; was a culture writer for Easy Street Magazine; and co-founded Prison Renaissance, an organization centering incarcerated voices and creating new models of incarcerated leadership. His sentence was ultimately commuted by California's governor due to his community work.

In Notes from an Abolitionist, DeWeaver draws on these experiences and more from his own life story to critique the central premise of parole boards and prisoner rehabilitation programs as fundamentally re-entrenching white supremacist ideas. He argues that these programs demand self-abnegation of individuals while ignoring the role of structural oppression.

With lucid, urgent prose, DeWeaver intervenes in contemporary debates on the criminal legal system with his eye-opening discussion on the tools we need to end white supremacy. For readers of Susan Burton and Derecka Purnell, Notes from an Abolitionist adds a sharp and unique perspective to the growing discourse on abolition and white supremacy.