Based on what I have read in the book Are Prisons Obsolete?, I believe that Angela Davis by using the word Obsolete means that the states persuasion of the need for prisons has not improved but rather worsened the situation.Angela Davis described in her book that when she participated in anti-prison activities in the late 1960s, then there were about two hundred thousand people in prisons. Now more than two million people live in prisons. By opening new prisons, the authorities assured that this would reduce crime, give free jobs and improve the economy. Unfortunately, it did not happen. On the contrary, the prisons began to grow and more and more people are being held captive. Prisons have become a means of enrichment. It is in the interest of corporations that the number of inmates grow and be held in prisons, thereby making a profit from the system that manages the inmates. Angela also notes that when the prisons were built, the crime rate was low. The people’s hopes were dashed with the construction of prisons. The population continues to put up with the growth of prisons. A huge amount of the budget fund is spent on maintaining prisons and not on improving people’s lives. Lack of education and lack of jobs breeds crime. Angela Davis points out those changes are needed. Prisons don’t work as a means to safety and a good life.
