50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending the Incarceration Crisis in Texas

2023 marks 50 years since the United States embarked on a path of mass incarceration that has led to a staggering increase in the prison population.The prison population has grown 500% since 1973. Today, almost 2 million individuals – disproportionately Black Americans – are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails.

The incarceration rate for women has grown 525% between 1980 -2021. Over 80% of incarcerated women are mothers. With Black women being disproportionately impacted, so are their families and the families of the incarcerated population. Mass incarceration has been a catalyst for dismantling black and brown families at alarming rates.The rate of growth for female imprisonment has been twice as high as that of men since 1980.

This year, The Sentencing Project and a coalition of advocates, experts, and partners have launched a public education campaign, 50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending The Mass Incarceration Crisis In America, designed to raise awareness about the dire state of the criminal legal system in the country.

Please RSVP here.

The event is co-sponsored by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, Initiative for Law, Society and Justice, the Austin Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership, Latino Justice, Texas Center for Justice and Equity, and the ACLU of Texas.