Perhaps one of the greatest injustices in the U.S. lies in our prison system, where more people are imprisoned than in any other country. In Beyond Prisons: A New Interfaith Paradigm for Our Failed Prison System, Harmon L. Wray and Laura Magnani bring the spiritual resources of Quakerism, Buddhism, Christianity, and indigenous cultures to bear on the problems associated with mass incarceration in the U.S. The authors present the American Friends Service Committee's (AFSC) Twelve-Point Plan for prison reform: penal abolition, decriminalization, elimination of solitary confinement, work inside as long as necessary, citizen review, prisoner's bill of rights, rights upon release, amend the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, implementation of international law, let children be children, reclaiming families and communities, and campaign for reparations.
Similarly, another one of the great injustices of the U.S. lies in how we treat the people seeking asylum here. Inhumane conditions have been widely reported in U.S. detention centers. Read up on the issues associated with mass incarceration or detention centers on websites like the AFSC’s. If you haven’t already done so, bring benefit to your whole community by getting involved in inmate rehabilitation efforts or other prison reform efforts, as well as efforts to support asylum seekers and their children.
— Habib Todd Boerger, Harmon L. Wray, Laura Magnani