How feminism worsened mass incarceration–and how it can stop

As a law professor at the University of Colorado Law School, Aya Gruber has seen her Millennial students wrestle with a contradiction that she has long struggled with herself.

“On one side of the scale is a Black Lives Matter-informed belief that policing, prosecution and incarceration are racist, unjust, and too widespread,” writes Gruber in her new book, The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women’s Liberation in Mass Incarceration. “This side abhors the practice of putting human bodies in cages. On the other is a #MeToo-informed preoccupation with men’s out-of-control sexuality and abuse of power. This side wants to get tough.”

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Gruber shares examples of the unintended consequences of feminist criminal law reforms; discusses her personal experience as a public defender; and helps ABA Journal host Lee Rawles make peace with her interest in true crime podcasts. Gruber also describes how feminists can rethink gender justice advocacy without contributing to a discriminatory, carceral system.

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