Dan Berger on the critical, overlooked history of WA’s prison abolition movement

In Crosscut, IAS faculty member Dan Berger published an op-ed about the history of prison abolitionist organizing in Washington state. Berger highlighted the state's role as a national leader in thinking about prison policy, prison reform, and alternatives to prison. The article focuses on efforts by incarcerated people, including the prisoner newspapers archived in the Washington Prison History Project, as well as protests and legislative appeals. He also discussed several current events, including the effort to close the NW Detention Center in Tacoma and stop construction of a new youth jail in Seattle.