Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling

Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling by Marc Mauer and Sabrina Jones is an adaptation of Mauer's original non-fiction book Race to Incarcerate, which was published by The New Press in 1999. Mauer, an advocate for felons and convicted criminals, is the director of the Sentencing Project in Washington D.C., which investigates disparities within the US justice system, seeking more progressive and equitable alternatives. This graphic adaptation of Mauer's work provides dramatic illustration by Sabrina Jones to bring the story of racial disparity in the justice system alive, making the work more accessible and engaging to readers at all levels. The book was selected as a YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens.

In Mauer's original text twenty years ago, he made a number of arguments against the rapidly increasing prison population in the United States. Unfortunately, this updated version of his original book only indicates that he was right about his predictions. In his original manuscript, Mauer made it clear that the rate of prison population increase in the U.S. was increasing exponentially, and that the rise was having a dramatic effect on communities of color across the country. Compared to other similarly developed countries, Mauer argued, the United States incarcerates people six to ten times more often – this figure had gone up more than 500 percent from 1972 to 1999 when Mauer wrote his book.

The main problem, as Mauer sees it, is the War on Drugs, which began in the 1980s and specifically targeted poor, working class, black, and Latino neighborhoods, cracked down on low-level drug offenses, and turned possession of marijuana into a serious felony. The other problem comes from mandatory sentencing laws, which allow judges very little freedom to reduce sentences for convicted criminals who might be better served through rehabilitation or other means. Perhaps the biggest frustration that Mauer has is that the increased level of incarceration in the U.S. doesn't seem to have done anything to reduce the rate of crime. This happens, he argues for many reasons. First, by putting low-level drug peddlers in prison, little is done to reduce the number of narcotics on the streets – the market is so saturated and there is so much opportunity to make money in the illegal drug market that those gaps are filled by new drug dealers almost as soon as an arrest is made. The incarceration also does very little, Mauer argues, to solve the problems that are leading to crime in the first place – namely, lack of opportunity for education and good-paying jobs in poorer areas of the country.



Mauer offers a number of possible solutions that he admits might be written off as “hopelessly liberal.” They primarily include policy changes that would put systems in place that would allow prisoners access to education and opportunities for employment both during their time in jail and afterward. He also writes about the effectiveness of many drug courts and specific drug rehabilitation programs, which offer another outlet for repeat offenders with low-level drug charges that don't involve time in jail, and typically have a lower rate of recidivism.

Many of these arguments and policy ideas remain the same in the graphic retelling of Mauer's book, with the inclusion of flashy, politically savvy comic accompaniment by Sabrina Jones. Mauer, of course, has updated the statistics in the book to reflect a more contemporary lens, and the focus of this particular book is on the stories of generations of Americans who have been impacted by this faulty system. Mauer and Jones discuss the complex nature of the shift in the penal system from one focused on rehabilitation to punishment. They also talk even more explicitly about race. Mauer makes it very clear that if the rate of incarceration continues as it is, with the same trends, one in every three black men and one in every six Latino men born today will spend some portion of their lives in prison. This book takes a narrative approach, combining statistics with real stories in order to connect to a younger audience – the book is geared toward teens and young adults, the next generation's change-makers.

Marc Mauer is the director of the Sentencing Project and one of the country's most well-versed experts on incarceration, sentencing policy, and how they intersect with race and racial diversity. He is also one of few voices in the media that has consistently spoken out about the inherent prejudices of the US judicial system. Along with Race to Incarcerate, Mauer has co-edited Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment and co-authored The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences. Sabrina Jones is a cartoonist and scene artist living in Brooklyn. She has contributed art to Studs Terkel's collection Working, and World War 3 Illustrated, among other political anthologies of graphic art and writing. She is also the author of Isadora Duncan: A Graphic Biography.