Bruce Western, in this presentation for the Stone Center’s 2020 “Inequality by the Numbers” virtual workshop, documents the rise in mass incarceration at the end of the 20th century as well as the challenges of the re-entry process after prison. He discusses why the criminal justice system should be considered a central determinant and consequence of poverty and racial inequality in the United States. Western co-directs the Justice Lab and is a faculty member at Columbia University.

Accompanying slides. (PDF)