Product details
- ISBN 9781538176481
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 25 Jun 2026
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Feminist philosophers Barrett Emerick and Audrey Yap bring theoretical arguments about personhood and moral repair into conversation with the work of activists and the experiences of incarcerated people to make the case that prisons ought to be abolished. They argue that contemporary carceral systems in the United States and Canada fail to treat people as genuine moral agents in ways that also fail victims and their larger communities. Such carceral systems are a form of what Emerick and Yap call “institutionalized moral abandonment”. Instead, they argue that we should create communities of moral solidarity which open up space for wrongdoers to make up for their wrongs.
As part of this argument, the book directly addresses one of the paradigm cases of wrongdoing often used to justify carceral systems: rape. Carceral systems that treat perpetrators of sexual violence as irredeemable monsters both obscure the reality of sexual violence and are harmful to everyone involved.
As an alternative to carceral systems, Emerick and Yap argue for an orientation towards justice that is grounded in moral repair. This incorporates elements of restorative justice, mutual aid, and harm reduction. Instead of advocating for one specific and universal approach, the authors argue for multigenerational collective action that aims to build resilient communities that support the wellbeing of everyone.
Barrett Emerick is an associate professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He works in social and feminist philosophy, moral psychology, and normative ethics. His work is focused primarily on the ways that our inner lives are affected by and contribute to oppressive or liberatory ideologies.
Audrey Yap is a professor at the University of Victoria. Her research and teaching interests are very broad, but most of them fall under the heading of social and feminist philosophy. She has written on gendered violence, research ethics, martial arts, and norms of argumentation, though most of her current work is centred on issues of prison justice. She has taught in local correctional facilities since 2019.
