New Books in Law Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine
Jan 29, 2026
Emile Sotonye DeWeaver, formerly incarcerated organizer and author whose sentence was commuted after 21 years, challenges how reform reproduces white supremacy. He discusses power in parole boards, why long sentences persist, critiques rehabilitation that masks structural harm, and highlights collective strategies and Prison Renaissance’s work to shift who holds authority.
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Reform Rooted In Lived Clarity
- Emile Suotonye DeWeaver developed his critique from years inside prison where he organized and wrote his way out.
- He frames reform failures as rooted in white supremacy and the imagination problem that limits alternatives.
White Supremacy As Structure Of Power
- DeWeaver defines white supremacy as an ideology normalized into culture that creates enforcing structures.
- He emphasizes white supremacy as a metaphor for power, not merely skin color.
When Donors Fund Organizations, Not People
- DeWeaver recounts a theater performance where donors funded the nonprofit, not the incarcerated performer who moved them.
- He used that moment to develop a zero-sum power analysis to track who gains power in interventions.
