Reforming America's Prisons: A Conversation with Reginald Dwayne Betts and Pat Nolan

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. Sing Sing Prison, interior view.'Americans comprise about 5 percent of the world’s population but more than 20 percent of its prison population. The United States also leads the planet in its levels of incarcerated youth. And while the overall rate of youth incarceration in this country has declined more than 50 percent in the 21st century, the rate of Black youths put in prison has increased by 22 percent—of all young people in prison, 69 percent of them are people of color. Anthony Marx asks Reginald Dwayne Betts and Pat Nolan how the tragedies of American incarceration continue to be sustained and what action is needed in order to correct them.' -- NYPL