Phillip Smith, a friend of Emancipate NC, is the Editor of Nash News, a publication created and produced entirely by Nash Correctional Residents at the Correction Enterprises Print Plant.
The last issue featured a story about Emancipate NC, including profiles of Family Advocate Cierra Cobb and Associate Director Elizabeth Simpson.
The article reads:
Simpson realizes solving the problem [of what society labels crime] would require investing in human beings to make sure their fundamental needs are met. Fundamental needs include “safe housing, healthy food, supportive family and peer relationships, health care and mental health care, meaningful educational and work opportunities and a source of higher meaning in one’s life.” Simpson identifies society’s refusal to invest in all people as a catalyst for oppression, finding, instead “we try to punish and control behavior, rather than looking at root causes.”
. . .
As the wife of an incarcerated individual, Cobb knows first-hand how expensive prison can be. Exorbitant fees for phone calls, texting on a tablet, canteen, quarterly food packages, and now mail, makes prisons an extremely expensive place to live. Change to the system will not come easily, but Cobb knows it is possible. She remarks, “in this current moment, society has a better understanding of the criminal justice system and realizes it has done more harm to society than good.”
Read the full article from Nash News