A Visit to Germany Helped Me Deconstruct How We Should View Incarceration

A reflection from Aisha Elliott, Chief Program Officer of the Women’s Prison Association

After my recent trip to Germany with the Vera Institute of Justice, alongside leaders in criminal legal system reform, I returned more convinced than ever that we must deconstruct how we view incarceration.

Pictured below is a cell used during the Holocaust, its appearance disturbingly similar to cells that still exist in many U.S. prisons today.

*A cell at Sachsenhausen Memorial Concentration Camp.*

While the historical circumstances are different, the visual similarities force us to confront difficult questions about how far we have come in our treatment of incarcerated people.

My trip to Germany was a reminder that the way we treat people who are incarcerated reflects our values as a society.

One of my greatest takeaways was the importance of centering humanity, dignity, rehabilitation, and restoration rather than punishment.

*A group photo at Berlin’s Criminal Court.*

I returned from Germany more convinced than ever that we must reimagine our response to incarceration, not simply to improve the conditions of confinement, but to fundamentally transform how we care for people and prepare them to return to our communities.