In Defense of My Fellow Prisoners:
They Aren't the Ones You Should Be Afraid Of
Joey Moncarz
- odds of dying from a shark bite: 1 in 4.3 million (1 death a year - U.S.) (Florida Museum 2025)
- odds of being killed by the structural violence of capitalism: 1 in 4 (1 million deaths a year in the U.S. alone) (Robbins 2022)
- odds of being killed by the structural violence of capitalism: 1 in 4 (1 million deaths a year in the U.S. alone) (Robbins 2022)
I spent two years in New Zealand prisons*. During that time I observed and talked with countless fellow prisoners, and I can say in full confidence that about 95 percent of them should not have been in prison. This isn't to say they were innocent. There was no way for me to know. It's just that what they actually needed was support and rehabilitation within the community, not to be locked up in the most unhealthy, unsupportive, unloving, and unbelievably toxic institution humans have yet devised. So big surprise, locking people in prison does not make communities safer; no, instead, the harsher the sentences and the harsher the criminal legal system, the more violent crimes result and the less safe our communities become. (Bryant 2023; Law 2014; Rideau 1994) I mean, come on, just look around - with more than 2.3 million people in prison in the U.S., more than 20 million former prisoners in the community, 65 million people having been convicted of a crime in total, and a 70 percent recidivism rate (in both the U.S. and New Zealand), is society in better shape? Get real! (Fitzgerald 2018) Politicians just talk about being “tough on crime” to get votes, and we fall for it every time, lapping it all up like a dimwitted schnauzer drinking from the toilet bowl.(Corey 2024; Kelly 2018; Priest 2023; Silver 2023)
First, let me say that I was locked up with everyone: murderers, rapists, drug dealers, drug addicts, child molesters, fraudsters, thieves, hackers - everyone. I was in high-security units and low security units. And also I need to point out that I'm a short, slim intellectual-type with glasses. Some guys said I looked like Harry Potter (which was kind of true). Just the kind of guy tough inmates would pick on, right? Wrong. In two years there were only really four idiots, and all they did was talk. I told one of them to stop talking to me, and he did. I got along with almost everyone. Big guys would say to me, “You let me know if anyone is messing with you, and I'll take care of it.” But there was no one to take care of. They were mostly nice guys, with families they missed, partners they missed, they were full of regrets, and they carried deep emotional pain. They often had great senses of humor (though very vulgar.) I played Scrabble with them, played tennis, badminton, pool, ping-pong. They taught me how to play rugby (quite fun). They checked on me when I was sick. They shared their food with me. They were mostly good guys who wanted to do the right thing.
The other thing is, I never judged anyone. Sometimes they would tell me what they were in for, sometimes they wouldn't. Sometimes other people would tell me, but you could never trust what other people said. Ultimately, it didn't matter. My friends in prison were murderers, rapists, fraudsters, and who knows what else. But who am I to judge? Being an avid student of history, I know full well that anyone - you got that? Anyone - could be put in circumstances that make them act in any number of unethical, hurtful, or downright barbaric ways. The civilian population in Nazi Germany, for example. Polish and Ukrainian civilians during and after the war. Were the entire populations evil? No, of course not. And yet they tolerated genocide, supported it, participated in it, robbed from Jews, and killed Jews in order to rob them - even after the war.
And what about the U.S. population supporting decades of Israel's colonial and racist oppression of Palestinians, including Israel murdering more than 46,000 people (more than half women and children) in only 15 months? (AJLabs 2025) What about Americans supporting the invasion and destruction of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya? What about the American and Israeli soldiers doing all that killing? Who are the dangerous ones in this picture?
So who are we to judge anyone? Those who judge would be better off looking in the mirror - closely. The Bible says, in Romans 2:1: "Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things." And this is precisely it. People who judge others (or accuse others, or bully others) are merely projecting something about themselves. (Berens and Shiffman 2020; Kolhatkar 2024)
The fact is, most of my fellow prisoners were poor. They often had very challenging childhoods, with abusive parents, or alcoholic parents. Or abusive foster parents. Many were abused by state or Church caregivers. Some were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. I heard heartbreaking stories. They had all the hardships and obstacles that poverty creates. This doesn't excuse any of their hurtful behaviors; but it does help to explain it. And if we can't explain why people act in these ways, then we'll never be able to figure out how to make society safer and healthier. And the reason why there is so much crime is that society is not healthy. It's been designed by the elite - by generations of greedy psychopaths, who don't give a shit about anything but their own wealth and power. Generations of slavery, entrenched poverty, and ecological destruction. All the while there's been plenty of wealth to share so that no one had to live in deprivation. But deprivation it's been! For countless generations.
Did my fellow prisoners create these conditions? Heck no. It's those in power - all those lying, deceiving, worthless politicians - who've made sure that poverty never, ever goes away. Capitalists need poor people! (Otherwise, who will work all those miserable jobs in factories, mines, and so on?) So instead, they waste billions on sending people into space. Or on weapons - always on more and more weapons - nearly $850 billion on the military each year. They give tax breaks for the rich. (Johnson 2023) They gave 29 trillion dollars to the banks after the 2008 financial crisis. And nothing - absolutely nothing - to all those people who lost their savings and homes. (Zeese and Flowers 2018) To make things worse, the bailouts weren't even necessary - it was a scam. (Baker 2018) Then in 2020 they gave $2.2 trillion for the Coronavirus Bailout - and almost all of it went to the rich. (Abramson 2020) Are we seeing a pattern yet?
There's always been plenty of money to end poverty. All those trillions of dollars could have gone to the poor and middle class. But it will never happen. Capitalists need desperate poor people. They need it like narcissist parents want their children utterly dependent on them, or narcissist partners need the other completely helpless and dependent.
So when it comes to who causes the most harm to society, and who we should be most afraid of, it should be damn obvious by now that it is NOT the people in prisons. Sure, they've hurt others. But nothing, absolutely nothing they've done begins to compare to the damage and destruction caused by the rich, by the politicians, by the presidents and prime ministers, by the CEOs and shareholders and their corporations, and by the lawyers and judges perpetuating all these injustices.
The people in prison are not the greatest threat to society. And they should not be locked up. (Waller and Bradley 2024) They need compassion and support.
For a look at real threats and the ultimate recidivists, go to the White House. (Nader 2025; Reich 2025; Savin 2025)
* For something I didn't do - while the real criminal (a highly-paid, highly-connected corporate accountant) was labeled a “victim” and walks free. (Moncarz 2025) But whether a person thinks I'm guilty or not is not the issue here.
References
Abramson, Alana. (Jun 18, 2020). “‘No Lessons Have Been Learned.’ Why the Trillion-Dollar Coronavirus Bailout Benefited the Rich”. Retrieved from https://time.com/5845116/coronavirus-bailout-rich-richer/
AJLabs. (Jan 15, 2025). “The human toll of Israel’s war on Gaza – by the numbers”. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/15/the-human-toll-of-israels-war-on-gaza-by-the-numbers
Baker, Dean. (Sep 14, 2018). “The Bank Bailout of 2008 Was Unnecessary”. Retrieved from https://cepr.net/publications/the-bank-bailout-of-2008-was-unnecessary/
Berens, Michael and Shiffman, John. (Jun 30, 2020). “Thousands of U.S. judges who broke laws or oaths remained on the bench “. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-judges-misconduct/
Bryant, Erica. (Oct 24, 2023). “Why Punishing People in Jail and Prison Isn’t Working”. Retrieved from https://www.vera.org/news/why-punishing-people-in-jail-and-prison-isnt-working
Corey, Ethan. (Feb 13, 2024). “Ask The Appeal: Why Do Americans Think the U.S. is Too ‘Soft’ on Crime?” Retrieved from https://theappeal.org/why-do-voters-think-the-us-soft-on-crime/
Fitzgerald, D. (Apr 30, 2018). “Giving People with Criminal Records a Second Chance”. Retrieved from https://www.publicwelfare.org/resource/giving-people-with-criminal-records-a-second-chance/
Florida Museum. (2025). "Risk of Death". Retrieved from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/odds/compare-risk/death/
Johnson, Jake. (Sep 28, 2023). “Billionaires Have Gotten $2.2 Trillion Richer Since Trump-GOP Tax Cuts: Analysis”. Retrieved from https://www.commondreams.org/news/billionaires-trump-tax-cuts
Kelly, William R. (Apr 25, 2018). “Why Punishment Doesn't Reduce Crime”. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/crime-and-punishment/201804/why-punishment-doesnt-reduce-crime
Kennedy, Rodney. (Dec 7, 2023). “Here’s why Americans are so obsessed with getting ‘tough on crime’”. Retrieved from https://baptistnews.com/article/heres-why-americans-are-so-obsessed-with-getting-tough-on-crime/
Kolhatkar, Sonali. (Jun 4, 2024). “‘Tough-on-Crime’ Doesn’t Apply to People Like Trump”. Retrieved from https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/04/tough-on-crime-doesnt-apply-to-people-like-trump/
Law, Victoria. (Nov 14, 2014). “Why Prisons Don’t Work and How We Can Do Better: A Conversation With Maya Schenwar”. Retrieved from https://truthout.org/articles/why-prisons-don-t-work-and-how-we-can-do-better-a-conversation-with-maya-schenwar/
Moncarz, Joey. (Jan 2025). “Just Another Wrongful Conviction”. Retrieved from https://www.joemoncarz.com/just-another-wrongful-conviction.html
Nader, Ralph. (Feb 11, 2025). “A Trumpian Fascistic Coup is Underway—Stop It Before the Terror Starts”. Retrieved from https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/11/a-trumpian-fascistic-coup-is-underway-stop-it-before-the-terror-starts/
Priest, Emma. (Jul 11, 2023). “Emma Priest: Why ‘getting tough on crime’ doesn’t work”. Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emma-priest-why-getting-tough-on-crime-doesnt-work/XIXUBQLGEBF4FJ6XGUZV6BI7EY/
Reich, Robert. (Feb 12, 2025). “Trump is the most lawless president in American history”. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/12/trump-lawless-president
Rideau, Wilbert. (Mar 21, 1994). “Why Prisons Don't Work”. Retrieved from https://time.com/archive/6724952/why-prisons-dont-work/
Robbins, Kayla. (Dec 26, 2022). "Capitalism Kills Nearly 1 Million Americans Per Year". Retrieved from https://invisiblepeople.tv/capitalism-kills-nearly-1-million-americans-per-year/
Savin, Jennifer. (Jan 20, 2025). “A timeline of Donald Trump’s many (alleged) crimes and convictions”. Retrieved from https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a62831426/trump-allegations-timeline/
Silver, Bex. (Sep 21, 2023). “Being ‘tough on crime’ is easy, but it doesn't work”. Retrieved from https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/09/21/being-tough-on-crime-is-easy-but-doesnt-work.html
Waller, Irvin and Bradley, Jeffrey. (Apr 2, 2024). “Tackling the causes of crime, not sending more people to jail, is the only way to fight it”. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/tackling-the-causes-of-crime-not-sending-more-people-to-jail-is-the-only-way-to-fight-it-226170
Zeese, Kevin and Flowers, Margaret. (Sep 3, 2018). “It’s Been 10 Years Since Banks Were Bailed Out and People Were Sold Out”. Retrieved from https://www.truthdig.com/articles/its-been-10-years-since-banks-were-bailed-out-and-people-were-sold-out/
First, let me say that I was locked up with everyone: murderers, rapists, drug dealers, drug addicts, child molesters, fraudsters, thieves, hackers - everyone. I was in high-security units and low security units. And also I need to point out that I'm a short, slim intellectual-type with glasses. Some guys said I looked like Harry Potter (which was kind of true). Just the kind of guy tough inmates would pick on, right? Wrong. In two years there were only really four idiots, and all they did was talk. I told one of them to stop talking to me, and he did. I got along with almost everyone. Big guys would say to me, “You let me know if anyone is messing with you, and I'll take care of it.” But there was no one to take care of. They were mostly nice guys, with families they missed, partners they missed, they were full of regrets, and they carried deep emotional pain. They often had great senses of humor (though very vulgar.) I played Scrabble with them, played tennis, badminton, pool, ping-pong. They taught me how to play rugby (quite fun). They checked on me when I was sick. They shared their food with me. They were mostly good guys who wanted to do the right thing.
The other thing is, I never judged anyone. Sometimes they would tell me what they were in for, sometimes they wouldn't. Sometimes other people would tell me, but you could never trust what other people said. Ultimately, it didn't matter. My friends in prison were murderers, rapists, fraudsters, and who knows what else. But who am I to judge? Being an avid student of history, I know full well that anyone - you got that? Anyone - could be put in circumstances that make them act in any number of unethical, hurtful, or downright barbaric ways. The civilian population in Nazi Germany, for example. Polish and Ukrainian civilians during and after the war. Were the entire populations evil? No, of course not. And yet they tolerated genocide, supported it, participated in it, robbed from Jews, and killed Jews in order to rob them - even after the war.
And what about the U.S. population supporting decades of Israel's colonial and racist oppression of Palestinians, including Israel murdering more than 46,000 people (more than half women and children) in only 15 months? (AJLabs 2025) What about Americans supporting the invasion and destruction of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya? What about the American and Israeli soldiers doing all that killing? Who are the dangerous ones in this picture?
So who are we to judge anyone? Those who judge would be better off looking in the mirror - closely. The Bible says, in Romans 2:1: "Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things." And this is precisely it. People who judge others (or accuse others, or bully others) are merely projecting something about themselves. (Berens and Shiffman 2020; Kolhatkar 2024)
The fact is, most of my fellow prisoners were poor. They often had very challenging childhoods, with abusive parents, or alcoholic parents. Or abusive foster parents. Many were abused by state or Church caregivers. Some were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. I heard heartbreaking stories. They had all the hardships and obstacles that poverty creates. This doesn't excuse any of their hurtful behaviors; but it does help to explain it. And if we can't explain why people act in these ways, then we'll never be able to figure out how to make society safer and healthier. And the reason why there is so much crime is that society is not healthy. It's been designed by the elite - by generations of greedy psychopaths, who don't give a shit about anything but their own wealth and power. Generations of slavery, entrenched poverty, and ecological destruction. All the while there's been plenty of wealth to share so that no one had to live in deprivation. But deprivation it's been! For countless generations.
Did my fellow prisoners create these conditions? Heck no. It's those in power - all those lying, deceiving, worthless politicians - who've made sure that poverty never, ever goes away. Capitalists need poor people! (Otherwise, who will work all those miserable jobs in factories, mines, and so on?) So instead, they waste billions on sending people into space. Or on weapons - always on more and more weapons - nearly $850 billion on the military each year. They give tax breaks for the rich. (Johnson 2023) They gave 29 trillion dollars to the banks after the 2008 financial crisis. And nothing - absolutely nothing - to all those people who lost their savings and homes. (Zeese and Flowers 2018) To make things worse, the bailouts weren't even necessary - it was a scam. (Baker 2018) Then in 2020 they gave $2.2 trillion for the Coronavirus Bailout - and almost all of it went to the rich. (Abramson 2020) Are we seeing a pattern yet?
There's always been plenty of money to end poverty. All those trillions of dollars could have gone to the poor and middle class. But it will never happen. Capitalists need desperate poor people. They need it like narcissist parents want their children utterly dependent on them, or narcissist partners need the other completely helpless and dependent.
So when it comes to who causes the most harm to society, and who we should be most afraid of, it should be damn obvious by now that it is NOT the people in prisons. Sure, they've hurt others. But nothing, absolutely nothing they've done begins to compare to the damage and destruction caused by the rich, by the politicians, by the presidents and prime ministers, by the CEOs and shareholders and their corporations, and by the lawyers and judges perpetuating all these injustices.
The people in prison are not the greatest threat to society. And they should not be locked up. (Waller and Bradley 2024) They need compassion and support.
For a look at real threats and the ultimate recidivists, go to the White House. (Nader 2025; Reich 2025; Savin 2025)
* For something I didn't do - while the real criminal (a highly-paid, highly-connected corporate accountant) was labeled a “victim” and walks free. (Moncarz 2025) But whether a person thinks I'm guilty or not is not the issue here.
References
Abramson, Alana. (Jun 18, 2020). “‘No Lessons Have Been Learned.’ Why the Trillion-Dollar Coronavirus Bailout Benefited the Rich”. Retrieved from https://time.com/5845116/coronavirus-bailout-rich-richer/
AJLabs. (Jan 15, 2025). “The human toll of Israel’s war on Gaza – by the numbers”. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/15/the-human-toll-of-israels-war-on-gaza-by-the-numbers
Baker, Dean. (Sep 14, 2018). “The Bank Bailout of 2008 Was Unnecessary”. Retrieved from https://cepr.net/publications/the-bank-bailout-of-2008-was-unnecessary/
Berens, Michael and Shiffman, John. (Jun 30, 2020). “Thousands of U.S. judges who broke laws or oaths remained on the bench “. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-judges-misconduct/
Bryant, Erica. (Oct 24, 2023). “Why Punishing People in Jail and Prison Isn’t Working”. Retrieved from https://www.vera.org/news/why-punishing-people-in-jail-and-prison-isnt-working
Corey, Ethan. (Feb 13, 2024). “Ask The Appeal: Why Do Americans Think the U.S. is Too ‘Soft’ on Crime?” Retrieved from https://theappeal.org/why-do-voters-think-the-us-soft-on-crime/
Fitzgerald, D. (Apr 30, 2018). “Giving People with Criminal Records a Second Chance”. Retrieved from https://www.publicwelfare.org/resource/giving-people-with-criminal-records-a-second-chance/
Florida Museum. (2025). "Risk of Death". Retrieved from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/odds/compare-risk/death/
Johnson, Jake. (Sep 28, 2023). “Billionaires Have Gotten $2.2 Trillion Richer Since Trump-GOP Tax Cuts: Analysis”. Retrieved from https://www.commondreams.org/news/billionaires-trump-tax-cuts
Kelly, William R. (Apr 25, 2018). “Why Punishment Doesn't Reduce Crime”. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/crime-and-punishment/201804/why-punishment-doesnt-reduce-crime
Kennedy, Rodney. (Dec 7, 2023). “Here’s why Americans are so obsessed with getting ‘tough on crime’”. Retrieved from https://baptistnews.com/article/heres-why-americans-are-so-obsessed-with-getting-tough-on-crime/
Kolhatkar, Sonali. (Jun 4, 2024). “‘Tough-on-Crime’ Doesn’t Apply to People Like Trump”. Retrieved from https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/04/tough-on-crime-doesnt-apply-to-people-like-trump/
Law, Victoria. (Nov 14, 2014). “Why Prisons Don’t Work and How We Can Do Better: A Conversation With Maya Schenwar”. Retrieved from https://truthout.org/articles/why-prisons-don-t-work-and-how-we-can-do-better-a-conversation-with-maya-schenwar/
Moncarz, Joey. (Jan 2025). “Just Another Wrongful Conviction”. Retrieved from https://www.joemoncarz.com/just-another-wrongful-conviction.html
Nader, Ralph. (Feb 11, 2025). “A Trumpian Fascistic Coup is Underway—Stop It Before the Terror Starts”. Retrieved from https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/11/a-trumpian-fascistic-coup-is-underway-stop-it-before-the-terror-starts/
Priest, Emma. (Jul 11, 2023). “Emma Priest: Why ‘getting tough on crime’ doesn’t work”. Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emma-priest-why-getting-tough-on-crime-doesnt-work/XIXUBQLGEBF4FJ6XGUZV6BI7EY/
Reich, Robert. (Feb 12, 2025). “Trump is the most lawless president in American history”. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/12/trump-lawless-president
Rideau, Wilbert. (Mar 21, 1994). “Why Prisons Don't Work”. Retrieved from https://time.com/archive/6724952/why-prisons-dont-work/
Robbins, Kayla. (Dec 26, 2022). "Capitalism Kills Nearly 1 Million Americans Per Year". Retrieved from https://invisiblepeople.tv/capitalism-kills-nearly-1-million-americans-per-year/
Savin, Jennifer. (Jan 20, 2025). “A timeline of Donald Trump’s many (alleged) crimes and convictions”. Retrieved from https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a62831426/trump-allegations-timeline/
Silver, Bex. (Sep 21, 2023). “Being ‘tough on crime’ is easy, but it doesn't work”. Retrieved from https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/09/21/being-tough-on-crime-is-easy-but-doesnt-work.html
Waller, Irvin and Bradley, Jeffrey. (Apr 2, 2024). “Tackling the causes of crime, not sending more people to jail, is the only way to fight it”. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/tackling-the-causes-of-crime-not-sending-more-people-to-jail-is-the-only-way-to-fight-it-226170
Zeese, Kevin and Flowers, Margaret. (Sep 3, 2018). “It’s Been 10 Years Since Banks Were Bailed Out and People Were Sold Out”. Retrieved from https://www.truthdig.com/articles/its-been-10-years-since-banks-were-bailed-out-and-people-were-sold-out/