University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review, 2015, 5: 585-618 (Open access)

The number of people in U.S. prisons and jails has experienced an astounding six-fold increase since the 1970s.1 This growth in the number of people imprisoned is unprecedented in U.S. history and outstrips the current incarceration rates of any other country. In this article, the authors explain how this hyper-incarceration has devastating effects on those under criminal justice system control and those close to them and weakens the social structures of entire communities. The authors demonstrate that these negative effects of hyper-incarceration
increase the risks for domestic violence. We argue that the movement to end domestic violence should therefore focus attention on efforts to stop hyper-incarceration. Record #5367