Alec Karakatsanis

Alec Karakatsani (born November 7, 1983) is an American police and prison abolitionist, civil rights lawyer, and author. Quotes Nobody should be held in a cage because they're poor. Detention should be based on objective evidentiary factors, like whether the person is a danger to the community or a flight risk — not how much money's in their pocket. ... It's so obvious to any person who spends even a small amount of time thinking about any of this stuff that there's absolutely no reason to even have pre-trial detention in these minor cases. There's no reason why someone should be held in jail for a week or even four days for not having a leash on their dog or a headlight being out or driving with a suspended license. There's no reason why an arrestee should be held in jail because he's poor in one of those cases, and there's no question that any of these people are dangerous to the community. Reported in Leon Neyfakh, 'Is Bail Unconstitutional?' (2015), Slate Copaganda … is the system of government and news media propaganda that promotes mass incarceration, justifies the barbarities and profits that accompany it, and distorts our sense of what threatens us and what keeps us safe. Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News (The New Press, 2025), p. 7 External links Category:Lawyers from the United States Category:Activists from the United States Category:Prison reform activists Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Yale University alumni Category:People from Pittsburgh Category:1983 births Category:Living people