Does the Seattle shooting prove a society can’t function without prisons?

[SolitarySolace]

Three people were killed and four others—including a toddler—were wounded at the Bite of Seattle after police say two people exchanged gunfire outside the Seattle Center Armory.

Seattle Police:
https://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2026/07/27/gun-violence-at-seattle-center-takes-three-lives/

The DSA’s national program calls for taking steps toward fully abolishing the police and prison system:
https://program.dsausa.org/

To me, cases like this demonstrate why abolishing prisons is an extraordinarily reckless idea. Violent offenders do not disappear because prisons disappear. Society still needs a secure way to incapacitate people convicted of murder, rape, serious assault, and other dangerous crimes.

This is also why I keep telling people to read the whole DSA platform, rather than considering only popular proposals such as healthcare or housing. The same program also proposes major changes to the existing constitutional system.

Do you think a society can realistically function without prisons?

Yes — prisons should ultimately be abolished

No — prisons remain necessary

[Just_Ken]

You only have to look at the migrant rape and gang rape epidemic in Europe.

They commit these crimes because there's little to no legal repercussions other than a slap on the wrist by a very liberal judge or 5 year jail sentence that they serve 2 years of and then released for good behaviour. The prisons of course are more like hotels with plenty of leisure, tv, education and exercise. Then they don't even get deported because "human rights".

[Kaneki05]

Prisons are needed, even if we succussed at making wealth disparity and class issues a thing of the past, built strong social structures and communities.
It would drastically reduce many crimes but crime would still persist.
The idea should not be to remove them but to filter better who can be let out or not and making that transition for those who can far more supported than ya know being let out and to no surprise they commit another crime because they saw no other option.

[Twalli]

We need to change the way prisons work. In some cases, people can't be fixed. In most cases, though, a person can be fixed. Prisons need to primarily focus on rehabilitation. If a person can't be fixed, then we need to keep them locked up, but if they can be, we need to focus on that.

[SolitarySolace]

@Twalli On this, we actually agree on quite a bit. I also think rehabilitation should be a major goal of the prison system, particularly for offenders who can realistically return to society without posing a serious danger.

But your last point is exactly why I reject prison abolition: some people cannot safely be released. Someone convicted of murder, rape, repeated violent assault, or another extremely dangerous offense may need to remain securely confined to protect everyone else.

So there is a huge difference between saying, “Our prisons need reform and should do a better job rehabilitating people,” and saying, “We should ultimately abolish the prison system.”

I’m perfectly willing to debate sentencing reform, rehabilitation programs, mental-health treatment, vocational training, reentry programs, and whether particular offenders are being incarcerated appropriately. None of that requires eliminating prisons.

In fact, your own position illustrates my point rather well: rehabilitate those who can safely be rehabilitated, but retain secure incarceration for those who cannot.

That is a reformed prison system—not a prisonless society. And I think it is far more realistic than the abolitionist approach I was criticizing in this poll.

[Twalli]

So mostly change prisons with the intent to rehabilitate people, while keeping supermax prisons for those that can't reenter society because they're so messed up, they present a clear and present danger.

[SolitarySolace]

@Twalli Yes, essentially. Rehabilitation should be the primary goal for offenders who can safely return to society, while people who remain a clear and serious danger should stay securely confined. That would be meaningful prison reform—not prison abolition.

This distinction matters politically because the DSA’s current national program calls for redirecting police funding and other measures as steps toward fully abolishing the police and prison system. The organization also openly uses elections to build socialist political power. People who support reform but reject abolition should therefore examine DSA-aligned candidates carefully and defeat those committed to that agenda through lawful elections. W

[Twalli]

We may need to dismantle what we have to build something that works. There's a reason why people hate the police now, because that wasn't always the case.

[exitseven]

If anything, we need more prisons and longer prison sentences,. They should not be like vacation resorts either.

[strateguy632]

prisons are the humane alternative to whipping.

[Cidknee]

So far we can't.