Rushforth, BrettNorton, MatthewMcWhorter, BrianO'Neil, Sydney2022-07-122022-07-122022https://hdl.handle.net/1794/27398The intersection of two crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and mass incarceration, have culminated in an epidemic of unmatched proportions. While mass incarceration has made the correctional population more vulnerable to the spread of infection, creating and facilitating Covid-19’s rapid spread behind bars, the pandemic has highlighted the nation’s reliance on punishment and the unintended yet deadly consequences. This thesis uses Louisiana as a case study to better understand why prisoners were hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic and how mass incarceration has contributed. Looking back at the history of tough-on-crime policies enacted in the mid-20th century, deeply entrenched prejudice rooted within society, and policing on the basis of socioeconomic and racial characteristics, one can begin to understand how the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, a supposedly natural phenomena, is almost entirely man-made. en-USCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Mass IncarcerationCovid-19RacismClassismCriminal Justice SystemThesis/Dissertation0000-0001-8041-9298