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Abstract

The United States has increasingly recognized its reputation as a prison state, with widespread acknowledgment of its high incarceration rates. As of 2021, the United States imprisoned one out of every five prisoners in the world. Additionally, of its own population, the United States imprisoned one out of every one hundred people. In response to this notoriety, worsening prison overcrowding, and the heightened risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government increased their utilization of alternative measures to traditional incarceration. As both an addition and an alternative to traditional incarceration, criminal justice systems throughout the United States have expanded their use of electronic monitoring, which legal scholars have termed e-carceration, punitive surveillance, and digital prisons. This paper begins with the background, labeled Part II, which discusses the use of electronic monitoring generally, and then more specifically within Richmond, Virginia. This section outlines why Richmond serves as a compelling case study and presents a personal account from an individual subject to its monitoring systems. Next, Part III will argue the following: Richmond sentences individuals to electronic monitoring for alternative sentencing, parole, or bond. While electronic monitoring allows individuals to remain in their communities and maintain familial connections, it does not meaningfully reduce recidivism and imposes significant financial, psychological, and constitutional burdens. These systems enable continuous surveillance of poor communities of color, reinforcing systemic inequities and creating heavily policed boundaries from which affluent individuals are generally exempt. Although electronic monitoring is framed as a humane alternative to incarceration, this paper argues that true alternatives, such as community- based support programs, court date reminders, and supervised release, are more effective, less invasive, and more aligned with rehabilitative goals. The paper will end with a conclusion. …

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