No. Most people on the left do not want prisons abolished. “Leftists” is a broad, imprecise label covering mainstream liberals/Democrats, progressives, social democrats, socialists, anarchists, and others. Support for full prison abolition is a minority position concentrated among radical activists, some academics, and specific organizations on the far left.
Where the idea actually comes from
Prison abolition is a real current within radical left thought. It draws on figures such as Angela Davis, organizations like Critical Resistance, and strands of anarchism and Marxist analysis that view prisons as tools of racial and class control rather than primarily as responses to crime. Proponents typically argue for replacing the entire carceral system with “transformative justice,” community accountability processes, social services, and economic redistribution. Some extend this to police and border abolition as well. This view is visible in certain activist spaces, academic writing, and niche progressive outlets, especially after the 2020 protests.
Where the idea actually comes from
Prison abolition is a real current within radical left thought. It draws on figures such as Angela Davis, organizations like Critical Resistance, and strands of anarchism and Marxist analysis that view prisons as tools of racial and class control rather than primarily as responses to crime. Proponents typically argue for replacing the entire carceral system with “transformative justice,” community accountability processes, social services, and economic redistribution. Some extend this to police and border abolition as well. This view is visible in certain activist spaces, academic writing, and niche progressive outlets, especially after the 2020 protests.