From Exclusion to Collaboration: Legislation Inside and the Future of Democratic Participation

Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.A. in Socio-Legal Studies, Public Policy

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Sociology and Criminology

First Advisor

Lisa Pasko

Second Advisor

Ajenai Clemmons

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Incarceration, Policy, Law, Governance, Democracy, Political agency

Abstract

This thesis examines Colorado’s Legislation Inside (LI) initiative, which was put in statute through SB25-155, as a case study in collaborative democratic governance under conditions of confinement. It argues that incarceration does not eliminate political agency; rather, institutions often fail to recognize or meaningfully engage that agency. It asks what happens to democratic governance when those most affected by institutional power are systematically excluded from shaping it, and what becomes possible when institutions are compelled to reason alongside the people they have historically governed from a distance. It further contends that exclusion weakens governance itself by insulating institutions from the realities they seek to regulate. Although the long-term effects of SB25-155 remain uncertain, the initiative already demonstrates how participatory structures can transform institutional relationships, challenge conventional assumptions about expertise and legitimacy, and open new democratic possibilities within systems historically organized around exclusion and control.

Copyright Date

5-26-2022

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Rights Holder

Sophie Patten-Ostergard

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

41 pgs

File Size

381 KB

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