>From: Kevin Robert Dean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Maggie Phair) > >>> >>> The Guardian (UK) >>> >>> >>> Anger grows as US jails its two millionth inmate >>> >>> The land of the free is now home to 25% of the world's >>> prison population >>> >>> Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles >>> Tuesday February 15, 2000 >>> >>> Vigils are being mounted today in more than 30 major >>> cities in the United States to draw attention to the >>> arrival of the two millionth inmate in American jails. >>> The US comprises 5% of the global population yet it is >>> responsible for 25% of the world's prisoners. It has a >>> higher proportion of its citizens in jail than any >>> other country in history, according to the November >>> Coalition, an alliance of civil rights campaigners, >>> justice policy workers and drug law reformers. >>> The coalition is co-ordinating protests across the US >>> to draw attention to what they feel is a trend for >>> locking up ever more offenders, most of them >>> non-violent. >>> >>> "Incarceration should be the last resort of a >>> civilised society, not the first," said Michael >>> Gelacak, a former vice-chairman of the US sentencing >>> commission. "We have it backwards and it's time we >>> realised that." >>> >>> "Two million is too many," said Nora Callahan of the >>> coalition, which is calling for alternatives to prison >>> for the country's 500,000 non-violent drug offenders. >>> >>> "We are calling on state and federal governments to >>> stop breaking up families and destroying our >>> communities. Prison is not the solution to every >>> social problem," she said. >>> >>> In New York city, the Prison Moratorium Project will >>> focus on the fact that one in three black youths is >>> either in custody or on parole. Kevin Pranis, of the >>> project, said: "New York state is diverting millions >>> of dollars from colleges and universities to pay for >>> prisons we can't afford." >>> >>> Criminal justice is already a campaign issue in the >>> presidential race. The Republican frontrunner George W >>> Bush, governor of Texas, is a staunch supporter of >>> both the death penalty and stiffer sentencing for drug >>> offences. >>> >>> Since he took over in Texas, the prison population >>> there is up from 41,000 to 150,000, much of this as a >>> result of locking up people for drug possession. This >>> is one of the reasons that commentators have pressed >>> Bush to be more open about his own alleged drug use in >>> the past. >>> >>> Second biggest employer >>> >>> Of those held in federal rather than state prisons, >>> 60% are drug offenders with no history of violence. >>> Aminah Muhammad, who is organising the Los Angeles >>> vigil, said: "My husband is doing 23 years for just >>> being present in a house where drugs were found, so my >>> 10-year-old son doesn't have his father." >>> >>> The vigil also coincides with the publication of >>> Lockdown America, a report by Christian Parenti >>> analysing the US criminal justice system. He notes the >>> expansion of the private prison sector - dubbed by one >>> investment firm the "theme stock for the nineties" - >>> which now runs more than 100 facilities in 27 states, >>> holding more than 100,000 inmates. >>> >>> A total of 18 private firms are involved in the >>> running of local jails, private prisons and >>> immigration detention centres. It is estimated that >>> firms such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch write >>> between $2-3bn in prison constructions bonds every >>> year. >>> >>> This has led some commentators to suggest that the >>> United States is effectively creating a >>> prison-industrial complex in much the same way as the >>> military-industrial complex operates. >>> >>> Critics of the system suggest that so much money is >>> invested in incarceration that politicians would find >>> it difficult to reverse the trends against the wishes >>> of their financial backers and lobbyists. >>> >>> In his study Christian Parenti suggests: "In many ways >>> the incarceration binge is simply the policy byproduct >>> of rightwing electoral rhetoric." >>> >>> With the economic restructuring of America, >>> politicians found it necessary to address domestic >>> anxieties, Parenti suggests and this "required >>> scapegoats, a role usually filled by new immigrants, >>> the poor and people of colour". >>> >>> The cost of building jails has averaged $7bn per year >>> for the last decade and the annual bill for >>> incarcerating prisoners is up to $35bn annually. The >>> prison industry employs more than 523,000 people, >>> making it the country's biggest employer after General >>> Motors. Some 5% of the population growth in rural >>> areas between 1980 and 1990 was as a result of >>> prisoners being moved into new rural jails. >>> >>> The national convention of the American Bar >>> Association, held in Dallas, Texas last weekend, was >>> told there was growing momentum for a moratorium on >>> the death penalty. This follows the recent >>> announcement by the Illinois governor, George Ryan, >>> that the state will suspend executions pending an >>> investigation into the number of death row inmates who >>> turn out to have been wrongly convicted. There are >>> 3,600 people awaiting execution in the US - 463 of >>> them in Texas alone. >>> >>> Today's vigils are being held near jails, courthouses >>> and prisons and span the US from Spokane in Washington >>> state to Gainesville in Florida, from Austin in Texas >>> to Newhaven in Connecticut. >>> >>> In 1985, the then Chief Justice Warren Burger said: >>> "What business enterprise could conceivably succeed >>> with the rate of recall of its products that we see in >>> the 'products' of our prisons?" >>> >>> The demonstrators today are hoping to make the same >>> point count, if not with the politicians, then at >>> least with the voters who will be called in to endorse >>> such penal policies in the coming months. >>> >> >> >> -- >> To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> with "unsubscribe" in the Subject line. Send complaints that can't be >> resolved by unsubscribing to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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