Tying it all up....

[stillcool]

Remember the story of Shaquanda Cotton? The fourteen year old girl in Paris, Texas, that was sentenced to prison for up to up to 7 years for pushing a hall monitor? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703120170mar12,1,1921178.story?coll=chi Well, That story blew my mind and got me to thinking...what's up with Texas? I went a looking at the Texas Youth Prison System and got a sore eyeful of the abuse that takes place in the State's Juvenille Schools.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/us/28youth.html?_r=1&ex=1179720000&en=e9d1750f3b906e9b&ei=5070&oref=slogin
Nasty business. Sad. But hey...I guess that's Texas. But then I thought...why are there so many fucked up kids?
I have my own ideas. I am a kind of foster child. My dad 'was never the same' after WW11, and my mom died of cancer when I was a year old, and I just kind of ended up with my drunk dad's choice of a home for me. As a result of a couple of suicide attempts, I learned about how those early life abuse/neglect experiences affected as I put it 'my inability to do life'. While I'm sure there isno correlation between my own sad story about how I fucked up my life, and kids getting incarcerated...I thought I'd check it out---------------

• In 2000, 1.5 million U.S. children had an incarcerated parent. Between 1990-2001, the number of women in prison increased by 106%.
• In 1995, 12% of children in foster care had not received routine health care. 90% had not received services to address developmental delays.
• Between 1992-2002, the number of infants and toddlers entering foster care increased by 110%.
• In 1993, more than 60% of the homeless population in NYC municipal shelters were former foster youth.
• According to a 1999 report, less than 50% of foster youth had graduated from high school, compared to 85% of the general population.
• In 2000, of 732 mid-western foster care youths, nearly 52% had lived in three or more foster homes and had moved schools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are more than half a million children and youth in the U.S. foster care system, a 90% increase since 1987.Three of 10 of the nation’s homeless are former foster children.
A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
50% were unemployed
Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems,

A study by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenille Justice found 70% of these youth meet the criteria for at least one mental health disorder. What's worse is that 36% of the parents of these youth intentionally involved the juvenille justice system to access mental health services...some 12,700 children were places in either child welfare, or the juvenilled justice systems to access mental health systems (U.S. GAO 2003) Of course, the U.S. DOJ in recent investigations into the conditions in these juvenille detention and correctional facilities, found inadequate access to treatment, inappropriate use of medications, and neglect of suicide attempts nationwide (U.S.DOJ 2005).
---80 percent of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.

* 872,000 children and youth were confirmed victims of abuse or neglect in the United States in 2004.

Children are 11 times more likely to be abused in State care than they are in their own homes.
http://fostersurvivor.netfirms.com/statistics.shtml

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Table 3-4 Victimization Trends, 2001-2005
Child Maltreatment 2005
2001 population-72,603,552- victims-904,666
2002 population-72,894,483- victims-897,168
2003 population-73,043,506- victims-893,296
2004 population-73,089,769- victims-876,937
2005 population-74,502,089- victims-899,454

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/statistics/entryexit2005.htm
Foster Care in the Year 2020 (if nothing changes in child welfare trends)
Children who will experience the foster care system Over 9,000,00014
Children who will age out of the foster care system 300,00015
Foster youth aging out of the system that will experience homelessness 75,00016
Foster youth aging out of the system that graduate from college 9,00017
Number of children killed by abuse or neglect 22,50018
http://www.casey.org/MediaCenter/MediaKit/FactSheet.htm

Nationwide, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers are increasingly focusing on a growing tragedy—large numbers of youth with mental health problems becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. A recent study by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice
found approximately 70% of the youth in residential juvenile justice settings meet criteria for at least one mental health disorder(Shufelt &Cocozza, 2006).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To make matters worse....

--According to the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, since 1990 the incarceration of youth in adult jails has increased 208%. On any given day, more than 7,000 young people are held in adult jails.

-- Increasing numbers of young people have been
placed in adult jails where they are at risk of assault, abuse, and death.
Currently, 40 states permit or require that youth charged as adults be placed pre-trial in an adult jail, and in some states they may be required to serve their entire sentence in an adult jail. According to the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, since 1990 the incarceration of youth in adult jails has increased 208%.
http://www.campaign4youthjustice.org/Downloads/NEWS/JPI014Consequences_Summary.pdf

In 1985 one out of every 320 Americans were in jail.

In 1995 one out of every 167 Americans were in jail.

Between1980 and 1994, the number of people in federal and state prisons increased 221%.

Today, 2 million Americans are in prison.
1.2 million are African-American men.

[stillcool]

1. So why jail?

There's got to be a better way. Right? Maybe not.

If you book a flight on TWA, you'll likely be talking to a prisoner at a California correctional facility that the airline uses for its reservations service. Microsoft has used Washington State prisoners to pack and ship Windows software. AT&T has used prisoners for telemarketing; Honda, for manufacturing parts; and even Toys "R" Us, for cleaning and stocking shelves for the next day's customers.
-------------------------------------
Companies that use prison labor create islands of time in which, in terms of labor relations at least, it's still the late nineteenth century. Prison employers pay no health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no payroll or Social Security taxes, no workers' compensation, no vacation time, sick leave, or overtime. In fact, to the extent that prisoners have "benefits" like health insurance, the state picks up the tab.
http://www.postcarbon.org/node/2244

he Prison Industrial Complex in America: Investment in Slavery
by Venerable Kobutsu Malone, Osho
The United States Constitution Permits Prison Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
The secure housing, minimal support, minimal medical care and feeding of 2.2 million people is a costly endeavor consuming billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer's money every year in America. Corporations are lined up to receive a portion of the public funds used to support the self-perpetuating incarceration industry. States such as California spend more public funds, tax dollars, your money, my money, on prisons than for education and schools.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The largest network of prison labor is run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons' manufacturing consortium, UNICOR. While paying inmate laborers entry-level wages of 23 cents an hour, UNICOR boasts of gross annual sales (primarily to the Department of Defense) of $250 million.
The correctional-industrial complex therefore relies on a sobering "joint venture" directly relating profits to increased incarceration rates for four kinds of "partners," only the first of whom are those seeking opportunities in prison construction. A second kind of partner stocks these prisons with stun guns, pepper spray, surveillance equipment, and other "disciplinary technology," corporations such as Adtech, American Detention Services, the Correctional Corporation of America and Space Master Enterprises. A third partner finds a state-guaranteed mass of consumers for food and other services in the prisoners themselves, such as Campbell's Soup and Szabo Correctional Services. The fourth partner can be any private industry or state-sponsored program that stands to gain from paying wages that only nominally distinguish captive forced labor from slavery. In this last category, an example of the former is Prison Blues and of the latter is UNICOR which uses prisoners to produce advanced military weaponary
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecommunications contracts in the prison industry are highly prized and lucrative "deals" that invariably entail legal kickbacks to the prisons euphemistically labeled "attractive commission and incentive programs." An initial telecommunications contract with a state department of corrections can involve a million dollars or more in "incentive" up front.

Slavery in your portfolio?
Take a good look at the list below...own any stock in any of the companies listed? Patronize any of the telecommunications companies? Verizon? MCI? Think about it, these companies are all making profit from the incarceration of human beings under conditions which cause suffering to the prisoners, their families and loved ones, the guards and administrators who hold them captive, and the social fabric of our communities.
http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kobutsu-Investing_in_Slavery.html

[stillcool]

2. Wow..huh?

Well...prisoners should work anyway right? Might as well have some leading corporations teach them some skills..right? Have them earn their keep. Can't be that much of a big deal.. But what is this Federal Prisons Industry? What do they make?

Fleet Management & Vehicular Components

“Your Partner in Mission Readiness”
Comprehensive Video

Federal Prison Industries provides a full array of customized fleet modernization programs ranging from tactical vehicle & vehicular components remanufacturing (RESET), commercial vehicle upfitting and de-retrofitting to web-based fleet asset services for fleets ranging from fifty to thousands of vehicles.
---------------------------------------------------
UNICOR/FPI's nationwide network of factories are fully equipped and staffed to manufacture electronics and electrical products for the most demanding military, federal agency and commercial uses.
The UNICOR/FPI Electronics Group plays a critical role in supplying electrical components and equipment for the U.S. military in the United States and overseas. We are under direct, long-term agreements with the U.S. military and a preferred provider for major military OEMs. The Electronics Group also provides electrical products for Homeland Security and other vital federal agencies as well as for commercial applications.

Guided Missile Components

The Patriot missile is the world's most advanced ground-to-air defense system, and is designed to defeat advanced targets, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. UNICOR/FPI has successfully implemented surged production to supply electronics and electrical components for Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile propulsion, guidance and targeting systems.
Components & Support Equipment

UNICOR/FPI supplies numerous electronic components and services for guided missiles, including the Patriot Advanced Capability PAC-3) missile. We assemble and distribute the Intermediate Frequency Processor (IFP) for the PAC-3s seeker. The IFP receives and filters radio-frequency signals that guide the missile toward its target.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Communications

* Amplifiers
* Antennas
* Loud Speakers & Control Units
* Radio Mounts
* SINCGARS Radio Configuaration Kit
* Speaker Boxes
* Speakers
-------------------------------------------------------------
Within the next five years, more than 350 million computers will become obsolete according to the National Safety Council and National Recycling Coalition. E-scrap poses enormous environmental concerns.
UNICOR…Responding to the Challenge!
UNICOR's unique, full service recycling program is an integrated part of a national e-scrap solution. UNICOR's commitment to the environment extends to its vendors, who are required to sign no-landfill certifications, follow a restrictive export policy, and agree to site inspections.
----------------------------------
Welcome to the
Industrial Products Group Specializing in:

* Shelving
* Industrial Racks
* Storage Lockers & Cabinets
* Lodging and Dormitory Furniture
* Promotional Items
* Security Fencing
* Filtration Services
* Prescription and Safety Eyewear
* Interior & Exterior Signs
* Name Tags & Routed Seals
* Catwalk & Mezzanines
* Federal Vehicle Tags
-----------------------------------------------
Welcome to the UNICOR Clothing & Textiles Store! The Clothing and Textiles Business Group provides a wide assortment of products from a variety of materials. These include products for medical, military, law enforcement, and lodging needs. Click Here to learn more about the Clothing and Textiles Business Group. For further information contact us at [e-mail].
http://www.unicor.gov/shopping/viewcat_m.asp?iStore=CTG
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the following products available for purchase Online!
Ballistic Carriers Ballistic Carriers Bags/Cases Bags and Cases
Vests/Body Armor Vests and
Body Armor Duty Belts Duty Belts
Targets Firearms Targets
http://www.unicor.gov/clothing_textiles/law_enforcement.cfm
------------------------------------------------------------
“We’ve Got You Covered”
Office — Lodging — Healthcare — Lobby

FPI offers custom draperies and bedspreads in a wide selection of fabrics and styles. This means you can match your decor or color scheme. Whether you need draperies for one office or bedspreads for your Quaters, FPI’s custom drapery service will assist you in every way, from fabric and hardware selection, through installation.
http://www.unicor.gov/clothing_textiles/drapes/?navlocation=Custom

Check out the following products available for purchase Online!
Institutional Mattresses Institutional Mattresses Dormitory and Barracks Mattresses Dormitory and Barracks Mattresses
Medical Care Mattresses Medical Care Mattresses Hospitality Mattresses Hospitality Mattresses
http://www.unicor.gov/clothing_textiles/mattress.cfm?navlocation=Mattresses
-----------------------------------------
Screen Printing & Embroidery
If It's Made Out Of Fabric, We Can Silk Screen & Embroider It!
We'll take your emblem, logo or slogan and screen print it on T-shirts, golf shirts, windbreakers, shorts and ball caps. If you have a special item you want printed - anything from canvas totes to jackets - give us a call. Custom orders are part of our everyday business.
http://www.unicor.gov/clothing_textiles/screenprint.cfm?navlocation=Screen
---------------------------------------------
Welcome to OFG...
the Office Furniture Group
Comprehensive Video
Orchestrate your Office Space with THE RIGHT MIX

A perfect blend of:
* Interior Design
* Space Planning
* Project Management
* Life Safety Planning by Professionals
* As well as Life Cycle Costing
* And Installation
* ...the RIGHT PRODUCT AT THE RIGHT PRICE!
Offers Executive Furniture in the Symphony, Baritone, and Concerto office furniture lines. These furniture lines are scaled to work within the wide range of Federal office environments and administrative space. Credenza bases, desks and credenza upper storage units can be configured to meet any specific office requirement. Double pedestal desks, secretarial desk with return tops allow for “L” and “U” shaped configurations.

...........and more!!!

[stillcool]

3. So...who is this FPI?

Pursuant to Federal statute, FPI's Board of Directors is composed of six members representing industry, labor, agriculture, retailers and consumers, the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General. The board consists of a wide variety of accomplished individuals each of whom have been appointed by this President and serve without compensation.
http://www.unicor.gov/about/members_meetings/board_members/

Key financials for Federal Prison Industries, Inc.
Company Type Government Agency
Fiscal Year-End September
2005 Sales (mil.) $833.6
1-Year Sales Growth (5.2%)
2005 Net Income (mil.) $64.5
1-Year Net Income Growth 1.4%
2005 Employees 19,720
1-Year Employee Growth 2.0%
http://www.unicor.gov/

[stillcool]

4. But then there's the other prison business..

Private prisons are the biggest business in the prison industry complex. About 18 corporations guard 10,000 prisoners in 27 states. The two largest are Correctional Corporation of America (CCA) and Wackenhut, which together control 75%. Private prisons receive a guaranteed amount of money for each prisoner, independent of what it costs to maintain each one. According to Russell Boraas, a private prison administrator in Virginia, "the secret to low operating costs is having a minimal number of guards for the maximum number of prisoners." The CCA has an ultra-modern prison in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where five guards on dayshift and two at night watch over 750 prisoners. In these prisons, inmates may get their sentences reduced for "good behavior," but for any infraction, they get 30 days added – which means more profits for CCA. According to a study of New Mexico prisons, it was found that CCA inmates lost "good behavior time" at a rate eight times higher than those in state prisons.
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/octubre/juev13/42carceles.html

and if you really want to get freaked out:
About Wackenhut:
http://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/92wack.htm

The GEO Group Inc. operates facilities in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and soon, in the United Kingdom. For more information on our operations in those countries, please click the highlighted areas on the map.
http://www.wcc-corrections.com/directors.asp

[stillcool]

5. Sheesh...putting it into perspective...

A Report on the Injustice System in the USA
Written by: Pauline (a contributing writer to IPFG’s Publication; Payaam Fadaee)
Published in Payame Fadaee, Spring edition 2002

The US ruling class has established the largest forced labour sweatshop system in the world. There are now approximately 2 million inmates in US prisons compared to 1 million in 1994. These prisoners have become a source of billions of dollars in profits. In fact, the US has imprisoned a half million more people than in China which has 5 times the population. California alone has the biggest prison system in the Western industrialized world. It has more prisoners than France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and Holland combined while these countries have 11 times the population of California. According to official figures, Iran incarcerates 220 citizens per 100,000, compared to US figures of 727. Overall, the total "criminal justice" system in the US, including those in prison, on parole and on probation, is approaching 6,000,000. In the last 20 years, 1000 new prisons have been built; yet they hold double their capacity.

Prisoners, 75% of who are either Black or Hispanic, are forced to work for 20 cents an hour, some even as low as 75 cents a day. They produce everything from eyewear and furniture to
vehicle parts and computer software. This has lead to thousands of layoffs and the lowering of
the overall wage scale of the entire working class. At Soledad Prison in California, prisoners
produce work-shirts exported to Asia as well as El Salvadoran license plates more
cheaply than in El Salvador, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. A May/99
report in the Wall Street Journal summarized that while “more expensive private-sector workers may
lose their jobs to prison labour, assigning work to the most cost-efficient producer is good for the economy.” The February/00 Wall Street Journal reported “Prisoners are excluded from employment calculation. And since most inmates are economically disadvantaged and unskilled, jailing so many people has effectively taken a big block of the nation's least-employable citizens out of the equation.”

Federal Prison Industries (FPI) whose trade name is UNICOR exports prisoner-made products as well as selling them to all federal agencies as required by federal law. FPI manufactures over 150 different products in 99 factories in 64 prisons (with 19 new ones on the way) in 30 states. It is the federal government's 35th largest contractor, just behind IBM and is exempt from any federal workplace regulations.
FPI's prison workforce produces 98% of the entire US market for equipment assembly services, 93% of paint and artist brushes, 92% of all kitchen assembly services, 46% of all personal armour, 36% of all household furnishings and 30% of all headset/microphone/speakers, etc. RW. Feb/00 FPI consistently advertises for companies "interested in leasing a ready-to-run prison industry" especially following congressional testimony in 1996 that reported a "pent-up demand for prison labour." Meanwhile, shareholders profiting from prison labour consistently lobby for the legislation of longer prison sentences in order to expand their workforce. At least 37 states have legalized the contracting out of prison labour to private corporations that have already set up operations inside state prisons. Prisons' business clients include: IBM, Boeing, Motorola Microsoft, AT&T Wireless, Texas Instruments, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom, Revlon, Macys, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores
California, with the third largest penal system in the world after China and the US as a whole, spends more on prisons than on the entire educational system. In recent years, California's university and college system cut back 8,000 employees while its Department of Corrections added 26,000. CA has built 19 prisons vs. 1 university in the past 10 years. The state spends up to $60,000 per year to incarcerate a young person, while only spending $8,000 per year to educate the same youth.
http://www.siahkal.com/english/on%20prison.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------

The prison industry complex is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States and its investors are on Wall Street. "This multimillion-dollar industry has its own trade exhibitions, conventions, websites, and mail-order/Internet catalogs. It also has direct advertising campaigns, architecture companies, construction companies, investment houses on Wall Street, plumbing supply companies, food supply companies, armed security, and padded cells in a large variety of colors."

According to the Left Business Observer, the federal prison industry produces 100% of all military helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants, tents, bags, and canteens. Along with war supplies, prison workers supply 98% of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93% of paints and paintbrushes; 92% of stove assembly; 46% of body armor; 36% of home appliances; 30% of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21% of office furniture. Airplane parts, medical supplies, and much more: prisoners are even raising seeing-eye dogs for blind people.
----------------------------------------------------------
Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy's, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours a day, the equivalent of $20 per month. The highest-paying private prison is CCA in Tennessee, where prisoners receive 50 cents per hour for what they call "highly skilled positions." At those rates, it is no surprise that inmates find the pay in federal prisons to be very generous. There, they can earn $1.25 an hour and work eight hours a day, and sometimes overtime. They can send home $200-$300 per month.

Thanks to prison labor, the United States is once again an attractive location for investment in work that was designed for Third World labor markets. A company that operated a maquiladora (assembly plant in Mexico near the border) closed down its operations there and relocated to San Quentin State Prison in California. In Texas, a factory fired its 150 workers and contracted the services of prisoner-workers from the private Lockhart Texas prison, where circuit boards are assembled for companies like IBM and Compaq.

Oregon State Representative Kevin Mannix recently urged Nike to cut its production in Indonesia and bring it to his state, telling the shoe manufacturer that "there won’t be any transportation costs; we’re offering you competitive prison labor (here)."
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/octubre/juev13/42carceles.html

[stillcool]

6. Oh yeah...tying it all up..

ya think this might have any effect?...

The group Veterans for America, formerly the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, estimates that 10,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are now living on the street.
http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid=11131

"What's unique about the men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan is that they're not able to integrate with their family," Feldstein said. "They've seen horrible things. They've been in horrible places and their family can't relate. And so you become homeless in the last place you lived."

A recent study by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government found that by the time the Iraq and Afghanistan wars end, there will be at least two and a half million vets.
------------------------------------
Pentagon studies show that 12 percent of soldiers who have served in Iraq suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The group Veterans for America, formerly the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, estimates 70,000 Iraq war veterans have gone to the VA for mental health care.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36056

-------------------------------------------------

At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY.

The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs, show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the 4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also are not reflected in the Pentagon's official tally of wounded, which stands at 30,327.

About 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq, where traumatic brain injury can occur despite heavy body armor worn by troops.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-11-22-braininjuries_N.htm

[EFerrari]

8. The last time I checked a few years ago, the fastest growing

demographic among the homeless were single moms and kids. But, that was before our troops started coming home.

[stillcool]

7. I forgot about the illegals...

For the first time in history the population of US federal, state and local prisons has surpassed two million people, consolidating the US lead over China, Russia and even Belarus in both absolute numbers of inmates and the rate of incarceration, according to new figures made public Sunday.
But the numbers released by the justice department's bureau of justice statistics may not reflect the full picture.
"If you include INS, the territories, military jails, the Indian country and juvenile facilities, we did surpass the two-million mark back in 1999," Paige Harrison, one of the authors of the report, said.
If all the inmates held in these jails were included in the overall tally, it would grow by approximately another 130 000 people, according to Harrison.
The US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS), which was folded into the newly-created department of homeland security earlier this year, operates its own system of detention facilities where it processes alleged illegal aliens.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Prison_System/2million_USinmates.html

Approximately 29% of prisoners in the federal prison system are non-citizens (there are 160,193 prisoners). According to May 2002 BOP statistics:

- 16% of all Federal prisoners from Mexico
- 2.4% are from Colombia
- 1.7% are from Cuba
- 2% are from the Dominican Republic
- 7.3% other/unknown

http://www.notwithourmoney.org/03_prisons/immigrants02.html#q2

[EFerrari]

9. Crack cocaine mandatory sentencing and "the girl friend problem".

Today, Amy Goodman did a great interview on this topic.

Commission Makes Thousands of Prisoners Jailed on Crack Offenses Eligible for Reduced Sentences

A day after a landmark Supreme Court ruling, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to give federal prisoners jailed on crack cocaine offenses a chance to reduce their sentences. We speak with attorney Deborah Small and Kemba Smith, who was sentenced to more than twenty-four years in prison on drug conspiracy charges. She received clemency in 2000.

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/12/commission_makes_thousands_of_prisoners_jailed

:hi:

[stillcool]

10. it's insane...

but wow doesn't our government know how to turn a buck?

[EFerrari]

11. The prison lobby is the most powerful one in California!

I guess caging your fellows gives you a mostly hassle free return. :shrug:

[stillcool]

12. I've never been to jail...

not because I didn't deserve to be there... I spent time in the rooms of NA/AA, and there were many there who did far less things than I, with huge consequences. Interestingly, every woman I knew, had been abused. I chaired a meeting at the local prison, and felt so comfortable among those women I didn't want to leave..it was like party-time telling 'war stories'. Funny when I was growing up I always wanted to live in an orphanage. I guess I'm pretty fortunate I stayed where I did.

[EFerrari]

13. I've been arrested on my ex's report when he was flipping

but it was always tossed out when a non-flipping person looked at the charges. One consequence is that I developed a real dislike for any variety of warm baloney.

lol

Yes, lots to be grateful for. :hi:

[Karenina]

14. . .

[loudsue]

15. Privatized prisons and military will be the downfall of this country.

I have a close friend who went to prison for pot, and he's in a privatized prison. They do everything they can to keep people from getting out. It's just slavery. Plain & simple.

[malaise]

16. Frightening indeed n/t

[lostnfound]

17. Thank you for bringing this up, and especially for the foster kids issue.

It is a mark of the cruelty of our society that kids whose biological parents mistreat them etc. don't get the care that they need from the rest of society.
A kinder world is only in our dreams, for now.

[stillcool]

18. round and round it goes...

foster care to jail with some babies in between...No roots, no sense of connection with anyone, anything...like leaves blowing in the wind.