Monday, May 31, 2004
Our Prisons
Bob Herbert in the NY Times does a good job explaining that the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib is "who we are".
I was pleased that Gore made reference to the often brutal US penal system in his terrific speech. Although the Clinton Administration made things worse by signing The Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996 that Herbert references.
Most Americans were shocked by the sadistic treatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. But we shouldn't have been. Not only are inmates at prisons in the U.S. frequently subjected to similarly grotesque treatment, but Congress passed a law in 1996 to ensure that in most cases they were barred from receiving any financial compensation for the abuse.
We routinely treat prisoners in the United States like animals. We brutalize and degrade them, both men and women. And we have a lousy record when it comes to protecting well-behaved, weak and mentally ill prisoners from the predators surrounding them.
Very few Americans have raised their voices in opposition to our shameful prison policies. And I'm convinced that's primarily because the inmates are viewed as less than human.
It has bugged me for a long time that we are a nation that laughs at prison rape. I give blood from time to time and was shocked recently when the Red Cross added a question to its long list of questions that if answered in the affirmative meant that you should not give blood. The question was (I am paraphrasing): Have you spent more than 48 consecutive hours in a prison or jail in the United States within the last 3 years?
Think about the implications of the Red Cross advising you to not give blood if you answered yes to this. This question means that the Red Cross has determined that the odds are great enough that you have contracted AIDS or Hepatitis C if you answer yes to this question that they do not want your blood. The list of questions covers a lot of overseas travel related items but nothing about serving jail time in other countries.
So when you are sentenced to jail time in this country I suppose you are in effect receiving a death sentence. Land of the free and home of the incarcerated (not to mention frequently disenfranchised). This is who we are.
Bob Herbert in the NY Times does a good job explaining that the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib is "who we are".
I was pleased that Gore made reference to the often brutal US penal system in his terrific speech. Although the Clinton Administration made things worse by signing The Prison Litigation Reform Act in 1996 that Herbert references.
Most Americans were shocked by the sadistic treatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. But we shouldn't have been. Not only are inmates at prisons in the U.S. frequently subjected to similarly grotesque treatment, but Congress passed a law in 1996 to ensure that in most cases they were barred from receiving any financial compensation for the abuse.
We routinely treat prisoners in the United States like animals. We brutalize and degrade them, both men and women. And we have a lousy record when it comes to protecting well-behaved, weak and mentally ill prisoners from the predators surrounding them.
Very few Americans have raised their voices in opposition to our shameful prison policies. And I'm convinced that's primarily because the inmates are viewed as less than human.
It has bugged me for a long time that we are a nation that laughs at prison rape. I give blood from time to time and was shocked recently when the Red Cross added a question to its long list of questions that if answered in the affirmative meant that you should not give blood. The question was (I am paraphrasing): Have you spent more than 48 consecutive hours in a prison or jail in the United States within the last 3 years?
Think about the implications of the Red Cross advising you to not give blood if you answered yes to this. This question means that the Red Cross has determined that the odds are great enough that you have contracted AIDS or Hepatitis C if you answer yes to this question that they do not want your blood. The list of questions covers a lot of overseas travel related items but nothing about serving jail time in other countries.
So when you are sentenced to jail time in this country I suppose you are in effect receiving a death sentence. Land of the free and home of the incarcerated (not to mention frequently disenfranchised). This is who we are.
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