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Cashing in on Cons

Undercover at the American Correctional Association’s 2005 Winter Conference

By Silja J.A. Talvi

In 1971, investigative journalist Jessica Mitford attended the 101st Congress of the American Correctional Association (ACA) in Miami Beach. The ACA was founded in 1870 as the National Prison Association by reform-minded wardens who saw promise in the rehabilitation, religious redemption and humane treatment of prisoners. By 1971 they had developed a substantial membership, attracting 2,000 attendees to that year’s congress.… return to article

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    Very inlightening.  Big business, no ethics.  Just warehousing our poor bad boys and the rich are still out waiting for their trials, ha.  Now how about finding out what we can do to really rehabilate our prisoners.  They need reeducation, maybe reprograming (spirituality, ethics) and love. We also can’t dump them back into their old neighborhoods with no new skills.  Paroles go right back to prison without skills.  Where to start?

    United States Posted by Inge Zumwalt on Feb 8, 2005 at 8:07 PM

    This is HORRIBLE!!!!  Granted, prison is a place for punishment, but our penal system seems to be committing worse crimes than most of the people who are in jail.  I realize I sound like a bleeding heart liberal but when there are no programs to educate or help to restructure the prisoner’s lives, how can they be expected to   attempt to build a new life once they are released from prison?  It seems that the only education they’re going to receive is how to be a better criminal.  As we turn our prisoners nto profit making cash cows, how is that treatment any different from the Nazis or other dicatorships?

    United States Posted by Elin Defrin on Feb 9, 2005 at 12:32 AM

    American Military-Industrial-Prison Complex?

    Imperialism at home?  No?  Just wait…

    United States Posted by andrew on Feb 9, 2005 at 1:21 AM

    Being a former ACA member and former correctional professional for over twenty years I saw the growth of corrections and developed a strong conscience where I changed my focus and direction. I am now a chemical dependency viewed by corrections as “non-essential personnel”. I work at a GEO prison but at this prison the main function is chemical dependency treatment for inmates who have to complete the program to be released to parole. It is ironic that as a correctional professional (parole officer, probation officer, correctional officer) I was regarded with respect but now I am treated no better than the inmates and not trusted by correctional staff.

    United States Posted by Paul French on Feb 9, 2005 at 2:47 AM

    It’s dangerous to de-humanize the prisoners.  Most of them are in there because of lack of education, drug abuse and poverty.  If we are not going to rehabilitate them there is no point to letting any of them out ever.  The only difference between keeping them alive and confined, or killing them is a false conscience.
    Without rehabilitation, their suffering is a far worse fate than death, and all of us are connected to their suffering.  If we want a better world we must start with building better human beings.

    United States Posted by Mary Ann on Feb 9, 2005 at 4:46 PM

    My name is Travis Stutzman and as a convicted felon I have been in the belly of the cash cow we call corrections.  This article could not be any closer to the truth than any I have read.  I was fortunate that I had oppurtunities, and took them, before my sentence ever began.  I got sober and went to prison as a student.  I am currently attending the University of Nebraska in persuit of my degree in psychology.  The problem of corrections turning incarceration into a money venture should not suprise anyone.  Greed has always been a problem in our country.  Programming and education are laid to waste inside the prisons everyday.  This should not come as a surprise either, after all do the governments/corparations want to pay for someone to sit in class all day or would they rather get paid to have that same individual sitting in a prison idustry facility, like UNICOR in the federal prison system.  Unicore is responsible for manufactuing everything that will be used in other prison like clothes, beds, office furniture, to military equipment.  In FCI Oxford, WI, where I was housed, the UNICOR there manufactured wiring systems for aircraft and other military vehicles, prisoners earned less than a dollar an hour.  And of course we all know how the government likes to pay $200 for hammers, so imagine, if you can, the profits generated in that little facility in Oxford.
    SO HOW DO WE FIX THE PROBLEM, well that will be NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE.  As long as the lobbyist are being greased by the unions (correction officer union one of the most powerful to date), the service companys, (including all that were mention in the article and a whole lot more. ie AT&T, MCI, CCA, GEO etc.), gov. contractors, and anyone else that can tap into the multi billion dollar annual income.  I personally am working with inmates in local community corrctions facility.  I teach them that if they really want to get back at the government, if they really want to be outlaws, if they really want to change things, DON"T BREAK THE LAW ANYMORE. Other things that would make a difference is to get patitions against anything wrong with your local and state correctional facilities. Press the issues: if there is no education in the correction facilities, ask why.  Rock the boat.  After all it has been proven in several studies that the best way to combat the prison recidvism rate is EDUCATION.  However, that only helps the individual (INMATE), not the syste (CASH COW) so most that are likely to prosper do not want anything to do with education or rehabilitation in prison. Maybe a motivated and caring individual could write a letter to their congressman with signed patitions, and repeat.  Become a thorn in their side.  Continue asking the question why we are not trying to help these people become productive member of society? They will respond by saying their is no money in the budget for education.  And then you can respond with: Why don’t we consider doing away with mandatory minumum sentences, seems that would save some money not housing a prisoner longer than we should? But we know the truth, reducing sentences would only reduce production with Americas new (unannounced) slave labor laws.  WE WON’T BE SEEING THIS ANYTIME SOON.
    The bottom line is the public need to become aware and more importantly the public needs to CARE. The PRESS is our allie in any fight against big business so if anyone reading this knows a newsman that is willing to put his job on the line, let him lead with the above mentioned story.  But alas, does anyone really want to fight the cash cow, afterall, we are only talking about criminals here, THE FORGOTTEN POPULATION.

    United States Posted by Travis Stutzman on Apr 12, 2005 at 7:46 PM
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