Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Read these Factoids about our US Prison System!

13 March 2011

Dear Anne,

"A stray sheep was Israel that Lions pursued; formerly the King of Assyria devoured her, no Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnaws her bones." Jeremiah 50:17

When it costs $0.30 for Ramen soup, the basic wage [in the prison] of $0.12 an hour doesn't do much good. "It's like I just read in Grapes of Wrath," Greg says. In one month's work, dorm orderly Greg makes $5.25. "That's forced labor." Indeed, we will be sent to the hole if we don't work.

Sunday concludes with some lessons from Greg:

  • Rates of recidivism for probation violations -- 85%
  • Double jeopardy is a myth. If you've done time on a state charge, you'll get brought in for a federal charge.
  • Prison gives housing to third world refugees.
  • Prosecutors force guilt with no proof theories. They have no evidence, just a witness who lays the blame in exchange for a reduced sentence.
  • The basic cost of housing a federal inmate before medical is calculated by the Bureau of Prisons at $21,000 per year.
  • 2.3 million people incarcerated, 200,000 in federal prison
  • 25% more people per capita in prison in the US than anywhere else...per capita!
  • Felons are no longer afforded the basic moral rights due Americans.
My homework is to compare the definitions of kidnapping, extortion, and blackmail to the ordinary injustice of the system.

Chris

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