A Modern-Day Form Of Slavery. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome international human rights attorney Dianne Post to discuss the abuses and disproportionate cost of for-profit private prisons.
Post was first on our show in 2013 to discuss the same issue. She says a lot has happened since then. But, sadly, not enough. “On the national level Obama made an executive order to stop using for-profit prisons for federal prisoners. But then we had a change of administrations. And that order went in the toilet. Now Biden has made a similar order to stop using for-profit prisons for federal prisoners. But what he did was to start using them for INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service] detentions.
Post is now pursuing a lawsuit involving six plaintiffs against private prisons claiming they’re a violation of the 13th Amendment because for-profit prisons represent the ownership of people – trading people as a commodity in the market for money. “That’s called slavery,” she explains.
Thirty states now have private prisons. Yet, according to Post, private prisons have added to our problem of mass incarceration, because they have motivated states to incarcerate more people and give longer sentences.
For those who would like to learn more, Post recommends the following organizations: Abolish Private Prisons, Arizona Justice Alliance, and Just Communities.
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