arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

This week's convention of the American Correctional Association, the United States' most powerful body of prison industry policymakers and corporations that profit from the increasing privatization of America's prisons, is the target of substantial criticism from community members who believe there must be alternatives to the nation's penal system. There are presently over two million Americans incarcerated -- the largest prison population of any nation, costing approximately $40 billion yearly to maintain -- and over six million Americans are either in prison, on parole or on probation. The prison population is disproporationally composed of members of minority groups, and nearly two-thirds of those in prison are there for non-violent offenses, primarily due to the "Drug War" and efforts to criminalize sex work.

Activists in Philadelphia are facing the ACA's yearly meeting, calling into question, with a counter-convention and a series of street demonstrations, the basis of a "prison-industrial complex." Activists are asking whether corporations such as Wackenhut and Abbot Laboratories that profit from incarceration would ever support efforts to re-conceive the American justice system. As government and corporations build more prisons, and with the growing number of political prisoners, inmates on death row and a continued increase in incidents of police brutality, both inside and outside of the system, many question the merits of running a social institution so important to the well-being of society as a profit-generating institution. This echoes the call of social movements around the world to halt International Monetary Fund-imposed privatization of government institutions.

Listen to Philadelphia's Radio Volta for 24-hour coverage of this week's ACA convention and protests, including daily audio wrap-ups:

mp3 audio: [ a10 | a11 | a12 | a13 | a14 | a15 | a16 | a17 ]

More info: [ Philadelphia IMC | SF-IMC's Prisons IMC | STOPtheACA.org ]