Episode 40 - Land of the Free

Never have as many people been locked up than right now, here in the United States. The US has more prisoners per capita than anywhere else on the planet and that number continues to climb at a terrifying rate. Once within the prison system, inmates are abused and exploited out of sight and out of mind of the rest of the population. With these crimes against humanity growing ever greater and the impossible to ignore racial disparity continuing to get worse, it's time we take a critical look at our prison system and the monster we've all created.

This episode is dedicated to the prisoners currently on strike across the United States who just want to be treated with the humanity that all of us deserve.

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Full Transcript Available

Chapters

  • 3:49 Nothing New
  • 11:42 Prisons in America Today
  • 15:57 Prison Labor Today
  • 27:42 What sparked the strike?
  • 28:53 Forced riots
  • 32:54 All demands matter
  • 38:28 What can we do on the outside?
  • 42:38 Language
  • 45:18 Risks higher for some
  • 46:36 How large is this prison strike?
  • 57:52 Benefits of labor?
  • 1:03:33 Disenfranchisement: Has the debt been paid or not?
  • 1:05:40 Collapse?
  • 1:12:20 What can we do?

Guest From the Show

Will Adams of the IWOC Oakland chapter. Twitter and Instagram

Donate and support the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee

During the interview, Will mentioned that ICE detainees do not have access to lawyers. He would like to clarify:

They don't have 6th amendment right to a public defender, and even when they do have an attorney which they paid for themselves, or get through an immigrant rights org, their access is fucked with so much in some places that there are lawsuits pending about it.

Recommended Reading

Unicor prison labor marketing video

How much do incarcerated people earn in each state?

Trends in US Corrections

States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2018

The Appeal Episode 11: Big Box Retailers and Prosecutors Team Up to Crackdown on Petty Crime

'Black lives don't matter,' lawyer says after jury awards $4 in police killing

Music Credit

Music by Time (from calm.)

Find Time on Soundcloud and Instagram

Fan Remix

Ashes Ashes remix by ΔLLFΔLL

Sources

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Published 06-09-2018 00:41