Candidate for governor joins protest in Union Square

Candidate for governor joins protest in Union Square

Grace Ross, the Green Rainbow Party candidate for governor of Massachusetts, was in Union Square today to lend her support to a demonstration calling for a moratorium on the construction of new jails.

State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, also appeared at the demonstration. To read more about the demonstration and the possibility of a new jail in Somerville, check out Wednesday 's edition of The Somerville News, available throughout the city.

Comments

[Dr. Mrs. MCarthy]

Readers,

So the real question is:

Which of the pictured politicians would you rather sleep with?

You be the judge.(Newman, you cannot vote twice.)

It's the Sex Stupid,

Dr. Mrs. McCarhty

[Yorktown Street]

What really matters is whether they put you to sleep, with their speeches!

[brickbottom]

The prison industry complex is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States and its investors are on Wall Street. This multimillion-dollar industry has its own trade exhibitions, conventions, websites, and mail-order/Internet catalogs. It also has direct advertising campaigns, architecture companies, construction companies, investment houses on Wall Street, plumbing supply companies, food supply companies, armed security, and padded cells in a large variety of colors.

If the United States legalized pot the population of inmates would be reduced dramatically, but the "industry" would lose millions of dollars.

I personally believe that alcohol is a bigger danger and takes more lives in this country than pot ever will.

[Jimmy D. on Prisons]

Next YOUR house is burglarized or YOU get mugged, tell me if we need more prisons or less.

[brickbottom]

Jimmy,

The USA has about 5% of the worlds poulation but has over two million inmates, way more than any other country in the world. Why is that Jimmy?

[Martini Edin]

If we all had trust funds we would'nt need any aliases. Lets not fight each other. Instead lets go after those who are free to make light of our struggles, without having so much as a clue as to what it takes to work hard to earn a living and raise a family here.

[brickbottom]

Edin,

Huh? What are we to make of your posting?

[brickbottom to Jimmy D.]

Hi Jimmy,

I was wondering if you were going to answer my above post to you and explain what your thoughts are to this complex problem?

[Jimmy D. to brickbottom]

brick,
I have to say I'm flattered that you look at me as the site source on crime, punishment, and recividism. I must confess, however, that I don't know the answer to your question. You gave me US numbers (which I'll assume are accurate)with no figures with which to compare them.

One reason, I would have to assume, is in many places in the world if you commit a crime they kill you, cut off your hand, blind you, cane you... Well, you get the idea. They don't incarcerate people so that really skews the figures, wouldn't you say?

Take Cuba for example. Their non-political prsioner population remains low because periodically they ship them off to the US where they're coddled by people who don't believe in prisons.

Perhaps if prison really meant punishment people wouldn't want to go there and would straighten up.

It's a great point of interest that the prison population exploded following the Great Society movements of the 60's fostered by the liberals. Maybe your question would more appropriately be asked as such:

Why are so many people in prison given all the opportunities the have before them?

[Ron Newman]

Following up on Brickbottom's first post:

Is there any good reason to put someone in jail for selling, buying, or using marijuana? Why should these acts be considered legally any different from walking to Downtown Wine & Spirts, buying a bottle of Sam, taking it home, and drinking it?

If we stopped putting people in jail for non-violent victimless 'crimes', would we need to build any more jails, or could we start converting some of our existing jail buildings to more productive uses?

[brickbottom]

Ron,

I thought you may find this interesting.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The prison-industrial complex refers to interest groups that represent organizations that do business in correctional facilities, such as prison guard unions, construction companies, and surveillance technology vendors, who some people believe are more concerned with making more money than actually rehabilitating criminals or reducing crime rates. Additionally, some prisons provide free or low-cost labor for state or municipal governments as well as jobs for union members, which can be seen as another profitable side-benefit born from building and maintaining a large prison system.

Such has led to the rise of the Prison industry. Writing for The Atlantic Monthly in December 1998, Eric Schlosser said that "The prison-industrial complex is not only a set of interest groups and institutions. It is also a state of mind. The lure of big money is corrupting the nation's criminal-justice system, replacing notions of safety and public service with a drive for higher profits. The eagerness of elected officials to pass tough-on-crime legislation — combined with their unwillingness to disclose the external and social costs of these laws — has encouraged all sorts of financial improprieties."[1]

These views are shared widely by critics of the carceral state, retributive justice, military-industrial complex, the War on Terrorism, the War on Drugs, militarism and Homeland Security.

[brickbottom]

Jimmy D.,

You say: "One reason, I would have to assume, is in many places in the world if you commit a crime they kill you, cut off your hand, blind you, cane you... Well, you get the idea. They don't incarcerate people so that really skews the figures, wouldn't you say?"

If you want to be in the company of Somalia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, N. Korea and the rest of those "freedom" loving countries then so be it. If you want to belong in Western civilization, except for the USA, their crime and prison population is not comparable to ours on a per capita basis and they don't use the techniques that you speak of. Why do you think that is Jimmy?

You say: "Take Cuba for example. Their non-political prsioner population remains low because periodically they ship them off to the US where they're coddled by people who don't believe in prisons."

That happened once during the Carter administration not periodically.Who said I don't believe in prisons?

You say: "Perhaps if prison really meant punishment people wouldn't want to go there and would straighten up."

Name me one person that would want to go to prison! How ridiculous.

You say: "It's a great point of interest that the prison population exploded following the Great Society movements of the 60's fostered by the liberals."

Wrong again Jimmy. The population of prisons exploded when as the above post explained..."The eagerness of elected officials to pass tough-on-crime legislation" which occured during the last 10-12 years, mostly because of Republican initiatives.

You say: "Why are so many people in prison given all the opportunities the have before them?"

Please, please Jimmy name me all the opportunities that are given to today's inmates. I suppose you even think that they have internet access?

[brickbottom on the Prison Industry Complex]

Funny how the facts get in the way.