The Prison Industrial Complex “We really dislike losing a customer.” - Attorney representing Bobby Ross of the Bobby Ross Group concerning the murder of an inmate by another inmate.

What is an Industrial Complex? A marriage between industry and state or government institutions and agencies with a stress on private profit. They include: Military Security Surveillance Prison

The Prison Industrial Complex is -Made up of “politicians both liberal and conservative, who have used the fear of crime to gain votes; impoverished rural areas where prisons have become a cornerstone of economic development; private companies that regard the roughly $49 billion [sic] spent each year on corrections not as a burden on American taxpayers but as a lucrative market; and government officials whose fiefdoms (states) [sic] have expanded along with the inmate population.” (Schlosser 54).

Graphs and Visual aid Funding Breakdown Flow Chart

Bonds Two types of bonds General Obligation Bonds Revenue Bonds Needs voter approval Revenue Bonds No voter approval needed

If you build it they will come? In Stanley, WI private developers managed to site and build a 60 million dollar 1,326-bed prison without one elected official casting a vote or signing a bill. In 2001 the state bought the prison for 82.5 million dollars.

Private Business Involvement Not new Federal and State Government have a history of contracting out: Medical Food Preparation Vocational Training Inmate Transportation

Since the 1980’s Businesses Include Large Architecture and Construction Firms Wall Street Banks Plumbing Supply Companies Food Service Companies Health Care Everything From Bullet Resistant Cameras to Padded Cells in Various Colors

Corrections Yellow Pages Over 200 categories of services ranging from: Awards/Employee Recognition X-ray Detection and Suicide Prevention http://www.correctionsyellow.com

Prison Labor Prison Labor is exploited like that of labor in third world countries. Prison Blues is an Oregon based company using prison labor to make jeans. Fabry Mitten and Glove Company in Wisconsin

Reach Out And Charge Me -AT&T’s prison telephone service-The Authority -BellSouth-MAX -MCI-Maximum Security pay phones at a prison can generate as much as $15,000 a year- about five times the revenue of a typical pay phone on the street

Profit Incentive In Prisons Leads To An Ethical and Moral Shift Laws are created Harsher Drug laws Mandatory Sentencing Three Strikes you’re out

Why? To secure customers (inmates) for the nation wide jail economy.

Impact of Legislation Prisoner’s of the War on Drugs Mandatory Minimums Drug Use Estimates Drug Offenders in the Correction System

The Builders of the Drug War 1973- New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller 1981- Ronald Regan 1994- California Governor Pete Wilson Bill Clinton The Builders of the Drug War -1973- New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller made harsh sentence which were copied in many states and by the federal government. -1981- Ronald Reagan declared the "war on drugs". This aimed a lot of money towards military style policing in urban areas -1994- CAL. Gov. Pete Wilson imposed the three strikes law (25 years to life for a 3rd felony- even non-violent crimes) The law was copied by 22 states and the federal government. -President Bill Clinton        1. Crime Bill- increased sentences 2. Welfare Reform- banned people with drug convictions from welfare and food stamp - Higher Education Reform Act- you cannot receive student loans if you are incarcerated or a former drug felon

Prisoner’s of the War on Drugs From 1920’s to the 1960’s America incarcerated about one in every thousand people. In the 1970’s the rate rose due to the passage of tough new drug laws By 2000 nearly five in every thousand people were incarcerated. “Prisoners of the War on Drugs”-Comic Book - Prison became a big business and spread across the country. - Mostly people convicted of low-level drug crimes occupied these buildings. 1. Mostly African American and Latino people 2. More and more women      - Drugs are cheaper and more available than before this "war began.

Mandatory Minimums Factors in drug sentencing Factors not accounted for in sentencing Result of mandatory minimums “Safety Valve” provisions The War on Drugs-source: www.drugfacts.org -Mandatory minimums for drug sentencing passed by Congress in 1986 -Factors in Drug sentencing = Type of drug, Weight of drug mixture (or alleged weight in conspiracy cases, Number of prior convictions -Factors not allowed to be accounted for in sentencing = Offender’s role, Motivation, Likelihood of recidivism. Note: A defendant may only reduce their mandatory sentences by providing the prosecutor with information that aids the government in the prosecuting of another offender. Result of Mandatory minimums -Power is transferred from the judges to prosecutors who operate without accountability. -“Safety Valve” provisions allow judges to sentence pursuant to the sentencing guidelines without regard to mandatory minimum.Note: “Safety Valve” provisions allow judges to give offenders with minimal criminal history a lesser sentence outside the mandatory minimum -Both the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have both concluded that mandatory sentencing fails to deter crime. -Racial/gender disparities have worsened, Prison overcrowding.

National Survey of Drug Use Drug Use Estimates -About 46.1% of US population 12 and over have used illegal drugs at least once -14.4% of US population 12 and over have used an illegal drug over the past year -From 1996 through 2004 more than half of the students in the US had tried an illegal drug before graduating high school -86% of high school students believe that they could easily obtain marijuana.

Drug Offenders in the Correction System Prison Population Civil and Human Rights Women in the Correction System -Drug offender’s accounted for 55% of the federal prison population, in 2003. -From 1985 to 1995 there was an 80% increase in the federal prison population, which was a direct result of the increase in drug related convictions. -Civil and Human Rights -The numbers of wiretaps that have been reported have seen an increase since 2003. In each instance, the judge approved the taps. -Drug and racketeering laws were the two most common offenses investigated -African American men are in prison for drug related offenses 13 times that of white men. -Most drug offenders are white. -Five times as many whites use drugs as blacks. Women in the Correction System-www.sentencingproject.org -Number of women in prison -Rate has double that of men since 1980. -There are seven times as many women in jail now than in 1980. -Increase of women has risen 573% versus. men at 294%. -Characteristics of women in prison a.) Low-income b.) Little education c.) High rates of substance and sexual abuse

The Impact Of Race and Gender Disparate Impacts The Impact Of Race and Gender

Women and Prison Most women in prison have committed non violent crimes One in five women incarcerated are homeless. Incarcerated women are among the poorest people in America. More than half of the women in the United states are not allowed access to public benefits. Over 92,000 are subject to life-time welfare ban, this includes food stamps.

Women In Prison 3.6% of women incarcerated in the United States are HIV positive. This rate is 12 times the national rate. Women who are incarcerated are much more likely to have experienced sexual or physical abuse. 76% of incarcerated women report having a history of abuse. Women who are abused are much more likely to engage in drug abuse and post traumatic stress disorder. Abused women are twice as likely to have injected drugs. Abused women are 2.8% more likely to have engaged in high risk sexual behavior.

Women, race, and Incarceration The race gap is very prevalent. Women of color by far out number white women found in the prison system. 79% of all women in New York’s state prison are black or Hispanic. 1 in every 50 black women are not able to vote because of their criminal backgrounds. For every 1000 women imprisoned in America 36 are Black, 15 are Hispanic, and only 5 are white.

U.S. Incarceration and Race Whites 393 per 100,000 Latinos 957 per 100,000 Blacks 2,531 per 100,000 When looking at male prison populations alone the race gap is alarming White males 717 per 100,000 Latino males 1,717 per 100,000 Black males 4,919 per 100,000 * as of June 30, 2004

Problems With Sentencing The Rockefeller Drug Laws Socioeconomic Status Crack vs. Cocaine The classes of felonies

Disparity It is clear to see racial, and, gender disparity when looking at the percentages of minorities incarcerated. Things to think about. Violent crimes are on the decline, yet prison populations are on an extreme rise. Being that men are more likely than women to be sentenced to prison instead of jail is it true that: boys are bad and girls are mad?

Reforming the Prison Industrial Complex

Routes to Reformation Government Budgeting Nonviolent Offenders Sentencing Corporation Removal Prison Abolition and reform movements

Government Budgeting Treatment programs Shifting fiscal responsibility to local level Community service programs and rehabilitation=save money

Community Reinvestment Case Study 1997 Deschutes County, Oregon : -community program vs. incarceration -72% incarceration decrease -$17,000 savings per case

Non-Violent Offenders Less severe punishment=lower recidivism -‘evidence based programming’ -D&A treatment (over 70% of Oregon inmates have a substance abuse problem) -mental health treatment -job skills training, (TLULAC 3; WPP 9)

Sentencing Laws Harsher punishment has no proven effect on lowering crime Longer prison terms can have a negative impact on the communities (TLULAC 3-5) Children who have parents in prison are 6-8 times more likely to go to prison (TLULAC 5)

Sentencing Laws Probation as a more useful correctional program (TLULAC 7)

Corporations in the Prisons Publicly owned and managed prisons = more transparency and more equitability. (Sarabi, Bender; Gold, Sturr 7) Removal of the corporate monetary interest for public officials

Prison Abolition Removing roadblocks (e.g. work blacklisting) to reentrance to the outside world Attacking the roots of the behavior : -poverty -social inequality -mental illness -D&A addiction