By Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour member
RT Documentaries recently recorded a programme that revealed the corruption and injustices of the American legal and prison system. Narrated by many big names in music and film and produced by Susan Sarandon, it provided a strong case for major reform of the prison system in the USA.
It began by pointing out that the US has the largest prison population in the world. A third of all the world’s female prisoners are in America. A major reason is the length of prison sentences. The average sentence for burglary in the US is 18 months. In Canada and Britain, it’s six months.
In the so-called war on drugs, in any single day, over 500,000 people are serving prison terms for drug offences. The war on drugs has disproportionately affected people of colour and the poorest sections of society. Although only 30% of Americans are people of colour, they represent 60% of all prisoners. On average, black men have prison sentences 20% longer for drug offences than whites.
Bail system excludes poorest
Then there are the injustices of the legal system. A contributor stated that if you are rich and guilty, you are more likely to avoid a prison sentence, than if you are poor and innocent. The bail system excludes the poorest sections of society and many innocent people spend years on remand. The plea-bargaining system encourages people to accept lesser sentences for fear of more serious charges brought against them.
It was reported that the bail loan industry is worth $2 billion annually.
Michelle Alexander, lawyer and author of a book called, The New Jim Crow, believed that up to 10% of US prisoners are innocent.
Then there are the effects of prisons on mental health. Half of prisoners suffer from some form of mental illness. A guy who was a Iranian hostage and had served a prison sentence in the US, said in the programme that solitary confinement in the US was worse than he had experienced in Iran.
American prisoners are five times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. One in five prisoners have experienced violent assault and one in ten have been sexually assaulted. One former inmate said that racial segregation was common and was used as a means of control over the prison population.
Paid a pittance
Over one million prisoners are engaged in forced labour, for the benefit of corporate America. They are paid a pittance with have no rights: there is no minimum wage or trade union organisation. In the USA, 150 prisons are privately owned, with about a tenth of the total prisoner population, and the more prisoners, there are, the greater the profits.
Another feature of the legal system is that prosecutors have immunity from wrongdoing. There is no independent body to investigate complaints about Police conduct either. The whole system is rotten to the core.
Lastly, there are no provisions made for those released after serving their sentences, for homes or a job. Predictably, four fifths of former prisoners end up back in jail within five years, as they struggle to find a decent life in society. Will this scandal feature in the forthcoming US presidential elections? Personally, I doubt it. Over five million Americans have already lost their right to vote, as a result of past felonies. This needs to change.
October 19, 2020
