Prison for Fun and Profit

I just finished listening to this week's episode of Blog Talk Radio's "4 Justice Now: Women Behind The Wall". It was about the private prison industry, and there was a lot of focus on Arizona because two of the three guests are from here: Caroline Isaacs (American Friends Service Committee in Tucson), and "Robert", a whistleblower from one of the private prisons in Florence. Also on the show was probably the most knowledgeable man in the country on private prisons, Frank Smith, who co-founded the non-profit Private Corrections Institute (PCI), an organization committed to exposing the greed, lies and corruption in the industry, and to helping communities fend off privateers. His last stop in Arizona, I believe, was to help the T'ohono O'odham reservation, where one company was hoping to build a new prison. PCI's website is an excellent source of background material and current news on private prison corporations as well as private correctional health services, food services, etc.

Women Behind the Wall is hosted by two women who were wrongfully convicted and - now free - are in the thick of efforts to bring about criminal justice reform and tackle the prison industrial complex. Gloria was in California prisons for 17 years before being exonerated; Mary Ellen was in the Florida prison system for 5 years. This weekly show usually focuses on issues most pertinent to women in prison, but - as evidenced by tonight's show - they aren't limited to those topics. If you hit the link above it'll take you to the home page where you can play or download this week's show, as well as any of their previous shows (including one about Marcia Powell's death in May). Both Gloria and Mary Ellen are extremely articulate and well-informed, their guests are high quality, and the show is worth the hour, so check it out - especially this one about private prisons.