In a slightly unusual vein, I'm including an excerpt from an article in The Economist that I just read moments ago. It's just a terrible thing, and I feel a need to make note of it for the public record, no matter how small. It's from the first week of March, 2009.
"Earlier this month, two judges in Pennsylvania's Luzerne County admitted sentencing thousands of children to jail in return for kickbacks from a prison-management company. Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan received a commission for every day they sent a child to private juvenile detention centers run by Pennsylvania Child Care and a sister company. The pay-offs came to $2.6 million over seven years."
Words can't describe this. These two guys took money from PRIVATE PRISONS to send kids to those juvenile detention centers, aka prisons. It's beyond insane. Keep your eyes and ears open.
My next post will be warmer and more self-reflective, I hope. I think it's important, however, to occasionally point out gross injustice and low points in humanity, such as these two judges and everyone else involved in paying them, as well those who support privatized prisons in general.
Be well, live loud and peaceful...
1 comment:
I read the same thing, albeit in the NY Times. At my nonprofit, Everyday Democracy, we work with some folks in Luzerne County who are addressing racial issues in the area, along with their impact on: education (lack of teachers of color); economic development (segregated business communities); and criminal justice (police racial profiling).
Also, I'm a therapeutic mentor to adolescents termed "at-risk," so I see these youth in a wide variety of tough situations, involving group homes, the State Dept of Children & Families, foster homes, probation officers, court, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of shit rolls downhill onto these kids lives, which makes my heart break. Granted these kids make poor decisions at times, but given their considerable lack (of support, of love, of quality education, etc.), it makes sense.
Anyway, I do see hope, although that hope is just a glimmer here and there. When a young teen begins to recognize an unhealthy habit, or begins to see their value, or begins to connect with others in meaningful ways, and the like ... then I smile into the abyss of fear and doubt and apathy, knowing the arc of the universe bends toward justice, knowing seeds of life have been planted, watered and are taking root.
Peace
acheforhome@gmail.com
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