[Opinion. Our  prisoners are not a great ad for the “Land of the Free”. 580 Americans per 100,000 are not free. In fact, our  two million show that to be a lie. 

A million of those committed crimes of violence so maybe a percentage of those need prison. But mostly prisoners need education, counseling, rehabilitation through work at minimum wage, not 20¢ an hour. Unless, that is, we are monsters fully committed to vengeance for the mildest of crimes.

Dostoevsky wrote, "A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” America’s record is poor.]

How to Stop a Jail

In These Times: 12 Jun 2026

SOURCE: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-to-stop-a-jail/

Across the United States, jails are crumbling and overpopulated. Community groups have clear ideas about how to meet people's needs, but have to fight to be heard. To further complicate an already fraught question of what to do, if not build new jails to replace old ones, is the looming threat and reality of ICE detention centers quickly coming into communities.

A coalition in Atlanta has made gains in its ongoing fight to stop the construction of a new mega-jail. Similar efforts are underway across the United States. Three prison abolitionists wrote No New Beds. 

The Community Over Cages coalition,  Women on the Rise and Families for Justice as Healing were part of a campaign in Massachusetts fighting to stop an over-$300 million women's prison.

"A lot of times—when we are always screaming, 'Hey, close the jail or don't build a new jail!'—they're looking for, ‘OK, if we don't, then what?’” Hassan explains. “And I think once we filled that hole, it filled that gap and gives them solutions, instead of just giving them what they should be doing.

“That's when it opened up their eyes."

Because the USA doesn't have enough prisons to house the rest of the scum that shouldn't be allowed to be in the public domain.

22 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

And what point are you trying to make?

Are you praising or condemning the AI reference you posted?

Why does America have two million prisoners?

Diversity ?

Maybe a breakdown of what part of the diversity cake is in there.

The USA developed a system that imprisons more people and keeps them imprisoned longer. It dehumanizes prisoners and fails to provide enough social support, decent schools, mental health care and opportunities before people enter the criminal system. American culture also plays a role, with its strong belief in punishment, personal responsibility and being tough on crime, often leaving little room for rehabilitation or understanding the social causes behind crime. There is also a strong belief that weapons, force and a firm hand can solve almost every conflict.

History has a sense of irony. A nation built through immigration now debates immigration using arguments that echo its own past.

I'm betting that Berlin wished they had imprisoned that Pride Parade radical who drove into the crowd.

"Ballout had previously received a juvenile sentence of one year and 10 months in prison, although it had been suspended."