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INJUSTICES
 When
our news media talks about injustices, we usually see or hear
of the horrors committed in other countries. In reality
though, we
probably don't even hear about 90% of what really goes on in
the rest of the world.
In
2005, we were shown
horrifying pictures of the treatment of prisoners in Iraq by
American forces. Everyone was shocked that Americans could
possibly commit such acts. Yet,
what we don't realize is that similar acts are prevalent every
day in the U.S. prison systems - and around the world in some other
"civilized" countries and of course in many third
world nations.
As
if that isn't bad enough, an estimated 440,000 people locked up in the Americanized version of the Soviet Gulag
system are innocent, due to a corrupt and/or
inefficient judicial system. Others are given unjust prison
sentences (either too long or too short). And in some cases,
people are allowed to languish in jail for years without the
benefit of a trial, even though a right to a speedy trial is
supposed to be guaranteed to us under the Constitution.
From
the Common
Dreams News Center:
America
has a prison population
topping two million people, giving America the dubious
distinction of having a higher percentage of its citizens
behind bars than any other country. When considering that
(based on 2003 figures) the US has three times more
prisoners per capita than Iran and seven times more than
Germany, the nation looks more like a Gulag than the Land of
the Free.
Even when prisoners are correctly sentenced, their
treatment has little or no rehabilitative quality to it,
leading to the revolving door syndrome of most prisoners
returning back to prison once again. In
many cases their treatment is clearly and legally abusive - and is fostered
by a corrupt and immoral system (and a disinterested public) that seems to condone this
state of affairs. Some states (and countries) are notoriously
worse than others.
Read
the horror stories below - and maybe have some compassion for
those unfortunate enough to have these injustices done to
them. Also included are two sites to find out what sex offenders might be living next
door to you.
Not to be overlooked are the large number of wrongfully
convicted inmates, now estimated to be as high as
440,000. Little is done to help these people. Read
The American Gulag System.
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