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Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

Why The U.S. Won’t Let the U.N. Look Inside Its Prisons

Author:     Sarah Shourd
Source:     The Daily Beast
Publication Date:     03.16.15
 Link: Why The U.S. Won’t Let the U.N. Look Inside Its Prisons
Stephan:   The American corporate media hardly covers this subject, so inside the U.S. it is almost invisible. But beyond our borders this is what we look like. And I find this completely unacceptable. Those of us who choose the life-affirming option have to become involved in the political process in force, and we must vote. The American Gulag is morally wrong, and it eats away at our social wellness like a cancer.
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, a typical U.S. Jail cell Credit:AP

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, a typical U.S. jail cell
Credit:AP

After a half-decade and a mandate by the U.N. to investigate solitary confinement practices, U.N. torture rapporteur Juan Mendez had to find a backdoor into an American jail. Today, his findings are released in a report.

In 2010, Juan Mendez was appointed Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Degrading and Inhumane Treatment by the United Nations. His mandate is wide in size and scope—to expose and document torture wherever it exists on the planet today.

Since the beginning of his mandate Mendez has made criticizing the overuse of solitary confinement a priority. In 2011, he issued a report stating that 22 or 23 hours a day alone in a prison cell for more than 15 days at a time can cause permanent, lasting psychological damage and can constitute torture.

This problem, he emphasized, is particularly severe in the U.S., where prisoners are routinely held under such conditions for months, years and even […]

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