USA - leading jailer in the world

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MCC’S STUDENT PEACE GROUP TO HOST EVENT ON PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

[Feb. 23, 2010 Crystal Lake, IL] The McHenry County College Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) will host an informational seminar featuring Dr. Vincent Gaddis on March 4th, 2010 at 7:00pm in the College's Conference Center. The event is titled "The United States: Leading Jailer of the World."

According to Human Rights Watch, the United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world, including the far more populous nation of China. In 2008, the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults, China was second with 1.5 million and Russia a distant third. The United States leads not only by the sheer number of inmates but in the rate at which it incarcerates its citizenry, outpacing nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia. In Germany, 93 people are in prison for every 100,000 adults and children whereas in the United States, the rate is eight times higher or 750 per 100,000.

As incredible as it sounds, 1 in 100 adults are now locked up in America and for Hispanic and black men, imprisonment is far more prevalent. Dr. Gaddis will analyze the structural flaws within our system that lead to these astounding statistics. Imprisonment has become the answer to many of the social problems rooted in poverty. The practice of locking up the poor from racially marginalized communities has become big business. What once was considered government work has increasingly been turned over to private contractors, creating a monstrous "prison industrial complex" whose profit depends on people to punish. Dr Gaddis calls for a revolution - "a revolution in values." He persuasively argues that what we need is not new prisons, but a powerful movement for social transformation in health care, housing, education, drug programs, jobs, and education.

The event is part of SPAN’s Current American Issues Information Seminar Series. SPAN is made up of students promoting peace nationally and locally through action and education. The event is co-sponsored by Pax Christi and the McHenry County Peace Coalition. The event is free and open to the public.

The college is located at 8900 U.S. Hwy. 14, Crystal Lake. For more information, contact the MCC Student Activities Office at (815) 455-8772.

For information, contact:

Molly McQueen
Action Coordinator for SPAN
McHenry County College
(815) 354-3161
email: molly_mcq@hotmail.com