Societies grappling with a ‘silent but growing’ prison crisis
news.un.org
Prisons have become a fragile link in many criminal justice systems, weakened by over-incarceration, overcrowding, poor conditions and chronic neglect – fuelling calls for urgent reform.

Prisons have become a fragile link in many criminal justice systems, weakened by over-incarceration, overcrowding, poor conditions and chronic neglect – fuelling calls for urgent reform.

A decade ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the Nelson Mandela Rules — a set of 122 guidelines setting minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, inspired by one of the world’s most influential former political prisoners – the South African civil rights icon, Nelson Mandela.

These rules aim to ensure safety, security and respect for human dignity, offering clear benchmarks for prison staff.

Despite this, prison systems worldwide continue to face deep-rooted challenges. The General Assembly convened on Friday to discuss how to better protect societies from crime by focusing on rehabilitation and preparing inmates for life after prison.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    5 days ago

    And making shit for corporations:

    Because the business model of prison labor requires a constant influx of prisoners, private prisons have included “lockup quotas” into their dealings with federal and state authorities. The premise of the lockup quota is that taxpayers either have to keep these facilities at least 90% capacity or pay for the empty prison beds.

    In order to continue bringing in profits, private prisons have found new sources for forced labor. In California, immigrants who were held in detention facilities owned by GEO Group are suing GEO Group for forced labor and wage theft. One of the class-action lawsuits alleges that detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center were paid $1 a day for their labor, two others allege that GEO Group violated federal and California forced labor laws, while the fourth hopes to stop forced labor at 12 of GEO’s immigration facilities. Some immigrants worked for $1 a day while others worked for extra food, and under GEO’s Housing Unit Sanitation Policies, detained immigrants must work or face sanctions like solitary confinement or interference with their immigration cases.

    https://businessreview.studentorg.berkeley.edu/profiting-off-of-prison-labor/