In at least one southern county, church groups are working together with
other groups to prevent private prisons.
Why not here, too?
The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is organizing
a broad coalition against private prisons in Shelby County, Tennessee:
No Private Prisons
The Shelby County Commission is in the process of trying to privatize
our criminal justice system. Private prisons have a well-documented
history of inefficient security, poorly trained and underpaid workers,
high turnover rates, scant benefits and unprofessional and unsupervised
treatment of inmates.
The Coalition Against Private Prisons has been created to fight this
privatization plan. So far this coalition involves Grassroots Leadership,
the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, the AFSCME local 1733, Shelby
County Corrections Officers, Women’s Action Coalition, Mid-South
Interfaith Network, educators, faith leaders, artists, and activists.
To address this we are working with our coalition partners and other
community organizations to educate Memphians about the dangers of
privatization, and to mobilize Memphians around the issue.
They’ve got a report,
Progress or Profit? Positive Alternatives To Privatization and Incarceration in Shelby County, Tennessee.
Continue reading → Shelby County school leaders have taken their fight against consolidation to the courts, filing a federal lawsuit Friday alleging that the city school board’s “irrational” charter surrender deprives Memphis students of their constitutional rights.