Tagged: Prison reform

On today's Your Call we’ll talk about what’s changing in California’s prison system.  The Occupy Movement drew attention to the prison industrial complex this week with a day of action called “Occupy the Prisons.”  They are calling for an end to inhumane conditions for people behind bars.  Meanwhile, the realignment process is underway in California-- where low-level offenders are being moved from prisons to county jails.  Is this the best way to solve prison over-crowding?

Nationally, women are the fastest growing prison population. And one of the highest female prison populations in the world is here in California. That's slated to change under the state's new realignment program. The number of women in prison is supposed to shrink drastically, by as much as half, over the next few years.

Can people from different political backgrounds come together to work for prison reform? On today's Your Call, we'll have a conversation about various efforts to reform the prison system in the US. Today, 2.3 million prisoners are in US jails, costing more than $44 billion. In California, more money is spent on prisons than education. What will it take to reform the system? How are groups with different political backgrounds joining forces? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you. 

Guests: