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Your Call

Today on Your Call: Can diverse groups join to reform prisons?

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: 

Robert Perkinson, assistant professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii, and the author of Texas Tough: The Rise of Amerca's Prison Empire 

Tim Cavanaugh, managing editor of Reason.com, the website for Reason Magazine

Craig DeRoche, director of external affairs for Prison Fellowship

 

Resources:

Prison Fellowship

Julia Reynolds, Monterey Herald: Conservatives eye criminal justice spending

Tim Cavanaugh, Reason.com: The Golden State's Iron Bars: How California prison guards became the country's most powerful union 

Veronique de Rugy, Reason.com: The Facts about American Prisons: Separating economic myths from economic truths

Michael King, The Austin Chronicle: Author traces Texas prison system from its roots in plantation slavery, an interview with historian Robert Perkinson

Ali Budner came to KALW as a volunteer reporter with Crosscurrents in early 2009, then joined the Your Call team as a producer in March of 2010. She loves the dynamic daily interactions of live radio and the inspiring guests and listeners that Your Call attracts. She still makes stories for Crosscurrents in her free time.