R y C r a i k e
Jay Davies and Garrett Parkes taking on some of the heavier stuff WA has to offer.
c h i l d i s h - f r e a k s & g e e k s
b r a n d o n b e c k e r : p o w s h r e d
(Source: sleepflower, via cityyandcolour)
t h e g r e a t e s t
Religion is Like a Penis
It’s OK to have one it’s even OK to be proud of it, but please don’t wave it around in public and definitely don’t shove it down kids’ throats…
B l u e F o u n d a t i o n - E y e s O n F i r e ( Z e d s D e a d R e m i x )
As a second termer I neglected the prison’s education program and by doing so I’ve learned a very valuable experience. Aids: the rejection of family, friends and other convicts. Please understand. You can’t “get” Aids. You’ve got to partake in drug use and unsafe sexual acts. Now that I am 25 and about to parole soon I would like to help educate the public because I do care about mankind. So please practice safe sex, meaning only one sexual partner. And use protection always. - T.R Jones, Prisoner
Although only making up 5% of the world population, the United States accounts for 25% of the world’s prisoners. In California, the number of drug offenders imprisoned in the state today is more than twice the number of inmates who were imprisoned for all crimes in 1978. Today, the state holds more inmates in its jails and prisons than France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands combined.
In some cases, it seems as though this recent phenomena has developed right under the noses of the general public. In many ways it’s hard to fathom, and even more difficult to envision. Yet one only needs to imagine the combined populations of Atlanta, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, and Miami behind bars to get an idea of the magnitude of the prison industrial complex.
When looking at the root causes of this social epidemic, one of the primary origins stems from the spike in non-violent drug offenses over the past 30 years. According to Eric Schlosser, news correspondent for the Atlantic, the prison industrial complex is a rather simple paradox of contrasting thought,
“Correctional officials see danger in prison overcrowding. Others see opportunity. The nearly two million Americans behind bars — the majority of them nonviolent offenders — mean jobs for depressed regions and windfalls for profiteers…”
Since 1991 the rate of violent crime in the United States has actually fallen by about 20 percent, while the number of people in prison or jail has risen by 50 percent. This troublesome statistic offers insight into the destructive nature of popular thought that regulates the U.S prison system.
While the information above provides an outsiders look into the prison industrial complex, the images below offer a view from within. Sharing their experiences from inside the prison system, the inmates of America’s prison’s have been forced to endure a life of limited freedom. Examining the lives and stories of the inmates from a Vacaville Prison in California, photographer Morrie Camhi has created a visual pastiche of prison life. By relating their stories and lessons, the experiences of these prisoners offer a dose of perspective to better understanding our nations infatuation with crime and punishment.
