Anderson Cooper Gushes over Women in Prison

This female commenter said it all: "If we bring this to light, we can then understand what work we need to do to protect these women and their children."

Ah.

I guess I'm more interested in making sure I'm protected from them. I'm wondering how many get a free get-out-of-jail card just for being women/mothers.

* MB

It was critical of the distinction he was making between mothers and fathers behind bars. Of course, it didn't get published. So far only 6 comments are published, all from women, all sympathetic to the blog post and the "plight" of these "poor women". Freaking bullspit.

If we judge being a good criminal by one's ability to avoid punishment for the crimes committed, women are MUCH better criminals then men.

You think that there will ever come a day when a warden of a men's prison is quoted saying the prisoners are put there "as punishment, not for punishment"? I almost couldn't believe it when I read that quote.... When was the last time that men in prison being subjected to extreme torturous punishment while behind bars was not seen as a good thing and part of their rehabilitation?

For that matter when was any journalist ever tasked by their employer to "put a human face" on male inmates behind bars? We have billion dollar industries who's sole purpose for existence is to DEHUMANIZE male inmates.

So far left to go on the road to equality. The war is so far from being won.

The article is obviously designed to push everyone's "single mothers" button. But I did see part of the T.V. series "Lockup", which was entitled "Women Behind Bars", a couple weeks ago. I was somewhat surprised..while the show spent some time pandering to the audience's "women are victims" mentality, the producers also did show some of the women being "tough" and they talked about the violence which occurs in women's prisons; and they interviewed a couple hard-core women criminals (those women are pretty scary too..I'd even marry Hillary Clinton before one of them!). In other words the segment was more realistic, it did not just show group therapy sessions etc.
-axo

As I have mentioned previously on this board, my brother and his wife have both been working for the Arizona Department of Corrections for many years. The last time I visited him, we were talking about his job, and he solemnly said "Women prisoners are more violent than men prisoners". Yes, those were his exact words, and his wife concurred. (They have each guarded members of both sexes).
My brother said one thing the women prisoners do, is that they flash the male guards while their cell door is open; then if the guard comes into the cell they try to stab or bite him. Of course it is stupid for the guard to go into the cell, but that is not the point.

Besides that my brother said prisons are corrupt BIG TIME..for example, the guards sometimes buy drugs from each other or even the prisoners.

Isn't it good to know how well our prisons are "reforming" criminals? It sounds more to me like they are creating criminals.

-axo

I've read that the vast majority of women in prison were busted as accessories in the drug trade, i.e. road kill in the vast federal war on drugs.

Many were druggies who got into criminal activities to feed their habit.

The majority were also poor whores and urban (read - ghetto) women of color.

This is not about women's criminality as much as it is about America's fastest growing industry ---

building prisons and locking up the largest per capita percentage of its national citizens of ANY country on this lovely civilized planet.

Drugs are bank, crime is bank, and the one's who run the Violence/Sin Industry get paid on the front end and on the flip side.

Follow the money....

Admittedly, I do not know as much about USA prisons, but I have studied Canadian prisons.

The picture painted in the article by Anderson Cooper is a fairly accurate description of Canadian womens prisons.

For example, in Canada women in prison get a spa day, beauty treatment or the like for Christmas each year. Men, get to ware their own clothes instead of prison uniforms on Christmas. Women in prison in Canada do not have uniforms, they always get to ware their own clothes.

Even perhaps the most vile and evil woman to ever be incarcerated in Canada - Karla Hamolka - was housed in a prison in Quebec that looked more like high end college dormitories then a prison with several apartment style buildings complete with parks and gardens. Female prisoners get locked rooms after curfew, not cells in Canada.

Daycare and pre-school facilities are also common fare in womens prisons here.

Men get none of these perks when they get convicted of crimes for which they end up in prison....

Still much work yet to be done...

Cooper was a guest on Oprah's show several months ago. 'nuff said

anthony