The People Who Profit From Prisons Have Names and Addresses: August 11-15, That Address Will Be Philadelphia
The American Correctional Association is an umbrella group for individuals and organizations employed and doing business in, around and with prisons. This summer, they will be holding their annual trade show and conference in Philadelphia. From prison HMO's often sued for medical neglect, to corporations that exploit prisoners, to the manufacturer of the lethal injection drugs, all willing participants in the prison system will be present at the ACA's "congress of corrections".
While ACA members and associated corporations discuss how to make money off of Americas massive prison nation, activists in Philadelphia will use this opportunity to raise our voices against the criminal injustice system. Join us in a educational counter-conference, marches and rallies.
For more information, please call 215-724-6120, or visit the Coalition against the American Correctional Association. Check in on the Philadelphia Independent Media Center for breaking coverage.
What is the ACA?
The number of prisoners in the United States has quadrupled in the last twenty years. With over two million people behind bars, the U.S. now has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This trend particularly targets people of color; one in three Black men between 20 and 29 years old are currently either incarcerated, paroled, or on probation. In contrast to commonly held images of criminals, two thirds of prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Punishment has replaced reform as prison education programs have been cut, drug rehabilitation has been defunded, and recidivism rates continue to grow. Yet taxpayers pay more to incarcerate these people yearly than it would cost to send each of them to Harvard University. The phenomenal profits secured by the corporations involved with every aspect of the corrections industry do not, in the eyes of many citizens, justify this process.
From August 11 through August 15, the members of the American Correctional Association (ACA), many of whom are securing large profits for themselves by contracting their wares and services to prisons, will hold their annual conference in Philadelphia. The ACA is a group that bills itself as "the oldest supplier of correctional goods and services in the United States." It serves as an umbrella group for all organizations doing business in, around and with prisons. From the corporations that contract prison labor and pay prisoners as little as 19 cents an hour, to the prison HMOs often sued for medical neglect, to lobbying groups advocating for longer sentences, to the Department of Corrections officials involved at all levels of the prison system, to the companies who provide the poison and needle for executions, all willing participants in the industry will be represented at the ACA's annual congress this August in Philadelphia.
A diverse coalition of groups has come together to organize grassroots opposition to the annual meeting of the ACA in Philadelphia. This August, local activists will host a convergence of ex-prisoners, families of prisoners, activists, and concerned citizens to protest the expansion of our country's racist prison industry. This convergence will include an educational counter conference (August 10-12), permitted demonstrations, and direct action.
