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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2012)
PaSe 10_______________ W Çortlanb ©bscruer cCoíle¡eSpotlight special edition ____________ AprillL2OI2 Justice Blocked with ‘Kill at Will” Laws Secretive partnership exposed by Marc H. Morial T h e re h as n e v e r been any doubt that G eorge Z im m erm an pulled the trigger that killed a 17-year-old, u n a rm e d F lo r id a y o u th nam ed T rayvon M artin. But n o t m u c h is k n o w n a b o u t Zim m erm an’s accomplice. His name is A LEC, which stands for the A m eri can Legislative E xchange C ouncil. A LEC is a corporate-financed m em bership organization fo r con servative state legislators that, in conjunction w ith the N ational Rifle A ssociation (N R A ), w rote and p ro m oted the “ Stand Y our G round” law , w hich so far has sh ield ed Z im m erm an from arrest and p ro secu tio n . Stand Y our G round is e s sentially a “ Kill at W ill” law , w hich allow s a gunm an to use dead ly force if that person believes he o r she is in im m i nent d an g er o f death or great bodily harm . S in ce th e law w as p assed in F lorida in 2005, the “ju stifiab le h o m icid e” rate in that state has ju m p ed 300 percent. A L E C has used its close relatio n sh ip w ith co n serv a tive law m akers in state legislators throughout the country to pass sim i lar legislation in 25 states - and the tragic body count is grow ing. It is bad enough that since its founding in 1981, A LE C has been the shadow au th o r o f num erous p ieces o f legislation aim ed at b o o st ing corporate pow er and profits, reducing w orker rights, w eakening environm ental protections, and re stricting voter rights. N ow , the organization is actively supporting a law w hich is m oving this country back to the law less days o f the W ild W est w hen it w as com m o n practice to “ shoot first and ask questions later.” T hat is not the kind o f A m erica w e o r o ur children deserve in the 21st century. T h at is w hy last m onth, I stood w ith a coalition o f civil rights groups and hundreds o f outraged citizens at a rally in front o f A LE C headquar ters in W ashington, D .C. W e cam e to pull back the curtain so that the w orld could m eet the team o f g h o st w riters w ho have w ritten these kill- at-w ill law s and spread this poison around the nation. W e cam e to spread the disinfect ing sunlight o f truth on the real force behind these deadly laws and to de m and that the organization end its prom otion o f Stand Y our G round and other sim ilar firearm s legislation. T he sam e team o f ghost-w riters is poisoning the constitutional right to vote by p rom oting these d esp i cable v o ter ID law s th ro u g h o u t the nation. A L E C ’s m odel voter ID leg islation, w hich is being pro m o ted in dozens o f states, has the potential to disenfranchise m ore than five m illion voters during this all im p o r tant presidential electio n year. F ortunately, the secretive p a rt nership betw een big business and co n serv ativ e politicians is com ing u n d er in creasin g scru tin y across the country. In fact, the C en ter for M ed ia and D em ocracy has created a w ebsite: A L E C E x p o sed .o rg , re vealing the bills the organization supports, as w ell as its corporate and political backers. T his should give everyone pause w hen an inside-the-beltw ay group can w rite and prom ote law s that corrupt the dem ocratic process, give a free pass to crim inal b ehavior and tram ple on o u r civil rights. Last m onth, w e m arched for ju stic e for T rayvon M artin. B ut until w e get to the b ottom o f the N R A /A L E C re la tionship and their m otivation for p ro m o tin g law s that go b ey o n d com m ercial interests, w ho know s w ho A L E C ’ s next v ictim w ill b e . Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer o f the Na tional Urban League. Money Runs the Show in Prison System Time to stand for the public good by R ev . S ala W J. N olan G onzales C o r r e c tio n s C o r p o r a tio n o f A m erica has ju s t m ade $250 m illion available to b uy state prisons, and launched a m arketing effort in 48 states to en courage governors to contract fo r th eir m anagem ent. T he R etirem ent L iving Westmoreland’s Union Manor 6404 SE 23rd Avenue ♦ Portland 97202 503*233*5671 Marshall Union Manor 2020 NW Northrup Street ♦ Portland 97209 503*225*0677 Kirkland Union Manors 3530 SE 84th Avenue ♦ Portland 97266 503*777*8101 & Kirkland Union Plaza 1414 Kauffman Avenue ♦ Vancouver 98660 360*694«4314 b- • Studio & One-Bedroom Apartments with Kitchens • Affordable Rents, No Buy-In or Application Fees • Federal Rent Subsidies Available for those that qualify • Garden Areas, Planned Activities, Easy •< Access to Public Transportation and Shopping TDD 50>771*«912 WWW.THEUNIGNMANORS.ORG Portland GObserUer Established 1970 USPS 959-680 __________________________________ 47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 prison com pany is asking fo r 20 y e a r c o n tr a c ts w ith assured o c cupancy rates o f 90 percent. State g o v ern m ents seek cash from selling p ris ons to private corporations because they can no lo n g er afford to run them . T h e e n v iro n m en t o f v e n geance and “get to u g h ” posturing on crim e that pervaded the political env iro n m en t in the 1980s rem oved ju d icial discretion w ith three-strike law s and m andatory m inim um sen tences, and converted m isd em ean ors into felonies. T he result has been m ass incarceration. T he U .S. im prisons 2.3 m illion adults and holds m illions m ore on probation or parole. O ur judicial system controls one in every 32 adults in o u r country. O ur in car ceration rates exceed those o f every o th er nation. M o n ey ru n s th e sh o w . O n ce people are charged w ith crim es, the econom ic burden is such that 90 percent take plea bargains and never go before a ju ry . It gives m e pause that the people w e put in prison are o ur poorest, and that m ost o f them leave behind children w ho are only fu rth er buried in poverty and d y s function. E ven m ore d isturbing is the soli tary confinem ent, w hich has becom e an integral practice in U .S. prisons. T oday, 4 4 states and the U .S. g o v ern m en t operate p risons en tirely dedicated to isolation. A n estim ated 80,000 inm ates are h oused in single room s, som e w ithout w indow s, for 23 hours a day and an h o u r alone in an o u td o o r cage, w ith only lim ited interactions w ith guards. Intended fo r the w orst o f the w orst, solitary co n fin em en t is now o rdered fo r m inor infractions, and is routine fo r the m entally ill, w ho are vastly ov errep resen ted in prisons and w hose conditions are only m ade w orse by it. Solitary co n fin em en t can last w eeks, years, o r decades, despite its perm anent and d ev astat ing dam age, and its international recognition as torture. T he A m erican C ivil L ib erties U nion and the U N Special R appor teur on T orture appeared before the U N H um an Rights C ouncil to call for a review o f ram pant solitary co n finem ent in U .S. prisons. Isolation offers no pretense o f rehabilitation, and results in increased violence and despair. A nd now prisoners w ho w ere sentenced to long term s in the 1980s are com ing out. Ironically, in the face o f econom ic hardships, prison adm inistrators are review ing the cost effectiveness o f solitary co n fin em en t and harsh sen tencing. T hey are finding that so cialization, ed u catio n , alternative sentences and reh ab ilitative p ro gram s are far m ore effective and trem endously cheaper. T hey are also safer for co m m unities o f return. O ur prisons are broken. W e need to fix them . It is tim e fo r their effe c tiveness to be ex am in ed in the light o f day. W e need to see the actual costs o f harsh pun ish m ent and m ass incarceration. W e need to u n d er stand that rehabilitation is not only hum ane, but effective and co st-effi cient. W e are called to a system o f ju stic e that offers a possibility o f redem ption, and that treats inm ates w ith decency and respect. O u r p ris ons are broken. D o w e sell them to the h ighest bid d er for fast cash, and guarantee 90 p ercent occupancy? O r do w e stand up fo r restitution, reh abilitation, and the restoration o f the public good? Rev. Saia W.J. Nolan Gonzales is Minister fo r Criminal Justice and Human Rights in the United Church o f Christ. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. 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