The Land of the Free punishes or imprisons more of its citizens than any other country. This collection of testimonials from criminal offenders, family members, and experts on America's criminal justice system puts a human face on the millions of Americans subjugated by the US Government's 40 year, one trillion dollar social catastrophe: The War on Drugs; a failed policy underscored by fear, politics, racial prejudice and intolerance in a public atmosphere of "out of sight, out of mind."
The United States has only 5% of the world's population, yet a full 25% of the world's prisoners. At 2.5 million, the US has more prisoners than China. 8 million more languish under some form of state monitoring (1 in every 31 Americans). On top of that, the security and livelihood of over 13 million more has forever been altered by a felony conviction. The American use of punishment is so pervasive, and so disproportionate, that The Economist magazine declared in 2010, "never in the civilized world have so many been locked up for so little."
The project will unfold over a two year period, beginning with the release of this feature-length documentary and then continuing on with the release of short films and complete interviews from each of the 100 participants in the project, meant to represent the 1 in 100 Americans that are currently sitting behind bars.
The Exile Nation Project is made possible by a generous grant from the Tedworth Charitable Trust and the openDemocracy group, in association with Exile Nation Media. All content produced is non-commercial and available for free distribution under a Creative Commons license.
BONUS FEATURE: "Friday the 13th" a poem by John Sinclair, follows the credits.
LINKS
ExileNation.org
opendemocracy.net/exile-nation-project
realitysandwich.com/exile_nation_drugs_prisons_politics_spirituality
realitysandwich.com/blog/1265
opendemocracy.net/editorial-tags/drug-policy-forum
The United States has only 5% of the world's population, yet a full 25% of the world's prisoners. At 2.5 million, the US has more prisoners than China. 8 million more languish under some form of state monitoring (1 in every 31 Americans). On top of that, the security and livelihood of over 13 million more has forever been altered by a felony conviction. The American use of punishment is so pervasive, and so disproportionate, that The Economist magazine declared in 2010, "never in the civilized world have so many been locked up for so little."
The project will unfold over a two year period, beginning with the release of this feature-length documentary and then continuing on with the release of short films and complete interviews from each of the 100 participants in the project, meant to represent the 1 in 100 Americans that are currently sitting behind bars.
The Exile Nation Project is made possible by a generous grant from the Tedworth Charitable Trust and the openDemocracy group, in association with Exile Nation Media. All content produced is non-commercial and available for free distribution under a Creative Commons license.
BONUS FEATURE: "Friday the 13th" a poem by John Sinclair, follows the credits.
LINKS
ExileNation.org
opendemocracy.net/exile-nation-project
realitysandwich.com/exile_nation_drugs_prisons_politics_spirituality
realitysandwich.com/blog/1265
opendemocracy.net/editorial-tags/drug-policy-forum
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