Recording from Dr. Guajardo: https://youtu.be/a9FAz7Ae9Aw Recording from Paul A. Guajardo: https://youtu.be/uqeNOWnCxxE
This panel focuses on Latino prison memoirs and the law. 2.3 million people in the US are incarcerated, and proportionally, minorities are the bulk of the population in prison—many are from low-income and single-parent homes. Is the primary purpose of prison to punish, to reform, or to produce a profit? Prisons are called “correctional” facilities, yet too often instead of rehabilitation, there is inhumanity and abuse. Prison has been called graduate school for criminals, but jails should be places of reformation and education. Instead, we learn, for example, that more men are raped in the U.S. than women (when we account for prisoners). The US accounts for around 5% of the world’s population but we have 25% of its inmates. President Obama visited a federal prison in Oklahoma highlighting the need for reform. President Trump attended a graduation ceremony for former prisoners also acknowledging the limitations of our carceral system
