Anatomy of America's wasteful prison-industrial complex. – Workers World

Bryant Arroyo (WW photo: Joe Piette)

Bryant Arroyo is a prison lawyer, environmental activist, and a strong advocate for the rights of elderly and aged prisoners. Before his wrongful imprisonment in 1994, he was a union member and a frequent exposé of the corporate interests that profit from the prison-industrial complex. Arroyo successfully organized prisoners and members of the neighboring community to shut down a toxic coal gasification plant and helped secure the release of fellow prisoners who suffered from serious health problems. He is an advocate for the rights of disabled and mentally ill prisoners.

Regular writer for Workers World Newspaper, Arroyo has been severely repressed for writing about the capitalist machinery of the prison system. Much to the chagrin of prison authorities, he also exposes the people within the “penal” industry who run that machinery. He is a tireless fighter for the right of all prisoners to free speech, which has often led him to risk his body and mind to protest against the censorship of this newspaper.

Arroyo is currently incarcerated at SCI Coal Township, serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. (Teddie Kelly)

America, America, land of the free. A society full of justice and equality. This is a clear example of hypocrisy, unless they forgot to include me and millions of other prisoners. Locked up behind high walls and barbed wire, and the prisoner numbers are constantly rising. Most of us will never be released – except in a body bag once we're dead.

Most inmates have done their wrong, but the guidelines for incarcerating prisoners are far too long. Prisons in America have become the number one prison industry. Men and women are sold as commodities and effectively forced to work as slaves for free for a ridiculous amount of money. They are denied parole, thrown in the hole without pay, and definitely not given parole.

Since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, minorities have been consumed by incarceration. It's easy to see the similarities between prison life and slavery. Within these walls, phone charges and cafeteria prices are still high, with Securus, Global Tel Link, Aramark Food Service, and Smart Communications also providing financial support. And as for these corporate looters, that's just a few. Inmates are forced to make prisoner clothing, bedding, bras, panties, boxer shorts, t-shirts, socks, boots, hats, and coats.

It's a shame that many taxpaying citizens don't know this. We live in an era of new Jim Crow laws. There is no justice or equality. America was built from slavery. Don't just take my word for it, study your history. Three, two, one. Racist lawmakers and politicians are making decisions that are causing blacks, Latinos, de facto whites, and poor whites to fill the prisons. Outsiders think we are being rehabilitated. But being locked up only breeds hate.

The majority of defendants are victimized and convicted long before they even get to the courtroom. The vocabulary and legal terminology used confuses most inmates. And often the lawyer who is supposedly protecting your constitutional rights is secretly drinking martinis with the prosecutors and judges, quickly offering some sort of deal or leaving you waiting for many years for an appeal.

Court officials have a bond that we don't have, and they stack the odds against you from the start, just like slave owners who sell slaves and make them work until they die in the grave. So it really baffles me sometimes why America is called the land of the free, especially when the United States of America houses the largest number of prisoners in the country.

For Prison Radio, from Bryant Arroyo, CU1126, in SCI Coal Township, within the Nation of Prisons.

This commentary was recorded by Prison Radio.