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NEWS & LETTERS, August-September 2001 Chicago-The Prison Action Committee (PAC) held a town meeting July 19 on "C" number prisoners at the Westside Health Authority to bring awareness to their plight. "C" number prisoners were incarcerated before 1976 in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Imprisonment under the pretense of rehabilitation instead of punishment has led to very long-term incarceration for the 450 prisoners who have this number. The majority of these prisoners, according to Ra Chaka of the PAC as well as former "C" prisoners themselves, have received college degrees and are non-problematic within the prison environment. Some play heavy roles in the operation of the prisons themselves. One former "C" prisoner said, "Prisoners were held there just because they provided labor in areas which they could not fill with other less educated prisoners. Letting them go, they would have to hire someone from the streets, an expense they would rather forego." Most of the speakers felt that these prisoners are no threat to anyone in society and should be released immediately! -Ex-prisoner |
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