James Ridgeway, Senior Washington Correspondent for Mother Jones, discusses the general detainment conditions in US prisons, in light of Bradley Manning’s mistreatment; the “Angola 3” prisoners held in solitary confinement for almost four decades; the forgotten Eighth Amendment to the Constitution; using solitary confinement as a baseline condition, rather than a temporary punitive measure; why prison culture is indicative of extreme American ignorance or just barbarism; and the few politicians willing to stick their necks out for indicted criminals, for little to no political gain.
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