U.S. Jail Practices Are Racist And An ‘Affront To Human Dignity,’ U.N. Experts Say

The publication of a report by United Nations human rights experts has exposed shocking truths regarding systemic racism and human rights violations within the U.S. criminal justice system. The findings, based on visits conducted last April and May, have evoked widespread outrage, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive judiciary reform.One of the most distressing revelations in the report is the inhumane practice of shackling imprisoned Black women during childbirth. Some of the pregnant women who were chained in this fashion testified that they even lost their babies as a result. Such treatment not only violates these women’s basic rights, but also reveals a deep-seated disregard for their dignity and well-being. The fact that all the women who were shackled were Black highlights the racial bias within the criminal justice system. The report also sheds light on the appalling labour conditions Black men face in prison, especially those in the infamous Angola prison in Louisiana. Thousands of predominantly Black prisoners were subjected to forced field labour in scenes eerily resembling the plantations of the past. The experts cited in the report described these conditions as “contemporary forms of slavery,” with prisoners working under the watchful eyes of white “freemen” on horseback....