We have been living in the midst of a global pandemic for almost a whole year now. I'm sure like almost everyone else, I just needed an escape from the chaos of the world for a few minutes (or hours) a day. My friend recommended the show Prison Break to me and it was exactly what I needed. Not only was it suspenseful enough to keep me entertained (especially seasons 1 and 2), but I was also able to connect it to the current calls for police and prison abolition. Without giving too much away I'll just say that Prison Break is about a man, Lincoln, who sits on death row for a murder he did not commit. When his brother, Michael, discovers this he vows to break him out. Some of the other characters are questionable at best, but the love shared between two brothers adds a human dimension to a show that discusses some very difficult aspects of life behind bars.
In many ways, Prison Break is a perfect example of the school-to-prison pipeline and begs the question of the morality of the death penalty. As a teenager, Lincoln is criminalized for various offences as he attempts to care for his younger brother after losing both his mother and father. When he was framed for a high profile murder, his criminal record did not deter a jury from finding him guilty despite the falsified evidence. Unfortunately, this is something that happens all to often in real life too. How many people are sentenced to harsher prison sentences because they have a previous record? More importantly, how many of these people are actually innocent? We all know the answer is TOO MANY. I knew Lincoln was innocent from first time he said it in Prison Break's Pilot episode. With even the slightest chance of a wrongful conviction, can the death penalty be considered moral? I personally don't think it can. I don't think the justice system should have the capability to end a person's existence. Maybe Prison Break was a little ahead of it's time when it attempted to bring these subjects to the forefront of prison life. Illinois has abolished the death penalty since Prison Break aired on television from 2005-2009. However, 25 states, the American federal government, and the American military still practice the death penalty. This is part of what present day abolitionists wish to abolish. Maybe it will even happen in my lifetime.
Another issue I want to bring to light in this post about Prison Break is the reality of COVID-19 in prisons. With all of the calls for prison abolition this past summer, I had never really thought about what impacts COVID-19 had on prisons, but we know social distancing is impossible in correctional facilities, therefore making the spread of COVID-19 quick and easy. According to some sources, about 10% of the federal prison population in Canada has been infected with COVID-19 compared to only 2% of the general population. When the Liberal federal government announced that some prisoners would be prioritized for the vaccine, there was immediate backlash from the opposing Conservatives and many Canadians. Canada's prison population, especially elderly prisoners, is a vulnerable population that deserves protection from this deadly virus. In Canada, we're proud to say we have abolished the death penalty, but allowing COVID-19 to spread freely in prisons is a death sentence for many.
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| https://www.prp2.org/Photo-Gallery.html |
In line with prisoner's rights to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, we can't have a full discussion on prisoner's rights without addressing Bell Canada's disregard for the mental health of inmates across Ontario. Bell is a multi-billion dollar Canadian telecommunications company that advocates for reducing the stigma around mental health through their yearly "Bell Let's Talk campaign". This campaign involves Bell donating a few million dollars each year to mental health programs while getting millions of positive social media interactions and brand mentions. Bell does not care about mental health as the campaign does not even attempt to address the messy parts of mental health disorders. Not only that, but people tweet using the hashtag on campaign day and think that's enough 'activism' until next year's "Bell Let's Talk Day." This entire campaign screams tax write offs for Bell and slacktivism for average Canadians.
The Bell controversy also gets worse. Bell Canada has an exclusive contract with the Ontario government to provide telephone services in jails. Under the Bell contract, Ontario inmates can only call landline telephone numbers (how many people do YOU KNOW that still have landlines?!) with extremely high collect-call rates, sometimes as high as $15 per call! This contract MUST be making Bell more money than they donate during the yearly "Bell Let's Talk" campaign. If Bell really cared about mental health, they would stop profiting off of prisoners, many of whom suffer from isolation and mental illnesses. Rather than supporting "Bell Let's Talk" we can directly support mental health programs such as these the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Mental Health Foundation of Canada.
https://cmha.ca/donate
https://mentalhealthfoundation.ca/donate/
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Clearly, Prison Break really got me thinking about the issues I have with prisons in general. I will continue to question the "justice" systems across North America and elsewhere. I named this blog "The World Through Rose Coloured Glasses" because I am an optimist. I am still optimistic that changes to the justice systems can and will happen in my lifetime. I have to be hopeful that change can happen, otherwise everything is pointless. Let's be hopeful but also put in the work in whatever ways possible to bring about abolition and justice.
References
https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/death-penalty-illinois.aspx
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/covid-19-hit-federal-prisons-twice-as-hard-in-2nd-wave-of-pandemic-report-says/ar-BB1dWyLr?ICID=ref_fark&parent-subcat=foodnews+%22+target%3d%22_blank%22%3eRead+the+Article
https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/opinion/bell-lets-talk-campaign-and-the-reality-of-ontarios-jails/325414
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