Last Friday all of the interns got to take a field trip to the Richmond City Jail. We were incredibly excited to go, since none of us had ever actually been to a correctional facility before (probably a good thing). We got a full tour of the building and an overview of all of the planning and procedures it takes to run a jail. It was definitely an eye-opening experience in a lot of ways, and a really great experience for a group of future lawyers. One thing that stuck out to all of us in particular was hearing about an inmate who actually got to graduate high school despite being incarcerated. Here's a link to the story. It's pretty heartwarming.
Also, here are some fun facts about jail, for those of you who are interested:
- Jails are usually run by cities or counties, while prisons and penitentiaries are run by federal and state governments.
- If your sentence is 12 months or less, you go to jail; if it is more than twelve months, you go to prison (this is also the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony).
- Some states have actually started contracting out prisons to private companies. There is a lot of debate about the possibly ethical issues that this raises, but proponents say it could help alleviate the problem of overcrowding.
- Speaking of debates over prison conditions, our partners at the Legal Aid Justice Center have a history of fighting for prison reform in the US. Here's a cool article from a couple of years ago.
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