Lead Story
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A February ruling halted California’s program to relieve prison overcrowding by transferring inmates to privately run facilities out of state, but pending appeal the California prison TV channel continues to air a video advertising the West Tennessee Detention Facility, hoping to encourage future volunteers. The 20-minute infomercial, shown once a day, lists amenities including larger and cleaner cells, better views, and weekly all-night movie-and-pizza parties; in taped testimonials one transferee praises the 79-channel cable menu (“ESPN. You can’t beat that”) while another says, “You’re not a number here.”
Evidence Not Quite Gotten Rid Of
Leading Economic Indicators
Least Competent Criminals
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Shawn Belshwender.
