Segments of americas prison population. Since 1995, the total number of male prisoners in america has grown 29 . The number of female prisoners, nearly 50 . So what does it mean to society and to our Justice System . We first visited valley state womens prison in california back in 2000, one of the largest allfemale prisons in the world. We returned five years later to see if reforms made any difference to a system troubled by overcrowding and the inmates caught in a seemingly hopeless circle of abuse, drug addiction and violence. Everybody tries to make a family here. This is their family while theyre here. But then there is another aspect of the population that can be very violent, very cutthroat. Why you over here . And theyre making a game out of it. And the more violent it is, the more fun it is for them. Get your camera off of me. Theyre not people. I dont feel im a good person because of the things ive done. And im scared. Im scared. I am very scared. 250 miles north of los ange
7 Min Read
MEXICO CITY (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - On a sunny morning at Mexico City’s main wholesale market, traders in aprons rushed metal handcarts of fresh produce between the stores distributing more than a third of the country’s fruit and vegetables.
This sprawling food supply hub is also key to the capital’s strategy to become carbon-neutral, as the designated site for a new biodiesel plant, a bio-digester to produce gas from waste, and one of the world’s largest urban solar power projects.
“We can’t be using fossil fuels,” said banana merchant Juan Manuel Portillo, 56, in his office in the Central de Abasto market. “We need to change people’s way of thinking.”
cynthia menendez and linda donohue are here to protect them from their enemies. we re here because our life has been put on the line. you know, and we have families we want to get home to, too. i was put back here because my life was threatened because my son testified and took somebody away from their family. and they were going to take me from mine. i ve been back here a little over a month. it s just getting harder and harder. i felt like my whole world was crumbling. when i walked back here, i could just see horror. when you re taken out of your cell, you re handcuffed. it s just it s very depressing. it s very humiliating. linda donohue was assaulted at a nearby prison and was shipped to valley state for her protection. now her attacker will be arriving at the prison. so linda has been moved to ad seg for her own security. yeah, she slapped me. blood all over. i was checking on blood. blood all over the room. i finally was able to get up, she had me pinned, i was able to g
right here is what we call a fashion block, what it is it s a cut-off pillow case, it s made into a handle. the inmate braids it to where they can hold it real tight. what they do is they attack another inmate. another common weapon for inmates to use would be a toothbrush. melt the plastic down and they put a razor in there which acts as a slashing device. screws have been melted inside of a lighter. and you hold it. keeps the inmate safe. keeps the officers safe. if we can stop it here, everybody is going to get to go home safe. not all prisoners are in ad seg for disciplinary reasons. cynthia menendez and linda donohue are here to protect them from their enemies.
right here is what we call a fashion block, what it is it s a cut-off pillow case, it s made into a handle. the inmate braids it to where they can hold it real tight. what they do is they attack another inmate. another common weapon for inmates to use would be a toothbrush. melt the plastic down and they put a razor in there which acts as a slashing device. screws have been melted inside of a lighter. and you hold it. keeps the inmate safe. keeps the officers safe. if we can stop it here, everybody is going to get to go home safe. not all prisoners are in ad seg for disciplinary reasons. cynthia menendez and linda donohue are here to protect them from their enemies.