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Unfortunately, the 'Real Audio' part of the Tour is unavailable. You can still view the pages with quotes but without the audio files. However, you can hear a 'Real Audio' overview of the 'USA Rights for All' campaign by clicking here.


THERE ARE NEARLY TWO MILLION MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN INCARCERATED IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY - MORE THAN TRIPLE THE NUMBER 20 YEARS AGO. 60% OF THESE PRISONERS ARE RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES.


Pierre Sané:
"Amnesty's research of the recent years has shown that people incarcerated in prisons are very often the victims of very serious human rights violations."


Tony Coleman:
"In juvenile hall, in San Francisco, you're in a cell in a room by yourself. There's no bars, there's a door. So, you really like shut off. And um, you're in a closed door like a closet, you're in there with a mattress. ...that was real hard."
"14 years old to be locked in a room ...."
".... I thought of suicide but not to the point where I wanted to do it but, so just like, I was trying to think what can ease this pain."


Leslie Acoca:
"When the state deprives a child or adult of his or her liberty, the state has certain responsibilities. They cannot be abused, they cannot be isolated...they cannot be sexually violated."


GROWING NUMBERS OF JUVENILES ARE BEING INCARCERATED WITH ADULTS - A VIOLATION OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, WHICH THE UNITED STATES HAS YET TO RATIFY.


AMNESTY IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE FASTEST GROWING POPULATION OF PRISONERS IN AMERICA TODAY - WOMEN.


Brenda Smith:
"The issue of women in prison is one of the emerging correctional human rights issues in the United States. Since 1980, the numbers of women in prison have almost quadrupled."


Shari Thomas:
"The prison that I was at was the Virginia Correction Center for women. It was originally built for 323 women and when I left in 97' there was over 800 women. JUMP CUTOn my hall there were 83 women and we had one functioning toilet."


Brenda Smith:
Well, I think that increasingly in America prisons have become the dumping ground for all the other issues that we don't want to deal with.


Shari Thomas:
"So, there is no way for me to go on everyday and not not say or remember the women that are behind bars. And that is why I speak out."


Detention of Asylum-Seekers

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