Federal Prison Industries Need "Work"

Former AG Meese and ACLU Call for Reform, Factories Behind Bars

WASHINGTON, D.C.(July 22, 2002) — Former Reagan Administration Attorney General, Edwin Meese, will join forces with the ACLU and headline a Congressional briefing on the need to reform federal prison industries and amend current legislation. The briefing will begin at 11 a.m. on July 23 in Room 121 of the Cannon House Office Building, and is co-sponsored by the Enterprise Prison Institute (EPI) and the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

"We need to provide a new model for training and employing inmates for the 21st century workplace," Meese said. "Work is the heart of American life, and vital to the success of inmates leaving prison."

Other speakers include Rachel King of the American Civil Liberties Union, Robert Atkinson of the Progressive Policy Institute, Gary Wallace, an alumnus of the South Carolina Department of CorrectionS and currently senior business technologist at Anderson Hardwood Floors, and EPI President Knut Rostad.

There is no attendance charge, but please RSVP since seating is limited.

What: How to Make America Safer: Prepare Inmates to Commit Capitalist Acts: Remake Prisons as "Factories Behind Bars"

When: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 11:00 AM ET

Where: Room 121, Cannon House Office Building

Who: Former Attorney General Edwin Meese
Rachel King, American Civil Liberties Union,
Robert Atkinson, the Progressive Policy Institute
Gary Wallace, alumnus – South Carolina Department of Corrections and
Senior Business Technologist, Anderson Hardwood Floors
Knut Rostad, president – EPI