To the Point

American Prisons

Americans have been shocked by revelations of the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the hands of US troops. Politicians from the President on down have called the abuse -un-American- and -inconsistent with American values.- There have been hearings, reports, apologies and inquiries, but what about abuses closer to home? How widespread is mistreatment of those behind bars in America's overcrowded prisons?? Are privately run prisons part of the problem? How do America-s criminal justice policies affect prisons and prisoners, and how do those policies differ from European practices? Why aren-t Americans as outraged about what goes on in US prisons as they are about abuse in Iraq? Guest host Sara Terry speaks with journalists, officials of private and state prison, advocates of alternative sentencing, and a professor of comparative and foreign law. Making News: Senate Hearings on Prisoner-Abuse Scandal General Antonio Taguba, the Army general who wrote the report about abuses of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, told a Senate committee today that a -failure of leadership- was to blame in the scandal. He also blamed a -lack of discipline- and -no training whatsoever- for US troops in charge of the Iraqi detainees. John Barry, national security correspondent for Newsweek magazine, has been covering today-s hearings. Reporter's Notebook: The Power of the Still Image The disturbing images of the abuse of Iraqi detainees by US troops just keep on coming. Perhaps more than anything else, the powerful photographs have ignited a national soul-searching about America-s role in Iraq. Photography critic and author Vicki Goldberg, whose work has appeared in the New York Times, explains why, even in this video age, photographs carry the power that can change people's lives.