Take a moment and watch this great (and brief) entry from the GOOD series Transparency entitled “Jailbirds”. The production values alone make it worth watching. By no means is this an in-depth (and therefore, more damning) look at our penal system, but even these prima facie points compel change.

[Unfortunately, Good pulled the embedding feature off this video, so you can’t see it here anymore. You can still check it out on the Good site.]

Given the devastating losses in public education funding (1, 2, 3) we are seeing across the nation, don’t you think it is time we reconsider our draconian penal system? That says nothing of the embarrassment that we, the land of the free, jail more people than China and Russia combined.

This needs to change. Leadership needs to occur at the state level, a pulpit much more easily managed by the populace. A few key decisions by a Governor can turn these horrible statistics around. Let’s get started!

Tags: american penal colony, draconian penal system, encarceration reform, fund education, fund education not prisons, fund education not war, GOOD, GOOD Jailbirds, GOOD magazine, GOOD transparency, jail reform, penal reform, release non-violent offenders, united states jails more than russia and china combined