Today’s wet weather forced Occupy OhioU demonstrators to relocate to the Episcopal Church of the Good Shephard to hear a presentation about incarceration.
Sarah Pemberton spoke to about 10 people today as part of the “Free School” lectures being offered in conjunction with the Occupy OhioU movement.
The audience gathered in the church pews to talk about racial and socioeconomic discrimination in prisons.
Pemberton, a visiting professor in political science, explained that the United States currently has the highest incarceration rate in the world and that young black men are the most likely to be imprisoned.
“If you over-search black people, and you over-imprison black people, then you’re probably under-searching and under-imprisoning white people,” she said.
In addition to discussing racial injustice, Pemberton also explained that stronger and more outlandish punishments try to make crime seem less appealing to the lower-class.
“Stronger punishments then essentially attempt to reprogram the poor,” she said.
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