Common sense and fantasy in a private immigration prison: Intro: >Maybe it was cynical courtroom theatre, or maybe the attorney for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) believed it when he ridiculed the very idea that correctional officers would retaliate against prisoners for conducting a hunger strike to protest their incarceration by the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS). In his closing for the defense late last year in Aboyade and Dafali v. CCA (US District Court, Newark, NJ, cv-00-2067) lead counsel Brad Simon made repeated, sarcastic references to "wild conspiracy theories about retaliation" and asked jurors to rely on their "common sense" rather than on the "fantasies" offered by plaintiffs that CCA guards had beaten and isolated frustrated detainees. Simon was either unaware that such repression in INS facilities is the norm, or he cleverly chose to rely on the "common sense" that gives a uniformed abuser the benefit of the doubt. The plaintiffs were suing CCA on the theory that "consistent with corporate practices, [the company] promoted individuals who demonstrated a willingness to use excessive force and harsh behaviors toward the detainee population." CCA attorneys countered that plaintiffs were suing the company rather than individual officers or the INS because they wanted money. Simon told the jury that CCA "has the right not to be extorted." He also reminded them that the plaintiffs were "illegal immigrants."< Link
monochrom is an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993. [more]
