U.N. human rights experts have called for major reforms of the U.S. criminal justice system to combat systemic racism, citing testimonies that jailed Black women had been shackled during childbirth while male inmates were forced to work in "plantation-style" conditions.

In a report published on Thursday, three U.N.-appointed experts said they had found practices in U.S. prisons that amounted to “an affront to human dignity” in visits in April and May.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public.

One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said.

The experts “heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies”, it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to “several” cases and confirmed they all involved Black women.

  • 30mag@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    1 year ago

    And then it turns out that it’s especially bad for minorities due to whatever specific situation the story is about.

    The first Catholic elected as President of the United States was assassinated, and no one said shit about Biden being the second Catholic to be elected as President. There were articles about Kamala Harris being elected Vice-President though. That was noteworthy because she’s a woman and she’s a person of color. Visibility is a huge factor in these stories.