This Is Why Americans Have No Idea What Really Happens In Prisons

WASHINGTON -- When Kalief Browder killed himself last month after being held for three years without trial at Rikers Island, Americans took notice. His death focused more attention on the appalling treatment of youthful inmates at the New York City jail complex. But Browder, who entered the system at 16, was only one of thousands of teenagers held in adult lockups across the United States. We have very little idea what happens to the rest of them.
Most Americans -- aside from the millions who are locked inside, work inside or regularly visit people inside -- couldn’t even tell you where the nearest prison is, let alone detail what happens there. And that's by design. Reporting on prisons is made difficult because prison officials say that making too much information public will jeopardize the safety of institutions. In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisons can restrict journalists' access to inmates.
The Huffington Post ran into multiple roadblocks during the months we spent reporting this week’s Highline feature, which details the experiences of youthful inmates held in the adult prison system in Michigan. While we were permitted to interview inmates, we were forbidden to bring a camera or recorder and the state attorney general’s office issued (and later withdrew) two subpoenas for our handwritten notes. Media relations staff at the Michigan Department of Corrections were helpful, but nonetheless, all our requests for tours and one-on-one interviews with corrections staff were denied.
READ MORE:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/01/prison-secrecy_n_7706404.html