WGXC-90.7 FM
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Prison Voices Project: School to Prison Pipeline (Audio)
Mar 14, 2013
Hosted by Cory Fischer-Hoffman.
This show includes segments from an event held in Hudson, New York to discuss a program called PINS, or Persons In Need of Supervision. At the request of the school, children placed on PINS are rerouted away from the education system into the criminal justice system. Disciplinary infractions in school, which can include being late, talking back, or wearing clothes that fall outside of the dress code, result in having to face a judge and being at risk for incarceration. Many community members came together at Time and Space Limited in Hudson to listen to a panel of experts on the topic and to discuss the impact that this program has on the community. Panelists include Richard Smith, who left Hudson in handcuffs and returned with a Masters degree in Africana Studies from the University of Albany, Vaughn, an 18-year old who recently got released from Jail and prior to dropping out of school was on PINS; Anna, his mother, who had also been placed on PINS; and Conchita Miller, a Hudson resident who fought the courts to have her nephew removed from PINS.

