KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Local politicians gathered on March 19 to celebrate the completion of a gleaming new 470,000-square-foot human caging facility designed to hold up to 1,000 human beings, smiling broadly as they cut a ceremonial blue ribbon in front of the building where the region’s Black residents will be disproportionately stored for years to come.
The $317 million Jackson County Detention Center, which officials say came in under budget, features programmable toilets, LED lighting throughout, and a layout specifically engineered for what designers call “future expansion,” meaning the facility was deliberately built to accommodate even more human beings in cages as the need inevitably arises.
Research confirms that people released from incarceration are up to 40 times more likely to overdose than the general population in the two weeks following their release. People released from incarceration are 18 times more likely to commit suicide than those without a history of incarceration. – Prison Policy Initiative…