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For Immediate Release
May, 03 2011, 01:14pm EDT
Contact:
The Exile Nation Project: An Oral History of the War on Drugs & the American Criminal Justice System
New York City Premiere May 6th
NEW YORK
The Downtown Community TV Center will host the New York City premiere screening of The Exile Nation Project, a documentary by award-winning journalist, Charles Shaw, on May 6 at 7 p.m. There will be a reception preceding the screening and Q & A to follow with the director Charles Shaw and people featured in the film including Christian Parenti, Julie Holland, M.D., Anthony Papa, Eric Sterling, Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, Daniel Pinchbeck and Nicole Benisch.
The documentary is a collection of testimonials from people formally incarcerated, family members, and experts on America's criminal justice system. The film puts a human face on the millions of Americans subjugated by the U.S. drug war.
The film points out that the "Land of the Free" punishes or imprisons more of its citizens than any other nation. The United States has only five percent of the world's population, yet 25 percent of the world's prisoners. At 2.5 million, the US has more prisoners than even China, with five times the population of the United States. Eight million Americans (1 in every 31) languish under some form of state monitoring known as "correctional supervision." On top of that, the security and livelihood of over 13 million more has been forever altered by a felony conviction.
"When 20% of a nation's adult population (65 million) cannot pass a background check to gain employment--and a majority of those because of drug arrests--you have got a runaway criminal justice system that is piling up insurmountable social costs," said director Charles Shaw. "You will meet some of these disenfranchised people in The Exile Nation Project and learn about the human side of the drug war. When the stories hit home, people get involved, and policy can finally begin to change. It is my greatest hope that once these voices find a broader audience, Americans will feel compelled to pressure the government to change these unfair policies and end the era of prohibition and mass incarceration."
What: New York premiere of Exile Nation
When: Friday May 6, 7p.m.-11p.m.
Where: Downtown Community Television Center, 87 Lafayette St., NY, NY 10013
A limited number of tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis, but seating is limited, so advance purchase is recommended.
Suggested Donation: $10 - $30 (sliding scale)
View the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6Ed3Fb_ps
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Bloomberg had reported on Tirrell's ouster Sunday, and both he and the DOJ had declined to comment. The outlet pointed out that "his portfolio included reviewing and approving financial disclosures, recusals, waivers to conflicts of interest, and advice on travel and gifts for Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other DOJ leaders."
Jon Golinger, democracy advocate at the government watchdog Public Citizen, said in a Monday statement that "Bondi's sudden firing of the DOJ ethics adviser shines a bright spotlight back on her own glaring ethical conflicts and how she's handled major DOJ decisions involving her former clients like Qatar and Pfizer."
According to Golinger, "The question this drastic firing raises is: Are there even worse ethics problems Bondi is trying to hide?"
As Bloomberg also detailed:
Tirrell's removal is separate—but potentially related—to the roughly 20 employees involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations, according to numerous media reports, were also fired July 11.
Tirrell advised Smith's office on ethics matters during his criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share a sensitive personnel matter. That includes Tirrell approving Smith's receipt of $140,000 in pro bono legal fees from Covington & Burling that he disclosed upon concluding his investigation.
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