ALEC and Criminal Justice Reform; RAGA and Oil Companies

 
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October 3, 2016, Democracy Now! -- Amy Goodman talks with Lisa Graves, the executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, about the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the expansion of the U.S. prison system. ALEC has worked with states to write legislation promoting the privatization of prisons in addition to pushing for harsher, longer sentences.

Later in the interview (7:23), Amy switches gears and asks Graves about the connection between oil and gas companies and the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA). "What we have disclosed through our open records request and other investigations is the incredible role of oil companies ... in basically getting influence with these attorneys general," says Graves.