Few opera choruses are as moving as the one a group of prisoners sings in Act I of Beethoven’s “Fidelio.” Released temporarily from their cells, the inmates almost whisper a hymnlike paean to liberty: “Oh, what a joy to breathe freely again in the open air.”
By publishing publicly available census data regarding education alongside the economics of prison, CNN Money has activated many people to disperse this information online, and contribute to a larger conversation around the issue of the Prison Industrial Complex, and the general privatization of the prison industry within the United States.
Source: U.S. Census Data and Vera Institute of JusticeGraphic: Tal Yellin / CNNMoney