The Ed Show   |  October 12, 2011

Prisoners fighting fires

Officials in Camden County, Georgia, want to save money by putting convicted criminals in charge of firefighting.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> and in my playbook tonight we can add the state of georgia to states trying to balance their budgets on the backs of those who keep us say. in camden county they say they can save $5 million a year to use inmates to fight fires. they would use convicted criminals from another county where a similar program has been up and running for two years now. georgia isn't the first to use prison labor to fight fires. california has about 4,000 firefighting inmates. but in that state they mainly fight wildfires and only work under -- only work with other inmates under the supervision of a guard. in georgia here's what they want to do. the inmates would be integrated into existing fire houses and supervised by a firefighter instead of a guard. they would respond to all types of emergencies including house fires. inmates who qualify for the job include those -- would be those who have committed crimes like theft, drug offenses. supporters of the plan say it's so cost effective because one prisoner can take the place of three firefighters since inmates can work around the clock and don't get days off. but some worry using inmates will risk the safety of firefighters and people they protect. not to mention it is extremely disrespectful to the dangerous work firefighters do every single day. just another story about how america's infrastructure and respect for workers is just getting chipped away at daily. herman cain says president obama has never been a part of the black experience in america. michael eric dyson will weigh in on that and much more next. [ cellphone