U.S. Prisons Need a Board of Visitors

It’s time to shine a light on the hidden shame of our prison system

An incarcerated person holds onto a fence during the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

In early February, a scene that would warm the heart of any prison-reform advocate unfolded outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Dozens of protesters, maybe hundreds, crowded the sidewalk outside, braving the cold and bearing signs that read “Enough,”…