Harvard Law School
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“Tom was adamant that overcoming his substance-abuse problem was his responsibility alone. But he conceded that the environment at Halden, and the availability of therapists, made it easier. Compared with other prisons, “it’s quiet,” he said. “No fighting, no drugs, no problem,” he added. “You’re safe.””
Click here for the full New York Times article, by Jessica Benko.
The title says it all. In an impassioned keynote speech at the second annual MassINC Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Summit, Chief Justice Gants asserted, “doing so makes fiscal sense, justice sense, policy sense and common sense, and ultimately, good sense will prevail”, to loud applause from the audience. Not everyone, however was in agreement with Chief Justice Gants. Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley argued in favor of mandatory minimums, rebuking the notion that drug offenses are non-violent crimes, and asserting that the vast majority of inmates in Massachusetts are incarcerated for violent crimes, leading to an increased public perception of safety.
Though he spoke before District Attorney Conley, Chief Justice Gants anticipated an opposition, saying “When some district attorneys say they fear judicial leniency, they really are saying that they do not want to relinquish to judges the power to impose sentences that minimum mandatory sentences give to prosecutors,”. After the event, Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn affirmed, saying “‘I don’t feel comfortable, being in the criminal justice system a number of years, ceding that power back to the judiciary,’ Mandatory minimum sentences, he added, help establish consistent sentencing.”
For the full SouthCoastToday article with Tom Quinn’s quote, click here. The other two quotes in this blog post come from this Masslive article.
“Here’s how it works: Homewav installs video stations in each cell block at no cost to the jail. Then it charges families for each video visit. Lewis County takes a 40 percent cut and Homewav keeps the rest.”
Click here for the full Northwest Public Radio interview.
The Marshall Project recently reported on the Bronx’s Fulton Correctional Facility, a former prison now to be used “as a reentry center for newly released inmates”, among other repurposed prisons and jails.
Click here for the full article.
A recent Seattle Times article highlighted the Freedom Education Project of Puget Sound (FEPPS), a program which offers inmates in Washington the opportunity of a college education: “Education does more than offer inmates a credential, “… it teaches them how to be the people we want our fellow citizens to be — thoughtful, critically aware of the world around them, disciplined and able to recognize authority.”
This, plus the 2013 RAND Corp. study which concluded that “… every dollar spent on inmate education translated to $4 to $5 saved on re-incarceration” (along with many other reasons) are why PLAP is now holding a prison book drive! All donated books will be disseminated to prisons nationwide by the Prison Book Program, an organization run out of Quincy, MA that is dedicated to furthering the education of America’s incarcerated population. Donations can be brought into PLAP’s office until the book drive ends on 2/4/15, though books can always be mailed to Prison Book Program directly.
For the full Seattle Times article, click here.
“Effective immediately, the new rules will reduce the maximum amount of time inmates age 18 and older can be sentenced to solitary confinement to 30 days, from 90. The department also will eliminate so-called owed time. In the past, inmates who left Rikers before completing their stint in solitary confinement returned there if they went back to the jail.”
Click here to read the full New York Times article.
“Research has shown drug treatment for drug involved offenders is effective in lowering the rates of recidivism (Mackenzie, 2006; Sherman, et al, 2002; MADOC, 2009). The focus of this study was toidentify and describe differences in the recidivism rates of offenders who participated in the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MADOC) Correctional Recovery Academy (CRA) program to determine if expected decreases in recidivism could be noted for this population. CRA is an intensive six month skill-based residential substance abuse treatment program. There are a total of 503 residential treatment beds located across six separate MADOC institutions. The CRA targets substance abuse, anger management, criminal thinking, and relapse prevention utilizing a therapeutic community social learning approach with an advanced cognitive behavioral curriculum that promotes positive social learning.”
Click here to read the full report.
Three inmates at the Angola Louisiana State Penitentiary in Louisiana are suing the state’s department of public safety and corrections for the prison officials rejecting requests of relief for those suffering in death row cells that trap heat reaching as high as 195 degrees Fahrenheit. These cells have little to no ventilation, where inmates spend more than 23 hours a day inside, sometimes sleeping on the floor where its somewhat cooler, but have to endure fire ant bites in the process. Various organizations have begun investigations into the matter and have found the conditions horrifying, and a fundamental violation of Constitutional protections. The lack of climate control places the inmates in a dangerous situation, and the ability to maintain in good standing health very limited; such circumstances can often result in the death of an inmate(s). The lawsuit is asking that the temperature be controlled so that the heat index doesn’t exceed 88 degrees and that ice water is distributed to the inmates on a regular basis. After 6 months of deliberation, Judge Brian A. Jackson ruled that the high heat levels were in violation of the inmate’s 8th amendment rights, which were housed in the death row cells.
US federal prisons are overcrowded and are housing more than 40% of inmates than they were designed to hold. The number of inmates held in federal custody has increased by 500% and continuously increasing. The majority of inmates are serving sentences for drug-related offenses. Attorney General Eric Holder has proposed his ideas on how the criminal justice system should change and would reduce the number of sentences served because of a non-violent crime committed. Holder devised a plan that would free up prisons and limit the number of non-violent offenders in jail. Rather, prosecution will avoid using the “mandatory minimum” as a form of punishment, but direct offenders to drug treatment and community service programs. Attorney Holder gave a speech back in August speaking on his views of the vicious cycle of the criminal justice system that is weakening communities. He believes that the criminal justice system is doing nothing in its power to alleviate the problem. Read More.
Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project: Panel on Solitary Confinement
February 25, 2013 from 5-7pm in Austin West classroom at Harvard Law School
Panelists: Dr. Stuart Grassian, Bobby Dellelo, Professor Jules Lobel, and Mika’il DeVeaux
Moderator: Matthew Segal
See a video of the event by clicking here.
See the poster for the event by clicking here.
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