The Prison Epidemic: What are we doing wrong?

From: Hard time: Reconsidering the costs of prisons

In 2007, all money spent on corrections across the 50 states hit $49 billion, according to the Pew study. They expect this money to increase by $25 billion in 2011.

This amount of money does little in reforming prisoners, which means we need change in our prison policy.

Perhaps we should reconsider locking up every kid with a marijuana conviction.

Between 1987 and 2007, states increased spending on higher education by 21 percent, according to Pew. During the same time, states increased spending on prison correction by 127 percent. Well, if two-thirds of released prisoners return within three years, then the states really don't get their money's worth. These numbers also say something about our society. Do we care more about locking people up than education? What do we value?

Great point. What the hell do we value? And why? Why is it that it's so important for us to be angry about crime, for there to be retribution and for people to have to "pay"? Do we really think that an atmosphere of anger is going to lower crime? It's a total paradox, we are so adamant that criminals pay the price for their crime and we incarcerate with such blind fury, that we don't see such mass amounts of incarceration causes more crime. In our fight against crime, we are causing it! It's utter insanity.

For example, Pew cites a 2001 Massachusetts study that reported more than three-quarters of the state's inmates failed to pay child support during the previous year. Massachusetts might only be one example, but the point remains that others suffer while prisoners serve time.

What? What are they supposed to do? Prisoners make from 40 cents per day, to 2.00 per day. How are they supposed to pay child support?

Families of inmates suffer from more than just lack of child support payments. Aside from the obvious, they suffer from having to pay such monstrous fees for calls from their loved ones (sign the petition here), from not being able to visit their loved one because the prison is so far away, from having to send them money because they only make 40 cents a day. There are 401 million more things that families of inmates suffer from. Families who, lest we forget, committed no crime.

Also, prisons can focus on community and family bonds in order to reduce violence, according to Confronting Confinement.

Yes! Step 1: Lower the cost of calls from prison so inmates can talk to their families.

Instead of throwing money at it and hoping for the best, we need prison reform to focus on changing behavior not only for the prisoner's sake, but for society as well.

But if we don't think we have a responsibility to our prisoners, then let's keep throwing money at them. Let's keep running high-population prisons so they can spread disease. And let's keep up the overcrowding so violence rates remain high. You see, when one of every 100 adults sits in lockup, we have a problem on our hands. And while prison might not directly affect you, it certainly affects the society around you.

Here, Here! Though with 2.3 million in lock-up, I don't know there will be many people reading who haven't been affected by prison in one way or another.

Technorati Tags: prison, incarceration, drugs, inmate, convict, crime

Why Executions Take Place at Midnight

An interesting piece that outlines the process of obtaining a death warrant and why executions occur at midnight.

According to Andy Bowers, “Scheduling the execution for 12:01 a.m. gives the state as much time as possible to deal with last-minute legal appeals and temporary stays, which have a way of eating up time.”

Furthermore, Bowers goes on to say that executing the criminal just after midnight prevents riots and inmate unrest because the inmates are in lockdown and sleeping.

Why are Executions Done At Night? | Gather

Technorati Tags: death penalty, capital punishment, execution, death warrant, prison

Post Trial DNA Testing: What's to Discuss?

The issue of post-DNA testing is not a new one and is certainly not a resolved one. Currently 44 out of 50 states permit post trial DNA testing.

Today, Georgetown University Law Center hosted a discussion that heard from legal experts and the personal experiences of those who have suffered the injustice of wrong-imprisonment and have since been released due to DNA clearance.

Should the Supreme Court rule in favor of post trial DNA testing?

I'm not quite sure what's to discuss? I mean, I can list half a million reasons why post trial DNA testing should always be granted, but I can't think of one valid reason not to allow it. Putting myself in the shoes of someone who, absurdly, opposes this, I can't think of one reason other than the costs involved. But how can you put a price on a human being's life? Even in non-capital cases, a wrongfully convicted man's life is virtually taken from him. How can anyone with a conscience say that the cost of DNA testing is not worth it? Even if only 1 out of every 100 post trial DNA tests conducted reveals that they have the wrong man, it's worth it. As Voltaire said, It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.

Technorati Tags: dna, dna testing, innocence, wrongful conviciton, wrongfully convicted, prison

An Interview with Wrongfully Convicted Tim Masters

Man says bogus conviction leaves him without wife, job - CNN.com - Here's an interesting interview with Tim Masters, who spent 10 years in prison, and was hounded for 12 years prior to that, for a murder he did not commit.

CNN: What did you have the hardest time getting used to after being in prison so long?

Masters: Maybe cell phones? Cell phones are everywhere now. They didn't used to be so common. I had a cell phone before I was arrested, but the last year before I was arrested, I didn't even keep service on it. Now, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a cell phone. It has my calendar, my address book, everything on it.

I've often wondered about that. As most of you know, I have a friend in prison and I've often wondered how he will react to the insane influx of technological advancements since he's been locked up. I mean, he's said stuff to me on the phone like, "I hate computers, I don't think I'll even own one when I get out" and it's virtually impossible to explain to him how dependent our society is on them now. In just the 5 years since he got locked up, computer use has increased and changed. Seriously, try explaining Twitter to someone who doesn't even have an idea the kind of influence Google has on the world, or text messaging to someone I used to get to call me by calling his analog pager. I'd love to hear other people's stories about getting used to today's technology after a long stint in lock-up.

CNN: Do you have trouble finding a job because of your time in jail?

Masters: Yeah, I think that has a lot to do with it. The first thing that comes up on a background check is "charges dismissed -- first-degree murder."

What? Shouldn't they remove all mention of their massive mistake from his record? I mean, I know people are still going to recognize him from news outlets and maybe hearing rumors, but do they have to leave this on his record so that people who maybe have not heard of him can avoid forming an immediate opinion of this innocent man?

CNN: Any hard feelings toward the Fort Collins Police Department or the prosecutors in the case?

Masters: Oh, absolutely. They locked me up for a decade for something I didn't do.

And the award for most asinine question in an interview goes to....

Technorati Tags: prison, wrongful conviction, innocence, wrongfully convicted, tim masters

The Scourge of Private Prisons

The story about the Pennsylvania judges who took kickbacks to send kids to prison continues to make the news and continues to horrify me.

Take the story of Jamie Quinn. When she was 14 years old, she was imprisoned for almost a year. Jamie, now 18, described the incident that led to her incarceration:

"I got into an argument with one of my friends. And all that happened was just a basic fight. She slapped me in the face, and I did the same thing back."

Jamie was placed in one of the two controversial facilities, PA Child Care, then bounced around to several other locations. The 11-month imprisonment had a devastating impact on her. She told me: "People looked at me different when I came out, thought I was a bad person, because I was gone for so long. My family started splitting up ... because I was away and got locked up. I'm still struggling in school, because the schooling system in facilities like these places [is] just horrible."

Wrongly jailed kids case is just tip of iceberg -- chicagotribune.com

The obvious reaction is to become infuriated with these judges. Which I am. But it just doesn't seem to register with anyone, the problems posed by privatizing correctional facilities. I mean, we've got Dick Cheney being indicted in Texas for prison abuses in private prisons in which he invested. We've got private prison corporations getting rich off the incarceration of immigrants. We've got riots going down in Texas due to:

“One thing that’s different with private prisons is that they have more difficult time creating a sense of legitimacy among the inmates,” he said. “Inmates believe prison is fair and just, even if they might not think they are guilty of a crime. When that feeling is lost, there can be problems.”

Useem also said prisoners held in private facilities may also become upset if they feel they are being used as a way for a business to make money.

West Texas Riot debate over private prisons

It just keeps adding up an no one seems to see the detriment caused by private prisons to offenders and law-abiding citizens alike. Just the fact that people are profiting off of the caging of human beings is so totally wrong. When people make more money if there are more people incarcerated, you don't think one or two people involved might cross that line into the realm of corruption? We are just trusting these every day, normal people to imprison human beings and make a profit off of it and not give in to their own greed? Come on, people. Think. The whole idea of private prisons is ludicrous. Of course there are going to be people with loose morals involved, as there are in all walks of life. Of course there are people who are going to see opportunity in the incarceration of people who don't really need to be incarcerated. And it doesn't stop with these two judges in Pennsylvania. I guarantee you there are more assholes out there who are earning good money for sending people away who would otherwise walk free.

Private prisons need to be eliminated. States need to take responsibility for the number of people they incarcerate.

Technorati Tags: private prisons, prison, incarceration, jail, incarcerate, riot, judge

Inmates Starve as Sheriffs Get Rich

This is just twisted. What kind of law allows for sheriffs to keep leftover budgeted money? Who's brilliant idea was that? Man some people just don't think things through.

You may remember the recent articles on the Alabama sheriffs whose wallets grew fatter as inmates grew thinner. Although the state budgets only $1.75 a day to feed each prisoner, Alabama law allows sheriffs to keep for themselves whatever money is left over after they feed their prisoners. Some pocketed over $100,000.

Well now, the Sheriff's Association, in what can only be considered an effort to cover its own butt, has instructed Sheriffs not to respond to the Southern Center for Human's Rights requests to know how much money they have left after feeding the inmates.

 Left In Alabama:: Alabama Sheriffs told not to respond to Southern Center for Human Rights

Technorati Tags: alabama, sheriff, inmate, prison, budget, human rights

Compensate the Wrongfully Convicted

Compensation for the wrongfully convicted?

I can't believe this is even a question still! Whether or not to compensate people after being wrongfully convicted and spending years, sometimes decades in prison. First of all, there is no way to actually compensate a wrongfully convicted person who has lost years of their life behind bars. The definition of compensation is:

something given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, loss, injury, suffering, lack, etc.

compensation definition | Dictionary.com

The equivalent of what a wrongfully convicted person has lost, would be to go back in time, reverse the conviction and give that person his life back. But we all know that's not possible, right? So something a lot less than compensation will have to do.

His voice breaking, Joseph White told a legislative committee Thursday he lost 20 years of his son’s life while he was in prison for the murder of Helen Wilson.

“I can’t get back the time with him,” he said, holding up a photo of his son as a baby and another of him today at 21. “I can’t go back and teach my boy to ride a bicycle or drive a car.”

Do you think this man would give up the idea of any monetary "compensation" to be able to go back and have this time with his son again? Yes. The money is not the point. The point is, the prosecutors, the police, the judge and jury all did something wrong sending this man to prison, they took away his ability to build a life for himself, they took away his ability to support himself, to develop skills with which he could work and be paid. They took all of this away from him and now he is expected to just walk out of prison after 20 years, for something he did not do, and get a job at McDonald's? He's just supposed to suck it up, shrug his shoulders and go on with life, living with his mother at 46 years of age? What?

This guy's comment really rubs me the wrong way:

herbie

Feb 20, 2009 9:12 PM

Maybe you shouldn't have plead guilty in the first place. No compensation should be handed out.

This goes back to what I was saying yesterday: I don't think people really grasp the concept of innocence in cases like this. People have a hard time getting past anyone having done prison time for something they have, or have not committed. People also seem to be so ignorant when it comes to false confessions and how awfully common they are. More information about false confessions can be found here: http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/False-Confessions.php

Of course these people should be compensated. It simply should not even be a question anymore. These people have been wronged, they have committed no crime and do not deserve to be treated like criminals. They have a right to support themselves after all means of self-support have been taken away from them. It is right, and just and there is no valid argument against it.

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, innocence, compensation

Featured Prison: Otisville Federal Correctional Institution

The Federal Correctional Institution at Otisville, New York is an all male, medium security prison. On the same location, there is a minimum security camp for male offenders also. The prison is located in Mount Hope, New York, about a quarter of a mile away from New York State's Otisville correctional facility, which uses it's proximity to transfer offenders to the federal prison system.

FCI Otisville - Official BOP page.

It is home to George Jung, who the movie "Blow" was based on, and who won't be eligable for parole until 2017.

More Infamous inmates at Otisville

A Transitional Services Program at the prison hosts students from Vassar to join in with discussions aimed at helping inmates prepare themselves for re-entry into society. The incarcerated men involved with this program wrote articles and submitted them to Vassar newspaper, The Miscellany News. Follow the links below to read these articles.

The Miscellany News |Vassar and Otisville prison program participants collaborate

The Miscellany News |Reflections on Prison Life

FCI Otisville also boasts a photovoltaic module factory, where inmates learn the skills to acquire jobs in the solar power industry when they are released.

Spire has been Awarded a $54 Million Contract to Supply Solar Cells to the Federal Correctional Institution

Most recently FCI Otisville was in the news due to lockdown after a fight between inmates.

Federal prison in Otisville on lockdown after inmate fight

More links:

Otisville FCI - Camp Information and Discussion - Prison Place
The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog: Company "Hires" Prisoners to Build Solar Modules
Other Federal Prisons - Prison Talk

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: prison, otisville, fci, bop, federal prison

Decriminalize Drug Use to Lower Prison Population

It seems like this is a trend in a lot of states these days. Letting prisoners go early with good behavior, and not readmitting them for parole violations. I have a better idea though, to keep the prison population down. How about decriminalizing drugs?

ALBANY - The Paterson administration has proposed further emptying New York’s prisons by releasing more inmates six months early for good behavior, putting middle-age convicts into shock camps and punishing technical parole violations with something short of prison.

N.Y. plans to release more inmates from prisons « Prisonmovement’s Weblog

Technorati Tags: drugs, prison, overcrowding, decriminalize drugs

Edward Bell's Execution

You really have to wonder what kind of sick, twisted person thinks it's good journalism to write this in such detail. You also have to wonder about the readers who think this is a perfectly normal, acceptable way to report a human being's death.

The attendants half-dragged, half-carried him to the table and affixed straps to his arms, legs, and chest.

At that point, curtains on the windows in two viewing rooms adjacent to the execution chamber were drawn.

About five minutes later, the curtains reopened.

The handcuffs had been removed, and Bell’s arms were stretched out and resting on wings that extended from the table. His wrists and hands were strapped to the wings.

Intravenous tubes had been inserted in the bends of Bell’s elbows. The tubes passed through a square hole cut into a dark-blue curtain behind his head.

Medical technicians, who remained unseen and whose names were not revealed, were behind the curtain to administer the deadly chemicals.

About a dozen prison officials were in the room with Bell when he offered his final words.

Upon a signal from Warden George M. Hinkle, the drugs were administered. The IV tubes jerked slightly.

Bell moved his left foot momentarily, and then was still.

Minutes later, a prison official announced: “The court’s order has been completed.”

Winchester Star

I think the names of the medical technicians should be revealed. I don't think there should be such protection and secrecy surrounding a murder. Like, in an electrocution, they have several levers so no one knows who pulled the lever that killed a man. It's ridiculous. I think if they are going to do these things, if they are going to kill human beings, they should be well aware of what they're doing, and have to face the guilt. Then maybe there won't be so many people willing to do it.

The saddest part of an execution, the part I think about every time, is not that a human being's life was lost, but that an innocent family is being torn apart and destroyed. Sure, there are people who are put to death who have no family, but for the most part, everyone has someone who cares about them. And those people who care about the condemned, are innocent people. They are innocent and yet they are punished. They are thrown into grief and sadness. The same as a murder victim's family. Something that I don't think many people really grasp, is the concept of innocence. Whether it's in the case of a wrongful conviction, or in the case of a murderer's family. People don't seem to understand, that family is just as innocent as the murder victim's family and why would anyone suffering the kind of loss that's suffered when a loved one is murdered, want another family to have to feel that?

The whole thing just sucks. I can't really put it any more eloquently. It just plain old sucks. Basically telling your public, "I'm going to kill you to teach you not to kill". It's ridiculous. The funny thing is, some people actually think it makes sense.

Technorati Tags: death penalty, execution, edward bell, capital punishment, prison, wrongful conviction, innocence

Cell Phone Smuggling

While the element of humor in this story does not elude me, it still makes me think about how these things might not happen if collect calls from prison were affordable. Sign the Petition.

In agony from abdominal cramps, the California Men’s Colony (CMC) inmate was bent over groaning when correctional officers discovered him, and though initially reticent, the man finally confessed to smuggling. He had a contraband cell phone and its charging unit in his rectum.

No buts about it: Inmate cell phone use up on Cal Coast News

Technorati Tags: prison, inmate, cell phone, contraband

Michigan's Public Defender System Fails

A report that was brought to light by the Michigan Campaign for Justice is forcing the State of Michigan to take a look at it's public defender system.

The report notes that in Detroit, only five part-time public defenders handle between 2,400 and 2,800 cases a year, spending an average of 32 minutes on each case. The national standard for public defenders is 400 cases per year. And some courts, according to the report, do not provide public defenders at all for misdemeanor cases, and others are so overwhelmed with cases that they will “offer to let people get out of jail for time-served if they agree not to ask for an attorney.”

State slammed in report detailing public defender deficiencies.

Technorati Tags: michigan, public defender, michigan campaign for justice, prison

Another Wrongful Conviction Documentary

Documentary focuses on wrongly convicted East Palo Alto man - San Jose Mercury News

A new documentary detailing an East Palo Alto man's struggle to get compensation from the state after serving 12 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit raises questions about the treatment of exonerated convicts after their release.

The 40-minute film, "$100 a Day," premiered Wednesday night on Santa Clara University's campus at a joint event of the Northern California Innocence Project and the Commonwealth Club of California. Rick Walker, the film's subject, spoke at a panel discussion after the screening, along with his lawyer Alison Tucher and Sacramento Bee reporter Jim Sanders.

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, prison, documentary, $100 a day

Sunday Sites #2

Last night I was walking home from dinner and drinks and as I came closer to my apartment, a guy on a motorcycle was hit by a car and thrown several feet. I've lived in Mexico over a year now and it's only the second accident I've seen. Anyway, walking by, he seemed pretty hurt, though he lifted his head to scream in pain, so I think he will be ok. I kept walking, and I came to a path that leads into a small subdivision and this woman was running down the path, holding her baby, not too much older than my son, and the look on her face was that of terror and worry. I knew she was the wife of the man on the motorcycle. I felt so bad for her, but that look in her yes, that look of sheer concern for another human being's life is just such a beautiful thing when I spend my days reading about the death penalty and the corrupt criminal justice system sending hundreds, probably thousands of innocent men and women to prison. Such a contrast.

Anyway. It is Sunday, and here are some sites:

• Angola 3: The Case
  
  36 years ago, deep in rural Louisiana, three young black men were silenced for trying to expose continued segregation, systematic corruption, and horrific abuse in the biggest prison in the US, an 18,000-acre former slave plantation called Angola.
  
  Peaceful, non-violent protest in the form of hunger and work strikes organized by inmates, caught the attention of Louisiana's first black elected legislators and local media in the early 1970s.[2] State legislative leaders, along with the administration of a newly-elected, reform-minded governor, called for investigations into a host of unconstitutional practices and the extraordinarily cruel and unusual treatment commonplace in the prison. In 1972 and 1973 prison officials, determined to put an end to outside scrutiny, charged Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King with murders they did not commit and threw them into 6x9 foot cells in solitary confinement, for nearly 36 years. Robert was freed in 2001, but Herman and Albert remain behind bars.



• More on the Angola 3


• Prison Legal News - Dedicated to protecting Human Rights


• lifespark - writing against the death penalty
  lifespark is a Swiss organization founded in 1993. One of its main goals is to arrange penpalships to inmates on death row in the USA.


• Advocate 4 Justice - Giving non-violent offenders a second chance at life and freedom

To see an archived list of all Sunday Sites, click here.

Technorati Tags: angola 3, angola three, death penalty, pen pal, prison, innocence

False Accusations of Rape & Feminism

This is an interesting piece, SAFAR: The Backlash!, by James Donald Anderson who supposedly was wrongfully convicted of rape. He's not in prison anymore according to the Oregon State DOC inmate locator, and I can't find him listed in the sex offender's registry, so I am wondering if he was cleared of these charges. If anyone knows, I'd love to find out. Anyway, for the most part I agree with this guy's sentiments, such as:

Women today have an extremely devastating weapon they can use against men. All they have to do is point an accusatory finger, cry rape, and some poor schmuck is going to prison. Like I said, most women would never sink this low, but some do. Women have long used false accusations to get back at men and have a variety of reasons for doing so: revenge, blackmail, regret, mental illness, extortion, to explain a pregnancy, for attention, and for sympathy, to name a few.

I have had my own experience with this, and came out shocked at and ashamed of the Canadian justice system. I believe I have mentioned before, I am a rape victim, though I hate the word victim. He was a friend who had feelings for me for years. We had been out of touch for close to 5 years because of this but after 5 years I figured he would be over it. Not so much. He got carried away with me while I slept one night and due to peer pressure and the pressure of my family, I decided to report it to the cops. I really didn't want to because I strongly believed that I was the only one in the world he would ever have done that to, and he posed no threat to any other women in his future. But I reported it anyway, a week after it happened. The sheets and clothes had been washed, and my word was the only evidence. I didn't think the case would even make it to trial.

But it did. A year later I was called into the prosecutor's office to talk and prepare for my testimony. Throughout our many meetings I continually asked her how she thought this was a fair trial, being as there was zero evidence. I constantly was asking her, what if I was lying? What if I made it up? I wasn't, of course, but it bothered me so much that they just took my word for it and were so fully willing to throw a man into turmoil he will probably never recover from, just because I said something happened. Those who know me, know I would never make something like this up. Especially concerning a friend and especially concerning an offense that would land him prison time. I have never, since becoming socially conscious before I was even a teenager, though prison was humane or the answer to crime. That coupled with the fact that I was still reeling from finding out one of my most cherished friends was serving a 9 year sentence in Ohio, made the idea of sending anyone to prison seem like the worst possible thing that could happen, even worse than being raped. But the problem was, the prosecutor, the courts, the justice system didn't know me. So how could they possibly trust that I was telling the truth enough to ruin a man's life? It just horrified me beyond belief.

A year earlier at a friend's birthday party, there was this girl who we all knew as being quite fucked up and promiscuous. I left before things got out of control, but apparently she was having sex with people in front of everyone else in the hot tub, among other places. Later on in the evening, she was found crying in the corner and when asked what was wrong, she claimed she'd been raped. By  3 different people, at 3 different times during the night. The cops were called and they interviewed everyone at length and eventually got it out of this girl that she was lying about two of the guys, but one of them really did rape her. Months went by and more interviews with witnesses were conducted and the police finally realized that this girl had a history of making such claims and they found more and more evidence that she was lying. The rape charges were dropped. But what if she hadn't been so blatantly crazy? What if she had only claimed the one rape to begin with and wasn't being promiscuous? The accused man, a lawyer who is still suffering the effects of the accusation, would have been charged and sent to trial and the only evidence would have been her word. According to the prosecutor in my case, he would have most likely gone to prison an innocent man.

I found out after my first couple of meetings with the prosecutor that the defendant had not qualified for legal aid. He was therefore representing himself. I blogged about it here. This just filled me with horror. Not only is there no evidence against this guy, but he hasn't got proper legal counsel. Not to mention the fact that I would have to be cross-examined by the guy who raped me?! I was in shock. In Canada, you haven't got the choice to drop charges against an attacker. Once a rape has been reported, it is up to the Crown to decide whether or not to press charges. I had always thought our criminal justice system better than the USA's, but I was very, very wrong. This was basically a lynching, like James Anderson calls it, a witch hunt. They were taking my word for something and they were going to ruin a man's life because of it. I couldn't stand for it. I was planning to move to Mexico to be with my family, and the trial was supposed to be just before I left. It was postponed and they expected me to stay. I hadn't been subpoenaed for the new trial date yet, so I left for Mexico as planned and told them if they wanted me there to testify, they would have to fly me back to Canada and put me up in a hotel. They dropped the charges.

Even though I was not lying, the trial was not fair, because in reality, I am the only one who knows I am not lying. When I asked the prosecutor how do they know who's telling the truth and who isn't, she says, "after years of doing this, you just know". What a pile of shit. This is a dangerous God complex that I am sure has landed many an innocent man in prison in Canada. I wasn't going to be a part of it, I was not a part of it, and I am proud of the fact that I stood up for what I believe in and that the man I accused of rape, though guilty, is free. I am glad.

But where I differ in my opinion from James Anderson, is in his view of women as having control over everything:

Let's face it, lesbians, feminists, and other man-haters are not too thrilled with men anyway and to them, the more men in prison the better, and what better way to get rid of men than to accuse them of a crime that needs no evidence (except the accusation) and that is impossible to defend against. This is why the media portray all men as predators and rapists at heart. Feminist propaganda against men have all but manipulated our media into mouthing whatever the feminists want them to say. If a newspaper dares question feminist-created myths or over-inflated statistics, they are accused of being sexist or anti-woman by the feminist storm troopers and their allies.

First, all men are portrayed as predators and rapists? I'm not so sure about that. Probably the most public man in the media right now is Barack Obama. He is portrayed as anything but predatory. As for a rapist? Laughable. Who knows what really lies in his heart, but the media does not portray him as these things. How about the most talked about man in Hollywood these days, Brad Pitt? I've never once seen any media outlet describe him as anything close to predatory. The media doesn't even portray truly predatory men as such. Take George W Bush for example. Or Dick Cheney? These men were never portrayed as people we should be afraid of, though in hindsight they probably should have been. No, the media does not skew the image of all men. I'm sorry, that's just not true.

Second, the media says what feminists want them to say. It strikes me as odd that if the feminists have that type of power, why would they use it to smear everyone's opinion of men as a whole, and not use it to get equal pay in the work place? I mean, as it stands right now, women earn about 20% less than men on average (Gender Wage Gap). Why would they not use it to put more women in positions of power? Have you sen the sausage fest that is American, Canadian and British politics? I suppose it's all part of the plan, right. Make them all think we have no power while we're running the whole show? Come on.

Listen, I am not a feminist. I believe if a western woman finds herself in a position, in this day and age, where she is being discriminated against because she is a woman, she has options. She can press charges, sue, leave that position and find another, etc. While that is all a hassle, there is never going to be a point in time where everyone is treated with the respect they deserve. Men, women, etc. I am not a feminist, though I do believe in equal rights. I think we are close enough and what minor issues we still have now pale in comparison to those of ethnic minority groups and homosexuals. I like to keep it in perspective. As a white woman, I have it pretty good compared to most of the world.

But just because I am not a feminist, does mean I agree that all feminists are bad and that they secretly control the media. That's absurd. I've heard some silly conspiracy theories in my time, but that one takes the cake.

More by James Donald Anderson:

How To Survive in Prison as an Innocent Man Convicted of a Sex Crime

The Personal Nightmare of a Man Falsely Accused of Rape

Technorati Tags: rape, wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, false accusation, innocence, prison, sex ofender, feminism

Jim Goad on Prison

This is a pretty interesting piece by Jim Goad

During the entire incarceration process, from arrest to detainment to prosecution to conviction to prison to parole, you realize that the ONLY people who are nice to you are other inmates. You’ll meet a lot of cold-blooded prosecutors and sadistic guards, a lot of do-gooders on the "right" side of the law who are paid to harm you and who laugh at the very idea that you’re human. But unless you go out of your way to be an asshole to other inmates, they’ll help you a lot more than they’ll hurt you.

Maybe these guys aren’t so empathetic when it comes to, say, not robbing banks or not making speed in their bathtubs or not having sex with corpses, but when it comes to other convicts, they have boundless empathy.

Why?

Because they know what it feels like to be locked up and treated like an animal.

Because they know that placing a human being in a cage is a crime in itself.

Because, despite whatever they’ve done in the past, they’ve learned one ethical lesson that no District Attorney or scared mindless taxpayer ever learned—it’s immoral to lock people up.

Because they know that being locked in a box, day in and day out for years and years, is more destructive to the human soul than being assaulted or raped.

Because, despite the fact that you’re a peckerwood and he’s a brutha, you’re all wearing the same blue uniform and you’re all soldiers against a common enemy.

Because, in a weird way, you are brought together by compassion. The compassion of dudes helping dudes.

jimgoad.net /// YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE IN PRISON

Technorati Tags: prison, inmates, convicts

Living Accused: New Innocence Documentary

One of the few things I hate about living on the Mayan Riviera - we'll never see a copy of this film here. If anyone has seen it, I would love to hear a review.

Artis White says tunnel vision is the reason police still consider him a person of interest in the 2001 shooting death of his wife as she walked toward the Potter Park Zoo entrance.

White, a Michigan State Police sergeant, says investigators have wrongly focused on him - despite the fact that global positioning system evidence, as well as witnesses, can prove he wasn't near the Lansing zoo when Bernita White was shot from about 100 yards away by someone wielding a high-powered rifle.

White, 48, says his self-funded documentary, "Living Accused," which premiered Wednesday night at the Lansing Mall Cinema and focuses on four wrongful convictions, illustrates how police and prosecutors can make mistakes.

'LIVING ACCUSED': Documentary of exoneration stories debuts in Lansing

Technorati Tags: living accused, artis white, wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, innocence, prison

Another Bittersweet Victory

Update: Kankakee native released from Missouri jail (video) - The Daily Journal

After spending 15 years behind bars, a southeast Missouri man with Kankakee roots, walked out of Jefferson City (Mo.) Correctional Center a free man Wednesday.

A day after Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled Joshua Kezer was wrongly convicted in the murder of a college student, Kezer, a native of Kankakee, was reunited with friends and family Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, innocence, prison

The world finally realizes what we knew all along

Sweeping claims made about fingerprints, ballistics, bite marks and other forensic evidence often have little or no basis in science, according to a landmark report Wednesday by the nation's leading science body.

Study calls crime lab system into question; overhaul sought - San Jose Mercury News

That, combined with the fact that eyewitness statements are often faulty, and jailhouse snitches are just doing it for the sentencing break, pretty much leaves us with DNA testing. And yet, people are continually convicted based on these types of fallible evidence. We are going to be setting free innocent people until the end of time, it seems.

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, prison, evidence, forensic evidence

The Failures of Drug Sentencing

You know, every once in a while I read or hear something that gives me this incredibly lonely feeling, like I was given the gift to see through the bull, think logically and have it be incredibly easy for me. I feel like I am this way amongst throngs of people who are not. I feel like the vast majority of people in this world are incapable of seeing any sort of cause/effect relationship and those who can are too busy building rocket ships and hadron colliders to care about American convicts. It's not that I have a superiority complex, it's simply that I think everyone should be able to put two and two together. But apparently, they just can't.

The zones were originally designed “to serve as a geographic deterrent in order to protect children from drug activity [by] identifying specific areas where children gather and driving drug offenders away from them with the threat of an enhanced penalty,” according to the report.

But Massachusetts’ mandatory minimum laws have largely missed the mark, says initiative executive director Peter Wagner. Under the current law, certain drug offenses carry a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in jail if they are committed within an “enhancement zone,” defined as the 1,000-foot area surrounding a school.

According to Wagner, the abundance of Head Start centers, accredited day care centers and other schools leave few areas in cities and towns that are not considered special enforcement zones.

“If you make everywhere special, nowhere is special,” Wagner said.

The result, he argues, is legislation that not only fails to specifically deter the sale of drugs near schools, but also unfairly targets drug users caught possessing narcotics in these zones who are not intent on selling to schoolchildren.

Bay State Banner - Report: Mass. sentencing laws not doing the job

This is inane. There is no other word for it. It is a mental trap, a vacuous spiral of laughable arguments. First, when has any sentence for drug offenses been a deterrent? In any state, at any time in history? When has any punishment for dealing drugs or being in possession of drugs been effective? Do people honestly think that if there was no punishment, little miss goody two shoes would suddenly find herself doubled over in bliss after hitting the crack pipe? No. People who don't do drugs, don't refrain from using because they are afraid of the sentence they might get in prison. People who don't sell drugs, don't refrain from doing so because they are afraid of the time they would do in prison if caught. People don't do drugs because they are afraid of loss of control, because they have nothing to escape from, because they didn't get bored one night with their friends and convince themselves that "just once won't hurt". People sell drugs because they want an easier, faster buck than ten years in university, or because they were born into an atmosphere of drug pushing, or because they feel there are no alternatives for them. People don't sit around mulling over their list of career possibilities with pros and cons lists and under the heading drug dealer - cons, write "could end up facing a long time in prison". No, it is rarely a decision like that. It is generally something people find themselves caught up in without really thinking about it and by then, it's just too late. They are usually very young, in the stages of life during which we *all* did stupid stuff.

We have had tough sentences for drug-related offenses for decades. Has the drug problem gotten any better? No.

Second, dealing drugs near a school doesn't mean they're pushing to kids. And vice-versa, dealing drugs away from a school doesn't mean they're not targeting kids. There is no fool proof way of punishing those who deal to kids worse than those who don't. It's totally arbitrary.

The only thing that will ever work to stem the drug trade, would be to eliminate the need. Help those with drug problems. Help those at risk of developing a drug problem, educate children and teenagers about drugs and their dangers. Keep an open dialogue with them.

But there is one solid fact that will never go away, ever. Drugs are here to stay. There will always be people with drug problems, whether it be heroin or alcohol or valium. There will always be people who need to self-medicate with drugs. the sooner we realize that and stop trying to fight it, the better. We cannot stop it, we can only help. Prison is not even remotely close to being the answer.

Technorati Tags: drugs, drug dealer, drug user, sentencing, prison

Seth Ferranti on Federal Prison Commissaries

I was just reading this article about what is available to purchase in a Federal US prison. It's written by Seth Ferranti a self-published author serving time in a Federal prison for drug-related charges.

Hygiene items are available too. Everything is in economy size, like the type you would buy at the airport. Athletic clothes like gray Russell Sweat suits are $31.20 a set and Russell mesh shorts are $14.30. I guess there are good options for prisoners who don’t want to wear the prison-issued brown khaki uniforms all the time. But most prisoners can’t afford these Big Willie items, as the average wage for prison jobs is about $15 a month.

Viceland.com - I'm Busted: Tidbits Issue Special

More from/about Seth Ferranti:

Gorilla Convict Publications

TSS Presents 15 Minutes With Seth Ferranti


Order Seth's Book Here

Technorati Tags: seth ferranti, federal prison, prison

Family of deceased inmate can sue

My obsession with prison issues has some serious hazards. I don't think a day goes by that I don't read something that makes me want to bawl. This story is horrible:

Wilson, who was serving a robbery sentence, was found hanging from a bedsheet Feb. 18, 2005, in Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna. He died eight days after a judge ordered his release.

Wilson's family has said correction officials kept him in longer because they confused him with a prisoner who had a similar name.

"Viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether or not defendants knew, or should have known, that their official actions would violate Wilson's constitutional rights," Robinson ruled. "The record indicates that ... Wilson was ordered to be released. The record also indicates that Wilson was told that he was scheduled to be released on Feb. 18, 2005. Wilson was not timely released and his persistent inquiries to on-duty correctional officers for information about his release were largely ignored.

Court says dead inmate's family can sue

Technorati Tags: inmate, suicide, prison

Pregnancy in Prison

Following a summer 2007 incident in which a pregnant inmate gave birth in a cell at the prison, the prison board approved detailed guidelines for its medical service provider, Correctional Care Inc., to follow to determine if and when a pregnant woman should be taken to a hospital.

Lackawanna County Prison policy on pregnant inmates questioned

I can't imagine how it would feel to grow up knowing you were born in the joint.

Technorati Tags: pregnancy in prison, prison, birth

Featured Prison: Corcoran State Prison, California

While researching this prison, I came across this gem: http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/blogs/?p=23 About how prisoners think they have special rights. Heh. This guys spends 5 minutes in a prison and thinks he knows the whole story. You know, I have never in my life felt like I wasn't free. But I can pretty much guess how awful it would feel to not be able to leave a certain place, filled with seedy strangers where my quarters wouldn't suit a dog on the outside. I can take a stab at how it might feel to not be able to see my family, my son, my friends and on the odd occasion when they come to see me, be unable to touch them and then have to say goodbye again for another long stretch of time. I can try to imagine the horrors of the hole, and how it must feel to have to fill 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with limited and dull activities. I might be able to wrap my mind around what it would feel like to be in constant fear and not have one single other person in a population of 5000 that gives a shit about me. I gag at the thought of what the food in prison tastes like, as it has been described to me on many occasions - the most horrifying of which is something my friend actually ingested that was nicknamed "railroad tracks". I personally know how fucking awful it feels to not be able to hear someone I love's voice when I want to because calls cost $20 a pop and no matter which phone company you're dealing with, the assholes regularly and randomly block lines just to remind us he's in the joint and no one gives a fuck. I personally know how terrifying it is to be on the phone with someone you love and hear what you think is shit jumping off and being afraid for his life (although it turned out, he was just lending someone mayonnaise in a highly animated way, haha). Being able to imagine these things and trying to put myself in their shoes, even if only briefly, is enough for me to know these inmates don't expect "special rights".

Oh and this line just makes my blood boil: "Inmates get better healthcare than anyone reading this blog." Yes, I'm sure your 5 minute jaunt has given you enough insight to be able to make this sweeping generalization, but here's reality, asshole: My friend was having dizzy spells and suffered from asthma and desperately needed to see a doctor. He waited months before he was given any medical attention. Also:

As a result, the daily "pill call" for inmates, for example, is sometimes run by nurses who are incompetent or overworked, he said, and the backlog of prisoners waiting for medical attention can exceed 400 cases.
From philly.com

Brian Tetrault was 44 when he was led into a dim county jail cell in upstate New York in 2001, charged with taking some skis and other items from his ex-wife's home. A former nuclear scientist who had struggled with Parkinson's disease, he began to die almost immediately, and state investigators would later discover why: The jail's medical director had cut off all but a few of the 32 pills he needed each day to quell his tremors.

Over the next 10 days, Mr. Tetrault slid into a stupor, soaked in his own sweat and urine. But he never saw the jail doctor again, and the nurses dismissed him as a faker. After his heart finally stopped, investigators said, correction officers at the Schenectady jail doctored records to make it appear he had been released before he died.

Harsh Medicine: As Health Care in Jails Goes Private, 10 Days Can Be a Death Sentence

California Blasted for Poor prison Health Care

Grim Reality of Prison Health Care

And if you scroll down just a little on that page you'll find this Einstein's comment:

By Ray Ray on Apr 4, 2008

California is too liberal with inmates incarcerated here. Inmates are convicted felons with most of them committing gruesome crimes. They should not have any rights, what about the victims, they are the biggest losers. Any suggestions anyone….

"Most of them committing gruesome crimes"?? I wish people would educate themselves, seriously. This about as absurd as the guy insisting he has a pet unicorn. Anyone with one eye half open is aware enough to know that the majority of all crimes committed in the USA are non-violent, and the majority of those are drug-related. If that's gruesome for ya buddy, leaving the house must be a fucking chore.

Anyway. Back to Corcoran.

Corcoran State Prison is home to Charlie Manson, the infamous cult leader, as well as Sirhan Sirhan, Bobby Kennedy's assassin. It is located in a rural area of California and has a capacity of 2,916 inmates, but houses over 5000. Corcoran has a hospital with 75 beds that services inmates from other prisons as well.

Official Homepage

50% of the population at Corcoran State prison are there for life with
no chance for parole. Others spend long terms in this facility before
they have any chance of parole. The documentary also pointed out that
50% of those paroled commit crimes and are sent back.

An Inside Look at Corcoran State Prison

In March of 1994, Ronald Herrera, a 58-year-old dialysis patient, allegedly "kicked and screamed for hours" in his cell without any intervention before he eventually bled to death from an opening in his medical shunt, according to the Los Angeles Times. Herrera's cell window was papered with toilet tissue soaked in blood, the toilet was full of blood, and the floor was slick with what one guard described as "raspberry Kool-Aid."

Corcoran State Prison Profile

A front-page article by Mark Arax in the August 1996 Los Angeles Times claimed that COR was "the most troubled of the 32 state prisons." At the time, COR officers had shot and killed more inmates "than any prison in the country" in COR's eight years of existence; based on interviews and documents, Arax concluded that many shootings of prisoners were "not justified" and that in some cases "the wrong inmate was killed by mistake." Furthermore, the article alleged that "officers... and their supervisors staged fights between inmates" during "gladiator days." In November 1996, CBS Evening News broadcast "video footage of an inmate fatally shot by guards" at COR in 1994; this death "spawned a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of alleged inmate abuses by guards."

California State Prison, Corcoran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jobs available at Corcoran

Prison Talk Forums - Corcoran State Prison

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: corcoran, corcoran state prison, prison, health care

Innocence Project of Florida Will Test Tompkins Evidence

Tompkins could be First Ever Executed Man to be Proven Innocent

Today the Innocence Project of Florida (IPF) reiterated its intent to test the remaining DNA evidence in the case of Wayne Tompkins. Mr. Tompkins was executed on Wednesday, February 11th, in Raiford, Florida after being found guilty of murdering Lisa DeCarr in 1983. IPF believes that further testing in the case could reveal that the body did not belong to the alleged victim, meaning Mr. Tompkins had been convicted of a murder that did not take place.

“We have a remarkable case with Mr. Tompkins,” said Seth Miller, Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Florida. “The State supported this match between the body and the victim with a partial dental record, which was pretty unconvincing. But on top of that, several people have signed affidavits saying that they’ve seen her alive since the murder. If that’s the case, then Florida just killed an innocent man.”

If it were found that Mr. Tompkins was innocent of the 1983 murder, it would be the first case in American history of an executed man being scientifically proven innocent posthumously.

Plain Error

This could potentially be huge. If the DNA testing concludes that the body is not that of the alleged victim, and they find out that an innocent man has been executed, there will no longer be any argument for the death penalty. There can be no way that anyone can possibly support it when the system has been caught murdering an innocent man. My opinion has always been that capital punishment makes everyone involved as bad as the crime that's been committed, but now, it's not just my opinion. It will be fact.

Technorati Tags: innocence project, florida, tompkins, death penalty, capital punishment, prison, execution

Taking a Lesson from Cuba: Cuban Prisons

I've seen a few documentaries on Cuba from the National Film Board of Canada that suggest that Cuba is not quite as bad as the higher-ups might want us to believe. That coupled with the reading I've done on Cuban prisons leads me to believe that they are one step closer than Canada and the USA to a functioning corrections system. ie. one that actually helps to rehabilitate offenders. One of the biggest problems in the State and Federal prison systems in the US is proper medical and dental care. My friend in prison in Ohio needed medical attention for his asthma and it took close to two months for him to see a doctor. This article I just read about Cuban prison hospitals is pretty eye-opening. Take a read:

"Inmates are patients for us," insists Dr. Amarylis Hernandez, head of the Intensive Care Unit which is outfitted with air conditioners, freshly starched sheets and four state-of-the-art cardiovascular monitors, "and we use the same norms, criteria and treatment that we use in health care institutions outside the prison."

Susan Hurlich: Cuban Prisons

Technorati Tags: prison, cuban prison, cuba, prison hospital, medical care

Sunday Sites

This is something I'm going to start doing every Sunday: list sites I've come across in the last week that relate in some way to prison, the death penalty or wrongful convictions. If you have any suggestions, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Today's sites:

Letters from Prison: Doing Life in Angola - this is a blog by a woman who's brother is serving a life sentence for murder in Louisiana's Angola prison. The blog posts come from her letters to and from him and her visits to him. From the blog:

I am writing this blog in the hopes that it will spark a public outcry for change. We need prisons, people need to pay for their crimes. We also need prison reform... prisons should reform criminals, not torture them. I hope this blog helps at least one inmate, changes policy and treatment in at least one prison.

AdvoCare, Inc - From their web site:

AdvoCare is a non-profit, membership organization that is part of a national effort to reduce crime through criminal justice reform.

AdvoCare’s goals are: (a) to provide assistance to prisoners and ex-offenders in the form of education and employment referrals; (b) to provide prisoners, family members of prisoners and all others concerned with updates on legal issues regarding prison conditions and criminal legislation; (c) to provide a periodic newsletter to those concerned with prison related legal issues; and (d) to provide a link with other nonprofit organizations.

Prisonofficer.org - an online community of Corrections Officers from all over the world. Anyone can sign up for a free account and post to the "Ask a CO" forum. While I am a very vocal advocate of prisoner's rights, I firmly believe that if we don't support corrections officers properly (meaning proper training focussing on nonviolent methods, as well as proper pay), both prisoners and officers alike will continue to suffer abuses in the system. Understanding is the first step to peace in any situation.

Prison Photography - just as it sounds, a blog that posts photos of prisons, worldwide.

To see an archived list of all Sunday Sites, click here.

Technorati Tags: angola, prison, life sentence, correctional officer, prison photos

Prison Policy

Another great article on prison policy:

Why do we allow this to go on? People are scared. As a society, we require some sort of closure and believe that locking a person away for 10 years will do the trick. We remain blissfully unaware that in 10 years, that person will likely emerge from the prison system in worse shape than when he or she entered.

Rehab, Not Relapse | The Hoya

Technorati Tags: prison policy

Racial disparity amongst drug users/offenders

I always find it dumbfounding to see the stats on drug users vs. drug offenders serving time by race. It is absolute blatant proof of a racist system. I can't believe that nationwide, whites make up 72% of all drug users, and in New York State, 89% of people serving drug sentences are black. That is despicable.

Eighty-nine percent of individuals serving drug sentences in New York are black and Hispanic, so people of color would benefit from giving judges discretion to send offenders to treatment, said Denise O'Donnell, chairwoman of the commission and Gov. David Paterson's deputy secretary for public safety.

Panel wants changes to drug penalties | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette

According to the Federal Household Survey, there were "an estimated 9.9 million whites (72 percent of all users), 2.0 million blacks (15 percent), and 1.4 million Hispanics (10 percent) who were current illicit drug users in 1998." Despite those figures, Blacks constitute 36.8 percent of those arrested for drug violations and over 42 percent of those in federal prisons for drug violations. African-Americans comprise almost 58 percent of those in state prisons for drug felonies.

EURweb.com - Black Myths

tTechnorati Tags: drug offenders, drug users, statistics, racism, race, prison

The failure of California's prison policy

An awesome article about California prison policy:

And this is a very direct consequence of an insane prison policy that locks up nonviolent offenders, particularly in the black community, at absurdly high rates. One out of every four black men will be imprisoned at some point in his life, and particularly in California, the inability of the system to handle all the warehousing of inmates leads to a lack of rehabilitation and an expanded recidivism rate. In fact, the explosion of gang activity inside the prisons ensures an increase outside the jail. This revolving door in and out of prison rips apart families and leads to a sustained cycle of gang activity and violence. The "war on drugs" is unquestionably a war on people of color and the lower classes.

The Failure of Our Prison Policy - California Progress Report

Technorati Tags: prison, california, prison policy, gangs, crips, bloods, war on drugs

Philadelphia to charge for admission to county?

HERE'S A NEW idea to help the city through its budget crisis: Charge $35 for admission to the county jail.

The idea came up during recent discussions between city budget and prison officials. With 38,000 people a year admitted to the prison system, a $35 charge could raise as much as $1.3 million.

Clout: Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Pay $35 | Philadelphia Daily News | 02/13/2009

This is an absolutely terrible idea. This could cause an influx of prisoners if the city decides it needs more money. No, a better answer to budget problems, is to lower the number of admissions from 38,000. I'm sure the majority of these offenders are nonviolent, most likely drug related. Maybe if they didn't sentence every drug offender to prison, they might save a few bucks.

Personally, I love this comment after the article:

Posted by sykesl19119 10:35 AM, 02/13/2009
No one is going to pay to get proccessed into jail. If they don't pay them what's going to happen? Are they going to be released!

You have to admit, it's a good point.

Technorati Tags: philadelphia, prison, county jail

California could free 57,000 prisoners

After months of wrangling, a federal three-judge panel announced this week that it intended to order California to significantly reduce its prison population in order to ensure that the state is providing the services constitutionally guaranteed to prisoners, like adequate health care. The state will appeal, of course, and litigation will probably go on for years. But the writing is on the wall.

Criminal Justice - Change.org: Will California Free 57,000 Prisoners?

Technorati Tags: prison, california, department of corrections

Wrongful Conviction Event

APRIL 4 (Sat) 7:00 - 8:30pm

Univ. of Alabama at BIRMINGHAM - Hill University Center

Alumni Auditorium

Panel Topics:

1. Making DNA evidence available to all convicted felons

2. "Convict at all Costs", what does that mean?
3. Should the legislature abolish judicial override

Event is open to the public

wrongful-convictions: Wrongful Conviction event is in BIRMINGHAM

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, event, birmingham

New Mexico House votes to end the Death Penalty

Let's cross our fingers for New Mexico!

The New Mexico House of Representatives voted 40-28 this week to abolish the death penalty in the state and replace it with life without parole. The bill went to the Senate, where similar bills died in 2005 and 2007. Advocates say this could be the year.

Criminal Justice - Change.org

Technorati Tags: death penalty, capital punishment, abolish the death penalty, abolish, new mexico

Judges accept kickback to send juveniles to detention

This is probably one of the most infuriating stories I have ever read in my lifetime:

For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Judge Ciavarella was unusually harsh. He sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a state rate of 1 in 10. He also routinely ignored requests for leniency made by prosecutors and probation officers.

“The juvenile system, by design, is intended to be a less punitive system than the adult system, and yet here were scores of children with very minor infractions having their lives ruined,” said Marsha Levick, a lawyer with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center.

Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit - NYTimes.com

I mean, not only are these judges screwing around with people's freedom, they're doing it to children. My God, what has this world come to? These men should be ashamed of themselves. I hope they are offered no protection from the general population when they hit the slammer.

Technorati Tags: judges, juvenile offenders, kickbacks, scandal, prison, juvenile detention

Criminalizing Wrongful Convictions

State Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston is introducing two bills this session to tighten lineup-identification procedures and require the recording of suspect interrogations. Another pending bill would boost compensation for victims of wrongful convictions. Lawmakers should also seriously consider a proposal supported by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and the Texas Innocence Project to criminalize the withholding of exculpatory evidence in cases such as Cole's.

The shame should forever haunt Darnell and his cohorts for the injustice they committed. For others who follow, the prospect of criminal prosecution should chill their conviction-at-all-costs enthusiasm.

Editorial: Punish those who wrongfully convict | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Editorials

While I wholeheartedly want to see everyone involved in wrongfully convicting a man have to take responsibility for their actions, I don't think that any prison sentence or criminalization of anything is an effective deterrent. The number of people in prison in the United States can attest to that.

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted

DNA Testing for The Innocent

For years, a man who was convicted of that rape, William G. Osborne, has claimed that advanced DNA tests on the condom would prove his innocence, but prosecutors in Alaska say that he is not entitled to them.

Convicts' Right to DNA Tests Is Questioned - NYTimes.com

This always sends me into a nauseating whirlpool of confusion. Why, if there is DNA available to test in *any* case, would they not test it just to make sure they have the right man (or woman)? It might cost more money? So money is more valuable than an innocent man's freedom?

I think it should be retroactively automatic. All DNA in all cases, ever, should be tested. I think the real reason why it's not, is because every day average people who have no interest in wrongful convictions, would be shocked at how many people would set free. I would estimate hundreds of thousands.

In any case where a wrongfully convicted man gets DNA testing to prove in innocence, there has been a catalyst to getting that DNA testing. In Timothy Cole's case, it was the confession of the real rapist. In other cases it could be recanted testimony, trial errors brought to light, similar crimes being committed, etc. To believe that these are the only cases in which an innocent man can possibly be cleared with DNA testing is naive and absurd. The fact is, there are many more innocent people in prison who have not yet had this trigger for DNA testing, and may never at all. They may die, like Timothy Cole, an innocent in prison. Unless we test them all.

Technorati Tags: DNA, timothy cole, wrongfully convicted, wrongful conviction, prison, innocent