Prison Blog - Genpop.org: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

DNA Testing May Become Easier in PA

Getting DNA tests may turn easy for inmates - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Pennsylvania lawmakers might be asked to allow prisoners better access to genetic tests that could prove their innocence.

The Senate-commissioned Committee on Wrongful Convictions is due to release a report by summer's end that could recommend changes in state law, possibly making it easier for convicts to get DNA testing. Some prosecutors oppose such a change, fearing it would flood the system with frivolous requests.

"It's hard to get DNA testing in Pennsylvania. Nobody wants to admit they're wrong," said Drew Whitley, 53, formerly of West Mifflin, who served 17 years in prison for murder before a DNA test cleared him. "Even afterwards (the government) still has something to say. They never want to admit they're wrong.

"Who wouldn't want to prove if you got the right man? It's a damn shame I spent that much time in jail. I would still be in jail without DNA testing."

Pennsylvania is one of 47 states with a law allowing convicts access to DNA testing. Such tests have exonerated 240 people nationwide.

Technorati Tags: dna testing, innocence, exonerated, wrongful conviction, prison, law, crime

Monday, June 29, 2009

Executions Still a Possibility in New Mexico

Death Penalty News: New Mexico death penalty repeal set to take effect

Although New Mexico officially abolished the death penalty, that doesn't mean there won't be another execution in the state.

There are still 2 men on death row, their sentences untouched by the repeal and the governor unwilling to commute them. 2 other potential death cases are in the legal pipeline, awaiting trial. Conceivably, the state could end up putting someone to death a decade or 2 after capital punishment was outlawed, given the drawn-out appeals typical in such cases.

"Nonsensical," sums up Jeff Buckels, head of the capital crimes unit of the New Mexico Public Defender Department.

"It makes no sense to be seeking the death penalty in a state which has abolished the death penalty," he said.

Technorati Tags: death penalty, capital punishment, new mexico, crime, law, execution, prison

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sunday Sites #14: Help Repeal the Death Penalty in Your State

Friday, June 26, 2009

Prison Rape Committed Mostly by Guards

Guards are the worst prison-rapists - Boing Boing

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission final report is grim reading, especially the finding that prisoners report more rape committed by guards than by other prisoners.

More than 7.3 million Americans are confined in U.S. correctional facilities or supervised in the community, at a cost of more than $68 billion annually. Given our country's enormous investment in corrections, we should ensure that these environments are as safe and productive as they can be. Sexual abuse undermines those goals. It makes correctional environments more dangerous for staff as well as prisoners, consumes scarce resources, and undermines rehabilitation. It also carries the potential to devastate the lives of victims. The many interrelated consequences of sexual abuse for individuals and society are difficult to pinpoint and nearly impossible to quantify, but they are powerfully captured in individual accounts of abuse and its impact.

Former prisoner Necole Brown told the Commission, "I continue to contend with flashbacks of what this correctional officer did to me and the guilt, shame, and rage that comes with having been sexually violated for so many years. I felt lost for a very long time struggling with this. . . . I still struggle with the memories of this ordeal and take it out on friends and family who are trying to be there for me now."

Technorati Tags: prison, rape, crime, law, correctional officers, inmates, incarceration

National Freedom March for the Wrongfully Convicted

NATIONAL FREEDOM MARCH FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED
RALLY WILL BE HELD ON STEPS OF THE CITY COUNTY BUILDING

Pittsburgh, PA-June 22 - A National Freedom March for the Wrongfully Convicted is being held Saturday, June 27, 2009 on the steps of the Pittsburgh City County Building at 11 a.m. According to a recent report released by the Pew Center on the States, the U.S. correctional population -- those in jail, prison, on probation or on parole -- totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults. Speakers and informational materials will be available at the event. 18 states are actively participating with marches in their states across our country to their State Capitol or City Hall.

”Pennsylvania is just one of many states holding simultaneous Freedom Marches to raise public awareness of the up to 730,000 people in the correctional population that may have been wrongfully convicted,” said MaryAnn Lubas, Director of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Freedom March. “In the last 3 decades 238 Americans have been exonerated with DNA evidence after spending an average of 12 years incarcerated,” Lubas added. The National Marches are being coordinated by The Raye of Hope Organization, a group dedicated to raising awareness of wrongful convictions.

Keynote Speaker at the March will be Dave O’Hara, a member of False Allegations Solution Team, (F.A.S.T.). Falsely accused of a crime that cost him dearly financially and emotionally, he is now dedicated to helping others that were wrongfully accused and convicted.

O’Hara’s speech will provide insights into the devastation wrongful convictions can cause to the innocent and their families. He will address the need for systematic reform to help reduce these injustices. He will also speak on the role that judges play in perpetuating wrongful convictions by putting procedure over innocence, rubber stamp denial of appeals, and generally looking for every means possible to affirm convictions regardless of the facts or the quality of the defense upon which the fairness of trials are based.

Another speaker, will be Rick Morris, Executive Director of the DaRon Cox Legal Defense Fund. “Innocent citizens are locked up in the United States everyday,” said Morris, “If people were more aware that their tax dollars were being used to warehouse innocent people, they would be morally outraged. This Freedom March is a critical first step toward enlightening people as to the depth of the wrongful conviction problem across the country.”

Representatives from Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, The Innocence Institute, The Innocence Project/PA Chapter and the ACLU have also been invited to speak.

Please join us at this worthwhile event. More information on the National Freedom March for the Wrongfully Convicted at www.freedommarchusa.org.

For Further Information:
MaryAnn Lubas
724-695-1964
mlubas2@yahoo.com

Technorati Tags: freedom march, wrongfully convicted, wrongful conviction, exonerated, innocence, activism, crime, law, prison

Thursday, June 25, 2009

One Phone Call to Save a Life

From the NCADP:

Greetings Fellow Abolitionists,

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is today considering what to do, if anything, regarding the case of Troy Davis, and may issue its decision today, tomorrow, or some think most likely, on Monday, June 29.

As you know, Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a Georgia police officer in 1991. There is no physical evidence tying him to the crime and seven out of nine witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony. These seven witnesses must be heard in a new evidentiary hearing. Read an Amnesty International report about this case here.

If you have not yet signed the on-line petition at www.iamtroy.com, please do so now, as these petitions will be printed and hand delivered on Monday morning.

Here's the other thing you can do right now to help save Troy's life:

Please call Georgia's Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm at 912-652-7308 and ask that he reopen Troy's case.

If you are a Georgia or Chatham County resident, please identify yourself on the call as a concerned resident. However, you do NOT need to be a Georgia resident to make the call! We want DA Chisolm to know that Troy has massive support across the country, so make the call yourself, and then please forward this widely and ask everyone you know to make this call.

If there is one phone call you make today, please make it to Larry Chisolm's office.

It's getting down to the wire. This may be the one call you make that can actually save a man's life. 912-652-7308. Please call now.

Thank you.

--abe

Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director of Affiliate Support
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
1705 DeSales St., NW Fifth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.NCADP.org
abe@ncadp.org
202-331-4090 - Office

Technorati Tags: troy davis, execution, commuted, governor, death penalty, capital punishment

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Featured Prison: Iowa State Penitentiary

http://www.geocities.com/isprison/1900building4.jpg

Iowa State Penitentiary is also known as Fort Madison, or the Fort, and it is the only maximum security in Iowa. ISP has a capacity of 500 violent and repeat male offenders. It's population is 1100.

Fort Madison was established in 1839, seven years before Iowa became a state. It is the oldest continuously operated prison west of the Mississippi River.

The last execution to take place in Iowa was the execution of Victor Feguer, who killed a doctor, in 1963. He was also the last federal prisoner to be executed for 40 years, until Timothy McVeigh's execution in 2001.

Two inmates escaped from Iowa State Penitentiary in 2005, by using prison industries materials to scaled a stone wall. They were captured a few days later.

In 2004, Construction and heavy rains unearthed the remains of a child that had apparently been there since before the prison was built.

Iowa State Penitentiary was featured on MSNBC's Lockup: Raw

Iowa Department of Corrections

Iowa State Penitentiary on Wikipedia

Iowa State Penitentiary on Insideprison.com

A Thorough History and Photos of Iowa State Penitentiary

Iowa on Prison Talk

To submit a little known fact about this or any other prison, or to suggest a prison for next week's featured prison, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: iowa state penitentiary, fort madison, the fort, prison, crime, law, incarceration

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Dead Alive

CNN yesterday (from Mental Floss) listed a few cases where convicted and sometimes executed murderer's victims show up alive after the fact. One such case is:

"The Brothers Boorn

In May of 1812, when Richard Colvin vanished, speculation amongst the townspeople of Manchester, Vermont, was that his brothers-in-law, Jesse and Stephen Boorn, were responsible. Without evidence of foul play, though, no charges were pressed.

Seven years later, the Boorn Brothers' uncle had a dream in which Richard said he'd been killed and his body buried in an old cellar on the Boorn farm. Upon excavation of the cellar, a penknife and a button were found, both identified as Richard's. But the "evidence" still wasn't enough to charge the Boorn Brothers. Soon after, when a barn on the Boorn farm burned to the ground, many believed it was arson to cover more evidence. But, again, no charges were filed.

Things finally came to a head, however, when a boy discovered bones under a tree near the Boorn home. While in custody, Jesse confessed that he and his brother had killed Richard. But before the trial began, a closer examination of the bones revealed they weren't even human, but those of an animal. The prosecution carried on, however, for they had the damning testimony of Silas Merrill, a forger, who was Jesse's cellmate.

Merrill said Jesse had implicated himself, Stephen, and their father in Colvin's murder. His testimony mentioned the suspected locations of the crime -- the cellar, the barn, and the tree -- all fitting together in a neat little package. For his cooperation in the case, Silas was set free.

As the evidence mounted, Stephen confessed as well, telling the same story as Silas, but without implicating his father. The Boorn Brothers were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1819. Jesse's sentence would later be commuted to life in prison, but Stephen was set to hang.

Rather than sit idly by, Stephen placed an ad in different newspapers explaining his predicament. The ad included a description of Richard Colvin. Amazingly, the thing worked! Someone actually tracked Colvin down, who was alive and well in New Jersey.

The Boorn Brothers were released from prison and petitioned for compensation from the state. But because they had both confessed to the crime, they received nothing but their freedom. The Boorn case became the first documented wrongful murder conviction in American history."

This case inspired the story by Wilkie Collins called The Dead Alive, which is a short but powerful read. Wilkie Collins's The Dead Alive: The Novel, the Case, and Wrongful Convictions

More from the CNN Story: Convicted murderers whose victims weren't dead

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviction, capital punishment, death penalty, dead alive, wilkie collins, execution, prison, crime, law

Monday, June 22, 2009

Post-trial DNA Testing: Supreme Court Ruling

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of the USA ruled that post-conviction DNA testing is not a constitutional right. The Texas Death Penalty blog commented:

Still, I would hate to see people who are so clearly guilty use this as a ploy to sorta roll the dice. We saw on Dallas DNA, the show about exonerations in our county, that some people really do that. They waste the courts' time just for kicks. So what do you think? Want to read more?

Read More: TEXAS DEATH PENALTY Blog | The Dallas Morning News

What amazes me is that people who consider themselves good and moral actually debate this, whether or not we should restrict post-trial DNA testing and jeopardize the freedom and lives of truly innocent people in order to avoid a few cases of wasted time. What kind of civilized country puts it's innocent, law-abiding citizens at risk so it's precious prosecutors and judges don't have a harder work day? You can't run around waving your flag, touting freedom and liberty and occupy countries chalking up innocent casualties of war as sacrifices to a greater good and then not fight for ordinary citizens' freedom back home because a bad egg might waste your time here and there. You either do what it takes to keep your innocent people free or you don't. Nobody said freedom was easy.

Technorati Tags: dna testing, supreme court, innocence, wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, prison, crime, law

Friday, June 19, 2009

Wrongfully Convicted Man Awaits Compensation

Robert McClendon was freed from prison in August after serving 18 years for a rape he did not commit, but he still hasn't been paid by the state for losing a third of his life.

McClendon, who was paid $18 a month at his prison recreation job, is expected to receive more than $1 million for his wrongful conviction.

During the past 10 months he has had to borrow money from family and friends while he waits for his attorney and the Ohio attorney general's office to reach a settlement in his compensation case.

"I've tried not to base my life on receiving that money, but I have family and obligations like everyone else," said the 53-year-old Columbus man. "I am surprised it has taken this long."

Read more: The Columbus Dispatch : Ex-inmate yet to see settlement

Technorati Tags: wrongful conviciton, innocence, exonerated, crime, law, prison

Thursday, June 18, 2009

You Are Invited to March for Freedom

On June 27, 2009 marchers will walk approximately one mile to their state capitols with signs containing statistics and the names of those who have been wrongfully convicted. Once marchers reach their capitol steps, there will be educational speeches and booths handing out information on wrongful convictions.

It’s time our nation and its citizens became more informed on the reality of our unjust justice system. Join us for this powerful event! We need March Organizers and volunteers for each state.

Freedom March Official Web Site

Freedom March Facebook Event Page

Technorati Tags: freedom march, wrongful conviction, wrongfully convicted, innocence, exonerated, prison, crime, law

Thursday, June 11, 2009

High Recidivism for Mentally Ill

Prison is revolving door for mentally ill, who don't get needed meds

Jarrod is one of the state's nearly 7,000 inmates with mental illnesses; a group that, as of June 2008, accounted for one-third of the total prison population of roughly 23,000. In the last few decades, since mental institutions have been shut down in favor of community-based care, prison has become a revolving door for Jarrod and others with mental illnesses. These inmates rarely get needed medications and treatment on either side of prison walls. It is not a phenomenon unique to Wisconsin, but rather a growing problem plaguing prisons across the country.

Now, because of a recent state audit and two lawsuits against the state, the treatment of Wisconsin's mentally ill inmates is in the spotlight. The state is under a fast-approaching deadline to upgrade conditions for mentally ill inmates at Taycheedah, the state's only female prison, in Fond du Lac. Among other things, correctional officers will no longer be allowed to hand out medication, a change that may well put pressure on the state to discontinue that practice in its male prisons as well.

The audit, which Rep. Joe Parisi requested two years ago after a federal agency issued a scathing report about conditions at Taycheedah, reveals such problems are system-wide: Mentally ill inmates receive inadequate treatment and therapy, which leads to self-destructive behavior, violent behavior toward guards and, ultimately, a high recidivism rate.

Technorati Tags: prison, recidivism, offenders, mental illness, crime, law

United Nations Report on Flawed Capital Punishment

Opposing Views: NEWS: Flaws in the U.S. Judicial System Related to the Death Penalty

On May 26, the United Nations released a report by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, which highlights, among other things, some of the major flaws in the US judicial system related to the death penalty. The report focuses particularly on the sates of Texas and Alabama, where the research of the Special Rapporteur was concentrated.

The report rightfully notes that the current judicial system in those two states is significantly flawed as it leaves room for the wrongful conviction and execution of innocent people, something that was confirmed even by interviews with public officials. In that respect, the author provides a detailed review of the judicial failings related to the death penalty. He notes that there are legal limitations preventing inmates from access to DNA tests once they have already been convicted.

In addition, the defense attorneys appointed to death penalty cases often receive compensation far lower than what is necessary to construct an adequate defense. Appointed counsel also frequently have continuing professional relationships with the judges before whom they appear, which can be the source of “structural disincentives for vigorous capital defense.” The access of defendants to federal habeas corpus proceedings, the report asserts, is also too limited.

At the same time, finality in death penalty cases is often granted undue emphasis at the expense of a careful examination of the potential evidence related to innocence claims. The author notes that in Alabama, “officials would rather deny (the execution of innocent people) than confront criminal justice system flaws.” Unfortunately, this is true not only in Alabama, as has become evident in the case of Troy Davis, who may soon face his fourth execution date in two years, despite the fact that the case against him was build predominantly on the testimony of nine witnesses, seven of whom have recanted their statements (and have alleged that they were coerced by authorities) since the time of Troy’s conviction.

Technorati Tags: united nations, texas, alabama, death penalty, executions, wrongful convictions, capital punishment, law, crime

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

200th Prisoner Executed in Texas Under Perry

A self-described "non-caring monster" who took responsibility for killing five relatives was executed Tuesday in Texas for killing his two stepchildren.

"I am sorry for what I've done and for all the pain and suffering my actions caused," Terry Lee Hankins said from the death chamber gurney, his voice wavering. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

Hankins, 34, surrendered at his girlfriend's Arlington apartment in 2001 after a five-hour standoff with police who wanted him for gunning down his estranged wife, Tammy, 34, and her children, Devin Galley, 12, and Ashley Mason, 11. Hankins then told officers he'd also killed his father and half-sister almost a year earlier.

Hankins was the 16th condemned prisoner executed this year in Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state.

Read More: The Associated Press: Texas man executed for killing his 2 stepchildren

Take Action: Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Technorati Tags: terry hankins, death penalty, capital punishment, execution, texas, governor perry, crime, law, prison

Urge Governor Rell to Sign the Bill to Abolish Capital Punishment

The Connecticut House and Senate have passed a bill to abolish the state's death penalty, and Governor Rell waits for the bill to reach her desk. Though the Governor has said that she will veto the legislation, we still have time to change her mind. Please take a moment to contact the Governor and urge her to sign the legislation. Below is the Governor's contact information as well as a sample letter.

Email: Governor.Rell@ct.gov Phone: 860-566-4840 or 800-406-1527

Address: Executive Office of the Governor
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, Connecticut 06106

CNADP - Take Action

Technorati Tags: connecticut, governor, rell, death penalty, capital punishment, abolition, prison, crime, law

Featured Prison: Cummins Unit Prison, Arkansas

http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/images/gal32.jpg

This state prison was formerly known as Cummins State Farm and is a prison farm. It is located near Grady, Arkansas and it opened in 1902. Until 1986, Cummins was the home of Arkansas' death row. It's capacity is 1725 offenders.

In 1968, Tom Murton alleged that three human skeletons found on the farm were the remains of inmates who had been subjected to torture, prompting a publicized investigation which found "a prison hospital served as torture chamber and a doctor as chief tormentor." [1]

The revelations included allegations of electrical devices connected to the genitalia of inmates. The Arkansas State Penitentiary System at that time had already been found to have held inmates at the Cummins Unit under conditions rising to the level of unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, in cases tried by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, among others.

Cummins Unit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GRADY, Ark. — This is Brubaker country, once home of the most corrupt prison in the entire U.S. Behind these walls, unscrupulous wardens and guards held sway over the lives of men convicted of everything from passing phoney cheques to capital murder.
Prisoners were subject to torture and it is alleged many were murdered. A call to the telephone at the Cummins Unit of the Arkansas prison system didn’t mean a call from a loved one. It meant attaching electrodes to a prisoner’s big toe and wiring him to an old-fashioned telephone. They called it the Tucker telephone, after the Tucker Unit, Cummins’ sister prison. The resulting electric charge drove some men insane. Others were rendered sterile.

The Truro Daily News, Nova Scotia : Columns | Hard time in prison

A movie with Robert Redford was made based on the story of Tom Murton's efforts to reform Cummins Unit. The movie is called Brubaker. Brubaker (1980)

Recently, two men convicted of murder who were serving time at Cummins, escaped wearing guard uniforms. They were caught yesterday in New York State.

The Associated Press: Prison: 2 Ark. escapees captured in New York state

Arkansas Department of Correction | Prison History and Gallery

cummins unit - Prison Talk

Prison Ministry Network. Cummins Unit Webpage of the member of International Network of Prison Ministries.

To submit a little known fact about this or any other prison, or to suggest a prison for next week's featured prison, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: prison, incarceration, inmates, convicts, murder, crime, law, cummins unit, arkansas, brubaker, robert redford

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

William Dillon Robbed Due to 30-year-old Drug Offense

Here in lovely Playa Del Carmen, the electric company has been having some issues, so I haven't been able to connect to the internet with any consistency (which especially sucks because my business is on the web) so I haven't been posting much. I am also going back home to Vancouver for 4 days starting Thursday and will be very busy there so regular posting should resume in a week. Thanks to Bill Newmiller for posting on Sunday and filling the Sunday Sites void!

I was just reading the article below and it really bothers me that Florida would have such laws in place. William Dillon was convicted of a drug offense in 1979. 1979. That was 30 years ago. Because of this, the state of Florida will not be held accountable for taking away 27 years of his life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not then a continuation of the punishment for a minor drug offense 30 years after the fact? At the time, the judge sentenced him to 3 years probation and a $150 fine, but what he probably should have said was "I sentence you to 3 years probation, a $150 fine and a lifetime of allowing the state of Florida to do with you what it likes without any repercussions."

William Dillon didn't have "clean hands" before he was sent to jail for 27 years for murder, so he is barred from compensation under Florida's new Wrongful Incarceration Act.
Advertisement

The 49-year-old Satellite Beach man must find a sponsor in the Florida Legislature to write a special claims bill for the 2010 session.

Dillon spent 27 years in prison for the murder of James Dvorak, but he was released last year when a judge granted a new trial based on DNA evidence. He became a free man when the state decided not to prosecute again.

"It's a shame that a nonviolent drug conviction from when Mr. Dillon was 19 years old would bar him from being compensated under the new Victims of Wrongful Incarceration statute," attorney Melissa Montle of the Innocence Project of Florida said. "He now has to file a claims bill during a recession in order to be rightfully compensated for the 27 years he spent in prison for a crime he did not commit."

Dillon won't be paid for time spent in prison

Technorati Tags: wrongul conviction, florida, wrongful incarceration act, william dillon, innocence, exonerated, prison, crime, law

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