Let’s End the ‘Death Rattle’ Rule

By Julie Stewart

The Federal Bureau of Prison’s “compassionate release” program is wasteful and cruel.

Dozens of Federal Sex Offenders Seek Release From Indefinite Confinement

Dozens of sex offenders in a federal prison in Butner, N.C., have served their time and now are being imprisoned not for what they did, but what they might...

Civil-Rights, Conservative Groups Seek to End Exorbitant Inmate Phone Fees

Civil rights and conservative groups have banded together to ask the Federal Communications Commission to end "exorbitant" fees that many prisons charge...

Kids Behind Bars: John Jay/Tow Foundation National Symposium for Journalists

Why does the U.S. lead the world in youth imprisonment?  What should a truly effective juvenile justice system look like?  How can the media stay ahead of the story?

On April 23-24, 2012, 30 journalists from around the nation joined some of the country's most prominent juvenile justice experts, practitioners and advocates to explore those questions at a special symposium at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, organized by John Jay's Center on Media, Crime and Justice with the support of the Tow Foundation and in cooperation with John Jay's Center for Research and Evaluation.

The 30 journalists, selected as Reporting Fellows, examined current sentencing and detention practices, the impact of race, treatment of mental health and substance abuse, and the role of police, courts, schools (and parents) in the so-called "school to prison pipeline."  The year-long fellowship also includes the establishment of a "juvenile justice news network" for reporters to assist them in following trends in this area, and new research--with the aim of providing the tools that can help foster informed public debate at local and national levels in 2012 and beyond.

The symposium entitled  Kids Behind Bars: Where's the Justice in  America's Juvenile Justice System, Covering the Juvenile Justice Reform Debate in 2012 featured keynote speeches from Gail Garinger, The Child Advocate of the State of Massachusetts;  attorney Bryan Stevenson who argued the Supreme Court case related to juvenile Life Without Parole;  and Mike Bocian, Pollster & Founding Partner, GBA Strategies.

Panelists included: Vincent N. Schiraldi, Commissioner, New York City Department of Probation, James Bell, Founder and Executive Director, W. Haywood Burns Institute, C. Jama Adams, Professor and Chair of John Jay College's Africana Studies Department and Joseph Gaudett, Chief of Police, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Proceedings of the conference, including podcasts,  research materials provided by speakers, are covered below. For a full list of speakers, panelists and the agenda click here.

NOTE: this page will be updated regularly with articles by Fellows and other information as it becomes available.

After Years of Discussion, Feds Issue New Rules on Prison Rape

The Justice Department on Thursday issued new federal rules aimed at “zero tolerance” for sexual assaults in prisons, says the New York Times. The regulations, issued after years of discussions among officials and prisoner advocacy groups, address a problem that a new government study found may afflict one out of every 10 prisoners. Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, and the rules to carry it out are the first to address federal, state and local prisons and jails, including institutions holding juveniles.

The standards are binding on federal prisons, and states that do not comply could lose 5 percent of their federal financing. In enacting the law, Congress asked the prison system to address the problem without imposing a “substantial” cost. The rules may cost as much as $7 billion over the next 15 years, with federal grants available for demonstration projects. The standards focus on prevention, supervision and changing the prison culture.

Times-Pic Series: Sentencing Reform Won't Come Easy in Louisiana

Despite a political consensus favoring change, meaningful reform of Louisiana's lock-'em-up sentencing laws will not come easy, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Prompted by the governor, the long-dormant state Sentencing Commission produced a package of five bills aimed at tackling some of the key factors driving the state's highest-in-the-nation incarceration rate. But bills were passed and signed by the governor, but only after the parts that would have actually reduced prison sentences were removed under pressure from sheriffs and district attorneys.

Two more proposals from the commission have progressed smoothly through the Legislature this year, but they, too, are unlikely to have a substantial effect on the incarceration rate. Even under dire financial circumstances, the political calculus in Louisiana has evolved slowly since a series of tough sentencing laws in the 1970s, '80s and '90s bloated the state's inmate counts. "The three easiest votes for a legislator are against taxes, against gambling and to put someone in jail for the rest of their lives," said state Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, a veteran policymaker who has led the judiciary committees in both the House and Senate.

History Buffs, Ghost Hunters Drive Increase in Prison Tourism

Old prisons are growing as tourist attractions, reports USA Today, as increasing numbers of history buffs and ghost hunters pay visits to famous lockups such as Alcatraz and less-known state facilities. "We've been shocked by the interest," said Steve Picker, director of the Jefferson City, Mo., Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has seen visitors through the shuttered Missouri State Penitentiary increase from 3,290 visitors in its first tour year in 2009 to 17,200 last year.

"We've been growing by double-digit percentages every year for the past 10 years," said Sean Kelley, director of public programming at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, which draws more than 250,000 visitors a year. Picker said his prison saw a big increase in visitors last year after it was featured on the cable TV show "Ghost Hunter." Day tours of historic prisons take a couple hours and typically cost about $12. Nighttime tours, which attract the ghost hunters, cost $35 at Alcatraz and Jefferson City. An overnight "paranormal investigation" in Missouri costs $95.

Nearly 10 Percent of Ex-Inmates Report Sex Abuse During Custody

A new U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics study provides the most dramatic evidence yet of a nationwide, systemic crisis of sexual victimization in U.S. prisons, jails, and community corrections facilities, says the advocacy group Just Detention International. Of former state prisoners surveyed, 9.6 percent reported being sexually abused during their most recent period of detention, says “Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners, 2008.” Gay and bisexual prisoners were disproportionately targeted in both men’s and women’s prisons; 39 percent of gay male inmates reported being assaulted by other prisoners.

Almost half (46.3 percent) of prisoners who reported to a corrections official that they had been sexually abused by a staff member were themselves written up for an infraction. When prisoners reported sexual abuse by other inmates, they were just as likely to be punished themselves (28.5 percent) as to get to talk to an investigator (28.3 percent) or to see their abuser punished (28.6 percent). More than a third (37 percent) of prisoners who reported to staff that they had been abused by another prisoner said that facility staff did not respond at all. “With such blatant retaliation for reporting abuse, it’s no wonder the vast majority of prisoner rape survivors choose to remain silent,” said Lovisa Stannow of Just Detention International. “The failure of many corrections officials to treat sexual abuse within their facilities as a serious crime — and the cynicism of punishing those who report having been abused — is simply stunning.”

Mentally Ill Inmates Sue To Get Out of Solitary Confinement

Attorneys for Troy Anderson, a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary, argue that prolonged solitary confinement is contributing to a vicious cycle, making his psychiatric conditions worse and resulting in misbehavior that warrants further punishment, reports the Associated Press. Prison officials defend the practice, saying administrative segregation, which can include up to 23 hours a day in a concrete cell, is a fundamental part of security.

Art Leonardo of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents says keeping prisoners away from the general population is a way to "keep them from being harmed." Prisoners' rights advocates say putting mentally ill inmates in long-term solitary confinement amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In some states, activists are pushing court challenges to get convicts out of isolation. Long-term isolation has "become an integral part of how we manage prisons in this country," says David Fathi of the American Civil Liberties Union. There are no statistics detailing how many inmates are considered mentally ill. Similarly, there is no official estimate as to how many inmates are placed in solitary confinement.

PA Lacks Criminal Justice Policy, Contends Corrections Secretary Wetzel

Fix inefficiencies in Pennsylvania's corrections department that keep prisoners behind bars for months after they’ve been paroled and that cost...

Money Oils $182M Machinery of 'World's Prison Capital' of Louisiana

Louisiana is the world's prison capital, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The state imprisons more of its people per capita than any of its U.S. counterparts, and first among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran's, seven times China's and 10 times Germany's. The hidden engine behind the state's well-oiled prison machine is money. A majority of Louisiana inmates are housed in for-profit facilities, which must be supplied with a constant influx of human beings or a $182 million industry will go bankrupt.

And in a uniquely Louisiana twist, most prison entrepreneurs are rural sheriffs, who hold tremendous sway in remote parishes. A good portion of Louisiana law enforcement is financed with dollars legally skimmed off the top of prison operations. If the inmate count dips, sheriffs bleed money. Their constituents lose jobs. The prison lobby ensures this does not happen by thwarting nearly every reform that could result in fewer people behind bars. In the past two decades, Louisiana's prison population has doubled, costing taxpayers billions while New Orleans continues to lead the nation in homicides. One in 86 adult Louisianians is doing time, nearly double the national average. Among black men from New Orleans, one in 14 is behind bars; one in seven is either in prison, on parole or on probation.

Taking Cue from Texas, Pennsylvania to Announce Prison Reforms

Pennsylvania officials were expecting a partisan donnybrook when stakeholders met in Harrisburg last November to discuss prison reform, reports that city's Patriot-News. Instead, they found unanimous support for “real corrections reform right now,” as former Gov. George Leader put it. The group was to gather Monday at the Capitol and present “a series of transformative, evidence-based changes to the Pennsylvania corrections system that will reduce prison populations and costs without jeopardizing public safety.”

The newspaper said the advocates were inspired to work together after learning that a Democrat and Republican in Texas had partnered to transform the costs and performance of the prison system there.

In Oklahoma, Baby Born in Prison Fell Through Social Welfare Net

 A federal civil lawsuit over the death of a toddler born to an Oklahoma prison inmate raises questions about the oversight of children born to those circumstances, reports the Tulsa World. Erica Michelle Marie Green was born in May 1997 at University of Oklahoma Medical Center to an inmate mother. After the birth, the mother went back to prison and told officials to give the newborn to an acquaintance, who showed a driver's license and Sam's Club membership card to gain custody, according to the lawsuit. No calls were made to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for an assessment, basic background check or plan for reuniting with the mother, the suit alleges. Within three years, the girl was murdered from a blow to the head.

Erica was found naked, wrapped in a blanket and beheaded in April 2001 in Kansas City. She was known as Precious Doe as the unsolved case received national attention. In May 2005, her identity was determined. Her mother, Michelle Johnson, and stepfather, Harrell Johnson, were arrested for the murder. Tulsa attorney Paul DeMuro, who is representing Erica's father in the civil suit, said DHS had multiple previous contacts with Johnson, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections should take more precautions with babies born to mothers in prison.

Lemonade Ad With "Convicts"--More Sensationalist Imagery on Crime?

Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project objects to a new lemonade advertisement featuring an alternate ending showing "convicts emerg[ing] from a hole on the golf course as part of a prison break." Mauer, writing in the Huffington Post, says, "The visual -- a grizzled 60-something white guy with a hardened look -- seems like he's got in mind something much more threatening than sharing a lemonade."

"For far too long, our approach to developing public policy on issues of crime and punishment has been overly framed by sensationalist imagery," Mauer complains. Mauer urges a serious discussion of criminal-justice issues and suggests that ad makers "use some visuals of cute babies or clowns to encourage people to buy lemonade."

Colson "Profoundly Changed National Discussion About Crime and Justice"

The Dallas Morning News applauds the late Charles Colson for proving "that redemption is possible" by founding the Prison Fellowship after being imprisoned for his political dirty tricks during Watergate. Colson, who died last month at 80, "could have served his time, walked out of prison and lived on the largesse of political relationships he had meticulously culled. Instead he emerged with a mission to change lives and an awareness of the justice system’s weaknesses," the newspaper says, adding that he "profoundly changed the national discussion about crime and justice."

The Morning News say Colson believed that nonviolent criminals should not be jailed, but rather paroled so they could contribute to the community they damaged. He opposed mandatory minimum sentences and backed programs to help inmates with addictions. The Prison Fellowship now operates in more than 100 countries, and it established a mostly Christian outreach program in a wing of a minimum-security prison near Houston, an initiative that has expanded to Minnesota.