tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29771195007803372002023-11-15T09:22:33.109-08:00"Evolving Standards of Decency"A PRISONERS' RIGHTS LAW BLOG (continuing PRISON LAW BLOG)Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-7149457164306749852013-03-13T07:30:00.001-07:002013-03-13T07:30:05.641-07:00State prisoners' right to vote enangered in Maine<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only Maine and Vermont currently permit state prison inmates to vote, and that may now change in Maine. One legislator has </span><a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_126th/billtexts/HP039201.asp" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">proposed an amendment to Maine’s constitution</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that would prohibit voting by those state prison inmates who have been “convicted of a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment of more than 10 years may be imposed.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?paper=HP0392&PID=undefined&snum=126#" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">first public hearings</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> took place on March 4 and a work session by the Committee for Veterans and Legal Affairs is scheduled for March 15. Views about the resolution have been published in the </span><a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/10/opinion/voting-connects-inmates-to-society/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Bangor Daily News</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/politics/voting-rights-opposed-for-some-felons_2013-03-05.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Portland Press Herald</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="https://www.aclumaine.org/node/1594" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>ACLU of Maine news center</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>,</strong> and on </span><a href="http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/26658/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Maine's public radio station</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-31215308155323516362013-03-07T04:45:00.001-08:002013-03-13T06:55:20.050-07:00Is Denver Violating the Rights of Deaf Prisoners?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Susan Green of <em>The Colorado Independent </em></span><a href="http://coloradoindependent.com/127215/feds-probe-denver-for-violating-deaf-prisoner-rights" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>recently reported</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> that the U.S. Justice department has opened an investigation into whether Denver jail officials have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act through its failure to provide sign-language interpreters for deaf prisoners. The investigation was prompted by a lawsuit filed by a profoundly deaf man who claims that he was repeatedly denied an interpreter while in the Denver County Jail, even when undergoing intake, classification and medical interviews. A previous lawsuit, alleging the failure to provide interpreters for three deaf inmates, failure to provide adequate accommodations, and failure to properly train staff to deal with deaf prisoners, resulted in the city agreeing to settle the claim for $695,000.</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-50424523759081672462012-12-14T05:55:00.001-08:002012-12-14T05:55:22.793-08:00Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check out </span><a href="http://www.aclu.org/blog/author/david-fathi" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Fathi's recent blogs</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, filed from Buenos Aires, where he is attending the Inter-Governmental Expert Meeting on the UN's </span><a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/treatmentprisoners.htm"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. David is the Director of the ACLU National
Prison Project.</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-8131627296981841712012-12-05T04:17:00.000-08:002012-12-05T04:17:44.309-08:00Children of prisoners<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.iprt.ie/" target="_blank">The Irish Penal Reform Trust</a>,<span style="color: black;"> "an independent nongovernmental organisation campaigning for the rights of everyone in the penal system, with prison as a last resort," has just released "<a href="http://www.iprt.ie/files/IPRT_Children_of_Imprisoned_Parents2.pdf" target="_blank">Picking up the Pieces": The Rights and Needs of Children and Families Affected by Imprisonment</a>. It describes the effect of imprisonment on those who "must endure their own sentence, despite not having perpetrated any crime." Some of the problems discussed are: the impact of separation, barriers to visitation and maintaining the parent-child relationship, stigmatization, mental health issues, and difficulties in reunification. While the report's recommendations are not applicable to all countries, since it was written in the context of the <a href="http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Basic+Texts/The+Convention+and+additional+protocols/The+European+Convention+on+Human+Rights/" target="_blank">European Convention on Human Rights</a> and the <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm" target="_blank">United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>, the impact of a parent's imprisonment is universal. Among the more standard suggestions for reform is one that recommends:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The best interests of the child should be a key consideration in proceedings where a parent may be remanded or sentenced to custody.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The report also suggests that impact statements from children of parents about to be sentenced "would be one practical approach which would permit the voice of the child to be heard."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Interesting reading!<span style="font-family: DINNextLTPro-Light; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: DINNextLTPro-Light; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: DINNextLTPro-Regular; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: DINNextLTPro-Regular; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-66122143570568526192012-11-19T03:08:00.000-08:002012-11-19T03:08:08.380-08:00Predatory Phone Pricing<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Peter Wagner</strong> shares "a big victory ... in the movement to end predatory pricing of prison telephone services." See the details in <a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/petitionpr.html" target="_blank">Movement Victory: FCC Proposes To Regulate Prison Telephone Industry</a>. Congratulations to those working on this issue!</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/petitionpr.html" target="_blank"></a></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-5428010332688765332012-11-15T06:31:00.000-08:002012-11-15T06:31:16.562-08:00New Prison Reform Advocates?<a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/novemberdecember_2012/features/the_conservative_war_on_prison041104.php?page=all" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An interesting article</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the latest issue of <em>Washington Monthly</em> explains how and why political conservatives have recently taken up the cause of prison reform. David Dagan and Steven M. Teles point out that "[t]he 2012 Republican platform declares, 'Prisons should do more than punish; they should attempt to rehabilitate and institute proven prisoner reentry systems to reduce recidivism and future victimization.'” Also, a "rogue’s gallery of conservative crime warriors" now apparently support Newt Gingrich's view that "[t]here is an urgent need to address the astronomical growth in the prison population, with its huge costs in dollars and lost human potential.” Rehabilitation? Lost human potential? Hmmm...... </span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-30018576453385216242012-11-08T05:22:00.000-08:002012-11-08T05:22:21.228-08:00The Election Results Might Have Been Different<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From <strong>Peter Wagner</strong>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
In anticipation of the recent election, Prison Policy Initiative and Josh Begley produced an intriguing inforgraphic entitled: "<a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/images/fla_va.png" target="_blank">Should the states that bar the most people from the poles be allowed to pick the next president?</a>" Whether or not disenfranchisement changed the ultimate outcome this time around, it certainly had an impact on the popular vote. As Peter wrote, "the graphic links the obscenely high rates of lifetime disentranchisement in Virginia and Florida with those states' status as "swing" states ...." </span><br />
Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-59700262834256796252012-11-05T01:40:00.000-08:002012-11-05T01:42:54.228-08:00Solitary Confinement in California's Prisons<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From <strong>Jennifer Allison</strong>:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mother Jones</span></a></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is a
publication to which I am proud to subscribe for its commitment to “smart,
fearless journalism.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its
November/December 2012 issue features </span><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/solitary-confinement-shane-bauer" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an important investigative report</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
by Shane Bauer, one of the American hikers who was arrested and imprisoned in
Iran in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the report, Bauer
describes the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
program that assigns prisoners who are deemed to be threat to the general
prison population to one of five Security Housing Units (SHU) in the
state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SHUs in California, according to Bauer, “hold nearly 4,000
people in long-term isolation,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>many of
whom are subject to an “indeterminate sentence.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can mean lengthy stays in solitary
confinement, with little real hope of being released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the </span><a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facilities_locator/pbsp.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pelican Bay</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> prison’s SHU, for example,
“[m]ore than half of the 1,126 prisoners…have been in isolation for at least
five years.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The length and indeterminate nature of these sentences are
not the most appaling aspect of the system Bauer exposes in his report. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is most shocking is how some of these
prisoners wind up in solitary confinement in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the state collects three pieces of
</span><a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/reports/docs/security-threat-group-prevention-identification-and-management-model-03-01-2012.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">evidence that can be used to “validate” a prisoner as a member of a gang</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, this
is sufficient to send the prisoner to a SHU, where he can be placed in
isolation indefinitely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many of the types of evidence that officials can use to
“validate” a prisoner as a gang member are flimsy at best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include, among other things, possession
of “black literature,” drawings depicting Aztec symbols, or writings in the
Nahuatl language of central Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes these materials are collected and used against prisoners to
whom prison guards and officials have taken a dislike, merely as a way of
removing those prisoners from the population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the report, there are only two ways for a
prisoner to be released from a SHU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either a prisoner can be “declared an ‘inactive’ gang member or
associate,” or the prisoner can “debrief,” which means to tell authorities
everything he knows about the gang with which he has been associated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first option is rarely successful, and
the second carries the high risk of the prisoner getting himself killed once he
returns to the general population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
other alternative?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait it out in
solitary confinement, which, as Bauer points out, can lead to extreme mental
and physical illness and distress in those who are subjected to it for any
length of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have done my best to not let my personal feelings about
Shane Bauer cloud my judgment of his report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had little sympathy for him and his two friends at the time of their
arrest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly, they should have known
better than to select, of all places, an area near the border of Iran, a
country known for its hostility and volatile treatment toward the United States
and Americans, as the location for their hiking trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My opinion on that matter has not changed
that much over time, and I was not comfortable with his repeated references to
himself as a “former hostage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that
I doubt that his suffering was real and acute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it was his choice to place himself in a position where there was a
real risk of being arrested and arbitrarily held by a regime that has been
shown to hold international human rights standards in little regard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That said, I do believe that the time Bauer spent in
solitary confinement in an Iranian prison more than qualifies him to research
and write a scathing report on the damaging solitary confinement assignment program
in the California prison system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly,
this program sounds to me as if it raises serious constitutional concerns,
especially regarding the First and Eighth Amendments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I admit, however, that I am not familiar
enough with the case law in this area to know for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any event, this is an important report,
and those who believe in fair and just treatment for prisoners would be
well-served to read it.</span></div>
Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-16272986495391272592012-11-02T06:01:00.000-07:002012-11-02T06:19:59.271-07:00Children of the Incarcerated<span style="font-family: FranklinGothic-Medium; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: FranklinGothic-Medium; font-size: x-large;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.sentencingproject.org/" target="_blank">The Sentencing Project</a> has just released a new report entitled <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=prisoners%20children%20sentencing%20project%20video&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsentencingproject.org%2Fdoc%2Fpublications%2Fcc_Video_Visitation_White_Paper.pdf&ei=Er2TUN_MFuOy0QXipYC4Bg&usg=AFQjCNHWFTQRn304IJ21PAt14-3i6CMdlQ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Video Visits for Children </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whose Parents Are </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Incarcerated: </span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=prisoners%20children%20sentencing%20project%20video&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsentencingproject.org%2Fdoc%2Fpublications%2Fcc_Video_Visitation_White_Paper.pdf&ei=Er2TUN_MFuOy0QXipYC4Bg&usg=AFQjCNHWFTQRn304IJ21PAt14-3i6CMdlQ" target="_blank">In Whose Best Interest?</a> Written by research analyst </span>Susan D. Phillips, the report looks at those situations in which video visits would be a positive addition to visitation procedures, especially in light of the fact that a majority of parent-prisoners are incarcerated more than 100 miles from their children. However, she also looks at those instances when such visits would undermine personal relationships and concludes that "</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Children may benefit from video visitation if it increases opportunities for them to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">communicate with their parents [b]ut video visitation is not a substitute for in-person </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">contact visits, particularly for infants and young children." Some of the technical and practical aspects of video visitation are also discussed. Another, more technical report on video visitation from the Vermont Legislative Research Service was released in May 2011. <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAEOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uvm.edu%2F~vlrs%2FCriminalJusticeandCorrections%2Fprison%2520video%2520conferencing.pdf&ei=ZcWTUM6sEpOk0AXsk4GwAQ&usg=AFQjCNGQljwg7VY9lqSF8AiuCIEYKt8qnw" target="_blank">Prison Video Conferencing</a>, prepared for Vermont Representative Peg Andrews, also discusses the use of this technology in a number of other states.</span></span></span></div>
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Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-8645582759808499332012-10-09T12:48:00.000-07:002012-10-09T12:48:11.703-07:00Prisoner Healthcare, Guaranteed by Law: Are the Germans Getting it Right?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From <strong>Jennifer Allison</strong>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am very excited to have been accepted as a guest author
for this excellent blog on prisoners’ rights law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Margaret, I am also a law librarian who
is deeply interested in prisoners’ rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My research specialization is in foreign and international law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I read German proficiently, my research focuses
primarily on German-speaking countries.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last summer I started a research project exploring the laws
that define prisoner healthcare rights in Germany, with the eventual goal of
comparing them to those rights of prisoners in the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I undertook this project mainly to keep my
German skills fresh; however, it quickly became an area of great interest to
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I was researching this topic, I
found myself thinking about prisoner healthcare in a much deeper way, and
asking myself a lot of questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
much healthcare do prisoners deserve?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should they receive better care than law-abiding citizens on the
outside?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can prison be a place where
people who are completely ignorant of basic healthy practices become educated
about them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should it be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do the quantity and nature of healthcare
services we provide to prisoners say about us as a society?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Germany, healthcare rights for prisoners are guaranteed
under the federal government’s Prison Code (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strafvollzugsgesetz
</i>– abbreviated in German as<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> StVollzG</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several German states (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Länder</i>) also have their own prison codes guaranteeing similar, if
not additional, healthcare rights for prisoners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strafvollzugsgesetz</i>
includes general health care provisions that apply to all prisoners, as well as
additional provisions that apply expressly to female inmates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>German correctional facilities must to
provide physical and emotional healthcare services to prisoners, who are
legally obligated to act in accordance with their best health-related
interests. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG § 56</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Periodic medical exams and cancer screenings
are required by law, as is medical treatment for illnesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG
§ 57</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medical treatment is defined
as the provision of services which are necessary to diagnose and treat illness,
prevent an illness’s progression, and relieve suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG
§ 59</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the prison’s medical
facilities cannot provide sufficient treatment for an inmate’s medical needs,
then the inmate has the legal right to be treated at a facility outside the
prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG § 65</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pregnant inmates also have the right to certain medical
services under the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strafvollzugsgesetz</i>:
pregnancy testing, prenatal care, medication, and care from a doctor and/or a
midwife during labor and delivery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG §§ 76-77</i>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absent any special circumstances, a female
inmate must be transported outside of the prison facility to give birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">StVollzG
§ 76</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This information represents just the start of my research on
this topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I am already
impressed by the thorough description of prisoner healthcare access rights in
Germany’s federal statutory law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As my
research progresses, I will seek to compare the legal guarantees for prisoner
healthcare in Germany to those in the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to admit that, based on my initial
research, I am not confident that American prisoners enjoy nearly the same
rights and access to the healthcare services that are mandated by law for
German prisoners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is especially
true for female inmates, on whom I intend to focus my future research in this
area.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-1915455838539584852012-10-06T12:55:00.002-07:002012-10-09T12:43:05.540-07:00Charges for Prison Phone Calls<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">News from Peter Wagner, E<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">xecutive Director, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/" target="_blank">Prison Policy Initiative</a>:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>The New York Times</em>
cited Prison Policy Initiative's new report, "</span></span><a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Price To Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization in the Prison Phone Industry</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">," in </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/opinion/costly-phone-calls-for-state-inmates.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">a September 23d editorial</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">, <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">noting that many telephone companies <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">charge inmates spectacularly high rates that can force their families to choose between keeping in touch with a relative behind bars and, in some cases, putting food on the table."</span> It called</o:p></span> on
the FCC to regulate the prison telephone industry. The report was also cited in </span></span></span><a href="http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Genachowski.PrisonPhones.2012.9.12.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a</span> letter from Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Rep. Bobby L. Rush to the FCC</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> requesting action on the high costs of phone calls between incarcerated individuals and their families. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">corporate accountability public interest group, Sum Of Us, has also created </span><a href="http://action.sumofus.org/a/prison-phones/14/42/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a page for submitting comments to the FCC</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, which is currently accepting comments on new regulations that would limit what phone companies could charge inmates' families for calls.</span></span></span></span></span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-74126563245393240802012-09-11T07:57:00.001-07:002012-09-11T07:57:45.160-07:00Solitary Confinement: New York's Hidden Problem<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Professor Michael B. Mushlin's latest thought-provoking article from <em>The New York Law Journal</em> is available at: <a href="http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleFriendlyNY.jsp?id=1202570044326#[9/4/2012_2:05:28_PM]">http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleFriendlyNY.jsp?id=1202570044326#[9/4/2012_2:05:28<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">_PM</span>]</a> </span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-80651694181697102862012-09-07T07:56:00.000-07:002012-09-07T07:56:40.896-07:00Georgia State University Prison Initiative<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An interesting project has been posted on Kickstarter (a funding platform for independent projects): </span><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/922016704/one-nation-behind-bars-ed-solutions-for-mass-incar"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One Nation, Behind Bars: Ed Solutions for Mass Incarceration</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. A Georgia State film student is looking to raise another $1200 <em><strong>by midnight tomorrow</strong></em> to fund his senior thesis project, described as a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">quality student produced, directed, and edited 45-minute to 1-hour documentary film [that] will investigate and discuss the societal advantages and ever-growing need for education programs in the U.S. Prison System ... by focusing on The Georgia State University Prison Initiative, a service-learning project that brings together 15 GSU students ... and 15 volunteer inmates at Philips State Prison just outside of Atlanta in order to study literature, discuss contemporary societal issues, and increase <i>inmate and student literary and social competency.</i></span></blockquote>
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just like PBS, there are rewards for contributing so, if you're interested and have a few bucks to share .... </span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-44515580873621524132012-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:002012-09-04T10:09:21.788-07:00A Case for Labor Day: McGarry v. Pallito<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In an </span><a href="http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/bf2ab858-97af-46a6-bdf7-b77bb2bffc68/1/doc/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 10 opinion</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the Second Circuit allowed a case based on the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiii">13th Amendment</a> right to be free from involuntary servitude to proceed. Finbar McGarry, a Vermont resident, was arrested and detained pending trial in the <a href="http://www.doc.state.vt.us/custody-supervision/facilities/crcf/">Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility</a> from December 2008 until June 2009. While there, he was housed in House 1 where all inmates, including pretrial detainees, are required to work. Despite his objections, McGarry was assigned to work in the prison laundry. He was told that refusal to work would result in administrative segregation. Defendants justified the requirement on the ground that it furthered a legitimate penealogical
interest in “educating offenders about real world responsibilities.” </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">McGarry subsequently filed several unsuccessful grievances complaining about the long hours he had to work and the intolerable conditions, including handling soiled clothing without gloves or the ability to clean his hands. He also alleged that working in the laundry resulted in a painful
staph infection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The appellate court reversed the district court judgment dismissing McGarry's pro se complaint. It found that his complaint had, in fact, presented a plausible 13th Amendment claim. It pointed out that "[t]he Amendment was intended to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not
solely to abolish chattel slavery." Furthermore, the exception for those “duly convicted” did not apply and, although individuals may be detained before they have been convicted and the "liberties and privileges" of pretrial detainees may curtailed, "such conditions may not violate the
Constitution." In <a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=487&invol=931">United States v. Kozminski</a>,
487 U.S. 931 (1988), the
Supreme Court stated that involuntary servitude was “a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">condition of servitude
in which the victim is forced to work for the defendant by the use or
threat of physical restraint or physical injury, or by the use or threat
of coercion through law or the legal process.” <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Indeed, in federal facilities “[a] pretrial inmate may not
be required to work in any assignment or area other than housekeeping tasks
in the inmates’ own cell and in the community living area, unless the
pretrial inmate has signed a waiver of his or her right not to work.” </span><a href="http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;idno=28;region=DIV1;q1=545;rgn=div5;sid=0cc06587b7fba73ec7fec4ad7c5b513b;view=text;node=28%3A2.0.3.3.18#28:2.0.3.3.18.3.131.4"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">28 C.F.R. § 545.23(b).</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The</span> defendants principle argument, that allowing McGarry's claim to proceed “would demean and trivialize the deep significance of the Thirteenth Amendment in the history of this country,” was rejected by the Second Circuit. Rather, it found that McGarry's allegations were supported by "well-pleaded facts" and, therefore, his claim of "'threat of physical
restraint or physical injury' within the meaning of Kozminski" was plausible and should be allowed to move forward. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-40096642097708575562012-07-17T11:27:00.000-07:002012-07-17T11:28:47.487-07:00Juvenile offenders and life without parole<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Available on SSRN: "<a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2097159">The Paradox of Graham v. Florida and the Juvenile Justice System</a>" by federal district court law clerk (C.D. Cal.) Aaron Sussman, forthcoming in the Vermont Law Review. The author analyzes a series of Supreme Court decisions on sentences for juveniles that foreclose any possibility of parole, including <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/graham-v-florida/">Graham v. Florida</a> (2010) as well as the recent </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/miller-v-alabama/">Miller v. Alabama/Jackson v. Hobbs</a> decision. He finds "a sharp disjuncture emerges between the Supreme Court’s language and the realities
of the criminal justice system, a disjuncture that, in the context of Graham and
its progeny, helps preserve the perception of legitimacy but may inhibit even
small steps toward improving the conditions and rehabilitative potential of the
juvenile justice system."</span></span></span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><tbody><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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</tbody></table>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-87885497733449529802012-06-28T11:21:00.000-07:002012-06-28T11:21:53.988-07:00A Variety of Views on Miller v. Alabama<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/opinion/children-in-prison-for-life.html?_r=1" target="_blank" title="NYTimes"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Children in Prison for Life</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, New York Times</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0626/Elite-Supreme-Court-sides-with-science-and-juveniles" target="_blank" title="CSM"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Elite’ Supreme Court Sides with Science and Juveniles</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, <span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title">Jonathan Zimmerman, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0626/Elite-Supreme-Court-sides-with-science-and-juveniles" target="_blank" title="CSM"></a></span></span></span>Christian Science Monitor</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20943929/editorial-justice-juvenile-criminals" target="_self"><span class="goog_qs-tidbit goog_qs-tidbit-2"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Justice for Juvenile Criminals</span></span></a><span class="goog_qs-tidbit goog_qs-tidbit-2"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Denver Post</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_breakfast_table/features/2012/_supreme_court_year_in_review/supreme_court_year_in_review_the_justices_should_use_more_than_their_emotions_to_decide_how_to_rule_.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Justices Should Use More Than Their Gut and “Brain Science” to Decide a Case</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Richard A. Posner, Slate</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/06/juvenile_lifers.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mandatory Life Without the Possibility of Parole for Juveniles Is Unconstitutional</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Joy Moses, Center for American Progress</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/opinion/the-roberts-courts-liberal-turn-on-juvenile-justice.html">The Roberts Court's Liberal Turn on Juvenile Justice</a>, David S. Tanenhaus, New York Times</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-f-will-the-supreme-court-and-imprisoning-juveniles/2012/06/26/gJQAtFCW4V_story.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shall We Lock Up a Child and Throw Away the Key</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">?, George F. Will, Washington Post</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/168599/supreme-court-gives-some-juvenile-lifers-second-chance" title="The Supreme Court Gives (Some) Juvenile Lifers a Second Chance"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Supreme Court Gives (Some) Juvenile Lifers a Second Chance</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Liliana Segura, Nation</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/06/26/supreme-court-ruling-juveniles-partial-victory/4i88ijJB80G0v4NoaaEUVI/story.html" target="_blank" title="Boston Globe"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Supreme Court Ruling on Juveniles is a Partial Victory</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, <span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title">James Allen Fox, <a href="http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/06/26/supreme-court-ruling-juveniles-partial-victory/4i88ijJB80G0v4NoaaEUVI/story.html" target="_blank" title="Boston Globe"></a></span></span></span>Boston Globe</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="sl-art-datetime"><span class="sl-art-head-pipe"><span class="entry-title"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2012/0626/Supreme-Court-ruling-on-life-sentences-for-young-criminals" target="_blank" title="CSM"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Supreme Court Ruling on Life Sentences for Young Criminals</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Christian Science Monitor</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/06/26/marni-soupcoff-the-u-s-supreme-court-gives-teenage-murderers-a-chance/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The U.S. Supreme Court Gives Teenage Murderers a Chance</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, Marni Soupcoff, National Post (Canada) </span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-37734455993088941412012-06-25T13:06:00.000-07:002012-06-28T11:23:13.733-07:00Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today the Supreme Court handed down a </span><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-9646g2i8.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5-4 decision</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the combined cases of Miller v. Alabama (10-9646) and Jackson v. Hobbs (10-9647). The majority opinion, written by Justice Kagen and joined by Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, stated that "<span style="font-size: small;">mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on 'cruel and unusual punishments.'" </span>See reports from </span><a href="http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/06/supreme-court-rules-mandatory-life-sentences-for-juveniles-unconstitutional.php"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jurist</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/us/justices-bar-mandatory-life-sentences-for-juveniles.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The New York Times</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-la-pn-supreme-court-rules-juvenile-life-without-parole-cruel-and-unusual-20120625,0,4164308.story"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chicago Tribune</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/25/justice/scotus-juvenile-life-sentences/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CNN Justice</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/25/us-supreme-court-positive-youth-sentencing-ruling"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Human Rights Watch</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, and the </span><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Life-Sentences-for-Young-Murderers-Limited-by-3661039.php"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">San Francisco Chronicle</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2">
<br /></div>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-68758526939124064082012-06-20T11:57:00.003-07:002012-06-20T11:57:55.107-07:00Felony Disenfranchisement<span style="font-size: small;"><div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sentencingproject.org/template/index.cfm">The Sentencing Project</a> recently published <a href="http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/vr_Felony_Disenfranchisement_Annotated_Bibliography.pdf">Felony Disenfranchisement: An Annotated Bibliography</a> (March 2012). The document covers the past twenty years of disenfranchisement studies and analysis which, it is noted "examine disenfranchisement from a variety of perspectives – law, social science, history, and journalism [and] provide new estimates of the statistical impact of disenfranchisement, assess legal and moral perspectives on the policy, and place the issue in a comparative international context." Links are provided to a number of the articles cited in the online version. The information for the bibliography was compiled by </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Benjamin Bronstein, Jerome Pierce, and Achilles Sangster II. Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, was the editor.</span> </span></div>
</span><div align="LEFT">
</div>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-71169265599038025202012-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:002012-06-19T12:14:00.083-07:00“Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences”<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;">On June 19, 2012, Professor Michael B. Mushlin submitted the following testimony in the Hearing before the <a href="http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/constitution.cfm">Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights</a> (Chairman: The Honorable Dick Durbin, Ranking Member: The Honorable Lindsey Graham): </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Thank you for holding this important hearing and inviting
testimony. My name is Michael B. Mushlin. I am a Professor of Law at Pace Law
School in White Plains, New York. I am the author of <i>Rights of Prisoners</i>,<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>1</sup>
a four volume treatise, and a member of the American Bar Association’s Task
Force on the Legal Status of Prisoners. I am also a co-chair of the American
Bar Association, Subcommittee on Implementation of the ABA Resolution on Prison
Oversight,<sup>2</sup> and have served as chair of the Committee on Correction
of the New York City Bar Association, the Correctional Association of New York
and the Osborne Association, an organization that provides training and support
programs for people in jail and prison or who are being diverted from
imprisonment. Currently, I am a vice chair of the Correctional Association of
New York, a 168 year old organization endowed by New York law with the
authority to visit New York State Prisons with the responsibility to report on
their condition to the New York state legislature. With colleagues, including Prof.
Michele Deitch of the University of Texas, I participated in the organization
of two national conferences on prison reform, the first <i><a href="http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol24/iss2/">Prison ReformRevisited: The Unfinished Agenda</a> </i>held at Pace Law School and the second, <i><a href="http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol30/iss5/">OpeningUp a Closed World: What Constitutes Effective Prison Oversight</a> </i>held at the
University of Texas. Both conferences drew together professionals from all
segments of the criminal justice and corrections fields to discuss improvement
to the operation and oversight of the American prison system. For seven years,
I was staff counsel and then the Project Director of the Prisoners’ Rights
Project of the Legal Aid Society. I also served as staff counsel with Harlem
Assertion of Rights Inc., and was the Associate Director of the Children’s
Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. For the 2012/13 academic
year, I will be a Visiting Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I first confronted conditions in solitary confinement units
over thirty years ago when I served as trial counsel in a federal civil rights
case involving Unit 14, the solitary confinement unit at Clinton prison in
upstate New York close to the Canadian border. What I saw there was deeply
disturbing. Inmates were locked for 23 hours each day into small windowless
cages for months and years on end. No programs or activities were provided to
them. Without access to any meaningful activity, they were separated from one
another spending almost all of their time entirely by themselves. During that
one precious hour per day when a Unit 14 inmate could leave his cell there was
only one place to go: a small space directly behind his cell called a “tiger
cage.” The tiger cage was a small empty space with a barren floor surrounded on
all sides by high concrete walls which were not covered by a roof. An inmate
could walk only a few steps in one direction before turning. If he looked up he
could glimpse a bit of the sky but nothing else of the outside world.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span></sup>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Working on that case I witnessed firsthand the awful
consequences of subjecting human beings to solitary confinement. I will never
forget looking into the eyes of those inmates struggling to maintain a foothold
on reality and sanity. Afterwards, when visiting other solitary confinement
units, no matter where, I see that same pained, desperate stare. I have seen it
so often, and in so many different places, that I have come to recognize it
instantly as the gaze of a tortured person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the years since the Unit 14 case I have witnessed the
growth and expansion of solitary confinement in prisons, in New York and
nationally, through the emergence of “supermax” confinement and the expanded
use of “administrative segregation units.” I have watched what I saw in Unit 14
three decades ago repeated throughout the nation as massive numbers of
people—many of whom are mentally ill, young, and those deemed too dangerous or
vulnerable to be placed in the general prison population even though they have
not violated any prison rules—have been placed into solitary confinement. Even
teenagers have been thrown into solitary. Not long ago I was shocked to read a
Justice Department Report describing how children 16 years old were being held
for up to a full year in solitary in an adult jail in Westchester County, New
York, a mile or two from my office on the campus of Pace Law School.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></sup>I have heard estimates that the number
of people held in solitary on any given day ranges from 25,000 to 85,000, but
the truth is no one really knows how many people are held in these units. I
suspect that the true number of confined souls is higher than even the highest
reported figures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Solitary units provide fertile soil for mistreatment and
abuse of prisoners. As one observer put it, “[b]ecause of the absence of
witnesses, solitary confinement increases the risk of acts of torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span></sup> I recently
wrote an article about abuses that occur in solitary confinement units.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">6</span></sup>
In the article I recount the story of Tyron Alexander and Kevin Carroll,
inmates who were involved in a fight with two prison guards while being held in
a jail awaiting their court appearance. Apparently no one was seriously
injured, but as a result Alexander and Carroll were placed together in an
isolation cell.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">7</span></sup> Aptly named the “the hole,” this isolation cell,
which was a “sparse” 64 square foot space meant to contain only one person, had
no running water, and no toilet.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">8</span></sup> At first, Alexander and Carroll were
stripped fully naked though they were later given only boxer shorts but nothing
else to wear. Instead of a toilet the cell had a grate-covered hole in the
floor which could only be flushed by prison officials from outside the cell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carroll became nauseated soon after being confined in the
cell and was forced to defecate into the drain, after which he was allowed only
one sheet of toilet paper for cleaning purposes. Afterwards, the drain became
obstructed with feces. Alexander and Carroll tried to clear the obstruction but
were unsuccessful. No one helped them. When they had to urinate, urine
splattered from the clogged drain onto the cell floor. The smell nauseated
Carroll, who then vomited into the drain. When the guards finally decided to do
something they were unable to flush the drain. Nevertheless, rather than
release Carroll and Alexander from the contaminated cell, the guards kept them
confined. The guards then instructed an inmate to spray water into the cell
through an opening at the bottom of the cell door, which served only to further
spread the waste across the floor. Desperate, Carroll and Alexander requested a
mop to clean the mess, but it was denied. To make matters worse, Carroll and
Alexander could not wash their hands because the cell had no running water and
they were not allowed out. In this contaminated cell filled with urine, feces
and vomit, prison officials served Carroll and Alexander lunch and dinner
without utensils. The isolation cell did not have a bed—only a concrete
protrusion from the wall with space for just one person. No mattress or sheets
or blankets were provided even though the men were clothed only in boxer shorts
that winter evening. That night in the cold Carroll and Alexander tried to
sleep by sharing the small concrete slab. Incredibly, despite the enormous
degrading treatment and abuses they endured, the federal court to which they
turned for relief dismissed their case because the conditions did not result in
“physical injury,” which is a requirement for relief under the Prison
Litigation Reform Act.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">9</span></sup> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In solitary confinement units across the nation, abuses,
which differ only in detail from those inflicted on Carroll and Alexander,
occur daily.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">10</span></sup> Where but in a fictionalized horror story would one
learn of places where “bodies are smeared with one's own excrement; arms are
mutilated; suicides attempted and some completed; objects inserted in the
penis; stitches repeatedly ripped from recent surgery; a shoulder partly eaten
away.”?<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">11</span></sup> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seven years ago, commenting on solitary confinement, I said
in a <i>New York Times </i>Op-Ed that, “there is never justification for prison
conditions that cause mental torture.”<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">12</span></sup> I went on in that Op-Ed to
observe that since most inmates will someday return to our communities, “it is
a mistake to think that these kinds of conditions do not directly affect us.”<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">13</span></sup>
A conversation with a correction officer I had several years ago during a visit
to Southport prison in upstate New York near Elmira drove this point home for
me. Southport prison at the time of my visit housed hundreds of men, all in
solitary confinement. The officer told me of his concern for law-abiding people
whenever a Southport prisoner is released from solitary directly back on to the
streets. He recalled the times he saw inmates, most of whom are from the New
York City metropolitan areas and have been in solitary confinement for months
or even years, released from the prison front gate with a suit of clothes, $40
and a bus ticket to the Port Authority Bus Station in midtown Manhattan. I,
too, feel apprehension when I consider that I or my wife and children might
encounter a person on the street who has just been released directly from a
solitary confinement unit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prisons must be safe and humane and they can be without
solitary confinement. There are alternatives. As others will no doubt describe
in detail, in Colorado, Maine and my home state of Mississippi, recent efforts
led by talented corrections officials and prison reformers have dramatically
decreased the use of solitary confinement with savings to the taxpayers,
without compromising security, and with untold benefits in terms of the
decrease in mental abuse and suffering. These alternatives and others, when
implemented, will reduce the numbers of people in isolation to a tiny fraction
of those currently held, will improve the conditions in which those who are
isolated are held, and will make prisons safer for prison staff, the public and
for prisoners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These changes are consistent with the standards on the
treatment of prisoners which have been recently adopted by the ABA.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">14</span></sup>
I served on the Task Force comprised of a wide variety of experts from across
the spectrum which drafted these standards. Drawing on examples of good
corrections practice, the standards prohibit isolation of the mentally ill or
juveniles,<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">15</span></sup> and even for those who must be isolated the standards
absolutely prohibit “[c]onditions of extreme isolation . . .regardless of the
reasons for a prisoner’s separation from the general population.”<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">16</span></sup> The
animating idea behind these standards is the one that my colleague Fred Cohen
put so well in his testimony to this subcommittee: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Inmates may need to be insulated
from each other, and for a variety of valid reasons, but insulation
(separation) and contemporary penal isolation are quite different concepts and
operations. The process of insulation need not lead ineluctably to conditions
of extreme social and sensory deprivation.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">17</span></sup> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For all these reasons I add my voice to those who will
testify before you about the damaging physiological effects of solitary
confinement and the awful pain and suffering it causes, and the urgent need for
reform. I call upon you to take action that will responsibly address this
American problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Recommendation </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just as it has addressed the scourge of prison rape,<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">18</span></sup>
Congress should mandate reform of solitary confinement. With the Prison Rape
Elimination Act, Congress called for the establishment of a national
commission, a study and survey of existing levels of sexual abuse of prisoners,
and the promulgation of national standards for the prevention of sexual abuse
with federal funding tied to compliance with the adoption, oversight, and
enforcement of these standards.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">19</span></sup> That law, passed on a bipartisan
basis, has been the catalyst for important fundamental change. Similarly, a law
addressed to solitary confinement would lay the foundation for essential
reform. Lastly, for the reasons I have set out in my article cited earlier,
Congress should also amend the Prison Litigation Reform Act to allow federal
courts to remedy the most serious unaddressed abuses occurring in solitary
confinement units.<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">20</span></sup> Stories like Alexander’s and Carroll’s must
become a remnant of the past. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <u>Endnotes</u></span></o:p></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></sup> MICHAEL B. MUSHLIN, RIGHTS OF PRISONERS (4th
ed. 2012). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">2</span></sup> I co-chair that committee with Prof. Michele
Deitch of the University of Texas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span></sup> <i>See <a href="http://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=870">Frazier v. Ward</a></i>, 426 F. Supp. 1354
(N.D.N.Y. 1977). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">4</span></sup> CRIPA Investigation of Conditions at
Westchester County Jail (Dep’t of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Nov. 19,
2009) <i>available at </i><a href="http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/Westchester_findlet_11-19-09.pdf">http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/Westchester_findlet_11-19-09.pdf</a>
(reporting that half of the inmates placed in the jail's Special Housing Unit
-- where inmates are placed in isolation as a result of disciplinary
infractions -- are between 16 and 18 years of age. Many of these minors are
facing an average term of 365 days in isolation. One 16 year old was given a
sanction of 360 days for an infraction.); <i>See also <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/1:2010cv02902/242291/50">Troy D. v. Mickens</a></i>,
806 F. Supp. 2d 758, 764 (D.N.J. 2011). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span></sup> <a href="http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N11/445/70/PDF/N1144570.pdf?OpenElement">SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL,INTERIM REPORT ON TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT</a>,
U.N. Doc. A/66/268, 19 (Aug. 5, 2011) (by Juan E. Méndez); <i>See also</i>,
Lena Kurki & Norval Morris, <i><a href="https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/192542-192549NCJRS.pdf">The Purposes, Practices and Problems ofSupermax Prisons</a></i>, 28 CRIME AND JUSTICE, A REVIEW OF RESEARCH 385, 385
(Michael Tonry ed., 2001); <i>See </i>COMM’N ON SAFETY & ABUSE IN AMERICA’S
PRISONS, <a href="http://www.vera.org/download?file=2845/Confronting_Confinement.pdf">CONFRONTING CONFINEMENT</a> 14 (2006) (“There is troubling evidence that
the distress of living and working in this environment actually causes violence
between staff and prisoner.”). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">6</span></sup> MICHAEL B. MUSHLIN, <i><a href="http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1827&context=lawfaculty">Unlocking the CourthouseDoor: Removing the Barrier of the PLRA’s Physical Injury Requirement to PermitMeaningful Judicial Oversight of Abuses in Supermax Prisons and IsolationUnits</a>, </i>24 FEDERAL SENTENCING REPORTER 268 (2012). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">7</span></sup> <i>Id. </i>at 268 (citing <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12043590108432145268&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Alexander v.Tippah County, Miss</a>., 351 F.3d 626, 628 (5th Cir. 2003)). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">8</span></sup> <i><a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12043590108432145268&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Alexander v. Tippah County</a>, </i>351 F.3d<i>.
</i>at 628-629. All the facts recounted about this case are drawn from this
published opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">9</span></sup> <i>Id. </i>at 631 <i>(</i>citing 42 U.S.C. §
1997e(e) (2006)). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">10</span></sup> These abuses, which include subjecting inmates
to degrading, humiliating and unnecessary suffering, often do not cause
physical injury. Even though constitutional rights are violated by these acts,
federal courts have often failed to provide relief to victims of these abuses.
The reason is that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) deprives federal
courts of the ability to provide relief from degrading and even torturous
behavior if there is not physical injury. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">11 </span></sup>Reassessing Solitary Confinement: The Human
Rights, Fiscal, and Public Safety Consequences: Hearing Before the S. Jud.
Subcomm., 112th Cong. 3 (June 13, 2012) (Statement of Fred Cohen, LL.B.,
LL.M.). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">12</span></sup> Michael B. Mushlin, <i>Breeding Psychotics, </i>N.Y.
TIMES, March 27, 2005, <i>available at </i></span><a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E6DE173FF934A15750C0A9639C8B63"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E6DE173FF934A15750C0A9639C8B63</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">13</span></sup><em> Id.</em> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">14</span></sup> ABA, <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/publications/criminal_justice_section_archive/crimjust_standards_treatmentprisoners.html">CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTION STANDARDS, STANDARDS ON TREATMENT OF PRISONERS</a> (2010)<em>; </em><a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/criminal_justice_standards/Treatment_of_Prisoners.authcheckdam.pdf">ABA STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE: TREATMENTOF PRISONERS</a> (3rd ed. 2011), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">15</span></sup> <i>Id. </i>at Standard 23-2.8. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">16</span></sup> <i>Id. </i>at Standard 23-3.8. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">17</span></sup> Statement of Fred Cohen, <i>supra </i>note 11
(emphasis in original). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">18</span></sup> <a href="http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/42/147/15607">42 U.S.C.A. § 15607</a> (West 2003). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">19</span></sup> S<i>ee, e.g., Id.; </i>Statement of Fred
Cohen, <i>supra </i>note 11 (I agree with the Statement of Fred Cohen advancing
a similar position). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">20</span></sup> MUSHLIN, <i>supra </i>note 6. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-85009526697728760452012-06-18T12:59:00.002-07:002012-06-18T12:59:10.829-07:00Aging prisoners<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ACLU has just released a compelling report, </span><a href="https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At America's Expense: The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Some of the facts:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the U.S., 246,600 prisoners are 50 or older;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The annual cost of incarcerating someone 50 or older is $68,270 a year - twice as much as an average prisoner;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even if released elderly prisoners rely on the government for healthcare and other aid, states will still save at least $28,362 a year for each prisoner; and</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Risk of recidivism is minimal as evidenced by a study of N.Y. prisoners which found that the 3-year recidivism rate for those released at ages 50-64 was 7%, and only 4% for those 65 and older.</span> <span style="font-family: DIN-Regular;"><span style="font-family: DIN-Regular;"></span></span></li>
</ul>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-73571716740262746562012-06-14T07:55:00.000-07:002012-06-14T09:47:42.366-07:00Welcome to the readers of Prison Law Blog<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This blog will be taking up where the well-respected </span><a href="http://prisonlaw.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prison Law Blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> left off and will endeavor to add as much to the conversation. My goal is to provide information on developments in prisoners' rights law, as well as a forum for discussing the constitutional rights protecting, or failing to protect, the incarcerated. Those in America’s prisons and jails have the right to be free from "cruel and unusual punishment" and, as Justice Thurgood Marshal stated:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The [Eighth] Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.</span></blockquote>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-85330836022019306602012-06-06T14:20:00.000-07:002012-06-06T14:20:40.905-07:00Ruiz v. Brown<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/files/5-31-12%20Ruiz%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">amended complaint</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in the federal class action lawsuit filed by the </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Center for Constituional Rights</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and several other advocate and legal organizations on behalf of </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/pelican-bay"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> who have spent more than 10 years in solitary confinement, some more than 25 years, is available on the CCR website. Other CCR prisoners' rights cases have included: </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/past-cases/al-jundi-v.-estate-oswald"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Al-Jundi v. Estate of Oswald</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, filed in 1974 by survivors of the Attica uprising, </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/past-cases/byrd-v.-goord"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Byrd v. Goord</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, challenging New York DOCS collect-call only telephone policy, and </span><a href="http://ccrjustice.org/jailhouselaw"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NLG and CCR v. Johnson</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, challenging the Virigina DOC decision placing <em><a href="http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/jlm/">Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook</a></em> on a "disapproved publications list."</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-21683207253110700662012-06-06T13:41:00.002-07:002012-06-06T13:43:05.204-07:00Arizona's deadly prisons<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bob Ortega, senior investigative reporter at the <em>Arizona Republic</em>, has recently written a series of articles on "a prison system that houses inmates under brutal conditions that can foster self-harm, allows deadly drugs to flow in from the outside, leaves inmates to die from treatable medical conditions and fails to protect inmates from prison predators." The individual articles cover </span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/06/02/20120602arizona-prison-deaths-system.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the high number of deaths</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, including suicides, the struggle to </span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/20120601arizona-prison-deaths-drugs"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">control the availability of drugs</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in prison, the </span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/20120602arizona-prisons-can-deadly-sick.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">inadequate medical care</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> prisoners receive, and the deaths that result from increasing </span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2012/06/04/20120604arizonas-prisons-deadlier-than-most.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">inmate-on-inmate violence</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-43202510103796717622012-05-31T12:13:00.000-07:002012-06-06T15:13:58.124-07:00Stigmatized Prisoners<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lindsey Webb, Lecturer and Director of Public Interest at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, has written a thought-provoking article, <strong>The Procedural Due Process Rights of the Stigmatized Prisoner</strong>, that has been accepted for publication by </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>University
of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law</em>. Focusing particularly on prisoners who have never been convicted of any sexual offence but are nevertheless classified in prison as sex offenders, Webb addresses the question of "</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">whether
either the stigma of the sex offender label or the conditions imposed on the
inmate (or both) trigger a liberty interest requiring procedural due process
protections." The article is </span><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2061839##"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">available for download</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> at SSRN.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></div>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2977119500780337200.post-50135186997956284872012-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:002012-05-30T13:27:43.578-07:00Comparing PREA Standards<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Project on Addressing Prison Rape at the Washington College of Law (American University) has just uploaded </span><a href="http://www.wcl.american.edu/endsilence/preastandards.cfm" id="link_11743506" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Comparing PREA Standards from NPREC Inception to Final DOJ Standards</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, consisting of side-by-side comparison charts for the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission's standards, the DOJ's Feburary 2011 standards, and the DOJ's final standards. Members of the Project are still working on the analysis.</span>Margaret Morelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060101152406147137noreply@blogger.com0