Take Your Kids to Work and Stun Them With a Stun-Gun Day!

Oh, the Florida Department of Corrections. This story is so indicative of your problems, and the problems throughout corrections departments all over the country. At three (3!) separate prisons a total of 43 children (!) were stunned by stun guns during take your kids to work day. A large number of the children were indirectly shocked by linking hands together, with one of the children holding the hand of someone who was directly shocked.

Non of the children were seriously hurt, luckily. All of the children were relatives of prison officials and all had permission from parents or grandparents to get shocked.

All of this is pretty insignificant compared to the more serious issues of brutality, corruption, and secrecy infecting the prison industrial complex. Many of these prisons become the major economic force of small, rural towns and many members of single families end up working within the prison in some capacity. This can create an insulated community so wrapped up in perverse power dynamics that right and wrong are born from a pretty dark place. The fact that parents and prison officials thought it would be ok to shock children, some as young as 5(!), to me, fits right in with what I know about and have seen in action regarding the prison system and its employees.

Of course, the fault, ultimately, doesn't lie with the individuals but rather the system that sends a steady stream of offenders into cages where there every infraction, no matter how minor, is met with anger, violence, aggression and intimidation. It is, perhaps, no surprise that those very employees would see little problem with turning some of these violent tactics on their own, even for "fun"

Drug Addicted Prisoners Not Getting the Treatment They Need

How do you stop a drug addicted convict from coming back to prison after his or her release?

1. Treat their drug addiction.

2. Do not treat their drug addiction.

The answer should be, treat them. Unfortunately, less than 20 percent of the time inmates are not getting the treatment they need. The number comes from the most recent report of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Add this to the fact that about half of all inmates are dependent on drugs and you have a big chunk of prisoners, most of whom will someday be released, who have not been treated for their dependency which, in many cases, lead to the incarceration in the first place.

The results? More drug abuse, more crime, more prisoners, more prisons and on an on.

Nice Try Louisiana

The State of Louisiana Department of Corrections failed in it's attempt to extend, by nine months, the sentence length of a prisoner who made numerous official complaints to prison officials. The State's Dept. of Corrections attempted to punish the prisoner for "spreading rumors" but relented after pressure from groups like the ACLU.

Spreading rumors?

The usual punishment for something like this would be solitary confinement or petty retribution from individual prison guards and other officials. Although I'm sure he's been getting more than a little of that too.

Seriously, Everything in Burma is Terrible

After oppressing it's citizens, killing Buddhist Monks, and restricting aid to cyclone victims, any new awful behavior rising out of the shit-pile military junta of so-called "Myanmar" comes as no surprise. Still, this is just pathetic.

During the recent cyclone it seems as though riot police and soldiers opened fire on prisoners who understandably became agitated when the roof of their prison came off during the storm. Over thirty prisoners were killed.

Philadelphia Jail Overcrowding

A Civil Rights Law Firm in Philadelphia filed suit in Federal Court on behalf of 11 inmates in Philadelphia's jails. The suit claims that the jails are overcrowded. The city of Philadelphia had gone through a couple similar suits over the last few years that have resulted in small improvements. The real problem, though, is the way the prison system is used in this country. Rehabilitation should be the goal, not merely retribution.

What Happens When Prisons Are Overcrowded?

From a recent AP story about two incidents in the California prison system:

A stabbing attack this week on four guards at one overcrowded state prison and a racially sparked brawl at another mark the type of violence that guards, inmates' attorneys and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been worried about for years.

And,

Later this year, a panel of federal judges will consider whether the crowding has become so severe that the state must cap the inmate population or release some prisoners early.

Maybe the panel of federal judges should get on it.

So, which is the answer to overcrowding?

1. Build more prisons.
2. Try and rehabilitate offenders instead of throwing them away.

If you said #1 you are dumb but pretty much correct.

American Prisons: Still Awful

On Friday, March 7th, the ACLU announced a class-action suit against various Nevada state officials, including the head of the state's Department of Corrections for inadequate health care. The action comes out of the conditions at Ely State Prison. According to a report released a few months back the prison consistently failed to provide medical treatment to prisoners who were in great pain, had serious life threatening medical conditions.

And the prison population keeps growing...

Facts About the War on Drugs

I always want to post more about the failing war on drugs. Here, is a quick post listing some disturbing facts, inspired by a fact sheet released recently by the Drug Policy Alliance calling the War on Drugs the new Jim Crow Laws.

Marijuana - 74% of users of cannabis are white. Only 14% of cannabis users are black. Why is it then that 30% of marijuana arrests are African Americans?

One in Fourteen African American children has a parent in prison and 1 in 3 black men will have contact with the criminal justice system in their lifetime.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among African Americans can also be at least partly attributed to failed drug policies. First of all, needle exchange programs for heroine users has been an effective tool in stopping the spread of disease in the very few locations that such programs have been set up. A number of laws have stopped state and local governments from using their federal drug prevention funds on needle exchange programs. In Washington DC injecting drugs is the most common form of transmission of HIV among women and the second most common among men. One in twenty DC residents are HIV positive.

Also, prison conditions, such as poor health care, very limited access to condoms, and lack of response to sexual violence only act to increase HIV in prisons.

The source for the info above and more info can be found right here.

Protesters Arrested At Supreme Court

photo from the AP

On Friday, seventy-one people were arrested on the grounds of the Supreme Court both in the building and outside the building. There is a law prohibiting protest anywhere on the grounds of the court. The protesters were demonstrating against Guantanamo Bay Military Prison, calling for it's closure. The protest coincides with the current case before the court that will rule on whether detainees can challenge their confinement in the U.S. Federal Court system.

Friday was the six year anniversary of the opening of the prison.

Guards in Georgia Accused of Torturing Prisoners

A group of inmate in Georgia have brought a suit against the state of Georgia for repeated and systematic physical abuse and torture that resulted in two deaths. The torture was used as a tool to cover up previous beatings. Prisoners who reported the abuse were then subject to more abuse as a way to shut them up. It is interesting that this has culminated (so far) with the bringing of a lawsuit. Usually, the system itself works to prevent these type of actions. Prisons can arbitrarily move prisoners from prison to prison and are usually very adept at hiding internal issues. Prisons also always have the "safety" trump card for most actions they take. If you think about it anything a prison could potentially do to a prisoner or prisoners can be chalked up to maintaining the safety and security of the prison itself. One exception should be systematic physical abuse and torture, we'll see if these prisoners get some relief.

Oh, and by relief, at most, they'll probably get some new guidelines in the prison system with the ostensible purpose of preventing mass beatings and torture in the future. But hey, they are criminals, they probably deserved it.

Prison Guard Brutality in LA

Jay sent up this article about an inmate at the Three Towers Correctional Institution in Los Angeles who was sprayed with pepper spray in his genital area. The inmate contends he was assaulted and sprayed for cursing at a guard who refused his request for a clean shirt. Pepper spray, like tasers, are supposed to be used as alternatives to firearms to control aggressive and violent persons by temporarily incapacitating them. Clearly, both have, instead, come to be used as vindictive and punitive torture devices.

From my own limited experience working for a Prisoner's Rights Organization I can tell you that the use of pepper spray was (and probably still is) extremely rampant in Florida. Guards would spray cells of inmates who has complained about prison conditions as a form of payback. They would also continually use the spray on the same inmate night after night for an incident that may have happened in the pass. Guidelines called for the immediate showering of the inmate as well as a change of clothes, two basics that were often ignored in Florida prisons. The spray was also often used on known asthmatics and in areas where there was virtually no ventilation.

Jena 6: Judge Refuses to Overturn Bell Conviction

A judge in Jena, Louisiana has refused to overturn the battery conviction of Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena 6 to be tried. The judge did throw out the conspiracy conviction, which maybe a warning to prosecutors to not pursue this charge with the other members of the Jena 6. Bell now faces 15 year in prison instead of more than 20. While, in some sens, this is good news any time that any of the Jena 6 may face is completely unjust.

Democracy Now continues to cover the story in depth and today's program revealed some of the treatment faced by 2 of the 6 while spending time in jail prior to their release on bail. The full interview and transcript with Theo Shaw and Robert Bailey can be found here.

The two men detail how mace was used on them and other inmates during their time in jail. They discuss how the use of the mace was often arbitrary and used against inmates with asthma. On a side note, I have heard many first hand stories from prisoners in Florida who have complained of frequent, malicious, and arbitrary use of mace on prisoners. Some prisoners were often left to sit in the clothes they were sprayed in for hours when showers and a change of clothese were supposed to immediately occur.

Kenneth Foster: 10 Days

Kenneth Foster's execution remains set for August 30th. As I have mentioned before Foster is sentenced to die for his involvement in a homicide in 1996. Foster was over 80 feet away when a friend of his, who was a passenger in the car Foster had been driving that night, shot and killed a man. The shooter was executed last summer. The undisputed facts in all of this are that Kenneth Foster did not shoot anyone, Foster did not see the shooting take place, and Foster was in the car at the time of the shooting. Foster and others who were at the scene claim he had no idea a shooting was going to take place. However, the Texas "Law of Parties" allows people in Kenneth's position to be sentenced to death. It is, truly, punishment for wrong place, wrong time.

Updates:

1. A Youtube group has been set up for people to submit videos aimed, ultimately, at Texas Governor Perry calling for Foster to be spared the death penalty. You can view or submit videos here.
2. I will be trying to update this blog daily up until August 30th with news stories that arise out of Kenneth Foster's plight.
   
3. Author Dave Zirin wrote to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (the letter was published August 19) concerning a silly power play by the Department of Corrections concerning correspondence between Zirin and Foster. Zirin's letter can be read right here. In brief, the Department of Corrections refused to let Foster receive the first book written by Zirin on the subject of Jackie Robinson. The reason given for denying Foster the chance to read an uplifting story days before he is put to death was out of fear that the words in the book may lead, "offender disruption such as strikes or riot". Zirin's analysis of the situation is particularly astute, he writes, "The officials' fear that ideas -- even the ideas of sports history -- could cause a crisis in the Texas prisons reveals only how aware the Lone Star jailers are of how inhumanely they treat their prisoners."
   

Having some experience working with prisoners this appears to be a classic case of petty institutional punishment of prisoners who "make waves". In my experience prisoners that contacted lawyers and/or complained about conditions or abusive guards were almost without fail faced with sometimes petty and often times serious and violent retribution at the hands of prison officials. This was such a problem that correspondence with prisoners often included warnings and reminders that what they say or do may be answered not with solutions to their complaints but vindictive action by their jailers.