| Welcome to Nikki And Helen. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Stuff About Prison; abzug [May 1, 2006] | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 7 2006, 10:16 PM (7,404 Views) | |
| abzug | Jul 17 2007, 04:41 PM Post #61 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
"pedantic political correctness?" You've got to be kidding me. I hate that people don't take this stuff seriously. This all boils down to whether female offenders are being treated with respect by the staff, and referring to a woman in her 30s 40s 0r 50s as "girl" is blatantly disrespectful. |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| ekny | Jul 17 2007, 07:07 PM Post #62 |
In love with a prisoner
|
Pretty galling, yeh. We've suffered through 20-odd years of those debates, and the only people who don't get it are, of course, the people who need to get it. Preferably in the head with a Doc Martens. |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Jul 24 2007, 12:47 PM Post #63 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/f...ack=2&cset=true U.S. judges order review of California prison crowding Saying Schwarzenegger's plans fall short, they clear the way for a cap on inmate populations. By Nancy Vogel, Times Staff Writer July 24, 2007 SACRAMENTO — Federal judges seeking to improve prison medical care called the state's latest efforts insufficient Monday and ordered creation of a three-judge panel to consider capping California's inmate population. The move — the first for a state prison system — has the potential to prompt early release of inmates. Experts and elected officials, however, said that less-drastic measures might appease federal courts and that releases, if necessary, could be made in ways that minimize any threat to the public. The rulings are an escalation of federal intervention in California's prisons, which now house nearly 173,000 inmates, 17,000 of them in gymnasiums, day rooms, classrooms and other areas not designed as dormitories. Prompted by class-action lawsuits on behalf of inmates, federal courts have declared the level of medical and mental health care in the prison system unconstitutional and turned over healthcare operations to a court-appointed receiver. Inmates' attorneys sued to request a population cap in November 2006, five weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the prisons. The lawyers suggested that instead of releasing thousands of prisoners, state officials could use home detention, electronic monitoring or residential drug treatment programs to divert low-risk convicts and parole violators from prison. "I'm really pleased," said Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office in San Quentin. "We fought long and hard for this." In separate rulings, U.S. District Judges Lawrence Karlton of Sacramento and Thelton Henderson of San Francisco concluded that a $7.4-billion prison reform package enacted by the Legislature and Schwarzenegger in May could worsen prison conditions because it calls for adding beds without bolstering staff. The judges expressed hope that the governor and Legislature would swiftly find ways to make early release of prisoners unnecessary. Henderson called early release "a radical step." "This court would like nothing more than to have the three-judge court be able to enter a consent judgment without the need for a prisoner release order," he wrote. In a written statement, Schwarzenegger said he would appeal the ruling, but he also expressed confidence that recent efforts to reduce overcrowding — including the forcible transfer of 40 inmates to a Mississippi prison last week — would satisfy the courts. Nearly 400 inmate volunteers had already been sent to prisons in Arizona and Tennessee. "Today, the federal judges encouraged the state of California to continue with our efforts to reduce overcrowding," Schwarzenegger said. "The judges said that if we are successful, further population orders will not be necessary. There is no immediate threat of inmate release. Karlton has issued at least 77 orders since February 1996 in his effort to bring proper screening and timely, skilled care to the mentally ill in California's prisons. Despite some progress, he wrote in his ruling, care remains in violation of the U.S. Constitution's ban on the infliction of "cruel and unusual" punishment. State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) hailed the ruling as "profound" and "the right decision." She said the Legislature and executive branch in California have "largely abdicated their responsibilities" to operate effective, humane prisons. She urged Schwarzenegger to sign her pending legislation, SB 110, which would create a sentencing commission to simplify and organize California's 1,000 felony sentences and 100 felony sentence enhancements, which were largely passed piecemeal by the Legislature. Romero also urged prison officials to begin figuring out which inmates might be suited to getting out of prison before finishing their sentences. "To some extent we do early release already — it's called parole," she said. "We have to take out our risk assessment measurements and figure out who might be eligible for release, because we're going to have to have that ready when the judges convene that panel." Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (R-Orange) called early release "not an option because it will jeopardize public safety" and said Assembly Republicans would try to intervene legally so that they can address the three-judge panel when it takes testimony to weigh a prison cap. He expressed disappointment that Karlton and Henderson dismissed this year's prison bond package, known as AB 900, as insufficient. That legislation calls for construction of 53,000 prison and jail beds and creation of "reentry" facilities where inmates could get drug and alcohol treatment, anger management lessons, job training and other counseling before being paroled. "When we passed AB 900, we were working on a time frame that acknowledged that we would address and solve the overcrowding by the middle of next year," Spitzer said. "We had bipartisan support for AB 900, and we deserve — and California deserves — to allow that legislation to be fully implemented." Karlton concluded that the multibillion-dollar prison package would have no appreciable effect on overcrowding in the next two years, if ever. The legislation neglects the critical issue of staffing, he said, noting that every level of the mental health care system is already understaffed. Henderson pointed out that the legislation will not create enough beds to house the projected population of the most dangerous inmates. "It is unclear whether the legislation would reduce the impacts of overcrowding in any meaningful way," he wrote. Karlton and Henderson acted under a 1995 federal law that requires a panel of three federal judges to weigh a prison population cap before a limit can be imposed. That law dictates that the chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — Mary Schroeder of Phoenix — appoint the panel, which must include the federal judge that issues the order convening the panel. Because in this case two judges have issued such orders, it is not clear whether Schroeder will appoint Karlton, Henderson or both to consider a cap. It also is not clear how long the process will take, although Schwarzenegger administration legal experts said the panel could take testimony and ponder actions for as long as a year. "They issue this order, the chief judge then appoints," said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who is an expert on federal courts. "I think it's pretty uncharted territory what happens after that." "I've seen reports saying they're just going to release people," Tobias said. "I think that's too easy. I think it will be much more complicated than that." John Boston, director of the Prisoners' Rights Project of the New York City Legal Aid Society, said that only twice before have three-judge panels been created to address prison overcrowding. In 1998 in Washington, D.C., lawyers on both sides agreed to a settlement that involved lowering the population of one facility to 1,200 from 1,400. And in Mahoning County, Ohio, in February, attorneys for inmates and the sheriff reached a settlement that called for no more than 315 male prisoners in the jail. "What's going on in California is the first time this process has been invoked on a statewide level," Boston said. |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Jul 24 2007, 02:48 PM Post #64 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
A very interesting-sounding documentary on PBS tonight: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/arts/tel...=th&oref=slogin Television Review | Prison Town, USA Welcome to Susanville, Home to Prisons Ben Kutchins/P.O.V. Dawayne Brasher, a lumber worker now with High Desert State Prison. By NEIL GENZLINGER Published: July 24, 2007 The “before” debates tend to get plenty of news coverage: some town in New England or the Midwest or wherever is torn apart over whether to allow a dump or power plant or mega-whatever to come in. Rarely, though, does the “after” get much attention. Once the project in question went forward, did the promised economic benefits accrue? Was the social fabric shredded? “Prison Town, USA,” a smartly constructed documentary tonight on the PBS series “P.O.V.,” explores the “after” in Susanville, a small city in Northern California that a decade ago underwent a substantial makeover with the construction of three huge prisons. The hopes were that the complex would take the place of lumber and other major businesses that were fading. The fears were — well, myriad. The film, made by Katie Galloway and Po Kutchins over two years, looks at the big-picture issues Susanville now confronts through a collage of small stories. There are no documentary-style talking heads or charts here, just some very ordinary-looking people trying to find their places in a changed community. A man who has lost a good lumber job tries to make it through correctional-officer training. A recently discharged prisoner struggles to find work and support his wife and children. The owner of a local dairy tries to fight a state decision to cancel his prison contract, which he contends would violate a pledge that the prisons would buy locally whenever possible. The film is light on specifics, beyond the intriguing factoids interspersed in stark white-on-black lettering between scenes. (“Nearly half the adults in Susanville, California, work at one of the area’s three prisons.”) But the impact of the prisons is more subtle than numbers can capture. It’s in how neighborhood dynamics change when the population includes many women and children who have moved to Susanville while Dad does time. (Can the children of prison guards play with the children of inmates?) It’s in how domestic life is affected by the militarylike training a corrections officer goes through. “Be fair, firm, consistent,” one instructor tells recruits. “If you’re a jerk, be a jerk all the time.” And one woman comments: “I think it’s hard for you to turn off being in a position of authority all the time. You’re coming home and doing the same thing to your families. There’s a lot of domestic violence.” Those “before” debates seldom get to such personal places. P.O.V. Prison Town, USA Tonight on most PBS stations; check local listings. Po Kutchins and Katie Galloway, producers and directors; Beth K. Segal, editor; Evan Eames, cinematographer; American Documentary, series producer. Produced by KQED/Truly California, the Center for Independent Documentary and Independent Television Service. |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| solitasolano | Jul 24 2007, 04:32 PM Post #65 |
![]()
|
abzug, Thanks for posting the two articles on prisons here in California... The first article on overcrowding commits the sin of omission by not even mentioning California's three strike law....this law puts people in jail for life without parole after three convictions for the same crime....as you might guess, this has hugely impacted the size of the prison population and inparticular impacts mostly drug related convictions...major major problem, this mandated policy, as far as I am concerned. A couple of years ago there was a voter initiative on the ballot to repeal the three strike law. Gov Scwharzennegger campaigned heavily against the appeal and it easily was defeated. Another point not mentioned in the first article is that California does not allow state prisoners to be housed in non-state facilities, in other words, no private prisons for convicted Californians. There are private prisons in the state but they actually house prisoners from out of state or federal prisoners....I'm not sure what legalities and conditions allow voluntary transfer of prisoners out of state. The Susanville prison documentary sounds interesting. Susanville lies in extreme northern California on the east side of the Sierras (hence the Hight Desert referral). Yes, historically it was part of the lumber industrial complex. There's been at least one of those 3 prisons in Susanville for a long long time. I know this because that prison is famous for their Wild Horse Rehabilitation program. If you're going to adopt a mustang from the BLM, Susanville horses were much desired for there size and training. Interesting comment about violence from dealing with inmates follows the workers into their own homes. Guess that is a no brainer if you gave it any thought at all. |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Jul 28 2007, 11:36 AM Post #66 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
More about California prisons this week. The New Yorker has a feature article about a prison officer who served as the prison spokesperson at San Quentin. There's quite a bit about the death penalty in the article, but also a more general depiction of the running of prisons and the possibilities for rehabilitation. Most interesting to me was the very complex portrait of the officer--he was a bit Helen-like, in his belief in rehabilitation combined with his own personal ambition. I'd link to the article, but The New Yorker only puts a selection of their articles online, and this isn't one of them. So if you have a chance to pick up this week's New Yorker (the July 30th issue), you should. I'll try to scan the article and post it later, but I don't know for sure if I'll be able to. |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Jul 31 2007, 07:00 PM Post #67 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
An interesting article in the NY Times about prison overcrowding, privatization, and the negative effects of moving prisoners far from home. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/us/31pri...=th&oref=slogin July 31, 2007 States Export Their Inmates as Prisons Fill By SOLOMON MOORE ELOY, Ariz. — For Bob Weier, a Hawaiian convicted of armed robbery, incarceration at the Red Rock Correctional Center on the outskirts of this dusty town is the latest stop in a far-flung and nomadic exile. Since his imprisonment 12 years ago on Maui, Mr. Weier, 53, has served his sentence in prisons in Minnesota, Oklahoma and Arizona. He last saw his daughter 11 years ago and has five grandchildren he has never met. “To them, I’m just a voice who talks to them on the phone for a while,” said Mr. Weier, a heavyset man who expects to be released next year. Chronic prison overcrowding has corrections officials in Hawaii and at least seven other states looking increasingly across state lines for scarce prison beds, usually in prisons run by private companies. Facing a court mandate, California last week transferred 40 inmates to Mississippi and has plans for at least 8,000 to be sent out of state. The long-distance arrangements account for a small fraction of the country’s total prison population — about 10,000 inmates, federal officials estimate — but corrections officials in states with the most crowded prisons say the numbers are growing. One private prison company that houses inmates both in-state and out of state, the Corrections Corporation of America, announced last year that it would spend $213 million on construction and renovation projects for 5,000 prisoners by next year. “They find that their prison populations are at or beyond capacity and they have to relieve that capacity,” Tony Grande, the company’s president for state relations, said of states turning to private prisons. “They quickly turn to us and we have open prison capacity where we can accommodate growth.” About one-third of Hawaii’s 6,000 state inmates are held in private in Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Kentucky. Alabama has 1,300 prisoners in Louisiana. About 360 inmates from California, which has one of the nation’s most crowded prison systems, are in Arizona and Tennessee. But while the out-of-state transfers are helping states that have been unwilling, or too slow, to build enough prisons of their own, they have also raised concerns among some corrections officials about excessive prisoner churn, consistency among the private vendors and safety in some prisons. Moving inmates from prison to prison disrupts training and rehabilitation programs and puts stress on tenuous family bonds, corrections officials say, making it more difficult to break the cycle of inmates committing new crimes after their release. Several recidivism studies have found that convicts who keep in touch with family members through visits and phone privileges are less likely to violate their parole or commit new offenses. There have been no studies that focused specifically on out-of-state placements. Paige M. Harrison, a researcher for the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, said the out-of-state inmates faced problems familiar to the large number of in-state prisoners incarcerated hundreds of miles from their homes. A study in 1997 found that more than 60 percent of state inmates were held more than 100 miles from their last place of residence. “If you’re being held on the other side of Texas or California, you better believe that for many inmates, they’re beyond visitation,” Ms. Harrison said. The frequent moves can also have a disruptive effect on prisons, whether the transfers occur within a state or not, corrections officials said. In California, a federal court official overseeing a revamping of the prison medical system reported more than 170,000 prisoner moves within the state in the first three months of this year. The moves were found to be inhibiting the ability of inmates to receive health care and draining resources. In Arizona, where more than 2,000 inmates have been exported to prisons in Oklahoma and Indiana, corrections officials are struggling to provide consistent and effective programming for them, said Dora B. Schriro, the director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. “Having a long-term impact on public safety and recidivism is that much more challenging,” Ms. Schriro said of the arrangements. The number of inmates shipped out of Arizona would be even larger, but plans for additional transfers to Indiana had to be called off in April after 500 inmates from Arizona rioted at a privately run prison in New Castle, Ind., in part because of complaints about the long distance. Two correctional officers and five inmates were injured in the two-hour incident. Officials there assigned blame to poorly trained guards, many of whom were hired just days before the transfers. Ms. Schriro said the riot showed how desperate the situation had become. The state’s overcrowding worsened, she said, after two private prisons in Texas now run by the GEO Group, canceled Arizona’s contract and instead signed more lucrative deals with federal corrections agencies. “We started to add provisional beds in-state through double-bunking, converting several kitchens to bed space and making preparations to bring additional tents online,” Ms. Schriro said. Eli Coates, a 26-year-old inmate from Arizona serving 10 years for armed robbery, did time at six Arizona prisons and one in Oklahoma before arriving at the New Castle prison early this year. New Castle is managed by the GEO Group. Mr. Coates said his frequent moves had made it hard to complete educational programs that he hoped would help him get a steady job upon release. “I was on my way to being able to finish a college program and vocational programs to get a trade,” Mr. Coates said. “But they snatched me up from those opportunities, and here I have to start all over again.” Mr. Weier, the Hawaiian prisoner here in Arizona, said that each time he moved, he had to reapply for phone privileges, a process that can take six months. Even when he was allowed to call home, he said, he could not always afford the long-distance bills. “You lose your family identity,” said Mr. Weier. “And that’s not good, because when we go back into society — and more than 95 percent of us will — the only ones who are going to take care of you are your family.” Without big construction plans or radical sentencing reforms in the offing, Arizona will continue to rely on out-of-state alternatives. The state has some of the toughest sentencing laws in the country and an inmate population exceeding 37,000, or 127 percent of the state’s official prison capacity. Several public prisons are already surrounded by tent cities to accommodate the overflow. Adam Ramirez, 35, an inmate from Tucson serving six years for a parole violation, sat sweating recently in a 16-man tent at the 100-year-old Florence State Prison, about 15 miles northeast of Eloy in Florence, Ariz. “It’s always crowded in here,” said Mr. Ramirez, pointing to an empty bed next to his. “They sent that guy out to Oklahoma today and there will be somebody else here today or tomorrow.” Overcrowding has been a problem in prisons for decades, and the country’s prison and jail population has never been higher, rising 2.8 percent from July 2005 to July 2006 to reach 2,245,189, according to the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics bulletin. A report by the Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that the prison population will grow by another 192,000 in the next five years. State corrections officials and prison industry executives say that prison companies are an attractive alternative when cash-strapped state governments need additional prison space faster than they can build it. Private prisons can also provide political cover to elected officials seeking to avoid charges of coddling criminals and spending large sums on prison construction. Alabama officials turned to the Corrections Corporation of America for space after a judge threatened to hold the overloaded state corrections department in contempt for failing to pick up inmates from county jails, said Mr. Grande, the company official. The company found out-of-state space for 1,500 inmates within 30 days. When hurricanes beset Florida in 2003, Mr. Grande said, the company found alternative prison space within 72 hours. But state governments often pay a premium for those spaces. The riot in Indiana in April came after Ms. Schriro, the Arizona corrections director, agreed to pay about $14 million a year to house 610 prisoners there. That is about $3 million more than the state would have paid for inmates at in-state public prisons, said a spokeswoman for Arizona corrections, Robin Wilkins. Ms. Schriro is moving forward with plans to expand prison space for Arizona prisoners locally and in private prisons in Oklahoma. But she expects the state prison population to exceed capacity by the time those expansion projects are complete. |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| richard | Aug 9 2007, 09:29 AM Post #68 |
|
Enhanced
|
I don't get to visit this part of the board as much as I should- I've read Abzug's posts with great interest and there does seem to be a chilling developments in prisons both side of the pond. I picked this one up and thought immediately of Series 4, Bad Girls. Pentonville, Holloway and the (fictional) Larkhall are all vintage Victorian prisons. I looked at Mail on Sunday article about 'Bad Girls' and would like to give a bit of background. For non- Brit readers, the Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday is a deeply reactionary newspaper who are natural enemies of Shed and liberals everywhere. I remember the way they worshipped the ground that Margaret Thatcher trod on- and while she was treading over all of us. Ann Owers Chief Inspector of Prisons really knows her stuff about prison overcrowding and has been consistently critical of 'lock them up' government policies. The article seemed designed to snipe at her using the 'support' of the TV title series. ....................................................................................................................... "Inmates at Pentonville Prison are suffering "endemic squalor" in a "crumbling" mid-19th century building, according to a damning report. Rat and cockroach infestations are a serious problem, according to the prison's Independent Monitoring Board. Insufficient numbers of staff also have to cope with double the number of prisoners the centre was built for. In its annual report, the watchdog directed its criticism at the Government, saying the state of Pentonville should be "a matter of deep shame". Problems it identified include the detention of mentally-ill prisoners in unsuitable conditions, inadequate facilities for the reception of prisoners and a "lamentably" poor library. Reports of vermin are rife, with an infestation of cockroaches witnessed by the board during a night visit. The report said two men are made to share small cells. In some cases, basic needs such as clean clothing, showers and toothbrushes are not met. The prison, which was built in 1842, has the capacity to house 1,127 inmates at its grounds in north London. Expenditure per prisoner, at £22,778 a year, is the lowest of any prison in the capital and more than £2,200 below the national average. The board described the prison as a place of "endemic squalor and poverty of regime which ought to be a matter of deep shame to Government in 21st-century Britain". |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Aug 14 2007, 05:31 PM Post #69 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
This seems like a good trend--wasn't this the hope of the Shed folks when they started the show? No more women's prisons Momentum to reduce the numbers of vulnerable women in prison has been building, following on from the publication of the Smart Justice poll on Women in Prison that appeared in Best Magazine and the Daily Mirror this month (March 2007). The Home Office review carried out by Baroness Corston into the way women offenders are treated by the criminal justice system, was published this week, and the results were very heartening for SmartJustice. The review was prompted by concerns at the self-inflicted deaths of six women at Styal prison in Cheshire between August 2002 and 2003, and together with inputs from a number of different charities working in the field, Baroness Corston has come up with the suggestion of a radical 10-year reform programme to close down existing women's prisons and replace them with small secure units closer to women's homes and families. Baroness Corston also recommended a big reduction in the overall number of women who are sent to jail, and a new framework for community punishments as an alternative. SmartJustice Director, Lucie Russell, welcomed the report and commented:- "At last - hope for women convicted of non-violent offences in our jails. This report outlines major changes to the way we deal with these women - who are not evil, violent offenders - just damaged, often by drugs, alcohol, domestic violence and child abuse. Prison for them is just an expensive way of making their offending worse. Eight out of ten female shoplifters are reconvicted within two years of release and 18,000 children are separated from their mothers by imprisonment each year - simply creating potential generations of future offenders". "The government must act on the recommendations of this report - there is a groundswell of support for change. Our recent public opinion survey on women in prison conducted by ICM showed that over two in three (67%) said prison was not likely to reduce offending and there was overwhelming support (86%) for community alternatives to prison - for example, centres where women are sent to address the causes of their crimes whilst also having to do compulsory work in the community. And womens' organizations around the country including the National Council of Women, the Soroptomists and the Catholic Womens League are actively campaigning for more resources in the community to address the root causes of women's offending and investment in more alternatives to prison that reduce women's offending behaviour and prevent further victims". http://www.smartjustice.org/womenfacts.html |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| DontUWish | Aug 14 2007, 07:40 PM Post #70 |
Out of Dorm
|
That is such great news (rare for this thread!)... almost odd to read an article like that which seems like a summary of the show's points. I just hope it goes beyond mere talk. |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Aug 28 2007, 03:01 PM Post #71 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
Absolutely horrifying article about sexual abuse of female inmates: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/329130_prison27.html Imprisoned, unprotected Not one of the 20 recent sex-related incidents at a SeaTac prison has resulted in a prosecution By RUTH TEICHROEB P-I INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Behind the towering gray walls of the Federal Detention Center lurks a sex-charged world where guards are accused of gawking at porn videos, ordering inmates to expose their breasts, molesting them in elevators and rape. Accused of rape, he found job at prison Prisoners and correctional staff say guards have smuggled in cosmetics, cigarettes and Victoria's Secret lingerie as bribes for sexual favors -- even though sexual contact is illegal under federal law. Victims say they had no choice but to submit to predatory guards who controlled every aspect of their lives at the 10-story, 1,000-bed prison south of Sea-Tac Airport. "I was afraid," said former inmate Stephanie Freeman, who accused a guard of rape. "How the heck do you feel safe when you are locked up with guards like that?" [photo caption]Stephanie Freeman, 33, rocks her 5-month-old daughter Brianna to sleep at her Northwest home. Freeman, who says she was raped by a guard while serving time at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, believes more must be done to protect inmates from abuse behind bars. At least 20 sex-related incidents involving correctional staff and inmates have been reported at the prison in the past five years, according to Department of Justice records obtained through public disclosure. The allegations ranged from groping during pat-downs to forced sex. Yet not a single Bureau of Prisons employee at the facility has been prosecuted for sex-related crimes during that period. One guard was fired for failing to report a co-worker's sexual misconduct. Several quit while under investigation and the cases were dropped. Warden Robert Palmquist said staff sexual misconduct isn't "much of an issue" but refused an interview. The Bureau of Prisons wouldn't release any documents related to the allegations, a decision the Seattle P-I is appealing. In a brief written response, Palmquist said all allegations are "thoroughly investigated." "For those few who choose to engage in misconduct, the Bureau is committed to taking appropriate actions against these individuals," he said. But on the inside, where truth is messy and an inmate's word holds little weight, another law often prevails. "No one gets raped there. I think it's all consensual," said one former guard accused of sexual assaults. A culture of silence Sexual abuse by correctional employees is the most common inmate complaint against staff members nationwide, according to federal statistics. Between 2000 and 2004, 822 allegations of staff sexual abuse were received by the Office of the Inspector General, the branch of the Justice Department that investigates. About 40 percent of those cases were investigated, and half were referred to federal prosecutors. The rest, considered minor, were sent back to the Bureau of Prisons' internal affairs for possible sanctions -- resignation being the most common outcome. Punishment is rare: Less than 10 percent of sexual-abuse allegations result in prosecutions. Of those who are convicted or plead guilty, 75 percent receive probation. "These are very tough cases," said Cynthia Schnedar, spokeswoman for the Inspector General's Office. Guards and inmates refuse to talk. Victims delay reporting abuses, fearing reprisals. Evidence is lost. Prosecutors decline cases, knowing jurors are skittish about victims with criminal records -- or believe inmates get what they deserve. Jokes about prison rape still get plenty of laughs. The underreported crime plagues not only the nation's 114 federal prisons, but state and county lockups, too. In King County, four correctional officers have been sentenced in the past year for sex-related crimes: three male guards at the jail and one female guard who pleaded guilty to sex with two boys at the Juvenile Detention Center. In the only case that went to trial, jurors convicted the guard of having sex with only one of three inmates -- despite similar patterns of misconduct. That victim had no criminal history because her charges were dropped by the time she testified. "These are hard and frustrating cases because you know, and the victims know, they aren't going to be believed," said King County Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Johnson. Experts say these crimes not only violate human rights, but also undermine prison security. A federal agent was fatally shot last summer by a guard who was one of six officers accused of sexual abuse at a federal correctional facility in Tallahassee, Fla. "There is a real culture of silence both among staff and inmates about what's going on," said Brenda Smith, an American University law professor who sits on an eight-member federal commission on prison rape. "There's this whole code that you don't rat people out." The power of the badge Stephanie Freeman arrived at the SeaTac prison in April 2003 to serve a 21-month sentence for violating probation on a conviction for possession of stolen bank funds. [image caption]When Stephanie Freeman, 33, first arrived at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac in April 2003, she said she avoided trouble, not even complaining when guards groped her during pat-downs. But she broke her silence two years after she says she was raped by a guard, who denies the charges. "It didn't happen," said the former guard, who said he quit Dec. 10, 2004, for "personal and family reasons." The middle-aged guard flirted with her from the beginning, she said. He dropped off perfume, Baby Bic lighters and makeup. A first-time federal inmate, Freeman avoided trouble. She didn't complain when guards groped her during pat-downs. Late one night in September 2003, the freckled strawberry blonde was scrubbing laundry in her sink and playfully blowing soap bubbles at her cellmate. The sharp "rap-rap-rap" of keys on the steel door silenced their giggles around 3 a.m. She remembers how the guard's blinding flashlight pierced the narrow window of cell No. 34. "Freeman, get dressed," the guard ordered. Startled, she followed the officer to the "fish bowl" office in the center of the unit. "You know I watch you all the time," she recalls him saying. "You're really sweet. You're not like the other girls." Her hands started to sweat, her legs shook. He took her into a nearby recreation room and insisted she remove her khaki pants to inspect a bruised leg he had noticed earlier. Officers must report injuries, she recalled him saying. Then he popped a porn video called "Butt Man" into the VCR. Freeman knew she was trapped -- not only by bars, but also by her fears and the unchecked power of his badge. That's when the guard raped her, she said, then tried to quell her sobs with offers of chips and gum. Contacted last month, the former guard denied the rape allegation, saying at first that he did not even remember Freeman. "It didn't happen," said the man, who is not being named because he was not charged. "Someone accuses me of rape, I hope she was a beauty queen." He called back recently to say former co-workers had jogged his memory of Freeman. He said she might be seeking revenge because he put her "boyfriend," another inmate, in segregation. At the time, Freeman said, she was too terrified to report it. She did write to her attorney a couple of weeks later. "I guess I kinda feel dirty," wrote Freeman, then 29. "But I guess I'm scared that these people would put me in the hole and really give me a hard time if they knew." Who would believe her word against that of a guard? She had seen other inmates sent to segregation, or the hole, for complaining about staff members. Besides, like many women in prison, she was used to abuse, growing up in "appalling conditions of neglect, abuse, sexual abuse and violence," as a pre-sentence report said. Born to a drug-addicted mother, Freeman was sexually assaulted by multiple stepfathers. At 12, she fled to live with her father, a heroin addict who introduced her to the hard stuff. Her life of crime began at age 14 when she stole formula and diapers for her baby brother after her dad left the infant in her care. She became a mom at 15, then had two more children with the same druggie boyfriend who beat her and burned her with cigarettes. Years later, the ex-boyfriend reappeared after serving jail time for assaulting her and the children. What Freeman didn't know was that he had robbed a bank. Strung out on heroin, Freeman accepted $200 of the stolen funds in November 2000. That crime cost her dearly: Her daughter and two sons were put up for adoption when she was incarcerated. Freeman kept quiet about the guard's rape at SeaTac and was released on probation a year later. She never expected to be back -- or imagined the guard might strike again. 'People get horny in prison' [image caption]Araceli Alcocer-Carmona, 23, says she was raped by a guard in 2004 while serving a sentence at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac. She was deported to Mexico upon her release and now lives in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Dark-eyed and vivacious, Araceli Alcocer-Carmona caught the eye of the same guard soon after she arrived at SeaTac in October 2003. "He said, 'I like you, you're going to be mine,' " said Alcocer-Carmona, who was 19 at the time. The mother of two boys landed in prison after doing a "favor" for her boyfriend: driving cocaine across the border at El Paso, Texas. The guard sneaked her candy and gum. Then one evening in January 2004 she was cleaning a staff bathroom when the guard walked in and shut the door. "He unzipped his pants and told me to do it," she said. She refused. He threatened her, she said, saying she would lose her chance for early release. He warned that he knew where her mother and children lived. "I was afraid to say no," she said. The former guard denied having any sexual contact with Alcocer-Carmona. He said she "came on" to him and other staff. "We were told to watch out for her," said the man, whose job was to oversee property of inmates sent to segregation. "People get horny in prison, and they go after who they want. If the officer is vulnerable, maybe it does happen." Asked if that might have happened in his case, he replied: "Could be." After the assault, Alcocer-Carmona said the guard hung around constantly. Once he woke her at 3 a.m. and demanded sex. That time he gave her Red Vines. He bought her a mood ring, wrote letters. He flashed his car lights at her from the parking lot below her cell window. He called her from home while another guard covered, she said. Lonely, she "became attached" to him -- not unusual for victims of prison sexual assault who can develop emotional ties with their captors. "I was so confused," she said. Pregnancy scare Inmates began complaining about the guard's gifts to Alcocer-Carmona. Staff searched her cell and found makeup and an unsigned letter. She denied everything at first. One of the guard's friends told her to "shut your ... mouth," she said. [image caption]Frances Bray-Lugo says she was groped by guards during security patdowns and witnessed other staff sexual misconduct while serving a sentence at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac. Bray-Lugo, who was formerly married to a U.S. border guard, was deported to Mexico upon her release and now lives in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. When her period was late, she panicked because the guard didn't use condoms. She shared her secret with inmate Frances Bray-Lugo, a woman in her 40s. "She was really, really scared," said Bray-Lugo, who now lives in Juarez, Mexico. "She was just a baby herself." The pregnancy scare was a false alarm. But Bray-Lugo said she knew the guard was trouble because she had been groped by him during pat-downs. She had seen him order her cellmate to strip to the waist. The guard denies those allegations. In a plea for help, Alcocer-Carmona wrote her attorney. "I was very sad that it was going on," said Louis Lopez, an attorney in El Paso. "I didn't have the resources to fly up there and take on the Bureau of Prisons." A report obtained from the Inspector General's Office confirmed that Alcocer-Carmona reported the sexual assaults in August 2004. That prompted threats from the guard's co-workers, she said. Her anxiety skyrocketed and she began taking Prozac. Finally, she complained about the harassment and was transferred to Dublin Federal Correctional Institution near Oakland, Calif. While at Dublin, two Justice Department investigators interviewed her. One told her she "didn't seem very upset." "I had already cried so much," said Alcocer-Carmona, who was deported upon her release from prison. "I went through so much suffering, so much humiliation. ... They have the power to do anything to us." The guard said he was moved to an office job for months while under investigation for what he said was giving her contraband, not sexual assault. He did admit to the P-I that he often handed out inmates' unclaimed makeup and belongings in violation of the rules. Tired of his bosses' harassment, he said in an interview with the P-I, he quit Dec. 10, 2004, for "personal and family reasons" after almost three years on the job. The guard denied all the allegations to investigators, according to records. Prosecutors declined to file charges. After he resigned, a co-worker who admitted covering for the guard was fired. Nothing to do with romance Most who are sexually abused behind bars suffer in silence. Reporting a guard is akin to biting the hand that feeds you. "Some of these prisons are like abusive households," said Deborah LaBelle, a Michigan attorney who has represented prison rape victims. About two-thirds of staff sexual misconduct in correctional facilities is classified as "romantic" involvement and half the perpetrators are female, according to a 2005 Bureau of Statistics survey. But Cindy Struckman-Johnson, a social psychologist and federal commissioner, said staff-inmate sex has nothing to do with romance: "That's what prisons think goes on a lot -- but we disagree. ... It is not consensual when there's that much of a power difference." Inmates describe sex with guards as consensual to maintain an illusion of control, LaBelle said. But inevitably the relationship turns sour. "I've heard women say, 'He would treat me like a woman not a prisoner.' But it required her getting on her knees," LaBelle said. Federal legislators passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, requiring the collection of sex crime data from correctional facilities, expanding staff training and setting up the commission, which is to issue its first report in December. Last year, lawmakers also upped the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony for prison staff accused of sexual misconduct not involving threats or injury. "We are hoping to see more cases prosecuted now," said Schnedar, of the Inspector General's Office. Some question whether the Inspector General's Office has the independence to adequately investigate another branch of the Justice Department: "There's no real external checks and balances," said Jamie Fellner, a commissioner and director of Human Rights Watch's U.S. program. But Schnedar said all cases with criminal merit are "aggressively pursued." Sexual abuse victims need easier ways to contact outside authorities, something commissioners are examining. "It may never get out of the institution," said Smith, the commissioner. "They should be able to report out. That would be huge." One expert says the biggest deterrent of all is the simplest: banning male staff from working with female prisoners. That's what helped the most in Michigan after litigation forced the state to make changes, LaBelle said. Ready to speak up In 2005, Freeman violated her probation and was sent back to the same cell on the same unit at SeaTac. The guard she'd accused of assaulting her was gone, but his buddies were not. As she describes it, two guards made her life miserable. The stress triggered panic attacks. "I got frantic, sobbing calls," said Patricia Seaborg, Freeman's Portland attorney, who was so worried she called prison officials. In October 2005, Freeman finally reported the rape from two years earlier, as well as the recent harassment and additional allegations about four guards. One guard had begged her to meet him at a motel after her first release, she said. She had kept watch for another guard while he had "consensual" sex with an inmate. Soon after that, Freeman was transferred to Geiger Corrections Center near Spokane where federal prisoners are sometimes held. After her release in March 2006, Freeman married a Mormon who stood by her during her second prison term. Five months ago, she gave birth to a daughter. Drug-free, she rarely even drinks coffee to abide by Mormon rules. The living room wall of her modest apartment is adorned with baby pictures -- the first family photos she has owned. Most days, she blocks out the past. But she, like others, believes more must be done to protect prisoners at SeaTac. "It's not a safe place for women. It's like pervert heaven," Freeman said as she cradled her daughter in her arms. "I guarantee it's still going on." |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| DontUWish | Aug 28 2007, 07:32 PM Post #72 |
Out of Dorm
|
Thanks for finding this, Abzug. It's one of the most disturbing articles (prison or otherwise) I've read in a long time. When you look at the offenses the women in the article were locked up for ... I'm not saying smuggling drugs and that kind of thing is ever OK, but for that kind of crime to lead to your being locked up for a long time and raped by predatory male guards, it's just sick. I'm so glad, actually, that Shed had Helen resist being with Nikki while Helen was an official at the prison. Their relationship was not the same as Shell/Fenner, obviously, but it's also not right IMO to present that kind of relationship as acceptable or common, given what's described in the article (like how male guards always say it was consensual). The article makes me wish there was still a program out there, whether Oz or BG or whatever, showing what goes on behind bars. |
![]() |
|
| richard | Aug 28 2007, 08:36 PM Post #73 |
|
Enhanced
|
My feelings likewise about the article. It certainly shows that the Rachel Hicks storyline was, if anything, actually exceeded by this factual account. Am I right that this refers to an American privatised prison because, if this were the case, the 'arms length' relationship between the prison and any investigating authority would aggravate the institutionalised abuse? |
![]() |
|
| richard | Aug 29 2007, 06:11 PM Post #74 |
|
Enhanced
|
Here's a turnup for the book. I know that there will be knock on effects on prisoners concerned but anyone who works for Brit public services would see straight off that pay is only the tip of the ioeberg. It is certain that this is a reaction to the crisis in prisons, that Brit prisons are bursting at the seams, that the whole system is overstretched and that the New labour government is basically 'fiddling while Rome is burning' and coming out with headline grabbing initiatives. Besides the 'no strike agreement' mentioned, the anti union legislation passed under the Thatcher government removed the 'immunity' from the union being sued (which is a negative right) and they knew exactly what they are doing in calling for the lightning strike. In other words, they were THAT pissed off and is an indictment of the government if the situation comes to this. ..................................................................................................................... LONDON (Reuters) - Striking prison officers, who staged a surprise walkout on Wednesday, were told to return to work by the government after ministers won a court order ordering staff to end their unprecedented action. Thousands of prison officers began an unexpected 24-hour strike at 7 a.m. in a pay dispute, their first ever national stoppage and one which the government said was illegal. The Prison Officers' Association said the action had affected all the 140-odd jails in England and Wales, which are almost at capacity with around 80,000 inmates. TV pictures showed large groups of officers, in uniform, gathered outside prisons. The Ministry of Justice, which said the strike had come without warning, later won an injunction against the POA demanding it end the stoppage. "The injunction prevents the POA from inducing, authorising or supporting any form of industrial action which would disrupt the operation of the Prison Service in England and Wales," a ministry spokeswoman said. "We expect prison officers to return to work with immediate effect." There was no immediate reaction from the POA to the court order. However one POA branch leader told striking workers in Liverpool that the action would go on. "I have spoken to Steve Gough, the national vice chair, and he expressed his view to us and that is 'tell them to shove it up their arse -- we're staying out,'" Steve Baines told cheering and clapping staff. Following the walkout, prisoners were confined to their cells but the government said it had contingency measures in place to ensure security was maintained and said it would ensure prisoners received meals. "Prison officers have never called a national strike before but it just shows how morale has slumped in the last few years," said Steve Gillan, POA national executive committee member. "We are not being recognised or valued for the job we do." The POA said it had balloted its 24,000 members in England and Wales and that an overwhelming majority rejected the government's decision to award a 2.5 percent pay rise in stages. It said this meant officers had only received a 1.9 percent rise. Britain's jail numbers have reached record levels in recent years, leading to problems of overcrowding. Gillan said more than eight officers were being assaulted every day. The POA is not included under trade union legislation and has previously adhered to a no-strike agreement, which it said it had now pulled out of. "The strike action by the Prison Officers' Association is deeply regrettable and wholly unjustifiable," said Justice Secretary Jack Straw in a statement. He said the government had been trying to engage in talks with the POA. Charles Bushell, general secretary of the Prison Governors' Association, said they had become aware of the strike only about an hour before it started. |
![]() |
|
| abzug | Aug 30 2007, 12:44 AM Post #75 |
|
In love with a prisoner
|
Wow, that's so Bad Girls! Everyone stuck in their cells, being fed through the door, while the officers are on strike. This whole illegality of the strike is interesting to me. We have a similar situation here in NYC with the transit workers, who are not legally allowed to strike because if they do so no one in NYC can actually get anywhere. But a few years ago they did strike, in the middle of winter, for three days. It was an utter mess. It's just hard to know what workers who provide vital services (transit, utilities, security etc) should be permitted to do: the higher good for society at large vs the rights of those workers. In other news, for those who sometimes forget the true moral issues of Helen's relationship with Nikki, here is a fascinating article about relationships between prison officers and prisoners: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/storie...ll=7&thispage=1 Maybe it's love, but in jail it's a crime Corrections - Getting too close to inmates costs more officers their jobs as Oregon gets tough on crossing the line Sunday, June 03, 2007 AIMEE GREEN The Oregonian Tillamook County jail officer Heather Joann Stevens was on the brink of a divorce and needed someone to talk to. Nicholas R. Henry -- a 41-year-old inmate with a history of coercion, attempted assault and illegally possessing guns -- was there to lend a patient ear. Within a matter of months, the 37-year-old Stevens had penned a series of steamy love notes, going as far as to sign Henry's name as her own. She'd tattooed his initials on her neck. And she'd even let him into the strictly off-limits control room to chat -- where with a push of a button he could have unlocked jailhouse doors. Stevens resigned, choosing to give up her job instead of her man. But when Stevens' ex-husband discovered nude photos of the inmate that she had snapped inside the jail, police began to investigate. Stevens served four months in jail and lost her state certification, joining a rising number of corrections officers in recent years who have destroyed their careers because they crossed the line between officer and inmate. Four years ago, state officials didn't decertify a single jail or prison officer for violating that rule. In the past three years, however, they've blacklisted 31 for inappropriate relationships -- friendships, romances and, in a few cases, forced sex -- with inmates. More than half of the decertified officers in the past three years -- 17 of the 31 -- were women. Although only one-fourth of the officers in the state prison system are women, they are much more likely to work with the opposite sex than their male counterparts are. About 92 percent of state prisoners are men. Ron Lawson, executive vice president of the Association of Oregon Correctional Employees, said such behavior is aggressively reported and investigated today because it's now a crime, not just an employee discipline problem. When Lawson started his career at the Oregon State Penitentiary eight years ago, prison officials most likely wouldn't alert police or the state agency overseeing certifications if an officer was spotted kissing an inmate, Lawson said. "If you were caught, they'd just terminate you," Lawson said. "It was like a job-related no-no, like saying you were sick when you weren't." But today, Lawson said, the case probably would be forwarded to the district attorney's office for possible criminal prosecution. "Now if you're caught, it's a crime and you're put in handcuffs and hauled off to jail," Lawson said. The move to crack down on inappropriate relationships received a big push from the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, which called for better prevention and punishment of sexual acts behind bars -- even if both parties consented. In 2005, Oregon made it a felony for officers to have sex with inmates. It was the second to last state to do so, according to state prison assistant director Colette Peters, who pushed for the tougher law. In the past, officers who had sexual relations with inmates often could be prosecuted only on misdemeanor charges. Washington passed its felony law in 1999. But Washington doesn't certify corrections officers so it can't decertify them, either. As a result, the state doesn't track officers who pursue relationships with inmates or who commit any other sort of wrongdoing. Imbalance of power Authorities are quick to point out that under the new law, so-called romances between officers and inmates are never truly consensual. Officers have the power to decide when inmates exercise, eat, use the phone and socialize. They can decide what work crews inmates are assigned to, and whether they get to buy commissary treats such as candy bars and ice cream. They have the power to throw inmates into solitary confinement for days or weeks. That's not to say that inmates don't willingly seek out officer-inmate trysts -- because they want special treatment or are genuinely interested or simply for the thrill of breaking the rules, officials say. In return for friendship, intimacy or sex, some officers have smuggled inmates money, food and tobacco, a hot commodity on the black market behind bars. Others have assigned inmates better bunks, assisted them with their court cases and warned them when trouble with the law was on the way. And at least twice in recent years, they've gone to the extreme -- helping an inmate escape or hide from police afterward. In Multnomah County, Deputy Erich Guntha Watson was arrested and charged earlier this year with custodial sexual misconduct, official misconduct and supplying contraband after he was discovered sneaking in coffee, deli sandwiches and colored contact lenses for his love interest, inmate Talina Hall. Authorities allege that Watson, 57, kissed Hall, 35, in her cell while on duty, and detectives later found photos of the two when they searched his home. Watson, who has since resigned, faces trial this week. Sgt. Phil Anderchuk, the head of Multnomah County's corrections deputies union, said he has no sympathy for jail deputies who look for friendship or love on the job. "Good riddance," Anderchuk said. "When a corrections deputy begins an inappropriate relationship, they compromise my safety, because I don't know how far they're going to go to protect that relationship." Anderchuk said an officer with personal attachments to an inmate could smuggle in drugs or weapons -- jeopardizing all colleagues. Any fraternization with inmates is taboo. Alexander Frederick Wiese, 41, another former Multnomah County corrections deputy facing criminal trial this month, isn't accused of having any physical contact with inmate Lindsay Bailey. But authorities say the married father of five broke the law by spilling intimate details of his troubled marriage to Bailey and penning her love notes. "A lot of officers don't even wear their wedding rings because they don't want the bad guys knowing anything about their personal lives," said Lt. Jason Gates, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, which operates two jails. But Stevens, the Tillamook County jail officer who tattooed the inmate's initials on her neck, didn't consider her love interest a "bad guy" at all. Even though the inmate, Henry, will be locked away until 2008, the two are still "madly in love," Stevens said. "It's a matter of him finishing his time until we can spend the rest of our lives together," Stevens said. That love, however, came at a price. When she got out of jail, Stevens moved from the coastal town of 4,500 to avoid public scorn. She hasn't told co-workers in her new line of work -- retail. "People don't forgive and forget," said Stevens, who has since changed her name. New to the job, lonely Most prison or jail officers who lost their certifications in the past few years were relatively new to their careers. After less than a year on the job at the Warner Creek Correctional Facility in Lakeview, Billi Jean Davis was fired in 2006. She admitted to kissing, hugging and allowing an inmate to put his hand on her buttocks. Davis, 35, told police she had been suffering from low self-esteem and was flattered by the attention. "He told me he thought I was pretty," said Davis, according to an Oregon State Police report. Many corrections officers who pursued relationships with inmates were going through tumultuous times in their lives. According to court records, several were going through a divorce. The ousted officers were drawn to a wide range of convicts, from drug dealers to murderers serving life behind bars. Rebecca McLauchlin, a married mother of three, was sentenced last year to more than two years in prison for having sex with convicted killer Cory Ogden and smuggling tobacco into the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. McLauchlin's sentence, however, is rare because such cases are difficult to prove. Prosecutors say many sexual acts occur in a darkened prison cell, or in a secluded corner of a work space, such as the laundry room, when no one is around. And often inmates are the only witnesses. Of the 31 corrections officers who've had their certifications revoked for improper relationships from 2004 to 2006, about a third were charged with crimes. A half dozen were convicted of a crime and received time behind bars. Peters, the state prison assistant director, said the new felony sex law hasn't been the deterrent she envisioned. Prison administrators are trying to discourage relationships in other ways, such as by installing more surveillance cameras in stairwells, elevators and other nooks and crannies. They've also publicized a hot line that lets inmates and employees anonymously report suspicions of improper relationships or other wrongdoing. And they've reminded employees that there's zero tolerance for relationships with inmates. "We're training managers to see warning signs," Peters said. "To see what's going on with employees: Is someone's personal life falling apart? Because something isn't stable. Something is out of whack. Something is pushing them over an edge that we shouldn't see our correctional professionals step over." |
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!
| |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · The Comfy Sofa · Next Topic » |








8:45 AM Jul 11