Jail & Prison Conditions — Jail and Prison Conditions — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Jail and Prison Conditions

Even if an inmate's sentence is not oppressively long, their treatment while incarcerated can still constitute subhuman treatment. Prisons are not medical facilities, but they regularly are forced to deal with mental health problems and care for elderly and terminally ill inmates. Food, if it's even edible, usually lacks enough nutrition for inmates' health to not deteriorate. Plus, with a lack of opportunities to see family, read, or gain skill sets, inmates are placed in buildings which lack any resemblance of the civilized world.

Posts in Jail & Prison Conditions

For Some Illinois Prisoners, One Good Eye Is Enough

“It’s easy to underestimate the brutality of boredom, but people in prison will tell you that keeping your mind occupied is essential to survival. Paulette Fiedler, a 69-year-old prisoner at Logan Correctional Center in Illinois, keeps her mind alive by reading — she plows through book after book. So, Fiedler said, when she got cataracts in both eyes, she wanted them fixed as soon as possible. But the prison doctor told her that she’d have to make a choice. Which eye did she want fixed, the right one or the left one? Multiple Illinois prisoners say they have been denied eye surgery because of a “one good eye” policy that only entitles them to have one functioning eye.“

WBEZ Chicago

November 19, 2019

Prison Programs, Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesNovember 19, 2019WBEZ Chicago, IllinoisComment

'American horror story': The prison voices you don't hear from have the most to tell us

“Alabama Department of Corrections has its version of what's going on inside Holman, Kilby, Staton and the state's other prisons in its official news releases. Nearly every day, accounts released by state officials are reported without verification, despite the fact multiple federal institutions have found that ADOC's own employees have lied in their record-keeping and under-counted violent incidents as severe as murder. To get the other side of the story, the Advertiser paid for phone calls and stamps to include these men in the narrative about their own lives, which they are often excluded from telling by nature of their incarceration.“

Montgomery Advertiser

November 15, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesNovember 15, 2019Montgomery Advertiser, AlabamaComment

Water Contamination Forces Arizona Department Of Corrections To Change Wells At Douglas Prison

“After inmates in the Douglas prison complained their drinking water was brown and tasted like diesel fuel, the Arizona Department of Corrections has confirmed water at the prison had a “noticeable petroleum odor and taste.” Spokesman Andrew Wilder said the complex was forced to change water sources.“

KJZZ 91.5 Arizona

October 21, 2019

Jail & Prison Conditions, Food ConditionsPhillip ReevesOctober 21, 2019KJZZ Arizona, ArizonaComment

For My Incarcerated Clients, There Is No Winning

“I like to think of myself as a legal problem-solver for incarcerated people. Identifying the problems to solve is often the hardest part. My heart goes out to the people whom I’ve been able to get to know and from whom I’ve learned about the struggles they face to stay alive in a prison cell for decades.“

The Marshall Project

October 17, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesOctober 17, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

As Climate Changes, High Temperatures Plague Prisons and Jails

“Driven by climate change over the past few decades, the average number of days each year with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees has increased from 5 to 15 in Houston. The Wallace Pack Unit was home to some of the TDCJ’s most elderly prisoners, part of some 13,000 state prisoners who have been deemed medically sensitive to excessive heat. Collier said 8,000 of those prisoners have already been placed in air-conditioned housing, with plans to move the other 5,000 within two years.“

Prison Legal News

October 7, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesOctober 7, 2019Prison Legal News, Texas, Climate ChangeComment

Call inmates by name at NYC jails, council bill demands

““This is about treating people like human beings,” said Councilmember Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), the bill’s sponsor. “And this is one amongst many requirements we’re putting forward that will start treating people like human beings and start making these new facilities feel much different than what we’re leaving behind with Rikers Island.”“

The City

September 26, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 26, 2019The City, Rikers Island, New York CityComment

“It Smelled Like Death”: Reports of Mold Contamination in Prisons and Jails

“The chronic presence of mold is frequently a component of what is referred to as Tight Building Syndrome or Sick Building Syndrome – terms that have been coined to describe a relatively new occupational health and safety problem for people who work or spend excessive amounts of time indoors. This is not a new phenomenon; it has been a source of concern for governmental entities such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the subject of numerous class-action lawsuits over several decades.“

Prison Legal News

April 2, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 13, 2019Prison Legal News, Rikers IslandComment

Prison audit suggests separating gang members, letting inmates earn more ‘good time credit’

“South Carolina should improve prison officers’ training, better manage gang members and penalize their leaders, and offer inmates more opportunities to shave time off their sentences to incentivize good behavior, according to a state audit presented to legislators Monday. A lengthy review by the Legislative Audit Council also found inconsistencies in how and whether inmates and visitors are searched for contraband. And it’s unclear how much contraband — such as cellphones, which have allowed inmates to carry on their criminal enterprises — is found because it’s not being properly tracked, the audit found.“

Charleston Post and Courier

August 26, 2019

Death in Prison, Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesAugust 26, 2019Charleston Post and Courier, South CarolinaComment

Inmates swelter in uncooled prisons during heat wave

“"Being in here is like being in hell," said one prisoner, who spent part of the heat wave in a solitary confinement cell with little air flow. He slept on the floor, his mattress soaked with sweat, he said. Though prison officials say the cells are ventilated, the prisoner only felt a thin stream of air flow through the cell door's slot for food trays as heat indexes in Alabama hovered in the 110 to 115 degree range.“

Montgomery Advertiser

August 20, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesAugust 20, 2019Montgomery Advertiser, AlabamaComment

I Tried to Tell the World About Epstein’s Jail. No One Wanted to Listen.

“I spent a decade trying to get media outlets to pay attention to the MCC, in Lower Manhattan, pleading with journalists for hours on the phone, over email, and in person to launch investigations of the jail. Over and over, for years, these media organizations did not follow up. Suddenly, there was urgency to talk about the conditions at MCC. The jail now provided an intriguingly grimy backdrop to an already sordid story. The question is whether a sustained light will actually be shined on the conditions there, or whether the widespread fascination with MCC just becomes part of the spectacle.“

The Atlantic

August 16, 2019

Death in Prison, Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesAugust 16, 2019The Atlantic, Jeffrey Epstein, MCCComment

John Oliver Goes to Work for Prison Labor Reform on Last Week Tonight

“On Sunday night’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver returned to one of his favorite topics: The criminal justice system in the United States. He has covered prosecutors, the use of lethal injections, mandatory minimum sentences, and the reentry of prisoners to mainstream society and this time he focused on prison labor.“

Time Magazine

August 5, 2019

Jail & Prison Conditions, Prison ProgramsPhillip ReevesAugust 5, 2019TIME Magazine, John OliverComment

No water, no lights and broken toilets: Parchman health inspection uncovers hundreds of problems, many repeat violations

“Hundreds of other environmental sanitation deficiencies are also identified across the prison, including instances of black mold and mildew, exposed wiring, raw sewage as well as showers and ice machines that were inoperable. Unit 29, which has more than 1,500 beds, has the most violations, although the inspector found deficiencies across all of Parchman’s open units. Many of these issues are repeated across state health inspection reports since 2016, a Mississippi Today review found.“

Mississippi Today

August 5, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesAugust 5, 2019Mississippi, Mississippi Today, ParchmanComment

Reminder: It's 2019 and Most Florida Prisons Still Aren't Air-Conditioned

“Despite this, most Florida prison inmates spent the day locked in dorms that have no air-conditioning. That's right — it's 2019, and the vast majority of state prisons are still not fully air-conditioned. The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), a nonpartisan advocate for reform, drew attention to the issue last week with a report showing Florida is among at least 13 states that lack universal AC inside correctional facilities. The organization says inmates exposed to extreme heat can experience dehydration and heat stroke, which can be deadly. Those on blood pressure medications or psychotropic drugs, who already have a hard time regulating their body temperatures, are particularly vulnerable.“

Miami News Times

June 25, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesJune 25, 2019Miami News Times, FloridaComment

The Underground Art of Prison Tattoos

“Body artists and the people who manufacture tattoo machines are highly respected by other inmates, but they are viewed warily by guards and corrections officials who say tattoos carry health risks. (Nobody in prison has access to a sterilized tattoo parlor.) As a result, inmates who are caught freshly inked or making tattoo machines can be disciplined and put into solitary confinement, sometimes for days.“

The Marshall Project

June 7, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesJune 7, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

How secret languages thrive behind bars

“Prison language, or language created by inmates while incarcerated, has a long and vivid history, and is likely as old as the modern prison itself. It can alternately can be described as prison slang (informal talk), cant (a secret language), or argot (jargon of a certain group). “

PBS News Hour

June 3, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesJune 3, 2019PBS, PBS News HourComment

An ignored and unseen crisis in American prisons and jails

“Every day there’s another story. In Alabama, the Justice Department recently concluded that the level of violence, sexual abuse, and weapons in that state’s prisons has created conditions that violate the Constitution. Arizona’s governor was forced to convene a task force to determine why broken cell locks, which led to the death of a state prisoner and assaults on corrections officers, were neglected for years. “

Washington Examiner

May 29, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 29, 2019Washington ExaminerComment

California’s jails are so bad some inmates beg to go to prison instead

“Solitary confinement — in a windowless room — was a common punishment; Garland says he lost track of whether it was day or night during a spell in solitary and began to hear voices. Mental-health help was hard to get, he alleged, even after he started swallowing shards of metal and tried to hang himself. He detailed the treatment in a lawsuit accusing the county of subjecting inmates to inhumane conditions — a claim the county denies.“

LA Times

May 23, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 23, 2019LA Times, CaliforniaComment

Federal court order officially ends Tennessee 'inmate sterilization' program

“A federal court order officially ended a Tennessee program that shortened people's jail sentences if they agreed to get vasectomies or other forms of birth control. The order was filed Monday as part of a settlement reached in a federal lawsuit over the program. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, said White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe and Judge Sam Benningfield violated the constitution by allowing inmates to get 30 days off a jail term if they agreed to a birth control implant or vasectomy.“

The Tennessean

May 20, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 20, 2019The Tennessean, TennesseeComment

Alabama lawmakers aim for special session on prison reforms

“Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said the prison problems would be best addressed in a special session of the Legislature. Only the governor can call a special session, and Marsh said he hoped Gov. Kay Ivey would call one on prisons. The regular legislative session, going on now, ends no later than June 17. “

AL.com

May 16, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 16, 2019AL.com, Birmingham NewsComment

Texas Senate passes bill to end the shackling of pregnant women in prison

“Under current law, Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities are prohibited from shackling women during labor and while they are recovering from delivery, but they can still be shackled at any other time. White’s bill would prevent shackling after a woman’s pregnancy is confirmed by a medical professional. While TDCJ already provides women with feminine hygiene products each month, women have reported that the tampons are uncomfortable to use and that they often don’t have enough pads to last through the month. White’s bill would require TDCJ to provide regular or large sized pads with wings and regular or large sized tampons. The bill would also require the department to offer up to 10 free feminine hygiene products to women each day.“

Texas Tribune

May 10, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 10, 2019Texas Tribune, TexasComment