Human Rights Defense Center — Jail and Prison Conditions — 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.

Human Rights Defense Center: Kansas still unfairly bans books in prisons

“A watchdog group says the Kansas prison system unfairly censors publications despite new policy and the elimination of a banned book list. The Human Rights Defense Center has produced a list of more than 200 books and magazines that have been intercepted by administrators in recent months, including the Pulitzer Prize winner “The Overstory,” by Richard Powers, and books by John Grisham, Neil Gaiman, Toni Morrison, Nora Roberts and other popular authors. Seattle-based HRDC in May revealed the Kansas Department of Corrections maintained a list of banned books for easy reference by mailroom staff. Corrections secretary Jeff Zmuda eliminated the list amid widespread criticism when he arrived July 1.“

Topeka Capital-Journal

December 2, 2019

Access to Outside World, EducationPhillip ReevesDecember 2, 2019Topeka Capital Journal, Kansas, Human Rights Defense CenterComment

Jail and Prison Conditions

Galsworthy CJR Program

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