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.
"Six prisoners in Sacramento County’s jails filed a federal class action lawsuit today, claiming that jail conditions do not meet minimum standards under the U.S. Constitution and federal law. The lawsuit asserts that the County’s jails are overcrowded and dangerously understaffed, and that they fail to provide adequate mental health and medical care."
Disability Rights California
July 31, 2018
Read More"While many promising changes have long been underway in New York City—even with its largest jail still years away from its promised closure—could replacing Rikers Island be the catalyst for a more root-and-branch reform of the system, and the opportunity to meaningfully address the harms caused by decades of an over-reliance on incarceration, especially to communities of color?"
Center for Court Innovation
July 31, 2018
Read More"Each day I was not called for medical chain, I grew more anxious. Two weeks later, I requested another appointment. Two more weeks passed before I once again sat on a paper-covered exam table in the prison medical unit. The almost-doctor had no knowledge of my request, he said."
The Marshall Project
July 26, 2018
Read More"This time, we looked at the sources of goods rather than spending patterns among incarcerated people, and discovered a couple of surprising findings alongside the usual major vendors."
Prison Policy Initiative
July 26, 2018
Read More"Taylor estimates there could be 300 prisoners affected by the settlement, but he doesn't know exactly how many Illinois inmates are deaf. He says part of the problem is that until now, the Department of Corrections has not had to screen people for hearing loss."
NPR Illinois
July 25, 2018
Read More"In 2011, before the national standards were issued, there were 8,768 allegations of sexual assault and harassment nationwide. By the end of 2015, that total had jumped to 24,661, a leap of more than 180 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, which compiles the numbers it collects from corrections departments. Still, the report shows, corrections administrators rarely decide that the alleged attacks actually happened."
The Marshall Project
July 25, 2018
Read More"Yet in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado, Sheriff’s Deputy Sandra Rincon was celebrated with a tiara, a “princess” plate, and a cake with the number “50” on top. The number, however, wasn’t her age. It referred to the number of times she had used force against prisoners, ranging from handcuffing to punching and kicking. She was the winner of what one of the county jailers called a “fight club,” crowning whoever used force most often as the champion."
ACLU
July 24, 2018
Read More"The suit was filed in June 2017 by the family of Henry Clay Stewart, an inmate who died Aug. 6, 2016, because of internal bleeding from a perforated stomach ulcer. Inmates at the Portsmouth facility said that on Aug. 5, 2016, or the day after, Stewart 'appeared not to be breathing and was foaming at the mouth,' according to the lawsuit. The suit alleged that correctional officers and medical staff provided Stewart with inadequate and delayed care in response."
Richmond Times-Dispatch
July 24, 2018
Read More"To toxic prison activists like Panagioti Tsolkas, that’s hardly surprising. 'I think [it’s] the same reason why so many prisoners are not given the right to vote and held without any hope of parole,' he said. 'Because they’re viewed as a subclass of the population, deserving of less basic rights, help, and protection'."
The Outline
July 23, 2018
Read More"State prison officials are in emergency-response mode this week as a heat wave bears down on a large swath of Texas, rivaling the system that triggered the deaths of 10 inmates from heat stroke in 2011."
Houston Chronicle
July 22, 2018
Read More"In order to change this culture, we need to take action. We need to advocate for sweeping changes to practices within the jail, and we need to hold the Sheriff’s Office accountable for implementing those changes. We need to stand up to the culture of negligence that allowed seven people housed in a county facility to die in 18 months."
Milwaukee Courier
July 14, 2018
Read More"People are constantly asking me: What’s a day in prison like? Is it boring? Or are you busy? So the other day, I toted a pocket-sized notebook with me everywhere I went, scribbling down every single thing I did. I thought I’d share my findings with you to show you that we prisoners aren’t deadbeats — our days are, in fact, incredibly full."
The Marshall Project
July 12, 2018
Read More"To make big impacts on jail populations, we need to expand who we think of as good candidates for diversion or release, and we need to speed up case processing for others who must stay in custody for public-safety reasons. This means focusing on individuals seen as higher-risk, such as people who have been charged with nonviolent felonies or who are in jail because they violated the terms of probation or parole."
Governing Institute
July 10, 2018
Read More"'This is the population that is the most expensive to incarcerate and the least likely to re-offend,' report author Mary Price told New Jersey 101.5. 'It makes no sense to keep them locked up'."
New Jersey 101.5
July 8, 2018
Read More"Earn Your Way Out will reduce New Jersey's prison population, saving tax dollars and savings lives, by giving inmates meaningful purpose in their lives -- for themselves, their families and their communities. Ending abuse of solitary confinement will make peaceful re-entry to society more likely."
New Jersey Star-Ledger
July 2, 2018
Read More"Meanwhile, there is no constitutional rule about how long a defendant can wait before the initial court appearance that triggers this right to counsel.....They can wait even longer to see their attorneys. The lengthy uncounseled detentions of presumptively innocent people mimic the police "disappearances" so common under authoritarian regimes. Our country has failed to honor its promise of a right to counsel. The breach of this promise has staggering implications."
Dallas Morning News
July 1, 2018
Read More"Even before their incarceration, prisoners are likely to have unmet dental needs, research shows. While in prison, they have a constitutional right to dental care, but the courts have offered little guidance on the services that institutions must provide."
The Marshall Project
June 28, 2018
Read More"If the deaths are confirmed as suicides, they will bring the tally over the last 12 months to to 21. By comparison, there were just eight inmate suicides in the state during the previous 12-month period. Sarah Geraghty, managing attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights, attributes the rising number of inmate suicides to Georgia’s increased use of strict isolation."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 27, 2018
Read More"Improvements in medical care, longer jail terms because of stricter sentencing guidelines and an increase in the number of older adults being sent to prison have had a significant effect on the U.S. prison population: The average age of inmates is rising."
Washington Post
June 27, 2018
Read More"Despite the incredible success rates among older people safely released from prison, we continue to annually spend approximately $16 billion to incarcerate this population. The financial impact will increase substantially with population projections for elderly incarcerated people to hit 400,000 by 2030. We have barely touched the surface of the potential savings that could be reinvested by safely returning older incarcerated individuals to the community."
The Crime Report
June 26, 2018
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