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.

A prison program in Connecticut seeks to find out what happens when prisoners are treated as victims

“Prisoners report past abuse at rates up to twice that of the general population. Youth who get caught up in the criminal justice system have experienced chronic trauma at rates triple those of youth in the general population. A study of people who spent time in prison, conducted by sociologist Bruce Western, found that 42 percent had witnessed a violent death as children. Advocates of criminal justice reform are beginning to catch up with what social scientists have shown for years: The correlation between being the victim of a crime and committing crime cannot be ignored in serious conversations about sending fewer people to prison.“

The Conversation

March 7, 2019

Prison ProgramsPhillip ReevesMarch 7, 2019The Conversation, Connecticut, TRUEComment

More states are signing harmful “free prison tablet” contracts

“All this being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with tablet technology, in or out of a prison setting. It’s certainly possible to imagine using tablet technology to substantially improve prison life. But before states can write better contracts, they – and the public – must learn to distinguish truly innovative policies from high-tech ploys to cut costs.“

Prison Policy Initiative

March 7, 2019

Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesMarch 7, 2019Prison Policy Initiative, TabletsComment

Report Released on Deaths in Utah Prisons and Jails

“Of 71 deaths reported in Utah county jails over a five-year period, 38 were suicides and 31 occurred within the first week after the prisoner was booked into jail. Six of the deaths occurred on the first day in custody. Deaths in state prisons were less predominated by suicides, and the prisoners had usually been incarcerated far longer than one week. Of the 20 prison deaths reported in 2017, just two were suicides. Two others resulted from drug or alcohol intoxication and 15 from “illness,” while the last was listed as “other/unknown.” “

Prison Legal News

March 5, 2019

Death in PrisonPhillip ReevesMarch 5, 2019Prison Legal News, UtahComment

Architecture and Prison Reform

“Now that prison populations are leveling off or falling, corrections officials are revisiting the podular model, which comes in many variations. The basic element is a suite holding from about 16 to 40 inmates, who can be surveilled by a single corrections officer. Meals are brought to inmates in the pod, which ideally has outside views and includes a day room, toilets, showers, and counseling and medical-exam rooms all within the locked perimeter.“

Architectural Record

March 4, 2019

Prison DesignPhillip ReevesMarch 4, 2019Architectural RecordComment

Vera Institute for Justice and MASS Design Group Reimagine Prisons

“The MASS report for Vera charts the evolution of carceral typologies, develops a framework for evaluating the current landscape of prisons, and culminates with a vision for a “reimagined system” in which the mission and objectives of the current model are shifted from a retributive, punitive, and sequestering approach to a restorative and therapeutic one—one which many experts believe could greatly reduce the high recidivism rate and help former inmates succeed in reentering their communities.“

Architectural Record

March 4, 2019

Prison DesignPhillip ReevesMarch 4, 2019Architectural Record, Vera InstituteComment

Reform LA Jails Campaign Heats Up As Historic Initiative Heads To The Ballot In 2020

“If the LA county-wide initiative passes, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Civilian Oversight Commission will be granted subpoena and investigative power to effectively and independently investigate misconduct; the commission will also have the power to develop a plan that will reduce jail populations and redirect the cost savings into alternatives to incarceration.“

Essence

March 4, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMarch 4, 2019LA County, Los Angeles, California, EssenceComment

Sentenced to prison without a crime: mental health patients locked up in New Hampshire

“According to mental health advocates, New Hampshire stands alone in the US in warehousing involuntarily committed mental health patients in prison. There have been efforts to reform the system for years now, but the state’s legislature never agreed on the millions of dollars needed to build a secure psychiatric facility, leaving the prison SPU as the only option for some patients.“

The Guardian

March 1, 2019

Mental HealthPhillip ReevesMarch 1, 2019The Guardian, New HampshireComment

Members of Congress Seek Answers From Prisoner Transport Company

“Ever year, tens of thousands of people are driven to face criminal charges in faraway jurisdictions by for-profit prison transportation companies, which are supposed to be regulated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency has penalized one prisoner transport company—not PTS—after an inmate fled an unlocked van and was found in a cornfield in 2011.“

The Marshall Project

February 28, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesFebruary 28, 2019The Marshall ProjectComment

The Jail Health-Care Crisis

“According to a study released in 2017 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly half the people held in jails suffer from some kind of mental illness, and more than a quarter have a severe condition, such as bipolar disorder. The same year, the bureau reported that about two-thirds of sentenced jail inmates suffer from drug addiction or dependency; that number was based on data from 2007-09, so it does not take into account the recent catastrophic rise of opioid addiction. That epidemic and other public-health emergencies, in jails across the country, are being aggravated by failings in the criminal-justice system.“

The New Yorker

February 25, 2019

Mental Health, Drug Addiction, End of Life CarePhillip ReevesFebruary 25, 2019The New YorkerComment

Mentally ill languish in Oregon jails, in breach of federal court order

“The frequent delays, some of them lasting more than a month, trample the rights of mentally ill people accused of minor or serious crimes, as judges have ruled they cannot be left to languish in county jails. Since January 2018, court, jail and hospital officials collectively failed more than 200 times to get people out of jail and into treatment within the court-ordered seven-day timeline, The Oregonian/OregonLive found by analyzing data obtained under a public records request.“

The Oregonian

February 24, 2019

Mental HealthPhillip ReevesFebruary 24, 2019Oregon, The OregonianComment

Colorado’s prisons are bursting at the seams. Lawmakers are searching for solutions.

“Colorado lawmakers on Friday listened as state officials offered proposals and previewed bills that would tackle criminal justice reforms, including alleviating the state’s packed prison system and whether to reopen a $200 million empty building.“

Denver Post

February 22, 2019

Prison DesignPhillip ReevesFebruary 22, 2019Denver Post, ColoradoComment

'Just Leave Them to Die'

“With 1,703 prisoners, MDC-Brooklyn is one of the largest federal jails in the country, sitting in a flood zone along the borough’s waterfront. The blackout plunged the jail into darkness, and paralyzed computer systems that are essential to maintaining humane conditions of confinement, including the provision of medical care and medication to detainees. The blackout also amplified allegations––from corrections officers and detainees––that the facility was not sufficiently heated.“

The Appeal

February 22, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesFebruary 22, 2019The Appeal, BrooklynComment

Do Jails Kill People?

“There may be no worse place to live in New York City than on Rikers Island, and it is an even worse place to die—locked inside of a jail, forcibly separated from family and friends. Most people whose lives end on Rikers die of natural causes, but there is no doubt that some deaths there have been caused by the culture and conditions of Rikers itself.“

The New Yorker

February 20, 2019

Death in PrisonPhillip ReevesFebruary 20, 2019The New Yorker, Rikers IslandComment

Do Jails Kill People?

“Reporters have virtually no access to the jails on Rikers Island, but, for many years, Venters had a rare vantage point from which to observe its inner workings. He started working on Rikers in 2008, overseeing health care for thousands of people imprisoned there. On an island known for abuse and violence, Venters became a legendary figure; he often spoke about human rights and was known for his persistent advocacy on behalf of inmates. He left the city’s jail-health service in 2017, and now he has written a crucially important book, “Life and Death in Rikers Island,” in which he examines one of the most overlooked aspects of mass incarceration: the health risks of being locked up.“

The New Yorker

February 20, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesFebruary 20, 2019The New Yorker, New York City, Rikers IslandComment

Florida prisons are in terrible shape. Wardens themselves just said so.

“State prison wardens pleaded with Florida senators Wednesday to adequately fund the Department of Corrections and help alleviate a variety of dire conditions in their facilities, from maintenance deficits to gang violence epidemics. Low salaries, frequent overtime shifts and poor working conditions have created a statewide epidemic of correctional officer and prison staff turnover, wardens said.“

Florida Times Union

February 20, 2019

Jail & Prison Conditions, UnderstaffingPhillip ReevesFebruary 20, 2019Florida Times Union, FloridaComment

How the Federal Government Undermines Prison Education

“By 1982, there were 350 postsecondary education programs in prisons, and by the early 1990s, the number had risen to nearly 800 programs spread across some 1,300 facilities. But in 1994, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which helped to increase the nation’s ballooning prison population while also blocking incarcerated individuals from accessing Pell Grants. It was an ill-conceived move: Access to education behind bars, and the resulting boost to employment after release, wards against recidivism, which in the U.S. runs at roughly 50 percent during the first three years after release.“

The Intercept

February 18, 2019

EducationPhillip ReevesFebruary 18, 2019The Intercept, Pell GrantsComment

NC jail deaths hit record level in 2018; 44 inmates died and the trend is on an upward track

“More inmates died in North Carolina’s jails in 2018 than any other year since the state began tracking deaths in 1997. Forty-four inmates died behind bars or at a medical facility after becoming ill in the jail last year. That’s four more than the previous high in 2015. But over the past five years, jail deaths have trended upward despite more public awareness.“

Greensboro News & Record

February 17, 2019

Death in PrisonPhillip ReevesFebruary 17, 2019Greensboro News and Record, North CarolinaComment

The Surprisingly Nomadic Lives of Prisoners

“The nomadic aspect of prison life isn't generally seen on TV dramas or movies about "the big house." Most people, when they think about it at all, assume that cellmates are often stuck together for decades, in a pact of camaraderie born of shared circumstances. On the contrary, even the best buddies don't usually stay together for long. We live like hermit crabs, schlepping our stuff here and there, taking up a new shell for a while, when we're told to, then moving on.“

The Marshall Project

February 14, 2019

Access to Outside World, Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesFebruary 14, 2019The Marshall Project, MissouriComment

Built with rehabilitation in mind, Texas state jails are now viewed by lawmakers as a "complete failure"

“But advocates and lawmakers say the system has failed. Attitudes about criminal justice shifted soon after the system was put in place. The state began using the jails as way stations for inmates convicted of more serious crimes on their way to state prisons. Few rehabilitative services were made available in state jails, and the low-level offenders who went to the facilities have been rearrested at a higher rate than the general prison population.“

Texas Tribune

February 14, 2019

Prison Design, Prison ProgramsPhillip ReevesFebruary 14, 2019Texas Tribune, TexasComment

Judge finds Alabama prisons 'deliberately indifferent’ to isolated inmates

“U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled today that the Alabama Department of Corrections fails to adequately evaluate the mental health of inmates isolated in segregation cells, causing a risk of serious harm, and that the ADOC is “deliberately indifferent” to that failure.“

Birmingham News

February 11, 2019

Solitary ConfinementPhillip ReevesFebruary 11, 2019Birmingham News, AlabamaComment