NY Times: Jails Have Become Warehouses for the Poor, Ill and Addicted, a Report Says By TIMOTHY WILLIAMSFEB. 11, 2015 Photo Those seeking mental health services in Los Angeles jails stayed more than twice as long as others, the Vera Institute said. Credit Monica Almeida/The New York Times Jails across the country have become vast warehouses made up primarily of people too poor to post bail or too ill with mental health or drug problems to adequately care for themselves, according to a report issued Wednesday. The study, “Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America,” found that the majority of those incarcerated in local and county jails are there for minor … [Read more...]
Some States Are Closing Prisons And Turning Them Into Homeless Shelters, Reentry Centers
A very creative way to use these facilities. The possibilities are endless. The immediate need of the homeless is critical. Babz Rawls Ivy. The Huffington Post | By Robbie Couch Fewer prisoners in cells means more room for resources that benefit communities, and groups around the country are taking advantage of the space. Although the overall state prison population in the U.S. rose by 6,300 inmates in 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported last September, not all states have been upping their numbers in recent years. Since 2011, at least 17 states have reduced prison capacity, for a total of more than 35,000 beds. And all those empty cells have become opportunities for positive … [Read more...]
How The Mass Incarceration Of Black Men Prevents Us From Developing Better Health Treatments
BY TARA CULP-RESSLER MAY 7, 2014 The United States’ racially biased criminal justice system is having an unintended consequence on medical innovation, according to a new study published in the Health Affairs journal. Researchers suggest that, due to the mass incarceration of African American men in this country, clinical trials are having trouble getting enough black participants — something that’s preventing scientists from adequately examine racial disparities in health outcomes. Black men in this country have a one in three chance of being incarcerated at some point in their lifetime, according to the Department of Justice, and the United States now imprisons a larger percentage of its … [Read more...]
California Prison Guards Sit Out Debate On Letting Non-Violent Prisoners Go Free
Re-post From Huffington Post Politics By Matt Sledge Matt Sledge@huffingtonpost.com For decades, California's prison guard union was a feared political animal. It backed harsh sentencing laws and the construction of dozens of new prisons, and its membership rolls swelled. Now, a November ballot referendum could release thousands of non-violent prisoners, and the 33,000-member union's response has been surprising. Silence. The guards are sitting this one out. California Correctional Peace Officers Association spokesman JeVaughn Baker told The Huffington Post in an email that the union "has not taken a position on Proposition 47 and has no intention of doing so." In years past, … [Read more...]
