U. S . Senator Cory Booker shared this on his Facebook page. I read it this morning and was profoundly moved. We gotta rethink mass incarceration people. The New Jersey Star-Ledger Editorial Board penned this thought provoking piece. I thought it was well worth sharing as we work to raise awareness, change hearts and minds and craft legislation to end these practices. ~ Babz Rawls Ivy. By Star-Ledger Editorial Board on December 07, 2014 at 8:03 AM, updated December 07, 2014 at 8:11 AM Nothing good can come of throwing a prisoner into a cell the size of a bathroom, feeding him through a slot in the door and leaving him there until the walls start to talk. Inmates shriek in the night, beat their … [Read more...]
Automatic Solitary Confinement For Prisoners Held On Virginia’s Death Row
Automatic Solitary Confinement For Prisoners Held On Virginia's Death Row Posted on November 2, 2014 by End Solitary Reprinted from Prisoner Activist Virginia’s practice of automatically holding people held on Virginia death row in solitary confinement will be reviewed by a federal appeals court. Experts claim that the case could have an impact beyond just the state of Virginia. The Daily Press opens its story on the subject with the controversial question: “Should prisoners in Virginia sentenced to die for their crimes be kept in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives?” 2013 Ruling By U.S. District Judge According to the Associated Press: U.S. District Judge Leonie … [Read more...]
U.S. prisons home to 10 times more mentally ill than state hospitals
New report slams lack of treatment for seriously ill inmates as ‘inhumane,’ calls for reforms by Renee Lewis There are 10 times more mentally ill Americans in prisons and jails than in state psychiatric hospitals, a report published Tuesday found — adding that those individuals’ conditions often deteriorate while they are incarcerated. The report, “The Treatment of Persons With Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails,” called for reform of laws and practices focused on the treatment of mental illness. It also encouraged cost studies to compare the true cost of housing individuals in prisons or jails as opposed to treating them in the community. Mentally ill Americans who are imprisoned often leave … [Read more...]
Voices From Solitary: A Mouse and a Murderer, By William Blake
Voices From Solitary: A Mouse and a Murderer, By William Blake October 7, 2014 by Voices From Solitary William Blake is in solitary confinement at Elmira Correctional Facility in upstate New York. In 1987, while in county court on a drug charge, Blake, then 23, grabbed a gun from a sheriff’s deputy and, in a failed escape attempt, murdered one deputy and wounded another. He is now 50 years old, and is serving a sentence of 77 years to life. Blake is one of the few people in New York to be held in “administrative” rather than “disciplinary” segregation—meaning he’s considered a risk to prison safety and is in isolation more or less indefinitely, despite periodic pro forma reviews of his status. He is now … [Read more...]
