Christopher Zoukis's Blog - Posts Tagged "prisoners"
Wyoming’s Impressive Recidivism Rate At Risk From Funding Cuts
The Wyoming Department of Corrections is proud to have the second lowest recidivism rate in the nation, 38% below the national average. Three out of four offenders released from Wyoming’s prisons stay out. Department of Corrections officials believe their prison education programs are, to a large extent, responsible for their success.
Wyoming’s lawless Wild West days are firmly in the past. The state’s crime rates are well below national averages. Violent crimes are 43% below national rates, and property crimes 22% lower. Burglaries are just half the national average, and robberies a tenth.
As a consequence, the state’s prison population is small at about 2,200. Yet, despite the low crime and impressive re-incarceration rates for released offenders, the prison population has grown by almost a third since 2000. In fact over the decade to 2010, the rate by which Wyoming’s prison population increased was double that for the rest of the country. It now appears to have leveled off.
As has happened across the country, funding for public services, including prisons, has been cut. Betty Abbott, Education Programs Manager for the Department of Corrections recognizes that education and programming usually bear the brunt of such cuts. Despite now being underfunded, she must do the best with what is available.
Fortunately, Wyoming’s prison population is better educated than most. While nationally about 40% of state prisoners have neither a high school diploma nor a GED, the majority of Wyoming’s prisoners do have one or the other. Those who do not must take mandatory GED classes. About 20% of current Wyoming inmates obtained their GED while in prison.
Earning a GED while inside is certainly worth the effort. Over many decades, studies have consistently shown that obtaining a GED in prison is associated with a lowered risk of returning to prison. The RAND Corporation’s highly influential meta-analysis of over fifty prior studies, published in 2013, suggests that the reduction is around 30%.
The benefits of earning a GED don’t end there though. Studies have also shown that post-incarceration employment rates can be up to 50% higher, and wages increase too.
For those inmates who already have their high school diploma or GED, more advanced educational opportunities are available. Eastern Wyoming College, for example, offers prisoners an advanced computer applications course, complete with college credits.
The same RAND meta-analysis demonstrated that on average, participation in college education while in prison reduced an inmate’s likelihood of returning to prison by 51%.
It is regrettable that Ms. Abbott, and her peers across the country, must manage the education of our prisoners with dwindling resources. As the RAND Corporation observed, crime prevention is more cost-effective than building prisons. And of all crime prevention methods, education is the most cost-effective. So cost-effective, in fact, that on average, a dollar spent on correctional education brings around five dollars in direct savings from avoided incarceration costs, as fewer released offenders return to prison. Add in the avoided losses to new victims of crime, contributions to the economy from the increased productivity and consumer spending of successfully re-integrated ex-offenders, not to mention the taxes they pay, and that savings can easily be tripled.
With its impressively low re-incarceration rate, Wyoming’s prison and probation systems are clearly doing better than most. In scrambling for savings, however, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that money spent on prison education is a fantastic investment. Short term savings from cutting prison education programs now will likely turn out to be an expensive folly in the long term. It is to be hoped that Wyoming can stay at the top of the recidivism league table, and lead the way for other states to follow.
Wyoming’s lawless Wild West days are firmly in the past. The state’s crime rates are well below national averages. Violent crimes are 43% below national rates, and property crimes 22% lower. Burglaries are just half the national average, and robberies a tenth.
As a consequence, the state’s prison population is small at about 2,200. Yet, despite the low crime and impressive re-incarceration rates for released offenders, the prison population has grown by almost a third since 2000. In fact over the decade to 2010, the rate by which Wyoming’s prison population increased was double that for the rest of the country. It now appears to have leveled off.
As has happened across the country, funding for public services, including prisons, has been cut. Betty Abbott, Education Programs Manager for the Department of Corrections recognizes that education and programming usually bear the brunt of such cuts. Despite now being underfunded, she must do the best with what is available.
Fortunately, Wyoming’s prison population is better educated than most. While nationally about 40% of state prisoners have neither a high school diploma nor a GED, the majority of Wyoming’s prisoners do have one or the other. Those who do not must take mandatory GED classes. About 20% of current Wyoming inmates obtained their GED while in prison.
Earning a GED while inside is certainly worth the effort. Over many decades, studies have consistently shown that obtaining a GED in prison is associated with a lowered risk of returning to prison. The RAND Corporation’s highly influential meta-analysis of over fifty prior studies, published in 2013, suggests that the reduction is around 30%.
The benefits of earning a GED don’t end there though. Studies have also shown that post-incarceration employment rates can be up to 50% higher, and wages increase too.
For those inmates who already have their high school diploma or GED, more advanced educational opportunities are available. Eastern Wyoming College, for example, offers prisoners an advanced computer applications course, complete with college credits.
The same RAND meta-analysis demonstrated that on average, participation in college education while in prison reduced an inmate’s likelihood of returning to prison by 51%.
It is regrettable that Ms. Abbott, and her peers across the country, must manage the education of our prisoners with dwindling resources. As the RAND Corporation observed, crime prevention is more cost-effective than building prisons. And of all crime prevention methods, education is the most cost-effective. So cost-effective, in fact, that on average, a dollar spent on correctional education brings around five dollars in direct savings from avoided incarceration costs, as fewer released offenders return to prison. Add in the avoided losses to new victims of crime, contributions to the economy from the increased productivity and consumer spending of successfully re-integrated ex-offenders, not to mention the taxes they pay, and that savings can easily be tripled.
With its impressively low re-incarceration rate, Wyoming’s prison and probation systems are clearly doing better than most. In scrambling for savings, however, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that money spent on prison education is a fantastic investment. Short term savings from cutting prison education programs now will likely turn out to be an expensive folly in the long term. It is to be hoped that Wyoming can stay at the top of the recidivism league table, and lead the way for other states to follow.
Christopher Zoukis Discusses Education & Recividism with Toronto's AM640
On Friday, Dec. 5 Christopher Zoukis discussed the benefits of education for prisoners and its direct effects on reducing recividism with Canadian radio station Toronto AM 640.
You can hear the whole interview here: https://soundcloud.com/am640/mcarthur...
You can also read it in the transcript below:
Christopher Zoukis is an expert in the field of correctional education, he’s been incarcerated for the past eight years in Virginia, he’s an advocate, an active advocate for prison education, a noted legal commentator and practitioner, and author of several books including his most recent one called, “College for Convicts”. It examines how recidivisms drops when those convicted are afforded the opportunity to educate themselves, and Christopher Zoukis is on the line and joins us here this afternoon on Talk Radio in Toronto AM640.
Jeff McArthur: “Chris, how are you sir?”
Chris Zoukis: “I’m very good, and you?”
JM: “I’m okay, thanks for joining us and I have to admit off the top, this is a first for me. 20 years of broadcasting and we’re doing an interview live from jail today.”
CZ: “Live from the Federal Bureau of prisons.”
JM: “Can you give us kind of an idea of what a day in the life is like for you?” You’re in medium security? Correct?”
CZ:: “I am. I’m in medium security. My mornings usually start around 6 in the morning when they call chow and ah from that point Monday through Friday I usually work out until 10ish. Um and then they really revolve around the meals and around work. (background automatic female voice “You are calling a federal prison”) Um lots of time in my cell, lots of time reading and writing. “
JM: “What was that in the middle?”
CZ: “They do that twice in each phone call. It’s just to remind you that in fact you are talking to a federal prisoner.”
JM: “And is this conversation likely being monitored right now?”
CZ: “It certainly is.”
JM: “Alright and you’re a big promoter of, as I mentioned in the intro of education. Ah how did you get involved in this? Did it kind of provide a salvation for you, for your time in prison?”
CZ: “You know it really did. When I came to prison. First of all when I came to prison I was a senior in high school. Um so I actually didn't graduate high school. Um but when I came to prison I earned a GED. Ah and I wanted to continue my education so I ended up finishing my high school diploma through a correspondence program. Well after that I wanted to go to college, but there weren’t any resources around. I didn’t know of any programs that were available. There certainly wasn’t any funding for anything so I started digging and with support of my family I was able to compile a mini research library of a correspondence catalogues and through that I was able to start taking baby steps and I first took a paralegal course and as the years went on I took other courses. I took some theoriological courses and now I’m in college through correspondence.”
JM: “Well, you know I was jokingly going to say I hope you studied the law so you could find a way to get out of there but….”
CZ: “That is the first thing I started on. I really learned how to read. I read a little bit on the street but I wasn’t a big fan of it. I really got into the habit of reading by doing legal work.”
JM: “Ok, so is. From that have you developed a love for the law in a strange way? Or has that kind of been a jumping off point into other studies?
CZ: “ I think it’s been a jumping off point, but I think the law is what, for prisoners is what confines us and what dictates our lives. And it’s also what frees us too. So I think that the law is something that all prisoners can have a significant interest in but not necessarily rule our time.”
JM: “Right. So do you think most prisoners if they do get hooked on education, and is as you suggested a great thing for them. Is that what they naturally gravitate to, first and foremost?
CZ: “I think once a prisoner gets a taste of education they want to continue it, but often there aren’t any opportunities so they get frustrated and then they stop. So, for example a lot of students here. They earn their GED and they want to continue on with something more but there’s nothing there. There’s no money to go any place. There’s no person here to help them figure out what they options are. I think for the people who actually dig into it a bit and actually figure out about correspondences and if they get a passion for something and I think that they have so much time on their hands that they’re willing to put in the time and effort to see it through.”
JM: “ Joined on the line by Christopher Zoukis, his book is called “College for Convicts”, he joins us live this afternoon from FCC Petersburgh a medium security prison in Virginia
“And Chris, what is it about education that, and I know you’ve examined this, those that have been convicted they are less likely to reoffend if they take the opportunity to educate themselves behind bars. Why is that? Does education give them or provide them hope?”
CZ: “Absolutely! Now, when we look at the research we see that with each additional level of education obtained the recidivism rate goes down accordingly. So for example, prisoners who have some high school tend to at a recidivism rate of 54.6 %. Once they have quality vocational training that number drops to about 30 %, with an associates degree 13.7 %, with a bachelor’s degree 5.6% and out of Hudson Link which is a great program out of New York they show a 0% recidivism rate for anyone who earns a master’s degree. The proof is the pudding. There are hundreds of studies dating back to 1930 that all agree that education reduces recidivism. No one disagrees with this.”
JM: “So does it kind of come back to if you see jail/prison as punishment or rehabilitation or maybe a combination of both. And do you find, I guess do you find, particularly in the American system, since you’re the one you’re incarcerated in. Is there too much emphasis on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation?”
CZ: “Absolutely! I think that victims of crime have a right to be angry. That people have committed crimes against them. They’re completely justified in that and people who violate the law should be punished. On the other hand once they are punished. Going to prison is a punishment. It's not the start of the punishment. But once they’re in prison we need to provide people with the tools to succeed. Most people in the American prison/complex all the different systems. They tend to have the education of less than 6th grade. What can a sixth grader do? What kind of person who’s 30 – 40 years old who has a sixth grade reading level and mathematic skills, do? Nothing. So what do they do? They go out they sell drugs. They commit petty crimes. They just don’t know better. And once they get incarcerated we need to give them the tools they need to succeed in the future. They need an education. They need a GED to start with. Then they need some kind of training so when they get out they have a marketable skill. That way they can support themselves and they can support their families.
JM: “So I guess there’s, I don’t know a public education campaign if you will that, a battle for the hearts and minds on the outside that think that these prisoners just deserve to be punished. But what about those on the inside, Chris? And did you talk to your fellow inmates and tried to convince them that education is the way, the path to a better life? What’s their reaction?”
CZ: “You know most of them already know it. They come to me because they want to know. They don’t come to me because they don’t know if they should educate themselves. They come to me because they want to know how. Now the bureau of justice statistics says that between 95 and 97 % of all American prisoners will one day be released. That means that there’s around 650,000 people a year being released from custody. Of those 67 – 80 % are re-arrested within 3 – 5 years. The system is failing. People want their future neighbors to be successful, to not commit crimes against them. They need to teach them something. They need to educate them. So people in prison, know education is their path and their key they just don’t have a way a mechanism of obtaining it.
JM: “For those who aren’t convinced, I think it’s a pretty easy argument you can make that this is a great savings for tax payers. Invest in convicts now, they are less likely as you say to reoffend and they won’t be a burden on the system or society and costing taxpayers. As a matter of fact they might become productive members of society and tax payers.”
CZ: “You know absolutely. It costs 30 around $25 – 55,000 a year to incarcerate a prisoner depending upon what system their in. It costs around $1,400 a year to incarcerate them. I mean correctional education is easily two times as cost effective as incarceration. The United States spends 70 billion dollars a year on their prisons. It’s ridiculous! That’s money that should be going to community colleges. They should be paying more into programs. There are people in our country and in Canada who need help. I mean this is just money that we’re taking away from the social support programs that people rely on.
JM: “So finally Chris, how much longer have you got left on your prison term?”
CZ: “I have four more years.”
JM: “Alright, and after that four years what do you hope to do?
CZ: “I would like open a consulting group which helps people who are getting ready to go into prison. Prepare them for prison. And once they’re in prison help them to get through the trouble spots. And on the tail end, when they get ready to get out, help them figure out how to get their life back together. I mean no one has experience in these things you know. No white collar criminal says ‘Oh well I’m ready to prison..” And on the flip side people who don’t have a whole lot of experience being successful outside of prison. They don’t know how to be successful, they don’t how to get back into society. I want to find a way to help people on both ends of the spectrum.”
JM: “Well listen, I think it’s a good thing for the convicts, a good thing for society as a whole there’s no sense just punishing people and not rehabilitating them as well. Interesting discussion. Again the book is called “College for Convicts”, Christopher Zoukis. Chris, thanks so much, I really appreciate you joining us.”
CZ: “Well, thank you for having me.”
You can hear the whole interview here: https://soundcloud.com/am640/mcarthur...
You can also read it in the transcript below:
Christopher Zoukis is an expert in the field of correctional education, he’s been incarcerated for the past eight years in Virginia, he’s an advocate, an active advocate for prison education, a noted legal commentator and practitioner, and author of several books including his most recent one called, “College for Convicts”. It examines how recidivisms drops when those convicted are afforded the opportunity to educate themselves, and Christopher Zoukis is on the line and joins us here this afternoon on Talk Radio in Toronto AM640.
Jeff McArthur: “Chris, how are you sir?”
Chris Zoukis: “I’m very good, and you?”
JM: “I’m okay, thanks for joining us and I have to admit off the top, this is a first for me. 20 years of broadcasting and we’re doing an interview live from jail today.”
CZ: “Live from the Federal Bureau of prisons.”
JM: “Can you give us kind of an idea of what a day in the life is like for you?” You’re in medium security? Correct?”
CZ:: “I am. I’m in medium security. My mornings usually start around 6 in the morning when they call chow and ah from that point Monday through Friday I usually work out until 10ish. Um and then they really revolve around the meals and around work. (background automatic female voice “You are calling a federal prison”) Um lots of time in my cell, lots of time reading and writing. “
JM: “What was that in the middle?”
CZ: “They do that twice in each phone call. It’s just to remind you that in fact you are talking to a federal prisoner.”
JM: “And is this conversation likely being monitored right now?”
CZ: “It certainly is.”
JM: “Alright and you’re a big promoter of, as I mentioned in the intro of education. Ah how did you get involved in this? Did it kind of provide a salvation for you, for your time in prison?”
CZ: “You know it really did. When I came to prison. First of all when I came to prison I was a senior in high school. Um so I actually didn't graduate high school. Um but when I came to prison I earned a GED. Ah and I wanted to continue my education so I ended up finishing my high school diploma through a correspondence program. Well after that I wanted to go to college, but there weren’t any resources around. I didn’t know of any programs that were available. There certainly wasn’t any funding for anything so I started digging and with support of my family I was able to compile a mini research library of a correspondence catalogues and through that I was able to start taking baby steps and I first took a paralegal course and as the years went on I took other courses. I took some theoriological courses and now I’m in college through correspondence.”
JM: “Well, you know I was jokingly going to say I hope you studied the law so you could find a way to get out of there but….”
CZ: “That is the first thing I started on. I really learned how to read. I read a little bit on the street but I wasn’t a big fan of it. I really got into the habit of reading by doing legal work.”
JM: “Ok, so is. From that have you developed a love for the law in a strange way? Or has that kind of been a jumping off point into other studies?
CZ: “ I think it’s been a jumping off point, but I think the law is what, for prisoners is what confines us and what dictates our lives. And it’s also what frees us too. So I think that the law is something that all prisoners can have a significant interest in but not necessarily rule our time.”
JM: “Right. So do you think most prisoners if they do get hooked on education, and is as you suggested a great thing for them. Is that what they naturally gravitate to, first and foremost?
CZ: “I think once a prisoner gets a taste of education they want to continue it, but often there aren’t any opportunities so they get frustrated and then they stop. So, for example a lot of students here. They earn their GED and they want to continue on with something more but there’s nothing there. There’s no money to go any place. There’s no person here to help them figure out what they options are. I think for the people who actually dig into it a bit and actually figure out about correspondences and if they get a passion for something and I think that they have so much time on their hands that they’re willing to put in the time and effort to see it through.”
JM: “ Joined on the line by Christopher Zoukis, his book is called “College for Convicts”, he joins us live this afternoon from FCC Petersburgh a medium security prison in Virginia
“And Chris, what is it about education that, and I know you’ve examined this, those that have been convicted they are less likely to reoffend if they take the opportunity to educate themselves behind bars. Why is that? Does education give them or provide them hope?”
CZ: “Absolutely! Now, when we look at the research we see that with each additional level of education obtained the recidivism rate goes down accordingly. So for example, prisoners who have some high school tend to at a recidivism rate of 54.6 %. Once they have quality vocational training that number drops to about 30 %, with an associates degree 13.7 %, with a bachelor’s degree 5.6% and out of Hudson Link which is a great program out of New York they show a 0% recidivism rate for anyone who earns a master’s degree. The proof is the pudding. There are hundreds of studies dating back to 1930 that all agree that education reduces recidivism. No one disagrees with this.”
JM: “So does it kind of come back to if you see jail/prison as punishment or rehabilitation or maybe a combination of both. And do you find, I guess do you find, particularly in the American system, since you’re the one you’re incarcerated in. Is there too much emphasis on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation?”
CZ: “Absolutely! I think that victims of crime have a right to be angry. That people have committed crimes against them. They’re completely justified in that and people who violate the law should be punished. On the other hand once they are punished. Going to prison is a punishment. It's not the start of the punishment. But once they’re in prison we need to provide people with the tools to succeed. Most people in the American prison/complex all the different systems. They tend to have the education of less than 6th grade. What can a sixth grader do? What kind of person who’s 30 – 40 years old who has a sixth grade reading level and mathematic skills, do? Nothing. So what do they do? They go out they sell drugs. They commit petty crimes. They just don’t know better. And once they get incarcerated we need to give them the tools they need to succeed in the future. They need an education. They need a GED to start with. Then they need some kind of training so when they get out they have a marketable skill. That way they can support themselves and they can support their families.
JM: “So I guess there’s, I don’t know a public education campaign if you will that, a battle for the hearts and minds on the outside that think that these prisoners just deserve to be punished. But what about those on the inside, Chris? And did you talk to your fellow inmates and tried to convince them that education is the way, the path to a better life? What’s their reaction?”
CZ: “You know most of them already know it. They come to me because they want to know. They don’t come to me because they don’t know if they should educate themselves. They come to me because they want to know how. Now the bureau of justice statistics says that between 95 and 97 % of all American prisoners will one day be released. That means that there’s around 650,000 people a year being released from custody. Of those 67 – 80 % are re-arrested within 3 – 5 years. The system is failing. People want their future neighbors to be successful, to not commit crimes against them. They need to teach them something. They need to educate them. So people in prison, know education is their path and their key they just don’t have a way a mechanism of obtaining it.
JM: “For those who aren’t convinced, I think it’s a pretty easy argument you can make that this is a great savings for tax payers. Invest in convicts now, they are less likely as you say to reoffend and they won’t be a burden on the system or society and costing taxpayers. As a matter of fact they might become productive members of society and tax payers.”
CZ: “You know absolutely. It costs 30 around $25 – 55,000 a year to incarcerate a prisoner depending upon what system their in. It costs around $1,400 a year to incarcerate them. I mean correctional education is easily two times as cost effective as incarceration. The United States spends 70 billion dollars a year on their prisons. It’s ridiculous! That’s money that should be going to community colleges. They should be paying more into programs. There are people in our country and in Canada who need help. I mean this is just money that we’re taking away from the social support programs that people rely on.
JM: “So finally Chris, how much longer have you got left on your prison term?”
CZ: “I have four more years.”
JM: “Alright, and after that four years what do you hope to do?
CZ: “I would like open a consulting group which helps people who are getting ready to go into prison. Prepare them for prison. And once they’re in prison help them to get through the trouble spots. And on the tail end, when they get ready to get out, help them figure out how to get their life back together. I mean no one has experience in these things you know. No white collar criminal says ‘Oh well I’m ready to prison..” And on the flip side people who don’t have a whole lot of experience being successful outside of prison. They don’t know how to be successful, they don’t how to get back into society. I want to find a way to help people on both ends of the spectrum.”
JM: “Well listen, I think it’s a good thing for the convicts, a good thing for society as a whole there’s no sense just punishing people and not rehabilitating them as well. Interesting discussion. Again the book is called “College for Convicts”, Christopher Zoukis. Chris, thanks so much, I really appreciate you joining us.”
CZ: “Well, thank you for having me.”
New Zealand Prisoners in the Information Age: NZ's Newest Prison Permits Inmates to Use Cell Phones, Computers, and Tablets
By Christopher Zoukis
Excerpt from original article published in The Huffington Post on May 27, 2015.
In an era where American prison administrators are losing the battle against illicit cell phone usage in our nation's prisons and lawmakers are creating draconian criminal statues to punish offenders, New Zealand's newest prison, the high-security Auckland South Corrections Facility in Wiri (which is also known as Kohuora), is permitting inmates to use both cell phones and computers, plus some to use tablet computers, in their cells.
The new $300 million, 960-bed prison, which is operated by private prison provider Serco(1), opened May 8, 2015, but prisoners didn't start arriving until May 18. Between 60 and 70 inmates will arrive weekly at the prison through August. The complex consists of 30 buildings, including inmate housing units, recreational facilities, a school, and buildings designed for inmate industry activities. At maximum capacity it will house a quarter of the country's prisoners.
Serco also operates the same "responsible prisoner model" in its prisons in the United Kingdom. Both there and in Wiri inmates have access to cell phones, through which they can call pre-approved numbers, and televisions, which have a keyboard and mouse attached to aid in educational programming. All telephone calls are monitored and prisoners can't call one another. The televisions, which have computer functionality, do not allow for internet access.
You can read the full article on The Huffington Post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christo...
Excerpt from original article published in The Huffington Post on May 27, 2015.
In an era where American prison administrators are losing the battle against illicit cell phone usage in our nation's prisons and lawmakers are creating draconian criminal statues to punish offenders, New Zealand's newest prison, the high-security Auckland South Corrections Facility in Wiri (which is also known as Kohuora), is permitting inmates to use both cell phones and computers, plus some to use tablet computers, in their cells.
The new $300 million, 960-bed prison, which is operated by private prison provider Serco(1), opened May 8, 2015, but prisoners didn't start arriving until May 18. Between 60 and 70 inmates will arrive weekly at the prison through August. The complex consists of 30 buildings, including inmate housing units, recreational facilities, a school, and buildings designed for inmate industry activities. At maximum capacity it will house a quarter of the country's prisoners.
Serco also operates the same "responsible prisoner model" in its prisons in the United Kingdom. Both there and in Wiri inmates have access to cell phones, through which they can call pre-approved numbers, and televisions, which have a keyboard and mouse attached to aid in educational programming. All telephone calls are monitored and prisoners can't call one another. The televisions, which have computer functionality, do not allow for internet access.
You can read the full article on The Huffington Post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christo...
Mental illness and slow death by solitary confinement
On June 7th, the American prison system took another life. Kalief Browder had not been confined behind the walls of a prison for several months, but the system remains largely responsible for his death nonetheless. On that Saturday afternoon, Kalief’s mother made the discovery that no parent should have to endure: he had hanged himself outside the family home. It would be easy to write this story off as being just one of a “troubled youth,” but it would be a tremendous disservice to his memory were we not to make clear that our entire judicial system set the stage for this tragedy.
Browder was a child of just 16 when he was arrested for robbery and imprisoned at the notoriously violent RNDC at Rikers prison. There he languished for nearly three years, waiting for a trial that never took place. But worse than that, the bulk of his time there was spent in solitary confinement; the practice of confinement for minor issues (or for no reason at all) is a practice that in recent years has been growing in popularity across New York’s jails. The moratorium on isolation for those under 21 years of age came too late for Kalief. There he endured abuse at the hands of prison staff, the withholding of food, and the mental ravages that come with complete isolation from the world. Ultimately, he attempted suicide. The response of the facility speaks to the heart of the problem: he was sent to the prison clinic, then returned to solitary without being provided with treatment for serious mental health concerns. His case was later dismissed, but the damage had been done.
Bowder had done much to better himself both prior to and after his release, to put the past behind him, but experiences like his are not easily swept under the rug. He was released from prison a changed man, and he attempted suicide multiple times; his mental health remained fragile up to his death this week.
A full account of Browder’s ordeals can be read here. New Yorker writer Jennifer Gonnerman became close with Browder, documenting the abuses mete upon him by prison staff and remaining close with him upon his release. He became a cause celèbre for many, and it seemed to all intents and purposes that his life was on the right track. But what is difficult to convey is the emotional toll that solitary confinement takes on a human being. It’s an experience I wish I could say I couldn’t empathize with, but I have been twice confined to solitary for my writing. Nothing can prepare you for that kind of isolation and the desperation it engenders in even the most stable mind. For those with existing mental health issues, confinement can literally be deadly.
or three years, a teenager’s medical needs were neglected and he was tortured by a system entrusted with his care—and it’s a problem that is endemic to the system. The mentally ill are disproportionately represented amongst the incarcerated; each year, 2 million men and women with mental illnesses are jailed, accounting for nearly two-thirds of women and half of men incarcerated. In its current state, the American prison system is incapable of adequately meeting the mental health needs of its inmates.
The system is that is charged with the treatment and housing of the mentally ill, is one that is barely capable of addressing even the most basic of medical issues facing prisoners. And our penchant for simply throwing more and more people into our prisons is only exacerbating the problem. They are not referred to community-based organizations which may assist them, or treatment facilities that can provide critical medications—they are shuffled away into our already over-stuffed prisons and jails.
The Stepping Up Initiative is currently engaged in the issue and seeking to develop new approaches to keeping the mentally ill out of the prison system, and helping to break the cycle of those who are already in it. I encourage you to take a moment both to read Kalief’s story, and to see how you can help change a broken a system that is killing our young men and women.
Browder was a child of just 16 when he was arrested for robbery and imprisoned at the notoriously violent RNDC at Rikers prison. There he languished for nearly three years, waiting for a trial that never took place. But worse than that, the bulk of his time there was spent in solitary confinement; the practice of confinement for minor issues (or for no reason at all) is a practice that in recent years has been growing in popularity across New York’s jails. The moratorium on isolation for those under 21 years of age came too late for Kalief. There he endured abuse at the hands of prison staff, the withholding of food, and the mental ravages that come with complete isolation from the world. Ultimately, he attempted suicide. The response of the facility speaks to the heart of the problem: he was sent to the prison clinic, then returned to solitary without being provided with treatment for serious mental health concerns. His case was later dismissed, but the damage had been done.
Bowder had done much to better himself both prior to and after his release, to put the past behind him, but experiences like his are not easily swept under the rug. He was released from prison a changed man, and he attempted suicide multiple times; his mental health remained fragile up to his death this week.
A full account of Browder’s ordeals can be read here. New Yorker writer Jennifer Gonnerman became close with Browder, documenting the abuses mete upon him by prison staff and remaining close with him upon his release. He became a cause celèbre for many, and it seemed to all intents and purposes that his life was on the right track. But what is difficult to convey is the emotional toll that solitary confinement takes on a human being. It’s an experience I wish I could say I couldn’t empathize with, but I have been twice confined to solitary for my writing. Nothing can prepare you for that kind of isolation and the desperation it engenders in even the most stable mind. For those with existing mental health issues, confinement can literally be deadly.
or three years, a teenager’s medical needs were neglected and he was tortured by a system entrusted with his care—and it’s a problem that is endemic to the system. The mentally ill are disproportionately represented amongst the incarcerated; each year, 2 million men and women with mental illnesses are jailed, accounting for nearly two-thirds of women and half of men incarcerated. In its current state, the American prison system is incapable of adequately meeting the mental health needs of its inmates.
The system is that is charged with the treatment and housing of the mentally ill, is one that is barely capable of addressing even the most basic of medical issues facing prisoners. And our penchant for simply throwing more and more people into our prisons is only exacerbating the problem. They are not referred to community-based organizations which may assist them, or treatment facilities that can provide critical medications—they are shuffled away into our already over-stuffed prisons and jails.
The Stepping Up Initiative is currently engaged in the issue and seeking to develop new approaches to keeping the mentally ill out of the prison system, and helping to break the cycle of those who are already in it. I encourage you to take a moment both to read Kalief’s story, and to see how you can help change a broken a system that is killing our young men and women.
Flint, Michigan Lead-Tainted Water Scandal Also Affects Prisoners
By now, you’ve surely heard about the tainted drinking-water crisis in Flint, Michigan, an industrial city of about 100,000 located 70 miles northwest of Detroit. You’ve probably seen videos of angry residents displaying bottles of tap water from their homes, and were appalled to see those unappetizing samples ranged in color from beige to rusty brown. Or maybe you’ve seen press coverage of pop stars, rap singers and pro athletes donating money or delivering supplies of drinking water to affected homeowners.
You may also be aware of some of the places – private lawsuits, official and media investigations, political debates – where disputes are being aired over who’s responsible for not preventing or properly warning about and responding to the public health threat from elevated lead levels in Flint’s water (high levels of lead are especially dangerous to pregnant women, who face elevated risks of miscarriage, and infants and young children, who may suffer permanent brain damage or lasting harm to their nervous system and kidneys).
But here’s one aspect of the Flint water emergency you may not have heard about: a group of Flint residents who could well be the most victimized, and the least able to protect themselves: the hundreds of inmates of the Genesee County Jail, located in the county seat, Flint.
In a report aired in a Democracy Now! broadcast, recently released Genesee County Jail inmate Jody Cramer told of prisoners there were given bottled water for just five days after the mayor’s October declaration of emergency. The bottled water they received was for drinking, washing and all needs, and was less than half the daily amount for adults recommended by the National Academies of Sciences.
After that, for the next three months, inmates were forced to use the contaminated city water. The sheriff wrongly assured them the tap water was safe – though inmates noticed jail guards only drank bottled water.
The Flint water crisis first came to widespread public attention last October, when the city’s mayor announced an emergency and warned residents not to consume the lead-contaminated water. After the city switched – apparently for budgetary reasons – in April 2014 from getting its water from Detroit’s system to drawing it from the nearby Flint River, it failed to treat the city’s aging cast-iron water pipes with chemicals needed to prevent lead from leaching from the pipes into the water supply).
One ignored warning sign: Flint’s GM plant stopped using city water in its manufacturing, when it found the city water was corroding its auto parts. Testing showed there was so much lead in Flint’s water that what was running in the pipes of Flint homes satisfied environmental law’s definition of “toxic waste.”
While in the Flint jail, Cramer worked as a kitchen trustee, so he saw the lead-tainted city water routinely used in preparing inmate meals, including those for several pregnant prisoners. Except for the five days in October immediately after the mayor’s declaration of an emergency, until bottled water was restored this January 23, Genesee County Jail inmates had no choice – short of dying from thirst or starvation – other than to drink badly contaminated water and eat food prepared with it.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident: in 2014 alone, similar episodes of failures to protect prisoners against known environmental hazards occurred in Charleston, West Virginia (inmates exposed to water contaminated by a severe chemical spill hazard) and Navasota, Texas (prisoners’ water contained four times allowable limits for arsenic).
Which raises the inevitable question: is this the best we can do?
You may also be aware of some of the places – private lawsuits, official and media investigations, political debates – where disputes are being aired over who’s responsible for not preventing or properly warning about and responding to the public health threat from elevated lead levels in Flint’s water (high levels of lead are especially dangerous to pregnant women, who face elevated risks of miscarriage, and infants and young children, who may suffer permanent brain damage or lasting harm to their nervous system and kidneys).
But here’s one aspect of the Flint water emergency you may not have heard about: a group of Flint residents who could well be the most victimized, and the least able to protect themselves: the hundreds of inmates of the Genesee County Jail, located in the county seat, Flint.
In a report aired in a Democracy Now! broadcast, recently released Genesee County Jail inmate Jody Cramer told of prisoners there were given bottled water for just five days after the mayor’s October declaration of emergency. The bottled water they received was for drinking, washing and all needs, and was less than half the daily amount for adults recommended by the National Academies of Sciences.
After that, for the next three months, inmates were forced to use the contaminated city water. The sheriff wrongly assured them the tap water was safe – though inmates noticed jail guards only drank bottled water.
The Flint water crisis first came to widespread public attention last October, when the city’s mayor announced an emergency and warned residents not to consume the lead-contaminated water. After the city switched – apparently for budgetary reasons – in April 2014 from getting its water from Detroit’s system to drawing it from the nearby Flint River, it failed to treat the city’s aging cast-iron water pipes with chemicals needed to prevent lead from leaching from the pipes into the water supply).
One ignored warning sign: Flint’s GM plant stopped using city water in its manufacturing, when it found the city water was corroding its auto parts. Testing showed there was so much lead in Flint’s water that what was running in the pipes of Flint homes satisfied environmental law’s definition of “toxic waste.”
While in the Flint jail, Cramer worked as a kitchen trustee, so he saw the lead-tainted city water routinely used in preparing inmate meals, including those for several pregnant prisoners. Except for the five days in October immediately after the mayor’s declaration of an emergency, until bottled water was restored this January 23, Genesee County Jail inmates had no choice – short of dying from thirst or starvation – other than to drink badly contaminated water and eat food prepared with it.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident: in 2014 alone, similar episodes of failures to protect prisoners against known environmental hazards occurred in Charleston, West Virginia (inmates exposed to water contaminated by a severe chemical spill hazard) and Navasota, Texas (prisoners’ water contained four times allowable limits for arsenic).
Which raises the inevitable question: is this the best we can do?
Bureau of Prisons Acts to Cut Back on Solitary Confinement
While prison systems and corrections officer unions are often reluctant to discuss the ills of solitary confinement, following pressure from various advocacy groups and even President Obama's stated policy goals of reducing such restrictive confinement, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has recently released information detailing just how common the practice of solitary confinement, or what BOP calls "Special Housing Units."
The most recent report, “Restricted Housing Data,” appeared in mid-May. It shows 8,228 inmates, or approximately 5.2%, of the 159,432 inmates housed in BOP custody – i.e., those in Bureau-operated prisons, not in privately managed or other types of facilities -- were in restricted confinement. In 2011, the figure was about 11,000.
Of them, 6,924 were housed on administrative detention status, while 1,304 were housed on disciplinary segregation status, only available as a formal sanction from a discipline hearing officer for misconduct. Inmates can be housed on administrative detention status for various reasons, including being under investigation for potential rule violations, awaiting transfer, protective custody, and pending transfer, and others.
In descending order of populations, the BOP data shows these reasons for its inmates being held in special housing units:
Pending investigation for a BOP violation (2,884 inmates)
Pending transfer or holdover (1,746 inmates)
Pending hearing for a BOP violation (1,217 inmates)
Inmate requested protective custody (407 inmates)
Pending classification (209 inmates)
Terminating disciplinary segregation, ordered to administrative detention (201 inmates)
Pending investigation for a criminal trial (141 inmates)
Awaiting administrative detention order (95 inmates)
Involuntary protective custody (24 inmates)
The BOP-released data also shows the amount of time federal prisoners are spending in restricted confinement. According to the data, 7,418 prisoners had been in the SHU for less than or equal to 90 days, 810 for over 90 days, 292 for over 180 days, and 65 for over 364 days. Of these, the Bureau clarifies 49 prisoners have been in the SHU for more than 30 days under protective custody status (often requested by inmates seeking isolation to avoid gang-related violence).
In January, six months after ordering the Department of Justice to examine federal uses of solitary confinement as part of a broader criminal justice reform project, the Obama administration announced executive actions designed to reduce use of restricted housing in federal prisons. Federal agencies, including BOP and Justice, were ordered to put the changes into effect within six months.
The revisions banned juvenile prisoners being placed in solitary confinement in federal prisons (only about a dozen juveniles were in solitary at the time), or for low-level offenses. The initiative also adopted over 50 detailed “Guiding Principles” for correctional facilities, devised by the Justice Department.
Despite these new federal policies, state prisons – not covered by the new federal changes -- have by far more prisoners, and prisoners in solitary confinement. But the Justice Department recently reached a major settlement of civil rights charges against a Mississippi county, Hinds County, home to the state’s largest city, Jackson, based on how prisoners there are treated. The proposed settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, would require the county to adopt many of the Justice Department’s new principles.
The most recent report, “Restricted Housing Data,” appeared in mid-May. It shows 8,228 inmates, or approximately 5.2%, of the 159,432 inmates housed in BOP custody – i.e., those in Bureau-operated prisons, not in privately managed or other types of facilities -- were in restricted confinement. In 2011, the figure was about 11,000.
Of them, 6,924 were housed on administrative detention status, while 1,304 were housed on disciplinary segregation status, only available as a formal sanction from a discipline hearing officer for misconduct. Inmates can be housed on administrative detention status for various reasons, including being under investigation for potential rule violations, awaiting transfer, protective custody, and pending transfer, and others.
In descending order of populations, the BOP data shows these reasons for its inmates being held in special housing units:
Pending investigation for a BOP violation (2,884 inmates)
Pending transfer or holdover (1,746 inmates)
Pending hearing for a BOP violation (1,217 inmates)
Inmate requested protective custody (407 inmates)
Pending classification (209 inmates)
Terminating disciplinary segregation, ordered to administrative detention (201 inmates)
Pending investigation for a criminal trial (141 inmates)
Awaiting administrative detention order (95 inmates)
Involuntary protective custody (24 inmates)
The BOP-released data also shows the amount of time federal prisoners are spending in restricted confinement. According to the data, 7,418 prisoners had been in the SHU for less than or equal to 90 days, 810 for over 90 days, 292 for over 180 days, and 65 for over 364 days. Of these, the Bureau clarifies 49 prisoners have been in the SHU for more than 30 days under protective custody status (often requested by inmates seeking isolation to avoid gang-related violence).
In January, six months after ordering the Department of Justice to examine federal uses of solitary confinement as part of a broader criminal justice reform project, the Obama administration announced executive actions designed to reduce use of restricted housing in federal prisons. Federal agencies, including BOP and Justice, were ordered to put the changes into effect within six months.
The revisions banned juvenile prisoners being placed in solitary confinement in federal prisons (only about a dozen juveniles were in solitary at the time), or for low-level offenses. The initiative also adopted over 50 detailed “Guiding Principles” for correctional facilities, devised by the Justice Department.
Despite these new federal policies, state prisons – not covered by the new federal changes -- have by far more prisoners, and prisoners in solitary confinement. But the Justice Department recently reached a major settlement of civil rights charges against a Mississippi county, Hinds County, home to the state’s largest city, Jackson, based on how prisoners there are treated. The proposed settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, would require the county to adopt many of the Justice Department’s new principles.
