Articles for 4 April 2011

Prison Reform Ideas in 22 States Face New Political Landscape ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As costs to house inmates soar, many conservatives are reconsidering a tough-on-crime era that led to stiffer sentences, overcrowded prisons, and bloated corrections budgets, the Associated Press reports. "There has been a dramatic shift in the political landscape on this issue in the last few years," said Adam Gelb of the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States. Most proposals circulating in at least 22 states would not affect current prisoners, but only future offenders. Newly elected Republican governors in Florida and Georgia are among those pushing reforms. Brent Steele, a Republican state senator in Indiana, concedes that lawmakers share the blame for driving up prison costs. Said Marc Levin of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. "We're not saying conservatives were wrong 30 years ago. But the pendulum swung too far." Proposals vary by state, but many include ways to cut penalties for lower-level offenders, direct some to non-prison sentencing, give judges more discretion and smooth the transition for released prisoners Associated Press/Denver Post

California Prisons Must Downsize, But How Will It Happen? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As financially battered California enacts huge budget cuts, it has no choice but to downsize its sprawling system of 33 prisons, which consumes 10 percent of the state budget and swallows more taxpayer dollars than higher education - a fact that, if public opinion surveys are accurate, Californians abhor, reports Stateline.org. A single prison bed costs taxpayers $44,500 a year. The U.S. Supreme Court is about to weigh in on the overcrowding problem by deciding whether to uphold, strike down, or modify a lower-court order that the inmate population must be cut by more than 40,000. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to shift many inmates to counties, but with funding for the plan uncertain, there is discussion of leaning more heavily on spending reductions to balance the budget - cuts that could speed prisoner releases and decimate what remains of inmate rehabilitation programs Stateline.org

Phila. Prisons Start First College-Level Classes In 2 Decades ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fifteen Philadelphia inmates are the first class of students in almost two decades to take college-credit courses in the city's prison system, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. The system offers literacy programs, GED courses, and job-readiness workshops. "The frustration for us: Now what?" said Louis Giorla, commissioner of prisons. "Now these guys can go to the next level. It's just a beginning. But it's a great beginning." The pilot program is the vision of Tara Timberman, founder and coordinator of the Reentry Support Project at Community College of Philadelphia. Her reason was simple: "Those who pursue college education have lower recidivism rates." Timberman, the Defenders Association, and prison social workers identified inmates who were qualified, eligible, and likely to be in the system long enough to complete the course. The prisoin is a minimum-custody facility, with most residents in for theft, drugs, and nonviolent offenses. Most sentences run from 11 1/2 to 23 months. For 10 weeks, the class studied English and drama. They wrote essays by hand, dissected The Iliad, and acted out scenes from August Wilson's play Fences. Philadelphia Inquirer

Could WA Save Much Money By Trimming Inmate Terms? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cash-strapped Washington state is looking to save money by reducing the size of its 17,000 prison population, but the Associated Press says the state has been releasing nonviolent offenders for years, leaving relatively few inmates who would be good candidates for early release. "Over the last 10 years, we have moved away from incarcerating in any great numbers people who don't deserve to be in prison," said Tom McBride of the state Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. At least two dozen states are considering early release of inmates to save money. Tougher sentencing laws have contributed to a fourfold increase in state prison costs across the nation over two decades: from $12 billion in 1988 to more than $50 billion by 2008. Washington faces a $5 billion deficit, Proponents say the state could save $6.6 million in the next two years under a proposed early release of some inmates who have not committed sex offenses, murder, or certain drug offenses. Associated Press/Seattle Times

Is It OK To Send People In Their 70s to Prison on Drug Crimes? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Old age doesn't preclude a person from committing a crime, and in the cases of two elderly Oklahomans, it doesn't rule them out from possibly spending the remainder of their lives in prison on drug cases, reports The Oklahoman. One woman, 73, was charged Friday with possessing controlled prescription drugs with intent to distribute and for having a firearm after prior felony convictions. In another case, a man, 70, accepted a plea deal on March 24 for 30 years in prison with 15 suspended for distributing painkillers. Old age doesn't preclude a person from committing a crime, and in the cases of two elderly Oklahomans, it doesn't rule them out from possibly spending the remainder of their lives in prison on drug cases, reports The Oklahoman. One woman, 73, was charged Friday with possessing controlled prescription drugs with intent to distribute and for having a firearm after prior felony convictions. In another case, a man, 70, accepted a plea deal on March 24 for 30 years in prison with 15 suspended for distributing painkillers. Some 9 percent of the nearly 26,000 incarcerated are older than 51 years old. Nearly 30 percent of the prison population is serving time for drug crimes. "We can't just say this guy is old so we're not going to prosecute," said Love County prosecutor Paule' Wise. In the other case, prosecutor Mike Loeffler said, "It's hard to be blind to age, but selling these drugs is for no other purpose than economic gain." The Oklahoman

Biden Unveils New U.S. Guidance On Campus Sex Violence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vice President Joseph Biden travels to the University of New Hampshire today to discuss new Education Department guidance to public school districts, colleges, and universities about their responsibilities under civil rights laws to prevent sexual violence, the New York Times reports. Biden says campus sex crimes often go unreported because victims fear that universities will not discipline offenders. "There is a terrible and alarming trend in the country of sexual violence," said Russlyn Ali, who heads the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights. She cited a private, Internet-based survey of undergraduate women in 2007 at two public universities in which 19 percent of respondents reported that they had been victims of attempted or actual sexual assault while at college. The Education Department guidance says that once a school or university "knows or reasonably should know of possible sexual violence," it must act to end the violence, protect those who have reported it, and investigate to find out what happened. New York Times

Brown: Fewer NYC Cops OK With Less Crime, More Technology ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cynthia Brown, publisher of the magazine American Police Beat, has a new book, "Brave Hearts: Extraordinary Stories of Pride, Pain and Courage," profiling New York City police officers. She tells The Crime Report: "I hope that after reading these stories, people will start seeing police as human beings, for one thing. Human beings who go out and risk their lives and their mental and physical health for people they don't know, and who they'll never see again. And who feel it's a privilege to do it." Asked about the prospect of fewer cops on New York City's streets, she says, "This is not a politically correct thing to say, but the truth of the matter is they don't need so many bodies anymore. Technology has enabled a lot of industries to really reduce their manpower. Policing is the same way. CompStat, for example, has made policing much more effective. Now, commanders are accountable for crime in their areas, so they have to be much more proactive. And the bottom line is when you've had a 50 percent drop in crime, your workload is decreased." The Crime Report

Mother of "Craigslist Killer" Victim Blames Gun Store; No Charges ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The mother of a woman who was gunned down in a Boston hotel by Philip Markoff says a New Hampshire gun store should be held accountable for selling the murder weapon to the man dubbed the Craigslist killer, reports the Boston Globe. Markoff, a former medical student, committed suicide while awaiting trial in the 2009 murder. Markoff, living in Massachusetts, bought the gun in New Hampshire using another man's New York driver's license and falsely saying he attended college in New Hampshire. Federal prosecutor Donald Feith in New Hampshire said, "It's an unfortunate set of circumstances, but there doesn't appear to be any intentional conduct on the part of the dealer. There's not a lot a dealer can do if the person is intent on getting the firearm and is lying about it in a convincing way.'' Boston Globe

Former Prisoner Runs NYC Building For Ex-Inmates, Ex-Homeless ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times profiles former prisoner Chris Carney, 41, who runs Castle Gardens, a 114-unit residence in Harlem that serves the formerly incarcerated and the formerly homeless operated by the Fortune Society. Sixty-three of the apartments at Castle Gardens are set aside for ex-convicts and people who were once homeless; the others are for those who earn less than $46,080 a year. JoAnne Page, Fortune Society's chief executive and motivating spirit behind Castle Gardens, said Carney stood out from the beginning for the job both because of his carpentry skills "and because of the way he pitched in." "He's kind of the Pied Piper of the building," Page said. "His people skills are as important as his handyman skills." New York Times

Texan Protests Role as "Guinea Pig" In New Execution Drug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas has run out of one of the three drugs used in lethal injections and has replaced it with a different drug -- drawing new challenges from Cleve Foster and his attorneys, who are trying to stop his execution, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, says the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Foster, 47, a former Army recruiter nicknamed "Sarge," said he doesn't appreciate being a "guinea pig" for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and maintained his innocence, saying a co-defendant acted alone. "I did not do this crime. The person who did this crime is dead," Foster said. His attorneys have asked the U.S. Justice Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate whether the prison system is unlawfully obtaining and storing its execution drugs. Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

KY, TN Turn Over Execution Drug Supply to U.S. Officials ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kentucky and Tennessee turned over their supplies of a drug used in executions to federal authorities, a few weeks after Georgia's supply was seized because of questions about how it had been imported, the New York Times reports. Production of sodium thiopental, a sedative widely used in lethal injections, was discontinued in January after a shortage that left states scrambling to find alternative supplies. Kentucky's sodium thiopental was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for its use as evidence in a case in another jurisdiction, said Jennifer Brislin of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Dorinda Carter of the Tennessee Department of Correction, said the department turned had over 44 vials of the drug. The state did "not purchase any drugs from a foreign supplier," she said. New York Times

Chicago Lawyer Charged With Bringing Cellphone Into Police Room ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago lawyer Sladjana Vuckovic has been hit with the unusual felony charge of bringing her cellphone into a police interview room, reports the Chicago Tribune. The charge has sparked a controversy in the legal community. Several criminal-defense lawyers cannot remember a similar prosecution before in Illinois and said they routinely bring cellphones into police interview rooms and sometimes let clients make calls, particularly to relatives if they express skepticism that the lawyer is truly there to defend them. There are no signs prohibiting the bringing of a cellphone into an interview room, the lawyers said, and detectives rarely ask them to leave their belongings outside. "If the state is attempting to interpret the statute so broadly that it includes the interview rooms at the police stations, then hundreds of lawyers in Illinois are committing Class 1 felonies on a daily basis," said Richard Dvorak, a civil-rights lawyer. Prosecutors have not alleged that calls on Vuckovic's hphone were meant to obstruct their investigation, but that clearly appears to be their concern Chicago Tribune