Check out this article in the Huffington Post about women being denied treatment in the California prison system and dying as a result. The Supreme Court ruled last week that overcrowding in prisons in CA are a form of cruel and unusual punishment. The plight of women has long been ignored and one facility...
Prison Reform
Let’s Fix Today for Tomorrow
Machines. Throughout human history, mankind has depended upon its ability to develop tools that facilitate our everyday existence. These tools, over the thousands of years, have developed from wheels and knives to simple machines. These machines are built with a purpose and are expected to complete an assigned task. The United States is a...
Prison Spending or Education Spending
It’s interesting to see that crime rates have declined over the past 15 years yet the amount of incarcerations continues to rise. This means that while the amount of crimes per 100,000 is in a steady decline, the amount of prison inmates continues to rise. There’s something wrong here. In his article “Prison Spending...
Should the State punish the mentally ill if they stop offerring treatment? Is this justice?
I am taking a philosophy of criminal law class at SMU this semester. The main focus in this course asks the questions: “who do we punish? why do we punish? and how should we punish?” This article from the NY Times hits right on point with what we talk about in this class. Often...
Harris County Public Defender Office
After two years of planning, Harris County is now moving forward with their plans to build a public defender’s office. Public defenders represent adults and juveniles who can’t afford to hire their own privately licensed lawyer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_defender This breakthrough will change the face of the Harris County court system, providing a chance for those...
County Jail Programs
Okay Dallas. I know I have some critical posts about my experience as a visitor to the jail. Sally and I had a meeting last week to pitch some ideas that we hoped could make a difference in the lives of the inmates and their families visiting. We were incredibly impressed with the woman we...
Sexual Abuse in Prison is on the Rise
According to a new report released today by the Department of Justice’s Bureu of Statistics reports of sexual abuse by prisoners is on the rise and the report found that most of the abuse has been at the hands of guards rather than the commonly held assumption that most abuse is incurred from fellow...
Advocate Groups Calling for Investigation of Texas Youth Commission
It is very troubling to hear that things 4 different organizations are calling for an investigation of the Texas Youth Commission. The commission made some changes 4 years ago after investigations found abuse to rampant. New managers are in place and the youth population was decreased. The new call for investigations comes amid concerns...
Alternative Sentencing
Dallas is allowing some with sentences of 30-180 days to serve their time at home with the help of an ankle monitor. Offenders are allowed t attend school or work but must be home when not participating in one of those activities. According to this DMN article the DA’s office is not supportive of...
Painful Lasers to Breakup Prison Fights?
I am not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand it sounds like it could be good as the premise is that less injuries will occur if fights are broken up more quickly but then there does seem to be a lot of room for misuse and abuse but that seems...