I spent three years teaching young men between the ages of 16 and 18 in a public high school run by the New York City Depart-ment of Education on Rikers Island, one of the world's largest penal colonies. Because Rikers is a jail, all of my students were awaiting trial. Most of them had been … Continue reading Incarceration in America
Articles
Rikers Island Inmates Offered $6 Per Hour to Dig Mass Graves as COVID-19 Deaths Rise
And at the New York City jail, 167 inmates and 137 staff members have tested positive for coronavirus so far. BY LUKE DARBY - March 31, 2020 - from GQ Photo: David Dee Delgado In a speech on Tuesday, Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease official in the country, said there are "glimmers" that social distancing is slowing … Continue reading Rikers Island Inmates Offered $6 Per Hour to Dig Mass Graves as COVID-19 Deaths Rise
‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Thousands of inmates released as jails and prisons face coronavirus threat
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/ice-detainees-threaten-suicide-stage-protests-over-coronavirus-fears/2020/03/25/8232738e-0b1e-4fdb-8538-456e269a8eb7_video.html By Kimberly Kindy and Dalton Bennett - The Washington Post - March 25, 2020 Amid fears that the coronavirus will carve a deadly path through prisons and jails, counties and states are releasing thousands of inmates — New Jersey alone began freeing hundreds of people this week — and the federal prison system is coming under intense pressure to take … Continue reading ‘Disaster waiting to happen’: Thousands of inmates released as jails and prisons face coronavirus threat
1,000 Inmates Will Be Released From N.J. Jails to Curb Coronavirus Risk
No other state is thought to have taken such sweeping action to reduce its jail population in response to the pandemic. An order was signed late Sunday authorizing the release of offenders serving certain types of sentences in county jails.Credit...Ángel Franco/The New York Times By Tracey Tully - March 23, 2020k - The New York Times … Continue reading 1,000 Inmates Will Be Released From N.J. Jails to Curb Coronavirus Risk
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Last Meals on Death Row, a Peculiarly American Fascination
The photographer Henry Hargreaves recreated the last meals of condemned inmates for his collection "No Seconds." --Henry Hargreaves By Jay Rayner - March 10, 2020 - The New York Times At some point last Oct. 1, Russell Bucklew was served a gyro, a smoked brisket sandwich, two portions of fries, a cola and a banana split. … Continue reading Last Meals on Death Row, a Peculiarly American Fascination
What should criminal justice reform look like in 2020?
What I find interesting about the following article is that it was originally published in THE HILL, which, to my way of thinking, is a somewhat conservative newspaper, but even conservatives understand that mass incarceration must end: BY TIMOTHY HEAD, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 01/22/20 In Michigan last week, a special task force on jails and pretrial … Continue reading What should criminal justice reform look like in 2020?
RACIST SENTENCING
"[O]n average, Black men receive sentences that are 19% longer than those of White men. And by the way, that's for the same exact crimes. And that's after considering such variables as criminal history, age, and education." - p. 181 of THE NEW PLANTATION: LESSONS FROM RIKERS ISLAND (https://www.deerbrookeditions.com/the-new-plantation-lessons-from-rikers-island/)
“In the Building,” a chapter from my memoir, “The New Plantation: Lessons from Rikers Island” that was adapted by “J Journal–New Writing on Social Justice”
In the Sprungs, I had grown completely comfortable with my job. I assumed the experience I had gained would be an asset in the Building. I was a little nervous that first day, but I was only nervous the way I always am when I meet a new group of students. If I had known … Continue reading “In the Building,” a chapter from my memoir, “The New Plantation: Lessons from Rikers Island” that was adapted by “J Journal–New Writing on Social Justice”
Slavery gave America a fear of Black people and a taste for violent punishment. Both still define our criminal-justice system.
By Bryan Stevenson AUG. 14, 2019 from The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/prison-industrial-complex-slavery-racism.html SPENCER LOWELL/TRUNK ARCHIVE Several years ago, my law office was fighting for the release of a black man who had been condemned, at the age of 16, to die in prison. Matthew was one of 62 Louisiana children sentenced to life imprisonment without parole … Continue reading Slavery gave America a fear of Black people and a taste for violent punishment. Both still define our criminal-justice system.
Ending Mass Incarceration
From VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE: https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration America is at a tipping point. In a country that continues to lead the world in locking up its own people, mass incarceration has emerged in recent years as a defining civil rights issue. A movement has blossomed in which formerly incarcerated people lead alongside diverse and influential allies, … Continue reading Ending Mass Incarceration
