December 2009 Blog Posts (8)

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Another "Monster Factory" Exposed

“Monster Factory” is a slang phrase for a prison, one that fits the popular view of a jail: a place where ruthless thugs are kept locked up by sadistic guards. These stock images surround us—in movies, television shows, music lyrics, and newspaper stories.



One such “monster factory” recently hit the media when the Department of Justice released a 42 page report accusing New York State’s Westchester County jail of violating prisoners’ civil rights. As Preet Bharara, the United States… Continue

Added by David Chura on December 28, 2009 at 12:07pm — 1 Comment

12th MBSR Cycle 5 day retreat

Report from KC Walpole:

Greetings!



it has been a while since I speak and that is not my way. Had a series of calamities highlighted by a crashing of my email program in the middle of our quarterly five day MBSR retreat a Lowell CI. There was a lot of new aspects in this cycle and my sense is that they will serve the general knowledge base of PDN. It is the Christmas Holiday and I will try to keep this short and to the… Continue

Added by Kate Crisp (PDN Director) on December 23, 2009 at 10:58am — No Comments

U.S. prison population headed for first decline in decades

The economy has states reconsidering whom to lock up, and for how long. Reforms in many state prisons and courts coincide with dropping nationwide crime rates. Associated Press

December 20, 2009



Dallas - The United States soon may see its prison population drop for the first time in almost four decades, a milestone in a nation that locks up more people than any other.



The inmate population has risen steadily since the… Continue

Added by Kate Crisp (PDN Director) on December 20, 2009 at 4:50pm — No Comments

Psychiatry and Prison, Mostly Psychiatry.

http://www.antipsychiatrieverlag.de/foreign/books/without.htm

This is a link to an excellent book. Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry edited by an old friend of mine Peter Stastny, MD. As Robert Whitaker points out in the introduction, since the introduction of Chlorpromazine in 1955 there has been a very dramatic increase in the number of people disabled by mental illnesses. So the wonderdrugs perhaps aren't so… Continue

Added by Ed Knight on December 19, 2009 at 10:32pm — No Comments

A Broken Juvenile Justice System: One State's Shame

"We are either going to spend the money now and provide the services that our children require or we are going to pay a big price at a later date when these children are part of the adult criminal justice system."



That's how Judge Edwina Richardson Mendelson, a New York family court judge, put it to NBC New York, commenting on a story about the need to help kids mired in the juvenile justice system.



Certainly other experts would agree. The lack of damage control for harm… Continue

Added by David Chura on December 18, 2009 at 11:14am — No Comments

PDN End of Year Matching Grant

Dear Prison Dharma Friend,

Happy Holidays!



Please help us finish off our 20th Anniversary Year with a bang and launch PDN into a new era of even greater transformative impact in the lives of prisoners and our society. Due to a generous matching grant from one of our foundation partners, all donations received by December 31, 2009 will be matched 100%. So you can double the transformative impact by making a year end… Continue

Added by Kate Crisp (PDN Director) on December 16, 2009 at 4:06pm — No Comments

No Bail? Go to Jail!

We Americans don’t know much about how our criminal justice system works. We have the basics down. “Commit the crime, do the time!” as the pop cliche has it.



If only it were that simple.



Most Americans know that if you get arrested and post bail you’re released from custody while your case grinds through an overburdened court system.



That is, if you’re lucky enough to be able to post bail—which means you’re white enough; rich enough; well connected enough. But… Continue

Added by David Chura on December 11, 2009 at 2:57pm — No Comments

Mentally Ill Inmates in a "Crazy" System

In March 2007, the nonprofit Disability Law Center sued the state of Massachusetts over its treatment of hundreds of mentally ill inmates. Prisoners with emotional problems who are unruly in some way are kept in 23 hour solitary confinement, which, according to a November 10 Boston Globe article, has "led to self-mutilations, swallowing of razor blades, and numerous suicides."



In response to these grave concerns the Patrick administration, in an out-of-court negotiation, proposed… Continue

Added by David Chura on December 3, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

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