Bruce Reilly
Why RI Should ‘Ban the Box’ on Job Applications
Every week in Rhode Island thousands of people are ushered through the court system, and every year nearly 20,000 will be released from prison. There are 30,000 people currently on probation, as we have one of the highest rates of government supervision in the nation. Over 100,000 Rhode Islanders have some manner of conviction on [...]
Who Should Be ‘Crashing the System?’
The recent article by Michelle Alexander appearing in the New York Times, “Crash the System,” has stirred up a great deal of interest among the activist community. Most of the people I have heard from, however, have been those who never faced imprisonment- including many lawyers and law students… i.e., people who actually read the New York Times or [...]
RI Voters’ Poll: Seeking Major Changes In Marijuana Policy
A new poll of 714 Rhode Island Voters indicates overwhelming support for medical marijuana, compassion centers, and decriminalization of less than one ounce of the plant. The medical marijuana law, gone unused by Rep. Bob Watson (if he were to qualify) garnered support of 72%, including a whopping 82% of Dems, 61% GOP, and 57% [...]
Wyatt’s Wall Streeters to RI: “Buy My Prison, PLEASE!”
Recent talk continues about the state buying a troubled asset, the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. The thinking is that the state could purchase the outlandishly overvalued prison, refinance it, and operate a modest profit margin while saving the bondholders on Wall Street. Naturally, such a deal would take decades, if ever, to pay [...]
Why Getting Tough Is Weak
This week the Senate Judiciary voted to eliminate Good Time for people convicted of murder or serious sex offenses (1st degree child molestation, 2nd degree child molestation, kidnapping of a minor, and 1st degree sexual assault). (Good Time is the 10 days per month a prisoner receives for good conduct. In a month where the [...]
How To Confront a Candidate, or How to Drink Liberally.
It is often bemoaned that candidates only talk about certain issues, only debate the same topics, and hardly ever disagree on anything of true substance. “My economic package is better than yours.” “I’m tougher on our enemies than the other guy.” Blah, blah, blah. When we consider that Obama, Bush, and McCain all agreed on [...]
Santorum and Romney Square Off On Felon Disenfranchisement
Rick Santorum asked Mitt Romney point blank: “Do you believe people who were felons, who served their time, who exhausted their parole and probation, should be given the right to vote?” This was in response to an ad by Romney’s “Super-PAC” attacking the former Pennsylvania senator. The ad says Mr. Santorum voted to “let convicted felons vote” [...]
Philadelphia Freedom: Is This The New Swing Vote?
A coalition of seventeen organizations have recently embarked on a revolutionary voter registration drive, and what better place to be revolutionary than Philadelphia? The Returning Citizens Voter Movement is directed towards formerly incarcerated people, engaging many more people with felony records who never went to prison, and far more people without records who have a [...]
National “Occupy” Day in Support of Prisoners: February 20th
A proposal passed yesterday by the General Assembly of Occupy Oakland is to generate a national day of action that will call attention to prisons across America. While presidential candidates take to their stumps, one might be unaware that America is the international leader of incarceration with no competition in sight. February 20th, amidst American Black [...]
Dr. King’s Legacy: RIPTA Called Out by Community to Re-hire Fired Workers
Next Thursday, on January 19th, at 6:30pm, members of the RIPTA board will be at Direct Actions for Rights & Equality (DARE), answering calls to reinstate two employees who were unjustly fired last month. The fundamental question is: are people with criminal histories are sentenced to a life of unemployment? Even the New York Times [...]
Two Ways to Destroy “Occupy” Movement
Two Ways to Destroy “Occupy Wall Street” As somebody’s momma once said, “the best thing you can do is show up.” This has been happening all over the country since a group of folks decided to head down to that bull on Wall Street and call out to stop the bullshit. This is not a report [...]
Oh, Doreen, Please….
Someone please give me notice if Rep. Costa’s “Paying More For TANF” bill makes it to a hearing next spring, because that should be a fun one. As I pointed out in a prior post, drug testing mothers on assistance may feel good to some, but its not getting anyone “off welfare” in any productive [...]
RIFuture, I still love you- but…
Y’all might have noticed me not posting so much, as if nothing is going on in the criminal justice realm like the California hearing on Solitary Confinement, or Bloomberg editorializing that companies should Ban the Box (and cited a DOJ report regarding 30% of Americans having a criminal record *Hint, hint, ProJo “Pants On Fire”). [...]
New National Report Highlights RI Public Defender
Back in February I posted about the fact that underfunded Public Defenders are a smokescreen for the real issue: underfunded prosecutors and courts cannot handle the number of crimes coming at them. A new report by Justice Policy Institute, System Overload: The Costs of Under-Resourcing Public Defense, continues the one-sided argument- although making some excellent points. The latest [...]
Top Ten Reasons Wyatt Prison is an Epic Scandal
With the recent bankruptcy filing by Central Falls, RI, many are asking what will happen to the city’s most notorious flagship, the Wyatt Detention Facility. The city will not disappear, no more than Bridgeport, CT disappeared along route 95 ten years ago. Bridgeport is roughly the size of Providence, is Connecticut’s largest city, and some [...]
Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except…
Its been about two months since Governor Chafee signed the bill that posthumously pardoned John Gordon, the last man executed by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. During the hearing a great many people spoke eloquently about the terrible injustice of a man who (in hindsight) was so clearly innocent that he propelled [...]
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