Voting for prison reform promises
It was three and half years ago, at the Roger Williams University Symposium “Sounding the Alarm on Mass Incarceration” (which I wrote about in RIFuture back in 2013), when Rhode Island started a difficult, ambitious statewide conversation about undertaking major criminal justice reform efforts. Now, at the end of another election cycle, voters that care […]
9 Yards fights crime before it starts
“After the ACI: Going the whole ‘9 Yards’ works,” announced the ProJo on its front-page on Monday. Mass incarceration and crime are two of the biggest and most expensive challenges facing the country, and the ProJo reported exciting evidence that Rhode Island has developed a successful response. The evaluation of 9 Yards, a prisoner reentry […]
RI Supreme Court upholds major probation violation bill
The RI Supreme Court, in a decision written by Supreme Court Justice Maureen Goldberg, upheld what is one of the most influential pieces of criminal justice reform legislation in the past ten years. This law, known alternately as the “Justice and Innocence Bill” and the “32(f) law,” was passed in 2010 but has been on […]
Another World Is Possible: Police and Prisons
This year Rhode Island’s Future is going to host a fortnightly column called Another World Is Possible. Using the popular socialist slogan as our guide, we are going to create twelve articles that deliver an in-depth description of what a socialist world would look like. There are plenty of writings on the internet that explain […]
Joyce Penfield always finds new ways to fight for racial, social justice
Reverend Joyce Penfield, of the St. Peter’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Providence, has been fighting for racial and social justice her entire life. “It’s been my calling since I was 13,” she said. Her father was a leader of the local Lutheran church in Phylo, Illinois – “I lived in a cornfield, honestly,” […]
ACI administrator praises Prison Op/Ed Project
Racial injustice. Voting. Prisons. Entitlements. Zero tolerance. These are but a few of the topics written about by inmates enrolled in the Community College of Rhode Island Introductory Sociology class taught by Meghan Kallman in the John J. Moran Medium Security facility.
Post prison services would stem system’s revolving door
The Rhode Island Department of Corrections is obligated under law to protect the public by providing ex-inmates with treatment in the community to help rehabilitate them as productive members of society. Too often it doesn’t meet this obligation. Inmates who return to difficult and stressful circumstances and lack supportive structures and services are at greater […]
Incarceration is the new slavery
Slavery is the most extreme form of stratification. It relegates people to the status of property for the purpose of producing labor. The slave is a commodity. The slave trade was very profitable on an economic level and very damaging on others. Slavery is now prohibited by every nation in the world and is declared […]
Prison policies put probation and vocation training at odds
They say when someone is sentenced to prison it is for rehabilitation. Yet I will be eligible for parole before I am eligible to participate in one of the vocational programs at the ACI. Here in medium security, there is a carpentry, HVAC and barbers’ apprentice program. But prison policy says only inmates with fewer […]
Public school students and inmates need more vocational training
Parents, politicians, teachers and taxpayers must better prepare people for life after an institution. This holds true for both ACI inmates and Rhode Island high school students. Public high schools no longer stress hands on training. Instead, they focus on English, math, science, history, though these subjects are hard pressed to hold a teenagers’ attention […]
Landscaping course offers former inmates a way forward after jail
Mike Brito was brainstorming with Joyce Penfield one day about how he could help Penfield’s organization, The Blessing Way, when he realized he could only offer what he knew how to do. “All I know is how to put stone in the ground and I guess that was enough,” said Brito Saturday at the graduation […]
Sen. Whitehouse and how to deal with prison reform in America
On Monday a group of people will sit down at Open Doors and talk about Senator Whitehouse’s bill to create a federal parole system. The bill is hailed as a “prison reform bill,” and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee; a clear indication of the shifting tide on political ideology over the past few years. This ebbing […]
Formerly incarcerated ACI dog part of World Series honor
Rescue (lower right) is trained to assist people with disabilities. Today I got a call from a friend in prison, asking if I saw his old cellmate in Fenway Park during the 7th Inning Stretch. You might have missed it, during the World Series tribute to the Boston Marathon bombing victims. There were plenty of people, smiling […]
A former prisoner’s view of ‘Orange Is The New Black’
Those of you without Netflix might be wondering what’s all the fuss about with “Orange is the New Black.” The first 13-episode season of ONB is the second TV show to debut on the website. It is time to get past the controversy over who created the show and use it for advancing discussion on mass incarceration […]
Former Prisoner Facing ‘Backlash’ For Pursuing Education
This post, by TTEF President Andres Idarraga on behalf of the Board of Directors, originally appeared on TTEF’s blog. The recent controversy surrounding a young man pursuing his education at the University of Rhode Island raises several societal issues. (“One student’s journey from state prison to URI sparks inquiry,” Katherine Gregg, 2/24/13). Should we encourage […]
NY Bets on Success with Social Impact Bonds
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced a new initiative that could save government money, decrease the crime rate and strengthen urban communities. Global investment bank Goldman Sachs will invest $10 million in a program to reduce recidivism among released adolescent prisoners at Riker’s Island. This will make the city the first in the nation to […]
Pot Decriminalization in RI: Just a Starting Point
Rhode Island became the latest state to lessen the punishments for small amounts of marijuana, popularly known as “decriminalizing” it. Six years ago, there were many doubters and few reformers on board. Yet it appears America is fed up with many facets of drug policy. Organizations that have been seen as fringe radicals, such as […]
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 […]
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 […]
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