A.T Wall to retire from ACI after decades of instituting progressive prison reform
Ashbel T. Wall is retiring in early 2018 after leading the Adult Corrections Institute for 18 years. Better known as A.T., he leaves his post as the longest serving warden in the nation with a reputation for bringing progressive reform to Rhode Island’s state prison system. “A.T. is a treasure and has dedicated his life […]
Like Senate, House should vote to end death-in-prison sentences for children
Currently Rhode Island law permits youth under 18 to receive life and other lengthy sentences with no opportunity for parole, meaning they have to spend decades in prison without any chance at review.
A post-mortem for probation reform
The Justice Reinvestment reform package died at some point late last Friday night, passing the Senate but never making it out of the Judiciary Committee in the House. This was a surprising conclusion to nearly a year of momentum building around the issue of mass probation and mass incarceration, and is indicative of the uphill […]
Prison Op-Ed Project gives inmates a voice
This fall, I visited a class of smart and engaged Rhode Island students. They seemed a lot like other students I’ve visited over the years: They asked good questions. They shared their experiences openly. They thought critically about what others said. They were respectful.
Second Chance Act deserves a second chance at full funding
We all have in our lifetime needed at least one second chance. The barriers that inmates face in the reentry process, for some, can be a life or death situation. Every year state and federal prisons release more than 650,000 people back into society, a population equal to the size of Boston. Rather than providing […]
Corporate-modeled ‘prison industrial complex’ doesn’t serve society
The very idea of experiencing an extended stay in a modern day prison should instill fear. Life is hard on the inside, and once you’re in the system it isn’t easy to break free. America’s cruel and impersonal justice system justifies its growth and very existence through the belief that it’s necessary to relieve society […]
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 […]
Everett’s ‘Freedom Project’ explores mass incarceration
The Everett Company’s “Freedom Project”– which premiered Thursday, March 12, at Brown’s Granoff Center – is a sobering, ultimately soaring piece of theater, incorporating movement, music, video, and real stories to tell the sad tale of mass incarceration in the U.S. It’s a riveting 90 minutes. Everett has been stretching the boundaries of traditional performance […]
Mandatory minimum for DUI homicides wrong way to enforce law
Atty. Gen. Kilmartn’s recent proposal that vehicular homicide should bring a minimum 30-year sentence strikes me as a bad idea. People who kill with their cars while intoxicated deserve severe punishment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that higher sentencing guidelines are what will work to prevent deaths. If tomorrow it was announced that I could watch a […]
Hold elected officials to a higher, not lower, standard
Last week I discussed Gordon Fox’s guilty plea for bribery, fraud, and filing a false tax return with students in my introductory sociology class at the men’s medium prison. Their reactions were immediate and articulate: one indignantly remarked that he himself had stolen a great deal less money than the former speaker, and yet was […]
The ‘Prison Op/Ed Project’ teaches civic engagement, writing
Incarcerated students in my CCRI Introductory Sociology course are expected, like my students elsewhere, to write 1-2 page reflection papers each week on themes that we discuss in class. Writing is, of course, one of the most important liberal arts competencies, and it is part of my job as a professor to help students find […]
Sheldon Whitehouse takes on prison reform
First he led the Senate on climate change. Then he took a high profile role in the fight for tax fairness. Now Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is leading the way on prison reform. He and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, both former state attorneys general, announced yesterday the CORRECTIONS Act, or the Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and […]
Tina Silva’s life matters too
Tina Silva is a casualty of mental health. Just as working class taxpayers are casualties of economic disparity. Just as law enforcement has no interest in correcting their unjust actions and medical and psychological professions are interested in creating repeat offenders for monetary gains. These are not new discoveries. But seeing how these entities work […]
Black & Pink sends holiday cards to LGBTQ prisoners
Mail Call often happens in public spaces in the prison. When someone hears their name called by a prison guard during mail call, it is a reminder that people on the outside care about that person. It is also a message to the guards and other prisoners that this person has support and is not forgotten. This can be a vital harm reduction strategy for people who are locked up, especially queer and transgender folks.
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 […]
Furor over Probation and Parole Offices Proves Need for Genuine Prison Reform
The response to a plan to move parole and probation offices to Downtown Providence has been a disappointing chapter in recent events. Angus Davis, four contenders for Democratic nominee, the Providence Chamber, and everyone else who took up the call against placing these offices in Downtown should be ashamed of themselves. Davis’ intellectual dishonesty is […]
New Comments