Soc 329 Slammed

Mother Jones

Slammed: The Coming Prison Meltdown

2008

Soc 329 Slammed

“Welcome to the age of incarceration”

US 5% of global population, 25% of global prisoners

“The land of the free has become the world’s leading jailer”

Soc 329 Slammed

The numbers are staggeringbut nobody noticed…. until the economic meltdown

From 200,000 to 1.5 million in prison

Jails add nearly another million

1 in 100 adults in jails or prisons

1 in 40 if parolees and ex-cons included

Soc 329 Slammed

“America is expert at turning citizens into convicts, but we've forgotten how to transform convicts back into citizens.”

“It's not just that we send so many people to prison, but that we keep them there for so

long and send them back so often.’

Soc 329 Slammed

Article documents some of the destruction

To people

To families

To communities

Soc 329 Slammed

Hard Time Out

BW/ZT extending to children

Police patrolling schools – kids treated as adults

Soc 329 Slammed

Convicting California

“… the nation’s most dysfunctional prison system”

Update:

In May the USSC affirmed lower court ruling that Calif system unconsti and ordered release

of prisoners – Calif still resisting

Soc 329 Slammed

Donald Specter - Prison Law OfficeFunded by legal fees from lawsuits!

12 lawyers – won numerous cases over 32 years

“Runs” the prison system – one lawsuit at a time

As frustrating as litigation is, it's the only thing that I've seen that's effective—and it's not very effective." Donald Specter

Soc 329 Slammed

1970 12 prisons 23,000 prisoners

(normal imprisonment rate 100+/-)

2008 33 prisons 170,000 prisoners

(IR over 500 per 100,000 pop)

Soc 329 Slammed

Cost incr about 20x $10 billion year

+ $7 bill new const + $7 bill medical incr

More than 50k per prisoner

What do we get for the money?

*** PICTURES

Soc 329 Slammed

What drives this?

Nationally the conservative turn in politics

In Calif, add the prison guards union and “victim rights” groups

CCPOA endorsed Brown and contrib $2 mill

to his campaign for governor

Soc 329 Slammed

When Prison Guards Go Soft

2008CCPOA opposing new building, more prisoners

But …. Now lobbying to protect pensions threatened by budget crisis

While prisoners sent to county jails – shell game

Soc 329 Slammed

The Calif Prison Health Care Receivership

2001 Fed lawsuit over health care

2002 Calif settled – agreed to changes did nothing

2005 Nothing changed - so Fed court estab Receivership to provide health care Removed control from Calif govt

Soc 329 Slammed

2008 Receiver plan approved by courts

Calif cont to appeal case in Fed courts

2010 Some funding approved by legislature (with case pending at USSC)

2011 Calif loses case in USSC (5-4 vote) Ordered to reduce prison pop

Soc 329 Slammed

Calif cases won by the Prison Law Office:

• Disability Rights • Excessive force • General Conditions • Lifer Parole Considerations • Juvenile Facilities • Medical and Mental Health Care • Parolee Rights

Soc 329 Slammed

Since 2008, Calif has

cut funding for rehab and education programs, sent more prisoners to out of state facilities,cut funding for changes in juvenile systemcontinued to fight lawsuits in federal courts (and mostly lost)and conditions in Calif prisons have deterioratedmore lawsuits and a hunger strike at Pelican

Bay