12. March 2010 by Rev Young.

Legislation ending direct file will be introduced next week, which makes this debate even more important!

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12. March 2010 by Rev Young.

We continue to raise awareness concerning the war we have allowed the government to declare on our children.  It seems that most of us are unaware of the power and authority that public schools, public officials and our criminal justice system have over the care and discipline of our kids.  We must begin to look at and evaluate the systems that are responsible for the welfare, training, education and habilitation of our children.  The next stop?  PRISON.  Prison populations are becoming saturated with mentally ill, developmentally delayed and special needs young people.  We don’t seem to know what else to do with them!  Have we become so immune to violence that the torturous treatment of human beings does not shock us?

 I have a 25 year old autistic daughter.  When she was attending the public school system, there were few programs and very little knowledge concerning the treatment and education of an autistic child.  That was one challenge in itself.  The other challenge is that autistic children react quickly and with force when they are in situations where they are over stimulated and overwhelmed.  This was always a concern for me, as a parent, because first and foremost I did not want my daughter to be in situations that caused her such great distress.  Secondly, I did not want her to harm another person when she was out of control.  Because of a particular situation when she went to junior high school, we developed a Behavior Modification Program and I instructed all of the teachers, teachers aids and special education staff on deescalating and coaching my daughter on how to manage her circumstances.  This worked very well and was later used with many other children. 

Most parents don’t know that the school has jurisdiction over your child’s behavior, unless you otherwise outline your request.  Most parents don’t know that your child can be restrained, put in isolated confinement or strapped to a chair if the school feels it is necessary.  Most states in this nation do not even have clear policy and procedure concerning the necessary restraint of a child.  Children have died while being restrained or isolated.  This week a bill was voted on to require all states put in place policies governing the use of restraint in schools.  This article came from  http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/   

The 7-year-old special needs girl who died of suffocation while in a “prone restraint”

On Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4247, the  Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, by a vote of 242-153. In the final vote count, 238 Democrats and just 24 Republicans voted for the bill, while 8 Democrats and 145 Republicans voted against it. (Check out the full roll call here.) 

The stated purposes of H.R. 4247, which was introduced in December by Representative George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, include the following:

(1) prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools; 

(2) ensure the safety of all students and school personnel in schools and promote a positive school culture and climate; 

(3) protect students from— 

(A) physical or mental abuse; 

(B) aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety; and 

(C) any physical restraint or seclusion imposed solely for purposes of discipline or convenience;

(4) ensure that physical restraint and seclusion are imposed in school only when a student’s behavior poses an imminent danger of physical injury to the student, school personnel, or others….

It’s hard to decide which is more shocking: the fact that that 153 members of the United States Congress would see fit to vote against such a bill, or the fact that it was needed in the first place, orit.

As to the latter–the bill’s findings state that “physical restraint and seclusion have resulted in physical injury, psychological trauma, and death to children in public and private schools.” The House Education and Labor Committee conducted hearings on the subject last spring, after the Government Accountability Office published a report that began with the following statement:

Although GAO could not determine whether allegations were widespread, GAO did find hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use of these methods on school children during the past two decades. Examples of these cases include a 7 year old purportedly dying after being held face down for hours by school staff, 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and bloody noses, and a 13 year old reportedly hanging himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement.

Special education students were especially vulnerable to this kind of treatment, the report found:

For example, teachers restrained a 4 year old with cerebral palsy in a device that resembled a miniature electric chair because she was reportedly being “uncooperative.”….Teachers confined [a 9 year old with learning disabilities] to a small, dirty room 75 times over the course of 6 months for offenses such as whistling, slouching, and hand waving….In another case, a residential day school implemented a behavior plan, without parental consent, that included confining an 11-year-old autistic child to his room for extended periods of time, restricting his food, and using physical restraints. The child was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder as a result of this treatment.

A report published earlier last year by the National Disability Rights Network provided additional examples, including one in which a 7 year old Wisconsin girl, who was diagnosed with an emotional disturbance and ADHD, died of suffocation after several adult staff pinned her to the floor in a “prone restraint” because she was blowing bubbles in her milk.

A handful of earlier accounts had also exposed the widespread use in schools of “seclusion rooms” or “time-out rooms”–basically, solitary confinement cells for difficult-to-control children. One of these came from education researcher Mary Hallowell in her 2009 book Forgotten Rooms. According to an article the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Education researcher Mary Hollowell spent months chronicling an alternative high school in rural Georgia before she discovered the awful secret that continues to haunt her today. Walking with the principal down a hall, Hollowell heard a loud pounding. She followed the principal into a room and then through a connecting doorway that led to a solitary confinement cell double bolted from the outside.

“The cell was dark inside and had a small, square window,” she said. “It was the kind of set-up you saw in a mental institution, not a school.” Inside the cell was a boy Hollowell recognized; she had tutored him in reading and even had artwork from him. “I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I realized what I was seeing,” she says. “The principal’s comment to me was that most people didn’t know this room was there.”

These are the sorts of abuses that H.R. 4247 seeks to address–and the GAO report made clear the pressing need for federal legislation on this subject. “GAO found no federal laws restricting the use of seclusion and restraints in public and private schools and widely divergent laws at the state level,” it said. And in fact, “GAO could not find a single Web site, federal agency, or other entity that collects information on the use of these methods or the extent of their alleged abuse.” 

Yet 153 members of Congress chose to vote against a law that would expose and limit what can in some cases be described as the torture of schoolchildren.

Perhaps not so shocking after all: In a country that condones torture not only in its military detention centers, but in its state and federal prisons, immigration jails, and juvenile detention centers, it was only a matter of time before it trickled down into our schools.

Posted in Legal News, Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates, Juvenile Offenders, From Families of Juvenile Offenders | Print | 1 Comment »

11. March 2010 by Rev Young.

I received a very disturbing e-mail this week.  It was from a fellow advocacy organization sending out an action alert for the state of Colorado.  It seems that after our Governor called for drastic budget cuts across the board because of our fiscal shortfall, the Colorado Department of Corrections has asked for $10 million dollars to open one tower of CSPII.  CSPII will be Colorado’s second supermax facilitythat will be even more debilitating and oppressive than the current facility (CSP) that is in operation.  All visiting at CSPII will be done via video. This will eliminate all human contact. 

While DOC tries to justify the need for this facility and this severe level of incarceration, their arguments do not hold water.  The truth is that Colorado uses administrative segregation more than any other state in the country except for Ohio.  The truth is that DOC has empty beds right now in many facilities around the state.  This means that offenders currently housed in administrative segregation at CSP or Sterling Correctional facility could be placed back in general population.  The truth is that DOC over uses the practice of administrative segregation for any level of infraction, including the most minor violation of DOC rules. 

The truth is that we do not want to be known for torturous practices in this state.  There is a growing movement away from the use of this form of punishment because it has been researched, documented and confirmed that such disciplinary action actually causes more harm to individuals and decreases their ability to interact in a social environment.  The truth is that this form of disciplinary practice causes mental illness.  Individuals, including members of our military, have recounted the deterioration of their mental processes and cognition when housed in solitary confinement. 

Aside from all of the facts concerning the use of administrative segregation comes the bottom line issue.  It seems that our elected officials value prison facilities more than they value education.  It seems that there is a special place for 10 million dollar requests from DOC when our school districts are cutting millions of dollars from their budgets. 

It is time that we begin placing our focus and emphasis on the programs and systems that create stronger communities, and that begins by creating stronger individuals.  Education, treatment programs, rehabilitation programs, housing, employment and a state that is focused on creating long term stability for our future is what we need. 

We have followed the direction and decisions of our lawmakers and we are reaping the results of those decisions.  We all believed the experts that said there was a coming generation of super predators and we needed to prepare our prisons for them.  We believed our law makers when they declared a war on drugs and we believed them when they said they were going to significantly reduce the availability and use of drugs in America.  We believed them when they spouted their tough on crime platforms and how they were going to make America a safer place to live.  We allowed them to fill us with fear and foreboding and gladly gave up our freedoms and humanity so that we could feel more secure. 

We have 25 years of history to review concerning these political platforms.  History proves that we didn’t have anything to be afraid of.  Our communities remain as safe as they were when these political messages came forth, meaning that we have not experienced a significant increase or decline in our crime rates or addiction in this country.  The laws (mandatory minimums, 3 strikes your out, longer prison sentences) have not produced the results that our law makers promised.  The huge prison expansion that this country has seen (and paid for) has only created and increased a new population of Americans called OFFENDERS. 

We will spend close to Three Quarters of a Billion dollars on corrections this year in the state of Colorado (operating and capitol expense budget requests, probation and parole).  The numbers for the nation are even more astounding.  According to the PEW Charitable Trust report “1 in 31″, the United States spent 68 Billion dollars on corrections, parole and probation in 2008.  By the way, Colorado has the distinction of having 1 person for every 29 citizens under the jurisdiction of DOC. 

Our crime rates have changed little and the safety in our communities remains the same.  Our communities are not stronger and our criminal justice system does not rehabilitate or “correct” the behavior of those in their charge.  Treamment, rehabilitation and education is less than 5% of DOC’s budget.  The focus is purely on warehousing….with a very high price tag. 

Our education systems, whether elementary, secondary or higher education, have all cut their budgets steadily over the last decade.  We have eliminated or drastically reduced programs that care for the disabled, the abused, the neglected, the homeless and the elderly leaving them to their own devises so that they may survive. 

BUT WE STILL FUND PRISONS.  So my question is why?  What do our lawmakers and officials stand to gain from funding more prisons?  What is the cost to all of us?  Why is Colorado opening another prison facility (and a very expensive one) when other states are closing prison facilities?

I ask you to join me in calling for spending that creates healthy communities.  With limited dollars available for our state budgets, we need to make every dollar count.  We need to hold our law makers accountable for their actions and votes.  We need to focus on the members of our community that are not housed in correctional facilities so that they become strong and successful.  We need to be sure that we are focused on those who are at risk so that they do not fail and find themselves on a path to prison. 

Then we need to focus on rehabilitating and holding accountable, those who have made wrong choices.  We need to give them the tools, the opportunity and the requirement to make better choices for their future.  While those held in prison may have broken the law, they are also capable of rehabilitating their lives and becoming successful members of our communities.  This means we will not pay for their housing or care….They will pay their own way and have confidence in knowing they can succeed. 

If you would like more information on the practice of solitary confinement please click on the links below.  If you would like to contact the members of the Joint Budget Committee in Colorado, the links are provided. 

http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/teen-kills-himself-after-being-put-in-solitary-for-trying-to-kill-himself/

www.supermaxed.com/

Colorado Members of Joint Budget Committee -

 jack.pommer.house@state.co.us   moe.keller.senate@state.co.us    mferrandino@yahoo.com     rep.kent.lambert@comcast.net    abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us     senatorwhite@earthlink.net  

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2. March 2010 by Rev Young.

It seems that in the United States we have a “Polly Anna” attitude or maybe we walk around with our hands over our eyes so that we do not have to face the evil around us. 

Most American people believe that if a person is arrested and charged, they must have been involved in a crime and deserve what’s coming to them.  Most of America believes that we have a criminal justice system in place that is fairly fool proof and we always get the bad guy.  We have to believe that.  Otherwise we will be faced with the fact that yet another piece of our world is antiquated, corrupt and unaccountable. 

There has been a consistent theme in reporting around the country this week.  A theme that should cause us to be angry.  This concerns the injustice that has been set against our fellow citizens and children.  Those that have been charged wrongfully, those being bantered with in a game of power and those who have served time in our prisons wrongfully…….even those who died in prison and were later pardoned. 

Organizations like the The Innocence Project work on cases around the country to get those who have been wrongfully convicted free.  There are also organizations who are working on the issues surrounding juvenile justice and the ability of District Attorney’s to transfer juveniles to adult court for prosecution.  Still others are working to examine and hold accountable our criminal justice system.  There are too many stories of criminal justice infractions on the rights of citizens, too many wrongful convictions and too many innocent people behind bars.  Then you can add too that the number of individuals who are serving long prison sentences or indeterminate sentences because of conspiracy laws and felony murder.  These laws cause the defendant to be just as culpable as the person who committed the crime just because they were present or knew of the crime before or after the fact.  It’s called guilt by association. 

The first story that I want to relate to you, is about an 11 year old boy (Jordan Brown) who has been charged with murder.  Much debate went on concerning the status of this young defendant and now he is notably one of the youngest person to be tried in adult court.  What in the world could an 11 year old boy have done to deserve this?  He is charged with killing his father’s fiance and her unborn child.  The evidence proves otherwise. 

From Mary Ellen Johnson of The Pendulum Foundation - “The reasons this case may be so important are two: first, Jordan is the youngest person in America to have been charged as an adult for murder; and two, Jordan is innocent. All of the issues which arise in youth violence cases are present except having to explain why this young person may have gone wrong. He didn’t. He is, in fact, a model kid and potentially a poster-boy for everything that is structurally wrong with the American approach to youth justice, Jordan’s case dramatizes that everyone’s children are at risk as long as these unfair and irrational laws remain on the books.”  Mary Ellen is speaking of the Direct Statute and the ability of a District Attorney to transfer a juvenile into adult court for prosecution.  For more information concerning this case please click on these links - www.jordanbrowntrust.org  or http://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/

The next story that I want to bring to your attention concerns the infamous case of the “West Memphis Three”.  These three boys were charged with the murder of homeless men.  The evidence proves otherwise.  One young man is on death row.  Actor Jonny Depp made a public appearance and statement on the program “48 Hours Mystery” this past weekend, on behalf of justice for these three boys.  All they are asking for is a re-trial and a chance to present the truth.  So far they have been denied.  You can see more on this by following the link below.

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25. February 2010 by Rev Young.

                     MOTHERS OF THE DISAPPEARED                                                       

“Midnight, our sons and daughters…..Were cut down and taken from us.                  

Hear their heartbeat…..We hear their heartbeat.

In the wind, we hear their laughter.  In the rain we see their tears. 

Hear their heartbeat…….We hear their heartbeat.

Night hangs like a prisoner…..Stretched over, black and blue.

Hear their heartbeat……We hear their heartbeat.

In the trees, our sons stand naked.  Through the walls our daughters cry.  

See their tears…. in the rainfall.”    (Lyrics and Music by U2)    

Throughout the world organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International work tirelessly to insure that governments and corporations set policies and practices in place for the betterment of communities and we applaud them.  Those policies are to relieve poverty and oppression and insure that ALL people are treated with human dignity and compassion…..we commend that and we demand that other nations hold to our moral standards.  Special attention is given to women and children….the most vulnerable of human kind.  These powerful influence’s of government ask a simple question.  Are the policies and practices that you have, or are putting in place, for the betterment of ALL the people in your community?

March 17, 2010 Colorado will hold a debate on the direct file statute.  The debate is sponsored by many leaders for change and reform concerning juvenile justice and criminal justice practices in Colorado (see announcement below).  The debate will be moderated by The League Of Women Voters.  The debaters are Don Quick (District Attorney for Seventh Judicial District) and Kim Dvorchack (Attorney Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition). 

The League of Women Voters has determined that the debate will be over policy, authority and will include the usual political bantering concerning the legitimacy of this statute.  I believe many reports and statistics will be referenced and the arguments for and against will be presented by very articulate attorneys. 

Contrary to popular belief, and contrary to the platform for this debate, this is not a political issue.  This is a moral issue that is based on an individuals right to freedom from oppression, injustice and the poverty that this issue creates in our community.   This policy is not for the strength or the betterment of individuals or our community. 

The direct file statute takes away the protection of children and exposes them to cruel and harsh punishments that are immoral.  The statute victimizes children by exposing them and causing them to DEFEND THEMSELVES in an adult arena that they are unprepared for and unfamiliar with.  A child is thrown into a system where words like LIFE and Prison become the fear motivating their decisions, their thoughts and their demeanor.  It leaves children vulnerable to over zealous  DA’s who intimidate and vilify these young people. 

The very fact that we, as a state would not make sure measures are in place to guarantee the protection of children , displays our poverty of spirit.  We have been fed a false doctrine of fear concerning our children.  We have been told by our policy makers that we needed to give authority to District Attorney’s to prosecute these children, at their discretion,  to ensure the safety of our communities.  That rhetoric has only served to destroy the strength and health of our communities. 

The direct file statue is a violation of their (children’s) Constitutional Right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of their peers.  We have put in place a statute that oppresses our children.  We have a tendency to think of the well publicized cases that have been prosecuted under this statute, but the truth is……every child in this state is oppressed by this statue and is at risk because of it…..even yours. 

The reputation and success of a District Attorney is measured by his/her ability to successfully prosecute those charged, to the fullest extent of the law.  Why would we give the authority to decide the status of a child to the one office that stands to benefit the most from the transfer of a juvenile into adult court?  This is a conflict of interest.  These decisions should be made carefully, with a full spectrum of evidence and discussion, by an impartial third party, in the best interest of the individual and the state. 

This statute leaves our children exposed to the intimidating practices of interrogators, harsh confinement in solitary cells separated from human contact and laws that even violate adult human principle.  Laws like Felony Murder and COCA, with indeterminate consequences.  These laws can take away the life of a child and confine him/her forever inside prison.  These unjust practices should cause us to cry out on behalf of those who have no voice in any other legal arena…..because they are children. 

The practices of juvenile/criminal justice have created a prison machine that starves the community of its ability to care for, rehabilitate, habilitate or empower it’s individuals for future success.  Statutes such as Direct File, sentencing practices and policies that condemn people, are leaving our communities in poverty.  We leave individuals and families to suffer in their circumstance, addiction and health issues.  We remove preventative and rehabilitative measures in order to feed punishment and condemnation.  We are left to fund cement block monoliths of failure and isolation…….for the remainder of their and our lives.  We have chosen to believe, through our policies and practices, that these people are beyond redemption and forgiveness.  This leaves us to fund these inhumane practices and hold ourselves in poverty of spirit and possessions. 

The last point I would like to address is highly controversial, and up to now, unspoken.  Many reports and many experts have presented evidence concerning juvenile brain development.  Many advocates have jumped on the band wagon and used this as a tool for reform since it provides factual evidence that those they advocate for are, indeed, children and should be treated as such. 

The moral issue that is always raised but never addressed is,  “They know the difference between right and wrong.”  If they were raised in a home that teaches these moral values, then they know them in theory.  They have yet to apply them in practice.  They have not been alive long enough to be faced with the situations that give them the opportunity to test these theories.  If they have grown in an environment where the moral issues of right and wrong are only words but not actions, the words have little impact.  What the world calls “right and wrong” has not been modeled or experienced in their lives. 

These are training and discipline issues.  We can prove cause and effect with respect to moral choices when an individual is confronted with a circumstance that requires choice.  That is why we give responsibility and freedom in small doses, at age appropriate times, and with adult guidance and supervision.  We know that they will make mistakes and wrong choices.  We are supposed to guide and redirect them, helping them to understand cause and effect.  Many have been raised with addiction, violence, abuse, poverty and hunger, and gangs.  It is part of their normal life.  They have not been taught anything different and they have not experienced anything except fear, oppression and loss.  They have suffered injustice their whole lives and their whole life has been filled with lies and deception.

Inside of every person is a longing for truth, justice, freedom and hope.  Every person has a drive to survive but a longing to thrive and flourish.  Isn’t it time that we stopped feeding a broken system that, through historical evidence, reproduces itself and causes more suffering for all?  Shouldn’t we begin to act on mercy, compassion and restoration so that we are all stronger?  Why would we condemn our children to grow up in prison, exposed to violence, abuse and fear instead of taking the time to habilitate them?  Why are we satisfied to fund prisons to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars instead of demanding these funds be spent on creating strong children, healthier communities and a future for all of us? 

These are moral questions we must ask ourselves and choices we must make.  Are we doing the right thing?  Are we making choices that strengthen us and our future?

As for me?  I don’t spend money on things that don’t work and I don’t usually make the same mistake twice.  If it isn’t working change it! 

Posted in Legal News, Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates, Juvenile Offenders, From Families of Juvenile Offenders | Print | No Comments »

18. February 2010 by Rev Young.

In the last 25 years we have allowed, encouraged and given our approval to our policy makers in regards to criminal justice.  We nodded our heads in approval when they announced that we needed to declare war on drugs.  We nodded our heads in approval when they announced that we had a generation of super predators coming and we needed to prepare for that.  We nodded our heads in approval when we declared war on crime in our nation.  Even if we did not believe or agree with their political platforms and policy decisions, our SILENCE gave them tacit approval.

We now have 25 years of history to review.  We can look at the policy decisions, the mandatory sentencing policies, the results of our war on drugs and crime, and ask ourselves if we made the right decisions.  We can look at the war that has been declared on the youth of this nation with zero tolerance policies, direct file statutes and the elimination of juvenile reform policies and see that our PRISONS are full of kids.  Kids, who are left to survive or be destroyed by an abusive and destructive system of incarceration.

At the receiving end for our war on drugs are addicts and kids who are experimenting with drugs.  Did we stop the drug traffic into America?  No we did not.  Have we impacted the availability of drugs to our kids?  No we have not.  Have we changed the landscape in our communities so that we have fewer people with addiction problems?  No we have not.  We have simply moved them out of intervention, treatment and rehabilitation and put them in prison.  We have sold our effective, and less costly, practices of dealing with drug problems for huge prison budgets.  We have turned the ill and afflicted members of our communities over to prison guards and dehumanizing practices, somehow believing that this will solve the problem. 

We know the impact of zero tolerance policies.  Kids can be sent to juvenile detention for smoking at school.  A first grader, who just received his first boy scout knife,  can be expelled for bringing it to school.  A kid who is caught fighting can be charged with assault.  A kid who get’s mouthy with his teacher can be suspended.  A kid who drinks, drives and gets in an accident, is sentenced to 15 years in prison.  An adult who commits the same crime against the community will be released in 5 years.  A kid who robs a store where someone gets hurt, will get life without parole, while his adult counter part may get 10 years.  We are making it very easy for our kids to fail and NEVER live down their mistakes. 

We have the results.  We have the history.  We know the cost and we know the impact.  Our communities are not safer, our communities are not healthier and every morning we have to look ourselves in the mirror and know that the same torturous practices that appall us concerning Guantanamo, happen in our prisons everyday……to kids…….the ones we are supposed to protect. 

We have created a prison nation.  7.3 million people are under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections in the United States.  Prisons have the jurisdiction over the lives of these people and are not accountable to anyone except the criminal justice branch of government.  That means that whatever happens inside of prison….stays in prison.  They are not places of reform….they are warehouses of darkness. 

Please read these articles which are from the Solitary Watch web site.  If you have not signed up to receive their blog posts, I recommend that you do.  They are a force and a voice for those who cannot speak out for themselves. 

http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/what-the-war-on-terror-owes-to-the-war-on-crime/

http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/children-sentenced-to-die-in-prison/

http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/kids-languish-in-solitary-while-awaiting-trial-in-colorado/

Posted in Legal News, Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates, Juvenile Offenders, From Families of Juvenile Offenders | Print | 1 Comment »

8. February 2010 by Rev Young.

I am proud to present the work of Marc Homer from Wyoming Kids Count.  He and his very creative team have released a video trailer and are soon to release a documentary (spring 2010) on juvenile justice policy and juvenile reform. 

Although this video describes the condition of juvenile delinquency policy in Wyoming, it mirrors the same hurdles for juvenile reform that we all face across this nation.  We have inconsistencies in policy across our states, antiquated policies and systems and virtually no available statistics to track our successes or failures.

If we are to address the enormous prison population in this country, we must first address the opportunities we have for diversion.  This starts with our youth and those who are forced into a system that causes them hardship throughout the rest of their lives.  If we are going to have a future with future leaders we need to be more cognisant of our young people and come along side them when they fail, give them better tools for success and stand by them as they try their wings. 

I like the way Sen. Alan Simpson put it, “We need to get down in the muck”.  I also like the sentiment that another man expressed.  We need to look at all of these kids as if they were our own. 

Please go to www.wykidscount.org and take their brief survey after you have watched the video.  Enjoy!

Juvenile Justice in Wyoming from Marc Homer on Vimeo.

Posted in Legal News, Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates, Juvenile Offenders, From Families of Juvenile Offenders | Print | No Comments »

25. January 2010 by Rev Young.

There have been many articles released recently on the laws that condemn youth to prison, the conditions and abuse in prison and the practice of solitary confinement in the United States.  If we take all of these articles (links below) and fit the pieces together to create a picture of prison in America…..we violate all standards of a civilized nation.  In addition, if we look at the impact that these institutions have on our communities, states and nation we are creating a cesspool of decay. 

I, along with many other concerned citizens, will be attending a conference on prison cost and the impact on our state.  I do not think we have stopped to realize the far-reaching impact that prisons will have on our nation for the next twenty years IF WE INCACERATE NO ONE ELSE IN THAT TIME.  The tough on crime laws, the mandatory sentencing movement and the long prison sentences that have been handed out over the last 10 to 20 years will impact our state budgets for many years to come.

We have been filled with propaganda from our legislators and district attorney’s concerning the severity of punishment that was needed to stop crime in America.  There policies, laws and incarceration practices have not stopped crime and have created a new community of citizenship in this country.  The “forever” criminal.  Those who have served time in prison will never have that information erased from their life history.  This is not implying that it would be erased from memory.  That will never happen.  What I am talking about is the large number of citizens that will carry the label of felon or inmate for the rest of their lives.  This means that they are not eligible for work in most companies.  This mean that they cannot provide for themselves and their families.  This means that we are creating a large sector of our society that will always be at risk of failure. 

The prison system itself does not teach the person they are holding how to become a better citizen.  The system does not create more stable people.  The system does not give people better coping skills, education, job skills or relationship skills.  Instead the system further breaks down the person they are holding.  Now I must be fair and state that some facilities in this country have begun looking for better prison practices and have incorporated successful programs in their facilities that assist people in becoming successful in the future. 

As a citizen of this country, I no longer want to pay for a system that does not produce positive results.  As a citizen of this country, I do not want to continue supporting laws, practices or institutions that threaten the ability of my community to be healthy and vibrant.  As a citizen of this country, I do not want to continue building prisons that destroy humanity while being unable to fund education, rehabilitation or elder care.  I want a better solution. 

I do not see the benefit of long prison sentences in prison that do not rehabilitate their charges.  I do not see the benefit of tough on crime laws that have not impacted crime rates and have only created a portion of society that has little or no chance of leading a successful life.  As a citizen of this country, I do not want to be responsible for the torture, abuse or death of people who are in the care of the state and therefore in my care. 

Sometime ago, I announced that Senator Webb had introduced a bill that called for the investigation and reporting on the condition of the criminal justice system in America.  We are poised and ready for change.  We need change. 

Senate Committee Passes
National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009

The bi-partisan National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 (S. 714) was passed out of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary today by voice vote. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) would create a commission to conduct a thorough evaluation of the nation’s justice system and offer recommendations for reform at every stage of the criminal justice system.

The establishment of such a commission could not come at a more critical time. With 2.3 million people in prisons and jails, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Federal and state governments spend more than $50 billion each year on corrections, and the population behind bars continues to grow.

ADULT TIME FOR STEALING A PACK OF GUM FROM ANOTHER TEEN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/15/connecticut.juvenile.ages/

WHEN LIFE IS CRUEL http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-lwop14-2010jan14,0,4639361.story

JUVENILE SEXUAL ASSAULT IN PRISON  http://www.justicefellowship.org/what-is-restorative-justice/justice-fellowship-resources/14157-twelve-percent-of-juveniles-in-custody-are-assaulted-sexually

BATTLING SOLITARY CONFINEMENT  http://solitarywatch.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/americas-most-isolated-man-sues-the-bureau-of-prisoners/

Posted in Legal News, Prison Reform Advocates, Juvenile Reform Advocates, From Families of Juvenile Offenders | Print | 1 Comment »

16. January 2010 by Rev Young.

As reports and strategies for 2010 on issues that concern our communities continue to come forth, I want to try and help us connect the dots.  Most of the time we tend to focus on our particular area of interest and passion when we should be stepping back to look at the landscape around us. 

This week a conference was held to release numbers concerning the deaths of children as a result of abuse or neglect in the state of Colorado over the past seven years.  The article was titled “Colorado’s Number of Shame” 179 children killed from abuse and neglect over the past seven years http://www.denverpost.com/billjohnson/ci_14162798source=rsshomecol#ixzz0cMQm0uMW  This was an editorial written by Bill Johnson who attended this conference.  Thank you for your report.  I want to add that you may be able to find statistics for your state by accessing the report from Every Child Matters http://www.everychildmatters.org/images/stories/pdf/wcdb_report.pdf.

The Denver Post article goes on to report that in fiscal 2008-9 there were 76,000 reports of child abuse and neglect.  The state investigated 1 in 3 of these reported cases and of those investigated only 22% received child services.  The report goes on to give statistics concerning the future outcome for those children that suffer in a place of neglect and abuse.  The article lists high school drop out rates, teen pregnancy rates and the instance of homelessness.  However, the impact and devastation is further reaching and continues to impact and burden our state.  More on this in a minute.

The other facts that are very evident to many who deal with children, is that the risk for failure in a child can be spotted at an early age.  There are education professionals that will tell you they can discern as early as the first grade whether or not a child will complete high school.  The will tell you that they can spot the evidence of neglect in a home.  They can tell you which children come from a home where there is a lack of parental supervision or interaction. 

We also know, from extensive case study and reports, that children who come from a home where there is drug and alcohol abuse are at risk of becoming addicted themselves at an early age.  We know the things  experienced in the home become the social patterns of these young children for the future. 

The next step on this path of failure for these young children is often through prison doors.  Those who come from addicted or neglectful homes often turn to drugs and alcohol.  This leads to addiction and securing ways to feed their addiction.  In the state of Colorado, 66% of our prison population is there because of drug related crimes.  If you are dealt with in a violent manner in your home, you learn to deal with stressful situations with violence.  If you grow up in a home where rules are broken, where the things that are not supposed to happen to you DO happen, you do not learn right from wrong.  Let me emphasize that statement because it is very important for us to hear and understand.  There has been much discussion and controversy over the ability of a young person to make adult decisions and be held accountable as an adult for their actions.  First and foremost kids are not adults.  They do not have the mental capacity to live past, or see past, the events that are right in front of them.  This is true of a “normal” adolescent that has been raised in a positive environment.  Now add to that immaturity, the impact of being raised in an environment where violation of right and wrong is an every day occurrence.  They are not taught nor have the ever experienced the difference between right and wrong.  They are told that abuse is wrong (from outside sources) but it happens in their home.  They are taught (in school) that drugs are bad and can lead to a life of destruction but it is an everyday occurrence in their home.  They are told and disciplined for the use of violence to solve problems but that is how problems are solved at home. 

The lack of focus on juvenile reform issues, addiction treatment and child protection has resulted in a bulging prison system.  We take those who have been neglected, abused and unprepared for successful futures and confirm their lack of worth by condemning them to prison.  Our focus has been on “tough on crime” policies.  We may be better served by focusing on the health and welfare of the members of our community. 

The problem we face now is how to stop this destructive cycle and make positive changes.   The Department of Human Services will tell you that the reason they cannot investigate and care for all of these children, is because of a lack of funds.  The educators will tell you the reason they cannot have more influence in a child’s future, is because of a lack of funds.  The juvenile delinquency professionals will tell you that the reason they cannot serve all the children in need, is because of a lack of funds.  Addiction treatment centers will tell you that the reason they cannot treat those with an addiction problem, is because of a lack of funds. The prison system will tell you that the reason they cannot focus on reform and re-entry is because of a lack of funds.  Our state is broke.  Most states are broke and most states could not afford to increase the funding to these organizations to meet the needs of their population. 

We need renewed social responsibility.  Not in the form of government programs but in community based centers that create new revenue streams.  I will give you an example.  I know of a man who opened a florist shop.  He, himself, only took a salary from the business.  He employed people who had served time in prison and helped with re-entry for these individuals.  He took the profit from his business to fund an organization that helps offenders transition from prison to their communities.  I know of people who have created businesses that created jobs for homeless people, single mothers and former offenders and the profit from these businesses purchased affordable housing that was also available to those in need. 

If we are going to find solutions to the problems we are faced with and the budget crisis in our states, we are going to have to be creative and innovative.  We have the skills, the knowledge and the resources.  Do we have the tenacity, the strength and the heart?

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7. January 2010 by Rev Young.

At the beginning of 2009 there was much optimism in the juvenile justice reform arena.  There was much to anticipate with a brand new president and a new focus in our country which was to reform the nation and get us back to something reasonable. 

This past year gave us small victories and more frustration.  With the needs of the entire nation reaching crisis stage, we did not make the headway that we desired.  I want to tell you that many of the answers and changes we need lie in criminal and juvenile justice reform.  The reason for this statement is this:  If we can begin to look at the people of this nation as individuals, with needs that can be answered, to make our nation stronger as a whole, we will get back on course. 

Our leaders, for several decades, have worked to divide this nation.  The right against the left.  The good against the bad.  The wealthy against the poor.  We have become a nation divided and we have lost our focus.  The strength, value and contribution of each citizen creates a strong community.  The strength, value and contribution of a community creates a strong state and so on.  We have lost the value of each member of this nation. 

I met with a young lady just before the new year celebration.  I went to visit her in a large women’s prison facility.  She was nervous as this was our first meeting and she wanted to leave me with a good impression and the understanding that she truly wanted to change the course of her life.  I traded small talk with her to ease her countenance and slowly she began to tell her story.  It began with the loss of her mother to cancer at the age of 13.  Her mother literally died in her arms.  Her father found solace in a bottle and this young girl would have to track down her father in bars to get money for food for the children in the house.  No time and no person to help her process her own grief, anger or loss, there were her siblings to consider.  By the time she reached 18 she was off and running to find her own “medication” and comfort.  This course of therapy brought her to prison and left her own very young daughters without a mother. 

This young woman is now faced with the future and how she will find the resources she needs to become a strong and contributing member of our community as well as the mother her daughters need her to be.  She has the heart for it.  She has the desire to make things right in her life and she realizes the mistakes she made.  Yet her success is limited by many factors, the first being the grief, loss and anger she has walled away for so many years.  In prison, you don’t get to be real.  In prison you don’t have the opportunity or the safety that allows you to be vulnerable enough to deal with the issues that caused the infractions in the first place. 

Will she make it?  In addition to the personal issues, she must also face the fact that her record will follow her all the days of her life and that our current employment practices will count her undesirable in the workplace.  She will be faced with the rigors of probation, the barriers of finding suitable housing as many apartment complexes and landlords will deny her for her record.  She will have to find her way through the paperwork necessary to re-establish her identity and her ability to find transportation.  The challenges are huge and the help close to non-existent. 

You might think that this is not your problem.  You might wonder how this effects the well being of our community and the strength of this state and the nation.  The PEW charitable trust released a report last year entitled “1 in 31″.  The number of people currently accountable to our Department of Corrections system in this nation has reached critical mass.  We are at the point of no return unless we change the way we look at crime and punishment.  “Adding up all probationers and parolees, prisoners and jail inmates, you’ll find America now has more than 7.3 million adults under some form of correctional control. That whopping figure is more than the populations of Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego and Dallas put together, and larger than the populations of 38 states and the District of Columbia. During Ronald Reagan’s first term as president, 1 in every 77 adults was under the control of the correctional system in the United States. Now, 25 years later, it is 1 in 31, or 3.2 percent of all adults.”  http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=49694&category=74

That number, 7.3 million, is staggering, but when you multiply that by the number of people impacted as the result of the incarceration of one person, it is even more staggering.  On average the incarceration of one person directly effects the lives of at least 6 other people.  That is 43,800,000 people affected.  It impacts their finances, their responsibilities, their futures and their well being.  Now do you see the problem? 

The state of Colorado, where I reside, has the dubious honor of reporting that 1 in 29 people are currently under the authority of the department of corrections.  Our recidivism rate hovers around 51 to 53 percent.  Why do they fail and return to prison?  Many reasons but mostly, because we set them up to fail. 

This cycle of brokenness, debilitation and weakness has to stop if we are going to strengthen our communities.  The question is, how do we get out of this squirrel cage?  How do you break this cycle?  How do we stop pouring so much money into a system that has proven itself to be inadequate, at best, and destructive, at worst? 

That will come in future articles.  First, in order for you to get a clear picture of the challenges we face, I suggest you read this article from the Colorado Springs Independent titled “From Freedom To Failure” http://www.csindy.com/colorado/from-freedom-to-failure/Content?oid=1574332  Thank you and Nice Work Guys.

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