State Prisons Becoming Deadlier

06/21/21 • 4 min

In this week’s edition, prisons are becoming more deadly with each passing year, compassionate release is being denied to incarcerated people in need, and the state of Alabama takes stimulus money from prisoners.
How State Prisons Are Becoming Deadlier
Prisons are not keeping anyone safe – they’re just making problems worse.
State prison populations were just 1% higher in 2018 than they were in 2001, but 44% more state prison deaths occured in 2018 than in 2001! This is just part of the extremely disturbing information revealed by new data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Huge increases in suicide, homicide, and drug and alcohol-related deaths show a disturbing picture of a deadly institution that is getting worse and worse by the year. The suicide rate alone has increased by a enormous 85% since 2001, the highest ever recorded. These are people with families, friends, and loved ones like anyone else. If we want safe communities free from violence, we have to begin to work towards a world without prison facilities that create more death and more violence. via Prison Policy Initiative
Only A Few Dozen People Got This Much Needed Relief
Prisons are not interested in rehabilitation and health for those in need.
Nearly 31,000 people requested compassionate release from federal prison during the pandemic but so far, only 36 requests were granted. There were 1,735 requests in 2019 – the dramatic increase in applications reflects the fears that troubled the everyday lives of people incarcerated during COVID-19’s unrelenting spread. Prisons became incubators for the virus, and the Bureau of Prisons granted even fewer requests than they did in 2019 when a pandemic wasn’t killing people behind bars! COVID-19 has been a death sentence for people who haven’t even been convicted of a crime in many jails and prisons. Not only does the death penalty itself need to be abolished, but these facilities that kill through neglect have to go too. via BuzzFeed News
State Of Alabama Withholds Prison Stimulus Checks
With no protections, the stimulus funds of those in prison can be taken.
Alabama state officials have been holding incarcerated people’s stimulus checks and deducting court-ordered debts from them. According to news from multiple interviews and documents reviewed by Alabama’s WBHM, a 60-day hold was placed on the funds and people were also notified they would not necessarily receive all of their money. Unfortunately, there is no protection from garnishment for many people inside prisons, and it’s not just people in Alabama who are still waiting to see all their money. The disturbing reality is that many never will. via WBHM

New Ground

The New Ground segment features hopeful stories of changes within the realm of the criminal legal system. There is a better future on the horizon through the efforts to dismantle the oppressive system targeting Black America. It happens when all of our thumbs are on the pulse.

Austin Schools to Limit Discipline to Address Disparities
A school district takes steps to change racist disparities we see nationwide.
A school district in Austin, Texas is scaling back discipline after racial disparities were found in the application of punishment. According to a report the district compiled, Black students were five times more likely to be disciplined than white students. This development isn’t new, and it’s true in countless districts across the country. The school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately affects Black children and creates disparities we see reflected throughout the criminal legal system. This district's decision will reconsider the length of suspensions and change the processes of disciplinary removals. This is the least school districts can do, but the involvement of the criminal legal system in our schools and the lives of young people has to be completely overturned in time. via Yahoo News

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New Ground

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Black Family Loses Daughter After Police Attack

In this week’s State Of Criminal Justice, a Black family loses their daughter after a ruthless police attack, Portland officers step down to protest a small consequence, and immigrants in Texas will be sent to prison after detainment. Also, in New Ground, a campaign to close a notorious jail facility in St. Louis celebrates an important victory.

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Black Family Loses Daughter After Police Attack

The officer who attacked them has yet to face any real consequences.

Tristin Goods and his family were on their way to visit relatives when Trooper Christopher Baldner pulled them over, maced them, and then rammed their car twice! The officer stopped them, began making accusations about speeding, asked them about “guns and drugs,” and then he escalated further. The officer sprayed the car full of mace with full knowledge that the Goods’ daughters Monica, 11, and Tristina, 12, were in the back seat. When Tristin reacted and drove off, the officer pursued, ramming the car until it hit a guardrail, flipped and rolled. This ejected Monica from the car and she died at the scene. Trooper Baldner remains on desk duty while the family mourns the death of Monica. “I didn’t get out of the car. I was no threat [to] him,” Goods told the New York Daily News.

50 Police Officers Step Down After One is Punished

Portland officers quit a controversial unit over small consequences.

A Portland police officer was charged with a misdemeanor for chasing and shoving a photojournalist to the ground. After he pushed her down, he smashed his baton into her face. His assault wasn’t severely punished, but any consequence was too much of a punishment for his fellow officers. 50 officers left the Portland crowd control unit tied to the incident. Lawyers for Teri Jacobs, the photojournalist who was attacked by Officer Budworth, said the resignations from the team demonstrate “the contempt its members feel for even the possibility that one of their colleagues is held accountable for his actions.” via The New York Times

Immigrants Will Go Straight to Prison in Texas

The implications of this move go beyond immigration status.

The state of Texas is transferring people from a state prison to make room for detained migrants following orders from Governor Greg Abbott. This move means rather than go to jail or detention, immigrants will be going straight into a prison facility. The implications of this are far and wide in terms of due process, detainment, and human rights. Furthermore, it’s linked to a continuation of Trump’s xenophobic anti-immigrant policies, which include his failed border wall. via Al Jazeera

New Ground

The Workhouse ‘Debtor’s Prison’ is Finally Empty

Thanks to the hard work of organizing, people have something to celebrate.

A horrible jail called the “Workhouse,” which functioned as a modern-day debtor’s prison and where human rights abuses regularly occurred, is finally empty thanks to local organizing efforts. Organizers with the Close the Workhouse campaign announced: “For the first time in its history, there are no detainees being held in the Workhouse. We have organized to close this hellish jail for over 3 years, and we are relieved that people who have been accused of crimes will no longer be housed in a facility known for caging poor, Black people pre-trial in inhumane conditions.” The work isn’t over: they want to make sure it’s fully and completely closed and push for something better to be done with the building. This campaign’s abolitionist approach wants to re-envision public safety by prioritizing community resources instead of punishment. via @CLOSEWorkhouse