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NEWS AROUND PRISON AND LAW / USA06. JULY 2005bericht zu leonard peltier, einer aus einer zeitung, einer vom soli-komittee. Danach wurde er jetzt ohne vorherige benachrichtung in einen knast nach kansas (leavenworth) gebracht. FROM THE Leonard Peltier Defense Committee HEADQUARTERS
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| State | Total inmates | Inmates in isolation | Pct. in isolation |
| California | 163,000 | 7,135 | 4.4% |
| Texas | 150,000 | 9,867 | 6.6% |
| Florida | 84,000 | 6,242 | 7.4% |
| New York | 63,242 | 4,292 | 6.8% |
| Illinois | 43,418 | 2,789 | 6.4% |
[ Source: Research by Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
09. JUNE 2005
nur noch den engsten familienangehörigen ist es in zukunft erlaubt menschen im bergen county knast( new jersey) zu besuchen.
Bergen Jail tells friends of inmates: No visitors
Need to visit a friend at the Bergen County Jail?
Beginning Monday, you can't.
Only immediate family members, spouses or significant others will be allowed to visit inmates there, under new regulations enacted by Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire. Neighbors, friends, colleagues, exes and others must wait until the inmate is released.
The new rules are more stringent than those imposed at state prisons, authorities in Trenton said.
Although the various state prisons in New Jersey have somewhat differing rules, all allow visits from friends, colleagues or other acquaintances, said Deirdre Fedkenheuer of the state Department of Corrections. Only death-row inmates are denied visits from anyone other than immediate family members, she said.
Convicted felons or people caught trying to smuggle contraband into a prison are also prohibited from visiting state inmates, Fedkenheuer said.The new regulations at the Bergen County lockup in Hackensack require inmates to submit a list of their parents, grandparents, siblings, children and spouses upon admission, spokesman Benjamin Feldman said Wednesday. Inmates with no spouses may submit the names of boyfriends or girlfriends.
Only those on the list will be allowed to visit the inmate until he or she is released, he said. The new rules don't affect visits from lawyers or clergy, Feldman said.McGuire introduced the changes to improve security at the jail, not in response to any specific incident, Feldman said.
"One of the ways to make sure that the jail is safe is to know who is coming into your jailhouse," the spokesman said.Feldman said McGuire doesn't consider the new restriction unreasonable. Although convicts can be sentenced to up to 364 days in the jail - those serving longer sentences do so in state prison - the average period of incarceration is 20 days, he said."If you are a friend or a co-worker, you can probably wait that long to see the person," Feldman said.
In Passaic County, inmates are allowed up to three half-hour-long visits a week, said sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer.Inmates are not required to submit a list of visitors, and there are no restrictions on non-family members, Maer said. Former inmates are not allowed to visit anyone for two years, he said.
Earlier this week, a line of visitors stretched outside the Bergen County Jail's front door. Some of them complained that this could be the last time they would see their incarcerated friends before the new rules take effect.Ron Troche, who is at the jail on a burglary charge, said he put a friend's name on the visitor's list he was required to submit. Sheriff's officers told him he couldn't do that, he said.
"A lot of things have changed," Troche said.The restrictions come six months after McGuire took office.McGuire defeated former Sheriff Joel Trella after blaming him for the escape of three inmates under his watch. McGuire's campaign had put up a billboard across the street from the jail accusing the facility of lax security.
08. JUNE 2005
in dem tampa jugendknast werden die zellen pink gestrichen. Nachdem es schon beruhigungszellen in dem als "baker-miller pink" bezeichneten farbton gibt, ist dies der erste knast der alle zellen so streicht. Pink soll beruhigend wirken und aggressionen unterdrücken.
Tampa juvenile detention center cells plastered with pink
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Pink is the new color at a Tampa juvenile facility.
The Hillsborough Regional Juvenile Detention Center West is plastering the color on its cells in the hopes of calming the youth. And it's not just any pink. The shade used is known as "Baker-Miller Pink" which looks like Pepto-Bismol pink, only deeper.The juveniles in the center stay enclosed in the pink cell for 15 minutes. It's all part of a study to see if this special shade of pink really calms inmates as some research suggests.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is relying on research published in the International Journal of Biosocial Research in 1981, which says Baker-Miller Pink could suppress aggression.One pink cell has been set up at the Hillsborough center, and others have been established at facilities in DeSoto and Jackson counties.
08. JUNE 2005
weil sie angebl. geplant hatten aus sing sing zu fliehen wurde ein mann jetzt zu weiteren 12 1/2 bis 225 jahre, der andere zu weiteren 6 1/2 20 jahre verurteilt.
2 prisoners sentenced for plotting Sing Sing escape
A Sing Sing inmate convicted of masterminding an elaborate escape plot for himself and another prisoner was sentenced yesterday to an additional 12 1/2 to 25 years in state prison.Nicholas Zimmerman insisted he was framed and would fight his conviction. But Westchester County Judge Robert DiBella chastised him, saying it was the latest attempt by Zimmerman to shift blame for his criminal activity to others.
Zimmerman and Steven Finley were convicted in April after a lengthy trial that featured testimony about how Zimmerman got several associates - including two girlfriends and a female correction officer he befriended - to smuggle cell phones, fake guard uniforms, a pair of handguns and pepper spray into the prison two years ago during three failed attempts to bust the pair out.
DiBella gave Finley an additional six to 12 years on top of the 20-year term he was already serving for attempted murder.Both men were found guilty of first-degree attempted escape and fourth-degree conspiracy. Zimmerman also was convicted of first-degree promoting prison contraband and bribery.
The plot was hatched in 2002. Zimmerman communicated with his girlfriends and the men they recruited via a telephone that Correction Officer Quangtrice Wilson smuggled into the prison.Wilson pleaded guilty to her role last year and was sentenced to one to three years in prison. The other conspirators were given light sentences after testifying against the inmates.
Three times in April and May 2003, the conspirators went to Sing Sing dressed as correction officers and tried to smuggle guns and uniforms to the two inmates. The first time, one of the girlfriends, Jetanya Belnavis, made it to the second floor with guns in the bag but got cold feet and left. The second time, May 6, they arrived too late to take advantage of the shift change that would have allowed the inmates to walk out dressed as guards.
The following day, the plot unraveled when prison officials grew suspicious of a man claiming to be a transferred correction officer who had a fake badge and a bag containing pepper spray and uniform pants that were not standard issue. The man, Tony Dubose, was one of the conspirators. He managed to leave before he was questioned further, but an alert Ossining police officer had gotten his name that morning when he questioned him about a motorcycle Dubose had parked as a getaway vehicle near the prison.
Zimmerman, a rapper known as Puzz Pacino, insisted he had no involvement in the plot and had no reason to because he was confident that an appeal of the weapon conviction that landed him in prison for 15 years would be successful.
But prosecutors Robert Neary and Amy Puerto asked for maximum, consecutive sentences for both men yesterday, saying they should not get a break just because the escape plan failed."But for the diligence of the guards at Sing Sing, it could have been an extremely dangerous and explosive situation," Puerto said.
04. JUNE 2005
bericht über moslems in den us- knästen und wie sich seit dem 11.9. 2001 ihre situation geändert hat.
American prisons become political, religious battleground over Islam
NEW YORK - It's Friday on Rikers Island, time for weekly worship for nearly a quarter of the city jail's 14,000 inmates.
The men, Muslims, file quietly into a classroom of white cinderblock that serves as their mosque. Incense burns to chase away a sour smell from the hall, as the inmates sit quietly on sheets stamped "Department of Corrections" covering the linoleum floor.Imam Menelik Muhammad is delivering the day's sermon. As he stands beneath a Quranic prayer on the wall facing Mecca, he urges the prisoners to reform. "You will not be considered a Muslim," he admonishes, "unless people are considered safe from your hands and your tongue."
Across the United States, tens of thousands of Muslims are practicing their faith behind bars. Islam is most likely to win American converts there, according to U.S. Muslim leaders, and the religion has for decades been a regular part of prison culture.But the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have brought new scrutiny to Muslim inmates, many of whom are black men focused on surviving incarceration. While prison chaplains of various denominations argue that Islam offers a spiritual path to rehabilitation, others say it has the potential to turn felons into terrorists. The FBI calls prisons "fertile ground for extremists."
The reality is harder to read: Those on opposing sides have such divergent views they seem irreconcilable. Who's right matters not only for national security, but for the development of American Islam itself, which is struggling to be accepted alongside the major faiths in the United States.Ever since the 2002 arrest of Jose Padilla, a felon and American Muslim convert who authorities say planned a "dirty bomb" radiological attack after he left jail, law enforcement officials, politicians and even a few evangelical leaders have warned that Muslim inmates are ripe for terrorist recruitment.
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said: "Wahhabi influence is inculcating them with the same kind of militant ideas that drove the 9/11 hijackers to kill thousands of Americans." Wahhabism is a strict form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, which was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers.Chuck Colson, founder of the evangelical Prison Fellowship Ministries and a Nixon administration official, predicted that "radical Islamists will use prisons, packed with angry and resentful men," to avenge Islam.
"Prisons continue to be fertile ground for extremists who exploit both a prisoner's conversion to Islam while still in prison, as well as their socio-economic status and placement in the community upon their release," FBI director Robert Mueller said Feb. 16 to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.Prison chaplains and others, however, say such warnings are dangerously ignorant.
In interviews with The Associated Press, chaplains, prison volunteers, correctional officials, inmates and former inmates all insisted that there was no evidence of terrorist recruitment by Muslims in their prisons - although banned pamphlets and books sometimes slip in.Chaplains describe the typical inmate convert as a poor, black American upset about racism, not Mideast politics; someone who turned to Islam to cope with imprisonment. When they get out, these men are so overwhelmed by alcoholism or poverty that the crimes they are most likely to commit are the ones that landed them in jail to begin with, chaplains say.
"They don't care about Osama bin Laden," said Imam Talib Abdur Rashid, who worked for years as a chaplain in New York state's prison system. "They have their own beefs that have nothing to do with shariah (Islamic law), the Taliban or Wahhabism, and everything to do with slavery, segregation and the history of U.S. racism."In other parts of the world, such as England and France, there is growing concern about militants trying to recruit inmates, which in turn is fueling fear about American prisons. Historically, radicals have consistently tried to gain followers behind bars.
But if extreme teachings are reaching U.S. prisoners, experts say small-time operators acting alone are more likely to be responsible than an underground movement or someone in the ranks of professional chaplains.Just defining the scope of the Islamic presence behind bars in the United States is tricky.
Though on the federal level they comprise about 6 percent of roughly 150,000 inmates, there are no nationwide statistics on Muslims in state prisons.Experts believe the largest numbers in state prisons can be found in New York, where Muslims comprise roughly 18 percent of the 63,700 inmates; Pennsylvania, where the figure is about 18 percent out of 41,100; and California, where state officials don't tally religious affiliation but the figure could easily be in the thousands.
The bottom line is that the percentage of American Muslims in prison is almost certainly higher than it is in the general population, where the number of Muslims could be as high as 6 million, or roughly 2 percent.Islam took hold in prison in the 1940s, through the Nation of Islam. Leaders of the religious movement, which mixes Muslim traditions with black nationalism, were imprisoned for refusing to fight in World War II and, as a result, their teaching spread behind bars. Among their most famous prison recruits was Malcolm X.
Another boom came two decades later, when Muslim inmates sued prison administrators, accusing them of violating religious freedoms. The inmates won, and transformed jailhouse practice of all faiths.Starting in the 1980s, get-tough sentencing laws filled jails with a disproportionate number of blacks, leading to another spike in conversion. But by this time, many blacks who once belonged to the Nation of Islam had embraced orthodox Islam instead - and that is what the majority of inmates practice today.
Or, at least they say they do.
Some inmates become Muslim in name only, either to seek protection from prison gangs, enjoy privileges like holiday meals, or escape the monotony of prison life through classes and weekly worship. Mika'il DeVeaux, a Muslim convert who spent 25 years in New York prisons for murder, encountered inmates who converted but had little or no understanding of the religion. One inmate, he recalled, thought converting would allow him to circumvent prison rules and wear a hat that looked like a turban.But for some prisoners, the change is authentic, and correctional officials say Islamic observance actually helps them maintain prison security.
Said Anthony Windle, who converted to Islam at Rikers Island while awaiting trial on a drug conspiracy charge: "The more you learn, the harder it is for somebody to feed you untruths and lead you in the wrong direction." Duval Rafq, who was convicted of rape and became Muslim two years into his Connecticut prison sentence, said converting led him to accept responsibility for his crime. Released five years ago, he worships at Masjid Al-Islam in New Haven, and works while attending night school for heating and refrigeration repair.
"My behavior all of a sudden changed and other people's attitude and behavior toward me changed," Rafq said.Despite such success stories, some lawmakers and analysts remain convinced that radical Muslim chaplains, prison volunteers and Muslim prison outreach organizations are escaping notice of law enforcement - and they note that just one militant inmate could create enormous risk.The Institute of Islamic Information & Education, based in Chicago, was one example cited at a 2003 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on terrorist recruitment in prisons and the military.
The traditionalist institute sends books on Islam to prison chaplains and says it responds to more than 3,000 letters from inmates annually, inquiring about Muslim dietary laws and teachings.But its founder, Amir Ali, also runs another Web site.In those postings, he calls al-Qaeda leader bin Laden a "true Muslim" who wouldn't hurt anyone and contends Hollywood producers fabricated the videotapes that have been broadcast over the last few years of bin Laden threatening more violence.
Ali, who left Pakistan for the United States four decades ago to earn a doctorate, says Israel committed the Sept. 11 attacks to force changes in U.S. immigration laws so that fewer Muslims would be admitted. He has posted the names of Jews with links to the Bush administration as evidence of Israeli manipulation and referred readers to the Web site of David Duke, who has led several white supremacist groups, to back up Ali's argument that Jews control the media.As startling as his opinions are, it's unclear what danger they pose inside prisons, because the breadth of Ali's reach to inmates cannot be measured.Despite attracting the Senate's attention, several Christian, Jewish and Muslim chaplains around the country said in interviews that they had never heard of Ali or his institute.
Inmates are barred from using the Internet, and Ali's books and pamphlets - like all material sent to prisons - are vetted by chaplains and correctional officials. Literature that could agitate prisoners is prohibited, but officials also concede that banned publications sometimes get through. In the New York state system, some inmates who are among the tiny minority of Shiite Muslims behind bars said in lawsuits that Sunni chaplains handed out literature condemning them.Ali, in a phone interview, insists he keeps his political views separate from his religious outreach, which at one time was partially funded by a Saudi Arabian organization.
"As a citizen of this country, I believe I have a right to my views," said Ali, adding he's never been contacted by the FBI. "There's nothing secret about it. None of this material goes to prison and none of this material goes to anybody except those who visit this Web site."The Islamic Correctional Reunion Association, a one-man operation based in Tinley Park, Ill., was also cited as a potential source of radical thinking in the same Senate hearing.
Mohammad Firdausi, a retired Illinois prison chaplain who still works directly with state inmates, has been sending prisoners pamphlets on Islam since founding the organization in 1979. Samples that he sent to AP primarily explained basic Muslim teachings.However, they also included a pamphlet from the Al-Huda Islamic Center in Georgia, whose literature has been banned in some state prisons. The pamphlet's authors condemn terrorism, but write that "sometimes violence is a human response of oppressed people as it happens in Palestine.""Although this is wrong, this is the only way for them to attract attention," the pamphlet's authors said.
Firdausi, a native of India who emigrated for graduate work, said in a telephone interview he opposes violence and supports interfaith dialogue, but believes Muslims have the right to defend themselves if they are under attack in places like Israel and Kashmir. Asked about bin Laden, he said, "I don't think he even exists.""We have so much advanced technology and with all this power we cannot find this person? That is hard to understand," said Firdausi, who said an FBI agent visited him twice after Sept. 11, but nothing came of it.
Paul Rogers, president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, an interfaith group, had not heard of either organization, but said self-styled missionaries of all faiths commonly set up one-person outreach efforts consisting of only a Web site or post office box.Many are either on an "ego trip" or trying to bilk money from prisoners, he said. He discovered one such group that offered inmates free Qurans, then charged them $15 to be kept on a mailing list.
Another issue is the background of chaplains who have face-to-face contact with inmates.Since Islam has no central authority or the equivalent of a major seminary in the United States, Rogers said most prison officials turn to local Muslim leaders to evaluate these outreach organizations and chaplain candidates.In New York state prisons, which are separate from city-run Rikers Island, some say those safeguards failed.
Imam Warith Deen Umar, who worked for nearly two decades as leader of the Muslim chaplaincy program for New York state before retiring in 2000, expressed support for the Sept. 11 attacks in a 2003 interview with The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper found two other New York prison chaplains had made similar comments.Umar, who said he was misquoted and insisted he did not support the hijackings, was subsequently banned from New York prisons and lost a contract for chaplaincy work in federal prison.
Some chaplains insisted Umar should not be seen as typical of prison imams. Before becoming a chaplain, Umar, a one-time Nation of Islam leader, spent two years in prison on a weapons possession charge related to an alleged conspiracy to kill police, and was hired at a time when former convicts were allowed to hold the job. But ex-convicts have been barred from the chaplaincy for about two decades.The secrecy surrounding terrorist investigations makes it hard to know whether the government has found new evidence of radicalization among prison converts.
In September 2003, FBI supervisory special agent Andrew Black told a conference for correctional officers in Ohio that there have been no documented cases of U.S. inmates joining al-Qaeda in prison. Asked if that was still the case now, an FBI spokesman in Washington said the agency could not comment.Meanwhile, 10 full-time Muslim chaplains in federal prisons told Justice Department investigators in a report last year that they had witnessed no attempts by al-Qaeda or other terror groups to radicalize inmates.
Gary Friedman, a lay chaplain and chairman of Jewish Prisoner Services International, said irresponsible politicians and religious leaders have trumped up the idea of a Muslim threat behind bars to score points with voters or promote conservative Christianity."It's a crusade," Friedman said. Neither Colson nor Schumer would comment. A related, and some say even bigger, challenge for law enforcement is monitoring inmates when they get out. Padilla, who has not been charged, turned to radical Islam after he was released, federal agents said.
The same occurred with Richard Reid, who was convicted of attempting to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives in his shoes. He was a prison convert in England who became involved with militants after he was freed. In the United States, chaplains say a culture change in prison makes the spread of extremism less likely.Back in the 1970s, many Muslim inmates were veterans of black nationalist movements who felt a connection with Third World anti-colonial struggles and antipathy toward U.S. government policies. Many linked their plight with that of the Palestinians.
Jimmy Jones, a Muslim who worked for about 25 years as a chaplain in a New Haven jail and still counsels inmates, said that way of thinking is no longer the norm. Jones said he heard a couple of young inmates cheer the Sept. 11 attacks, but he contended their response came from "adolescent bitterness" about being incarcerated. "I think people are confusing what people say with what people might do. The younger inmates don't know anything about the Third World or about Egypt or the Middle East. They're not making those kind of connections," said Jones, a professor of world religion at Manhattanville College. "Al-Qaeda would have more success recruiting at a college than in prison."
03. JUNI 2005
4 ehemalige gefangene des cook county knastes haben einen prozeß wegen mißhandlung durch wärter verloren.
Jury finds for guards in jail beating suit
After deliberating for about an hour, a Cook County jury today returned a verdict favoring guards and rejecting allegations by former inmates of physical abuse at County Jail.
The swift decision by the jury of seven women and five men came in the third week of the trial of a civil suit brought by four ex-inmates, who alleged they were beaten by seven guards during a July 29, 2000 melee. The suit named as defendants the guards and the county."The truth is the good guys won today. The community won," said Sheriff Michael Sheahan, whose eyes welled up as the officers stood behind him in the lobby of the Criminal Courts Building, Chicago, where the trial had been held. "These officers have been vindicated today."
Nathson Fields, the former high-ranking El Rukn gang member who was the lead plaintiff bringing the case, said it was a sad day when jurors would not believe the word of inmates. But he claimed "partial victory" for bringing to light allegations of abuse in the jail."Did one of us have to die for the jury to come back with a different verdict?" Fields told reporters.In closing arguments Thursday, lawyers for both sides highlighted the testimony of a former jail guard who said he witnessed the beating and an ex-inmate who said his fellow detainees set up the incident so they could cash in on a lawsuit.
More than two dozen witnesses including Sheahan testified in the trial.
The inmates, housed in the jail's most dangerous unit, alleged they were beaten, handcuffed and shackled and then taken to a holding area dubbed the "pump room" where the guards punched and kicked them further.The guards said they never struck the inmates after they had been subdued and that they only used reasonable force to put down a brawl started by the detainees.
A key witness for the inmates was a former guard, Roger Fairley, who testified that he witnessed the beating in the pump room. But the defense called Fairley a disgruntled former employee who had his own federal lawsuit pending against the sheriff's department.A nurse testified that she never witnessed guards beating inmates, contrary to Fairley's testimony, and another former inmate told the court the fight had been staged in what the defense said was an effort to make "easy money" off the jail guards.
MAI 2005
es gibt seit einiger zeit wieder eine neue große kampagne für assata shakur. der anlass: die us regierung hat das "kopfgeld" das sie nach der flucht von assata shakur ausgesetzt haben auf $ 1 million erhöht und sie steht jetzt in einer "nationale terroristenliste"
Hands Off Assata Shakur Campaign
The Hands Off Assata Campaign is a coming together of organizations and individuals who are outraged by the heightened attempts by the federal government, congress of the united states and the state of new jersey to illegally force thru kidnapping a return of Assata Shakur from Cuba to the plantation United States. We know that Assata Shakur is a bona fide political exile living in the island nation of Cuba. She was persecuted for her political beliefs and tortured while in prison. We support the international human rights and Geneva conventions, which enabled her to seek and secure political asylum in Cuba, and we support the right of the Cuban people to grant it to her. We are shocked by the actions of new jersey and the department of justice, who has issued a $1 million dollar bounty on head of Assata Shakur.
Doing such a thing is tantamount to a call to "soldiers of fortune" to kidnap and kill Ms. Shakur and for them to engage in international espionage against the sovereign nation of Cuba. We are shocked by the activities of the United States House of Representatives, which in September 1998 passed House Resolution 254, calling on the Cuban Government to extradite Assata Shakur. Given that there is no binding extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States, such a request is outside the context of international law. In addition, we call on the Congress of the United States to hold public hearings on the past and current impact of FBI's CounterIntelligence Program known as COINTELPRO. Given that Assata Shakur was not the only one politically persecuted for her political beliefs, we demand that a full airing take place on that program. And finally are calling on the United States end its hostility towards the tiny nation of Cuba by normalizing relations with the Island and ending the US economic blockade.
Assata Shakur: Sister, Woman, Exile, Mother, Grand mother
ASSATA SHAKUR is an African woman. She is a social justice activist, a poet, a mother and a grandmother. She has lived in Cuba since the early 1980s. During the heady days of the 1960s and 1970s, she found herself a victim of both racial profiling and political targeting. After being spotted on the New Jersey turnpike on May 2, 1973, (DWB) driving while Black, it was discovered that she and her two companions were known members of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X, Leonard Peltier and many members of the Civil Rights and American Indian Movements, Assata and her companions had been watched, their phones tapped, their families monitored, their organizations infiltrated, and widespread disinformation campaigns waged against them. They were like many activists of the day targets of the FBI's CounterIntelligence Program (COINTELPRO). In fact, Assata was wanted, not for anything she had actually done, but for a variety of crimes that government and state officials were trying to pin on her.
This was common in the 1970s: discredit the voice of activists by painting them as criminals, trumping up indictments, tying them up in courts and if possible jailing them. In the mid 1970s, The Church Committee of the Senate Select Committee to Study Government Operations and the Domestic Intelligence Subcommittee, headed by Senator Walter Mondale, provided incontrovertible documentation of a government sponsored conspiracy against the civil and human rights of all sorts of political activists.
THUS ON THAT DAY IN MAY, Assata was a marked woman. And after police stopped them, a shoot out occurred. When the smoke cleared one police officer, and one of Assata's companions, Zayd Shakur lay dead. Assata, shot in the back and dragged from the car, lay wounded. Only belatedly taken to the hospital, Assata was then chained to her bed, tortured and questioned while injured.
In fact, she never received adequate medical attention even though she had a broken clavicle and a paralyzed arm. Nonetheless, she was quickly jailed, prosecuted and incarcerated over the next few years for the series of trumped up cases. Interestingly, in five separate trials, and with majority white juries, charges were dismissed because of lack of evidence or she was acquitted of all charges ranging from bank robbery to murder. As the manager of one bank said at trial - she is just not the one who robbed my bank. Only in the final trial in 1977, where she was charged with the Turnpike killings, was she found guilty. This even though forensic evidence taken that day showed that she had not fired a weapon. She was sentenced to life + 33 years in prison. In 1979, and after nearly six years behind bars, she escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey and some time later emerged in Cuba where she applied for and received political asylum. Since being in Cuba, she has continued her college education, published an autobiography, and writes on global issues facing women, youth, and people of color.
DURING THE 1990S, rightist politicians and police bodies - this time in conjunction with conservative members of the Cuban-American community - reinvigorated their attempts to pursue Assata Shakur. They did this even though Assata has not tried to re-enter the United States and is, according to international law, a political exile who should be left alone. Linking "fear of crime" rhetoric with anti-Cuban sentiment, New Jersey governor Christine Todd-Whitman issued a bounty which was $100,000, on the head of Assata Shakur.
She even went as far as to announce her bounty on Radio Marti, the US government radio station which beams anti-Castro propaganda into the Caribbean. To do such a thing put Assata in danger because it is tantamount to encouraging any opportunists to kidnap and/or kill her for pay. In addition, in 1998, Congressmen Franks and Menendez from New Jersey and Ros-Lehtinen and Diaz-Balart of Florida introduced and got passed - House Resolution 254 - which calls for the Cuban government to extradite Assata Shakur as a condition to normalizing US-Cuba relations. Interestingly, while Assata and Cuba are portrayed as "criminal", a terrorist bombing campaign - thought to be sponsored by ultra-rightist forces in the United States - has been launched against Cuba, killing and injuring Cuban citizens and foreign tourists alike.
What can you do?
1) Add your organization's name to our list of endorsers/Take petitions. [We will have them up online very shortly.]
2) Contact your Congressperson. Demand that he/she rescind House Resolution #254 and ask them to support congressional hearings on COINTELPRO. You can use a Congressional email service to look up your rep's email: www.house.gov/writerep
3) Download and print the soon to be released "Hands Off Assata Shakur" flyer 4) Plan a showing of the film Eyes of the Rainbow (1997). This film portrays the life and current struggles of Assata Shakur. Contact HOA for this: hoa@afrocubaweb.com
5) Visit [ assatashakur.org for current HOA-Campaign Info.
6) Organize around The Hands Off Assata Shakur Campaign Rally and Teach-In June 4, 2005 hosted by you in your respective cities and towns
7) Send contributions: FTP Movement, P.O. Box 1720, Stone Mountain, Ga. 30086
8) Any questions, contact us at www.assatashakur.org using the contact us form.
This Campaign is a on going process, be patient with us as we Agitate, Educate, Organize And Mobilize.. more information coming...
Special thanks to www.afrocubaweb.com for cutting this path for us to continue.
more articles
[ Assata Shakur is No Terrorist
By Hands Off Assata Campaign
[ The Struggle Intensifies
Junious Ricardo Stanton
There is a new HANDS OFF OF ASSATA! flyer out. It is in PDF Format, the file size is 176 KB (kilobytes)
[ HANDS OFF ASSATA SHAKUR.
Tell the Feds to Keep Their Blood Money!
[ NO TOQUEN A ASSATA SHAKUR,
¡Digale a los federales que guarden su dinero ensangrentado!.pdf
20.MAI 2005
angebl. sind militante umwelt- und tierrechtsgruppen die "größte terroristische gefahr" in den usa
Eco-militants are greatest terrorist threat, warns FBI
The FBI has sounded a new and surprising alarm, suggesting environmental and animal-welfare militants are now the biggest terrorist threat in the US, increasingly using incendiary devices on targets ranging from housing developments and research laboratories to car dealerships. John Lewis, the agency's deputy assistant director for counter-terrorism, told a senate committee in Washington that the militant groups were "way out in front" in economic damage. He also suggested it would not be long before loss of human life was added to their tally of crimes.
"There is nothing else going on in this country over the past several years that is racking up the high number of violent crimes and terrorist actions," he told senators, prompting some Democrats on the panel to warn against tagging all environmental and animal rights organisations with the same label. The hearing, held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was an unusual detour from the US government's more familiar preoccupation with terrorist threats from foreign groups such as al-Qa'ida. The FBI said it has 150 investigations into 1,200 crimes allegedly committed by eco-terrorists and animal welfare militants between 1990 and 2004.
Of most interest to the authorities are two US-based groups, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front, (ELF). But Mr Lewis also highlighted the British-based Shac, or Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. Founded to cripple animal testing at the Huntingdon Life Sciences laboratory, it describes itself on its website as a worldwide organisation also active in the US. Shac says it "does not encourage or incite illegal activity". On its website, ALF says members take "direct action" to prevent animal cruelty. It has allied itself with the more shadowy ELF, which has no website and stays underground but has sometimes claimed responsibility for actions. Tactics attributed to the groups include arson attacks, letters put in the post with razor-blades, bombings and office takeovers. They were blamed most notably for an arson attack on an apartment complex in San Diego in 2003 that caused $50m (£27m) in damage.
Among the groups' aims seems to be the discouragement of urban sprawl. This week, police were blaming eco-terrorists for blazes at three places on Long Island, including a suspicious fire that swept through a new housing development in the exclusive Oyster Bay community. The chairman of the senate committee, the Republican James Inhofe of Oklahoma, added to the sense of alarm, agreeing with Mr Lewis that killings might be next. "The danger of ELF and ALF is imminent," he said. "Although they have not killed anyone ... it is only a matter of time until someone dies as a result of ELF and ALF criminal activity." And evoking language more normally heard in connection with al-Qa'ida, Senator Inhofe urged the FBI to seek out the money pipeline funding the groups.
But there were objections from Democrats to some of the testimony and particularly to Senator Inhofe managing to mention the militant groups such as ELF and the thoroughly mainstream Peta, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in the same breath. (Peta may throw the occasional pot of paint at fur-sporting models, but has hardly been labelled a threat to national security.) "I deplore as much as anybody here these violent acts," Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey said. "But I am against this loose characterisation that takes innocent people and throws them in with a bunch of thugs."
Separately yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it was suing the FBI for allegedly "over-spying" on political activists, even if their aims were peaceful, and refusing to release information about investigations, all in the name of homeland security. William, or "Billy", Cottrell, a physics student who was sentenced to eight years in prison for firebombing a Hummer dealership and damaging 125 SUVs in August 2003, is exactly the kind of eco-militant the FBI is worried about.
The 23-year-old graduate student was found guilty last month of helping to destroy car dealerships, in a series of co-ordinated attacks around Los Angeles, spray-painting the "gas-guzzling" vehicles with slogans such as "Fat, Lazy Americans" and "I * pollution". Cottrell also admitted to tagging the vehicles with the letters ELF, the initials of radical group, the Earth Liberation Front, which has claimed responsibility for a string of arsons in Detroit, Philadelphia and San Diego. The ELF website lauds Cottrell as an "environmental campaigner"; he denies he is a member of the group and, while standing trial, told Judge R Gary Klausner he wanted "nothing more than to be a physicist" and was never "even going to jaywalk again".
His defence lawyer, Michael Maycock, said Cottrell, a student at the University of Chicago and a doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, was highly intelligent and had read Einstein's theory of relativity in his early teens. "I can't understand why he changed from Einstein to Frankenstein," said Ziad Alhassen, owner of the Hummer dealership. "I don't understand why he changed from velocity to violence." Defence and prosecution experts agreed Cottrell suffered from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that affects a person's capacity for social interaction.
His defence team claimed the condition led Cottrell to be duped into the SUV attacks by his two associates, who are both considered to be fugitive activists. But the court eventually agreed with the prosecution that Cottrell was an eco-terrorist who showed no remorse for the damage he had done. His two-and-a-half hour crime spree was described as "horrendous" by Judge Klausner, who ordered him to pay $3.5m (£2m) in damages. Cottrell's lawyers have launched an appeal against the conviction.
s16. mai 2005
das los angeles sheriff department hat angekündigt für $1.5 mill. die 1.900 insassen des pitchess detention center in castaic anfang nächsten jahres mit elektronischen armbänder zu überwachen. sollte diese "projekt" erfolgreich sein, sollen alle 18.000 gefangene so überwacht werden.
LA jail latest to use radio tags to track inmates
SACRAMENTO - Inmates can run, but they can't hide - not so long as a radio-linked wristband remains attached, pinpointing their location within a few feet. Removing or breaking the bracelet sets off a computer alarm, alerting guards to a possible prison escape. It's an emerging technology that could transform the way convicts are managed, contained and monitored. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Sunday it will adopt the technology for the nation's largest jail system, using an updated version of the devices tested at California's Calipatria State Prison, a remote desert facility 35 miles north of the Mexican border - the first in the nation to track its inmates electronically. The concept has since been exported to other states.
LA county will spend $1.5 million to help control about 1,900 inmates and protect guards in one unit of the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, beginning early next year. If it works well, it may be expanded to the 6,000 residents of LA County's Central Jail and then to other facilities, said Marc Klugman, chief of the sheriff's department's Correctional Services Division. California state corrections officials may also consider increased use of the still-developing systems. Beyond tracking inmates around cell blocks, the technology has the potential to create virtual prisons outside detention facilities that would let work release crews roam within an electronic fence easily moved wherever it is needed, said Harinder Singh, executive officer of the California Department of Corrections' technology transfer committee.
Michigan's Bureau of Juvenile Justice has had a $1 million system at a maximum-security 200-ward prison since 2003, and is installing it at a second detention facility. The technology also is being used at a minimum-security prison in Chillicothe, Ohio, and at Logan Correctional Center north of Springfield, Ill., home to 1,900 medium-security inmates. Calipatria spokesman Lt. Ray Madden recalls an assault two years ago when investigators retraced inmates' movements using the computerized system installed in the minimum-security unit. They soon centered on an unlikely suspect - a disabled inmate who wasn't where he was supposed to be.
"He parked his walker outside the building, went in and stabbed somebody, then went back and picked up his walker," Madden said. "He was hard-pressed to say he wasn't inside, because we could track him through the building." LA County jails' revolving-door population poses the toughest test yet for the technology. The facilities house about 18,000 inmates on a given day, but nearly 200,000 people pass through the system each year, some for a few hours, others for months. Several thousand each day must be moved to and from court appearances. Last year alone there were an estimated 1,330 violent incidents that injured 88 jail employees and 1,742 inmates. Five prisoners were killed.
"It's just mind-boggling what these guys have to deal with," said Greg Oester, president of Technology Systems International Inc., which installs the TSI PRISM systems. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is a subsidiary of Alanco Technologies Inc. Previously, the company has worked with much more captive audiences - prison inmates serving multi-year sentences so long that electronic bracelets can be locked on until the batteries die. For jails such as in LA County, it's had to develop a quick-release version. Alanco estimates there is $1.5 billion in potential sales for the technology if it were used throughout the federal, state and county prison and jail systems nationwide.
Singh praised TSI's product but thinks other technology could soon surpass the system's versatility. He's intrigued by the Wheels of Zeus Inc. system developed by a Los Gatos firm headed by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak that uses radio frequencies indoors but switches to Global Positioning System satellites outdoors. Though wOz is marketing its product for people who want to monitor the locations of people, pets or possessions, company officials met last month with Singh to discuss adapting the technology to corrections. Inmates could be tracked not only within prisons or jails, or inside moveable electronic fences, but to and from courthouses or other locations, Singh said, providing more tracking mobility. Transmitters could be mounted on vehicles and shifted with work crews, letting them move freely while still being monitored by satellites. Singh expects more correctional facilities to adopt tracking systems as the technology improves, and more competition as the market expands.
"They know we have the customers," he quipped. California's increased use of technology has been stalled by several years of budget cuts and paralyzing turnovers in prison leadership, said both Singh and Youth and Adult Corrections Secretary Roderick Hickman. The prison system is now going through a sweeping bureaucratic reorganization that will take months, but Hickman and Singh say technology is a key to reform. Singh's committee hasn't met since October 2002 because of the budget and bureaucratic uncertainty, but he anticipates efforts will get underway this fall to set priorities for which technology can best help transform the massive, troubled prison system. "There's going to be opportunities for all kinds of new innovations. This might be one of them," Hickman said.
[ L.A. County Jail to Track Inmates
Mai 2005
neue statistiken aus den USA
[ Jails in Indian Country, 2003 / by Bureau of Justice Statistics
[ Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004 / by Bureau of Justice Statistics
[ Death Row U.S.A. Summer 2004 PDF / by NAACP LDF
[ Death Row U.S.A. Fall 2004 PDF / by NAACP LDF
[ Death Row U.S.A. Winter 2005 PDF / by NAACP LDF
APRIL 2005
nach dem neuesten berichts des us bureau of statistics waren am 30. juni 2004 2.1 million menschen in den USA im knast.
U.S. Prison Population Soars in 2003, '04
WASHINGTON -- While the U.S. crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, the government reports. The population of the nation's prisons and jails has grown by about 900 inmates each week between mid-2003 and mid-2004, according to figures released Sunday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. By last June 30 the system held 2.1 million people, or one in every 138 U.S. residents.
Paige Harrison, the report's co-author, said the increase can be attributed largely to get-tough policies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. Among them are mandatory drug sentences, "three-strikes-and-you're-out" laws for repeat offenders and "truth-in-sentencing" laws that restrict early releases. "As a whole most of these policies remain in place," she said. "These policies were a reaction to the rise in crime in the '80s and early '90s." Malcolm Young, executive director of the Sentencing Project, which promotes alternatives to prison, said, "We're working under the burden of laws and practices that have developed over 30 years that have focused on punishment and prison as our primary response to crime."
He said many of those incarcerated are not serious or violent offenders, but are low-level drug offenders. Young said the prison population could be lowered by introducing drug treatment programs that offer effective ways of changing behavior and by providing appropriate assistance for the mentally ill. According to the Justice Policy Institute, which advocates a more lenient system of punishment, the United States has a higher rate of incarceration than any other country, followed by Britain, China, France, Japan and Nigeria. There were 726 inmates for every 100,000 U.S. residents by June 30, 2004, compared with 716 a year earlier, according to the report by the Justice Department agency. In 2004, one in every 138 U.S. residents was in prison or jail; the previous year it was one in every 140.
In 2004, 61 percent of prison and jail inmates were of racial or ethnic minorities, the government said. An estimated 12.6 percent of all black men in their late 20s were in jails or prisons, as were 3.6 percent of Hispanic men and 1.7 percent of white men in that age group, the report said.
[ Bureau of Justice Statistics
21. April 2005
neun mal wurde eine frau mit taser beschossen. in dem kurzen artikel wird als einsatzgrund angegeben "weil sie ihre zeit in einem panhandle motel überzogen hatte."
Police stunned woman 9 times
A woman arrested Easter Sunday for staying too long at a Panhandle motel says she was stunned multiple times with a Taser in an excessive use of force. Jail officials say the Taser use was justified. ''It's just not right what happened to me,'' Patricia Skelly, 47, told reporters in Miami on Wednesday. ``How I lived through this, I don't know. I just don't want this to happen to anyone else.'' Skelly's Miami attorney, Ellis Rubin, said there is little evidence that the 110-pound woman posed a danger to police that required repeated use of a Taser.
Larry Caskey, director of the Okaloosa County Department of Corrections, acknowledged Wednesday that his officers used a Taser on Skelly nine times. But Caskey said she was extremely combative, attempted to wriggle out of handcuffs, escape from a patrol car and bite her own hand -- and an internal review of the matter concluded Taser use was justified. ''It doesn't look good, but when you take it step by step, I feel like they acted appropriately,'' Caskey said. ``It's very unusual to have this many applications.''
21. April 2005
bisher waren 20 gefangene in colorado erfolgreich mit ihren klagen gegen ihre urteile. möglich wurden die klagen durch die entscheidung des supreme courts letzten jahres das ein einzelner richter kein recht hat urteile zu fällen, die höher sind als die vorgeschriebene mindeststrafe.
Numerous inmates' sentences overturned after high court ruling on prison terms
DENVER - Up to 20 Colorado inmates have succeeded in getting their sentences overturned in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that limited judges' power to hand down tough punishments. Judges are confused, prosecutors are frustrated and legislators are scrambling to pass a law to clear up the uncertainty. "It's imperative that we act now," said Sen. Dan Grossman, D-Denver, an attorney and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case from Washington state, said it is unconstitutional for a judge, rather than a jury, to make conclusions that lead to a sentence longer than the standard minimum. There is no way to determine how many Colorado inmates' sentences could be affected by the ruling, said state Public Defender David Kaplan. Colorado law allows judges to order longer sentences if they feel the facts of a case justify it, even if a jury didn't determine those facts had been proved. The law establishes an "aggravated range," from half of the minimum to twice the maximum standard term, depending on the nature of the crime, the defendant's history and other factors.
The state Court of Appeals has said the Colorado statute is "not different in any constitutionally significant way from the Washington scheme." It said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows longer sentences only if a jury decides that the facts justifying an "aggravated" sentence were proved. At least two dozen Colorado inmates have asked the Court of Appeals to review their sentences since the federal ruling, and the inmates have won in up to 20 of those cases, including five in the past two weeks, said interim state Solicitor General John Krause.
In the overturned cases, the trial judges had ordered prison terms longer than the standard sentences. The attorney general's office has appealed to the state Supreme Court, seeking to uphold the longer terms and keep the state's sentencing scheme in place. The high court heard arguments in one of those cases in March. The ruling, which has not yet been handed down, may settle the issue. "I think to the extent (the Supreme Court justices) are aware there are a number of people serving sentences longer than are constitutionally appropriate, they'll want to make a decision sooner rather than later," Kaplan said. Grossman said the Legislature needs to act quickly because since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, state judges are barring prosecutors from presenting evidence that could justify a harsher sentence. He said his bill is a short-term fix while a team of prosecutors and defense lawyers work on a sentencing-reform plan for lawmakers next year.
The measure would allow judges to impose a sentence anywhere within the broader aggravated range as long as they explain their decision. Grossman's bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week. Kaplan said Grossman's bill was premature. "Why legislate before you understand what the constitutional interpretation's going to be?" he said. "It's a little bit of the cart in front of the horse" until the state Supreme Court issues a ruling.
19. April 2005
juan emilio aboy der verdächtigt wurde ein kubanischer spion zu sein und sich im hungerstreik befand, wurde abgeschoben.
[ see also hereAccused Cuban Spy Deported
Man Arrested In 2002; Sent Back To Homeland
MIAMI -- Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has deported a man who was accused of being a spy for Cuba. Juan Emilio Aboy, 44, was sent back to his native land Tuesday. Aboy was held for three years without criminal charges but faced immigration charges. Aboy had recently been protesting his detention as a suspected spy with hunger strike. His attorney says he lost about 45 pounds and was hospitalized over the weekend and forcibly administered saline solution through an intravenous drip after a judge ruled last week that Aboy could be force-fed. Officials claim Aboy had links to a Cuban spy network and planned to infiltrate U.S. central command. They also say Aboy lied when he applied for residency. FBI investigators said they linked Aboy to the Wasp Network, a Miami-based Cuban intelligence ring that operated in the 1990s and was dismantled by the FBI in 1998. All members of the ring were sent to prison. Aboy was a commercial diver and Miami resident for seven years and lived at 11800 S.W. 26 Terrace near Westchester. After a yearlong investigation, FBI agents arrested Aboy in May 2002.
18. april 2005
der zweite polizist innerhalb eines monats entlassen wegen mißbrauch eines tasers
Santa Rosa deputy resigns after alleged taser misuse
MILTON, Fla. - A Santa Rosa County sheriff's deputy has resigned under pressure after using a Taser gun on a suspect who had put up his hands to surrender after an August car chase, authorities say.Sheriff Wendell Hall said he had decided to fire Jim Mundie before he resigned Friday. An internal investigation concluded Mundie used excessive force by employing the stun gun that fires a 50,000-volt electrical charge.
Mundie attempted to stop Anthony Eugene Moore, 27, for speeding just outside Milton, but the suspect led deputies on a chase through residential neighborhoods and a convenience store parking lot before pulling over in another parking lot. Mundie's cruiser, its brakes overheated, then bumped into the suspect's borrowed car.Deputies were unaware during the chase that Moore was wanted in neighboring Escambia County on a charge of escaping from a jail work crew. Moore is scheduled for trial Wednesday on an escape charge.A criminal investigation into Mundie's use of the Taser was dropped when Moore declined to press charges. A video camera in his patrol car showed Mundie using the weapon. Mundie has no telephone listing and could not be reached for comment Monday.
He is the second Florida sheriff's deputy to resign this month after being accused of misusing a Taser. In Tallahassee, John Daly resigned April 8 after Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell told him he would be fired. Daly zapped Marine Cpl. Demar Jackson outside a building where the deputy had responded to a domestic argument. Daley defended his use of the Taser, saying that Jackson, although not involved in the argument, failed to obey his commands.
About 100 people have died nationally since 1999 after being shocked with a Taser, including recent deaths in Pensacola, Hollywood and Naples. Many of those who died were drug users.Taser Inc. says its guns are a non-lethal alternative to shooting dangerous suspects.
[ miami.com16. april 2005
in rosa unterwäsche mußten 700 gefangene in phoenix vom tower knast in den neuen lower buckeye knast umziehen. sheriff ist dort joe arpaio , der für einige politikerinnen in germany zum "vorbild" wurde.
March in underwear calls attention to new jails
By Katie McDevitt, For the Tribune
Armed guards lined the streets as nearly 700 maximum-security inmates marched the four blocks from Towers Jail to Lower Buckeye Jail. They wore only pink underwear and pink flip-flops.Slowly and meticulously, the inmates, linked together with handcuffs, were corralled into a caged portion of the west Phoenix jail.
In what Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio called one of the largest jail expansions in U.S. history, 2,630 inmates began moving from Madison Street Jail and Towers Jail into two new facilities - Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix and Lower Buckeye Jail in west Phoenix.The move started Thursday night when juveniles and mentally ill inmates were relocated to Lower Buckeye Jail. On Friday, maximumsecurity inmates from Towers Jail also were moved to Lower Buckeye Jail and vehicles began transporting the rest of the inmates to the new downtown facility. The most dangerous inmates walked 570 feet through an underground tunnel connecting Madison Street Jail with the new Fourth Avenue Jail. Moves are expected to be finished by the weekend, Arpaio said.
"The Madison Jail was overcrowded and the infrastructure was a problem, so it?s being closed down," said sheriff?s spokesman Lt. Paul Chagolla.Activists questioned the way the inmates were moved."I?m outraged about what he?s doing," said Michael Coyle, justice studies instructor on prison reform at Arizona State University, "and this is just another example of the typical show element of Sheriff Joe that we?ve gotten used to over the years."The new facilities will hold a combined 4,470 inmates and bring in technological advances such as irisscanning door releases and a surveillance system. They are especially designed to prevent communication among gang members."If they could ever escape from here, they?d have to be really good," Arpaio said, "and we took every precaution to make sure nobody tried to cut loose today."
The move was carried out with the help of about 300 deputies, guards and volunteers. The inmates, who weren?t informed of their move, wore only underwear to prevent the concealment of weapons. Police dogs, mounted units, SWAT team deputies and vehicles surrounded the jail to maintain control and prevent an escape attempt.Inmates were strip-searched as they left and again when they arrived at the new location. A specially designed chair scanned each inmate?s body for concealed metal objects.To fill Lower Buckeye and Fourth Avenue, which cost $160 million and $168 million, respectively, 1,000 staff members were hired and more are needed.The half-cent sales tax hike passed by voters in 1998 covered the construction costs of the 600,000-squarefoot and 450,000-square-foot jails. Cost-cutting measures included a new infirmary, a psychiatric center, laundry service and automated kitchens.
"We can now bring the services to the inmates," said Jerry Sheridan, chief of custody for the Maricopa County Sheriff?s Office, "because it was very dangerous and expensive having to transport the inmates to the services every time."Although the new jails will help accommodate the growing number of inmates, they will still fill up, Arpaio said."Tent City is not going anywhere," Arpaio said, "because even after we fill up these jails, we?ll still be overcrowded."Towers Jail and Durango Jail will stay open, while Madison Street Jail will be closed for refurbishing for the next two to three years. In the future, Durango jail will be torn down and rebuilt, Chagolla said.
"Every facility is affected by all of the movement," Chagolla said.Most of the inmates were quiet and a few hid their faces as they walked."They should be moving us in our stripes," one inmate shouted, "and they are treating us like animals making us walk without clothes."Others expressed excitement over moving into a new facility."This is going to be better than the Towers," one man said.Arpaio said moving the men in underwear was a security precaution and that the new jails will be much safer for everyone."(Arpaio) unfortunately makes a connection between inmates and crime with entertainment and it?s horrific," Coyle said.
[ www.eastvalleytribune.com16. april 2005
letzte woche fand die "operation falcon" des us- justizmisteriums statt. in einer landesweiten aktion wurden mit "ausstehende haftbefehlen" 10.340 menschen in 7 tagen verhaftet. während die us- behörden die 160 mordverdächtigen und 550 sexualstraftätern hervorhob,um das "dragnet" ( schleierfahndung) zu rechtfertigen, sind die meisten der festnahmen ( 4. 300 ) wegen drogendelikten.
US Marshals, local police stage nationwide mass arrests
In a massive dragnet, US Marshals led more than 90 state, local and other federal police agencies last week in arresting over 10,000 people across the country on outstanding warrants, the Justice Department revealed Thursday. Code-named Operation Falcon, for Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally, the unprecedented federally-coordinated mass arrests were staged for maximum political and media impact. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales used the operation as the subject of his first news conference since the confirmation of his controversial nomination.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, supplied the television networks government-shot action videotape of Marshals and local cops raiding homes and breaking down doors. The footage was aired on news programs, accompanied by commentary that uncritically parroted the claims made by the department.The department produced a mind-numbing array of statistics on the raids, resulting in cookie-cutter articles appearing in local papers and on local television throughout the country, highlighting the number of arrests made in each area.The political purpose of the dragnet was underscored by the fact that law enforcement officials privately acknowledged that most of those arrested in the nationwide raids would have been picked up in any case in the course of normal police work.The piling up of massive arrest numbers in a brief seven-day period was made possible through an expenditure of $900,000 from the US Marshals Service budget and the use of overtime to quadruple its personnel assigned to pursuing fugitives. Quantity, not quality, was clearly the objective.
While US authorities highlighted the apprehension of 160 murder suspects and 550 sexual assault suspects, it appeared that by far the largest share of those arrested were minor drug offenders. Narcotics violations accounted for fully 4,300 out of the 10,340 arrests.In several areas of the country, authorities reported that the raids filled local jails to overflowing.?We generally try to focus our resources on the baddest of the bad. We?re going after murderers, rapists, that kind of thing,? Deputy US Marshal Ricardo Guzman told the Washington Post. ?On the average day, we can?t do every carjacker or person wanted on failure to pay child support.?But last week, the government changed these priorities. ?We decided to get as many as we can,? he said. ?We put everybody on the street with a stack of warrants and said, ?Start knocking on doors.??
Justice Department officials sought to link the mass arrests in the public mind to the ?war on terrorism,? though none of those picked up are accused of terrorist acts. As one news report on the Washington press conference announcing the operation put it: ?...officials said the exercise was an opportunity to show the benefits of cooperative law enforcement in an age of terrorism.?
Attorney General Gonzales told reporters, ?Operation FALCON is an excellent example of President Bush?s direction and the Justice Department?s dedication to deal both with the terrorist threat and traditional violent crime.? He added, ?This joint effort shows the commitment of our federal, state, and local partners to make our neighborhoods safer, and it has led to the highest number of arrests ever recorded for a single initiative of its kind.? Ben Reyna, Director of the US Marshals Service, echoed Gonzales, declaring that the operation ?produced the largest number of arrests ever recorded during a single initiative.?
Sections of the press have cynically attributed the operation to a bid by the US Marshals Service to wrest more money from Congress during Congress? ongoing budget deliberations. Yet, the high-profile role played by Gonzales in the announcement and the repeated invocation of terrorism suggest other, more ominous, motives.The announcement comes barely one week after Gonzales went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge renewal of sections of the USA Patriot Act that are set to expire at the end of this year. In his press conference announcing the mass arrests, Gonzales made a point of stressing the need for legislative action to permanently sanction the ?information sharing? and coordination of police agencies at all levels of government which, he claimed made the operation possible. This was a thinly veiled rebuke to a number of congressmen and senators who have called for revisions in certain provisions of the Patriot Act.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the act was rammed through Congress without debate or any serious examination of its provisions. It granted unprecedented police powers to the federal government, vastly expanding its powers to spy on US citizens through warrantless searches, wiretaps and seizure of business, medical and even library records. The use of secret courts and secret evidence has been seen in a number of cases, including the FBI?s absolutely baseless and abortive frame-up of Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield in connection with the Madrid train bombings.Gonzales, who as President Bush?s White House counsel made the case for riding roughshod over the Geneva Conventions and allowing the torture of US-held detainees, is anxious to preserve the extraordinary and unconstitutional powers of search and seizure that the administration has arrogated to itself over the past three-and-a-half years.
Moreover, the police dragnet and congressional consideration of the Patriot Act have both unfolded in the context of a generalized assault on the US constitutional system of checks and balances and a drive to assert unprecedented power for the executive branch. In the final analysis, the organization of nationwide mass arrests is a raw exercise of this power.Not surprisingly, not a single prominent Democrat has raised any question about the real purpose of the coordinated raids.
The media and local police officials throughout the country have repeated the claims of the Justice Department and the US Marshals Service that the recent arrests are the greatest number ever in a single operation. In point of fact, the numbers are roughly equivalent to those achieved by one of Gonzales?s predecessors, Alexander Mitchell Palmer, who headed the Justice Department 85 years ago.The infamous Palmer Raids, named after the then-attorney general, were launched on November 7, 1919, the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Further mass arrests were carried out in December and January. In one of them, FBI agents led local police and vigilantes in simultaneous raids in 70 cities, rounding up 4,000 people in a single night.
They smashed down the doors of union halls and offices of communist, socialist and anarchist organizations and dragged people from their beds without warrants or criminal charges. Foreign-born workers bore the brunt of the assault, as the government sought to blame a wave of mass strikes and radical protests on ?alien sedition.? Several hundred foreign-born activists and workers were deported without the benefit of a hearing. Many more of those detained were subjected to brutal beatings.The target of the arrests in Operation Falcon was not political opponents of the government, but rather people who missed court dates, violated parole and, at least in some fraction of the cases, are wanted for criminal acts of violence.
But the way in which these raids-portrayed as serving crime victims and making communities safer-are being used to bolster so-called ?anti-terrorist? policies that are a major step toward a police state must serve as a serious warning.This is an administration that has asserted the right of the US president to declare anyone-citizen and non-citizen alike-an ?enemy combatant,? and lock him up indefinitely without charges, without the right to a public hearing or lawyer, and without even an official acknowledgement that the person has been thrown into prison. Under these conditions, the question is posed: was Operation Falcon a dry run for a plan to be executed in the face of intensified political crisis or a resurgence of mass opposition to the government? Was this extraordinary federal, state and local coordination of mass arrests a dress rehearsal for a modern-day version of the Palmer Raids?
[ wsws.org15. april 2005
ein seit 3 jahren ohne anklage inhaftierter kubanischer mann ( angeblich soll er ein spion sein, da es aber noch keine anklage gibt ist er wegen "immigrationsdelikten" im knast) ist seit 4 wochen im hungerstreik. jetzt hat ein richter zwangsernährung angeordnet.
Judge rules feds can put feeding tube in Cuban exile on hunger strike
MIAMI -- A Cuban exile on a monthlong hunger strike protesting his detention as a suspected spy was in a hospital's inmate ward Friday after a judge cleared the way for U.S. officials to have a feeding tube inserted in him. Juan Emilio Aboy was being held at Jackson Memorial Hospital's inmate ward, hospital spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said Friday.On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paul Huck agreed with another judge's order to ``involuntarily administer nutrients'' to Aboy though a stomach or intravenous tube, and to restrain him if he attempts to remove it.
``Mr. Aboy is now completing his fourth week without eating. The decision to not eat was his choice. A court order was issued allowing the U.S. Public Health Service to take any necessary precautions in the interest of his health,'' said Nina Pruneda, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.It was not immediately known when a feeding tube would be put in. Huck set a tentative hearing for next Friday to hear from Aboy and whether the government has legal authority to feed him.
Aboy has been held for three years without criminal charges but faces immigration charges. Drinking only water to survive, Aboy, 44, is demanding to be released from Krome Detention Center in west Miami-Dade County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dexter Lee requested a court order on April 8, saying Aboy had lost 29 pounds. Aboy has said he has lost 35 pounds and is becoming weak. Judge Shelby Highsmith then issued her temporary order, which Huck upheld Thursday.Federal investigators claim Aboy worked as a courier for the Miami-based Wasp Network in the 1990s and was ordered to infiltrate the U.S. Southern Command, the military command for Latin America and the Caribbean. Aboy, a Soviet-trained military diver, came to the United States in the 1994 rafter exodus. He denies the espionage claims.Attorneys for Aboy didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.
[ www.sun-sentinel.comVideo: Torture Inc. Americas Brutal Prisons
video mit dessen abschrift zu knast in den usa. wurde am 2. märz bei channel 4 gezeigt.
Savaged by dogs, Electrocuted With Cattle Prods, Burned By Toxic Chemicals, Does such barbaric abuse inside U.S. jails explain the horrors that were committed in Iraq? They are just some of the victims of wholesale torture taking place inside the U.S. prison system that we uncovered during a four-month investigation for BBC Channel 4 . It?s terrible to watch some of the videos and realise that you?re not only seeing torture in action but, in the most extreme cases, you are witnessing young men dying.
[ WATCH VIDEO: hereTranscript:
By Deborah Davies
They are just some of the victims of wholesale torture taking place inside the U.S. prison system that we uncovered during a four-month investigation for BBC Channel 4 . It’s terrible to watch some of the videos and realise that you’re not only seeing torture in action but, in the most extreme cases, you are witnessing young men dying.The prison guards stand over their captives with electric cattle prods, stun guns, and dogs. Many of the prisoners have been ordered to strip naked. The guards are yelling abuse at them, ordering them to lie on the ground and crawl. ‘Crawl, motherf*****s, crawl.’
If a prisoner doesn’t drop to the ground fast enough, a guard kicks him or stamps on his back. There’s a high-pitched scream from one man as a dog clamps its teeth onto his lower leg.Another prisoner has a broken ankle. He can’t crawl fast enough so a guard jabs a stun gun onto his buttocks. The jolt of electricity zaps through his naked flesh and genitals. For hours afterwards his whole body shakes.Lines of men are now slithering across the floor of the cellblock while the guards stand over them shouting, prodding and kicking.
Second by second, their humiliation is captured on a video camera by one of the guards.
The images of abuse and brutality he records are horrifyingly familiar. These were exactly the kind of pictures from inside Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad that shocked the world this time last year.And they are similar, too, to the images of brutality against Iraqi prisoners that this week led to the conviction of three British soldiers.But there is a difference. These prisoners are not caught up in a war zone. They are Americans, and the video comes from inside a prison in TexasThey are just some of the victims of wholesale torture taking place inside the U.S. prison system that we uncovered during a four-month investigation for Channel 4 that will be broadcast next week.
Our findings were not based on rumour or suspicion. They were based on solid evidence, chiefly videotapes that we collected from all over the U.S.In many American states, prison regulations demand that any ‘use of force operation’, such as searching cells for drugs, must be filmed by a guard.The theory is that the tapes will show proper procedure was followed and that no excessive force was used. In fact, many of them record the exact opposite.Each tape provides a shocking insight into the reality of life inside the U.S. prison system – a reality that sits very uncomfortably with President Bush’s commitment to the battle for freedom and democracy against the forces of tyranny and oppression.
In fact, the Texas episode outlined above dates from 1996, when Bush was state Governor.Frank Carlson was one of the lawyers who fought a compensation battle on behalf of the victims. I asked him about his reaction when the Abu Ghraib scandal broke last year and U.S. politicians rushed to express their astonishment and disgust that such abuses could happen at the hands of American guards.‘I thought: “What hypocrisy,?? Carlson told me. ‘Because they know we do it here every day.’All the lawyers I spoke to during our investigations shared Carlson’s belief that Abu Ghraib, far from being the work of a few rogue individuals, was simply the export of the worst practices that take place in the domestic prison system all the time. They pointed to the mountain of files stacked on their desks, on the floor, in their office corridors – endless stories of appalling, sadistic treatment inside America’s own prisons.
Many of the tapes we’ve collected are several years old. That’s because they only surface when determined lawyers prise them out of reluctant state prison departments during protracted lawsuits.But for every ‘historical’ tape we collected, we also found a more recent story. What you see on the tape is still happening daily.It’s terrible to watch some of the videos and realise that you’re not only seeing torture in action but, in the most extreme cases, you are witnessing young men dying.In one horrific scene, a naked man, passive and vacant, is seen being led out of his cell by prison guards. They strap him into a medieval-looking device called a ‘restraint chair’. His hands and feet are shackled, there’s a strap across his chest, his head lolls forward. He looks dead. He’s not. Not yet.
The chair is his punishment because guards saw him in his cell with a pillowcase on his head and he refused to take it off. The man has a long history of severe schizophrenia. Sixteen hours later, they release him from the chair. And two hours after that, he dies from a blood clot resulting from his barbaric treatment.The tape comes from Utah – but there are others from Connecticut, Florida, Texas, Arizona and probably many more. We found more than 20 cases of prisoners who’ve died in the past few years after being held in a restraint chair.
Two of the deaths we investigated were in the same county jail in Phoenix, Arizona, which is run by a man who revels in the title of ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff.’His name is Joe Arpaio. He positively welcomes TV crews and we were promised ‘unfettered access.’ It was a reassuring turn of phrase – you don’t want to be fettered in one of Sheriff Joe’s jails.We uncovered two videotapes from surveillance cameras showing how his tough stance can end in tragedy. The first tape, from 2001, shows a man named Charles Agster dragged in by police, handcuffed at the wrists and ankles. Agster is mentally disturbed and a drug user. He was arrested for causing a disturbance in a late-night grocery store. The police handed him over to the Sheriff’s deputies in the jail. Agster is a tiny man, weighing no more than nine stone, but he’s struggling.
The tape shows nine deputies manhandling him into the restraint chair. One of them kneels on Agster’s stomach, pushing his head forward on to his knees and pulling his arms back to strap his wrists into the chair.Bending someone double for any length of time is dangerous – the manuals on the use of the ‘restraint chair’ warn of the dangers of ‘positional asphyxia.’Fifteen minutes later, a nurse notices Agster is unconscious. The cameras show frantic efforts to resuscitate him, but he’s already brain dead. He died three days later in hospital. Agster’s family is currently suing Arizona County.His mother, Carol, cried as she told me: ‘If that’s not torture, I don’t know what is.’ Charles’s father, Chuck, listened in silence as we filmed the interview, but every so often he padded out of the room to cry quietly in the kitchen.
The second tape, from five years earlier, shows Scott Norberg dying a similar death in the same jail. He was also a drug user arrested for causing a nuisance. Norberg was severely beaten by the guards, stunned up to 19 times with a Taser gun and forced into the chair where – like Charles Agster – he suffocated.The county’s insurers paid Norberg’s family more than £4 millions in an out-of-court settlement, but the sheriff was furious with the deal. ‘My officers were clear,’ he said. ‘The insurance firm was afraid to go before a jury.’
Now he’s determined to fight the Agster case all the way through the courts. Yet tonight, in Sheriff Joe’s jail, there’ll probably be someone else strapped into the chair.Not all the tapes we uncovered were filmed by the guards themselves. Linda Evans smuggled a video camera into a hospital to record her son, Brian. You can barely see his face through all the tubes and all you can hear is the rhythmic sucking of the ventilator.
He was another of Sheriff Joe’s inmates. After an argument with guards, he told a prison doctor they’d beaten him up. Six days later, he was found unconscious of the floor of his cell with a broken neck, broken toes and internal injuries. After a month in a coma, he died from septicaemia.‘Mr Arpaio is responsible.’ Linda Evans told me, struggling to speak through her tears. ‘He seems to thrive on this cruelty and this mentality that these men are nothing.’In some of the tapes it’s not just the images, it’s also the sounds that are so unbearable. There’s one tape from Florida which I’ve seen dozens of times but it still catches me in the stomach.
It’s an authorised ‘use of force operation’ – so a guard is videoing what happens. They’re going to Taser a prisoner for refusing orders.The tape shows a prisoner lying on an examination table in the prison hospital. The guards are instructing him to climb down into a wheelchair. ‘I can’t, I can’t!’ he shouts with increasing desperation. ‘It hurts!’One guard then jabs him on both hips with a Taser. The man jerks as the electricity hits him and shrieks, but still won’t get into the wheelchair.The guards grab him and drop him into the chair. As they try to bend his legs up on to the footrest, he screams in pain. The man’s lawyer told me he has a very limited mental capacity. He says he has a back injury and can’t walk or bend his legs without intense pain.
The tape becomes even more harrowing. The guards try to make the prisoner stand up and hold a walking frame. He falls on the floor, crying in agony. They Taser him again. He runs out of the energy and breath to cry and just lies there moaning.One of the most recent video tapes was filmed in January last year. A surveillance camera in a youth institution in California records an argument between staff members and two ‘wards’ – they’re not called prisoners. One of the youths hits a staff member in the face. He knocks the ward to the floor then sits astride him punching him over and over again in the head.Watching the tape you can almost feel each blow. The second youth is also punched and kicked in the head – even after he’s been handcuffed. Other staff just stand around and watch.
We also collected some truly horrific photographs.A few years ago, in Florida, the new warden of the high security state prison ordered an end to the videoing of ‘use of force operations.’ So we have no tapes to show how prison guards use pepper spray to punish prisoners.But we do have the lawsuit describing how men were doused in pepper spray and then left to cook in the burning fog of chemicals. Photographs taken by their lawyers show one man has a huge patch of raw skin over his hip. Another is covered in an angry rash across his neck, back and arms. A third has deep burns on his buttocks.‘They usually use fire extinguishers size canisters of pepper spray,’ lawyer Christopher Jones explained. ‘We have had prisoners who have had second degree burns all over their bodies.
‘The tell-tale sign is they turn off the ventilation fans in the unit. Prisoners report that cardboard is shoved in the crack of the door to make sure it’s really air-tight.’And why were they sprayed? According to the official prison reports, their infringements included banging on the cell door and refusing medication. From the same Florida prison we also have photographs of Frank Valdes – autopsy pictures. Realistically, he had little chance of ever getting out of prison alive. He was on Death Row for killing a prison officer. He had time to reconcile himself to the Electric Chair – he didn’t expect to be beaten to death.Valdes started writing to local Florida newspapers to expose the corruption and brutality of prison officers. So a gang of guards stormed into his cell to shut him up. They broke almost every one of his ribs, punctured his lung, smashed his spleen and left him to die.
Several of the guards were later charged with murder, but the trial was held in their own small hometown where almost everyone works for, or has connection with, the five prisons which ring the town. The foreman of the jury was former prison officer. The guards were all acquitted.Meanwhile, the warden who was in charge of the prison at the time of the killing – the same man who changed the policy on videoing – has been promoted. He’s now the man in charge of all the Florida prisons.How could anyone excuse – still less condone – such behaviour? The few prison guards who would talk to us have a siege mentality. They see themselves outnumbered, surrounded by dangerous, violent criminals, so they back each other up, no matter what.
I asked one serving officer what happened if colleagues beat up an inmate. ‘We cover up. Because we’re the good guys.’ No one should doubt that the vast majority of U.S. prison officers are decent individuals doing their best in difficult circumstances. But when horrific abuse by the few goes unreported and uninvestigated, it solidifies into a general climate of acceptance among the many.At the same time the overall hardening of attitudes in modern-day America has meant the notion of rehabilitation has been almost lost. The focus is entirely on punishment – even loss of liberty is not seen as punishment enough. Being on the restraint devices and the chemical sprays.
Since we finished filming for the programme in January, I’ve stayed in contact with various prisoners’ rights groups and the families of many of the victims. Every single day come more e-mails full of fresh horror stories. In the past weeks, two more prisoners have died, in Alabama and Ohio. One man was pepper sprayed, the other tasered.Then, three weeks ago, reports emerged of 20 hours of video material from Guantanamo Bay showing prisoners being stripped, beaten and pepper sprayed. One of those affected is Omar Deghayes, one of the seven British residents still being held there.
His lawyer says Deghayes is now permanently blind in one eye. American military investigators have reviewed the tapes and apparently found ‘no evidence of systematic abuse.’But then, as one of the prison reformers we met on our journey across the U.S. told me: ‘We’ve become immune to the abuse. The brutality has become customary.’So far, the U.S. government is refusing to release these Guantanamo tapes. If they are ever made public – or leaked – I suspect the images will be very familiar.Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo – or even Texas. The prisoners and all guards may vary, but the abuse is still too familiar. And much is it is taking place in America’s own backyard.
[ novakeo.com11. APRIL 2005
The Trouble with Tasers
High-powered tasers are the new fad in law enforcement. They are becoming ever more prevalent even as their safety is increasingly in question. The proliferation of tasers in police departments across the country has led to unconventional uses. Among those hit by tasers are elderly people, children as young as one year old, people apparently suffering diabetic shock and epileptic seizures, people already bound in restraints, and hospital mental patients. Police used tasers against protesters at the 2003 Miami Free Trade Area of the Americas demonstration and against rowdy fans at the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. School systems are employing the weapons, with some officers carrying tasers even in elementary schools.
But doctors, reporters, and human rights groups have raised questions about the safety of the devices, which shoot two barbs designed to pierce the skin. The barbs are at the end of electrical wires carrying 50,000 volts. Last summer, The New York Times reported that at least fifty people had died within a short time after being hit with a taser. By November, when Amnesty International released its own report, that number had risen to more than seventy. In February, Chicago police used the device against a fourteen-year-old boy, who went into cardiac arrest but survived, and a fifty-four-year-old man, who died. The Chicago Police Department, which had recently purchased 100 of the devices, decided not to distribute them until it had investigated the incidents.The Department of Justice is conducting its own investigation into the safety of the devices. It has selected researchers at Wake Forest University and the University of Wisconsin to run independent taser studies.
Taser International, the biggest manufacturer of the weapon, denies that its product caused any deaths. The company insists that its products are safe. "The ADVANCED TASER has a lower injury rate than other nonlethal weapons and has had no reported long-term, adverse aftereffects," says the company website.Early tasers, those used from the 1970s until the early 1990s, were lower wattage devices. "The original taser operated on only five watts and was followed by Air Taser on seven watts," says the November Amnesty International report.
William Bozeman, a medical doctor at the Wake Forest University department of emergency medicine, is investigating the safety of tasers for the Justice Department. "They've increased the amount of wattage that's delivered," he says. Above fourteen watts, he says, you get "electro-muscular disruption." According to Taser International, that's the point. The "uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue" allows the taser "to physically debilitate a target regardless of pain tolerance or mental focus," says the company website. The tasers "directly tell the muscles what to do: contract until the target is in the fetal position on the ground."
Taser International introduced its "Air Taser" in 1994. Then, in 1998, "the company began Project Stealth: the development of the higher-power weapons to stop extremely combative, violent individuals who were impervious to nonlethal weapons." Project Stealth led to the M26, a taser with twenty-six watts of power.In 2003, Taser International started selling an additional version of the twenty-six-watt taser, called the X26, which is light enough for police officers to carry at all times.Police like tasers, sometimes for good reason. Greg Pashley, officer and spokesperson for the Portland Police Department, says the taser "is a tool that is effective in ending what could otherwise be a violent conflict without injuries. We're finding that time and again."
Many other officers add praise of their own. "It's increasingly a less lethal weapon of choice," says Scott Folsom, police chief at the University of Utah. "It doesn't have residual effects. It's proven to be a relatively safe and effective tool."The Department of Justice is not the only governmental authority inquiring into tasers. On January 7, Taser International issued a press release that said the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating what Taser International described as "company statements regarding the safety" of the company's products. Arizona's Attorney General Terry Goddard is also investigating their safety.
Taser International did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. It eventually allowed The Progressive to submit a list of questions, but it never answered them. The company did, however, send several press releases by e-mail. One of those press releases concerned stories by AP and CBS about a study they said linked the taser to heart damage in pigs. The company disputed the news reports, saying, "TASER International is deeply concerned that CBS News and the Associated Press would publicize erroneous links between the TASER and heart damage conflicting with the study author's own assertions and relying solely on statistically insignificant readings."In Portland, Oregon, police used a taser to shock a seventy-one-year-old blind woman four times on her back and once on the right breast. They also pepper-sprayed her and beat her.
On June 9, 2003, Eunice Crowder was home when a city official came to clean up her messy yard. When Crowder objected, he called the police. The Portland Oregonian reported that Crowder, who claimed to be hard of hearing, ignored police commands and tried to climb into a city truck to retrieve her possessions. The police claimed that when they tried to stop Crowder, she kicked at them. That's when they peppersprayed her and used the taser. Then they handcuffed Crowder's arms and yelled at her to stand up. "And she says, 'I bet you wouldn't yell at your mom like that,' " her lawyer, Ernest Warren Jr., told a radio station. One of the officers responded, "My mom is seventy-four." She said, "Well, I'm seventy-one."In 2004, Crowder agreed to the $145,000 settlement from the city of Portland. The police department admitted no wrongdoing.
"We don't have age restrictions" for use of tasers, says Pashley of the Portland Police Department. But he says that policy is currently "under review."Crowder wasn't the oldest person hit by a taser. The oldest one on record was 75-year-old Margaret Kimbrell of Rock Hill, South Carolina, who describes the electricity from the taser as traveling "all over your chest like a big snake or something worming to try to get out." Kimbrell says, "I prayed, 'Lord, Jesus, make it quicker.' I was waiting to die so the pain would go away." Police used the taser on Kimbrell when she refused to leave a nursing home and, the police claimed, tried to hit an officer.
Some of Taser International's own materials suggest that shocking senior citizens may pose a danger. In its November report, Amnesty International cites a "certified lesson plan" from the company that warns it is "not advisable" to use its high-power devices on someone who is pregnant or elderly.A study of available medical literature commissioned by Taser International and available on the company's web site says that older people may have particular vulnerabilities. "Elderly subjects and those with preexisting heart disease are perhaps at an increased risk of cardiac complications and death following exposure to large quantities of electrical energy," wrote Anthony Bleetman of the University of Birmingham. "Since the elderly and heart patients don't often require to be subdued or controlled with a high level of force, then this is unlikely to pose a common problem."
Scientists and medical doctors have several theories, some of them conflicting, about how tasers affect bodies. Electricity near the heart can be dangerous, explains John Webster, professor emeritus in biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, "because it might cause ventricular fibrillation." Webster and a team of University of Wisconsin researchers are investigating the taser's effect on the heart for the U.S. Department of Justice. While suggesting that the taser may be relatively safe for the heart, they speculate that an excess of potassium, produced when muscles contract violently but also produced by cocaine use, may be a key ingredient in the deaths associated with the device.
Many police departments say that use of tasers has reduced injuries and fatalities. The city of Phoenix saw a 54 percent drop in police shootings the year it began to use tasers. In 2003, Seattle, which also uses tasers, for the first time in fifteen years had no shootings that involved officers. That correlation has made tasers popular. "As of October 2004, over 6,000 police departments in the United States and abroad had purchased TASER products," says the company website. "Over 200 police departments--including Phoenix, San Diego, Sacramento, Albuquerque, and Reno--have purchased TASER products for every patrol officer."
But Amnesty International says the tasers are making it too easy for the police to use excessive force. "Claims that tasers have led to a fall in police shootings need to be put into perspective, given that shootings constitute only a small percentage of all police use of force," says the November report. "In contrast, taser usage has increased dramatically, becoming the most prevalent force option in some departments. While police shootings in Phoenix fell from 28 to 13 in 2003, tasers were used that year in 354 use-of-force incidents, far more than would be needed to avoid a resort to lethal force."
A number of the stories in the Amnesty report involve police use of tasers on people who were already restrained, including two who were strapped to gurneys and on their way to, or already inside, hospitals. In one such case in Pueblo, Colo., "a police officer applied a taser to the man while he was restrained on a hospital bed, screaming for his wife," said Amnesty.
"That was a case where a rookie officer did not understand appropriate use of a taser," says Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings. Although the incident involved a misunderstanding of policy, rather than maliciousness, he says, the officer received "a pretty heavy suspension."Amnesty International wants the devices temporarily banned "pending a rigorous, independent, and impartial inquiry into their use and effects." The investigation should "be carried out by acknowledged medical, scientific, legal, and law enforcement experts who are independent of commercial and political interests in promoting such equipment," says the human rights organization.
In response to the Amnesty report, Taser International issued a press release accusing the human rights organization of being "out of step with law enforcement worldwide."On Dec. 10, 2004, police in Pembroke Pines, Fla., used a taser on a 12-year-old boy who tried to stab another child with a pencil and then became combative with police. Commander Ken Hall, public information officer for the Pembroke Pines police, says the case "was looked at very closely, obviously because of the controversial nature" and found to be "within the parameters of our policy."
In November, a Miami-Dade officer shocked a twelve-year-old Florida girl who was playing hooky. At the moment he shocked her, she was running from him. Although Miami-Dade police did at the time consider tasers to be an appropriate weapon for use on children, the director of the Miami-Dade Police Department has raised questions about the event. "It was his opinion that that incident may not have been within our guidelines" because the girl was not posing a threat to herself or others, says Detective Juan DelCastillo, who handles media relations for the Miami-Dade police. The director is reviewing the incident.
Back in May, a nine-year-old runaway girl in Tucson, who was already handcuffed by police and sitting in a police vehicle, was shocked with a taser when she began to kick at the car and bang her head. The Pima County attorney general's office conducted an investigation of the incident and decided not to bring criminal charges against the officer who used the taser. "In all likelihood, the use of the taser prevented" the girl "from injuring herself any further," wrote David L. Berkman, the chief criminal deputy, in explaining his decision.
Even one-year-olds have been shocked, according to records Taser International supplied to the Associated Press. The company also told the San Jose Mercury News that its taser can be used safely on toddlers.
In October, in a widely reported incident, police in Miami shocked a six-year-old. The officers were dispatched to an elementary school where they encountered "a mentally-disturbed student bleeding and holding a piece of glass," says the police report. "Upon their arrival, the officers were confronted by a highly agitated and disturbed male bleeding and smearing blood on his face while clutching a piece of glass in his left hand." The officers tried to talk the boy into giving up the glass and tossing it into a wastebasket. The boy refused and "attempted to cut his leg with the shard of glass." The report says that officers then shocked the boy to keep him from hurting himself more extensively. The boy "dropped the glass and was subdued without further incident."
The officers shot the boy with the taser "for his own safety and to stop him from hurting himself," says DelCastillo of the Miami-Dade police. As for the appropriateness of shocking a six-year-old, DelCastillo says, "Our understanding is that there has been research" and that the taser causes "no aftereffects." He says there is "no reason that would cause harm to someone younger than an adult."
But the research is not nearly so clear-cut.
A scientist who tested some of the early tasers for the Canadian government recommended that the government ban the devices. Andrew Podgorski says his tests showed the devices could cause death. He says that children could be especially vulnerable.
The use of a taser on the six-year-old disturbed Rudolph Crew, superintendent of Miami-Dade schools. In a Nov. 16 letter to the police department, Crew wrote, "While I acknowledge the need of law enforcement officers on occasion to subdue and to restrain members of the public, I believe that certain tactics should never be used in dealing with young children--particularly within a school." Crew recognized that the student "was agitated and injured." But, he said, "Police officers have dealt with other children in this condition without resorting to a taser." Crew requested that the police department "refrain from deploying or discharging tasers against elementary school students in Miami-Dade County public schools" and that officers use the taser only as a "last resort" on older students.
Tony Hill, the Democratic whip in the Florida State Senate, was so concerned that he sponsored a bill that would prohibit schools from using tasers on schoolchildren."Every day here in Florida," says Hill, there are reports of "use of a taser on someone." But, he says, it was a group of tasings at schools near Palatka, Fla., that first made him wonder about the appropriateness of the weapon. "They all were African-American kids," he says. "That raised a red flag."In early January, the Miami-Dade police revised their guidelines. The new policy "requires officers to consider factors such as age, size, and weight," in addition to other considerations, reported the Associated Press.
Crew and Hill are bucking a trend: the increasingly common use of tasers against students. Taser International says that 32 percent of the police departments it interviewed include tasers in local school systems, reported the Birmingham News.In Birmingham, Ala., officers armed with tasers will soon patrol the hallways of many schools. Superintendent Wayman Shiver says he's OK with that."You have got to have something that the children fear," says Shiver, who has heard about people who were injured or who died after being hit with a taser. "We have to be in a position to control these schools by whatever means possible."
For Virginia Volker, a Birmingham School Board member, "whatever means possible," is too much. "It's easier for systems to say, 'Zap them, throw them out,' something technical, when there's not a technical fix," she says. "It's a human problem."Like Shiver, Volker also talks about problems with fighting in the schools, but she opposes the taser. "It's treating the children as criminals," she says. "It doesn't address why the children are acting out."In the South, electronic shocking devices have a disturbing precedent, says Volker. Back in the time of the civil rights marches, sometimes the police department would use cattle prods on protesters. "When I think of the taser," she says, "I think of that."
Dexter Massey is president of the PTA at Parker High School in Birmingham. He says he took a taser instruction course from the police academy, but he still has doubts about the device when it comes to kids. The trainers, he said, told him that the average shock from the taser is three seconds. "Who's to say how many seconds it takes to die?" he asks. "Got my drift?"Taser International, which features the slogan "Saving Lives Every Day" on its web site, is also hawking tasers directly to consumers.
"Choose your citizen taser device," says the company. Calling them "home self-defense systems," the company says tasers are a "safe and effective defense" that is "easy to use" and has "no aftereffects or contamination." The company offers three different consumer models, including one with a 15-foot range. The police version, the M-26, has up to a 21-foot range. So, presumably, in a taser duel between a police officer and a consumer, the officer would win.On Jan. 26, Jim Weiers, House speaker in the Arizona legislature, announced that he would propose a bill that would give police officers--and citizens--the upper hand against consumers who buy the tasers. It would allow the state's "police officers and ordinary citizens the use of lethal force in confronting people who threaten them with remote stun guns such as tasers," reported the Associated Press.
The consumer models sell for $399.95, $599.95, or $999.00.
[ alternet.org11. april 2005
seit dem 31. märz liegt ein 19 jähriger im koma. er soll von einem oder mehreren gefangenen ( isoliert wurden 7 leute) verprügelt worden sein.
Inmate's Family Questions Control At Detention Center As Son Lies In A Coma
BUTNER, N.C. -- Two recent attacks have raised questions about control at a local youth detention center in Butner, N.C.
Recent violence at Polk Youth Institution have one victim's family questioning how such attacks can occur.One attack resulted in a security officer being treated at a local hospital and another attack was so severe, it put 19-year-old Justin Clark in a coma.Seven inmates are now segregated at Polk Youth Institution until the Department of Correction and the State Bureau of Investigation investigate.Clark's family admits he deserves to be behind bars because of his background in breaking and entering and gang activity. They argue though, he did not deserve what happened. On March 31, prison administrators believe one or more of the seven inmates beat Clark into a coma.
"They were doing a head count and went to get Justin up," said Jessica Hibbs, Clark's adoptive mother. "And they realized Justin was not conscious and had been beaten."Hibbs and her husband Raymond came down from Delaware to see Clark in the hospital.In addition to Clark's beating, Polk administrators also confirm a security officer was treated and released from the hospital after another inmate assaulted him with a baton. Spokesperson Pam Walker says the Department of Correction has full confidence the staff can handle Polk's population. "These are folks that have serious histories," said Walker. "A lot of them assaultive type behavior in background. Unfortunately, things are going to happen."
Clark's father, Raymond Hibbs, understands there is potential for assaults, but says he cannot understand how such a brutal attack could take place."I don't understand how such a brutal beating -- and for him to be transferred back to his cot and locked back in his room and left there to die -- could happen in a facility with so much security," Raymond Hibbs said.Jessica Hibbs also said she has been denied access to see her adopted son. She said the Department of Correction has revoked hospital visitation when a guard wrongly accused her of trying to smuggle in recording equipment.
The Hibbs are planning legal action against the prison.The Polk Youth Institute houses a little over 1,000 inmates. All are men between 19 and 25 years old.The age restrictions expanded in 2003 because of an increased demand for prison space. Polk Youth Institution deals with inmates considered some of the most dangerous in the state.
[ wral.com/news7. april 2005
die erste anzeige gegen die seit dem 1. april offiziell tätigen "minuteman" an der grenze zwischen arizona und mexiko.
US Border Militia Probed in Immigrant's Detention
DOUGLAS, Ariz. (Reuters) - Militia volunteers patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border held a Mexican immigrant against his will and made him hold a joke T-shirt for cameras, law-enforcement officials said on Thursday. The man filed a legal complaint charging that he was held and forced to display a T-shirt, distributed by "Minuteman" volunteer Bryan Barton, that said: "Bryan Barton caught me crossing the border and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."
It was the first complaint by an illegal immigrant against a member of the Minuteman group. Between 300 and 400 project volunteers, some of them armed, have come to Arizona to stake out a 23-mile section of the border for a month to protest what it calls ineffective U.S. border controls. The Cochise county sheriff's department said three Minuteman volunteers picked up the 26-year-old immigrant on Wednesday afternoon. Local television aired a video showing the Mexican man sitting on his heels as Barton posed before the camera.
Barton, a 24-year-old from San Diego who said he plans to run for political office next year, has been handing out the T-shirts to reporters since the project kicked off on April 1. "We have no time or patience for anyone attempting to turn this situation into a three-ring circus," Cochise county Sheriff Larry Dever said. The man's complaint was referred to a prosecutor to decide whether a crime had been committed and charges were warranted, Dever's spokeswoman said. It was not immediately known what authorities intended to do with the immigrant.
A Minuteman spokesman said the man was not mistreated. "We have information that says exactly the opposite, that they gave the immigrant food and water and a big hug," spokesman Fred Elbel said. "The sheriff watched the video and said on the spot that it was not an incident, and he laughed all the way through." The Minutemen say their project is a peaceful political protest, and a number of local residents have joined the patrols or turned out to support them.
Organizers say volunteers have been told not to apprehend migrants but report them to U.S. border patrol. President Bush calls the participants vigilantes and the Mexican government has warned it will file civil suits against anyone who lays a finger on Mexican nationals during the exercise.
März-2005
Closing the warehouses and creating rehabilitation centers
is the solution to the CYA crisis
An Issue Briefing from BOOKS NOT BARS and the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice / 2005
Failing Kids, Families & Public Safety.pdf
März-2005
einige zum teil neue statistiken aus den USA
download als pdf
[ Oregon’s Measure 11 Sentencing Reform: Implementation and System Impact /2005.pdf
[ Crime Trends and Incarceration Rates in Oregon
Justice Strategies /2004.pdf
[ Baltimore Prisoner's Experiences Returning Home /2004.pdf
[ Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission Annual Report /2003.pdf
29. märz 2005
der supreme court von colorado hat ein todesurteil in lebenslang umgewandelt weil die geschworenen während der beratung bibelzitate gelesen und benutzt haben.
Death penalty nixed for Bible consultation
Denver - The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday threw out the death sentence for a man convicted of raping and killing a cocktail waitress because jurors consulted with the Bible during deliberations.The court said the Bible passages, including the verse that commands "eye for eye, tooth for tooth," could influence a typical juror to vote for death instead of life imprisonment.The justices ordered Robert Harlan to serve life in prison without parole.
Jurors had sentenced Harlan to die for raping and murdering Rhonda Maloney in 1994. Defense attorneys challenged the sentence after discovering five jurors had looked up Bible verses, copied some of them down and then talked about them behind closed doors."Under Colorado law, the death penalty is not required for first degree murder, and it takes the vote of only one juror to refuse the death sentence when the state is seeking the defendant's execution," the Supreme Court ruled.Prosecutors had asked the justices to restore the death sentence, saying jurors should be allowed to refer to the Bible or other religious texts during deliberations.
[ denverpost.com17. märz 2005
in arizona sollen nach offiziellen schätzungen " etwa 20% der gefangenen ernsthaft psychisch krank sein." viele von ihnen sind wegen kleinigkeiten inhaftiert, z.b. urinieren in der öffentlichkeit, ladendiebstahl oder ' ärgernis erregendes verhalten'. sie sind meist länger für die delikte inhaftiert und häufig "wiederholungstäterinnen".
Detaining mentally ill in jail a problem
County seeking solution to woes
Maricopa County officials say their jails house more seriously mentally ill people than any other facility in the state. No hospital, no halfway house, no clinic houses more of them.Nearly everybody agrees it's a bad deal. And now, after putting up with the situation for decades, county officials are ready for action.Members of a new countywide task force plan to meet next Thursday to evaluate the system, streamline procedures within the county and hash out possible solutions. advertisement
The stakes are high for the county, taxpayers and mental patients. The patients, many accused of minor crimes, often don't get the care they need. They're thrown into overcrowded jails where they can fall prey to other inmates. Many are taken off their treatment plans. And most end up right back in jail once released.For the county and its taxpayers, the process is extremely time-consuming and expensive. County officials not only must pick up the costs for feeding, housing and medicating the inmates, they also pay the salaries for everyone from detention officers and psychiatrists to public defenders and judges.
It often costs two to three times the amount to send a mentally ill person through the criminal-justice system compared with treating the person outside it. And the community as a whole loses out.Although the issue went nowhere within a legislative ad hoc committee earlier this year, county officials say they're devoted to improvements and plan on hitting the Legislature hard until they make progress."What we're doing is the most costly approach to solving the problem, and it's not solving the problem," said county Supervisor Don Stapley, who is spearheading efforts within the county. "We're simply warehousing the mentally ill in lieu of seeking medical treatment and solutions."I'm passionate about this because it's wrong. It's morally wrong to do what we've been doing."
The patients
Paul Padilla, 35, of Chandler, said he has been in and out of jails and mental institutions since he was 13.He has spent time within Maricopa County jails for crimes ranging from disorderly conduct and criminal damage to assault. And he doesn't want to go back."They really don't care about the mentally ill in jail," Padilla said. "I get so scared. I have paranoia about the violence. . . . I've seen people get beat up. I've seen the guards talk bad about people."
Padilla, who said he has paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, calls jail a "scary place." He is going through a special mental-health court now to avoid jail time but knows he could end up back behind bars.He's not alone. Officials say it's common for the mentally ill to repeatedly go in and out of jail. In one case, a woman was arrested 29 times in six years for prostitution to theft to drugs. Another man was arrested more than 50 times in four years for everything from criminal trespass to shoplifting.
A Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner summed up the problem with housing the mentally ill in jail this way: "Severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions ... and bullying by professional criminals, including assaults, extortion and stealing medications, are typical of the conditions under which the mentally ill live."
The department
Correctional Health Services, the county department that provides medical treatment in the jails, has come under fire and undergone major leadership changes during the past few years.Administrators admit the department is stretched thin. They struggle to keep up with staffing demands for psychiatrists and deal with a chronic shortage of nurses and have a limited number of available psychiatric beds.Inmates often complain about poor care. And some inmates can go without their medications for several days, depending on when they're booked and what drugs they're taking.
"The worst thing you can do is put them in jail and take them off their medication, their treatment plan and sever their continuing ability to access their pharmacy needs," Stapley said.Last year, the county signed a $500,000 contract with Phase 2 Consulting of Salt Lake City to conduct a "top to bottom" assessment of Correctional Health, said Lindy Funkhouser, contract administrator. They've already made improvements and will continue efforts as two new taxpayer-funded jails open.
The lawsuits
Over the years, the county has faced a slew of lawsuits against Correctional Health Services and the Sheriff's Office, and the county has paid out thousands of dollars to families of inmates who have committed suicide in jail.One example: In 2003, taxpayers footed a $175,000 settlement for the family of David Hyslop, 33, who committed suicide after being left alone in a cell after repeatedly being sent to the psychiatric unit.County officials estimate 20 percent of the jail's population is seriously mentally ill.
In 2004, jail officials identified more than 2,000 inmates who are clients of ValueOptions, a private company the state contracts with to provide mental-health services. But county health officials believe there are hundreds, possibly thousands, more who are not clients.It's difficult to determine exactly how many mentally ill inmates are in jail because the system relies on self-reporting and inmates don't always admit they're mentally ill.
Many of them have committed minor crimes such as public urination, shoplifting or disorderly conduct. They generally stay in jail longer than other inmates, and most are repeat customers."For some of them, they don't mind this," said Clarke Romans,executive director of National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Arizona. "Compared to sleeping in a park in Mesa or on a bench somewhere, they're safe in jail and they get fed."
The county
Maricopa County picks up the cost for any person who goes through the criminal-justice process."Every arraignment, every initial hearing, every judge, every county prosecutor, every public defender gets paid by the taxpayers," Stapley said. "It's an enormously expensive process."Correctional Health Services alone has asked for additional contingency funds for at least the past three years, facing increased costs in pharmaceuticals, temporary nurses and outside hospital services.
A study in King County, Wash., showed that it cost $1.1 million to serve 20 seriously mentally ill patients who were repeatedly jailed, hospitalized or admitted to crisis centers over a one-year period. That's about $55,000 per person. Compare that with $20,000, the annual cost to care for a mentally ill individual in the community, according to the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project.On top of that, Stapley said taxpayers end up paying double because ValueOptions receives a fixed amount for every client whether they're in jail or not.
Under Arizona law, the state has responsibility for making sure more than 70,000 mentally ill people receive services that include counseling, medication and housing. The state contracts with ValueOptions to provide services."Every person who's booked into jail who is an SMI (seriously mentally ill) client of theirs, ValueOptions, they get paid, but it doesn't cost them anything," he said. "Because it's costing the taxpayers. We're paying double."
The solutions
Maricopa County's new task force, the County Commission on Justice System Intervention for the Serious Mentally Ill, will meet for the first time next week.There is some minor relief already on its way.Once the county's two new jails, which were originally scheduled to open last June, do become available, they will be able to provide more than twice as many beds for mentally ill inmates.
And county officials are building a $23 million homeless campus in central Phoenix that will bring together at least eight agencies. The homeless will receive everything from food and shelter to medical care at the location.
Another highlight is mental-health courts.
The Superior Court began its mental-health court more than two years ago. It's a "problem-solving" court where stakeholders work closely to provide alternatives to jail.That may mean putting the defendants in rehab programs and ordering them to stay clean and get jobs."Our goal is to have the judges, the public defenders, the county attorneys, the staff, trained to deal with seriously mentally ill so as to have some more sensitivities to what's happening there, and ideally they wouldn't fall through the cracks and spend less time in jail," said Judge Carey Snyder Hyatt, who heads the court.
Tempe Municipal Court has a similar program for its misdemeanor cases, which also has received recognition for its work. But many experts say the trick is to divert the seriously mentally ill before they are booked into jail and enter the criminal-justice system. Because once they're in the system, they stay in."We need to begin to divert as many of these folks out as we can and to not incarcerate them when that's the more costly option and much less effective," Stapley said.
More than 300 Phoenix police officers have been trained to recognize mental illness. Lt. Steve Haynes, who used to coordinate the training, said the classes allow officers to empathize with the mentally ill and educates them about alternatives to jail.The training program has spread to several other police departments. The Sheriff's Office also is considering training deputies in mental-health issues.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said they're talking with Correctional Health Services about sending mental-health professionals to crime scenes."I do have to give in a little and say the jails shouldn't be used as a baby-sitter for the mentally ill," he said.ValueOptions has a nationally recognized 12-week program that diverts some mentally ill clients accused of misdemeanor crimes before they hit the courts.But the stakeholders still face significant challenges.Experts say government agencies need more staff. The community needs more resources. And there still are some legal issues that need to be ironed out.
Stapley said he believes the biggest issue by far is housing. He said state statute prohibits anyone with a criminal record from utilizing public housing."Once they get out of jail, they have nowhere to go so they go back to the streets," he said.Most experts agree that it will take time to work out all the problems. But Stapley believes it will happen: "It will take every partner in the process working together from the state down to the smallest community-based non-profit involved with this population and this problem."
[ azcentral.com17.märz 2005
nachdem ein bundesrichter kürzlich urteilte, daß die im saginaw county knast angewandte praxis, menschen, die "aufsässig" sind nackt in eine zelle zusperren, gegen die verfassung verstößt, haben nun 22 gefangene, unterstützt von der aclu, den knast verklagt.
Lawsuit filed against Saginaw jail
'Stripping inmates unconstitutional'
Saginaw County — (03/17/05)--A lawsuit filed against the Saginaw County Jail is about to get even some more legal firepower.A federal judge recently ruled the jail's policy of stripping inmates is unconstitutional. Thursday we've learned the American Civil Liberties Union may join the lawsuit.
Terry Camp had more.
The policy of stripping unruly inmates was put in place in 1996. It was done with the safety of detainees in mind. But this could end up costing Saginaw County millions of dollars."Being thrown in a jail cell completely naked for a misdemeanor offense is not right. It's unconstitutional," said Flint attorney Chris Pianto, who represents 22 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Saginaw County.And a federal judge agrees with Pianto. The plaintiffs claim they were in jail on minor offenses, but were forced to strip naked, a Saginaw County Jail policy in dealing with unruly detainees.
"I represent a woman who claims that while she was in the hole, she was there for three days -- completely naked -- in her menstruation cycle," Pianto said.The policy was put in place after an inmate committed suicide using his clothes to hang himself.Saginaw County Sheriff Charles Brown is not commenting on the lawsuit, but did say via phone the county has an obligation to keep all prisoners and correction staff safe.While court papers indicate the practice of stripping inmates has ended, Pianto isn't so sure.
"The jail has made indications that the policy has stopped," Pianto said. "I have received phone calls from people that allege it still goes on."Pianto says more people are coming forward saying they were stripped as well, and the number of plaintiffs could grow to 150 or more.A formal announcement is expected soon from the ACLU, which plans on being co-counsel on the lawsuit.The county's attorney, Jim DeGrazia, says an appeal of the ruling is possible, and adds that this jail is well run within the Department of Corrections guidelines.
[ abclocalgo.com16. märz 2005
gefangener soll wärter angegriffen haben.
[ Sheriff: Rock County Jail Inmate Attacks Worker12. märz 2005
angeblich wird das somerset county jail von den insassen betrieben, die andere gefangene terrorisieren und mißhandeln. unter diese anklage wurden jetzt 7 ehemalige und derzeitige gefangene gestellt. die wärter sollen nicht an den mißhandlungen und schlägen beteiligt gewesen sein.
[ Police Arrest Seven In Somerset County Jail Beatings11. märz 2005
eine anwältin ( sie ist spezialisiert auf immigrationsrecht), die sich öffentlich gegen den krieg ausgesprochen hat, wurde zu einem jahr knast verurteilt. sie hatte einem undercover agenten, der sie um hilfe bat, eine scheinehe verschafft.
[ Manlin Chee, Another Benchmark in Government Repression11. märz 2005
nachdem zwei gefangene an einer penicillin resistenten bakterie ( mrsa - staphylococcus aureus) gestorben sind, wurden jetzt alle insassen des calhoun county jails daraufhin untersucht. wegen eines mrsa ausbruches in 2001 und 2002 werden bereits gegen mehrere knäste prozesse geführt. seit 2001 gab es infektionen mit mrsa in knästen in florida, louisiana, north carolina, south carolina, texas und west virginia.
[ Calhoun County Jail inmates screened for deadly bacterium9. märz 2005
ein seit fast 20 jahren existierndes gesetz in michigan, wonach eltern deren kinder nicht regelmäßig / garnicht die schule besuchen mit bis zu 90 tagen knast bestraft werden, wird in einigen teilen des bundesstaates seit kurzem angewandt.
[ Leyton may jail truants' parents9. märz 2005
der indiana supreme court urteilte daß teile der verurteilungspraxis gegen die verfassung verstößt. geschworene urteilen über schuld oder freispruch, die richter können zusätzliche knastzeit verhängen indem sie das verhalten des angeklagten ,seine aussagebreitschaft, oder seine vorstrafen mit einbeziehen. damit, so hat der u.s. supreme court im januar entschieden, wird der 6. verfassungszusatz, das recht auf ein geschworenengericht, verletzt. nach schätzungen werden etwa 60.000 menschen pro jahr nur durch richter verurteilt, die jetzt ein recht auf neue prozesse haben.
[ Court curbs sentences by state judges8. märz 2005
im louisiana state penitentiary in angola gibt es seit drei jahren den ersten golfplatz ( prison view golf course) innerhalb eines us-knastes. einige gefangene dürfen dort arbeiten, spielen dürfen weder die gefangenen, noch vorbestrafte, noch irgendwelche menschen die einmal als besucherinnen des knastes registriert waren oder sind. in erster linie wird der platz von den wärtern und ihren angehörigen benutzt, die zum teil innerhalb des knastes leben. der golfplatz ist innerhalb des mit doppeltem zäunen ,auf denen stacheldraht befestigt ist, und wachtürmen umgrenzten geländes des knastes. es gibt fünf umzäunte gebaude sowie das hauptgebäude. es sind zur zeit 5.108 gefangene in angola, die meisten lebenslänglich. “ einst bekannt als “ das blutigste gefängnis in amerika” ist angola , oder die farm, jetzt eines der gefängnisse mit dem fortschrittlichsten und innovativsten gefängnisprogramm in dem land, dank cain ( der gefängnisdirektor, der in dem bericht sehr gelobt wird)”.
[ Inmates can't play, but jobs there a privilege8. märz 2005
aus bisher unbekannten gründen ist ein mann mit seinem auto gegen die mauer des vista knastes gefahren. danach sei er, unbewaffnet, in die ‘lobby’ des knastes gerannt, wo er von 2 bullen angeschossen und schwer verletzt wurde. weiter steht dann: “ die schiesserei ist das zweite mal innerhalb der letzten 3 tage das beamte mit gewalt eine gefängnis-konfrontation reagieren. beamte in der descano detention facility feuerten salven mit pfeffergas um einen kampf unter 50 insassen abzubrechen. dabei wurde niemand schwer verletzt.”
[ Man shot by officers after his car rams jail7. märz 2005
bei einem prozeß gegen einen undercover - polizisten, der einen unbewaffneten mann erschossen hatte, konnten die geschworenen sich nicht einigen und der prozeß ist deshalb geplatzt. die angehörigen des mannes auf den insgesamt 4x geschossen wurde u.a. in den rücken, haben die stadt new york und den polizisten auf $150 millionen verklagt.
[ NYPD Manslaughter Trial Ends in Mistrial6. märz 2005
bei der operation compliance genannten kampagne gegen immigrantinnen, die im dezember 2001 gestartet wurde und angeblich als ziel "6000 ausländerinnen mit al qaida beziehungen" deren asylanträge abgelehnt oder deren visa abgelaufen sind , hat , werden in erster linie lateinamerikanerinnen festgenommen. etwa 11 millionen illegale leben in den usa, davon sind 400.000 als abgelehnte asylbewerberinnen gespeichert. die am frühen morgen stattfindenden razzien werden auch menschen festgenommen nach denen nicht gesucht wird, diese festnehmen werden als "collateral arrests" bezeichnet. am 1.märz 2003 wurde der immigration and naturalization service aufgelöst und ins department of homeland security integriert. seitdem haben die razzien und festnahmen zugenommen.
[ Immigration crackdown nets laborers, not terrorists5. märz 2005
anfang des jahres wurde der knast in neu mexico , der einer privatfirma gehörte ,wieder staatlich.um den gefangenen zu “ zeigen wer das sagen hat”, wurde der knast unter lockdown gestellt und die zellen durch eine “taskforce” durchsucht. diese unangemeldeten überfälle, bei dem letzten wurde etwas gras gefunden, sollen in zukunft öfters stattfinden.
[ County detention center wants to let prisoners know who's in charge4.märz 2005
mexican american legal defense and educational fund ( maldef )hat im namen
von migrantinnen eine zivilklage vor einem bundesgericht in tucon
eingereicht. die 5 frauen und 11 männer wurden von einer "vigilanten"-gruppe
angegriffen, geschlagen, und mit dem tod bedroht. ebenfalls angeklagt wird
der sheriff des cochise county dem seit etwa einem jahrzehnt angriffe an
der grenze zwischen mexiko und arizone angezeigt werden, der aber nichts
unternimmt.
[ Vigilanten = anderer Begriff für Bürgerwehr oder auch "Wachsamkeitskomitee"
von der ideologischen Ausrichtung meist rechtsaussen stehende Saubermacher die gegen Drogen, Prostitution, Werteverfall usw. zu Felde ziehen]
MALDEF Files Civil Lawsuit On Behalf Of Migrants Detained And Assaulted By Border Vigilantes
(TUCSON, ARIZ.) MALDEF today filed a civil suit in federal court in Tucson, Arizona on behalf of a group of migrants who allege they were violently assaulted, battered, detained, and threatened with death by members of vigilante groups operating along the Arizona-Mexico border. The lawsuit charges Roger Barnett, his wife Barbara Barnett, his brother Donald Barnett, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, and unknown co-conspirators with conspiring to violate the travelers’ civil rights.
The plaintiffs are five women and 11 men who were resting at a wash in Douglas, Arizona when they were accosted by defendant Roger Barnett, armed with a gun and accompanied by a large dog. Roger Barnett held the group of migrants captive at gunpoint, threatening that his dog would attack or that he would shoot anyone who tried to leave. During the encounter, Barnett kicked a plaintiff as she was lying, unarmed, on the ground.
This lawsuit stems from just one of many instances of violent vigilante activity along the Arizona-Mexico border, dozens of which have been reported to the Cochise County Sheriff. “Sheriff Dever has been on notice for almost a decade of vigilante activity in his own backyard,” said MALDEF staff attorney Victor Rodriguez. “Yet little has been done to prevent the continued harm to the migrant community.”
“By filing this action, migrants are sending a strong message to those individuals that mistakenly believe they can violate migrant civil rights with impunity,” added MALDEF staff attorney Araceli Perez. “This lawsuit highlights the danger when laypersons, motivated by racial animus, attempt to take the law into their own hands.”
[ maldef.org4.märz 2005
vom 7.märz an werden zeitungen im polk county knast verboten sein. angeblich verschmutzen diese die zellen und " es ist gefährlich für insassen die lokalen nachrichten zu lesen. sie können lesen weswegen andere angeklagt sind, warum der mensch in der zelle nebenan inhaftiert ist. (gefangene) haben ein recht darauf sicher zusein."
Polk County Jail Bans Newspapers, Magazines
LAKELAND -- Usually, cigarettes and pornography are considered contraband in a jail.
In Polk County, add all newspapers and magazines to the list.As of Monday, Polk County Jail inmates won't be allowed to read newspapers or magazines because their jailers say they clutter cells and incite violence by providing stories about local criminal cases."It's dangerous for inmates to read local news," Sheriff's Major Steve Lester said. "They can read each other's charges. They can read about what neighboring inmates are in for. (Inmates) have a right to be safe."
In state prisons, the Florida Department of Corrections can ban reading materials if they contain criminal history, personal information or anything that presents a security threat.Among the banned materials: pornography, books and magazines about guns and weapons, anything that encourages criminal activity or details methods of escape, and publications describing how to make alcohol or illegal drugs. But Florida prisoners are allowed to subscribe to newspapers and magazines, said DOC spokesman Sterling Ivey.
In Polk's county jail system, which is run by the Sheriff's Office, not the state DOC, inmates have been allowed to subscribe to approved newspapers and magazines.Under the current policy, inmates can keep newspapers in their cells as long as three days.In addition to providing the potential for violence, newspapers "clutter" cells and pose safety and fire hazards, Lester said.He said the jails are frequently inspected by different associations and often cited for unkempt cells.
Polk County jailers said newspaper clutter violates a Florida Model Jail Standard, set by the Florida Sheriff's Association.Newspapers and magazines can also endanger inmates' safety for reasons that have nothing to do with their content, sheriff's officials say.When the electricity went out in the South County Jail during last year's hurricanes, Frostproof inmates took newspapers and magazines to start fires, Sheriff Judd said.Because of the newspaper and magazine ban, about a thousand pre-approved books in Polk County jails' libraries are the only materials allowed for recreational reading.
A mystery novel, "Trial Run" by Dick Francis, David R. Main's "Celebrate Jesus" and Phillip Margolin's thriller "The Associate" are some of the books that inmates can select each week.The Bible, Quran and other basic religious texts are also available.Inmates who have written to The Ledger have expressed anger over the new policy."Inmates should have a right to know what's happening in the world outside these bars," inmate John W. Fitzgerald wrote.
Others share that view.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida condemned the policy."What public purpose and rehabilitative goal is served by preventing them from reading more . . . by keeping them in enforced ignorance?" spokeswoman Kimberly Lavender said in an e-mailed statement.Gregg Thomas, a Tampa lawyer who represents media companies, including The Ledger, in First Amendment issues, called the new ban misguided.
"To me, the thought that the information in a newspaper can cause violence or unrest seems bizarre," said Thomas.Polk County inmates should be able to keep up with local current events, Thomas said."Limiting information will keep them ignorant and in a black hole."But sheriff's officials say two inmates have been beaten by other inmates in response to stories in local newspapers and on television stations.
Former inmate Preston Cassada was found unconscious inside his cell in 2001 -- with several broken ribs and two collapsed lungs -- after inmates learned that he uttered racial slurs and shot a black co-worker.In April, Shane Desalvo was beaten by fellow inmates when they found out he was arrested for a hate crime.Polk County's jail reading policy is more stringent than those of neighboring counties.
In the Hillsborough County Jail, publications that pose potential security risks are restricted. But local newspapers are not, said Hillsborough County sheriff's Capt. Curtis Flowers."By and large, if they want to subscribe to a newspaper, they can."To reduce clutter, Hillsborough inmates are required to store their possessions, including newspapers, in a plastic box, Flowers said."Anything outside the box we're going to throw away," he said.Orange County Jail officials allow inmates to read local newspapers.
However, Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said he understands the concerns in Polk County."There are security issues with newspapers," he said. "They can stop up commodes. I've heard of people lacing the pages with acid."The Polk County Sheriff's Office isn't the first in the country to ban newspapers and magazines:
# On March 4, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pittsburgh overturned a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections policy that banned magazines, newspapers and photographs from prisoners.
# In 2000, Colorado's Department of Corrections banned materials that negatively portray the criminal justice system -- including political commentary, religious periodicals and music magazines.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado sued the prison system. In 2004, the ACLU won.Now, the ACLU is working with the Colorado DOC to create new policies governing what inmates are allowed to read.Likewise, prisoners from Utah to Montgomery, Ala. are in the middle of suits filed against their jailers who they say violated their First Amendment rights.The ACLU in Florida has not discussed fighting the new Polk County Jail policy, Lavender said.
Polk County Sheriff Judd is unapologetic.Reading newspapers and magazines is a privilege, not a right, he said. "We're running a county jail, not a country club," he said. "When you come here you're not going to prop up and read a magazine or newspaper or flip to your favorite channel."If the inmates want to read the newspaper or magazine, stay out of the county jail," Judd said.
[ theledger.com3. märz 2005
weil so viele leute ihre geldstrafen und strafzettel nicht bezahlen werden haftbefehle ausgestellt und den betroffenen wurde bis ende der woche zeit gegeben zu bezahlen.
People with unpaid fines facing jail time
Coahoma County residents with outstanding fines may be facing jail time by the end of the week, said Justice Court clerk Candace Collins.
"We are doing a sweep on old fines and will be issuing contempt warrants this week," she said. Collins said there are hundreds of people with fines ranging from traffic violations to misdemeanors. "Some of these date back to the early 90s," she said. "There are hundreds of people with charges against them. We are out about $1 million in back fines."
Collins said Chief Deputy Floyd Williams would receive the warrants this week. "He will begin picking up people for contempt charges," she said. "They will be arrested in cash bond only."Collins said residents with fines against them could escape jail time by preemptive measures. "They may come in and pay before we have to pick them up," she said. "They won't be arrested and the contempt warrant will be cancelled."Judges Jesse Burton and Kenneth Bush will be signing th
e warrants. [ zwire.com3.märz 2005
das maryland house of corrections - nebengelände in jessup, wo etwa 1.200 gefangene inhaftiert sind, war anfang februar unter lockdown gestellt worden. anlaß war der mord an einem gefangenen im januar sowie vier weitere verletzte, alle durch selbsthergestellte messer, anfang februar. jetzt wurde, stunden nach der beendigung des lockdown, wieder ein gefangener durch messerstiche verletzt. lt einen bericht der knastbehörde gab es in den knästen maryland’s 1.295 angriffe von gefangenen gegen gefangene.
[ Md. Prison Inmate Stabbed After Lockdown28. februar 2005
gefangene des rankin county adult detention center werden zukünftig computer ablesbare armbänder tragen, damit keine/r mehr “irrtümlich entlassen “ wird. Der motorola offendertrak wird bereits seit januar 2004 vom mississippi depatment of corrections angewandt daß damit 21.000 gefangene und 20.000 menschen auf bewährung überwacht.
[ Rankin inmates' wristbands part of high-tech system27. februar 2005
die mutter eines gefangenen berichtet über mißhandlung ihres sohnes durch die wärter.die knastleitung sagt der gafangene hätte einen wärter angegriffen und hätte deshalb mit pfeffergas besprüht werden müssen.
[ Jail official says officers subdued man accused in 3 slayings27. februar 2005
bericht von cure über philip smith, der seit weihnachten ,durch einen angriff von wärtern im ohio corrections medical center, gelähmt ist.
[ "Stop The Abuse Of An Ohio Inmate!!"25. februar 2005
wieder sollen zwei minderjährige als „erwachsene“ verurteilt werden. die beiden sind wegen mord angeklagt, und waren zur zeit der tat 12 jahre alt. ihre mindeststrafe werden jetzt 20 jahre sein.
[ High court clears way for adult trial of 14-year-olds25. februar 2005
sollte das video und die cd ein erfolg werden, will der sheriff den rapper c - murder miete und andere kosten bezahlen lassen.
[ Rapper Makes Video While In Jail Awaiting Murder Trial Sheriff Harry Lee Furious25. februar 2005
anarchist wegen eines angriffes auf ein armee - rekrutierungsbüro zu 5 jahren knast plus anschließender 3jähriger bewährungsaufsicht verurteilt.
[ Brendan Walsh sentenced to 5 years for Army firebomb attack24.februar 2005
der u.s. supreme court hat es den kalifornischen knastbehörden verboten gefangene in den ersten 60 tagen nach ihre hautfarbe oder ethnie zu trennen. diese segregation im knast sollte nur in dringenden notfällen gemacht werden, z.b. bei gang - streitereien.
[ Top U.S. court limits state's segregation of inmates21. februar 2005
weil er angeblich randalierte hat die polzei einen mann mehrmals mit einem taser beschossen. der mann ist auf der intensivstation und sein zustand wird als „kritisch“ bezeichnet.
[ Stun guns leave man in critical condition20. Februar 2005
The Real Cost of Prisons Project hat einen comic veröffentlicht:
Prison Town: Paying the Price by Kevin Pyle and Craig Gilmore tells one story of the way in which the financing and siting of prisons and jails impact the people and economies of rural communities where prisons are built. It tells a parallel story of the damage done to people in urban communities by mass incarceration. Included is a two page “map” of How Prison Are Paid For (and who really pays?) as well as alternatives to the current system.
[ It's available on the web now in PDFand will be out in print in March 2005. Other comic books being prepared for release later this spring are Prisoners of the War on Drugs and Prisoners of a Hard Life: Women and Children. Organizations can order up to 300 copies of each comic book for use in their own organizing, community education and outreach work for free, merely by explaining how they would use the books. See the instructions on the Real Cost of Prisons comics page
[ www.realcostofprisons.org19.februar 2005
am 15 februar wurde ein jetzt 15 jähriger der im november 2001 seine
großeltern ermordet hat, zu 30 jahren knast verurteilt.
die jury war nicht bereit anzuerkennen, das der damals 12jährige unter dem einfluss
des antidepressivas zoloft stand und möglicherweise nicht mehr in der lage war "recht von unrecht zu unterscheiden".
zoloft von der firma pfizer inc. wurde in mehreren studien mit suiziden und
gewalttätigen tendenzen im verhalten von kindern die damit behandelt wurden,
in zusammenhang gebracht. seit letztem jahr wird das medikament mit einer
warnung eines möglichen ansteigen der suizidgefährdung bei jungen leuten
verkauft.
allerdings ist nicht dies das eigentliche problem. der 12 jährige wurde nach erwachsenemstrafrecht verurteilt. während des ganzen prozesses wurde immer wieder das bild eines monsters gemalt. zitat des staatsanwaltes: „was könnte noch bösartiger sein als eine shotgun abzuschiessen auf 60jährige die in ihrem bett schlafen?“
alle us staaten haben gesetze nach denen kinder und jugendliche bei bestimmten delikten wie volljährige bestraft werden. 23 staaten haben kein alter festgelegt, 22 staaten haben 13 als mindestalter festgelegt 6 andere staaten haben dies generell verboten. lt. dem national center on juvenile justice wurden diese gesetze in 7.500 angewandt.
[ 30 years in prison for crime committed by 12-year-old - US society punishes its most vulnerable18.februar 2005
2 artikel zu der „zusammenarbeit“ zwischen fbi und mittelamerikanischen polizeibehörden gegen die mara salvatrucha (ms - 13) und andere gangs. in letzter zeit wird immer wieder behauptet es könne zur zusammenarbeit zwischen al -qaida und den gangs kommen.
[ Central American gang activities in U.S. worry FBI against gangs[ FBI, Central Am. investigators unite against gangs
Februar 2005
ein 26 jähriger mann soll bis ende des monats entlassen werden, da seine inhaftierung verfassungswidrig ist. als teil seiner strafe, nachdem er sich wegen „ unfreiwilligen abweichenden sexuellen vereinigung“ schuldig bekannte, wurde er als „ sexuell gewalttätiger täter“ eingestuft und es wurde angeordnet das er sich bei der polizei melden muß. da er nach seiner entlassung aus dem knast im januar 2002 umgezogen ist ohne seinen bewährungshelfer zu informieren, und sich nicht bei der polizei meldete, wurde er zu 1 ½ bis 4 jahren knast mit lebenslänglicher bewährung verurteilt. das oberste gericht des staates hat den teil des als megan’s law bezeichneten gesetz , das eine lebenslängliche bewährung verschreibt ,als verfassungswidrig erklärt. ob die staatsanwaltschaft dagegen in berufung geht ist nicht bekannt.
weiter wird in dem artikel noch ein fluchtversuch eines gefangenen berichtet. der richter hat die kaution von dem mann, bei dem angegeben wird daß er obdachlos ist, auf $500.000 festgelegt.
[ News in brief from the Philadelphia areaFebruar 2005
die todesstrafe 2004
The death penalty in 2004: Year end report
by Death Penalty Information Center.
[ www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
16.februar 2005
nachdem sich erst eine gruppe gegen den neuen knast gegründet hat, hier ein
bericht über die vom bürgermeister unterstützte kampagne für den knast.
[ siehe nachricht 08.Februar 2005 ]
14. Februar 2005
„under three strikes“ ist ein film über das gesetz, nach dem menschen, die 3x
verurteilt wurden ,25 jahre bis lebenslänglich eingesperrt werden.
Den film kann mensch bestellen unter :
11. februar 2005
bis zu 6 wochen wird der knast pelican bay prison unter ausnahmezustand stehen nachdem ein angeblicher plan drei wärter zu ermorden, aufgedeckt wurde. jetzt sollen alle zellen des hochsicherheitsknastes durchsucht und alle 1.400 gefangenen verhört werden. angeblich soll eine kalifornische gang mit dem namen „mexican mafia“ hinter dem plan stecken.
[ Calif. Prison in Lockdown Over Plot to Kill Guards10. februar 2005
sollte sich eine mutter von sieben kinder nicht innerhalb von 90 tagen sterilisieren lassen, dann wird sie wegen mord angeklagt und zu lebenslang verurteilt. so urteilte ein richter im prozeß gegen die frau, die sich an ihrem zweiten prozeßtag des unbeabsichtigten todschlages an ihrer 5 wochen alten tochter schuldig bekannte.
[ Judge Orders Killer Mom to Be Sterilized[ Judge Orders Killer Mom Sterilized
8. februar 2005
anti - knast- gruppe plant kampagne gegen einen neuen knast in denver . neben den kosten ist ein vorwurf gegen die behörden, alternativen zum knast , z.b. drogentherapien und hausarrest, zu ignorieren. das geplante“ justice-center“, das angeblich benötigtwird, wegen der überbelegung der knäste, soll 1.500 knastbetten haben und etwa 35 gerichtsräume und ca. $ 378 millionen kosten. einer der knäste soll zusätzlich umgebaut werden um weitere 384 menschen einzusperren. derzeit gibt es einen „county jail“ und zellen im polizeihauptquartier, die für etwa 1.500 - 1.700 gefangene gebaut sind und in denen über 2.000 menschen eingesperrt sind. über den knast soll im mai in einer bürgerinnenabstimmung entschieden werden. 2001 wurden ähnliche initativen von den wählerinnen abgelehnt für alternativen zum knast werden in der stadt ab dem jahr 2007 gelder bereitgestellt.
[ Anti-jail group plans campaign, says mayor ignoring alternatives7. februar 2002
ein artikel von allhiphop.com über die bevorstehende anhörung zur entlassung von mutulu shakur.
[ Tupac’s ‘Father’ Seeks Release From Jail[ wer ist?Mutulu Shakur
6.Februar 2005
ein als „idaho’s berüchtigster gefangener“ bezeichneter mann , claude dallas, wurde nach 22 jahren aus dem knast entlassen. er war wegen todschlags an zwei „state officers“ ( beamte des idaho fisch und jagd ministeriums - allerdings mit waffe ) 1981 zu 30 jahren verurteilt worden. da es zum zeitpunkt seiner verurteilung noch die anrechnung von sog. „good time“ ( anrechnung von 120 tagen pro jahr bei „gutem benehmen“) gab, wurden ihm 8 jahre erlassen. dallas wurde bei seinem prozeß 1982 da er bei dem prozeß 1982 usa weit bekannt und er „wurde für einige sowas wie ein rebell gegen die regierung“ 1986 konnte er aus dem knast flüchten und war fast ein jahr auf der flucht. er wurde wegen des ausbruchs angeklagt, wurde aber freigesprochen nachdem er ausagte daß er ausbrechen mußte da die wärter ihn bedrohten. nach seiner flucht wurde er „zu seiner eigenen sicherheit“ in knäste in nevada und kansas gebracht. von den knastbehörden wurde weder der genau entlassungstermin noch sein zukünftiger aufenthaltsort bekannt gegeben. drohungen kommen nachwievor immer noch von den kollegen der beamten. es gibt lieder, bücher und einen fernsehfilm über dallas.
[ Idaho Outlaw Claude Dallas Freed From Jail[ Claude Dallas: Q & A
5.februar 2005
in adrian / missouri müssen gefangene $ 30 pro tag bezahlen. dem bericht nach bezahlen viele leute nicht und deshalb soll demnächst eine neue knasteigene eintreiberfirma gegründet werden. mit dem geld sollen schulden eines knastneubaues bezahlt werden.
[ AIL to step-up collections5.februar 2005
auszug aus einer ,über die mailingliste von prisonactivist.org verschickten, petition
gegen den mord an einem gefangenen.:
am 21. januar 2005 wurde charles agee, 47, von wärtern des donaldson knastes
(alabama) erschlagen.
der mann wird als „mental patient“ bezeichnet, die hände waren mit
handschellen hinter seinem rücken befestigt,und er war mit bettlaken
gefesselt. um die sofort nach dem mord beginnenden vertuschungen innerhalb
des knastes zu verhindern, und weil ein gefangener darüber berichtet hat,
gibt es die petition an den us - congress.
4.februar 2005
ehemaliger wärter der 3 gefangene prügelte wurde zu 1 jahr bewährung verurteilt, seine 3 mitangeklagten sind bereits zu bewährungsstrafen verurteilt. durch eine überwachungskamera konnte bewiesen werden daß die wärter die 3 gefangenen am 24. februar 2004 mißhandelten.
[ Former Albuquerque jail guard gets probation in prisoner beatings4. Februar 2005
ein artikel über einen gefangenen der durch eine der sog. „nichttödlichen“ waffen ( foam pellet) eines wärters verletzt wurde und bei dem die ärzte die diagnose hirntot festgestellt haben. während eines streites unter gefangenen wurden diese waffen gegen die leute eingesetzt. die knastbehörde hat bis jetzt noch nicht erklärt inwieweit der 28jährige an der auseinandersetzung am 16. januar beteiligt war. zur zeit wird der mann noch als gefangener behandelt, d.h. er wird bewacht und seine familie darf ihn nur 1 stunde am tag besuchen. solange er als gefangener gilt, bezahlt die knastbehörde, deshalb soll er jetzt entlassen werden. seine familie versucht ihn in ein krankenhaus verlegen zulassen das näher an ihrer wohnung liegt.
[ UCLA employee struggles with tough decisions about brain-dead son3.februar 2005
5 gefangene im todestrakt sind im hungerstreik. insgesamt sind in conneticut 8 menschen die auf ihre hinrichtung warten. zwei beteiligen sich wegen ihrer diabetes nicht am hungerstreik. ob ross, der gefangene dessen hinrichtung gegen seinen willen, kurzfristig aufgehoben wurde, auch am hungerstreik beteiligen wird ist nicht klar. leider sind die forderungen der gefangenen nicht weiter erklärt außer daß es ihnen u.a.darum geht nicht mehr jahrelang isoliert zusein.
[ Connecticut Death Row Prisoners on Hunger Strike3. februar 2005
nachdem er 5mal mit einem taser beschossen wurde, starb ein 41 jähriger in einem knast in toledo. der mann wurde wegen geringfügiger delikte ( u.a. weigerte er sich seine personalien zunennen) festgenommen. bisher gab es über 70 menschen die durch den taser in den usa und kanada ermordet wurden. die toledo polizei gibt an den taser letztes jahr insgesamt gegen 229 menschen angewandt zuhaben.
[ Jail chief requests inquiry into death26.Januar 2005
die indiana civil liberties union hat im namen von einem gefangenen der pendleton correctional facility eine zivilklage gegen das staatliche Department of Corrections von indiana . damit soll verboten werden, daß der staat über längere zeit gefangene in winzige 2-personen zellen stecken,wie es im letzten jahr geschah. gefangene wurden fast 5 monate wegen eines sog. „lockdowns“ zu zweit in 3,6 / 2,4 meter großen zellen eingesperrt . alle ca. 1.400 gefangene in dem hochsicherheitsknast außerhalb indianapolis wurden, nach einer serie von ( nicht näher beschriebenen) angriffen , von ende april bis ende september 24 stunden in den zellen eingeschlossen. mehr als 400 gefangene sind in den winzigen zellen in einem block des knastes untergebracht, können aber ansonsten 15 stunden am tag ihre zellen verlassen und machen zwangsarbeit oder besuchen klassen.
[ Lawsuit seeks to bar Indiana from confining inmates in tiny cells26.Januar 2005
nachdem vor einem monat eine zeitung berichtete, daß „es einigen von missouri’s gewalttätigsten gefangene erlaubt ist videospiele zuspielen in denen morde, autodiebstahl und das töten von polizisten nachgestellt werden“ wurden nun videospiele in den knästen verboten. der Governor matt blunt, ein republikaner der seit zwei wochen im amt ist, nannte videospiele „einen luxusartikel den zu geniessen gefangene nicht erlaubt wird. „unsere gefängnisse sind strafinstitutionen wo die, die verbrechen gegen die gesellschaft begangen haben, hingeschickt werden um für ihre taten zu bezahlen. sie sind nicht als ländliche paradiese ( benutzt wird das wort arcade ) gedacht“, sagte blunt.
[ Missouri governor bans video games from prisons26.januar 2005
die belegungszahlen der bundesknäste :
The Federal Prison Population: A Statistical Analysis 01/2005
26.Januar 2005
zum zweiten mal innerhalb 2 tagen wurde ein wärter von einem gefangenen angegriffen .der angriff geschah im 1.008 gefangenen block barchey , einem teil des arizona state prison lewis.der wärter wurde leicht verletzt.ein verdächtigter wurde in eine iso-zelle gespeert. jedes jahr gibt es, lt. diesem bericht, 200 angriffe auf wärter in arizona. am montag griffen gefangene im knast in tucson 3 wärter an und besetzten die kantine für mehrere stunden, bis bis sie durch tränengas zum aufgeben gezwungen waren. der cimmaron block des knastes, indem die besetzung geschah, war am 26.januar immer noch unter „lockdown“.
[ OFFICER ATTACKED AT PRISON21.Januar 2005
Kalifornien:
sowohl wärter als auch gefangene erklärten das staatliche stellen vor dem
obersten gericht gelogen haben und das die segregation in den knästen die
übliche praxis ist.
laut den aussagen von bundesstaatsanwälten wird die trennung nach hautfarbe
nur in den ersten 60 tagen der haft durchgeführt.
der prozeß letzten november war aufgrund einer klage eines gefangenen
geführt worden und laut beschwerde eines wärters wurden dabei falsche
behauptungen aufgestellt
Johnson, ein afroamerikaner, klagte dagegen das sein durch dan 14, zusatz
zur us-verfassung garantiertes recht
auf gleichen schutz unter dem gesetz, verletzt wird durch die
segregationspolitik des knastsystems.
20.januar 2005
bericht über die bedingungen in den knästen der navajo nation. als begründung für die vielen ausbrüche die es geben soll, wird dort u.a. geschrieben, das die versprochenen gelder aus washington nicht bzw. nur vermindert eintreffen und das in vielen knästen nur ein wärter pro schicht da sei.
[ Tuba City jail unit catches fire Prisoner beats, locks up guards, escapes from Window Rock jailJanuar 2005
Ein Wärter wurde am Montag im Männerknast in Chino, in einer Abteilung für Gefangene die weitertransportiert werden sollten, umgebracht. Seit 1985 wurde kein Wärter in einem Männerknast erstochen.Als reaktion darauf wurden alle 32 Knäste Kaliforniens für vorerst 24 Stunden unter "Lockdown" - status gestellt.Als Begründung führen die Behörden an, so feststellen zu wollen ob diese Tat ein Teil einer grösseren gegen das Knastpersonal gerichteten Aktion ist.(1996 wurde eine Sozialarbeiterin getötet) 3 tatverdächtige Männer wurden in andere Knäste verlegt, angeblich seien sie Mitgloeder der east coast crips. In den letzten Jahren wurde in den kalfifornischen Knästen verstärkt gegen Gangs als angeblicher "Ursprung von Angriffen gegen Gefängnisbeamte" ermittelt
[ "lockdown" -- der knast ist abgesperrt, keine besuche, auch nicht von anwälten, die häftlinge müssen in ihren zellen bleiben, sollten sie zur arbeit "dürfen" werden sie gefesselt, jede form von "privilegien" wird ihnen gestrichen. Anmerk. der Redaktion ]
[ CIM guard stabbed to death
[ Inmate Stabs Chino Prison Guard To Death
[ California State Prison Officer Stabbed to Death at Chino Prison
Januar 2005
in kalifornien wird darüber diskutiert das künftig mehr gefangene ,die nicht in den usa geboren wurden, ihre haftstrafe in den herkunftsländern absitzen laut dem artikel sind in kalifornien zur zeit 17.557 gefangene als nicht im land geboren klasifiziert ,etwa 10% der gefangenen in dem bundesstaat. da jeder gefangene $ 30,946 pro jahr kostet, soll damit geld gespart werden während einer ausschußsitzung zu dem thema wurde allerdings auch gesagt daß die kalifornischen knastbehörden nur danach sehen wo ein mensch geboren wurde, aber nicht ob er eingebürgert wurde. daher ist nicht klar wieviele gefangene eventuell von abschiebung bedroht sind.
die usa hat mit über 60 ländern abkommen über die „rücknahme von gefangenen“ abgeschlossen. die mehrheit der gefangenen kommt aus mexiko. aber da die mexikanische regierung neue bestimmungen erlassen hat, ist die zahl der abgeschobenen gefangenen in den letzten zwei jahren gesunken. mexiko nimmt nur noch gefangene zurück die zum 1.mal verurteilt wurden, die in knästen mit niedriger sicherheitsstufe inhaftiert sind, und deren haftstrafe zur zeit der abschiebung weniger als 5 jahre ist. mexiko nimmt keine gefangene zurück die reich sind oder die mitglieder bekannter gangs sind.
[ California Debates Sending Foreign-Born Inmates Back HomeJanuar 2005
nach dem er seit 18 jahren im knast ist für eine tat die er nicht begangen hat, wird es immer wahrscheinlicher das david wong bald entlassen wird. im oktober 2004 wurde das urteil , z.t.wegen den vorurteilen des richters, gekippt, und im dezember ließ der staatsanwalt die anklage wegen mordes fallen. da er ohne papiere in den usa lebte soll er abgeschoben werden. wong kam in den frühen 1980ern in die usa. mit 21, wurde er verhaftet weil er mit anderen einen bewaffneten überfall begangen hatte. er wurde im juni 1984 wegen gemeinsamen bewaffneten überfall zu einer strafe von 8 bis 25 jahren verurteilt.
am nachmittag des 12. märz 1986 wurde ein gefangener des clinton correctional facility im nordosten new yorks im knasthof mit einem messer verletzt und starb 11 tage später.wong und tse kin cheung . ein gefangener aus hongkong waren die einzigen chinisiscghen gefangenen und die einzigen aus einer gruppe von 70 - 100 gefangenen die auf dem hof waren, die durchsucht wurden . es wurden keine waffen oder blutspuren an ihnen gefunden. wong, der nur wenig englisch sprach und der angab den gefangenen nie getroffen zu haben wurde im juli 1987 von einer weißen jury wegen mord verurteilt und zu weiteren 25 jahren bis lebenslänglich verurteilt.
[ full article news.ncmonline.com[ zurück ]