Prison & Punishment for Crimes

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SPLC court filing details barbaric conditions at private prison in Mississippi

 

by Jamie Kizzire A prisoner at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF) told the counselor that his heart was hurting and that he didn’t have a reason to live. He was also having hallucinations. As the counselor met with the prisoner in December 2013, he noticed that the man was attempting to cut himself with a small, dull object.

 

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Source: www.splcenter.org

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Four decades of death penalty executions by year, state, race and gender, in 1 chart

 

Since 1976

 

  • Texas executed the most people
  • 1999 had the most executions
  • More white men have been executed than Black men
  • Disproportionately more Black man have been executed. Black men make up about 6% of U.S population but about 30% of executions are of Black men
  • Females are the least likely to be executed

 

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Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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A disarming approach to protests

 

“…it seems every time there’s a questionable officer-involved shooting… a code of silence is enforced and the general public gets the message: “Yes, this was a tragedy. But it wasn’t personal. It was protocol.”

No admission of responsibility. No acknowledgment of how the situation could have been handled differently. And, certainly, no apology.

It’s a dead-end conversation. And the result is predictable: More public outrage, more distrust, more lawsuits.

It’s no doubt one reason why many Sonoma County residents were frustrated last week at the news that Deputy Erick Gelhaus, the officer responsible for the shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez was put back out on patrol. Yes, 10 months later, the community appears to be moving toward some significant changes, including putting cameras on deputy uniforms, improving oversight of officer-involved shootings and, possibly, creating a public park at the corner of Moorland and W. Robles avenues where the shooting occurred. But putting the deputy back on patrol was a harsh reminder that we’re no closer to having assurances that what happened on Oct. 22, 2013 won’t happen again.


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Source: www.pressdemocrat.com

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Law Enforcement-Above The Law

 

This week has been exhausting. Thankfully, I subscribe to other blogs that give me a sigh of relief with gorgeous photos and quotes of wisdom. However, it’s not long before I return to thinking about seeing law enforcement on the streets of America with equipment that was manufactured and intended for use by military troops.

 

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Source: blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com

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Stanford research discovers whites support harsher laws when they perceive more black Americans in prison

Informing the white public that the percentage of black Americans in prison is far greater than the percentage of white people behind bars may not spur support for reform. Instead, it might actually generate support for harsh laws and sentencing.

Source: news.stanford.edu

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Family of mentally ill inmate says guards laughed and joked as he died

 

“I can see you breathing,” Cheryl Neumeister called to a shackled, mentally ill — and dead — inmate, whose slow-motion death took place in the presence of casually chatting prison personnel, and on video.

Fifteen more minutes dragged by before guards pulled the body of Christopher Lopez, 35, from an intake cell and they realized he had died.

Moments later, a guard called for medical “backup.”

It is the first hint on the nearly six-hour video that anyone witnessing the man’s almost comatose behavior, uncontrollable shaking, grand mal seizures and disturbed breathing realized he was in dire need of medical attention.

The video, taken at San Carlos Correctional Facility in Pueblo on March 17, 2013, is evidence in a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver by Lopez’s mother, Juanita Lopez.

In a release responding to the suit, prison officials said within 10 days of the incident, three employees were terminated and another five were subjected to corrective and/or disciplinary action.

Neumeister, a mental health clinician, was among those fired, according to the suit.

Lopez, a schizophrenic, died of severe hyponatremia, a condition that occurs when sodium levels are too low. “Almost all instances of hyponatremia are treatable if a person receives prompt and adequate medical attention,” the suit said.

 

Source: www.denverpost.com