Friday, January 29, 2010

Kristof on children behind bars

Nicholas Kristof, who usually focuses on human rights horrors abroad, notes that we have plenty to deplore right here.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Farrakahn Backlash is Misguided

In the wake of the 9th Circuit's decision in Farrakhan v. Washington there has been extensive backlash from critics who assert that the decision, which would effectively allow the incarcerated to vote, is some sort of freakish aberration.

To the contrary, the U.S. is the most punitive state in the world in disenfranchising felons, as this 2006 ACLU report demonstrated.

As the report noted:

There are disagreements and debates within European nations over disfranchisement – but the debate is over which prisoners should be barred from voting. In almost all cases, the debate stops at the prison walls. Seen in this context, the U.S. is an outlier: In other democracies, many inmates vote, and it is extremely rare for anyone who is not in prison to lose the right to vote.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Goodbye to Willie Horton

Good article in The National Law Journal discussing the potential ramifications of the Clemmons killing and Huckabee pardon:

The Seattle tragedy would be compounded if it were allowed to derail pragmatic proposals to reduce prison terms for nonviolent offenders, to increase the availability of drug and mental health treatment in and out of prison and to facilitate prisoner re-entry. It would be equally unfortunate if fear of forgiving sidelined pardon as a tool of law reform for another generation.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Schwarzenegger Calls for Funding Link Between Prisons, Universities

In his State of the State address Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger notes that 11% of California's budget is presently devoted to prisons, but only 7.5% to universities (it was 13.4% in 1967). In his address the governor called for a constitutional amendment to guarantee funding for higher education and gradually reduce prison funding.

DOJ Says 12% of Youth in Detention Sexually Abused

A new report by the Department of Justice estimates that every year 12% of youth detained in juvenile facilities suffer sexual assaults.