Correctional Forum

Big Brothers, Big Sisters responds to editorial

On Sept. 10, the Harrisburg Patriot News ran an editorial about the problem of overcrowding and Gov. Rendell's related proposals. This week, a letter to the editor comes from Larry Gardner, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Harrisburg. He writes:

Crucial information was overlooked in the "Bursting at the seams" editorial (Sept. 10). Children are left behind when a parent is incarcerated.

Estimates from public/private ventures in Philadelphia report that more than 200,000 children in the commonwealth have at least one parent in a county or state jail. Of those children more than 3,000 live in the Capital Region.

The FBI reports that these children are 70 percent more likely to follow in their parents footsteps than other children.

Prison is not the place for family reunions. It is encouraging that our policymakers are looking at change. Let's not allow children, whose only crime was being born, remain vulnerable and invisible when it comes to policy changes.

The cycle can be broken. Big Brothers Big Sisters, locally and throughout the nation, have been effectively providing one-to-one mentoring to these children for years. The private sector has covered the vast majority of costs.

There are excellent statewide models in Tennessee and Texas (not soft-on-crime states) that have formed private and public partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters to mentor an ignored, yet growing population of children.

We should also be cognizant of the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents, which reads as follows:

1. I have the right to be kept safe and informed at the time of
my parent’s arrest.

2. I have the right TO BE HEARD WHEN DECISIONS ARE MADE
ABOUT ME

3. I have the right TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN DECISIONS ARE
MADE ABOUT MY PARENT.

4. I have the right TO BE WELL CARED FOR IN MY PARENT’S
ABSENCE.

5. I have the right TO SPEAK WITH, SEE AND TOUCH MY PARENT.

6. I have the right TO SUPPORT AS I STRUGGLE WITH MY
PARENT’S INCARCERATION.

7. I have the right NOT TO BE JUDGED, BLAMED OR LABELED
BECAUSE OF MY PARENT’S INCARCERATION.

8. I have the right TO A LIFELONG RELATIONSHIP WITH MY PARENT.
 

Good News, of a Sort

Though sometimes it doesn't seem so to those of us who work on prison issues, there is good news every now and then. In international news (Tuesday's theme), we have a couple positive updates.

For instance, in Bhubaneswar, India, the government has decided to improve prison conditions. From The Statesman:

The construction of new jails and additional wards in the existing jails and appointment of additional jail staff to man the new jails are some of the of the major reform initiatives undertaken by the state government which are to be implemented in phased manner according to the availability of funds.

The state government has allotted adequate budgetary provisions for the improvement of sanitation and supply of water to the jails... The daily allowance for the diet of the prisoners is also being substantially enhanced.

Voluntary organisations have been engaged to undertake cultural and spiritual activities, along with periodical health camps inside the jail. Diversification and augmentation of jail industries are undertaken for the benefit of prison inmates. The State Sentence Review Board is looking into the premature release of prisoners, he added.

And in the category of sort-of-good-news-but-really-sad, there is a fascinating article about a young man who escaped from a North Korean prison camp. The U.S. International Herald Tribune published the piece, by Choe Sang-Hun, a few days ago, and it's a heartwrenching tale of a young boy who was born and raised in the camp and never knew there was an outside world. The fact that he escaped is truly incredible, and it's gratifying to know that his story has brought attention to similar camps in North Korea.

Born and raised in a North Korean gulag

Sharpton weighs in on Wilson incarceration

Supporters of Genarlow Wilson held a rally yesterday in Douglasville, Georgia, to protest his imprisonment. Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation for participating in consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003. He was 17 at the time. The case drew the attention of civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who came to speak at the rally. From MSNBC.com:

“This boy is not only her son, he’s your son, he’s my son,” Sharpton told the cheering crowd from the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse. “We’re here today because what affects you affects all of us.”

Sharpton also held a prayer vigil for Wilson with the members of his family and community.

The case took a turn last week, when a Douglas County judge ruled that Wilson was not eligible for bond, which means he'll stay behind bars until an appeal is completed. Judge David Emerson cancelled the July 5 bond hearing on the arguably draconian ruling that a person convicted of aggravated child molestation is not eligible for a release bond. The crime, one of Georgia’s so-called “seven deadly sins,” carries with it a 10-year prison sentence. Last year, Georgia's legislature reduced Wilson’s conviction to a misdemeanor, which is punishable only by a year in prison, allowing for an appeal on the case.

Dr. Francys Johnson, the Southeast Regional Director of the NAACP, called the decision “the latest series of rulings that strains common sense and leaves the overwhelming impression that the system is working overtime to keep Genarlow Wilson behind bars.”

State Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed a request for expedited review of the case, which was rejected. The earliest date the case could be heard by a court is now October, and it may be as late as April of next year until it happens. Wilson, now 21, has been in prison for more than two years.

Alternative punishment center investigated

Those of us who work in the criminal justice field are always looking for alternatives to traditional incarceration, especially given the vast overcrowding in the penal system. California, often on the forefront of change, seemed to have an interesting working model: a center in Los Angeles where mothers serve time with their young children. Having babies ripped from their mothers' arms has been a tragic problem for female corrections, which is what made this approach so promising.

But now the center is being investigated for poor care of mothers and babies, though it remains to be seen what will be done. The city doesn't necessarily believe it has any obligation. A spokeswoman told the New York Times: "We don’t think that these kids are part of our mandate, because they are not incarcerated." What a shortsighted and absolutist point of view. When children serve time along with their mothers, they are part of the mandate.

California Investigates a Mother-and-Child Prison Center

[Photo by aguerra]