Pregnant women face heart-wrenching consequences when they are incarcerated: not only must they give birth under harsh conditions, but then, most likely, they will be forced to surrender their newborn into the hands of others. Prison nurseries offer some of these women a chance to keep their babies with them, but is that always in the child’s best interest? “Incarcerating babies may strike many as unconscionable,” child welfare advocate Naomi Schaefer Riley said recently in a National Affairs article. “We must grapple with the ethical … [Read more...] about Prison nurseries: incarcerating newborns with their mothers
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Former female prisoners fighting for the ones they left behind
The voices of formerly incarcerated women are rising as they mobilize around the nation to change prison conditions for the women prisoners they left behind. “Twenty States by 2020” is a campaign to help pass the “Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act” across the nation. The campaign is being led by the #Cut50 organization and its campaign director, Topeka Sam, who was formerly incarcerated. Sam served time in federal facilities on the East Coast. The campaign has been successful in passing the legislation in seven states, including California, … [Read more...] about Former female prisoners fighting for the ones they left behind
Accidental overdoses prosecuted as felony-murder under new laws
Two months after her fiancé’s funeral, Kimberly Elkins pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Elkins, now 49, used fentanyl to deal with chronic pain. One day, she shared a fentanyl patch with her fiancé, Aaron Rost, and they overdosed. She woke up that night, but he didn’t. She was sentenced to four years in prison in Minnesota for his death, according to the New York Times. “I struggle really hard with this...trying to find my responsibility in it,” says Elkins as she sits in prison for sharing the fentanyl with him. The cases are more common … [Read more...] about Accidental overdoses prosecuted as felony-murder under new laws
New technology aids police oversight
New technology exposes an old and persistent problem of the criminal justice system — false testimony by the police. “Behind closed doors, we call it testilying,” a New York City police officer, Pedro Serrano, told The New York Times. “You take the truth and stretch it out a bit.” Policing experts anticipate that access to smartphones, security cameras and police body-cams would greatly reduce police lying. “However, video seems more capable of exposing lies than vanquishing them,” The Times reports. The Times article shows that … [Read more...] about New technology aids police oversight
Campaign aims to revamp parole policies
A nationwide campaign is under way to reform parole policies in American prisons, according to Truthout. More than 60 grassroots organizations across the nation are challenging the way parole commissioners focus heavily on the nature of the crime instead of whether the inmate poses a danger to the public at the time they meet the board. “Parole boards are so deeply cautious about releasing prisoners who could come back to haunt them that they release only a small fraction of those eligible,” Beth Schwartzapfel wrote in The Marshall Project. … [Read more...] about Campaign aims to revamp parole policies