Criminal justice issues—a springboard for discussion

Criminal justice issues—a springboard for discussion



Written by : Barry D'Andrea

I have worked in the adult and juvenile prisons for over 16 years. Until March 2006, I was the Program Supervisor for the Violence Prevention Program at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow. I have developed an awareness of issues of injustice and ethics in the criminal justice system.
1—Systemic Racism and Class Oppression in the Criminal Justice System.
The criminal justice system is designed to arrest and prosecute persons who have committed "blue collar" crimes. These crimes are committed usually by persons who are poor, minority, desperate, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or mentally ill. The criminal justice system is NOT designed to arrest and prosecute persons who have committed "white collar" crimes. These are crimes of fraud and environmental destruction that are committed by persons who are wealthy, educated and in positions of power and influence in society.
For example, a policeman who wants to arrest a criminal can easily find a person addicted to drugs who is committing some kind of crime to maintain his or her addiction, such as prostitution or drug dealing or shop lifting. To find such a person the police officer simply needs to drive into poor communities where drug dealing or prostitution can be seen easily. This policeman would never consider going to banks, mortgage companies, realtors, corporate presidents to arrest them for fraud, false advertising, toxic waste dumping or environmental destruction.
2—Prisons as Institutions for Persons with Mental Illness
When Ronald Reagan was president, he advocated the release of persons with mental illness from institutions. However, President Reagan did not ensure that programs to help persons with mental illness in the community were sufficiently funded. As a result, the prisons of America have become the new institutions for persons with mental illness. What is worse is that prisons are not designed to provide persons with mental illness with a therapeutic environment that would help them function better.
3—Prisons as Institutions for Persons with Alcoholism or Addictions
Many persons with alcoholism or addictions end up in the prison system. Most prisons have few or no programs to assist them in their recovery from alcohol and drugs.
There should be new alternative to incarceration for persons who have committed a crime due to an addiction or alcoholism issue.
I propose that an alternative to incarceration could be mandatory treatment. That is to say, a person who has been arrested for a crime related to alcoholism or addiction should be given the option to enter into a mandatory and secured treatment facility. If he completes the treatment program satisfactorily, then he does not have to go to prison. His or her detention in the secured treatment facility would NOT be regarded as a punishment or a sentence for a crime. The record of his detention in a secured treatment facility would not be regarded as part of his criminal record. Further, if the person satisfactorily completes the treatment program, the record of his arrest and conviction is then expunged.
The purpose of this proposal is to ensure that addicts and alcoholics are dealt with as persons who have an illness that needs to be treated, not as criminals.
4—No Methadone in Prisons
In most prisons, the medical staff do not provide methadone to new inmates who are withdrawing from heroin addiction. Persons who have been using heroin for many years may have severe withdrawal symptoms. Also, they may have other serious medical conditions (i.e. heart conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, infections) while they are going through a difficult withdrawal. The severe withdrawal symptoms for some addicts may exacerbate other medical conditions and cause new complications or even death. Last summer a woman who was an addict suddenly died at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow. Apparently she had some kind of other medical condition that worsened as she entered into withdrawal without the support of methadone.
I propose that medical officers in prisons develop new policies and procedures so that the medicine of methadone can be provided to inmates under certain conditions.
5—No Classification Protocols in Juvenile Detention Facilities or Orphanages
The juvenile detention centers are in chaos and full of violence. The staff are under so much stress that there is a high turnover of personnel in juvenile detention centers. Unfortunately, the children who are detained in juvenile detention facilities do not have the option to leave, as adult employees can do.
There is no effective classification of juvenile offenders into minimum, medium or maximum security facilities. Juveniles who are violent and abusive are detained in minimum security juvenile detention center where they terrorize children who are not aggressive. Due to the absence of a rational classification process in juvenile detention facilities, vulnerable and non-violent children are housed in the same facility with other juveniles who are bullies and violent. The vulnerable and non-violent children then can be easily bullied or abused by the older more aggressive juveniles.
Administrators in juvenile detention facilities or orphanages are reluctant to transfer out of their facility juveniles who are bullies or abusive to the other children because they then would lose funding.
6—Elimination or Reduction of Treatment Programs
At the Hampden County Correctional Center, administrators have implemented a new policy that has not been approved by the superintendents or communicated to the public. This policy is to eliminate or reduce treatment programs wherever possible and to replace them with education based programs only.
Some inmates have severe emotional or psychological disorders for which the medicine of treatment and psychotherapy is essential.
The HCCC prison administrators (Thomas Rovelli, Guy Prairie and Basil Tsagaris) eliminate the treatment based programs claiming that they are too expensive to operate in a prison. However, after eliminating the treatment based programs the prison administrators can then award themselves salary increases. This is exploitation of powerless inmates. The prison administrators harm inmates by removing from them the medicine of psychotherapy and treatment based programs. Then these same prison administrators take the money that previously had been budgeted for treatment programs and then put that money into their own paychecks.
7—No Community Supervision of Prisons
The community members are not involved in the administration or supervision of prisons. Thus, prison administrators can implement unethical policies and procedures in secret from concerned citizens in the community.
I propose that community representatives be permitted to attend high level administration meetings with superintendents in the prisons. In a democracy, the administration of prisons should be transparent to the community and not held in secret.
8—No Voting for Inmates
Inmates are not permitted to vote local, state or federal elections. It is impossible to lead inmates to become good citizens participating in democracy when the right to vote is taken from them.
I propose that inmates be permitted to vote and to register to vote while they are in prison.
9—Convicted Felons Lose Professional Licenses
Persons who have been convicted of a felony often lose their professional licenses. For example, a lawyer who is convicted of a drug charge may lose his license to practice law. This hinders them from succeeding in the community as law abiding persons because they cannot return to their previous profession.
I propose that persons who were convicted of a felony that is unrelated to the duties of their profession be permitted to retain their professional license after their sentence is completed. After their debt to society has been paid in full by completion of their sentence in prison, they can then return to gainful employment in their previous profession.
10—Cover-up of Sexual Exploitation of Inmates
At the Hampden County Correctional Center, an unqualified white female therapist sexually exploited a vulnerable black man who was her client in therapy in the prison. This female therapist did not have any degree in counseling. She was completely unqualified to work as a therapist in a specialized field. However, she was given the position as therapist because she was a close friend of Sheriff Ashe's daughter.
This man's recovery from addictions and criminal conduct was undermined by his having been sexually abused by his incompetent therapist. The man relapsed back to criminal conduct and was convicted of a new crime and sent back to prison. However, the unethical conduct by his therapist was quickly covered up by administrators at the Hampden County Correctional Center. The woman who sexually abused her client later obtained a license as a social worker.
This is a case where the criminal justice system is quick to prosecute a black man who is an addict but fails to punish or prosecute a white woman who sexually exploited a vulnerable man in her care. The black man goes to prison and the white woman enjoys gainful employment as a social worker at liberty in the community.
I propose that there should be an open community investigation to determine why the administrators at the HCCC did not inform the state licensure board about the unethical conduct of this woman who sexually exploited her vulnerable client.
11—Absence of Treatment Programs
In most prisons there are few or no treatment programs to assist inmates with their personal issues. Many inmates need the medicine of psychotherapy or group therapy in order to maintain sobriety and to correct their past patterns of criminal conduct. To deny inmates the opportunity for such treatment is "cruel" punishment (although probably not "unusual").
I propose community supervision of prisons to ensure that inmate receive group therapy and treatment specific to their needs in rehabilitation. This treatment should be compassionate but also challenge inmates to take responsibility for correcting their abusive or criminal conduct and to maintain sobriety from alcohol and drugs.
12—More Prisons
The plans to build a new prison for women in Chicopee has sparked new discussion about an old issue. When state administrators invest in new prisons, judges will fill these new prisons with inmates. However, the state prison administrators should be increasing investment in community corrections or other alternatives to incarceration.
I propose that there be a moratorium on the construction of new prisons. During the moratorium, concerned citizens can discuss with state prison administrators new strategies for holding criminals responsible for their conduct that would be an alternative to incarceration.