All blogs

By Elissa Silverman and Allison Klein

A disturbance involving 35 inmates at the D.C. jail broke out Sunday night and ended early in the morning yesterday, but authorities said there were no escapes and no injuries.

"At no time was there a threat to the community," Assistant Police Chief Alfred Durham said.

The commotion started about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, when two inmates got into a fight as dinner was being served in the maximum security area in the jail's southeast wing, officials said. It took corrections officers two hours to quell the fight and restore order, officials said.

The staff then served dinner, which had gotten cold, to 160 inmates in that unit. The cold dinner set off the larger disorder, which began between 8:30 and 9 p.m. and continued until 3:30 a.m.

"The food that was ready was not reheated and prepared all over," said Anthony Diallo, a jail spokesman. "Most inmates complied by eating the food and going back to their cells, but 35 were highly disturbed."

Diallo said those inmates refused to return to their cells and complained about the facility.

"Some complained about the food, some said, 'I want more rec time, I want to have more visitors,' " Diallo said.

Corrections officers used pepper spray to get the group under control, he said. The inmates involved were later examined by medical personnel. No weapons were found. The two men in the initial fight were moved to a different section of the facility, officials said.

At 12:30 a.m., dozens of D.C. police officers were sent to the jail in Southeast Washington to assist corrections personnel. Several D.C. firetrucks and ambulances were also on the scene, as were vehicles from the department's emergency response team. Shortly before 2:30 a.m., red lights on the jail's roof were flashing.

"When anything happens at the jail, we always come to secure the perimeter," said Durham, the assistant police chief.

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said he thought the corrections staff handled the incident well. He pointed out that the jail is under capacity; in recent years, crowding has contributed to occasional problems.

The jail has 1,900 inmates, 200 below capacity. 

WASHINGTON - D.C. police say 20 officers were summoned early Monday to the D.C. jail, the site of a riot involving at least 30 inmates.

Assistant Police Chief Alfred Durham says the officers were standing by to assist corrections personnel.

Police say the riot was reported shortly after midnight in the inner perimeter of the jail near theAnacostia River. The inmates were said to be armed with sticks and hand-carved knives.

It's not clear what started the disturbance, or whether anyone has been hurt.

I worked as a correctional officer for TDCJ/ID for six years, and for two sheriff's departments.

I also worked at a private prison, so I have some knowledge about the day-to-day of prison life. A comment was made in a recent letter stating that serving inmates peanut butter and jelly would cause a riot. Since when should we care what inmates like?

I witnessed inmates being able to play volleyball, handball, basketball, lift weights, do woodworking, go to school on our dime, take computer classes, etc.

I witnessed special religious diets being afforded to Muslims.

They have cable television, access to a commissary, access to church services - and the list goes on. And people wonder why inmates don't fear prison.

I have the perfect solution. Take away everything!

Implement a policy that says the only thing they are allowed out of their cells for is to do backbreaking work. If they don't want to work, they sit in their cell all day, every day. No more newspapers or magazines. No more phone calls, and if they act up, no visitation.

If they riot, that is what pepper foggers and other forms of gas delivery systems are for.

If they are all locked up, they can't riot in the first place.

Rusty Lamar

Amarillo

 

BY JANELL ROSS

About 150 people gathered Sunday in another show of protest against a post-prison facility organizers hope to plant near Long Hunter State Park and the Wilson, Davidson and Rutherford County lines. 

Men of Valor, a nonprofit organization created in 2000, announced plans earlier this year to build what could ultimately become a 120-bed facility with a softball field, multi-purpose building, church-like structure and basketball court on a 53-acre tract off Couchville Pike. 

The community near the site is heavily wooded with homes set on multi-acre lots surrounded by South-Fork style white board fences. But, signs of suburbia — a Chick-fil-A, a Target and a subdivision called Providence — are less than 10 miles away.

Most who attended Sunday’s gathering signed petitions calling for elected and appointed officials to block the project. The petition emphasizes the long history of the area as a residential community and safety concerns. 

The petition also describes the area’s residents as people who, “do not deal with ex-convicts on a day to day basis … . We don’t wish to have such an element injected into our lives, homes or families.”

Ellen Davis has lived in the area for 20 years and uses Long Hunter’s trails regularly. 

TEMECULA - A bus carrying an inmate firefighting crew has overturned in a remote part of southwest Riverside County, injuring 16 people, two of them critically.

Authorities say the bus blew a tire and rolled over near state Route 371 on Monday night, about 10 miles east of Temecula.

Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann says four people were hospitalized, two with critical injuries and two moderately injured. Twelve people with minor injuries were treated at the scene.

The bus was carrying a crew from the Oak Glen Fire Camp in Yucaipa.

Earlier Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had been fighting an 20-acre wildfire near the crash site. It was unclear Tuesday morning whether the crew on the bus had been at that fire.

NEW YORK - Widely held misconceptions about the extent and nature of sexual victimization in U.S. jails are indirectly exposed in the results of a study released here Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Sexual Victimization in Local Jails 2007 study - the first of its kind for those facilities - reports that 3.2 per cent of inmates questioned say they've been targets of sexual predators behind bars.

Criteria for listing oneself as a victim included not only rape, but being inappropriately touched.

Authors of the study acknowledged that many in the wider public will be surprised at the findings.

One myth is that rape behind bars is relatively widespread. "Those things happen and we're finding them, but it isn't the 20 per cent figure that some believe," said Allen Beck, senior statistical adviser for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, who jointly led the study.

"The prevalence of such acts is relatively small."

Among other findings, the profiles of some of the most likely inmates to be victimized produced surprises - even for the experts.

The incidence of people of mixed race as victims was higher than the average, as was that of people educated to the college level.

"The mixed-race profile came as a surprise," said Beck.  

"Vulnerabilities in terms of race exist and are complex things to explain."

As for the college graduate factor, Beck noted that separate statistics show crime is relatively less prevalent among people with high levels of education, suggesting they are less likely to previously have been in jail.

"They may be less experienced inmates," he said.

The profiles of the predators also could surprise some: while the victim reports showed more than half were prison staff, a significant number of that group included women guards on male inmates.

According to the report, nearly 62 per cent of all reported incidents of staff sexual misconduct involved female staff with male inmates; eight per cent involved male staff with female inmates.

The study, which involved 24,700 inmates, is required under the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act. It follows a similar study, released in December, that showed 4.5 per cent of inmates surveyed in state and federal prisons reported sexual victimization.

There are 780,000 inmates in jails across the United States, many awaiting sentencing for moderate to serious crimes, or serving short sentences.

According to the latest study, women and homosexuals reported markedly above-average levels of victimization.

"What women report is more likely to be the unwanted grabbing, groping, touching abuse, as opposed to sexual acts that involve penetration," said Beck.

Of female inmates surveyed, 5.1 percent reported sexual victimization; 18.5 per cent of inmates describing themselves as homosexual reported being victimized sexually. The corresponding percentages for mixed race and college-educated victims were 4.1 and 4.6.

A recent audit is very critical of the way the State of Michigan is feeding it's prisoners. In fact, it indicates the state could save $40 million dollars a year just by privatizing the food service.

 

     Russ Marlin from the Department of Corrections says Michigan spends $93 million dollars a year to feed 51 thousand prisoners. That equals three meals a day, and about $5 dollars per person.

 

    The daily diet for each prisoner is typically between 2600-2900 calories. A typical breakfast is fresh fruit or cereal, eggs and toast.  At lunch: a sandwich, vegetables and baked potato.  And for dinner: an entree, fresh fruit and vegetables, and even ice cream.

 

     The state can cut certain things like fresh fruits from the inmates diets to save money, but tampering with a prison's food does come with risks.  Russ Marlin with the Department of Corrections says "we have seen correctional systems that have tampered with the food and its led to assault stabbings killings.. inside the prison.. we don't want that."

SAN DIEGO -- A jailhouse system that recorded telephone calls from inmates, including those made to their lawyers, has been disabled, but defense lawyers are outraged by the apparent violation of attorney-client privilege, 10News reported.

 

A Sheriff's Department lawyer, Sanford Toyen, told The San Diego Union-Tribune the recordings were made because of an inadvertent glitch.

 

Defense lawyers called it eavesdropping, a felony and punishable by fines up to $5,000 per call. They are concerned that prosecutors --who could access the recording system from their computers -- could have gleaned information needed for convictions, the newspaper reported.

 Attorney Jim McMahon of the county's Alternate Public Defender office said he found out that his calls with client Robert Crouse were recorded when he heard them on a disc provided by prosecutors. It was contained in discovery materials that prosecutors are required to turn over before trial.

 

Prosecutors planned to use some of the phone conversations Crouse had with friends and associates during the case, McMahon said.

 

"So imagine my surprise," he said. "I'm listening to the phone calls and up comes one with my voice, talking one-on-one with my client about trial strategy."

 

McMahon has asked a judge to have the prosecutor removed from the case.

 

The Sheriff's Department started using the recording system in 2003. A database of 5,000 phone numbers of local attorneys was entered into the system so that, if an inmate called one, the call would not be recorded. But the list was far from complete.

 

"We thought we had a better database," Toyen said. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said she was unaware of any instance in which a prosecutor or a district attorney's investigator listened to any protected conversations between lawyers and clients.

Man pleads guilty to filing false tax refunds for inmates Eds: APNewsNow.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) A Las Vegas man accused of filing bogus tax refunds for other inmates while he was imprisoned at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby has pleaded guilty to the crime in federal court in Helena.

Gary Radi was charged with filing fraudulent claims for federal income tax refunds. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26.

Court records say Radi offered to file tax returns for fellow inmates at the facility while he was imprisoned there in 2004 and 2005. Documents allege Radi put false information on the returns, lying about how much money the prisoners made and claiming refunds to which they were not entitled.

Radi filed taxes for eight prisoners in 2004, and for 14 inmates the following year.

Court records say he would then demand payment ranging from $200 to $400, or would pressure his customers into buying him items from the prison commissary.

The four women walk into the tiny classroom, smiling, eager, hopeful. If not for the black-and-white Burleigh County Detention Center jumpsuits they wear, they could be mistaken for women anywhere trying to make their situations better.

The women are among the first group of inmates to begin a re-entry program at the detention center that will teach them skills to find jobs, housing and stability once they're outside the jail walls.

"It's going to give us resources and point us in a direction for when we get out," said Clarissa Poeppel, an inmate who started in the program in the past week.

"It's exciting," added Leisa Schiebe, another inmate in the fledgling program.

Jen Rewald recently became the programs manager for the detention center. The re-entry class has been one of the first programs started, along with weekly voluntary Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Rewald has many more ideas for activities to help get inmates ready for the outside world. The ideas are geared toward giving inmates the tools they will need on the outside to keep them from reverting to the behaviors that put them in jail.

As Rewald works to help inmates improve their practical skills, Cecil Stanton has begun working with interested inmates on their spiritual needs. Stanton, the new chaplain for the detention center and a minister at Faith Center Church, visits the jail every Tuesday and listens to any inmates who want to talk.

During Sheriff Pat Heinert's election campaign in 2006, he talked about bringing back the "detox counselor" position to the detention center. The counselor's job was to help inmates deal with addiction and to give them resources for continuing treatment upon release. The position was eliminated by former Sheriff Steve Berg.

Heinert said the programs manager position, approved in the 2008 budget, is an extension of the old detox counselor position. Rather than work exclusively with people who have substance abuse problems, Rewald will work to develop programs to help inmates overcome a litany of problems they may be facing and will refer inmates needing assistance for substance abuse, mental health and other problems to community resources.

While the Burleigh County Detention Center does not keep statistics on how many people come back after a stay in the jail, Lt. Nick Sevart said the number of repeat visitors is "more than we'd like to see." The 130-capacity jail usually houses around 110 to 115 inmates, he said. The detention center has to house inmates serving sentences separately from those awaiting trials and females separately from males, so the jail can be full with less than 130 inmates.

Incorporating the programs manager and chaplain into the detention center is an effort to reduce the recidivism rate of people who have been housed in the detention center, Heinert said. The programs are open to inmates serving sentences in the jail and those who are held on bond in the detention center while their cases go through the court system.

"We're trying to open up the doors to make sure we don't have people coming back," Heinert said.

Rewald started with the department in February, when she went through the training necessary to work in the detention center. Last week was the first week for the re-entry program, which five women are participating in while Rewald tries to "get all the kinks out."

The women will have homework to do, worksheets to complete and videos to watch and discuss. One of the women in the program, Marvine Dupris, looked over one DVD Rewald plans to use called "Work to Live."

"I think that'd be interesting," Dupris said.

Many inmates don't have Social Security cards or birth certificates and will need such documents to find employment on the outside, Rewald said. She said some may not know how to find or apply for jobs.

Rewald hopes to get Narcotics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous meetings going in the detention center. Volunteers from outside the jail have been facilitating the AA meetings, and she hopes outside groups will take on the other issues as well. Down the road, volunteers may be needed for Bible study groups, parenting groups, cognitive restructuring classes and anger management classes, she said.

"I have a lot of ideas of what I want to do and what I want to bring," she said.

Another plan for the future, likely to be implemented in the fall, is a program where inmates could earn their GED or get information about going to college. Rewald, who will use her education degree to help tutor inmates, said the detention center hopes to work with Bismarck Public School District's Adult Learning Center to get inmates up to speed.

Many inmates don't know that such resources exist, Rewald said.

"They're out there - they just don't know where to find them," she said.

Inmates often come into the jail without sufficient education to help them get jobs, Heinert said. Without a diploma, many can't find work and end up reverting to the behaviors that landed them in jail.

Stanton hopes he also can play a part in inspiring inmates to make changes in their lives. In the three weeks since he began visiting the jail, he has visited around 10 inmates on Tuesdays. Anyone can talk to him, regardless of denomination or religion. His purpose is to listen to them, regardless of what they have to say or what they've done.

"I'm not there as a judge,"he said.

Some inmates are bored and talk to Stanton as a way to get out of their cells, but others have real issues "and they're looking for answers," he said.

Stanton will stay as long as inmates want to talk, which has been two or three hours so far. If that seems insufficient later, he may come more than one day a week. He wants to encourage inmates to use the detention center's library and work toward their educations "rather than just sitting in a cell," he said.

Some inmates already have told Stanton they plan to change their lives, get to work, go to church and avoid coming back to the detention center.

"I've had some tell me, 'I will never come back here,'" he said.

Though the jail population isn't what Stanton is accustomed to working with, he finds the work rewarding.

"I'm just trying to fulfill the Bible," he said. "I'm just trying to do my job as a minister to reach those, and that includes those in jail."

The women in Rewald's re-entry group seem open to Stanton's presence in the detention center.

"We missed you yesterday, chaplain," one said when she saw him in the detention center's programs room on Wednesday.

Even the people who talk to Stanton or attend Rewald's programs in an effort to leave their cells can learn something, Rewald said. Hopefully, they'll learn people are there to help them and believe in them, she said.

"They just need one person to keep on believing in them," she said."It might be that one time you help them out - it might work."