By Rhonda Turpin In their heart of hearts, every federal prisoner is a celebrity. Many fellow inmates have approached me, stating, “Ms. Turpin. You should write a book about me! My case was all over the news, and I am known everywhere!” They brag. Instead of stating the obvious fact that I have never heard
By Michael Brodheim In the wake of the California Supreme Court’s ruling in In Re Shaputis, 53 Cal. 4th 192 (Cal. 2011) [PLN, Aug. 2012, p.16], lower courts in California continue to struggle with the issue of whether a denial of parole predicated on “lack of insight” is supported, in any given case, by the
By Rhonda Turpin On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, Danbury Camp made history again. The Reentry Affairs Coordinator hosted a formal tea, replete with British etiquette ranging from proper use of silverware and napkins, to the young guest being greeted by red carpet treatment. This was a pilot program. Recently, the Reentry Affairs Coordinator facilitated the
One of the best videos about the problem of mass incarceration in the United States. Being tough on crime is not the same as being tough on criminals. Mass incarceration is a waste of money and a waste of people.
Prison Overcrowding: A Cause Which has Terrible Effects
Overcrowded prisons represent a serious social and penological problem in the United States. They’re a safety issue — putting a strain on prison employees, making it more difficult to monitor inmate behavior and control the wanton violence inside our nation’s prisons. They’re a sanitary issue — potentially shoving inmates into even more dangerous, less desirable, and less humane conditions. They also pose a rehabilitation issue, as less money can be spent on trying to help inmates resolve what ails them and further exasperating the damaging internal prison culture.
Even with all of these obvious problems, some states actually see prison overcrowding as a fiscal advantage. A report released by the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission claims that overcrowded prisons may actually save the states money, even if at the expense of reduced inmate misconduct, crime, and victimization.
Assuming the Same Prisoners, Costs Decrease
The average cost per inmate in Ohio is about $60 per day. This cost includes staffing, maintenance, and other expenses that occur when operating a prison. Sixty dollars per day adds up very quickly and costs the state millions of dollars every year, many millions.
For every open bunk in prison, the state of Ohio saves roughly $60 (slightly less, but the number varies depending on the prison’s population versus operational capacity). This would indicate that it is in the state’s best interest to avoid overcrowding. After all, every open bunk is a revolving expense that fulfills no purpose.
The British government scored a popular victory against the European Court of Human Rights last month, when the British Court of Appeals ruled “whole-life” prison sentences legal.
The legality of such sentences, intended for the most heinous murders, has been in dispute since July 2013, when the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights decided, in the Vinter case, that “whole-life” sentences without hope or possibility of release, contravene Article 3 of the convention, which prohibits “inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The sentencing of a number of convicted murders has been on hold ever since, pending review by the British Court of Appeal, including those of Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebwale, who were found guilty of brutally murdering British soldier Lee Rigby on a South London street in May 2013.
On February 18, 2014, the Court of Appeal rejected the European Court of Human Rights’ decision, arguing that Section 30 of the Crimes (Sentences) Act of 1997 allows a life-sentence prisoner to appeal to the Home Secretary, under exceptional circumstances, for release on compassionate grounds, thus providing the hope or possibility of release required by the Court of Human Rights, and confirming the legality of “whole-life” sentences.
Dianne Frazee-Walker
“Respecting our past to create a better future” is painted on the sign that hangs in the entryway of the New Mexico Penitentiary nicknamed Old Main. Near the sign is a list of inmates and correctional officers who were ether killed or terrorized in the 1980 prison riot. In 36 hours, 33 inmates were killed and more than 200 were injured.
Since the second worst prison riot in U.S. history in 1998, the New Mexico prison located on desert land about 15 miles outside of the touristy town of Santa Fe has been closed.
The deserted correctional facility is known for its haunting death chambers and creepy hallways that contain what is left of chilling cells that housed death row inmates.
The condemned building was the textbook site for filming Hollywood movies and ghost documentaries. The prison gained notoriety from the movie “The Dead Files” on the Travel Channel and some of the graphic episodes that took place during the riot can be located in a book entitled “The Devil’s Files.” Adam Sandler’s remake of “The Longest Yard” was filmed inside Cellblock 2, and Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound in “Zero Dark Thirty” was built on its grounds.
When New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez wanted to do something special to celebrate the state’s centennial she confided in Gregg Marcantel who was only four months into his position as secretary of the correctional department. Marcantel, a former Marine, was confounded when Ms. Martinez asked for his input.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Marcantel to come up with a resourceful plan. Believing New Mexico citizens still had the tragic incident ingrained in their souls, Marcandel ventured on a restoration that has a reverent theme and would financially benefit the state budget. “Why not open the prison up for tours and transform the building into a museum?”
When Marcantel first proposed his idea he received negative feedback from the public, inquiring if he had “lost his mind.” The consensus opinion of most New Mexicans was that the prison needed to be demolished, along with the horrifying memories of what took place there.
Marcantel had an enthusiastic vision of inmates running tours, operating a restaurant, and a gift and hobby shop on the prison grounds. “The possibilities were endless!”
The innovative strategy would give inmates an opportunity they normally did not get behind bars. The work skills would educate inmates to run a business and provide them with experience to include on an employment application.
The 1980 riot was prompted by the dreadful conditions the prisoners could no longer tolerate. Correctional officers treated inmates abusively. They manipulated prisoners to snitch on each other so they could severely punish inmates for mild violations.
The food was unpalatable and the living quarters were unbearable because of overcrowding. The prison was built for 900 but housed 1,100. Violent and non-violent offenders were thrown into the same cells. Vicious fights were a common occurrence. The recidivism rate was high because there was no rehabilitation. Unchecked savagery driven by hostility that had long festered inside the prison walls raged into a 33 day riot.
Marcantel’s prophecy was the gateway to a 360-degree transformation that could change the Old Main’s legacy.
Marcantel decided to “take a leap of faith” and follow through with his controversial idea.
Originally, the plan was to hold tours once a month, but the reservations were booked within days. More tours were added out of demand and they were quickly grabbed up within hours. Free tours were offered last year as an addition to the centennial festivities. The museum attracted 5,000 visitors.
When the Corrections Department began charging $10, 577 visitors did not mind paying the admission fee to tour the prison museum. The revenue is invested directly back into the project. The visitor center courtyard has been spruced up and the building has undergone a thorough cleaning.
Today a visitor walking through the prison tour will be greeted with art on the walls created by inmates. The smell of wholesome cooking will fill the air from the restaurant staffed by inmates cooking, serving food, and managing the business. The barber shop is chockfull of customers getting their hair cut. The gift shop, also run by inmates, is stocked with souvenirs, trinkets, and crafts made by the prisoners.
Remnants of what the prison used to be are imminent. Correctional officers doubling as tour guides point out the outline of an inmate’s charred body, silhouetted on a cramped stairwell-landing in the protective-custody wing. Tour guides entertain the guests with extraordinary ghost stories for which the prison is famous.
Make sure you notice the clocks, frozen in time, hanging on the walls, set at perilous moments in the early morning hours of February 2nd, 1980. One clock reads 1:45 a.m. when the mutiny began. The destruction of the control center is represented on the clock set at 2:02 a.m.
If you look closely, you can see hatchet marks on the concrete floor of the protective-custody cellblock, where most of the killings occurred.
Visitors can view the infirmary where raging inmates bee-lined during the bedlam and broke-in to swipe the drugs. The dormitory stands the same as it did 33 years ago; tattered, its white walls turned gray by smoke and fire.
The only structure unharmed is the chapel, where some inmates stopped to pray during the mayhem.
On Oct. 25, a private tour was offered to riot survivors. Many of the surviving inmates were transferred to other state prisons when the riot ended. The tour was their first return visit.
Gary Nelson, 65, was a return visitor, who joined the inmate tour. He was serving time for armed robbery at the prison the night the riot broke out. Nelson is now a free man living in Albuquerque, but he can still recall the violent night.
The tour caused Mr. Nelson to reflect on gruesomeness of the riot. Nelson felt a sense of relief from seeing the prison in a new light. The tour provided Nelson with closure from the horrific event and he confirms the tour was his last visit. He proclaims, “I am never going back there again.”
When Mr. Marcantel was approached with a way to change the ambience of the prison he sensed an opportunity.
Ideas that seemed at once unreachable and risky also seemed reachable.
When Mr. Marcantel steps outside his office at The Main and gazes at tourists wandering curiously through the corridors and inmates maintaining the businesses, he probably doesn’t regret his decision to “go for it,” even though his critics initially were vehemently opposed to the project.
By Bob Sloan
THE USE OF PRISON LABOR HAS BEEN increasing throughout the nation for the past fifteen-plus years. More and more factories are being built behind prison fences, with thousands of prisoner-made products sold to consumers annually – including apparel, processed foods, electronics, cabling, automotive and aircraft wiring, flooring, motorcycles, furniture, modular office systems … the list goes on.
Recently, a situation involving the use of prison labor in Nevada has drawn the attention of business owners and state officials alike after several steel companies discovered that one of their competitors had been using prison labor to cut costs and secure contracts.
The labor was provided by prisoners working in Silver State Industries – Nevada’s prison industry program – at the High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs. The prisoners were paid minimum wage while employees on the outside receive between $17 and $20 per hour for the same type of jobs.
With all the glitz and glimmer of Las Vegas, Nevada is still vulnerable to the current economic downturn and has an unemployment rate exceeding 10%. The discovery that prisoners were competing against local unemployed steel workers caused consternation among the local workforce. It also caught the attention of the state’s news media, which in turn attracted the attention of Nevada’s Board of State Prison Commissioners, which consists of Governor Brian Sandoval, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller.
The use of prison labor surfaced when Brian Connett, the chief executive of Silver State Industries, publicly announced the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) was proud to be part of the world-class 550-foot-tall “SkyVue Observation Wheel” project being built in Las Vegas. The NDOC is involved in the SkyVue project because the project’s steel contractor, Alpine Steel LLC, is using prison labor to fabricate components for what is destined to be a new “land-mark” on the Las Vegas skyline.
The other day a Prison Law Blog reader presented a question. “My father is preparing to serve a sentence in a federal prison camp. He doesn’t have a lot of money or other resources. What will the Federal Bureau of Prisons provide him for his basic needs?” Obviously, a good question. In fact, it’s sad that the Federal Bureau of Prisons doesn’t make this sort of information available to soon-to-be inmates and their families. Regardless, the Prison Law Blog is here to help.
What Does the Federal Bureau of Prisons Provide to Indigent Prison Inmates?
Generally speaking, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, much like most state prisons, provides indigent inmates with the basic requirements for living in prison. Prison administrators are responsible for clothing, feeding, and providing medical care to all prisoners, and usually provide recreational opportunities, religious services, psychological counseling, and limited educational opportunities to the prison inmate population under their care as well. A federal prison inmate with absolutely no resources whatsoever will not starve or freeze to death, though their existence won’t be delightful either since there won’t be many luxuries.
Clothing for Federal Prison Inmates
The Federal Bureau of Prisons provides federal prisoners with several days’ worth of clothing including underwear, t-shirts, khaki pants, khaki shirts (both short-sleeved and long-sleeved), socks, and a winter coat. Federal inmates are also provided two blankets and two sheets. Depending on the local climate, long underwear, a knit hat, gloves, and other clothing or linen items might also be furnished.
Federal inmates with funds to spend can often purchase higher quality, or merely an additional quantity, of the existing clothing items. For example, while the Federal Bureau of Prisons will furnish prisoners with socks, prisoners with funds can purchase higher quality socks from the prison commissary.
We have profiled every prison within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Learn about each prison’s location, security level, educational and recreational offerings, and much more.
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