Groups Hope HOD Closure Leads To Safer Inmate Conditions ~ Prison Grievances

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Groups Hope HOD Closure Leads To Safer Inmate Conditions

Posted by Kristee Wooster Humphrey on 9:20 PM

New Orleans Shuts Down House Of Detention
UPDATED 7:01 AM CDT Apr 10, 201

NEW ORLEANS - At least two advocacy groups said they hope Tuesday's announcement that the House of Detention is closing leads to safer and cleaner conditions for those arrested and held in jail in New Orleans.

Opened more than 50 years ago, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said the House of Detention, better known as the "House of D," should have been shut down a long time ago."The HOD should have been shut down years ago. Everyone has known for years that conditions inside the House of Detention are deplorable," ACLU Executive Director Marjorie Esman said.

Last month, federal marshals said they removed inmates from the facility; and last week, the department of justice did an investigative tour.

A report was released Monday that there were too many sexual assaults inside the jail.

Officials said the House of D was mentioned frequently in a 2 1/2-year-old Department of Justice report on conditions at Orleans Parish Prison.

According to the report, "During our review, we found the most densely populated facility -- the House of Detention -- was also the most understaffed, which likely explains the high incidence of violence."

The Southern Poverty Law Center agreed with the ACLU and the DOJ report, and said that when it comes to violence inside the House of D, there was a lot of punishment.

"(Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin) Gusman should be applauded for taking this step. It's unfortunate it took this long and so many lives to know what we've known for years -- the jail is too out of control," said Katie Schwartzman, managing attorney for the SPLC.

Gusman has long said that many of the findings in the DOJ report have been corrected, although many disagreed with the notion.

"This is the first step of many that I hope that will lead to improvements that are much needed at OPP," Esman said.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

FROM THE NOVEL

Prison Grievances: when to write, how to write, offers both entertainment and education. In this section of the blog, I'll offer you pieces of the book so you can understand what all the tooting and rooting are about. It's a good book.
10/4/12. You can't write a grievance without understanding the Prison Litigation Reform Act. It requires, for instance, that you must first talk over your problem with a prison officer BEFORE you write the grievance (except in cases of injury or fear of death). That way, the officer has an opportunity to correct the problem before you take it to the Grievance Committee.
10/9/12. If the talk doesn't take care of your problem,then you MUST write a grievance. In Texas, that's a Step 1. In the federal prisons, the counselor will give you a BP 9. Answer all the questions. Be as specific as you can. Do NOT include legal jargon.
11/1/12. Make only one claim per grievance.
11/5/12. Do not repeat the grievance before the listed time is up. If it is an emergency, then go ahead! Otherwise, give the system time to respond.
11/14/12. If your problem is not resolved, and you see a flaw in the answer, then you can file a second grievance--but only about the problem in the answer: the reader got the facts wrong, the answer did not match your problem, etc. Do not write a second grievance that repeats your initial complaint--it won't get you anywhere.
1/20/13. If you get no response at all to a grievance, even after the allowed extension, then file the Step 2 with an explanation about the missing response. No, really, the main office is not under the control of the unit bosses (or Martians), and they will actually read your grievance.
2/14/13. Yes, a form-response is frustrating. It is difficult to balance the requirement to 'be specific' with the requirement 'keep it short with no attachments.' So your game plan: always include who-did what-to whom-when. Then mention the number of witnesses, for instance, but offer to discuss those details.

Reviews

INFORMATION
Behind the Walls. Jorge Antonio Renaud (University of North Texas Press, 2002). Should be required reading for families who need information on the practical aspects of prison life. With 24 chapters on elements of prison life (living quarters, craft shop, discipline), the book provides a comprehensive overview with marvelous concrete detail. I found the Apendices especially useful (custody level, medical/dental, libraray, commissary, recreation, good time, parole, officials, and resources). Do you know the difference between GP and PC? You will when you buy and read this book. Special mention: many formerly incarcerated have written about prisons; most can't write. Mr. Renaud was a journalist before his missteps, and the book is a delightful, easy read.

GRAPHIC NOVELS
sentences: the life of M.F. Grimm. author Percy Carey, artist Ronald Wimberly (DC Comics, 2007). 5 Star, champagne flight best ever. The decline and fall of a former Sesame Street star is just as compelling as the edgy, unusual art. Although this book chronicles the life, the second life, the fall, and the eventual redemption of a rapper, prison conditions are always front and center. Would-be, wanna-bees need to read this graphic novel. If it doesn't spell out the consequences of fast money and bad decisions, then nothing will.

MEMOIRS
Prisoner of Conscience: a memoir. Kenneth Kennon (XLibris, 2001). Could there be a more inlikely inmate than a Christian minister who was arrested for silently marching against the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia? Rev. Kennon intended to protest; he did not intend to go to federal prison for 6 months. This almost-daily log of impressions, insight, and poetry can help families understand the long, long days, the daily insults, the joy of receiving mail. Unexpected humor both in the prison and in Rev. Kennon's writing is especially endearing: a transportation guard asked him what a prisoner of "con-science" is; he had seen posters the Reverend's friends held up as he walked through the gates. Perhaps any word that begins "con" catches the eye?

This box will have reviews of some of my favorite books, movies and whatever else I might discover. Please send me your favorites, and I'll review them!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012