Trulykath
04-29-2003, 02:22 PM
<<Below is an article that was published in the Houston Chronicle on 4/24/03. Underneath the article is my response sent to the newspaper. I have yet to hear back from them if my piece will be published, but I'll keep you guys posted if I hear anything>>
April 24, 2003, 6:23PM
BEHIND BARS
Too many in prison; too little care and prevention
According to a recent Justice Department report, the United States has won a distinction it should not want and should make greater effort to avoid. A department survey found that as of August 2002, the nation's inmate population exceeded that of any other country.
For the first time, the report said, the United States had more than 2 million people in federal and state prisons and local jails. About one person for every 142 U.S. residents is behind bars.
Most of the growth came in the federal prison system, where the number of inmates grew 5 percent from 2001 to 2002. State prison populations grew less than 1 percent. Texas bucked the trend with a 3 percent decrease -- a development that reflects the tightness of the state budget as much as the quality of its justice or a lowering of crime.
Still, more than 600,000 Texans are incarcerated or under the supervision of the criminal justice system. About 140,000 are held in state facilities. About 8,000 people are jailed in Harris County.
Even if these numbers do not constitute record highs, they offer evidence that Texas, like the nation, is not doing enough to deflect residents from crime or to treat and rehabilitate those who are convicted.
Particularly disturbing is the growing number of inmates who turn out to have been convicted on false testimony or contaminated evidence, whose attorney's mounted incompetent defenses, or who are proved innocent after serving years in prison or on death row.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy complained to Congress that having 2 million people in prison was unacceptable. The conservative jurist nominated by President Reagan said minimum sentences prescribed for federal crimes often result in prison terms that are too long.
About half of the federal inmates stand convicted of drug-related crimes. In Texas, only 18 percent of prison inmates have been convicted on drug charges, but most of the others suffer from drug and alcohol addiction that aggravated their misbehavior. Texas could and should make wider use of alternatives like drug courts.
Statistics compiled by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show that the typical inmate in this state has a low IQ and did not finish high school. A disproportionate number -- 41 percent -- are black.
Mental health advocates estimate that 44,000 of those in Texas jails and prisons are mentally ill. Most are there because of behavior that could be prevented by proper and relatively inexpensive medication and counseling.
Of the 53 percent of inmates imprisoned for violent crimes, many were abused as children.
The budget crunch is putting pressure on the state to keep prison costs down. At the same time, the Texas House of Representatives passed a budget that would slash budgets for education, care for the mentally ill and child abuse prevention.
The lack of these things is a factor that influences whether a person becomes a criminal likely to be incarcerated. Inadequate investment in these crime prevention tools almost guarantees that the number of Texans behind bars and the cost of keeping them there will go up.
Also, though crime decreased through the 1990s, that trend has begun to reverse. The index crime rate was up 4 percent in 2001 and up another 1.3 percent in the first six months of 2002, according to a report by the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council. The rate for violent crimes was up 5.1 percent in 2001 and 2.2 percent in the first half of last year.
This comes, as the CJPP report points out, at a time when Texas' reserve prison capacity is rapidly declining. The number of reserve beds within the state prison system fell from just over 6,800 in December 2001 to just 674 in December 2002. The CJPP report to legislators said if the trend continues, reserve space will be exhausted by August of this year.
Soon, the need to build and staff more prison space and/or contract the job to the private sector will catch up to the harsh realities of the state budget.
Clearly Texas needs to get rapidly smarter about how -- and how many -- it incarcerates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/1882530_
MY RESPONSE:
I read the most interesting article on your website today, detailing the number of Texans incarcerated. It appears Harris county is suffering a multitude of problems._ Bad labs, corrupt prosecutors, and a continuing propensity to jail any and EVERYONE._
This article fails to represent the number of people incarcerated that DO have educations, that do work hard and contribute to society, and that may have very
well been victims of "wrong place, wrong time."_
Specifically, one would ask Texans to consider the DWI inmates, and what the county/state populations look like under those terms._ MADD has stepped in and said
"don't drive drunk."_ We understand the laws; we understand that there is no RIGHT to drive in Texas, that it is a privilege the state allows us._ BUT, has anyone addressed the fact that if you post officers outside any of the Houston restaurants on ANY given Friday night, 1/2 of the Houston population DRIVES drunk every week, given the state's current .08 BAC (blood alcohol content) limit?_ Is every single individual in ALL of those cars necessarily a threat to society?_ Isn't the majority of the population reading this response, guilty of DWI?_ Are we all felons, just some of us have not been caught?__
Still yet, let's examine what happens if you do have a drink or two in Houston, and you are pulled over. Chances are, you WILL go to jail, just from the smell of alcohol._ Let's also say, for theoretical sake, this was not your first time._ Maybe you were arrested in your teens._ Maybe you were arrested in college. If you have any history at all, regardless of how long ago, 3 DWI arrests in your lifetime places you on the
felon list._ Did you know, you CAN and WILL go to prison, even if you weren't drunk?_ Did you know the Board of Pardons/Paroles in the state of Texas makes it a habit to DENY all DWI offenders access to parole?
Parole attorneys all over the state decline cases and won't even CONSIDER helping you out, as they all know the carefully kept secret, "The Texas Board of Pardons
& Paroles(BPP) does NOT parole DWI offenders."_
Special interest groups are huge supporters and contributors to campaigns in the state of Texas, and BPP members succumb to monetary influence versus doing
what's right or fair._ Somewhere along the line, someone suggested to the BPP that making DWI offenders serve their sentences day for day was the right thing,
and the money involved made the BPP listen. Meanwhile, we have hard working individuals, who contribute to society (not threaten it) who are locked up._ It's not to say every DWI case is innocent; it's to say we shouldn't EXPECT to go to prison for 2-10 years for having a drink._ It's to say that not every DWI offender is a "drunk" or an "alcoholic", and labeling them as such is a travesty of justice in our society._
The entire contention of this response is to expose TDCJ for their practices and let everyone know what is going on._ Though it should be all inmates incarcerated, if eligible, are given the same opportunity for parole, that is simply NOT the case in
Texas._
The last 2 years, parole rates in the state have been at all time low._ Dr. Tony Febelo, the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Policy Council, recently reported to the 78th legislature, drug and alcohol populations in the state of Texas represent 69.8% of the non violent Institutional division population within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice._ Are we arresting people who should not be arrested, are we keeping them behind bars too long, or is law enforcement just "doing it's job"?_ Have recent
upheavals with our DNA labs, Tulia arrests, and the release of proven innocent prisoners shown that law enforcement is merely turned society protection into a numbers game, or are they actually out for our best interest?_
At some point, we need to evaluate rehabilitation (if necessary) versus instituionalization._ Budgetary constraints, prison workforce shortages (that's
another article in and of itself), and over-crowding cause inmates to be denied ANY access to substance abuse programs, so why not let some of these non-violent offenders OUT OF PRISON, and give them access to proper care in the free world?_ Do we continue with the indignation of prisoners with limited toilet paper, soap, lousy medical services and supplies, just to say we can?_
I, for one, am tired of my tax dollars, being spent on non-violent offenders._ For every inmate incarcerated in TDCJ, normally, that person has at LEAST 2 people in the free world._ Do the math Texas._ We are EVERYWHERE, and the more people you incarcerate, the more voters you take OUT of your hip pocket._ Yes, we want you to protect society, but when is enough of enough?_ As one writer stated it so eloquently, are the plans in motion to just "go ahead and put a fence around the state?"
April 24, 2003, 6:23PM
BEHIND BARS
Too many in prison; too little care and prevention
According to a recent Justice Department report, the United States has won a distinction it should not want and should make greater effort to avoid. A department survey found that as of August 2002, the nation's inmate population exceeded that of any other country.
For the first time, the report said, the United States had more than 2 million people in federal and state prisons and local jails. About one person for every 142 U.S. residents is behind bars.
Most of the growth came in the federal prison system, where the number of inmates grew 5 percent from 2001 to 2002. State prison populations grew less than 1 percent. Texas bucked the trend with a 3 percent decrease -- a development that reflects the tightness of the state budget as much as the quality of its justice or a lowering of crime.
Still, more than 600,000 Texans are incarcerated or under the supervision of the criminal justice system. About 140,000 are held in state facilities. About 8,000 people are jailed in Harris County.
Even if these numbers do not constitute record highs, they offer evidence that Texas, like the nation, is not doing enough to deflect residents from crime or to treat and rehabilitate those who are convicted.
Particularly disturbing is the growing number of inmates who turn out to have been convicted on false testimony or contaminated evidence, whose attorney's mounted incompetent defenses, or who are proved innocent after serving years in prison or on death row.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy complained to Congress that having 2 million people in prison was unacceptable. The conservative jurist nominated by President Reagan said minimum sentences prescribed for federal crimes often result in prison terms that are too long.
About half of the federal inmates stand convicted of drug-related crimes. In Texas, only 18 percent of prison inmates have been convicted on drug charges, but most of the others suffer from drug and alcohol addiction that aggravated their misbehavior. Texas could and should make wider use of alternatives like drug courts.
Statistics compiled by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show that the typical inmate in this state has a low IQ and did not finish high school. A disproportionate number -- 41 percent -- are black.
Mental health advocates estimate that 44,000 of those in Texas jails and prisons are mentally ill. Most are there because of behavior that could be prevented by proper and relatively inexpensive medication and counseling.
Of the 53 percent of inmates imprisoned for violent crimes, many were abused as children.
The budget crunch is putting pressure on the state to keep prison costs down. At the same time, the Texas House of Representatives passed a budget that would slash budgets for education, care for the mentally ill and child abuse prevention.
The lack of these things is a factor that influences whether a person becomes a criminal likely to be incarcerated. Inadequate investment in these crime prevention tools almost guarantees that the number of Texans behind bars and the cost of keeping them there will go up.
Also, though crime decreased through the 1990s, that trend has begun to reverse. The index crime rate was up 4 percent in 2001 and up another 1.3 percent in the first six months of 2002, according to a report by the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council. The rate for violent crimes was up 5.1 percent in 2001 and 2.2 percent in the first half of last year.
This comes, as the CJPP report points out, at a time when Texas' reserve prison capacity is rapidly declining. The number of reserve beds within the state prison system fell from just over 6,800 in December 2001 to just 674 in December 2002. The CJPP report to legislators said if the trend continues, reserve space will be exhausted by August of this year.
Soon, the need to build and staff more prison space and/or contract the job to the private sector will catch up to the harsh realities of the state budget.
Clearly Texas needs to get rapidly smarter about how -- and how many -- it incarcerates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/1882530_
MY RESPONSE:
I read the most interesting article on your website today, detailing the number of Texans incarcerated. It appears Harris county is suffering a multitude of problems._ Bad labs, corrupt prosecutors, and a continuing propensity to jail any and EVERYONE._
This article fails to represent the number of people incarcerated that DO have educations, that do work hard and contribute to society, and that may have very
well been victims of "wrong place, wrong time."_
Specifically, one would ask Texans to consider the DWI inmates, and what the county/state populations look like under those terms._ MADD has stepped in and said
"don't drive drunk."_ We understand the laws; we understand that there is no RIGHT to drive in Texas, that it is a privilege the state allows us._ BUT, has anyone addressed the fact that if you post officers outside any of the Houston restaurants on ANY given Friday night, 1/2 of the Houston population DRIVES drunk every week, given the state's current .08 BAC (blood alcohol content) limit?_ Is every single individual in ALL of those cars necessarily a threat to society?_ Isn't the majority of the population reading this response, guilty of DWI?_ Are we all felons, just some of us have not been caught?__
Still yet, let's examine what happens if you do have a drink or two in Houston, and you are pulled over. Chances are, you WILL go to jail, just from the smell of alcohol._ Let's also say, for theoretical sake, this was not your first time._ Maybe you were arrested in your teens._ Maybe you were arrested in college. If you have any history at all, regardless of how long ago, 3 DWI arrests in your lifetime places you on the
felon list._ Did you know, you CAN and WILL go to prison, even if you weren't drunk?_ Did you know the Board of Pardons/Paroles in the state of Texas makes it a habit to DENY all DWI offenders access to parole?
Parole attorneys all over the state decline cases and won't even CONSIDER helping you out, as they all know the carefully kept secret, "The Texas Board of Pardons
& Paroles(BPP) does NOT parole DWI offenders."_
Special interest groups are huge supporters and contributors to campaigns in the state of Texas, and BPP members succumb to monetary influence versus doing
what's right or fair._ Somewhere along the line, someone suggested to the BPP that making DWI offenders serve their sentences day for day was the right thing,
and the money involved made the BPP listen. Meanwhile, we have hard working individuals, who contribute to society (not threaten it) who are locked up._ It's not to say every DWI case is innocent; it's to say we shouldn't EXPECT to go to prison for 2-10 years for having a drink._ It's to say that not every DWI offender is a "drunk" or an "alcoholic", and labeling them as such is a travesty of justice in our society._
The entire contention of this response is to expose TDCJ for their practices and let everyone know what is going on._ Though it should be all inmates incarcerated, if eligible, are given the same opportunity for parole, that is simply NOT the case in
Texas._
The last 2 years, parole rates in the state have been at all time low._ Dr. Tony Febelo, the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Policy Council, recently reported to the 78th legislature, drug and alcohol populations in the state of Texas represent 69.8% of the non violent Institutional division population within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice._ Are we arresting people who should not be arrested, are we keeping them behind bars too long, or is law enforcement just "doing it's job"?_ Have recent
upheavals with our DNA labs, Tulia arrests, and the release of proven innocent prisoners shown that law enforcement is merely turned society protection into a numbers game, or are they actually out for our best interest?_
At some point, we need to evaluate rehabilitation (if necessary) versus instituionalization._ Budgetary constraints, prison workforce shortages (that's
another article in and of itself), and over-crowding cause inmates to be denied ANY access to substance abuse programs, so why not let some of these non-violent offenders OUT OF PRISON, and give them access to proper care in the free world?_ Do we continue with the indignation of prisoners with limited toilet paper, soap, lousy medical services and supplies, just to say we can?_
I, for one, am tired of my tax dollars, being spent on non-violent offenders._ For every inmate incarcerated in TDCJ, normally, that person has at LEAST 2 people in the free world._ Do the math Texas._ We are EVERYWHERE, and the more people you incarcerate, the more voters you take OUT of your hip pocket._ Yes, we want you to protect society, but when is enough of enough?_ As one writer stated it so eloquently, are the plans in motion to just "go ahead and put a fence around the state?"