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DONNA LEONE HAMM DONNA LEONE HAMMmiddlegroundprisonreform@msn.com
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From: DONNA LEONE HAMM (middlegroundprisonreform@msn.com)
Sent: Thu 1/05/12 10:09 AM
To: DONNA LEONE HAMM (middlegroundprisonreform@msn.com)
News Release
Contact: Donna Leone Hamm
(480) 966-8116
This morning, Bill Montgomerly, Maricopa County Attorney, is releasing the contents of a study which was commissioned by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council. They hired former Department of Corrections analyst, Daryl Fisher, who was roundly criticized for a previous 2010 study he was paid to write for the APAAC.
Montgomerly will announce that as a result of a reduction in the number of prisoners, Fisher concluded that "the prison population has become more violent." Montgomery believes that this should end the debate about sentencing reform.
Not so fast, say prisoner reformers at Middle Ground Prison Reform.
An overall drop in the prison population, as reported in Fisher's study, from a high of 40,778 in 2009 to 40,027 in November 2011 -- which is an actual drop of 751 prisoners, or 1.8% -- does not mean that the prison population is "more violent."
Without having read the entire 438-page report, but taking into account the statements Montgomery has made (see Arizona Capital Times, January 5, 2012), several flaws are apparent. It is a serious flaw not to take into account the crime categories and length of sentences for the 751-person population reduction because we don't know how much of that drop is attributible to the release of violent offenders who may have reached the end of their sentences or were paroled. To the extent that the reduction in the prison population -- amounting to only 1.8% --is the product of the release of any violent offenders, it is irrational to state that the reduction results in a remaining prison population that is "more violent."
According to Montgomery, because non-volent offenders are being incarcerated at a lower rate, the result is that the remaining population is more violent. However, at least in the Executive Summary of Montgomery's report, he fails to inform us of the rates of incarceration for violent offenders for the same period of time as for the drop in illegal immigrants being arrested, the drop in auto thefts, etc. By the way, as noted in Montgomery's report, there was a drop of 23 percent in ALL reported crime from 2006 - 2010. That no doubt includes a drop in violent crime.
Given precisely the same information in the study, it would be equally legitimate to conclude that the prison population consists of a higher proportion of repetitive offenders, rather than a higher proportin of violent offenders. This is significant because of police practices and prosecutorial policies which serve to manipulate the category of repeat offenders and artificially reduce the numbers of offenders who can fit into the "first-time" offender category. This occurs, for example, as a result of police practices involving sending an undercover cop multiple times to the same location on several different days to purchase drugs before an arrest is actually made. This results in allowing prosecutors to file multiple counts and obtain multiple convictions, thus excluding the defendant from the category of "first-time" offender.
It is obvious to any objective reader that the study is a product of a desire to achieve a particular pre-determined outcome; namely, appearing to provide scientific support for the prosecutors association's inherent bias and resistance to making changes in Arizona's criminal code. Last year at the Arizona legislature, APAAC strongly opposed even the formation of a study commission, with no binding authority, to investigate and report on what other states might be doing to be smarter on crime.
Middle Ground Prison Reform will be interested to read and analyze the entire report whether or not the flaws noted above, or others that will become apparent upon review, in fact exist. Even at this preliminary state, it is clear that the conclusions drawn from this study are not supported to one extent or another by the evidence cited in the executive summary.
In short, given the self-serving nature of the report, no one can be surprised at its conclusions. What's next -- having Joe Arpaio commission a study of civil rights practices in his own jail?
Donna Leone (Hamm)
Criminal Justice Consultant
Executive Director - Middle Ground Prison Reform
See: www.middlegroundprisonreform.org
MIDDLE GROUND HAS BEEN ARIZONA'S PREMIER CHAMPION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE INCARCERATED SINCE 1983
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT -SHORT STORIES - NEWS AND OPINIONS - JUST PLAIN OLD STRAIGHT TALK ~~
Wasted Honor -
Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.
Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -
Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.
His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.
Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.
He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.
I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -
Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.
His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.
Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.
He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.
I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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