Faith Leaders Call Out Brewer Over Private Prisons

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Faith Leaders Call Out Brewer Over Private Prisons

Faith Leaders Call Out Brewer Over Private Prisons

Posted by Mari Herreras on Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Arizona faith leaders sent Gov. Jan Brewer a letter yesterday telling her to say no to the private prison industry. You can read the letter here

AZ_Faith_community__letter_against_private_prisons.pdf

April 19, 2012

The Honorable Janice K. Brewer

Arizona Governor

Executive Tower

1700 W. Washington Street

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Dear Governor Brewer,

Although we are congregations and faith leaders of different denominations, we, the

undersigned, are united in opposition to further prison privatization in Arizona. We join

with those denominations and faith communities that have issued official statements

against prison privatization, including the United Methodist Church USA, Presbyterian

Church USA, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Bishops of the South, the

Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ.

Specifically, we ask that you cancel the Request for Proposals for 2,000 additional

private prison beds for the state of Arizona. In addition, we ask, in unison with faith

leaders across the country, that you refuse the offer of the Corrections Corporation of

America to privatize any state prisons. Third, we urge you to create accountability

mechanisms for current private prisons in Arizona, including those contracted with

other states and those contracted by the federal government. When state contracts

expire, we ask that you do not renew them.

Below are a few of the myriad reasons we, as people of faith, oppose the practice of

incarceration for profit:

1. The primary issue is a moral one. We do not support or condone privatization of

prisons which have money-making as their goal, using punishment as the means.

The Catholic Bishops of the South's statement of 2001 says “to delegate such

acts to institutions whose success depends on the amount of profit they

generate is to invite abuse and to abdicate our responsibility to care for our

sisters and brothers.”

2. Prison privatization is contrary to core principles of forgiveness, loving our

neighbors and welcoming the stranger. It creates a disincentive to rehabilitate

and reform prisoners in favor of long prison stays and high recidivism. It creates

a marginalized group within our larger society.

3. Mass incarceration is an assault on the sanctity of the family. It destroys

communities and undermines the family, the fundamental structure of our

society. This is true for citizens who are serving time for criminal offenses as well

Letter from AZ faith leaders opposing prison privatization, April 2012

as those who are arrested and detained because they are suspected “illegal

aliens.” Those arrests cause young children to be uncared for when parents are

incarcerated. In single-parent families, the impact is even more devastating, with

lasting effects.

4. Prison privatization is a failed experiment. It does not save money and does not

increase public safety. There is no factual, criminological or penological

justification for this practice. On the contrary, there are recent studies that show

private prisons to be more costly than public ones and that prove that public

safety is endangered by lax private prison security practices and poorly trained

staff.

5. Our scarce state resources are better invested in those areas we know make

our society safer: education, substance abuse treatment, mental health and

physical health care, and social services that keep people out of the criminal

justice system. These also reflect core values of faith communities.

We urge you to oppose the further privatization of prisons in Arizona.

Blessings,

Pima Friends Meeting (Quakers)

Tucson, AZ

Islamic Inmates Corrections Association of America,

Imam Sidney Sharif

Tucson, AZ

Southside Presbyterian Church

Pastor Alison Harrington

Tucson, AZ

Arizona Half-yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers)

Comprised of Friends Meetings in Phoenix, Tempe, Tucson, and Flagstaff

The Reverend M. Douglas Bobbitt

United Methodist Church, retired

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend Nancy Nelson Elsenheimer

Beatitudes United Church of Christ

Phoenix, AZ

Letter from AZ faith leaders opposing prison privatization, April 2012

The Reverend Ted Elsenheimer

Beatitudes United Church of Christ

Phoenix, AZ

Leo Guardado, Minister of Social Justice

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Phoenix, AZ

The Reverend Ed Hunt

Presbyterian Church of American, retired

Green Valley, AZ

The Reverend Harvey R. Kemp

United Methodist Church, retired

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend Doctor Wallace Ryan Kuroiwa, Ph.D., Interim Pastor,

Church of the Painted Hills United Church of Christ

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend Randy Mayer

The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ

Sahuarita, AZ

The Reverend James B. Nelson,

United Church of Christ, retired

Professor of Christian Ethics, United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities, MN, retired

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend Phil Reller

Justice and Witness

Southwest Conference United Church of Christ

Fr. Bill Remmel, SDS

Most Holy Trinity Parish

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend George Tolman

Disciples of Christ, retired

Tucson, AZ

The Reverend Steve Van Kuiken

Rincon United Church of Christ

Tucson, AZ

Letter from AZ faith leaders opposing prison privatization, April 2012

The Reverend Dr. David Wilkinson, Pastor

St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church

Tucson, AZ

Rev. Dr. Frank R. Williams

United Methodist Church

Tucson, AZ