December 20, 2013 (The Huffington Post)
CAN WE WAIT 88 YEARS TO END MASS INCARCERATION?

Nazgol Ghandnoosh, research analyst, and Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project write that while “there is a growing momentum for criminal justice reform…any optimism needs to be tempered by the very modest rate of decline.”

In 2012, the decline was 1.8 percent.  If that rate continues, the two conclude that “it will take until 2101 -- 88 years -- for the prison population to return to its 1980 level.

“We hear less ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric and budget-conscious conservatives are embracing sentencing reforms. The Attorney General has criticized aspects of the criminal justice system and directed federal prosecutors to seek reduced sanctions against lower-level offenders.

“In light of this, one would think we should celebrate the new figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) showing a decline in the U.S. prison population for the third consecutive year. This follows rising prisoner counts for every year between 1973 and 2010. BJS reports that 28 states reduced their prison populations in 2012, contributing to a national reduction of 29,000. Beset by budget constraints and a growing concern for effective approaches to public safety, state policymakers have begun downsizing unsustainable institutional populations.

“The break in the prison population's unremitting growth offers an overdue reprieve and a cause for hope for sustained reversal of the nearly four-decade growth pattern.

“But the population in federal prisons has yet to decline. And even among the states, the trend is not uniformly or unreservedly positive. Most states that trimmed their prison populations in 2012 did so by small amounts -- eight registered declines of less than 1 percent. Further, over half of the 2012 prison count reduction comes from the 10 percent decline in California's prison population, required by a Supreme Court mandate.

“Given recent policy changes, why has there been such a small reduction in the number of people held in prisons? First, many sentencing reforms have understandably focused on low-level offenders.

“But most significantly, policymakers have neglected the bulk of those who are in state prisons: an aging population convicted of violent crimes or repeat offenses.

“Certainly the changing climate, new policies, and recent prisoner counts offer reason for encouragement. But unless we want to wait 88 years to achieve a sensible prison population, we need to accelerate the scale of reform.”

November 5, 2013……

A day that will forever be etched in the life of Ronald Faulkner.

This is the day that Mr. Faulkner will finally see the outside of the razor wire he has looked at since May 1998. You see, the Utah Board of Pardons charged Mr. Faulkner with an additional crime during his Parole Hearing. They were convinced that Mr. Faulkner THOUGHT about committing the additional act.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, the Board of Pardons and Parole is a committee of five people, appointed by the Governor to oversee the “sentencing” phase of Utah’s Indeterminate Sentencing. In Mr. Faulkner’s case, he was given a sentence of five years to life by his trial judge. This was for a 1^st Degree Felony for Aggravated Burglary.

In September of 2009, Mr. Faulkner had his Board Hearing. At this hearing, the hearing officer, a Mr. Sullivan, decided that Mr. Faulkner was guilty of a crime of Sexual Aggravated Assault. The trial judge DID NOT sentence him on this….he was NEVER even charged with this offense!(The police report even stated that "no sexual intercourse took place".) Then the hearing officer gave a rehearing date to be held in twenty years! AND, he added that the Board would consider an early release if Mr. Faulkner completed the Sex Offender Treatment Program at the prison.

Now, this would be all well and good but in order to get into this program, the Offender has to CONFESS to committing the crime. And Mr. Faulkner was not CHARGED or CONVICTED of Sexual Aggravated Assault. So here begins the Catch 22 situation for Mr. Faulkner.

After many, many petitions to be heard, Mr. Faulkner finally won his opportunity for a rehearing which took place just a few weeks ago. Mr. Sullivan was not the Hearing Officer at this hearing and low and behold, the Board found that Mr. Faulkner had served his time and should have his Inmate Sentence TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY!

So, those who sit on the Board, take this as a lesson that you are not gods! You cannot and will not charge someone with something YOU think they might have THOUGHT about doing. In order for this system to work, the Board MUST NOT STAND AS JURY to those who come before them. They have already been adjudicated. IT IS NOT YOUR JOB TO ADD charges to those that brought the Offender before you in the first place.

Mr. Faulkner, good luck and thank you for being persistent!

VISITATION FAVORITES???

This past weekend, I went to visit with my loved one at Central Utah Correctional Facility. When the guard, (oh, excuse me, officer), admitted him to the visiting room, he stopped and spoke with him. When my loved one reached our assigned table, he told me that he had to sit across from me.   I looked around and saw no less than five other Offenders visiting with their wife, girlfriend, etc. and they were not sitting across from one another. One couple was almost sitting on TOP of one another. Nothing was said to them.

Why is it that some Offenders have one set of rules and there is another set for others? Should there not be consistency among the Officers? It seems that this “rule” is only being taunted by one Sergeant. If he feels “threatened” by the outspokenness of the visitors, the rule comes into play. Why the favoritism? Why?

One can just look at the shoes of the Offenders to see who gets “preferred” treatment. How is wearing $200.00 Jordan’s approved by UDC? I know they cannot be ordered via commissary. How do they come in? They are being allowed to be ordered from outside somehow.

 Is the prison system so afraid of contraband being brought into the prison? Are they afraid that drugs are will be brought in? Better that they look at other avenues for these illegal substance entering the facilities because they are still coming in

.

 Visitors have gone through the main gate, the front desk, metal detector, x-ray machine for their shoes, gone through the locking doors and then to the visiting desk. The loved one has gone through similar security checkpoints....as well as a pat down search before entering the visiting room. They are not even allowed to bring in their reading glasses! What is sitting beside a loved one going to do to compromise the security of the facility?

 It is a proven fact that Offenders who have constant contact…including close physical contacts... fair better in their rehabilitation. It is just INHUMANE to deny these people the touch of a loved one during the visit. I know, you will say, "We allow a hug and a kiss at the beginning and end of a visit.", but can you survive on only touching your loved one that little? Most of the people I have observed at CUCF are all respectable people. They are respectful of the family oriented atmosphere and act accordingly.

 Something is most definitely wrong. We, the visitors, do have common sense....for the most part. Please do not insult us by thinking otherwise!

http://youtu.be/Wzhfa6wqNRU

Thoughts on Offenders and their lack of legal libraries!

HELP WANTED: PROGRAM CONSULTANT WANTED. SALARY JUST INCREASED FROM 200K to 500K!

That got your attention? It would me too. But the sad thing is that this is a real offer from the Utah Prison Relocation Authority Committee. They just voted on September 16th to increase the monetary offer!

And this is YOUR tax money at work!  It affects YOUR pocketbook! Wouldn’t it be nice to see this 500K spent on something else? Think about how this money could help the programming at the state prison in Draper and Gunnison. Think about how this money could help the public school system. Teachers could, and would, find a good way to spend this money!

Why is it that this committee, PRADA, is so hell-bent on rushing through all of this? To spend 800 million (again, YOUR money) to rebuild something that, in reality, is not broken, is ludicrous! The only thing I can think of is that the ones who are pushing this are builders themselves with a huge interest in this pot of gold.

Rep. Brad Wilson, R- Kaysville is challenging the committee’s “slowness”. This is interesting that he is pushing this to move faster. He is, as he said at the most recent public meeting, “a home builder”.  Is it that he hopes to add “builder of prisons” to his vitae?

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, another member of the committee, said he has still not decided whether the cost of moving the prison is worth it to taxpayers.  Finally, someone is thinking about the taxpayers!

Taxpayers….you need to make your voice heard! Do not let this committee take money out of your pockets to pay for this position!

UDC - You Do Not Own Them!

“We provide food, clothes, medicines, everything. They now belong to us.” Words uttered at a recent Family Orientation meeting for the Utah Department of Corrections. 

Interesting! Yes, our loved one is in your care, your custody. But, I disagree with the blanket statement that you now own them!

Our loved ones will NEVER be owned by the UDC! You might have them in your facility but contrary to what the officers think and feel, YOU DO NOT OWN THEM! They are our brother, uncle, sister, aunt, daughter, son, mother, father, husband, wife! They belong to us - their families.

Each and everyone who is a “guest” of the UDC have someone, somewhere. Now there might be those whose families have given up on them. But, I think that for the majority of the “guests”, this is not the case. Family members provide support beyond the walls.

Many of the Offenders are trying to fight their conviction, for whatever reason. Help from with the walls is almost nonexistent. Contract attorneys are available but from my understanding, they do the bare minimum in the way of helping get legal information to the Offender. With no law books available to those inside the walls, this battle is almost always a losing one. Deadlines to file are missed because the necessary information is not received in time. There are delays in the mail room; briefs are not mailed out in a timely manner. All of this makes it almost impossible for the Offender to help him/herself.

With family and friends supporting them and doing the necessary “legwork”, briefs do get filed. Challenges are written and submitted. Medical care is followed up on by the family. All of these things are done by those who care….by those who OWN that human being….the FAMILY.

So please, do not say that you, the UDC, OWN our loved ones….you do not. Please remember that!

Every Crime Is Born of Necessity

Every crime is born of necessity. If you want less crime, you must change the conditions. Poverty often creates crime. Wants, needs, misfortune - all these awaken the beast in man. He finally takes that which is not his and thus a criminal is born.

What does society do with this person? He is punished. Why not punish someone for having a medical condition? The time will surface when one will see that this thought is just as logical! What does society do with this criminal?

The criminal is sent into the state prison system - one that is already overcrowded with many repeat offenders. In Utah, (and several other states), this criminal is sentenced, by the justice system to a yet to be determined sentence. The legislature has ruled that the pronouncement of sentencing should be taken away from the presiding judge and jury and given to a board of appointed people. These people do not know the case as well as the judge, who has sat through all of the preliminary hearings and days of trial. There are five people who, after a hearing officer meets with the offender, make a decision on the criminal’s fate. Now these five board members do not meet as a group to make this decision. They are sent the file of the offender and they sign off as to what the sentence should be.

Something is very wrong with this Indeterminate Sentencing. These five people, six if you include the hearing officer, only have in front of them a file. With the number of offenders coming before the Board of Pardons in any given week, this is a daunting task to say the least. How can it be humanly possible for these people to read each and every file that comes before them? I say it is humanly IMPOSSIBLE!

Some of the offenders who appear at their original hearing are first time offenders. Some of these offenders have already served more than the recommended time to serve. There is a matrix that is used by the Adult Parole and Probation office. Based on several criteria, the AP&P officer makes their recommendation. Again, this recommendation is based on published criteria that all officers are bound by law to follow. These same criteria are used by the Court. Every offender has a Pre-Sentencing Investigation done by AP&P. Based on this PSI, the Court has a baseline. Now, the legislature has set criteria also. Depending on the seriousness of the charges, the Court will sentence the offender to the range of possible term; i.e. a Second Degree Felony will be sentenced to one to Fifteen years.

Now the offender, and their family, has to wait to see how much time will actually be served. Even though the AP&P report has given a determinate range of so many months - this is the matrix - the offender often has to wait months before they learn their fate.

With prison system crying “we are overcrowded”, does indeterminate sentencing make sense? I say it does not! Why not give the job of sentencing back to the Court instead of the “elected” officials. And I say “elected” because I wonder how many of these officials actually gain something monetarily when the prison is full and talk of building a new prison starts.

I say abolish Indeterminate Sentencing and let the one who knows the case better than anyone – the Court – make the decision!

EDUCATION EQUALS REHABILITATION

Got your attention? I hope so! There has been so much talk about relocating the Utah State Prison. Media reports say it is because of overcrowding. Has anyone stopped to examine the “why” of the overcrowding? I have. And here are my thoughts.

Overcrowding in the prison stems from many repeat offenders. Why are these people returning time and time again? It seems to be a revolving door at the front entrances of both Draper and Gunnison.  It all boils down to one thing; lack of education in the state prison system. Now before anyone starts yelling that there are programs, just wait. Yes there are programs but what are the Offenders learning? Some of the programs are geared to help the Offender examine themselves….what happened to make me make this choice? Why did the Offender choose the path they chose? But what marketable skills are being offered to those behind the walls?

 The Utah Department of Corrections has constantly reduced its education, programming and treatment of inmates mainly because of budget cuts. This reduction also comes by choice. It has eliminated post-secondary education and most vocational training programs, exactly the kind of programs that directly result in reduced recidivism. Utah has one of the highest rates of recidivism in the country – over 50%.

There are some certificate programs available. But they are not available to all. There are restrictions such as the Offender has to have a parole or termination date before they can enroll. And then there is the cost for the Offender. Many of the Offenders do work in the prison….for a mere forty cents an hour. Out of this sixteen dollars a week (assuming that they work 40 hours) they have charges such as medical care, medicine, child support , etc. taken. These are paid first and then whatever is left is put on the Offender’s books. The Offender is in debt before they are released! And then if they take these offered certificate courses, they are in even more debt.

Draper and Gunnison (part of the Utah Department of Corrections)  recently graduate a large number of Offenders who earned their high school diplomas. Congratulations to these men and women. But, if an Offender holds a GED, they are still FORCED to enroll in a high school diploma course. Why? On the outside, a GED is equivalent to a high school diploma. Many GED holders made a personal choice to get the GED; whether it was because the Offender was bored with the public school and wanted to complete it early or they had to drop out to support a family. Many of today’s Multi-millionaires have GEDs.  Why waste funds forcing the Offender who has that GED to get a high school diploma? Why not put that money into the certificate programs and teach them a marketable skill; a skill from which they will be able to make a living; a skill that will help them support the family.

 Over 95 percent of Offenders will rejoin society. The cure for this incarceration situation is not in spending the least amount possible, but rather to spend the right amount, whatever the cost. Treat, educate and re-integrate the Offenders back into society. What kind of community do you want to invest in?

I would like to pose a question, who would you rather have living next door to you, a person who has spent years in prison watching television, hanging out playing cards, lifting weights, not acquiring any skills or education or trying to improve himself, who when he leaves prison is filled with hate and anger and resentment; or a person who has spent his years in prison learning how his negative choices brought him to prison, affected his family and friends and most importantly his victims and society, recognizing those faults and learning through programs to deal with adversity, and how to think positively, how to love him/herself so that he/she can help and love others? If your answer is the second person then it is incumbent upon you to take action and make sure that prisons are places of rehabilitation.

 It is up to us, WE THE PEOPLE, to enforce these programs in our prisons. How do we do this? You elected the heads of government into those positions, so make sure they are doing the job they are there to do. I like to think this: DOC has a boss, who has a boss, who has a boss. If someone isn't doing what they are supposed to or they do not have sufficient programs THEN DO SOMETHING!

Many prisons have the resources.  They don’t want to use it to truly fully rehabilitate the offender. Unfortunately money and funding seem to matter more than rehabilitation.

Our society is more about revenge than rehabilitation. Speak up and let us change this concept!

Today’s offenders are tomorrow’s neighbors, is what I say. GIVE THEM opportunities to make it on the outside. Give them the knowledge and tools to succeed. Don’t keep them handicapped!

What Happened to Separation of Church and State in Utah?????

This is a picture from the Utah Department of Corrections website. I find it interesting that the only "religious" material seen is from the Church of the Latter Day Saints. What happened to separation of church and state? The majority of the programming offered to the Offenders in the Utah Prison system is run by the church! Something is definitely wrong with this picture. When the gentleman pictured above was asked about a specific educational program his reply was, "I don't know anything about that." although he was at the Family Orientation meeting as a representative from Programming! 

High Cost of Recidivism in Utah

Education in our state prison system is a must if we are to reduce the number of offenders being housed. Merely offering programming, many sponsored by church groups, is NOT the answer. Offenders need to learn a marketable skill in order to become a functioning, contributing member of society when released.  Not only will these men and women once again become members of society, they will not return to the system time and time again. This in itself will save the taxpayers of Utah millions of dollars by stopping this revolving door!

Over $30,000 annually is spent on incarcerating one person in the state of Utah. Add to this the cost of booking that offender into custody (in 2012 the cost was $1700.00) .Then there is the cost of the substance abuse programs at $3500 per offender and the sex offender programs at $3900 per offender. Plus add the cost of medical care for these offenders. How is the state going to keep going at this rate? The Utah prison system has a capacity of close to 7000 offenders housed in the two main facilities at Draper and Gunnison. And the system is at capacity! Offenders are being housed in county jails to assist with the overcrowding.

Utah ranked third in the nation in a 2008 “Study of Recidivism Rates Nationally”.

Reducing this recidivism rate would lower overall crime rates in Utah. There would be less of a chance of victimization.  Lowering of the recidivism rate would obviously reduce the cost Utah taxpayers are paying to house the offenders.

 Offenders in an educational program are 20% less to return to prison than those who are not enrolled. If one million dollars were to be invested in education, this would facilitate reducing crimes by 600 cases. But spend one million dollars to keep the offenders incarcerated without educational programs and this would only prevent approximately 350 new criminal cases. (UCLA Study, Correctional Education as a Crime Control Program, 2010)

Right now in the Utah prison system, there are educational programs in place through several local colleges. But there is only room for 175 offenders in these programs. (Apples and Oranges, Nathan Brady, January 31, 2012) As one can see, the ratio is not the greatest!