2018 Called ‘High Point’ in Restoring Rights to Individuals with Criminal Records – It’s a Start – kra
While there has been progress, there is soooooooo much more to do!
Why not automatically immediately restore voting rights to all convicted felons?! Although Florida voters approved this measure, politicians there still are fucking around with “regulations” to make voting difficult!
Why not automatically immediately grant a Pardon to and restore all rights to anyone convicted of possession of Pot in states where Pot now is legal?!
Why not radically streamline the process for getting an expungement or Pardon?!
Why not eliminate the federal ban on Pot possession?!
Why not immediately eliminate MOST of the barriers to reentry?! I ask you: What the hell does having a record have to do with being a beautician? Yet many states deny the license for barbers and beauticians to convicted felons. It is bullshit!
Excerpts from the Article:
Some 30 states and the District of Columbia passed laws or enacted statutes aimed at helping returning incarcerees adjust to life in civilian society, representing a “high point” in national efforts to restore rights and status to people with a criminal record, according to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC).
The most promising legislative development focused on ending restrictions on occupational licensing, said the CCRC, a nonprofit organization established in 2014 to promote public discussion of the collateral consequences of conviction.
“(Occupational licensing) showed the greatest uniformity of approach,” said study authors Margaret Love and David Schlussel.
Of the 14 states that enacted laws regulating licensing in 2018, nine (added to 4 in 2017) adopted comprehensive frameworks to improve access to occupational licenses for people with a criminal record, limiting the kinds of records that may be considered, establishing clear criteria for administrative decisions, and making agency procedures more transparent and accountable.
During 2018, some 52 separate statutes (some addressing multiple restoration mechanisms), three executive orders, and one ballot initiative aimed at enhancing the prospects for successful reentry and reintegration were enacted. In comparison, 23 states enacted 42 new restoration laws in 2017.
The CRCC said the “most consequential single new law” was the ballot initiative approved by Florida voters last fall to restore the franchise to 1.5 million people with a felony conviction.
Voting rights were also restored for parolees, by statute in Louisiana and by executive order in New York.
The largest number of new laws (27 statutes in 19 states) expanded access to sealing or expungement, by extending eligibility to additional categories of offenses and persons, by reducing waiting periods, or by simplifying procedures, the CCRC said.
The wide variety of approaches to restoration of rights seems to reflect the challenge of striking the appropriate balance between the public’s interest in having access to criminal records, the state’s public safety concerns, and the need to support individuals in their efforts to reintegrate into society,” the authors said.
“It may also reflect a degree of uncertainty about the efficacy of limiting public access to records as opposed to other more transparent forms of relief that involve limiting their use, in the workplace and elsewhere.”
The Whole Story:
2018 Called ‘High Point’ in Restoring Rights to Individuals with Criminal Records
SENTENCING LAW AND POLICY – Reforms to Aid Reentry, Removing Barriers – kra
This article was sent by my friend Margaret Hawkins, head of DARSOL. It is an excellent summary of some positive developments in our criminal justice system to date.
Excerpts from the Article:
January 10, 2019
“Reducing Barriers to Reintegration: Fair chance and expungement reforms in 2018”
Cover-Fair-Chance-Reform-2018 The title of this post is the title of this notable new report from the Collateral Consequences Resource Center to document the laws passed in 2018 aimed at reducing barriers to successful reintegration for individuals with a criminal record. Here is the report’s executive summary:
* In 2018, 30 states and the District of Columbia produced 56 separate laws aimed at reducing barriers faced by people with criminal records in the workplace, at the ballot box, and elsewhere. Many of these new laws enacted more than one type of reform. This prolific legislative “fair chance” track record, the high point of a six-year trend, reflects the lively on-going national conversation about how best to promote rehabilitation and reintegration of people with a criminal record.
* As in past years, approaches to restoring rights varied widely from state to state, both with respect to the type of relief, as well as the specifics of who is eligible, how relief is delivered, and the effect of relief. Despite a growing consensus about the need for policy change to alleviate collateral consequences, little empirical research has been done to establish best practices, or what works best to promote reintegration.
* The most promising legislative development recognizes the key role occupational licensing plays in the process of reintegration, and it was this area that showed the greatest uniformity of approach. Of the 14 states that enacted laws regulating licensing in 2018, nine (added to 4 in 2017) adopted a similar comprehensive framework to improve access to occupational licenses for people with a criminal record, limiting the kinds of records that may be considered, establishing clear criteria for administrative decisions, and making agency procedures more transparent and accountable.
* The most consequential single new law was a Florida ballot initiative to restore the franchise to 1.5 million people with a felony conviction, which captured headlines across the country when it passed with nearly 65% of voters in favor. Voting rights were also restored for parolees, by statute in Louisiana and by executive order in New York.
* The largest number of new laws — 27 statutes in 19 states — expanded access to sealing or expungement, by extending eligibility to additional categories of offenses and persons, by reducing waiting periods, or by simplifying procedures. A significant number of states addressed record clearing for non-conviction records (including diversions), for marijuana or other decriminalized offenses, for juveniles, and for human trafficking victims.
* For the first time, the disadvantages of a separate petition-based relief system were incorporated into legislative discussions. Four states established automated or systemic record-sealing mechanisms aimed at eliminating a “second chance gap” which occurs when a separate civil action must be filed. Pennsylvania’s “clean slate” law is the most ambitious experiment in automation to date. Other states sought to incorporate relief directly into the criminal case, avoiding the Pennsylvania law’s technological challenges.
* Three additional states acted to prohibit public employers from inquiring about criminal history during the initial stages of the hiring process, Washington by statute, and Michigan and Kansas by executive order. Washington extended the prohibition to private employers as well. A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now have so-called “ban-the-box” laws, and 11 states extend the ban to private employers.
* Four states expanded eligibility for judicial certificates of relief. Colorado’s “order of collateral relief” is now the most extensive certificate law in the nation, available for almost all crimes as early as sentencing, and effective to bar consideration of conviction in public employment and licensing. Arizona, California, and North Carolina made more modest changes to facilitate access to this judicial “forgiving” relief.
* The District of Columbia established a clemency board to recommend to the President applications for pardon and commutation by D.C. Code offenders. Governors in California and New York used their pardon power to spare dozens of non-citizens from deportation, and California also streamlined its pardon process and made it more transparent. Moving in the other direction, Nebraska authorized sealing of pardoned convictions, and Maine made both pardon applications and pardon grants confidential.
* The legal landscape at the end of 2018 suggests that states are experimenting with a more nuanced blending of philosophical approaches to dealing with the collateral consequences of arrest and conviction. These approaches include forgiving people’s past crimes (through pardon or judicial dispensation), forgetting them (through record-sealing or expungement), or forgoing creating a record in the first place (through diversionary dispositions). While sealing and expungement remain the most popular forms of remedy, there seems to be both popular and institutional resistance to limiting what the public may see respecting the record of serious offenses, and a growing preference for more transparent restoration mechanisms that limit what the public may do with such a record, along with standards to guide administrative decision-making.
New year, new session, new vision for reform, Sean Lynn – With Letter to Editor – kra
This excellent commentary by my friend and super attorney Sean Lynn is right on point. But there is so much more which can be done.
He should move swiftly on expungements. Some 70 million adult Americans have a criminal record. I happen to specialize in applications for expungements and for pardons, here and in other states. In Delaware, if you have a felony record, before you can get an expungement you first must get a pardon, a long and costly process. It is absurd.
To those who say things like “we should not so readily wipe the record clean”, let me remind you that we are simply talking about the ability to apply; a judge must still make a wise and fair decision. Also, even after an expungement, law enforcement still has access to the criminal record of the person for whom an expungement was granted.
Another area where we should move quickly is releasing harmless inmates. There are hundreds, yes hundreds, of inmates too ill to do any harm, even if they wanted to! In wheelchairs, blind or nearly blind! They should be released! Each one is costing you well over $100,000 annually to house, due to medical costs. The current D O C “POPS” program, designed to address this problem, is a joke. A handful – fewer than 5 – have been released using that. I remind you that D O C personnel have an interest in opposing needed reforms, and their union actively does thwart needed changes. For them, it is job preservation, not justice.
Excerpts from the Article:
The new year brings feelings of hope and optimism, and we make resolutions regarding our happiness, lifestyle and relationships. While there are a variety of reforms set to take place this session, such as improving access to voting and enshrining the historic Delaware Equal Rights Amendment in our state constitution, I am taking this time to lay out solutions to our criminal justice system.
Just as we give ourselves clean slates at the start of every year, I want to ensure that those who may have made mistakes in the past are not hindered in their abilities to succeed in the future.
There are a variety of steps we can take this session to fix our broken criminal justice system. A major issue is our overflowing prison population. We’ve made progress in adjusting Delaware’s cash bail policy so each person is treated individually, and not unfairly incarcerated simply for failing to have the funds to post bail. Criminalizing poverty is immoral and no way to run a state.
Building on that work, we should look at reducing the prison population by exploring sentence modification in specific situations in which the incarcerated individual is no longer a danger to society.
As we work to reduce the prison population, we must look at the support systems in society that an individual comes home to. We need to create expungement policies that are easier to navigate for both adults and juveniles.
This year, I’m considering legislation that would give more adults the opportunity to seek a second chance and gain meaningful employment. Expungements free people from the constraints of having a damaging record, and we should be streamlining that process and improving access to those with limited resources.
Lastly, young people in contact with the judicial system are vulnerable, and each interaction impacts their progress. In the past, we have ignored the effects of publicizing alleged juvenile criminal activity on social media. This session, I plan to introduce legislation to raise the age at which a juvenile’s information and photo could be published by the state and address when that information is shared online.
We are at a crossroads regarding criminal justice. With one of the largest incoming classes in the General Assembly, we have an opportunity to make sweeping and influential changes to the criminal justice system that will give all Delawareans a chance to succeed and thrive for years to come.
………..
Letter to the Editor – Time for Common Sense Reform – 1/14/19
An excellent commentary by attorney Sean Lynn (https://delawarestatenews.net/opinion/commentary-new-year-new-session-new-vision-for-criminal-justice-reform/ ) is right on point. But there is so much more which can be done.
He should move swiftly on expungements. Some 70 million adult Americans have a criminal record. I happen to specialize in applications for expungements and for pardons, here and in other states. In Delaware, if you have a felony record, before you can get an expungement you first must get a pardon, a long and costly process. It is absurd.
To those who say things like “we should not so readily wipe the record clean”, let me remind you that we are simply talking about the ability to apply; a judge must still make a wise and fair decision. Also, even after an expungement, law enforcement still has access to the criminal record of the person for whom an expungement was granted.
Another area where we should move quickly is releasing harmless inmates. There are hundreds, yes hundreds, of inmates too ill to do any harm, even if they wanted to! In wheelchairs, blind or nearly blind! They should be released ASAP! Each one is costing you well over $100,000 annually to house, due to medical costs. The current D O C “POPS” program, designed to address this problem, is a joke. A handful – fewer than 5 – have been released using that. I remind you that D O C personnel have an interest in opposing needed reforms, and their union actively does thwart needed changes. For them, it is job preservation, not justice.
In 2018, 30 states and the District of Columbia produced 56 separate laws aimed at reducing barriers faced by people with criminal records in the workplace, at the ballot box, and elsewhere. Many of these new laws enacted more than one type of reform. 96% of all inmates will be released, and Mr. Lynn understands that when we help them reenter society we help our communities.
Ken Abraham, former Deputy Attorney General, founder of Citizens for Criminal JUSTICE, Dover, DE 302-423-4067
”””””””””””””””””’
I get lots of letters published, and ghost write for others. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO REACH THOUSANDS OF READERS! The keys to getting your Letter published are:
1. Keep it to 250 words or fewer.
2. Do not make it about “poor little old me”. Describe the problem as one which not only affects the individual, but is a senseless or ineffective measure, policy, or law which also harms communities and society. For example, with reentry, the obstacles make it unnecessarily difficult for the individual, but also harm society by making it hard to become productive, spending money and paying taxes in the community, and they cause increased recidivism = increased crime.
3. Speak from your heart.
4. Google any facts you are not sure about.
5. Do not name-call.
Do what works: Write that Letter!
…………
Letter to Editor – sign name, town, state, and your phone number (they often call to verify that you sent it), and “Member of Citizens for Criminal JUSTICE” if you like – shows you are part of a large group.
Send the email to yourself, and put on the “bcc” bar the email addresses for Letters to the Editor for the top ten newspapers in your state and several national ones – The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, U S A Today (google the Letter to Editor email addresses). Any questions, CALL me at 302-423-4067!
GOOGLE THE EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR” FOR THE TOP TEN NEWSPAPERS IN YOUR STATE AND SAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR REPEATED USE – Some papers will print a letter from you every 2 weeks, some every 30 days, some every 90 days. They have varying policies. But if you really want to make a difference shoot them a new letter once a month! I send one out every 2 weeks.
Need a Letter on some criminal justice issue and not a great letter writer? NO EXCUSE! Email me a rough draft and call me and I’ll polish it up! kenabraham3138@gmail.com .
ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME AT 302-423-4067.
Second trial for prison riot begins Monday – 1/14/19
Read my related articles. The state has NO idea what really happened. They just picked 18 inmates and said “let’s charge these guys”! It is worth noting that the only inmates convicted in the first trial were those without a lawyer!
Open the article to see the names and backgrounds of the next 4 inmates going on trial.
Meanwhile, my friend Steve Hampton continues to give prison officials the trouble they deserve with his civil lawsuit against scores of the bastards.
Excerpts from the Article:
After a protracted criminal investigation 18 inmates were charged with perpetrating the Feb. 1, 2017, riot at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center that left Lt. Steven Floyd dead and several other DOC staff members brutally beaten and traumatized.
Charges were filed in October 2017. Sixteen of the inmates were charged with riot, murder, assault, kidnapping and conspiracy and two were charges with all the above except murder.
Since then, one has pleaded guilty to all charges, one killed himself while awaiting trial, two have been found guilty and one has been acquitted of all charges.
The 13 remaining inmates were separated into three more groups, each group to be tried separately.
The next trial is set to start on Monday before Judge William C. Carpenter Jr. in the New Castle County Superior Court — barring an inclement weather cancellation. As of Friday, a jury of 12 had been selected along with six alternate jurors.
The court has had to estimate how long each trial will take in order to build a timetable. The third group’s trial is scheduled to start March 11 and the fourth group’s on May 5. The first trial, which wrapped up in November, took about five weeks from opening arguments to verdicts.
The jury found Dwayne Staats guilty of all charges except for intentional first-degree murder, Jarreau Ayers guilty of all charges except the three murder counts and Deric Forney not guilty.
All three stood accused of 11 charges each — three counts of murder related to the death of Lt. Floyd, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault, riot and conspiracy.
All three defenses has repeatedly slammed the quality of the state’s investigation and witness credibility throughout the trial.
After the trial, Mr. Gifford said the state offered “hardly any evidence” against his client and the acquittal was the “right result.” Referencing dozens of inmate eyewitness accounts brought by the prosecution during the trial, Mr. Gifford noted that the jury would have had to believe highly suspect testimony.
Last week, it was learned that Forney has intention to now turn around and join an already-launched civil suit against the state. The lawsuit was filed in late October by Dover attorney Stephen Hampton on behalf of more than 100 inmates housed in Vaughn prison’s C Building (the site of the riot) during the incident. The 80-page complaint alleges “inhumane conditions” at Vaughn prison and claims that for many years prior to the riot, prison personnel “illegally abused, mistreated and tortured inmates with virtually nothing being done by their JTVCC (Vaughn prison) or Department of Correction (DOC) supervisors, to stop them.” Further, the suit alleges the inmates in questions were savagely beaten during the siege of C Building and have been systematically “tortured and mistreated” in the wake of the riot. Though the 18 inmates indicted with perpetrating the riot were not originally included in the civil suit, Forney will now be added since he’s been acquitted.
“Deric has contacted us and we expect to add him to the complaint when it is amended within the next three weeks,” Mr. Hampton said last week.
Who is next?
According to the New Castle County Courthouse, the next four inmates to stand trial on Monday are Obadiah Miller, John Bramble, Kevin Berry and Abednego Baynes.
All four stand accused of murder, assault, conspiracy, riot and kidnapping and they have opted to be represented by defense attorneys. As of last week, the DOC said all four men are currently being housed at Vaughn prison.
Much of the prosecution’s case rested on inmate eyewitness testimony on account of scant hard evidence and the shaky/nondescript recollection of the victims.
As far as the victims were concerned, the assailants were unrecognizable due to masks and gloves worn during the initiation of the riot. As such, it can be speculated that the jury will struggle similarly in this case to achieve a verdict.
After three straight days of deliberation during the first trial, it seemed likely that the jury would be unable to come to consensus on several charges.
At one point during deliberation, the jury even noted to the judge that they’d reached an “impasse” and one juror had announced their intention to not return the following day, even if a verdict was not reached.
However, at the final hour, the jury found consensus and delivered verdicts on all charges.
Several requests for clarification during the process suggested the jury had been struggling to navigate the concept of “accomplice liability.”
Broadly, accomplice liability enables a person to be held criminally responsible for acts committed by a different person if they aided, assisted or encouraged the commission of the crime. Much of the prosecutions case against the first three defendants fell under the umbrella of this principle.
Testimony by inmate eyewitnesses is expected to again form the bulk of the prosecution’s case, however, Miller’s DNA was one of the few pieces of concrete evidence discovered at the crime scene.
During a statement given by a DNA expert during the first trial, it was revealed that some of Miller’s blood was found among the blood spattered inside a utility closet where Lt. Floyd had been held captive.
Though the first trial offers a preview of the approach the prosecution hopes to use, how the new jury will interpret the state’s case remains to be seen.
Branching out: Dover Interfaith Mission to open shelter facility outside of Felton
“The best little shelter either side of the Mississippi”, and where I landed upon my release from prison in 2012. I still do a lot of volunteer work for DIMH. 🙂
Excerpts from the Article:
Jeanine Kleimo, chairwoman of the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing, said the nonprofit’s upcoming expansion to a former motel-turned Islamic worship center outside of Felton sounds like the start of a joke.
“As I like to say, the story is a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian walked into a motel and came out with a deal,” Ms. Kleimo said. “It’s kind of a funny story, but the Islamic Society (of Central Delaware) has been absolutely wonderful to deal with.”
Dover Interfaith purchased the former worship site from the Islamic Society of Central Delaware for $425,000 in order to convert the property into low-rent housing for 20 individuals transitioning out of the group’s shelters and into permanent homes.
Ms. Kleimo said that financing for the project has been provided by NCALL and the ISOCDE and no grants or subsidies were involved. She expects to hold a grand opening for the new facility within the next month.
“The wheels are definitely starting to move for us,” Ms. Kleimo said. “It’s been a busy time.”
Much of that time has been spent doing a lot of work and renovations to the rooms at the former 1950s-era motel complex. “The Islamic Society of Central Delaware really wanted us there and helped with the financing and doing the renovations,” Ms. Kleimo said. “We’re doing the cosmetic ones, like painting and moving furniture in.
“Herb (Konowitz, vice chair of Interfaith) has got a guy who’s made bedframes and we’ve got a guy who gave us discounts on the mattresses, and we have people donating furniture. It’s just a real community effort.”
Dover Interfaith will manage the property when it opens and will have a resident manager on-site.
The residents will be selected from the group’s shelter for men in downtown Dover and will be required to have a steady income.
“It’s small, but it’s serviceable,” Mr. Konowitz said, about the soon-to-open transitional housing facility. “All the guys (moving in) are working or they’re disabled. “In our transition operation you’ve got to work, you’ve got to pay rent – but the rent is reasonable.”
Mr. Konowitz said that Dover Interfaith is now providing shelter and services for 111 total men. He added that they all receive personal financial management training to help them handle their money.
“One thing’s for sure, they really stepped up to the plate for us.”
Along with 20 very grateful men.
Branching out: Dover Interfaith Mission to open shelter facility outside of Felton
Inmate acquitted for Feb. 1 riot, murder to sue state
My friend Steve Hampton, Esq. is doing a great job with holding D O C’s feet to the fire with appropriate lawsuits. Despite overwhelming evidence of abuses, crimes, and unlawful retaliation by D O C personnel and abominable medical neglect by the “health care” contractor for Delaware prisons, all manner of officials, from the governor on down, do NOTHING! I have personally SEEN these abuses, and as a former prosecutor it is galling to see these criminals uniform, the guards, doing whatever they please.
The trials of inmates continues with the State obviously having no clue about who really is responsible for the death of Mr. Floyd! See related articles on this.
That Perry Phelps is now the Commissioner is a sad state of affairs. He was the warden when I was in, and is a huge part of the problems!
God Bless Mr. Hampton!
Excerpts from the Article:
Deric Forney, an inmate recently found not guilty of participating in the 2017 Vaughn prison riot, has decided to sue the state, according to Dover attorney Stephen Hampton.
In late October, Mr. Hampton announced a lawsuit against the state on behalf of more than 100 inmates housed in Vaughn prison’s C Building (the site of the riot) during the incident.
The 80-page complaint alleges “inhumane conditions” at Vaughn and claims that for many years prior to the riot that left Correctional Officer Lt. Steven Floyd dead, prison personnel “illegally abused, mistreated and tortured inmates with virtually nothing being done by their JTVCC (Vaughn prison) or Department of Correction (DOC) supervisors, to stop them.” Further, the suit alleges the inmates in questions were savagely beaten during the siege of C Building and have been systematically “tortured and mistreated” in the wake of the riot.
Though the 18 inmates indicted with perpetrating the riot were not originally included in the civil suit, Forney will now be added since he’s been acquitted.
“Deric has contacted us and we expect to add him to the complaint when it is amended within the next three weeks,” said Mr. Hampton.
Delaware Gov. John Carney and ex-DOC Commissioner Robert Coupe were among the defendants named in the suit, along with current commissioner Perry Phelps, several wardens and a host of other DOC staff from a Major to COs.
The governor’s office has accused Mr. Hampton of “litigating that case in the newspaper” and refused to comment further.
However, Mr. Hampton has maintained that the systematic abuse of inmates continues.
“The inmates are receiving woefully inadequate medical care and some are getting greatly reduced food portions,” he said. “The abusive strip searches and threats have continued and hundreds of inmates are being shipped out of state. It seems that almost two years after the revolt, DOC has failed to correct any of its ongoing serious problems, and if anything, they are worse than ever. DOC management has allowed intolerable conditions for inmates and correctional officers to continue unaddressed and shouldn’t be surprised that nobody with a choice wants to work for DOC.”
Coming to a verdict after a nearly five-week trial in November, the jury found Forney not guilty of conspiracy, murder, riot, assault and kidnapping in association with the 2017 incident. However, the inmates being tried alongside him, Dwayne Staats and Jarreau Ayers, picked up several convictions. Both men were already serving life sentences.
Being moved to C Building just over a month before the riot, Forney said he stayed in his cell for the duration of the uprising until it was put down in the early hours of Feb. 2, 2017.
However, he grew emotional on the stand describing the Correctional Emergency Response Team’s (CERT) siege of the building — claiming he was roughly taken to the floor of his cell and beaten despite not resisting and attempting to peacefully surrender.
Shortly after Forney’s not guilty verdict was delivered last November, Mr. Gifford said he too believed his client was unjustly assaulted by authorities. “My personal feeling is that Deric, like most of the inmates in C Building that day, had no control or authority over what was going on and were helpless to stop the rioters from doing what they were doing,” Mr. Gifford said at the time. “Nevertheless, he — again like many of the inmates — was essentially brutalized when DOC took the building back without any regard as to whether he was a perpetrator or victim of what was happening. It’s also worth noting that the ‘victim vs. perpetrator’ distinction is really unnecessary, as no one deserved to be assaulted by the authorities, regardless of what they think the inmates may have done.”
The Whole Story:
Beware of the Backlash Against Reform Prosecutors
She deserves some sort of “Prosecutor’s Medal of Honor”!
As the most powerful element of the criminal justice system, prosecutors are poised to do the most good in terms of needed changes. The pushback discussed here is no surprise to me. For ever 1 person arrested, 29 benefit financially, so much of the opposition comes from those trying to preserve their useless jobs!
Excerpts from the Article:
A month before Suffolk County (Ma.) District Attorney Rachael Rollins was elected to become Boston’s District Attorney—and the first woman to hold that post—she announced that she would not prosecute 15 petty offenses. They range from charges such as “minor in possession of alcohol,” which needlessly suck normal teenagers and young adults into the criminal justice system, to “disorderly conduct,” a statute so broad that it criminalizes whatever a prosecutor feels like it does.
Now, the National Police Association (NPA), a little-known nonprofit formed in 2017, has filed a bar complaint with the Office of the Bar Counsel in Massachusetts in a presumed attempt to strip Rollins’ law license.
The complaint itself is unlikely to succeed, as it fails to clearly state how she violated the Massachusetts Bar’s ethics rules. But it is worth highlighting as a significant attempt to close the main “safety valve” against American mass incarceration: reform-minded elected prosecutors.
The number of such prosecutors is growing. Last fall’s midterm elections saw the election of prosecutors from both parties committed to reform, in states ranging from Texas to Missouri and Alabama. For those hoping for a significant shift from the failed “tough on crime” strategies of the 1990s, this was welcome news. But it’s not surprising to see stirrings of a backlash.
The U.S. is the most incarcerated nation on the planet, due to factors such as racism, the politicization of crime, and a victims’ rights movement born out of carceral feminism.
We also lack a culture of restraint when it comes to criminalization and punishment. Unlike most European countries that leave the drafting of penal codes to scholarly experts, our laws are an inconsistent patchwork created by state legislators who generally know nothing about criminology and do not care to know. (Criminal law is a mere fraction of their work.)
However, head county prosecutors, often called District Attorneys, are interested enough in the dynamics of crime and public safety to make criminal justice their entire jobs. While they may be unfamiliar with the academic literature on sound crime control and public safety tactics, they take a more macroscopic and systemic view of potential crimes than the average police officer.
The reason is baked into their job descriptions.
Ultimately, a beat patrol officer in Chelsea, Mass.,—a town with a population of approximately 37,000 people—has one main directive. When there is probable cause a criminal law has been broken, the officer is to arrest a person, drive him or her to the jail, and give a report to prosecutors about what was observed. In contrast, the District Attorney of Suffolk County (population approximately 800,000) must decide whether the crime is probable beyond a reasonable doubt, and whether it is in the best interest of the public to use limited resources on that case.
That is not to say that policing cannot or should not be more strategic or preventative. David M. Kennedy, now a professor of justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, developed a group violence intervention strategy dubbed the “Boston Miracle,” that was considered responsible for the plummeting of Boston’s homicide rate in the 1990s.
However, the implementation of such strategies by police departments is not bottom-up but top-down—a result of partnerships with police chiefs and other law enforcement leaders.
In a world of limited resources, District Attorneys cannot prosecute every single crime and petty offense that occurs within their jurisdiction. Instead, they must make decisions on how to use their resources, within the permissive borders of deliberately broad and plentiful criminal laws.
It is unfair to suggest that Rollins’ plans amount to ineffective crime control measures or will hurt the interests of crime victims. Instead, she is trying to give people a chance to grow from their relatively harmless mistakes without getting clawed into by the criminal justice system.
The same point needs to be emphasized as other reform prosecutors across the country face criticism from those who want to reverse the nationwide movement for justice reform.
If a person’s worst moment is shoplifting a shirt, making a mean comment on an internet video game, or shooting up heroin while chemically dependent, perhaps desistance from the behavior should be good enough for all of us.
My friend Steve is “a little peeved” – My constant condition – kra
The following are emails from my friend, attorney Steve Hampton, to a reporter working on a story about another trial of several defendants charged with the murder of Mr. Floyd. When I asked Steve if it’s ok to post it, he said sure, and as to “How are you?” he replied: a “little peeved” … about this situation with all the prison abuse, and I said yes, that’s my constant condition.
I have been raising the same issue now for 6 years.
to Ian
Deric has contacted us and we expect to add him to the complaint when it is amended.
I remain frustrated that the State has already paid defense costs of over $680,000, probably has spent as much or more on the prosecution, and is proceeding ahead with more criminal trials, yet there has been no investigation of the wholesale torture of inmates since February 2, 2017.
The inmates are receiving woefully inadequate medical care and some are getting greatly reduced food portions. The abusive strip searches and threats have continued and hundreds of inmates are being shipped out-of-state. It seems that almost 2 years after the revolt DOC has failed to correct any of its ongoing serious problems, and if anything they are worse than ever. DOC management has allowed intolerable conditions for inmates and C/O’s to continue unaddressed, and shouldn’t be surprised that nobody with a choice wants to work for DOC.
The conditions in Delaware prisons are a tragedy unfolding in front of everybody involved, yet nobody with the authority to make real changes is doing so. The governor and general assembly should be embarrassed that no substantive improvements have been made to DOC operations for years. Instead DOC problems continue to be handled “the Delaware way” which means not doing anything that could embarrass somebody else in authority, especially if you want to continue to have a career in state government or as a state employee. So mistakes, malfeasance and incompetence are covered up and millions and millions of tax dollars on spent on DOC for a program that doesn’t come anywhere close to justifying the expense.
Stephen Hampton
sahampton@gradyhampton.com
Grady and Hampton LLC
6 N. Bradford St.
Dover, DE 19904
302-678-1265
……………………….
Stephen Hampton
11:44 AM (2 hours ago)
to Ian
Ian, I also can’t understand why the laws of Delaware do not seem to apply inside Delaware prisons, at least not to DOC employees. The inmates on trial are accused of committing criminal acts in a DOC prison, and the evidence, as the first trial shows is not that clear. However there is overwhelming evidence that C/O’s and possibly state police officers committed hundreds of crimes against inmates on and after February 2, 2017, yet those crimes haven’t even been investigated.
Do the laws of Delaware apply to everyone committing crimes in DOC prisons, or only to inmates?
“Screen Time” can be hazardous to your well being! – Tablets in Prisons – My 2 cents – kra
The increasing availability of tablets and internet access (severely restricted) in our prisons is a good thing, except that the contractors involved are over charging, but I just posted a comment online in response to an ad for a new device which, folded, is a phone, opened up, is a tablet with larger screen and keypad: “Groovy! Now the brain-dead American teenagers can waste their lives more readily wherever they go, watching all kinds of drivel on this new machine, or talking to their friends about NOTHING! !”
Numerous studies caution about the damage done by too much “screen time”! See, for example: The Harmful Effects of Too Much Screen Time for Kids
tRrump’s Disgusting Speech about “the wall” on 1/8/19
I slept through my alarm and missed Douche Bag’s speech, but here it is (I watched it because I love America). What I expected, but even worse. I did not count the lies, but there were many.
The fact is, he’s just a damn racist bigot! That is what drives his comments on immigration, not any concern for your safety!
With the work I do, I know “a boatload” about crime and criminals, and that may be his worst lie: (a) what he says about who ICE is locking up and (b) the nature of most immigrants. His bullshit “scare tactics” make me want to puke! Go to our website for the TRUTH!
I post anti Trump comments because all responsible citizens have a duty to do so! I shall give the nitwits who respond in his defense exactly the amount of my time they are worth: NONE.
And please spare me the stupidity of saying “impeachment may backfire” because of our experience with Clinton. tRump is so clearly a lying, incompetent, dangerous fool, and everyone knows it, that there is NO chance of any “backfire”!
His Bullshit Speech: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/01/08/watch_live_president_trump_addresses_the_nation_on_government_shutdown_border_wall.html
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