The Job Search and the Stigma of a Felony
Published November 16, 2009 @ 08:17PM PT
The latest episode of a great of web radio show, Family Life Behind Bars, focuses on the job search after incarceration, and includes two guests who offer important perspectives on the topic.
David Koch -- a pilot, business owner and author -- served two years in prison before beginning his career in 1980 at the bottom rung, mowing lawns and cleaning floors at a flight school. He offers some clear and actionable advice to newly released prisoners, but he doesn't mince words -- he's such a believer in self-determination that he almost denies the challenges are there. He says that the stigma of a felony conviction exists in the felon’s mind more than it does in society. He recommends that newly released prisoners take "jobs that nobody wants" or volunteer their time to help others and get their foot in the door. I'm not sure if he's offering sound advice or living in a fantasy land.
From the other end of the spectrum, guest Aric Coleman was freed last month in Michigan after serving seven years in prison. He’s struggling to find a job, and he says he sees the stigma against hiring felons as real in society, but then agrees with Koch that it must first be conquered within oneself.
Denied a Promotion Because She’s a Woman
Published November 16, 2009 @ 06:50AM PT
Andrea Young was a 13-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police when she sat for the state’s promotion exam. She scored sixth out of 2,000 test-takers. But she was skipped for the promotion, and she argues in a new lawsuit that the snub was just one facet of the consistent harassment she suffered as a female officer on the force.
Just 4% of state cops in Pennsylvania are women, and Young said she endured jokes about her sex life and even received a photo of one officer’s penis. Other officers admitted to her they were cheating on the test, but then accused her of cheating. She says she wasn’t only targeted because she’s a woman, but because she was a speaking up about the conditions under which she worked.
Ohio Executions: Straight, No Chaser
Published November 15, 2009 @ 06:11AM PT
High-profile failures to humanely administer the lethal, three-drug cocktail used by 35 other states have prompted Ohio to abandon that method in favor of single-drug lethal injections.
The announcement by the director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction endorsed the injection of a "massive dose of anesthetic," reports The New York Times. This method -- preferred for veterinary euthanasia -- has long been pushed by critics of the more popular three-drug cocktail which paralyzes inmates and is intended to also render them unconscious. Paralysis is especially problematic, critics say, as it eliminates inmates' potential to express extreme discomfort with failed or particularly painful executions.
Despite some celebrations of the move, it only represents an effort to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic that is Ohio's death row. Ohio's recent displays of executioners' incompetence were not merely demonstrative of the need for a new approach to executions. Ohio's botched attempt to execute Rommel Broom are illustrative of capital punishment's shortcomings generally.
"The Wind is at Our Back"
Published November 14, 2009 @ 05:36AM PT
This weekend, the Drug Policy Alliance is hosting its annual Reform Conference in Albuquerque, and DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann opened the event Thursday with a passionate speech about the momentum that drug reform feels in D.C. and across the country.
"The wind is at our back," Nadelmann said. "And we are making progress like we've never seen before." He called on the movement to continue working to create a political landscape that will allow Congress and the President to move toward harm reduction and legalization policies. The change won't come from the top until we lay the groundwork, he said. His passion and optimism is infectious and it's a speech worth watching.
Watch Nadelmann's full speech after the jump.
Torture and Intimidation in China's Secret "Black Jails"
Published November 13, 2009 @ 08:03AM PT
A new report from Human Rights Watch documents torture and illegal detentions in China's "black jails" -- prisons hidden in state-owned hotels and nursing homes used to silence critics of the state.
Chinese officials deny the existence of black jails, but Human Rights Watch spoke with 38 former detainees whose horror stories or beatings, sexual assault and psychological torture weren't fabricated.
The jails are used primarily to detain people who travel to Beijing and provincial capitals to lodge legal complaints that have not been resolved at the local level. To avoid reprimand, local officials pay the black jails to detain and silence these petitioners. It's a system that doesn't only torture Chinese citizens but also intimidates people to stop them from filing legal appeals to uphold their rights.
Another Reluctant Prison Plan from the Governator
Published November 13, 2009 @ 06:10AM PT
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger handed over another version of his court-ordered plan last night to address prison crowding in the state. The state is starting a budge a bit, but Arnold won’t let sweeping reform happen without a fight.
Schwarzenegger’s second try at the plan admits that the federal court has the power to order the changes without a vote from the legislature, and lawyers for the plaintiffs in the class action suit said the new offering from the state is at least “in the ballpark.”
The state’s first offering was rejected and a three-judge panel threatened Arnold with contempt for offering a half-hatched plan. At least he didn’t code an f-bomb through the first letter of each line, as he’s been known to do.
An Ad Campaign Gone Wrong
Published November 12, 2009 @ 04:33PM PT
A marketing campaign by outdoor gear retailer Moosejaw is drawing sharp criticism from criminal justice reform advocates -- and for good reason.
The backlash is focused on the store's new ad campaign, which includes pictures of models wearing fleece jackets in prison, and includes an absurd and offensive "Jail Activity Book," including joke games like a "don't get shanked in the shower maze."
The new catalog wonders why so few Moosejaw customers have done time, and jokes that this is "unacceptable." It offers joke greeting cards "in an effort to assist human people doing time in the joint" saying things like "You've been here 25 years, Happy Anniversary." It has a joke "letters to the warden" section.
The campaign makes a joke of a serious problem in this country -- and, to me at least, the punchline isn't exactly clear. It's a lame ad campaign that offends without really making any point (or having any connection to hiking and camping gear). I like funny advertising. I usually like South-Park-style offensive humor, if it has a point. This pointless campaign isn't funny, and it perpetuates the stereotypes that set back prison reform.
I asked the company to respond to criticism before I posted on the issue, and I have to say I'm not entirely satisfied with the answer.
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