TEDx SingSing, by Sean Pica - Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

Greenwich, Connecticut

TEDx SingSing

by Sean Pica - Guest Blogger

We first met Sean Pica, and the wonderful students & graduates of Hudson Link, when they spoke for us at Union Theological Seminary.  In their honor, we hosted a panel on Religion and Prison, a showing of their important movie "Zero Percent," and a midday chapel service featuring a sermon by Union Trustee Petero Sabune, former Chaplain of Sing Sing Prison.  Leading up to their groundbreaking project on Dec. 3rd - TEDx SingSing - to be filmed by director Jonathan Demme - we asked Sean if he would guest blog for prisonist.org. - Jeff

___________

The night of Friday November 21 was a cold one, but the cold could not damper the excitement of the TEDxSing Sing organizing team, even though the heat in the venue had not yet been turned on! Bryonn Bain and several colleagues from NYU were on their way in to help coach the speakers to make sure their messages came across as powerfully as possible on the big day, December 3. This was the first time some members of the organizing team heard all of the inside speakers’ presentations, and they were blown away. The creativity, charisma, and passion that the speakers displayed ignited our excitement even more.

Bundled in coats, hats, and scarves, we did one run-through before Bryonn and his team arrived.  The organizers and the speakers gave each other feedback, and the MC got a feel for the stage. When Bryonn arrived, the real fun began! He performed some of his incredible poetry to live musical accompaniment, a guitar player and cello player both playing in the background. Sitting in a circle making  art together, it was easy to forget that we were freezing cold, and deep inside a maximum security prison. We transcended our differences in that moment and were simply people, communicating through lyrics and song. Superintendent Capra (who will be speaking on December 3) and his wife stopped by to see how everyone was doing, and both were very impressed by how everything was coming together. We are so lucky to be working with such a supportive and invested administrators like those at Sing Sing.

After the jam session, the real work began. We broke into small groups, with one or two speakers in each group, so everyone would have the chance to receive feedback. Speakers were instructed to find their “offering,” the main take-away from their talk, the big idea they were trying to communicate. All of the speakers knew abstractly why they were talking about their chosen topic, but focusing in on that offering, putting it into words, and connecting it to the core, personal reason that topic was so important to them, unlocked these presenters in an incredible way.  The speakers were already so engaging, but this centering and clarifying gave their presentations a new dimension of passion and confidence.

We left Sing Sing that night feeling such excitement for the day of December 3, and so eager to give these men a platform to offer their valuable ideas to the world. But we also knew that we had already succeeded; through the process of planning TEDxSing Sing collaboratively with incarcerated men, advocates, and members of the community, we had already created the healthy community we would be focusing on on December 3.  

Sean Pica, MSW is the Exec. Director of
Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison 

and Co-Founder of TEDx SingSing. He can be reached at 

(o) 914-941-0794 ext. 12, SPica@hudsonlink.org.
 P.O. Box 862 | Ossining, NY  10562

www.hudsonlink.org
 Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
 

___________

 

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
jg3074@columbia.edu

(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887 Linked In Twitter  Facebook 

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

___________

Comments from Social Media:

Material Freedom vs Spiritual Freedom, By Pandit Dasa - Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

Greenwich, Connecticut

Material Freedom vs.

 Spiritual Freedom

By Pandit Dasa - Guest Blogger 

We invited our friend Gadadhara Pandit Dasa, the Interfaith Chaplain of my alma mater, Union Theological Seminary, to write a guest blog for prisonist.org.  A prolific speaker (TEDx, PBS, NPR) and blogger (Huffington Post), Pandit had never before written and published his thoughts relating to freedom & incarceration. - Jeff

Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

___________

What does it really mean to be free? Is it just the ability to eat where and when I want? Is it the ability to go where I want, to watch whatever show on television that I want, or just to hang out with friends? To a large degree, it would be safe to define this as freedom.

However, Eastern wisdom tells us that even those who have the freedom to engage in all the activities mentioned above are imprisoned. They are prisoners of their mind and senses. The Bhagavad Gita, the most prominent spiritual text from India explains that we are not the physical body made up of matter. Rather, we are a spirit soul living in this body. Our imprisonment is our forgetfulness of our true identity, which is causing us to identify ourselves with the material body.

It’s a very difficult paradigm to digest, even if you were raised with a belief in the soul.  Basically, it’s telling us that when we’re looking into a mirror, we’re not seeing the real person.  We’re only seeing the exterior covering.  The real person is sitting within the body.  The body is often times described as a vehicle and the soul as the driver.  A vehicle can’t function without the driver.  The soul is seated in a vehicle made not of metal, but of flesh and bones.  The eyes are like the headlights and the arms and legs like the wheels, which allow for motion.

The soul is the spiritual spark that creates consciousness.  It can also be said that it is consciousness.  Without the soul, the body is just a lifeless lump of matter that starts decaying and loses all attractiveness.  We have to admit that no matter how close we were to someone, once the soul leaves the body, we’d prefer not to hang around the body for too long.

Recognition of our spiritual identity doesn’t translate into indifference towards one’s own or others’ bodies.  The body is a very important vehicle.  It can’t be neglected as it serves as the vehicle for the soul and it takes the soul to its next destination.  That destination can either be another material body or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

The other reason, everyone is considered imprisoned is because we all have a mind that is completely out of control.  Hinduism suggests that one cannot be considered a free person, unless they have control of their mind and senses. The mind lives within us and controls our thoughts, emotions and actions. We go to sleep with it every night and we wake up with it every morning. If we're going to spend that much time with someone, doesn't it make sense to develop a friendship with that individual?

The Bhagavad Gita says that the “mind can become one’s best friend or worst enemy.” Too often it’ll force us to act in ways that are detrimental to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

So, Hinduism implores us to make self-realization and God realization the primary goal of our human life. Meditation, prayer, and acts of devotion to God can purify the heart and mind of envy, greed, pride, and anger. Unless these tendencies are removed from our consciousness, there is very little possibility of character reform. It will take commitment and serious dedication to realize that we are not the body or mind and that we are actually servants and friends of the Divine. Spiritual freedom means to reestablish our relationship with the Divine which is the only true source of happiness.

Pandit Dasa is a hindu chaplain at New York University and Union Theological Seminary. Pandit is an author, meditation teacher, inspirational speaker, and lecturer at Columbia University. He has spoken at a TEDx conference and has been featured on PBS, NPR, NY Times, and writes for the Huffington Post. He has spoken at Google, Bank of America, Intel, Novartis, Harvard, Columbia and many other institutions.

In his book, Urban Monk: Exploring Karma, Consciousness, and the Divine, Pandit writes about how he learned to deal with and overcome the loss of his family's multi-million dollar fortunes that left him and his family with next to nothing. Pandit uses his life experience and decades of in-depth studies to assist people in overcoming the various stress factors in their own lives. Pandit's unique approach applies Eastern wisdom and meditation techniques to help the audience gain deeper insight into their mind and understand the reasons we becomes stressed, anxious, and angry. To reach Pandit:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin

___________

 

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887
Linked In
Twitter 
Facebook 

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

___________

Comments from Social Media: 

Big Time: American Justice Summit, JustLeadershipUSA & TEDx SingSing, by Jeff Grant

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

Big Time: American Justice Summit,

JustLeadershipUSA & TEDx SingSing

New York

By Jeff Grant

The stars are aligning for the advancement of criminal justice in this country.  It is not surprising that the light seems to be shining on New York, and spreading out to the rest of the country. Here in neighboring Connecticut, we not only are not only doing significant criminal justice work of our own, we are also honored to be involved and included in these New York milestones. 


On Monday, Nov. 10th, Andrew Kaplan and I attended the American Justice Summit at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.  Babz Rawls Ivy, Andrew and I are the Online Editors for the important new book, The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream. We met up with Connecticut criminal justice leaders, Vivien Blackford and Kumar Viswanathan, who are the Chair & Exec. Director, respectively, of the Phoenix Association. The Summit was glorious - it was not only led by of some of the most notable and influential voices in criminal justice today, it was a gathering of the tribe; a place where our community came together to breathe the same air and know that we are not alone in our noble cause.  You can watch the entire Summit on YouTube here.

JustLeadershipUSA’s benefit and launch was held on Weds. evening, Nov. 12th at the Tribeca Rooftop in New York City. Lynn and I had a blast - lots of photos below! It was hosted by its Founder/President Glenn E. Martin (who did an outstanding job speaking at the American Justice Summit), and was chaired by Piper Kerman of Orange is the New Black. Our ministry, the Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project was selected to have its work highlighted among fifteen Leaders in Criminal Justice at the JustLeadershipUSA event.  We are humbled and honored.

"I believe that the launching of JustLeadershipUSA will be viewed, one day, by historians and advocates alike as a true game changer: the moment in the emerging movement when formerly incarcerated people finally had a chance to be heard, to organize, and to influence policy in major ways — even though many of them still lacked the right to vote." - Michelle Alexander, Author, The New Jim Crow

TEDx SingSing will be a landmark in New York and American criminal justice history. Dec. 3, 2014.  We are grateful to Sean Pica, Exec. Director of Hudson Link, for inviting us to attend TEDx Sing Sing and bear witness to this groundbreaking event! Check out the speakers here. Counting days till this one.

Here are some photos from our big time this past week.  - Jeff 

 with American Justice Summit panelist, John Wetzel.

with Andrew Kaplan.

P.S. Big Thanks to Community Partners in Action, 

Hartford, CT, and Family ReEntry, Bridgeport, CT, 

for your support this week! - Jeff

________ 

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

___________

Comments from Social Media: 

Barry Kolanowski | Director

Non-Profit Executive Director | Energizing Speaker | Author | Strategist

I can still remember taking a delegation from Japan through our dedicated drug prison in Illinois when asked by the interpreter, who pays for this program? When i explained that it was not only very effective in reducing recidivism and paid for by grants, donations, and State funding he just shook his head. He responded this will never work in Japan as they view prison as punishment not a place to help them improve their lives. Over 90% of all those in our prisons will be released some day. If nothing is done, they will just recommit a crime and return. 

Jerry Porricelli 

Personal & Corp Development

Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time - Steve Uzell. It is such a common myth that we can do more than one thing at the same time, people think it is something they ought to do. It's a recipe for disaster.

Tom Dudley 

President/Owner at R Club Productions "88 Keys to Freedom"

I will be at the Sing Sing event I am a music coordinator for Road Recovery's music program there, Hope to meet you

Sr Charles Ellis

Pastor at Harvest New Life Church

On behalf of Harvest New Life Church we like to extend an open invitation to those of you who like to join us on tonight @ 7 PM We're going to be in the book of PHILEMON

JustLeadershipUSA, By Glenn E. Martin - Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

Greenwich, Connecticut

JustLeadershipUSA

By Glenn E. Martin - Guest Blogger

JustLeadershipUSA's big launch and benefit is
 coming up on Weds., Nov. 12th in NYC.
  We asked our friend Glenn E. Martin - 
its leader and visionary - if he would 
contribute something special to prisonist.org.  
He did not disappoint.  - Jeff

Recently, I was invited to serve as a member of NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Reentry and Reintegration Council.  I was both humbled and troubled at once:  I was humbled because as a man whose youthful past includes serving six years in a New York State correctional facility, I recognize how fortunate I am to simultaneously lead JustLeadershipUSA (www.justleadershipusa.org), serve on a number of non-profit Boards, wear various other leadership hats and speak as a member of several different communities. I was troubled because so many formerly incarcerated people—in fact the vast majority—has never had the opportunity to develop their potential.  The creation and launch of JustLeadershipUSA is my attempt to end that pattern of alienation and oppression now.

For me, exiting prison in 2000 was a rebirth.  I wanted to be great.  I knew I was developing a distinct voice that if fully realized, would become resounding enough to make a difference.  But where was my platform?  And even if such a proverbial platform existed, how would it develop?  So began my journey.

Much of what I’ve accomplished thus far can be attributed to the compassion and generosity of my friends, family and colleagues, self-education, leadership training, sound mentoring and exposure to opportunity.  Periods of reflection have allowed me to be both appreciative of my achievements and critical of the many barriers that have surfaced along the way.

JustLeadershipUSA is the culmination of such reflection. We are dedicated to cutting the US prison population in half by 2030 while reducing crime. JustLeaderhipUSA empowers people most affected by incarceration to drive policy reform.  To realize our vision and achieve our goals, we develop and support formerly incarcerated leaders, build and sustain an engaged national membership and rive policy advocacy efforts on the federal, state and local levels.  The idea that communities and individuals impacted by incarceration and our criminal justice system will now have a formal space dedicated to tapping their potential to become leaders in reform efforts brings me hope that we will finally achieve deep, sustainable change in our criminal justice system.

I carefully considered the principles that must guide such an organization. JustLeadershipUSA has learned a great deal from the vast criminal justice institutes, think tanks and social service programs that currently exist.  However, it also dares to put new and authentic drivers in the seat of the reform locomotive.  It is time for those closest to the problem to rise up and lead us all down the path out of our problems.  No community wants, or needs, true reform to occur more than the ones directly impacted by a failed criminal justice system.  Why, then, are we not seeking their advice about what needs to change, where we can improve, and what strategies do we need to implement to actually see such change?

50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King’s "I Have A Dream" speech, America has gradually expanded the definition of justice and civil rights. Led by King's vision, and the sweat of many other social engineers, many groups that were once disenfranchised and ignored now have a place behind the podium. One's sexual orientation, gender identification, ethnicity, or immigration status does not automatically preclude one from playing a significant role in one's destiny.

Yet 50 years after that emblazoned speech, many continue to selectively downplay the fact that King—the Reverend...the Doctor...the peacemaker—was also, at various points in his life, a man behind bars.  He was exposed to the brutality of prison life and relegated to a number, with no regard for his name or stature.  It was behind bars that he wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” where he stated the following:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."

JustLeadershipUSA is not an expansion, but a recognition of King's vision of a nation composed of equally empowered citizens.  Our incarceration system was built on the flawed thinking that "lock 'em up and throw away the key" would solve all of our public safety problems.  But as King insightfully highlighted, we are all patches in this quilt called America, woven together by both our victories and our injustices.  Repositioning the patches of the millions of Americans impacted by the criminal justice system is JustLeadershipUSA's "call to action," and an important step toward his dream being realized.

I acknowledge that my success is also tied to my failures; that I am invited to circles largely because to many of my colleagues I represent an “exception,” rather than the rule.  But my life is dedicated to changing what we have accepted as the “norm.”  JustLeadershipUSA seeks to provide a space for those for whom society has no room; time for those for whom we have no time; a voice for those whose cries have been muffled and muted.  JustLeadershipUSA aims to serve as a vehicle for millions who aim for the same rights and opportunities as their fellow Americans: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We can no longer incarcerate millions of human beings without examining ourselves and the cultural, societal and public policies that created the mass incarceration complex in the United States. Nor can we continue to claim to be the land of opportunity while implementing policies to ensure that opportunity eludes so many.    It is time for all to dare to create sustainable change in how we define and administer justice in America.  To that end, we look forward to working with you and hope you will join us by clicking here to join our membership.  United Purpose, United Voice, United Power.  #halfby2030  @glennEmartin

GLENN E. MARTIN is the Founder and Chief Risk Taker of JustLeadershipUSA. (JLUSA). Glenn is a national leader and criminal justice reform advocate who spent six years in New York State prisons. Prior to founding JLUSA, Glenn served for seven years as Vice President of Development and Public Affairs at The Fortune Society and six years as Co-Director of the National HIRE Network at the Legal Action Center.

Glenn is Co-Founder of the Education from the Inside Out Coalition, a 2014 Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellow, a 2012 America’s Leaders of Change National Urban Fellow, and a member of the governing boards of the College and Community Fellowship, Prisoners’ Legal Services, the Petey Greene Program, the Reset Foundation, the New York Foundation, and California Partnership for Safe Communities.

Glenn also serves on the advisory board of the Vera Institute’s Public Health and Mass Incarceration Initiative, the National Network for Safe Communities and the Executive Session on Community Corrections at Harvard Kennedy School. Glenn regularly contributes his expertise to national news outlets such as MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, Al Jazeera and CSPAN on topics such as policing, decarceration, alternatives to incarceration, and reentry issues.

________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

Are Victims' Rights and Prisoner Redemption Compatible? By Brian E. Moran, Esq.

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

Are Victims' Rights and 

Prisoner Redemption Compatible? 

By Brian E. Moran, Esq.

As I travel across Connecticut advocating in favor of right-sizing our prison system, I have encountered audience members who question what prison reform will do for victims.

I am quick to point out that the recent book on which I served as the lead writer, "The Justice Imperative -- How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream," is dedicated to "all those who selflessly work in our criminal justice and correction system for the rights of victims, the protection of the public and the rehabilitation of offenders."
I do not see victim advocates and prisoner advocates as interest groups necessarily in conflict with one another. I also respond by noting that (1) The book does not advocate for the early release of violent offenders or those who pose an undue risk to public safety; (2) We recommend taking 3 percent of the cost savings from right-sizing and investing it in a victims fund to pay for counseling and treatment of victims and educational scholarships for family members of victims; and (3) Many of those currently incarcerated are themselves the victims of physical and sexual abuse, particularly women inmates.

Indeed, as we note in "The Justice Imperative," the "typical female inmate in the United States is a woman of color in her early 30s, convicted of a drug or drug-related offense. She is likely to come from a family whose members are caught up in the criminal justice system. She is apt to be a survivor of physical and sexual abuse, both as a child and as an adult. She has significant substance abuse, as well as physical and mental health issues. She has a GED, but only limited non-vocational training and a spotty work history."

I sense, however, that the foregoing response is inadequate. It seems insufficiently empathetic with the anguish felt by victims of heinous crimes. While I have been mugged at knifepoint, I have not suffered a grievous personal loss to violent crime. Thus, I do not believe I can speak to the agony felt by those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

Nevertheless, I do not regard compassion for victims and affording offenders an opportunity for redemption and reintegration into society as antithetical. When it comes to corrections, our policy choices should be driven largely by what makes economic sense and what works, bearing in mind that public safety is paramount. That said, as a society we should aspire to a system that provides a path for offenders to seek redemption.

Forgiveness is another matter. It should rest within the exclusive province of the victim. The exclusivity of such prerogative is what imbues forgiveness with incredible healing power. I recently read a remarkable book that speaks to the power of forgiveness. The book, "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst The Rwandan Holocaust," was written by Imaculee Ilibagiza, the 2007 winner of the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace.

Imaculee, a Roman Catholic Tutsi, survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide by hiding in a tiny concealed bathroom (3 feet long by 4 feet wide) in a Hutu minister's home. She hid there with seven other Tutsi women for 91 days; there were several times when the women were almost discovered.
As she and the other women hid, her parents were slaughtered and her two brothers were tortured and killed. The perpetrators were neighbors with whom Imaculee grew up and was friendly. An older brother studying in Senegal was her only family member who survived. Following her escape, Imaculee learned the identity of her family's killers. Eventually, she visited them in prison and forgave them.

A few years ago, I visited Robbin Island in South Africa. I saw the conditions under which Nelson Mandela was held for 27 years. Mandela, like Imaculee, forgave his captors. As he describes it, such forgiveness had a remarkable effect not only on those who caused him harm, but also on Mandela. He did not feel truly free from his long ordeal until he forgave his transgressors.

The stories of Imaculee and Nelson Mandela reinforce my belief that any system of criminal justice and corrections must not only make sense from an economic and public safety standpoint, but should strive to be humane to both victims and offenders. As New Canaan resident William J. Fox, Director of The Malta Justice Initiative, has written, "(b)y recognizing the human dignity of all offenders and enabling them to realize redemption and restore their relationships within the community, all of society is ennobled."

Brian E. Moran of New Canaan is an attorney with Robinson + Cole in Stamford.

"The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream" can be purchased at Amazon.com. 

 

 Reprinted From The Stamford Advocate, Thurs. Nov. 6, 2014
________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

The Justice Imperative Book Review, by Kam Williams

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

The Justice Imperative Book Review

By KamWilliams

The Justice Imperative:

How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream

by Brian E. Moran, Esq.  

Significance Press  

Paperback, $9.99                                                                     

186 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-9886509-7-8 

Book Review by Kam Williams

           

“Our criminal justice system is in need of reform. [It] costs the taxpayers too much, fails at rehabilitation, exacts a life-long toll on offenders, and does not yield corresponding social benefits. 

 

The purpose of this book is three-fold: (1) to provide information about the causes and extent of the problems overwhelming the process of criminal justice… (2) to explain why reform is long overdue and in our collective best interest… (3) to suggest reforms that are supported by empirical evidence…  

 

As a society, we have become hardened toward felons… [But] it is in the public interest to have released offenders rehabilitated… By recognizing the human dignity of all offenders and enabling them to realize redemption and restore their relationships within the community, all of society is ennobled.

 

Excerpted from the Foreword by William J. Fox (pages i-iii)

The U.S. prison population exploded between 1980 and 2000, thanks primarily to the so-called “War on Drugs.” During that interim, the number of people jailed went from about 300,000 to over 2,000,000. 

 

Today, about 2% of our working-age men are behind bars, most for non-violent offenses, giving the country the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world. Unfortunately, taking this tough stance on crime has come at quite a societal cost. 

 

For, not only is it expensive to house inmates, at over $50,000/year in Connecticut, but there is plenty of evidence that it is failing miserably in its efforts to rehabilitate offenders. Consequently, the State has a high recidivism rate, with over half of its ex-cons returning to the correctional system via a virtual revolving door. 

 

            That is the contention of Brian Moran, lawyer and author of “The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream.” Although the book’s focus is on Connecticut, what’s transpired there proves to be par for the course. 

 

This opus points out that the policy of treating juvenile delinquents like adults has been counterproductive, since “it is more likely that an African-American boy who drops out of high school will be arrested than get a job.” It further laments that “one in every three black males born today can expect to serve time in prison.” 

 

Mr. Moran, as a member of the Malta Justice Initiative, suggests a host of reforms to “The New Jim Crow,” as dubbed by Michelle Alexander, starting with making it easier for parolees to find gainful employment. And the group’s other solutions include reserving incarceration for violent offenders. 

 

The goal: to reduce Connecticut’s spending on the prison system, to reduce its prison population, to reduce its recidivism rate, and to close half its number of prisons. An admirable initiative spearheaded by a visionary attorney wise enough to seek out the bipartisan support necessary to implement the urgently-needed changes.

To learn more about the project visit: www.TheJusticeImperative.org

 

Reprinted from KamWilliams.com

 

 _________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

A White-Collar Wife's Lament, By Jane S, Connecticut - Innocent Spouse & Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut 

A White-Collar Wife's Lament

By Jane S., Connecticut - Innocent Spouse 

& Guest Blogger

This past month has been tough. I put off going to social services as long as I could. That isn't who I am........was. This past Sunday my son got a concussion in his hockey game and we spent the whole day in the er. Any self esteem that I had left is officially gone. I never was someone who went to Dr's without insurance. I had no choice. I never in a million years thought I would be a parent who can not take care of her child. That is how I feel now. Yes we struggled since this began but I never thought I'd need State assistance. I do not want it!

Why? I keep asking myself why? I just don't understand how anyone can't realize these are people lives they are playing with. I know it is all about "a win". I am so sick and tired of hearing of people who can't defend themselves be taken advantage of. They knew darn well that my husband was not receiving proper representation. How could they not? They could care less as long as we were all punished. For what? Where/when does it stop? He had a good job. We had insurance. We could pay our bills, mostly on time. We were about to get our lives on track. We were looking forward to putting this nightmare behind us. Instead we get 2.5 years. More than just us are still paying for this. The bank, his employer, the bills that now I have no way of paying. Sure it would have been an uphill battle. Now all of that went out the window. I am losing everything especially my husband and father of my children. I need state assistance and He is using state money to incarcerate him. In what world does this make sense? They say this is about the money. They have no problem wasting even more money. Delaying repayment of restitution. Taking someone who was paying taxes and contributing to society and making him become part of the economic problem.

They took accusations as fact because they didn't have the knowledge to understand what actually happened. They didn't care what happened. They didn't care he didn't have proper representation! They must have been ecstatic to roll all over him. Seems to me that the ones who are accused and can't afford a proper defense are paying unfairly. All while the ones who actually changed contracts get away with a slap on the wrist. Why? Large corporations who have teams of attorneys to fight would give them a negative win loss ratio. That is what it is all about! Wins and losses! In this case it wouldn't take much to fight because there was nothing much there. Certainly not anything that deserved this time.

Go for the little guy! Get that win! Congratulations! How does no one see what is happening? They are no different than the bully we all knew in school. They grew up and continue to bully. Abuse of power is disgusting. The whole system is warped. It is a game to them. It is destruction of a family to me.

So many stresses lately that I am unable to handle. Brian's blog hit home. It is infuriating. I must be getting used to the insanity of prison in my life. My husband has been a mess as well especially worrying about our son. He kept saying he should be there in the hospital with us and he should of been. He says no one there understands why he is so concerned about all of us. He never missed a first day of school drop off or a hockey game/practice. Our sons hockey schedule coincides with the visiting schedule and this makes it more difficult for Us. Our son is going on a month without seeing him. I hope to visit him Saturday on our daughters 20th birthday. What fun that will be for her. She loves her dad so it will be okay. I keep catching myself saying," how is this my life". It is!

I drove up to MA to say my goodbyes to a dear high school friend. It should have made me thankful that we are all healthy, for the most part. I am but it took a while to get there. Everything should be in perspective but it isn't. 

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Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

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Comments from Social Media:

I know how you feel.  I too suffered from the embarrassment of no insurance after a lifetime of having insurance.  After I was released from prison,  I was not eligible for Medicare Insurance (due to an enrollment technicality) and had to wait almost one year before being covered.  Unfortunately I got sick and had to go to the emergency room for treatment.  There I met doctors who I knew previously and had to admit that I had no insurance.  At 72 years old, I had to go to a clinic and ask for a doctor to give me a prescription for my medicines.  I then had to locate a pharmacy that would fill my prescriptions for a fair cash price.  I felt awful as I signed a form that said I had no insurance and was being allowed a discounted price to help indigent people.  I use to be the person who contributed to charities to help people with problems and now I was the one with problems.  Life is hard enough in prison and then out of prison.  Why keep making it hard and embarrassing for people who have served their time and their families left behind.  We are fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters.  JUST LIKE YOU!!!.  Give us a break every once in a while.  The Mark of Cain seems to follow prisoners and their families.  You are not allowed to harm them but you can shun them and shun them society does. - Barry S. Diamond

Carolyn Esparza

Author of The Unvarnished Truth about the Prison Family Journey

An all too common "lament" of those impacted by the criminal justice system--not to mention many of us who serve as advocates in this field. It's a system that will drain the most emotionally and financially affluent of all resources.