By Dianne Frazee-Walker Before the 1800s, prisons in the U.S. were unheard of, and punishment for crime was in the hands of the community. Public hangings were the common rebuke for heinous crimes. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was the basic theory of justice. When prisons replaced public punishment,
It’s a typical dreary January winter morning at a Colorado state penitentiary. Sounds of shackled feet are heard shuffling down a long dark hallway that leads to solitary confinement, also known as Ad Seg. The only background noise is the chilling sound of howling disgruntled inmates. His arms handcuffed and his legs shackled, Rick makes his way to solitary confinement, a place where time stands still and the mentally sane can be driven into the world of insanity.
A mesh bag filled with toiletries is the only item the correctional officer brings to cell No. 22 where Rick will be confined for the next 20 hours. Toiletries are the only items permitted in the 7 by 13 ft. tiny cell, scantily furnished by a small cot, sink, and toilet all made of cold steel and fastened to the floor.
Rick will have to survive in his cell without any type of entertainment including books, magazines or television. In “Removed From Population” (R.F.P.) inmates are not allowed these items. However, in regular Ad. Seg. inmates can pass the time watching T.V. and reading books.
After a lingering stroll to the cell where Rick will spend time in solitary confinement, correctional officers remove his shackles and slam the heavy steel door behind him. Rick experiences one moment of silence before his feed tray door is banged open and he is ordered to place his hands through the narrow opening and his handcuffs are abruptly removed. The reality of being in solitary confinement settles into Rick’s mind.
Rick hasn’t even been charged with a crime. But, he will only spend 20 hours locked in the dismal cell located on the second floor and he requested his extended visit at the Colorado penitentiary.
In a surprise move, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo decided to settle in the solitary confinement practices case of Peoples v. Fischer. The December 2012 case, brought by New York state inmate Leroy Peoples and litigated by the New York Civil Liberties Union, asserted that New York state prisons’ solitary confinement practices and policies were
After a major set-back the Colorado prison system is back on track. Image courtesy www.upress.umn.edu
Before the death of Colorado Corrections director, Tom Clements, the Colorado DOC was working on reentry programs for mentally ill inmates released from solitary confinement.
Ironically, in March 2012, Evan Ebel, an inmate released directly from solitary confinement to the streets shot Mr. Clements in cold blood when he answered the door at his Colorado Springs home. Ebel was later tracked down by authorities in Texas and was fatally wounded in a police shoot out.
Sadly, Mr. Ebel targeted the wrong person upon whom to take out his anger against the correctional system because Clements was a strong advocate for changing solitary confinement policies.
Mr. Clements was a compassionate man who recognized the need for addressing the mental health issues of inmates who spent time in solitary confinement prior to release back into society. He was also dissatisfied with the number of inmates that were held in administrative segregation (aka ad seg) in Colorado Correctional facilities.
Just months shy of the one year anniversary of Clements’ death and the interruption of the progress the Colorado Correctional Department was making to solitary confinement policies, Kellie Wasko, the department’s executive director announced that “it was time to pick it back up and move on.”
On February 11, 2014, the Public Safety Committees of the California legislature held their second hearing on the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) solitary confinement policies and practices. This hearing was partly prompted due to the massive and historic work and hunger strikes of over 30,000 California state prisoners late last year. The
Tom Clements, Chief Executive Director of Colorado Corrections was known by his friends, family, and affiliates as a compassionate man, dedicated to changing how Colorado Corrections deals with violent inmates locked away into solitary confinement for of lengthy periods of time. Photo courtesy thedenverchannel.com
Clements had strong aspiration to do what it takes to build safe communities in Colorado. He was a visionary who foresaw how creating programs for inmates who are released from solitary confinement to society is connected to lowering recidivism rates, resulting in crime free neighborhoods.
Clements was a former director of operations for Missouri’s twenty-one adult correctional institutions and overall management of 30,500 incarcerated offenders since 2007. He served in statewide leadership roles within the adult probation and parole system and in Missouri’s adult correctional institutions system until he was hired by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper in 2010 as Chief Executive Director of Colorado Corrections.
When Governor Hickenlooper made the decision to hire Clements he announced, “Tom Clements has built a distinguished career working his up through the ranks in the Missouri corrections system.”
California’s prison system is one of the largest in the country. At the beginning of 2013 the state housed 199,000 inmates. The California prison population is facing a major crisis. The prison population is 50% over what the prison system is safely equipped to hold. Some California prisons are at 180% over capacity. A goal of reducing the overflow to137.5% was requested by federal courts in January with a 6-month deadline.
Presently, California prisons continue to be in a dismal predicament. Image courtesy sfbayview.com
For the last two-years Governor Jerry Brown has been rejecting the United States Supreme Court’s orders to release low risk inmates to lower the prison population. His reasoning for not reaching federal regulations is his concern for public safety.
The consequences of Brown’s unwillingness to conform are compounding the prison overpopulation problem.
The California prison overcrowding dilemma is causing a multitude of other issues.
We have profiled every prison within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Learn about each prison’s location, security level, educational and recreational offerings, and much more.
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