Alternatives To Incarceration

थे कम्युनिटी रेस्पोरातिओं Campaign

2011-07-21T12:04:00.002-04:00

http://www.thousandkites.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=67

The Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Advocacy Campaign

2009-02-20T11:35:00.001-05:00

The Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Advocacy Campaign is our way of educating the general public as well as public officials on how to implement overall literacy and rehabilitation programs that are designed to reduce prison populations, crime, and the overall cost of corrections। We can demonstrate links to literacy, learning disabilities, and under-funded educational opportunities that send some down a path of deviant behavior which can lead to crime. Therefore, this campaign will focus on much more cost-effective ways of preventing crime while also promoting a more productive citizenry.

Be a Part of Smart On Crime Solutions

2009-02-20T11:32:00.001-05:00

AdvoCare is a non-profit, membership organization that is part of a national effort to reduce crime through criminal justice reform.
AdvoCare’s goals are: (a) to provide assistance to prisoners and ex-offenders in the form of education and employment referrals; (b) to provide prisoners, family members of prisoners and all others concerned with updates on legal issues regarding prison conditions and criminal legislation; (c) to provide a periodic newsletter to those concerned with prison related legal issues; and (d) to provide a link with other nonprofit organizations.
In our work at AdvoCare, we support projects that help reduce the reliance on incarceration in order to improve public safety. As a part of this we track the legal and legislative issues that affect prisoners and their families. We attend many different conferences and meetings of other nonprofit organizations, compile data, and research the most recent court decisions or legislation that may pertain to prisoners’ interests. As we track cases and legislative proposals, we also provide the information to prisoners, their families and others who may be interested. We research case law and statutes for those prisoners who may not have access to complete legal authorities. And, in some circumstances with our limited volunteer resources, we may make contact with legislators, officials, and even the courts to better track the handling of an individual case, grievance or informal complaint.
Basically, our goal at AdvoCare is to aid prisoners and their families in achieving the best possible life while dealing with the confines of corrections. We strive to bring families and communities together in order to rehabilitate individuals rather than continuing to disenfranchise them.
AdvoCare’s membership consists of a vastly diverse group of individuals from different social, economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
AdvoCare members include professionals, legislators, housewives, incarcerated individuals and their family members, victims of crime, students and other citizens concerned about the status of our criminal justice system।
http://www.smartoncrimesolutions.org/

DoNotGiveUpHopeUSA

2008-10-16T09:59:00.002-04:00

Ex-con takes steps to save death-row inmates, reform prisons

2008-05-22T20:32:00.000-04:00

Andre Latallade
Posted by Star-Ledger Features May 18, 2008 12:00AM
Categories: Rapper
Walk the Line
Ex-con takes steps to save death-row inmates, reform prisons

Story by CARRIE STETLER / Photos by SAED HINDASH
After spending eight years of his life locked up, Andre Latallade still lives like a prisoner.

He feels paranoid in social situations. Too much sunlight makes him edgy. His home in Newark is a cell-like basement apartment with no windows, no carpet and no kitchen.

But two months ago, Latallade, 43, began a 1,700-mile walk to protest the death penalty. Next week, he vows, he'll be in Texas.

"When I was in prison, everyone forgot about me," says Latallade, a rapper whose stage name is Capital X. "I want to show inmates on death row that I won't forget about them."

The walk began on March 31 in Trenton -- where, in December, New Jersey became the first state in four decades to abolish the death penalty -- and will finish in Huntsville, Texas, the state with the most executions.

Of more than 3,000 prisoners on death row, Texas executed 27 last year, more than 60 percent of the national total.

"I'm not always up on all the statistics," admits Latallade, whose beat-up Air Jordans have lasted throughout the walk. "But I know what's immoral."

Latallade (he pronounces it La-tah-LAH-day) turned his life around six years ago, after doing time on drug and aggravated assault charges. Since, he has built a name for himself as an activist for prisoners' rights, affiliated with national and international groups that are fighting capital punishment.

For Latallade, death row is the last stop in a system that brutalizes inmates and makes rehabilitation nearly impossible. Even if they manage to break the cycle of crime and punishment, it leaves mental and physical scars that never heal, he says.

"You committed a crime, you get removed from society and you pay your debt," says Latallade. "But these are environments that just make people worse, and society pays for that .¤.¤. My purpose is to speak for human beings that are being treated like non-human beings."

Events in Texas
When he arrives in Texas, the state Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will hold rallies, vigils and other events to publicize Latallade's message, including a protest outside the governor's mansion in Houston.

His "Walk for Life" has received support from Amnesty International and other abolitionist groups in the U.S. and Europe, including Senza Voce ("Voice of the Voiceless"), an Italian group that is co-planning the events in Texas.

"What he's doing is quite a feat," says Bill Pelke, co-founder of Journey of Hope, a national group that helps murder victims' families fight capital punishment. "It shows that people can change and do good things. I think he reaches an audience that isn't always reached by the movement."

Pelke, of Alaska, fought a well-publicized battle to get his grandmother's killer off death row in 1986. He joined Latallade for part of his walk near Washington, D.C.

Death penalty advocates, however, have questioned the credibility of ex-cons turned crusaders, like Latallade.

"The way they represent harsh conditions can be much distorted," says Robert Blecker, a professor at New York Law School who favors capital punishment and had never heard of Latallade.

According to Blecker, inmates awaiting execution receive some of the best treatment in the prison system, no matter how heinous their crimes.

"Even a lot of death row inmates support the death penalty, for others if not for themselves," he says. "I've seen guys on death row in Tennessee saying, 'It's a joke, this other inmate is out their playing basketball and he killed three kids.'¤"

Latallade's walk -- he hopes to complete 35 miles a day over 54 days -- comes at a time when a record number of Americans are in prison. According to a study released by the Pew Center on the United States in February, more than one in 100 adults is now incarcerated, the highest number in U.S. history and a figure that tops every other nation in the world.

Rikers Island blues
It's a process Latallade calls "prisonization." For him, it began when he was sent to Rikers Island after being arrested on a drug charge at 17, three years after he dropped out of school.

"That was the first time I saw a prisoner get killed. I hadn't even made up my bunk yet. These guys were arguing over the phone, one just started shanking the hell out of the other," he says.

Latallade witnessed scores of stabbings, beat-downs and rapes in jails and prisons in New York and New Jersey, he says.

The subtlest slight -- or perceived slight -- could trigger an attack, from failing to return a borrowed cigarette to holding eye contact for too long, a sign of disrespect. Guards also beat inmates, he claims.

For protection, Latallade, whose parents are Puerto Rican, joined the Latin Kings gang. "I stayed with the Latinos. I had to," he says. "You had to find a group, and the groups were all segregated."

He learned why prison gangs inspire such loyalty. "You have guys telling you you're a king when you're used to people telling you you're nothing," contends Latallade, who says he is no longer an active member of the gang. "If that's all you hear all day, it can destroy you."

At his apartment in Newark, Latallade wears a black T-shirt stamped with the name of a Anthony Haynes, a death-row inmate who was convicted of murdering a Houston police officer in 1998.

As an homage to Johnny Cash, Latallade dresses in dark colors. His bookshelves are filled with prison memoirs, like "In the Belly of the Beast," alongside contradictory tomes like Marx's "The Communist Manifesto" and Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich."

His tattoos also tell a story. On his left bicep is an illustration of the gurney on which prisoners are strapped for lethal injections. The word "Freedom" is written across his upper chest. His prison number, 305375, is tattooed on his shoulder blades. It's also the name of the nonprofit corporation he founded to fight the death penalty.

Becoming X
Latallade was born in Brooklyn but spent most of his childhood in Morris County. In fourth grade, his family moved to Mine Hill, where he was the only Puerto Rican kid in town. Classmates threw rocks at him and called him "spic," he says. He went on to write a song called "The Spic in Black," a play on the famous Cash tune.

"I didn't even know what the word meant, but I knew it was bad," Latallade remembers. With the song, he says, he was trying to transform a slur into a badge of honor.

In his teens, he developed a PCP addiction and was dealing drugs when his criminal record began. It ended when he sought treatment for substance abuse. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Meniere's disease, an inner-ear condition that has eroded his hearing and triggers episodes of vertigo.

In Mine Hill, his parents worked hard to make a new life for themselves and were at a loss to help him adjust, he says. One person he could turn to was his older sister, Mary.

"She was my anchor not to jump over the edge," he says. "When I was in high school, she kept handing me self-help books, like (M.) Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled," telling me to read these books. I was one of the only cats on the street doing illegal activity, but with a book in my hand."

Mary was a college graduate who gave him "tough love" when he kept landing in prison, he says. Now a stay-at-home mom in North Carolina who processes disability claims for the state, she let him know that, until he changed, she couldn't help him.

But the biggest incentive to stay out of jail was his daughter, Sheana, now 18. Latallade's marriage to an exotic dancer in the early 1990s ended after several years, but he formed a close bond with his daughter, whom he raised as a single father in Budd Lake for several years after his ex-wife moved to Texas.

"When I got custody, I told her, 'I'm not pushing you to be an adult, but we're going to be a team.' It was tough, but I learned a lot and so did she. I learned how to be patient and flexible."

His daughter, who now lives with her mother in Texas, will join him on the walk, too.

Ex-con and activist
After his release from prison in 2001, Latallade got a degree in sound technology from the County College of Morris and was about to start an internship for a major music label, but his prison record prevented him from being hired, he says.

That's when he began speaking out against the prison system and started corresponding with inmates on death row.

His stalled rap career picked up after he began writing about his beliefs. He got a slot on the Warped Tour in 2004, which led to gigs in Italy and other European countries, sponsored by Senza Voce.

"His mission is to bring the truth to light," says his manager, Timothy Kostenko, a rapper and financial advisor with Morgan Stanley whose stage name is "Tim Grins."

Kostenko, who grew up in the Sussex County town of Vernon and now lives in Annapolis, Md., is funding Latallade's walk, despite the fact that he's uncertain about the death penalty. "Sometimes I look at a guy that killed four people, three cops, and I think, 'Why should this person be allowed to live?,'¤" he says.

But he believes in Latallade.

"What he's doing is important. I've seen kids who are the result of three, four generations of poverty. He's an example to them that, listen, you don't have to choose this route. I can see it in his eyes that he's on a mission. I've told him, 'Why don't you convince me?'¤"

Additional insight:
Favorite rapper: Melle Mel of Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five
Favorite singer: Mary J. Blige
Need to walk to Texas: Lots of prayer and focus
First thing he did when he got out of prison: "Spent time with my daughter."

Published May 18, 2008

http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2008/05/andre_latallade.html

Sharoncobb: On '60 Minutes' Tonight (May 4) DNA Helps Free Inmate After 27 Years

2008-05-04T18:19:00.000-04:00

Sharoncobb: On '60 Minutes' Tonight (May 4) DNA Helps Free Inmate After 27 Years

2008-05-03T10:16:00.001-04:00

Capital-"X" and Jeffery Blankenship walking for Carol King PA death row.

Walk4Life

2008-04-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

http://capitalxwalk4life.blogspot.com/

2007-04-11T17:17:00.001-04:00

The Reducing Recidivism and Second Chance Act of 2007

2007-03-30T15:23:00.001-04:00

The Reducing Recidivism and Second Chance Act of 2007
S. 1060, Introduced March 29, 2007 by Senators Biden, Specter, Brownback & Leahy
__________________________________________________________________

Purpose

The Reducing Recidivism and Second Chance Act of 2007 provides competitive grants to promote innovative programs to test out a variety of methods aimed at reducing recidivism rates. Efforts would be focused on post-release housing, education and job training, substance abuse and mental health services, and mentoring programs, just to name a few.

Need for this Legislation

Over two million people are serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions more are in local jails. Ninety-five percent (approximately 650,000 per year) of all prisoners incarcerated today will eventually be released.

These offenders are currently reentering our communities with insufficient monitoring, little or no job skills (up to 60 percent are unemployed), inadequate drug treatment (between 57 and 70 percent of inmates used drugs regularly before incarceration), insufficient housing (15-27 percent expect to go to homeless shelters upon release), lack of positive influences, a paucity of basic physical and mental health services, and deficient basic life skills. Not surprisingly, two-thirds of released state prisoners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of release. The cost to society is enormous—the average annual cost of incarcerating a prisoner is $20,000, and the annual expenditures for incarceration increased more than six-fold between 1982 ($9 billion) and 2002 ($60 billion).

What the Bill Does

The Reducing Recidivism and Second Chance Act of 2007 authorizes $192 million annually to address these issues:

It reauthorizes and makes improvements to existing State and local government offender reentry program. The bill authorizes $50 million annually for the Department of Justice’s State and local grant program, increasing authorization levels, incorporating best practices from the reentry field, and requiring the measuring and reporting of performance outcomes

It authorizes new competitive grants for innovative programs to reduce recidivism. The bill authorizes $130 million each year in grants for State and local governments and public and private entities to develop and implement comprehensive substance abuse treatment programs, academic and vocational education programs, and housing and job counseling programs, and mentoring for offenders who are approaching release and who have been released. The bill requires grantees to establish performance goals and benchmarks and report performance outcomes to Congress.

It strengthens the Bureau of Prisons’ ability to provide reentry services to federal prisoners. The bill authorizes funds to improve federal offender reentry services and to establish an elderly non-violent offender pilot program.

It authorizes grants for research and best practices. The bill authorizes additional funds for research on innovative drug treatment methods, causes of recidivism, and methods to improve education and vocational training during incarceration and for the development of best practices.

Second Chance Passes out of House Judiciary Committee

2007-03-29T13:29:00.000-04:00

Date:
3/28/2007 3:09:49 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From:
gguerrero@osi-dc.org

The House Judiciary Committee passed out the Second Chance Act today after a 5 hour markup dealing with a lengthy series of proposed amendments by Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) designed to gut the bill. In addition to the efforts to bar discrimination against religious groups and add faith-based language (both of which would have jeopardized bipartisan support for the bill, he wanted to strip out reentry courts, eliminate family based programs, limit reentry services to no more than six months, and several others. With one exception the votes against his amendments were along party lines. Representatives Cannon and Coble voted against his amendment to strip out family based programs. Rep. Cabot also proposed a controversial mandatory restitution amendment that apparently could keep some reentering persons under criminal justice supervision indefinitely if they were unable to satisfy a restitution obligation. That amendment, which was identical to H.R. 845 introduced by Chabot, was also defeated.

There is a possibility that the Senate version of the Second Chance Act will be introduced tomorrow. As you know we need to do all we can to get cosponsors in both the House and Senate. I will be out of town the rest of this week and next week. The next reentry working group meeting is on Thursday, April 12.

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The next meeting of the reentry working group will be on Thursday, April 12th at noon at Open Society, 1120 19th St, NW, Washington. Sandwiches will be available so please rsvp if you can attend.
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The markup in the House Judiciary Committee’s crime subcommittee is on for tomorrow, Tuesday, March 27, following a 1:00 pm hearing on mental health issues in the criminal justice system. The hearing and the markup will be in 2141 Rayburn. Come if you can. Please do whatever you can to urge Representatives to promptly cosponsor the Second Chance Act, H.R. 1593. The full Judiciary Committee may act on the Second Chance Act on Wednesday. Please urge all Judiciary Committee supporters of the Second Chance Act to attend the markups. Republican Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is expected to again offer amendments designed to stop the bill. A list of Judiciary Committee members is below.

Jeremy reports that Senate staffers hope to introduce the Senate version of the bill this week. That is a bit up in the air because one key staffer is dealing with a family emergency. But they hope to move the bill quickly through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The reentry working group met this morning, 3/26, to review needed action. Congressman Davis’s key staffers attended and announced that they are sending out a dear colleague letter urging cosponsorship. Congressman Cannon’s staffer also attended. They plan a joint Davis/Cannon op-ed urging prompt enactment of the Second Chance Act. There was discussion of asking the editorial board of the Post for a meeting. Gene, Jessica and Kara will explore that possibility. Charles Brown with Rep Davis suggested focusing on the recent PEW report on projected increases in prison populations in media outreach. It was suggested that Clarence Page be approached. The Wash Times carries his column.

Jessica will ask key Senate staffers about preparation of a letter from Judiciary members to Senator Leahy urging prompt action on the Second Chance Act. There was discussion of the need to quickly reach out to Senate offices to get them to cosponsor. Jessica will reach out to Kyl, Sanders; Jan will reach out to Pryor, Cochran; Jeremy will reach out to Feinstein, Salazar, Collins, Tester, Menendez, and Murray; Greg will reach out to Boxer, Akaka, Hagel, Schumer, Bennett, Hatch, McCain, Graham, and Corker; Steve will reach out to Dodd, Lieberman, Harkin, Reed; Barbara Durkin will reach out to Obama, Kerry; Gene will reach out to Mikulski, Lautenberg, Bingaman, Clinton, Dole; Abeo will reach out to Cardin and Brown; Miriam will reach out to Klobuchar and Casey; Kara will reach out to McCaskill and Webb; Sara will reach out to Whitehouse; Malika will reach out to Cantwell.

The reentry working group presented framed copies of the cover page of last year’s Second Chance Act with notes of appreciation from working group members to Second Chance staffers Caleb Gilchrist, Dave Turk, and Jorge Castro who have moved on to other Hill positions. Jessica Nickel with the CSG prepared the awards and presented them to the staffers on behalf of the working group.
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House Judiciary Committee Members

Democrats

Conyers, John (MI), Chair Berman, Howard L. (CA) Boucher, Rick (VA) Nadler, Jerrold (NY) Scott, Bobby (VA) Watt, Melvin (NC) Lofgren, Zoe (CA) Jackson Lee, Sheila (TX) Waters, Maxine (FL) Meehan, Marty (MA) Delahunt, William (MA) Wexler, Robert (FL) Sanchez, Linda (CA) Weiner, Anthony (NY) Schiff, Adam (CA) Cohen, Steven (TN)

Gutierrez, Luis(IL) Sherman, Brad (CA) Davis, Artur (AL) Ellison, Keith (MN)

Republicans

Smith, Lamar (TX), Ranking Member Sensenbrenner, James (WI) Coble, Howard (NC) Gallegly, Elton (CA) Goodlatte, Bob (VA) Chabot, Steve (OH) Lungren, Dan (CA) Cannon, Chris (UT) Keller, Ric (FL) Issa, Darrell (CA) Pence, Mike (IN) Forbes, Randy (VA) King, Steve (IA) Feeney, Tom (FL) Franks, Trent (AZ) Gohmert, Louie (TX) Jordan, Jim (OH)

Gene Guerrero
Open Society Institute/Open Society Policy Center
1120 19th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202-721-5607
Fax: 202-530-0128