National Commission Examines Oversight of U.S. Prisons and Jails and Gang Activity Behind Bars

9 February 2006

Today the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons began its final hearing with testimony from corrections professionals, prison monitors and litigators, former prisoners, scholars, and others on the crucial role of oversight and accountability in creating safe conditions in U.S. prisons and jails, and on the nature and prevalence of gang violence.

"Our fourth and final hearing is focused on oversight and accountability, because these two issues underlie everything else this Commission has discussed since we began our work in March of last year," said former U.S. Attorney General and Commission Co-Chair, Nicholas de B. Katzenbach. "The questions 'who's watching' and 'who's responsible' are at the beginning and end of dealing with all of the problems we've examined."

The importance of oversight in both preventing and learning from problems in corrections is being underscored throughout the two-day hearing. Victoria Wright told the Commissioners about her husband of 33 years, Jay, who was convicted of a white-collar crime and died last August while serving his three-year sentence in a California State prison. He had a history of heart attacks, and she believes he did not receive the medication he needed. Since her husband's death, she has been trying to piece together what happened.

Prison and jail administrators, including the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Roderick Hickman, are testifying about what correctional systems are doing to hold themselves accountable for the safety of prisoners and staff.

In a written statement prepared in advance of his testimony tomorrow, A.T. Wall, who directs the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, offered his view of the crux of the problem: "Prisons and jails are self-contained societies, and inside there exists a natural imbalance of power. As corrections professionals, we are always trying to address this so that society's requirements for a penal system can be met at the same time we are trying to protect and care for inmates. Greater accountability, however, will only occur when people inside and outside the system recognize this challenge."

Other veteran corrections administrators testifying at the hearing include: Harley Lappin, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Gwendolyn Chunn, President of the American Correctional Association; Dora Schriro, Corrections Director in Arizona; and Michael Ashe, Sheriff of Hampden County, Massachusetts.

Later today, California's Inspector General Matthew Cate will testify that oversight and accountability are "two sides of the same coin." He believes there is more accountability today in California corrections because of the oversight his office provides. For Cate, independence is crucial. Oversight mechanisms must operate outside of the department of corrections and must be insulated from the legislature and executive branches of government.

Judge Myron Thompson who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama will explain tomorrow why federal constitutional litigation is necessary to ensure that prisoners are protected from abusive prison and jail conditions. William Yeomans, former supervisor at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice agrees, but will caution against relying on litigation as the only or primary form of oversight. Yeomans also will suggest ways of strengthening litigation as one important way to hold systems accountable.

The Commission is also hearing testimony about the problem of gang violence behind bars. This morning, former prisoners and gang members explained why people join prison gangs, the damage they cause, and how the correctional environment needs to change in order to reduce the draw of gangs for prisoners. Testimony by Professor James Byrne of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell helped to bridge the issues of gangs and oversight: "Oversight is critical because as a society, we have to get past the 'out of sight; out of mind' mentality where prisoners are concerned," making the point that what happens inside prison -- including gang violence -- doesn't stay inside prison but instead reaches into community.

For more information about the hearing and witnesses, go to http://www.prisoncommission.org/public_hearing_4.asp.

The Commission has received support from elected officials, including United States Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). "It is critical that our nation's prison system be continually evaluated, with rigorous examination of the effectiveness of its programs, careful review of abuses and potential abuses, and creative assessment of new ideas. The Commission's efforts to examine issues surrounding safety and abuse in America's prisons are a critical part of that necessary effort."

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons is a diverse, 21- member, non-partisan panel. Since March 2005 it has been exploring the most serious problems inside U.S. correctional facilities; their impact on the incarcerated, the men and women who staff facilities, and society at large; and how to make America's prisons and jails safer and more effective. The Commission will release its final report and recommendations in the spring of 2006. The Commission is staffed by and funded through the Vera Institute of Justice.

Source: prnewswire

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