| March 22, 2012
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Supreme Court Update: second chance for juveniles?

For those of you following the story we wrote about last week, Supreme Court to revisit life in prison for juveniles, here is a quick update via Newsy:
It is well documented fact that juveniles are biologically distinct from adults developmentally. These physiological and mental differences make it outlandish to treat them like adults when it comes to matters of crime.

While Justice Scalia may be correct in pointing out that the majority of states allow life sentencing he ignores one vital point. Just because it is, as he put it, “the will of the people” does not mean that the people have all the facts.

This is why we continue to produce works such as Born, Not Raised and It’s More Expensive to Do Nothing, to help provide both information and perspective so that we can make better decisions as a society.

Category: Born Not Raised, Criminal Justice, Humane Exposures, Juvenile Justice, Legislation, Prison Reform | Tags: , ,
| March 21, 2012
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Susan Madden Lankford talks about Born, Not Raised on KPBS

Yesterday our own Susan Madden Lankford was a guest on KPBS, both TV and radio! Here is the video of the televised portion of proceedings. (a link to the 17 minute audio interview on KPBS radio appears after the video.)

For a much more in depth interview check out the one she did for KPBS radio that same day –‘Born, Not Raised’ Explores The Links Between Development And Juvenile Crime

Category: Born Not Raised, downTown U.S.A., Humane Exposures, Interview, It's More Expensive to Do Nothing, Maggots in My Sweet Potatoes, Parenting, Prison Reform | Tags: , , , ,
| March 18, 2012
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Supreme Court to Revisit Life In Prison for Juveniles

Prison cell with bed inside Alcatraz main building san francisco californiaIncarcerating juveniles for life is a uniquely American failing. The U.S. is the only nation that makes this blunder.

Most of the problem stems from the 1990’s when the histrionic term “super-predator” came into vogue among a certain vocal and excitable group. Randy Hertz of The Nation sums up that background nicely:

In the 1990s, a small group of academics capitalized on and galvanized a growing hysteria about violent crime by youths, speculating that an anticipated rise in the youth population, coupled with spurious theories about the exceptional deviance of children of color growing up poor, would lead to a new generation of ‘severely morally impoverished juvenile super-predators…capable of committing the most heinous acts of physical violence for the most trivial reasons.’ Fearing that the rehabilitation-focused juvenile justice system would be inadequate to protect society from this impending menace, lawmakers passed laws that circumvented juvenile court and sent kids to criminal court for prosecution as adults.

Our position on prosecuting kids as adults is abundantly clear. It is detrimental to the kids, to society, and to the financial bottom line. It exposes children to hardened criminals while still at a malleable stage of the development. The list of issues with that approach is long and varied.

Hertz continues with a vital note on the matter. You see, the expert recanted.

The same expert who coined the term ‘super-predator’ now acknowledges that it was nothing but a ghost story, a terrifying myth with disastrous consequences. In an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Miller and Jackson, this expert—and others—note that the juvenile crime rates actually dropped from 1994 to 2000. But a relative handful of children accused of serious crimes—a grossly disproportionate number of them children of color—found themselves caught permanently in the web spun by academics and politicians, sentenced to die in prison with no hope of release no matter how they might transform and reform themselves. Once we give up on these children, many prisons compound the hopelessness by failing to provide access to educational programs.

This coming week the Supreme Court will revisit the subject. The hearing will involve two different cases, both young boys who at the age of 14 committed murder. Both cases shared another characteristic – a sentence of life in prison with no potential for parole.

The outrage was immediate among advocates, who called the sentence “brutal” for failing to recognize the difference between the actions of the immature youths and the actions of an adult.

Judge Gail Garinger, State Child Advocate for Massachusetts and former juvenile court justice, weighs in on the matter (via The New York Times):

Homicide is the worst crime, but in striking down the juvenile death penalty in 2005, the Supreme Court recognized that even in the most serious murder cases, ‘juvenile offenders cannot with reliability be classified among the worst offenders’: they are less mature, more vulnerable to peer pressure, cannot escape from dangerous environments, and their characters are still in formation. And because they remain unformed, it is impossible to assume that they will always present an unacceptable risk to public safety.

The most disturbing part of the superpredator myth is that it presupposed that certain children were hopelessly defective, perhaps genetically so. Today, few believe that criminal genes are inherited, except in the sense that parental abuse and negative home lives can leave children with little hope and limited choices.

As a former juvenile court judge, I have seen firsthand the enormous capacity of children to change and turn themselves around. The same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation.

Let us hope the good sense behind the murder decision in 2005 has a resurgence while they contemplate the current situation. The Alabama Equal Justice Initiative is arguing on behalf of the defendants, and their assertion that life in prison for juveniles constitutes cruel and unusual punishment is one that we support.

It is not that we in any way condone the actions, the loss of human life is horrible no matter the circumstances. The simple fact is that young people and adults have a number of purely biological differences. Brain imaging studies have shown that the parts of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed. For this reason alone it is imperative that we use appropriate standards for punishment as opposed to dealing with them like adults.

For more on this subject please check out our latest book- Born, Not Raised: Voices from juvenile Hall. It’s hot of the presses having only been released this last week!

Category: Born Not Raised, Criminal Justice, Humane Exposures, Juvenile Justice, Legislation, Prison Reform | Tags: , , ,
| March 14, 2012
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Born, Not Raised comes out tomorrow!

BNRIt’s been a long time coming, but tomorrow Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall will be available for sale to the public!

Here are a few excerpts from the preliminary reviews to help whet your appetite.

Publisher’s Weekly was kind enough to review the book a few weeks ago, describing it as follows:

Lankford and her daughter, Polly, visit “the Hall” over a one-year period, refracting their discoveries though the lenses of juvenile legal professionals, psychiatrists, and academic literature. Their quest unearths a collective legacy of addiction and abuse that drives children to drugs, gangs, and violence. Disputing the notion that delinquents are beyond repair, Lankford argues that most inmates can transform their traumatic histories into productive maturity if sustained by just one ‘good enough’ adult.

Karen Billing, a writer for Rancho Sante Fe, examined the history of both the book and Humane Exposures Publishing in a recent article. Here is some of what she had to say about Born, Not Raised:

‘Born, Not Raised’ exposes the gaps in these children’s development, as well as in the system and offers some possible solutions: ‘Could the answer be in parenting, education and learning to raise children responsibly in today’s world?’ Madden Lankford writes.

GoodReads reviewer Susan had this to say:

In this newest book, Susan and daughter Polly tackle the prickly problem of teens who are living in Juvenile Hall, essentially prison for children. Ms. Lankford’s photography is astounding. Her writing is beautiful. But most importantly, she lets the people she and Polly interview speak for themselves.

We are also thrilled that the esteemed Library Journal covered our book (via Barnes and Noble website):

More policy-oriented than academic in tone, this book is recommended for specialized juvenile justice collections and libraries holding the other two volumes in the series. Though government austerity is in vogue, this book is a powerful reminder of the social costs of neglecting the specific needs of at-risk youth.

Judge Irene Sullivan, Author of Raised by the Courts, was kind enough to share her opinion as well:

Susan Lankford captures the heart and soul, aspirations, hopes and fears, of kids in the juvenile justice system. If only juvenile judges could have access to the writings, photographs and stories of the kids she’s met, juvenile court would be much more rehabilitative.

We hope that the message of fiscal sense and social responsibility that our books propose gain more attention with this release. The cost, both monetary and socially, of continuing to avoid these issues is massive.

To order online, by mail, or over the phone please look here!

Category: Humane Exposures |
| March 13, 2012
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Juvenile Justice, the Police, and Community Mistrust

Katrina FridgeIt is an established fact that rehabilitative efforts yield more results at less cost than incarceration. It is a constant theme in our posts here, and with good reason.

Of course there are factors that can reach back to the cradle – problems like broken families, poverty, substance abuse and myriad others. Today I’d like to take note of one that I don’t believe we have covered – mistrust of the police, particularly within minority communities.

I’m the member of the team that lives in New Orleans, a city that often exemplifies the worst in the American justice system. As a result I live with the repercussions of that system’s failures every day.

Crumbling infrastructure, some of it still lingering from our experiences with Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failure, combines with gross ethnic disparity and crushing poverty to give us one of the highest murder rates in the nation.

One major factor, especially recently, is distrust of the police. If no one calls there is no chance of apprehending offenders, much less getting them as far as incarceration or treatment. This is certainly the case here in NOLA.

Columnist Jarvis DeBerry of The Times Picayune provides this nasty little tidbit:

‘NOPD’s use of force practices present a significant threat to the safety of the public and NOPD officers, and create a substantial obstacle to strong community-police partnerships.’ — Page vii of the March 16, 2011, Investigation of the New Orleans Department conducted by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

I wish I could say that I am shocked. A few minutes on Google is all it takes to see the tarnished history of enforcement here. Incidents like NOPD officer Antoinette Frank  who was convicted of first degree murder after firing nine bullets into a 21 year old girl and a 17 year old boy do little to inspire confidence.

This toxic police culture has continued on into the present day. DeBerry brings us the words of Rev. John Raphael, a local priest who is also a former New Orleans police officer. The comments are made in the wake of interviewing a youth who saw a wounded man and failed to call the police. The next day the wounded man was found dead:

We were told by the New Orleans Crime Coalition last week that 61 percent of New Orleans residents are satisfied with the Police Department. Officials in most cities would weep at such a finding, but in New Orleans, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas pronounced himself pleased at the ‘highest level of support we have received to date.’

And yet, learning that public satisfaction with the department has risen 14 percent since August and 28 percent since 2009 seems much less significant than the news of a witness finding a body and deciding against calling the police. That decision not to call speaks to the alienation, to the out-and-out terror many residents have for our police. It illustrates how some residents see the police not as friendlies but as members of an occupying force.

I’m sure that there are many other communities where this is a problem, although I concede that New Orleans is probably one of the single most extreme examples.

Our policing is yet another aspect of our justice system’s breakdown. The nationwide imbalance of enforcement actions against minorities bears this out. It is all part and parcel of the same issue we address when writing about physical or sexual abuse by correctional staff. In both cases violation of trust has wider and more horrific repercussions.

For a better view of our broken system and practical ideas for how to fix it check out our latest offering- Born, Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall, coming this Thursday.

What are things like in your community? How about in the nearest low income or ethnic community?

 Image Source: Mark Gstohl on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Category: Humane Exposures |
| March 12, 2012
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A victory for juvenile justice in Colorado!

Colorado State Flag

Colorado State Flag

Good news today from Denver, Co. where the House Judiciary Committee has passed a bill to scale back the discretion that can be used by district attorneys. The vote was 9-2.

The news is hardly shocking considering it comes in the wake of a report condemning Colorado’s “Direct File” system. Direct File allows district attorneys to prosecute offenders between the ages of 14-17 in adult court without a judicial hearing on the issue The report stated that it is “grossly overused” and that it does nothing to protect teenagers with no prior offenses or experience in the juvenile system. (The report also shows a massively disproportionate effect on teenagers of color and 95% of the cases go to plea bargaining rather than a judge.)

Eli Stokois reports for KWGN:

House Bill 1271, sponsored by Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, and Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, would limit the range of crimes that can be direct filed into adult court to the most serious violent offenses, like murder and rape.

‘This bill will put the ability to charge a youth as an adult back in the hands of neutral judges,’ Nikkel said.

Colorado is one of just four states where prosecutors, who generally oppose H.B. 1271, have the discretion to file juvenile cases directly into the adult criminal system.

Any time a youth faces the possibility of being tried in adult court the decision should be one made by the judge, not by attorneys who might have a vested interest in the results.

While it does not roll back direct filing entirely, it does tighten the limits significantly. All in all it seems like Colorado has taken one step forward!

Category: Humane Exposures |
| March 7, 2012
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A Conversation with Jeanne McAlister

Today our resident blogger had the opportunity to talk with Jeanne McAlister, Chief Executive Officer and founder of McAlister Institute. The conversation was enlightening to say the least!

Jeanne McAlister, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of McAlister Institute, has been a pioneer in the field of recovery. She has constantly advocated for responsive and needed treatment services and developed programs which could easily be replicated by others. Recognizing that drug abuse negatively affects all aspects of the individual, family, and community life, the goal of McAlister Institute programs is to assist individuals in regaining their lives by supporting the recovery process. As a result, tens of thousands of youth and adults have successfully regained their lives through her vision and with the help of McAlister Institute’s wide variety of programs.

Category: California, Interview, Substance Abuse | Tags: , , , ,
| March 5, 2012
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Advance Praise for Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall

born-book-coverWe are very pleased to see the reception our newest book is getting, even with the release ten days away!

There have been a few reviews and articles posted recently that can give you a good perspective on the work.

Library Journal (review only available in the print edition, this link goes to the BArnes and Noble website where it is reporduced):

More policy-oriented than academic in tone, this book is recommended for specialized juvenile justice collections and libraries holding the other two volumes in the series. Though government austerity is in vogue, this book is a powerful reminder of the social costs of neglecting the specific needs of at-risk youth.—Antoinette Brinkman, Evansville, IN

EFEAmerica, an online publication with a Hispanic focus, takes a look at the book.

‘We want to make the public more aware of how desperate these young people are for a little love and affection, and the fact that they don’t want to be involved in drugs – but more and more U.S. youngsters lack education and suffer the effects of being brought up by single fathers or mothers with no time for them because they’re working two jobs,’ Lankford said.

For the author, the factors most likely to land these young people in the juvenile detention system are their broken family relations, not their ethnicity or immigration problems.

San Diego City Beat’s Dave Maass talks about the book in the context of Susan and Polly Lankford’s recent visit to the McAllister Institute, a drug treatment center in El Cajon. One of the main points that he focuses on is the opacity of the justice system in California:

That may be the most important part of the text; the San Diego County Probation Department doesn’t allow media or public access to its facilities except for once-a-year, highly controlled open houses. The department cites confidentiality issues, but Susan believes opacity only worsens the problem.

‘I think [confidentiality] is the biggest joke around, because all of these kids know each other, they learn everything bad that they possibly can from one another before they’re released and they come back in with even more criminal behavior,’ Susan says. ‘That’s one of the things I am upset with, because I don’t think accountability happens with confidentiality.’

In the blogging world we are happy to note that Matthew T. Mangino– former district attorney of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and current member of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole – decided to share some thoughts about the book. You might be familiar with his work in the  Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Harrisburg Patriot News, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, Court TV and National Public Radio.)

Lankford concludes that, ‘[I]nstitutions like juvenile hall are not a good substitute for a family.’  Psychiatrist Diane Campbell said, ‘The youth in the hall don’t need miracle workers; they simply need some who is ‘just good enough.’

Lankford makes it clear that ‘good enough’ consists of a reliable, loving and nurturing figure that will help mold a child.  She uses her skills as a writer and photographer to make sure her readers understand the plight of troubled young people and how to turn ‘at-risk’ youths into ‘at-promise’ youths.

As we approach publication it is heartwarming to see the interest in this vital topic. As with our prior works we hope that Born, Not Raised will not only make people think, but will also spur them to action. The statistics support a more rehabilitative approach, but zero tolerance laws and for profit prisons weild considerable finanacial might. We hope that after reading our book you will find yourself motivated to act against that might and for substantive positive change in the way we deal with criminal justice.

Category: Born Not Raised, Humane Exposures | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| March 1, 2012
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Talking Justice: Dr. Igor Koutsenok and Susan Madden Lankford

SMLimageFB
Today we have a rare treat for you, our own Susan Madden Lankford sat down for a chat about the current sad state of affairs in the arena of American criminal justice. Fortunately we were able to record most of it for your edification.

Igor Koutsenok, MD, MS, is Director of the University of California San Diego, Center for Criminality and Addiction Research, Training and Application (CCARTA) and he has full time faculty appointment at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. Among other place he attended St. Georges Hospital Medical School, where he received a Masters Degree in Addictive Behavior. Before joining UCSD, he worked in Bulgaria as Head of Department at the National Center for Addictions and Deputy Director of the Institute of Psychology.

During the last 20 years, he served as an expert for many international organizations such as the Council of Europe, European Union, and the United Nations. Dr. Koutsenok was recruited by the UCSD Department of Psychiatry in 1997. Dr. Koutsenok led the design and implementation of the Workforce Development Training series for substance abuse counselors and criminal justice professionals working in custody and community-based treatment programs in California. He is the UCSD FACT (Forensic Addiction Treatment Certification) Board of Education Director and Director of the Offender Substance Abuse Treatment Institute.

Dr. Koutsenok serves as of the trainers for the National Drug Court Institute, providing training and education for judges and members of the judicial system nationwide. Dr. Igor Koutsenok and Dr. David Deitch designed an innovative approach to reduce recidivism in parolees, which in 2006 was presented to and authorized by the California legislature as Senate Bill 618 – Offender Re-Entry Program.
Dr. Koutsenok is teaching General Psychopathology course for second year UCSD medical students, human growth and development course for 1st year UCSD medical students, as well as he runs support group for 3rd year UCSD psychiatry residents. In 2006-2009 he designed and directed the Cal-METRO training project, a large-scale Motivational Interviewing training project to train over 3000 professionals working in juvenile correctional institutions statewide. In 2010 he designed and conducted a year long San Diego Probation Department Leadership Academy training probation supervisors in practical implementing of evidence based practices in community corrections, such as motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral interventions. Recently in collaboration with Christopher Lowenkamp, PhD, he designed the IBIS program – Integrated Behavioral Interventions Strategies. Currently over 300 probation officers and supervisors are undergoing training, coaching and mentoring in implementation of a truly integrated package of behavioral interventions – motivational interviewing, EPICS-II, and incentives and sanctions. He has authored and co-authored over 50 scientific publications and book chapters, such as “Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook” 4th edition, Lowinson, J., Ruiz, P., Millman, R., & Langrod, J. (Eds.), 2004; “Treating Addicted Offenders – A Continuum of Effective Practices”, K.Knight & D. Farabee (Eds.), 2005; “Advances in Corrections Based Treatment: Building the Addiction Treatment Workforce”, Praeger International Collection on Addictions, A. Browne-Miller (Ed.), 2009, “Motivational Interviewing Training for Correctional Professionals – The CalMetro Project”, Praeger International Collection on Addictions, A. Browne-Miller (Ed.), 2009. He is a member of the International Motivational Interviewing Trainers Network. In 2011 he served as a trainer for the new group of MI trainers in Sheffield, England. Dr. Koutsenok has been training motivational interviewing and other treatment strategies in offenders in Bulgaria, Malta, England, Hong Kong, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Mexico, Argentina, Hungary, and Norway. He has been invited as guest speaker to numerous conferences and professional gatherings nationwide and in more than 15 countries. He is a proud father of three.

Susan Madden Lankford

In the early 1990s, Susan Madden Lankford began photographing—and befriending—the homeless on the streets of downtown San Diego. Compelled to learn more, she gained access to a women’s detention center and soon was shooting within its walls, speaking with candor with inmates and staff. Next, pursuing the link between crime and childhood neglect, she met with young people in juvenile hall, challenging them to face their hopes and fears through artwork and the written word. Lankford’s award-winning books on homelessness, incarceration, and juvenile justice are testament to many years of commitment to complex social issues. Her venture in the realm of documentary film continues this work.

Susan Lankford grew up in the Midwest and holds a BS degree from the University of Nebraska. She attended Ansel Adams’ prestigious workshops, studied under such photographic masters as Richard Misrach and Ruth Bernhard, and spent many years as a successful wildlife photographer and portraitist. The parents of three adult daughters, Susan and Rob Lankford live in San Diego.
Please explore the rest of our website for more about Susan and her works!


Category: Interview, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, Prison Reform, Substance Abuse |
| February 27, 2012
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21st Century Jim Crow

cdogstar cuffsIn celebration of Black History Month the ACLU is posting a variety of personal narratives on their blog. Inimai Chettiar was the author of one that should be of particular interest to our readers here: Why Mass Incarceration is the New Jim Crow.

In it she tells of being pulled over while in a car with her friend Jamal, an African-American man. Jamal refused a breathalyzer test because, she states, he felt there was no cause for arrest. Police then put him in cuffs and brought him in since declining the breathalyzer results in a mandatory arrest, incarceration, and a one year driver’s license suspension. Penalties that police are not required to notify drivers about.

It’s a sad story about one man becoming a statistic, and a story that makes it easier to understand why 1 in 3 black men in the United States have spent time behind bars.

At the arraignment, I was not surprised that every driver pulled over the night before was black or brown. A recent Department of Justice study found “an alarming racial disparity” in police treatment of motorists of color. Black Americans are twice as likely to be arrested during a traffic stop and nearly four times as likely to experience the threat or use of force. Cops regularly pull over black men for minor traffic infractions and then arrest them, while they let white drivers drive on. What made Jamal more likely to be pulled over and arrested than other Americans was his misfortune at being a Black man driving at night in a rich white suburb.

Numbers attest to the fact that African Americans make up a disproportionate percentage of our prison populations. It’s a sobering thought, but once you start to consider the extent of it’s ramifications it becomes downright frightening.

This system of racial profiling and using prison as a one-size-fits-all solution is one of the reasons Black communities are and will remain economically worse off than the rest of the America. More Black men are imprisoned by this country than were ever enslaved. It’s bad enough that the Great Recession has affected Black men more than every other demographic, but our ever expanding prison complex is further decimating the already bleak economic future of Black America.

Jamal will suffer the repercussions of this arrest for his entire life. Without a license, he had to quit his job. After employment applications asked for arrest records, his political appointment is now in danger, a job offer from state government was suspended, and several companies cancelled interviews.

All for going 13 miles over the speed limit, while sober.

This is not new news. Professor Pamela Oliver of the University of Wisconsin is one of the people behind the Wisconsin Racial Disparities Project, and her findings over the years have shown that African Americans are imprisoned at least eight times as often as Americans of European descent. Not only that, but American Indians and Hispanics are imprisoned at two to three times the rate that Caucasian Americans are.

As far back as 2005 she was unearthing disturbing data on this subject. Just take a look at this report for an example:

“The Effect of Black Male Imprisonment on Black Child Poverty.” Pamela Oliver, Gary Sandefur, Jessica Jakubowski, and James E. Yocom. Presented at the American Sociological Association August 13, 2005. We find that high Black male imprisonment contributes to high Black child poverty several years later. There are two mechanisms. The first is lower family earnings, especially in two-parent less-educated families, which is presumably due to the reduction in earnings of men with prison records. The second is more complex: high Black male imprisonment is associated with a rise over time in the proportion of Black children living with mothers who have not graduated from high school; this rise occurs despite an overall rise in Black mothers’ education and a positive association between Black male imprisonment and the proportion of children living with mothers who are married college graduates. Due to file sizes, the report and the tables are in two files. Report text as PDF file Tables as PDF file

It is, as so many of the issues facing our justice system, a chronic and long standing problem.

Image Source: Cuffs by cdogstar on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Category: Criminal Justice | Tags: , , ,
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