April 3, 2013
Queen’s University – Sharday Mosurinjohn
Exploring Mental Health & Criminal Justice in the Canadian Arctic
Priscilla Ferrazzi’s research (see www.NunavutMentalHealthCourts.wordpress.com ) examines how the underlying rehabilitative principles that guide mental health programs in criminal courts in larger Canadian communities and elsewhere – principles derived from the theoretical concept of ‘problem-solving courts’ that look to the underlying causes of crime – can be used in the absence of the resources usually associated with these courts to achieve their rehabilitative objectives in remote, mainly Inuit communities in Nunavut. http://www.queensu.ca/sgs/news/archives/2013/artic.html
CTV News – Kitchener
Behind Prison Walls
Grand Valley Institution for Women has been in the news because of the death of Ashley Smith and some would want to think of the horrific events surrounding the death as exception and unusual. Not so, says volunteer chaplain Rev. Con O’Mahony, present when Grand Valley was first opened. “Most residents of Kitchener-Waterloo, if they saw the current housing conditions in the institution, would be horrified,” he says. Inmate Nicole Kish says Grand Valley is ‘an incubator for human suffering.” http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/ctv-investigates-behind-prison-walls-1.1221166#ixzz2POZoNzFO
Restorative Works Learning Network – Jemma Jewkes – a TedX talk
Restorative justice in prisons
A 17 minute video on bringing RJ to prisons. http://restorativeworks.net/2013/03/sunday-video-a-tedx-talk-by-jemma-jewkes-on-restorative-justice-in-prisons
John Howard of Manitoba: Celebrating the 10th Anniverdsary of YCJA
Input
Here is a 9 minute video on gangs and what prompts teens to join gangs, and what exit strategies are available. The video is an effort to bring together all the stakeholders to create an effective anti-gang strategy. The effort makes the April 1st, 2013 10th anniversary of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. GAIN (Winnipeg’s Gang Action Inter-Agency Network) offers the real person (not actors, not scripted) commentary in the spirit of the principles of this progressive legislation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKnCAyaJDA&feature=youtu.be
Globe and Mail – Will Campbell
Prison guards lack ‘common understanding’ on respect for inmates: survey
A CSC internal survey of 2200 participants inquired about respect for prisoners as persons but finally dropped the responses because there emerged no clear understanding of what constituted respect. The finding, says Kim Pate of Elizabeth Fry, “… should be a significant wake-up call to Correctional Service Canada, and instead of burying it or ignoring it and taking it out of the survey, some sort of concerted effort to address this should be in order.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/prison-guards-lack-common-understanding-on-respect-for-inmates-survey/article10599481 CTV News report: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/prison-guards-lack-common-understanding-on-basic-respect-for-inmates-survey-1.1217925
California Health Line
Consultants Recommend Creation of Specialized Prison Health Division
Hired by the federal court appointed overseer for the California health care of prison inmates, the consultant has reported that California, which in the interim has spent more money on health and reduced the prison population, is still not ready to assume control of the health care. http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2013/4/3/consultants-recommend-creation-of-specialized-prison-health-division.aspx#ixzz2PQqe1Hnz
Think Progress – Nicole Flatow
Rate Of Mental Illness Exceeds Gang Membership In Texas’ Juvenile Detention
What to do when your youth facility has more mentally ill than gang members? Worse still, the mentally ill rate is now at 56%, up from 39%. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/03/1806821/rate-of-mental-illness-exceeds-gang-membership-in-texas-juvenile-detention/?mobile=nc Related story: Texas Chief Justice: Stop ‘Over-Criminalizing’ Misbehaving Students http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/07/1682141/texas-chief-justice-stop-over-criminalizing-misbehaving-students
Pysche Central – Christine Stapleton
Thinking through gun laws aimed at mentally ill
An NRA promoted and supported bill (HB 1357) has already passed in Florida with unanimous approval. It appears as though the bill will be widely imitated but here from an author with a history of mental illness are a few objections and, more pointedly, a few hurdles the bill will encounter in practice. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/depression/2013/04/thinking-through-gun-laws-aimed-at-mentally-ill
Talking Points Memo (TPM) – Eric Lach
Texas Prosecutor Killings Shine Light On ‘Aryan’ Prison Gang
Investigators and state officials in Texas are convinced that the Aryan Brotherhood, a racist and criminal gang, is directing from behind prison bars a series of murders of justice officials. http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/04/aryan_brotherhood_texas.php