Aug. 12, 2013
Winnipeg Free Press – Oliver Sachgau
Prisoners’ mental health in spotlight – Overcrowding means lack of treatment, activists say
Kate Kehler, Acting Executive Director of John Howard Society, Manitoba, is advocating for the 65-75% of people in provincial jails who are on remand and the others who do not get access to mental health and addiction treatment. “This whole risk-aversion issue we have in the court system is that they don’t let enough people out on bail. They’re simply accused of a crime, but they haven’t been proven guilty. But they spend a lot of time in incarceration,” she said.This leads to jails being regularly over capacity, Kehler said, which makes it hard to provide programs to those inmates with mental -health, addiction or other issues. “If our institutions are meant to protect safety, that’s not best served by keeping people locked up in overcrowded institutions without access to programs,” she said.http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/prisoners-mental-health-in-spotlight-219088581.html
Advocate Daily (Ontario Legal News) –
Stable economy may be linked to improving crime stats
Criminal lawyer John Rosen is interviewed on the cause of the constantly dropping crime rate. “On the issue of how to ensure that the crime rate continues to drop, Rosen says, “A lot more can be done. We need to seriously consider the legalization of certain drugs, the decriminalization of others, and the application of more money on treatment and prevention, both in terms of drug abuse, spousal abuse, mental health and other identifiable social causes of recidivism.” http://advocatedaily.com/2013/07/stable-economy-may-be-linked-to-improving-crime-stats/#sthash.UV7NreZE.dpuf
Toronto Star – Editorial
Nova Scotia’s crackdown on cyberbullying goes too far
The Star’s editorial says that there are already provisions within the Criminal Code that can confront bullying. This new Nova Scotia law allows for a very broad definition of bullying and then allows unilateral action against an alleged bully. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2013/08/11/nova_scotias_crackdown_on_cyberbullying_goes_too_far_editorial.html
Counterpunch – James Kilgore
The Myth of Prison Slave Labor Camps in the U.S.
Kilgore rejects the notion that huge numbers of prisoners are ‘slave labour’ for large corporations. Instead he invites us to look at the restrictions and limitations that first increase the likelihood of winding up in prison and then a myriad of factors that kick in once released and looking for a job or social services. The corporate money making is from building prisons and running private prisons. The real agenda for advocacy is the mass incarceration itself and the popular ideology making it politically acceptable. Kilgore, now a University of Chicago researcher, spend 6 ½ years in prison. http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/09/the-myth-of-prison-slave-labor-camps-in-the-u-s
Harvard Institute of Politics (US) – Anna Menzel
The case for legal counsel for immigration detainees
Unlike in criminal cases, there is no right to attorney in immigration cases, so about 84% of those who eventually go to court must represent themselves. Approximately 34,000 per day are apprehended by ICE. Each year 14,000 children are apprehended crossing the border, 7,000 of them go into court without a lawyer. The author, a sophomore and volunteer at the Institute of Politics, wants mandatory legal representation for all in immigration court, citing trauma and family separation as typical accompaniment, especially for a child. http://www.iop.harvard.edu/blog/millennial-must-read-case-legal-counsel-immigration-detainees
The Fresno Bee (California) – Watchdog Report
Locked in Terror – A ten part series
The series of articles confronts the failure of the county jail authorities to provide mental health services and medication to its inmates. The results are that the inmates are spiralling deeper into mental illness – one of six requires medication for schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and other serious mental illnesses requiring the denied medication – and back-logging the criminal court system and over-crowding the jail. http://beewatchdog.com/locked-in-terror
Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
Is Canada doing enough to ‘de-radicalize’ convicted terrorists?
A recent change in the approach to the provision of chaplains in Canada’s federal prisons eliminates the presence of Muslim part time chaplains. There is widespread acknowledgement of the role of these part time Muslim chaplains in the rehabilitation of Muslim inmates in Canada. Now, without part time chaplains, 72 Christian and two Muslim chaplains are expected to provide the services across the country with volunteers. Some criticize Corrections Canada for its lack of a de-radicalizing program as well. http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/08/11/is_canada_doing_enough_to_deradicalize_convicted_terrorists.html