Sept. 24, 2013
The First Perspective – Winnipeg Free Press
Inner-city poverty and racialism drove young aboriginals into gangs
A First Nations commentary on the rise of Aboriginal gangs in Winnipeg and the possible solutions to reduce the attractiveness of gangs as a choice for youth. http://www.firstperspective.ca/index.php/news/1472-rage-and-the-rise-of-street-gangs?_escaped_fragment_=/ccomment
Radio Canada International
Ontario will screen inmates for mental illness
Christina Jahn took the Ontario Ministry of Corrections before the Human Rights Tribunal for treatment received at the Ottawa-Carlton Detention Centre. The complaint alleged 210 days of solitary and no medical attention for her mental illness, her addiction, or her cancer. Government is promising changes in the way people are screened and treated. http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2013/09/25/ontario-will-screen-inmates-for-mental-illness/ Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Andrew Seymour Ottawa woman’s human rights settlement sparks sweeping changes for Ontario jails http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Sweeping+changes+coming+Ontario+jails+after+human+rights/8953505/story.html
Winnipeg Free Press – James Turner
Judge overrules law on gun crime – Mandatory term unjust in case, she says
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche ruled that sentencing a mentally disabled man to the mandatory minimum – three years – for gun offences would constitute “cruel and unusual” punishment. “I conclude that the mandatory minimum sentence… has a much greater impact on mentally disabled persons because it does not take into account their reduced moral blameworthiness,” Suche wrote. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/judge-overrules-law-on-gun-crime-225147502.html
N.Y. Times / Texas Tribune – Brandi Grissom
A Tie to Mental Illness in the Violence Behind Bars
An analysis of long term statistics on violence behind prison walls is suggesting that the frequency of violence is such that prison authorities are not able to control the safety of prisoners and guards. The numbers, over 2006-2012 and taken from 99 state prisons, show that the high volume of incidents is higher in facilities that house the known mentally ill and that the effort to fight crime by incarcerating the mentally ill, often without treatment, has failed. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/health/a-tie-to-mental-illness-in-the-violence-behind-bars.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Detroit Free Press -Julie Hinds
New documentary ponders nation’s growing income gap
Former Labour Secretary Robert Reich has produced a one hour 26 minute documentary on the growing income inequality that is being compared to “An Inconvenient Truth” of few years ago. The film opens on Oct. 4. Reich says: “So much of the nation’s income and wealth are going to the top that the vast middle class doesn’t have the purchasing power to keep the economy going.” http://www.freep.com/article/20130922/ENT01/309220049/-Inequality-for-All-Robert-Reich Related article: Detroit Free Press- Julie Hinds Hollywood films are tackling the income gap, too http://www.freep.com/article/20130922/ENT/309220036/Fall-movies-Inequality-for-All-
InForum (North Dakota) – Jane Ahlin
Surprise, surprise: More firearms kill more people
Ahlin looks at mass killings of more than four people per incident and illustrates that the connection between gun ownership rate and gun deaths is stronger than the NRA’s claim that the mentally ill correlation. Trouble is, the NRA managed to deny government funding for further research. http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/412945/group/Opinion/
Colorlines (US) – Von Diaz
A Unique Alternative to a Prison Economy
The rapid expansion of prisons has created a “prison economy” in which the employment derived from the operation of a prison in an specific area has substituted for loss of employment in the more traditional economic ventures. Milk Not Jails is a rural organization that is trying to build up the Dairy industry while empowering the rural population to be heard in economic and social policy choices. http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/09/dairy_farming_as_prison_industry_alternative.html
Bloomberg Press – William Selway & Margaret Newkirk
Congress Mandates Jail Beds for 34,000 Immigrants as Private Prisons Profit
Noemi Romero arrived in the US at age three and at age 21 became part of the private prison 34,000 quota for US congress authorized immigration detention. The cost is estimated at $120 / day. The system works to keep people in jail and California and Texas, and Washington private prison lobbyists are feeding the beasts. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/congress-fuels-private-jails-detaining-34-000-immigrants.html