Category: Legislating Morality

Parole board chair switches from arresting to releasing offenders

The caseload keeping him busy is one of several things Kenny Jones likes about his role as chairman of Missouri’s Board of Probation and Parole. As of right now, the (normally) seven-member board, which falls under the state Department of Corrections, is down to five because of retirements. “The more people who look at a case, the better,” Jones said,…

Continue reading

iamwe

Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March

Mission Statement: WE SEEK TO UNITE ACTIVISTS, ADVOCATES, PRISONERS, EX-PRISONERS, THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AS WELL AS ALL OTHERS COMMITTED TO THE FIGHT TO DRASTICALLY REDUCE OR ELIMINATE PRISONS AND THE PRISON SYSTEM, AND REPLACE THEM WITH MORE HUMANE AND EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS. OUR AIM IS TO EXPOSE THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION THAT IT TRULY IS.…

Continue reading

states minimu probation

Offenders on Federal Supervised Release Hits All-Time High

Number of Offenders on Federal Supervised Release Hits All-Time High Average inmate faces nearly four years of community monitoring after incarceration With nearly 190,000 inmates, the federal prison system is the largest in the nation, far exceeding those of California, Texas, and other states.1 But the reach of federal corrections extends well beyond prison walls. In 2015, approximately 115,000 offenders…

Continue reading

dragon eats man

U.S. CONSTITUTION LEFT BEHIND AS DRAGON OF CONTROL EMERGES

The state of Arizona has instituted a program to deny certain convicted felons who have served a portion – or all of their sentences – the right to privacy and to conduct their lives in a normal manner free from illegal intrusion by law enforcement. Arizona’s program for dealing with sexual offenders is probably the nation’s most intrusive to date.…

Continue reading

Time to Revisit Sex Offender Supervision for Life

In the mid-1990s, Americans were shocked by several high-profile child victim sex offenses. In New Jersey, the abduction, rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka by a paroled sex offender who lived across the street horrified the state and spurred action by elected officials and state agencies. In less than four months (warp speed for legislative processes), a package of…

Continue reading

incarceration rates

Boxed In: How a Criminal Record Keeps You Unemployed For Life

Back in 1987, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission declared that blanket bans on hiring people with criminal records were a Civil Rights Act violation. The EEOC noted that the law bars not only overt bias based on protected categories like race, but also seemingly neutral policies that have the effect of reinforcing racial disparities So it told employers that they…

Continue reading