Part 1 sharings from Peg Swan 112523
After more than two decades working with prisoners and their families I am delighted that general attention is being focused on the conditions in our prisons. I would like to widen the discussion to more than the staff shortages, lockdowns and crumbling buildings ,for these are symptoms of a system wide sickness that requires more fundamental changes in order to heal .
Staffing and crowding were problems long before the pandemic or lockdowns. This is an FFUP report done by Ben Turk I 2019 delineating a general malaise; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AQIYEUuLilfTdQHSyGUm0slybr-akzvV/view?usp=sharing .
It has been along way down to where we are and it will detail this devolution at end.. But People need meaningful work and only the heroic, desperate or sadistic will long work in a system that only warehouses and has a punishment only ethic. We will never have enough staff until we force our DOC to again put full effort into fulfilling its mission to rehabilitate and keep the public safe. It does neither of these now and is releasing people much worse off the they were when they went it. The significant thing is that the system used to be pretty good at its mission.
We incarcerate the poor an vulnerable, those who cannot afford lawyers and have to rely on an underfunded and overworked public defender system. Also, estimates are that between 40 and 70% of WI Prisoners are mentally ill . And many are drug or alcohol addicted . We funnel these people into our prisons instead of treating them, for we closed the public mental institutions in the 70’s, offering no alternatives. ”Out of sight -out of mind,” these “unwanted” are being merely warehoused at best, many are tortured in unending solitary confinement under the most abusive conditions. The system is perpetuated by the constant fear and hate mongering of prisoners.The public is kept Duped by legislators and others in power that rely on “tough on crime “ rhetoric to keep their jobs. Every prisoner is a “murderer or rapist,” defined by his or her crime and denied their basic humanity for forever.
Wisconsin has the highest percentage of black prisoners in the nation- Many-of our laws target the black community and the justice system fails them; so many many Black families are missing their fathers, incarcerated, which makes gangs the go-to family for kids and the cycle continues- generations of the incarcerated become. “-prison fodder.”-
The WI DOC knows how to do this right- it used to- prisoners were trained and treated, there were Pell grants given out and many prisoners got college degrees. I am told there were potlucks with prisoners’ families regularly. And prisoners with good conduct did get release at 25% of their time as the then law mandated. The prison and community supported each other.We can do this again.
WHAT WE NEED:
1)Mental Health Treatment facility for the men’s prisons like the one built as a result of a lawsuit for the women’s prisons
Note: we need also mental health treatment centers in our communities. Mendota and Winnebago rely almost solely on drugs- this is not good- effective mental health treatment is one on one and group therapy where the patient develops a strong inner support system.
Wwe can use this as one model: Wisconsin Woman’s Treatment Center in Fond du Lac (TCI )
A) Powerpoint doc put out after opening :What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger_ Thriving Amidst Mental Health Litigation.pdf
TCI mental health center on word: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pQLHxrwty5x49YYnA8X8pcjTOB9T8dyS/view?usp=sharing
B) Lawsuit, Flynn V Doyle that got this plus complete rule changes :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iGl67F4fesKCSiCQ4aCp2RBJCVaj8A56/view?usp=sharing
I know two psychologist who worked there and though tit was well run” did not look like prison”- they later quit being unhappy with work at other stations
2) Symposium with public , all DOC staff and legislators to look at effective solutions of other states. Stating with COLORADO= this state redid its system form the ground up and has NO SOLITARY OVER 15 days and no staff shortages.
.a)Falcon Web Site:Rick Raemisch and his staff go around the country educating DOC on the effectiveness of the system he helped institute in CO
www.falconinc.com/leadership/rick-raemisch/
b))Rick Raemisch my night in solitary- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1skxIZ_i7BGQMc7qS-ziVIy_Q2Y-DuMfV/view?usp=drive_link
this essay started a movement to change the way we treat the mentally ill - our group would like to bring WI up to speed with a forum with Raemisch . They have no solitary over 15 days and no staff shortages.
C) Co and wi solitaries compared ( around 2016):
3)Task force to study and make laws and redo rules that reduce the prison population
Over half the population should not be there:
1) Old law prisoner long eligible for release
2) Prisoners revoked for rule violations ( 40%)
3) Many many truth in sentencing(TIS) prisoners were give excessive sentences because the law give the judge no descretion. The task force needs to look into states with effective systems- example given me was Illinois parole system
4) The elderly and infirm- one prisoners calls his prison. CCI, “ a nursing home without nurses” .Why are we holding these people and why is compassionate release almost impossible to get?
4)REHABILITATION Center- Since too many prisoner leave prison unsupported and are forced into old habits or are swept back in for non felony rule violations. This is a the final heartbreak for prison advocates and families- after working hard to help the prisoner through the gauntlet- he is back in prison.
We propose developing the Richalnd Center Campus, (now vacant except for one building) , as a rehabilitation center for the releasing prisoners and the homesless- it would be a treatment and trainging hub and would revitalize the Richland area.
IF Wisconsin reclaims it mission , it will have no trouble attracting and keeping staff.
Part 2 the long view- how we got here
Reagan Closed public mental hospitals while congress provided no alternatives. To this day there are ew treatment centers for those without money. Mendota and Winnebago are for the public but the only treatment is drugs and most people cannot stay on them for long, for they merely shut down main centers of the brain and even sleep is fitful and torturous.
Googling around about the closing of the mental health hospitals:
President Ronald Reagan did not directly deinstitutionalize mental health patients or close mental health institutions, however, his repeal of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act effectively closed many federal mental health institutions, thereby deinstitutionalizing those patients.
Mental Health Systems Act (MHSA) of 1980 was repealed by Reagan1981
In 1981, Regan repealed MHSA which provided grants to community mental health centers.
The Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (MHSA) was United States legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter which provided grants to community mental health centers. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan, who had made major efforts during his Governorship to reduce funding and enlistment for California mental institutions, pushed a political effort through the Democratically controlled House of Representatives and a Republican controlled Senate to repeal most of MHSA.[1] The MHSA was considered landmark legislation in mental health care policy.
Coinciding with a movement during the 1970s for rehabilitation of people with severe mental illnesses, the Mental Health Systems Act supported and financed community mental health support systems, which coordinated general health care, mental health care, and social support services.[2] The law followed the 1978 Report of the President's Commission on Mental Health, which made recommendations for improving mental health care in the United States. While some concerns existed about the methodology followed by the President's Committee, the report served as the foundation for the MHSA, which in turn was seen as landmark legislation in U.S. mental health policy.[3]
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, passed by a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and a Republican-controlled Senate, and signed by President Ronald Reagan on August 13, 1981, repealed most of the Mental Health Systems Act. The Patients' Bill of Rights, section 501, was not repealed; per Congressional record, the Congress felt that state provisions were sufficient and section 501 served as a recommendation to states to review and refine existing policies.[4]
from)Bill Clinton and the 1994 Crime Bill By Robert Farley,Posted on April 12, 2016
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which provided funding for tens of thousands of community police officers and drug courts, banned certain assault weapons, and mandated life sentences for criminals convicted of a violent felony after two or more prior convictions, including drug crimes. The mandated life sentences were known as the “three-strikes” provision.
The bill had a more direct impact on state prison populations. It included $8.7 billion for prison construction to states that passed “truth-in-sentencing” laws requiring that people convicted of violent crimes serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. The New York Times at the time noted that those convicted of violent crimes served “55 percent of their sentences,” citing Justice Department data.
According to the Department of Justice, 11 states adopted truth-in-sentencing laws in 1995, one year after passage of the crime bill. By 1998, 27 states and the District of Columbia met the eligibility criteria for the truth-in-sentencing grants. Another 13 states adopted truth-in-sentencing for “certain offenders to serve a specific percent of their sentence.”
So while it may go too far to blame the 1994 crime bill for mass incarceration, it did create incentives for states to build prisons and increase sentences, and thereby contributed to increased incarceration.
WISCONSIN_ WE WENT FROM 7000 T0 22000 PRISONERS
PRISON BUDGET IS NOW TWICE THE BUDGET OF HE ENTIRE WI PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
IN WISCONSIN_ we had a parole system where long sentences were given and the prison only had to serve 25% of the sentence if his/her behavior was good. SO when the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was passed, the then Governor Thompson who wanted the funding, did all h e good to make all the 7000 parole prisoners TIS defacto prisoners . Here is the memo directing the then DOS secretary to do all possible under the law to keep prisoners in as long as is possible. So all kinds of contradictory rules etc have been used to keep the parole eligible incarcerated. This is Still going on today :
Tommy Thompson memo
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hd3_g6p40SihtRXDxU7e7BB59GJACZAq/view?usp=sharing
Trippling of population did not elicit the corresponding trippling of services. All services, schooling were slashed. Pell grants were stopped and with the building of the SUPERMAX, WIDOC learned the beauty of solitary confinement- it has become the go to for all problems.
Cathy Jesses’ memo on MH cades.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qwcfRpRHAE0rs-Jin67erIG-5qiBoKgy/view?usp=sharing
Psychologist quits over changing diagnoses: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o7APJWcqe7nhxe-CSiUt1c_OQ3hkXD-j/view?usp=sharing
Final bit of history: the WCI horror and the WIDOC insistence of keeping and rewarding thug guards
2014 articles on WCI abuse
On word:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_K4gvQXVw-qowfrc-phztJF1f9daHby/view?usp=sharing
Data- copies of the complaints
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v4eYzSQKj7FkHNS91kmNGy6jjupRy22T/view?usp=sharing
Brandon Bradley case as I know it
TWO LETTERS; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iLrpfmLTa6WmtzceqD-QRdeUkw5cVuvr/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110165518202991476262&rtpof=true&sd=true
Enclose pdf of story and family
Plea for help in IL with MRSA epidenic: disease spread/ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xVf4KBOk1BrPcNeORH37Ml0eAWMoi1fm/view?usp=drive_link
Another Mrsa case ( coming)
Benjamin Biese- was GBCI , transferred to WCI- keeps me updated
A)Benjamin Biese WCI lockdown 5 17 23.pdf
B)Benjamin Biese report third WCI death: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AqIw1kUpfgHd6XQTPrVFtDFmfKuxj7D3/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110165518202991476262&rtpof=true&sd=true
Tommie carter WCI story for crt 101023 WCI
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aVTFyz-i17k7PcJQcRDa46gEL3nYSoXj/view?usp=drive_link
Tommy carter WCI conditions
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Achx4bT7I2TLKF3HvY8JFToXObh7_wC6/view?usp=sharing
Jeff Macmillan and the VA GBCI -will send lots of proposals he has
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1czGIUVkHUbKt7-lByc8Nj2Bs9G29lF9U/view?usp=drive_link
Lengeorge Burns proposal : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ns22mEGGQSXjbv41ip7guLv82wPU1Wps/view?usp=sharing
Lengeorge Burns phone fix
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ExaUDHhNUwkXCP_W0yqrnLhBTtekmpF4Bp_CwNuj_HM/edit?usp=sharing
Lengeorge Burns on conditions and reasons for lockdown
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1swb-mxrycipHJRWCBf67h1ZggctAJsLd-TbtyvKA4hA/edit?usp=drive_link
Lengeorge Burns on population
Roger Artis 526194 GBCI (transcribed from light pencil/retaliated for complaining of no rec
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WuJFUWQMruY2zefAlTBfR-jTsKCITKDCzlQeOw4vleA/edit?usp=sharing
Christopher Smith 185064 WCI wants do not recussitate honored/incredible story
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16t8P_p0VSvUM-1qEsMajuICBxvCdFo1D/view?usp=sharing
Jeff Macmillan and the VA GBCI
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1czGIUVkHUbKt7-lByc8Nj2Bs9G29lF9U/view?usp=drive_link
Damien Green GBCI was also on hunger strike and they were immovable/ he was asking for mental health are and they say not until he starts eating- course, it does not exist no matter how much he eats. He quite the hunger strike when I asked him. He is now in general for the first time in years.(probably no cause and effect)
damien Green overdose death conditions 8 2 22_20220802(1) (2).pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OFZ8CHvZslYwU7GogwGv3arocjpbbfvA/view?usp=sharing
drive.google.com/file/d/1OFZ8CHvZslYwU7GogwGv3arocjpbbfvA/view?usp=sharing
Cazionn WIlliams 549560 WCI
Grandma and self harm
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vMFl05KoaK2vWTfEmwdM-hhaLuWnRlKT/view?usp=sharing
Cazionn intro:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p6XNOpJpDHd3BbXT1RyLHq8bo2W5Gh9xhaFkfDwb5P0/edit?usp=sharing
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