Jail house blues: If voting won't help much, what can we do?

So why didn't the slaves just vote themselves freedom? Well, OK, they weren't allowed to vote and there were other problems like this original provision of the U.S. Constitution:

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

In other words, if you run away, we track you down and bring you back.

Sound familiar? Now ask why we cannot just elect different county commissioners and sheriff and improve jail conditions?

Inmates, like slaves, cannot vote and if they run away we track them down and bring them back. Even very democratic rule (which we do not have) may leave a despised minority without rights and with harsh treatment. Comments on earlier blog posts have discussed the hatred engendered by being gay, socialist or atheist. Imagine being an inmate.

This is one problem (among many more) that cannot be voted away.

I urge ideas from everywhere; community organization is not my strength. Nonetheless, here are some things that occur to me may be started locally or encouraged statewide that may make a difference:

1. Jailers--they hold the key.

a. Organize jailers and increase their pay and education.
b. Make jailers a profession with a code of ethics and a risk of loss of license for ethical violations.
c. Within the code of ethics require reporting of inmate abuse or other violations of minimum standards.
d. Give jailers civil service protection to require due process so they will not be punished for reporting violations.
e. Make sure many jailers have paramedic training like firefighters.
f. Encourage social work, psychology educations for jailers.

How can this be done? Some trade unions may be interested. AFSCME, maybe. I understand the weaknesses of trade unions as opposed to industrial unions, but the trade unions at least are still alive.

Jailers attended the Pax Christi meeting on jail conditions and some of the candidates were either past or present jailers. Encouraging at least some support group to begin to wield some influence. Jailers and their families, unlike most inmates, can vote.

2. Organize inmate families. The extent of the damage done to families, jail house widows and orphans, is difficult to overstate. Often if people who have a son, husband, brother in jail they are embarrassed for themselves or loved ones and keep it a secret. Protests including children were historically what first began to give ML King a measure of success. Families Against Mandatory Minimums is one organization and I know there is a local organization as well.

3. Seek help from religious groups to promote these issues. Valley Interfaith may be interested. Scripture certainly supports a jail ministry. Church members can also vote.

4. Educate the inmates. Copies of forms for Federal Tort Claims Act complaints should help the federal prisoners. Copies of the Jail Commission Standards. Case law summary on 8th Amendment protections. International human rights treaties to which the U.S. is a signatory. All in Spanish.

5. Opening of the jail to education, ministry and the press (including photographs). All of these are restricted and inadequate. These restrictions are made on the basis of arguing security risks.

Of course, to an extent this is true. Anytime anyone is allowed into a jail facility there is at least a theoretical risk of introducing contraband. Anytime anyone or anything is allowed out of a jail, there is a risk of introducing information that would allow an escape, riot or introduction of contraband. So everything that humanizes the jail and makes it otherwise function such as family visits, jail ministries, bringing in and taking out of supplies, mail, books, art, GED training, AA, lawyer visits, foreign consul visits, probation and parole officer visits, shift changes in jail employees, medical visits, contact with one another, creates a security risk. Especially if that risk involves some political heat or extra expense, and sometimes only because of the political heat and extra expense, using security as a pretext, the first reaction seems to be to exclude the risk rather than increase the security.

However, prisoners cannot be kept sealed air tight plastic wraps. And to the extent extra security requires more personnel and equipment to conduct searches and examinations of the people and things going in and out of the jail, this is simply part of the basic required expense of the jail, just like bars and walls.

6. Involve the Mexican Consul. The folks there want to help and have intervened on behalf of individual clients. They also seem to be able to get in for visits.

7. The county could hire an inmate ombudsman and allow that person full access. Talk to the commissioners about this. Sen. Lucio and the State Reps Oliveira, Lucio and Rios Ybarra (elect) could promote this on a statewide basis.

8. Website support: Post inmate complaints and medical information on a website (redacting inmate names to protect privacy). Post personnel information about jail employees on a website, including salaries and sanctions (again, redacting names). Post jail populations in the different facilities. Post numbers of inmates in different facilities and compare with maximum capacity in that facility. Give locations as to facility of inmates. Family members and lawyers would be able to find the inmate and the jail would be less likely to lose one or overstay the end of the sentence. Post judgments with sentencing in connection with the inmate. (This is also public information already). Post name of medical personnel on duty. Status of other jail systems such as life safety rules, something we only hear about in after a tragedy, should be publicly posted. The jail commission standards require each jail to have extensive plans regarding many areas of standards and these should be posted as well.

9. Ask Sen. Lucio and State Reps. Oliveira, Lucio, (and now) Rios Ybarra to give someone authority to enforce the Minimum Jail Standards--the DA, Attorney General, or maybe a standing special enforcement agency for jails. Our commentators from yesterday discuss the strictness of the TCJS, but after reports of violations are issued, it seems there is little pressure for change. Variances appear to be readily granted. I may be mistaken about this, but it is how things appear to me as an outsider. Also, a statewide agency is unfit to oversee daily and micro local jail problems. There is a particular regulation dealing with our famous toilet paper issue:

RULE §277.5 Toilet Paper: Toilet paper shall be available at all times.

How is a state agency without a local staff, supposed to oversee this, for instance?

10. The minimum jail standards themselves may not meet constitutional muster and if they are treated as an aspirational standard for the jails, rather than a true minimum standard, unless the jail standards are improved, unconstitutional jails will be guaranteed. The chapter of the minimum jail standards that applies to education and rehab programs does not address religious exercise and I cannot find it otherwise. Inmates, including convicts in prison, must still be provided some access to the Free Exercise of Religion. The jail standards themselves may require revision.

And then, when all else fails, or at least to augment everything else, the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 were codified in 42 USC Section 1988 helped end the other kind of slavery. Our "evolving sense of decency" has not evolved yet to the point where we may expect the abolition of jails. But maybe we can agree decency must include mattresses, soap and toilet paper.

Children in Shackles

Kathy usually hates going to court. She is impatient and critical, so I don't like for her to come.

A couple of weeks ago, she went with me to the Darrell Hester Juvenile Justice Center in San Benito. A lawyer friend of mine who would be out of town needed someone to cover a hearing to get a kid out of jail.

This little boy, fifth grader, 10 or 11 years old, was "being detained" because at school he had been kicking and slapping fifth grade girls and even chased one into the girl's restroom. Kathy has taught 5th grade and believes this is pretty normal behavior.

This boy had been incarcerated for a week. I have never seen the inside of a juvenile detention facility and this place may be just like grandma's house, but any separation from mom and dad for this long --well, we can only imagine.

When the child stood up to hear the order of his release, it became apparent he was shackled. He cried, mom and dad and aunt and uncle cried. I didn't look over at Kathy.

But later she was angry at me, "Why was he wearing handcuffs?"

I will admit I was well inured to the sight and only when I began to think about it later could I think, "why indeed?"

The boy was a short, fat, round-faced child. Physically he could have been dominated by a small, untrained woman. There was little likelihood of assault or escape.

Of course, part of the answer is that not all juveniles are like that. Some are large and dangerous and there is no ready, fair way to classify the kids based on dangerousness.

Some more of the answer lies in the habits of correctional institutions. Unless there is a jury, and after all, judges and jurors have been attacked and murdered in the courtroom, inmates are shackled in the courtroom . Although this boy was a very small and young inmate, he still wears the title of "inmate" rather than the more obvious title of "child." But still, isn't there a better way?

During my most recent Babylonian Captivity, five years in Denton County, when I drove to the courthouse, I would pass the children in boot camp. I would get that sick feeling deep in the stomach you get when you see films of the clubbing of baby seals. "Tough love" as I watched it showed no love at all.

There are some pitiful adult sights as well.

The shackles in federal court are an intricate affair. A chain connects the legs above the ankles and runs up to connect to the handcuffs. Walking is a shuffle. Backs are bent and sometimes the prisoner will try to move his leg around to get the steel off of the bone. Crippled people, people too obese to stand, sick people are all shackled in this way. Some have fallen being brought to the courtroom. In some courtrooms the prisoner is expected to stand for an hour in chains during multiple pleas while most every else in the courtroom gets to sit down. Why these things either?

Little reforms might address some of the more painful of these sights. Just as inmates are screened pretrial to see who will get bond and screened post-conviction to see who gets probation, who gets a camp and who gets a maximum security unit, people being brought to trial could be screened to determine dangerousness or a need for shackling. But that would be an extra expense and money is always short in this world.

The truth is that of the thousands of people I have seen in jails and prisons over the years there have only been a handful that I would not have liked to have seen released immediately. The few who were dangerous were suffering from severe mental illness.

George Bernard Shaw in his tract the Crime of Imprisonment argues for abolition:

Imprisonment today is a worse crime than any of those committed by its victims; for no single criminal can be as powerful for evil, or as unrestrained in its exercise, as an organized nation. Therefore if any person is addressing himself to the perusal of this dreadful subject in the spirit of a philanthropist bent on reforming a necessary and beneficent public institution, I beg him to put it down and go about some other business. It is just such reformer who have in the past made the neglect, oppression, corruption and physical torture of the old common gaol the pretext for transforming it into that diabolical den of torment, mischief, and damnation, the modern model prison.

"I'm Your Worst Nightmare, an MBA with a Badge"

"Did I remember to buy personal hygiene products for the women prisoners?

Does the commissary have Cheetos?

I think there should be a state constitutional amendment to allow individual counties to switch to a more administrative sheriffs department in which is a sheriff that meets a set of qualifications is hired not elected.

Patricia A.

I have been mulling this suggestion since I first read it. Sheriffs do seem poor fits for their jobs. Would appointing them improve the quality of justice and law enforcement?

It is hard for me to get my mind around an appointed sheriff. The sheriff has traditionally been the most politically powerful and usually the most popular figure in the county. The first sheriff I met was Wiley Barnes in Denton County jail. I was a seventeen year old high school student who had been picked up for fist fighting at the truck stop after the Senior Prom. I say "picked up" rather than "arrested," because Sheriff Wiley decided if someone was arrested or not when they got to the jail. We were "just some boys blowing off steam," and we should hold on to it because "we would both be getting all the fighting we wanted to do soon enough in Vietnam." So he let us go.

The sheriff was wrong about us both fighting in Vietnam; my adversary had wrapped his truck around a telephone pole and I escaped to a student deferment before the year was up. But the sheriff was usually right.

Sheriff Wiley was a slight man and dapper. He was one of the few Texas sheriffs I have known who did not wear a cowboy hat. He looked more like someone you would meet at a wine-tasting party. He was known, though, by his gloves. He carried around a pair of cream-colored lambskin gloves. The room would get quiet if he put on the gloves. No rowdy, no matter how big, could ever beat him in a fair fight and he personally controlled crime one on one.

The sheriff finally left office after the feds caught him warning a local doctor that the doctor's son would be arrested on a federal drug charge.

Before his fall, who would the county commissioners have appointed? Sheriff Wiley. Who would the legislature have chosen? Sheriff Wiley. Who would the governor have appointed? Sheriff Wiley.

But those were simpler times. There was one party and no one's opinion mattered but the good old boys'.

Who might be hired or appointed for sheriff today in Denton County? The governor would likely pick some blow-dried sissy Aggie who impressed him when he was working for the Senate as one of the sergeants at arms. The legislature would select a smart young lobbyist with a strong anti-abortion record. The county commissioners would pick a real estate developer who had previously served as Republican County Chairman.

Who would the likely Cameron County appointments be? Sophie and Jared are recent appointments, so they may be fairly characteristic of the choice on a county level. Carlos Cascos has the governor's ear, so Carlos would likely have a say if the governor got to pick. The former county treasurer, maybe? I'm not sure these would not be better sheriffs than we will elect, but it would certainly be different.

What qualifications does a sheriff need? In the rural areas, the sheriff performs the functions of the police. As more and more of a county is incorporated, the less important this function becomes. Nonetheless, for that role we would want an experienced cop. Maybe a degree or a masters in law enforcement? Social work? Anthropology? Forensic medicine? In Cameron County the sheriff must deal with a lot of bodies being dropped around. A sniffer canine trainer or a pathologist might be the ticket.

Cameron County Sheriff's office has some very clever cops who have knack for DNA and other scientific evidence. I can see them as good sheriffs but not good politicians. Maybe one could get an appointment in the unlikely event that a commissioners court wanted to pick the most qualified candidate.

Sheriffs also serve process. This takes more of an administrator hiring the right people. Maybe experience in management? Business degree?

And then there is the jail. This has become a long-term residence for thousands and the sheriff must fill all the roles of running a small company town that no one can leave. My local choice for this position would be Mike Leinart, the current chief jail administrator. If he had the final say and the right resources, I think it would be a different jail. He might be able to get an appointment, but I don't see him running for office; the qualities that would make him good at the job--honesty, in particular-- would make it hard for him to get elected.

One measure of what appointed sheriffs might look like would be to look at U.S. Marshals. In some ways this is comparing apples and oranges because the resources of the feds are so great and those of the county so small. But Marshals don't run jails, at least not here. These are all contracted out to public and private facilities and the results are bad.

The federal prisons I have seen are not bad (if ever a prison can be good). So I think the feds could run a decent jail if anyone wanted to do so.

What, though, are the qualities of a U.S. Marshal? They are virtually invisible. As much time as I spend with federal prisoners, I couldn't tell you who the U.S. Marshal is in the Southern District. Can anyone name a U.S. Marshal besides Matt Dillon and Wyatt Earp?

Even if we were to decide a constitutional amendment to hire sheriffs is a good idea, it would be a pie in the sky hope--much like waiting for the year of jubilee. Trying to take away the power of elected sheriffs would meet a juggernaut of opposition that would crush any silly reformer in its path. It would be even more difficult than trying to politically challenge J.P.'s or chiropractors.

More Jail Musings

"When is my death row job available?"

Archer Daniel Midland could do executions cheaper

All rise!

Finally some real judicial economy.

Cameron County does not have the worst jail in the world. In fact it is not even the worst jail in the Valley. On a scale of bad, worse, horrible, the standings would be Cameron County, Willacy Detention Center, with La Villa coming in last. These are all places where federal prisoners are kept, but the last two are privately owned facilities.

My impression has been that La Villa is by far the worst of the three and lately there seem to be fewer Brownsville prisoners housed there. Maybe the U.S. Marshal's office finally gave up on them. I had one client in La Villa who tells me he screamed for twelve hours trying to get attention during an appendicitis attack. The other guys in the jail were screaming with him. He didn't die and after his surgery, he cleaned up pretty well, but it could have been bad. He was in jail on a charge of entering the country illegally.

There are certain things that privatization may make cheaper, but depending on the goals involved, it sure doesn't make things better. Private jails may make a profit, but they don't do much for the quality of justice.

Why not sell the courthouses to Walmart and allow them to use Walmart greeters as judges? This would be cheap. The same for executions. Executions could be contracted out to Archer-Daniels-Midland. They could use the same employees used in the slaughterhouses. This would be cheap.

Cameron County Jail Needs Gail Hanson

(None of us are perfect. --- Sometimes you need a little help from a friend)

First may I confess to the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth. Especially Gluttony and Sloth, because aging has stolen the energy I once had for the others.

That having been said, the Cameron County Jail, and for that matter, the Cameron County Criminal Justice System, and for that matter, jails, prisons and criminal justice systems in the United States could use some improvement.

Sheriffs (including this Sheriff) become defensive when "their" jail is discussed. The recent election cycle showed the weird spectacle of a jail preacher talking about how nice the jail is and the good doctor discussing how good the care is, in defense of the sheriff who, no doubt, is practically perfect in every way.

So before we move to specifics, let me pontificate in general that the tensions between sheriffs, county commissioners, police agencies, and Texas State Government guarantee that all the jails in the State are substandard. Not that all would fail a gumming test by the toothless Texas Commission on Jail Standards, but none do what they are intended to do: that is, hold people who are presumed innocent in a humane manner until they can be tried and convicted or acquitted.

The best sheriff would probably not be a policeman at all, but have some management experience in running a hotel or a restaurant or a hospital or a school or a monastery. Unfortunately, for reasons mired in other social defects, the only candidates who present themselves for the august position tend to be cops. More on this after some reflection during the wee hours of the morning: "Why don't other folks, besides police officers, want to be sheriff?"

In the meantime, sheriffs cannot run a good jail, because commissioners won't give them the money to do so. Commissioners won't give them the money to do so, because they would rather hire someone for the road crew so they can get the patronage rather than giving it to the sheriff. Also, Commissioners won't give the money because felons and illegal immigrants who fill the jails can't vote. Also, Commissioners won't give the money because they are afraid some genius will start talking about criminals not needing to be in country clubs and sheriffs need to be tough guys to go with the police image rather than the motel manager image I think is more appropriate for the job.

Most folks don't worries too much about jail conditions unless they have a kid in jail. Did I ever tell you about my Republican Christian lawyer friend who ridiculed me for a couple of decades for talking about jail conditions until his son grew up, went bonkers, and spent months in and out of jail on minor offenses? All of a sudden he became interested in the 8th Amendment and prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. I felt I was being strong and kind by resisting saying,"I told you so," in the midst of his pain.

Does anyone remember when Cameron County Jailers were contracting tuberculosis from the inmates? Jails become a petri dish for disease and jailers (who mostly are there because they need a job and have families to support) catch those diseases.

This all leads up to the question on my mind: Isn't a shame, a scandal even, if Gail Hanson, private school administrator and jail pastor is excluded from the women's section of the jail because she advocates for the prisoners?