Teenagers in US prisons: it's time for the savagery and neglect to finally end

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

When Inmate H, a teenager serving time at New York’s Rikers Island, fell asleep during a class, a female corrections officer wrapped metal handcuffs around her fist and hit him in the ribcage to rouse him. The tactic worked – Inmate H woke abruptly and shouted an obscenity at the officer. For this, he was: dragged into the corridor; punched in the eye; kicked in the face, head and back repeatedly by multiple officers; kicked in the mouth; and pepper-sprayed directly into the eyes. While the horror show was unfolding, two teachers inside the classroom reported that they heard the young prisoner screaming out, crying for his mother.

The story of Inmate H is just one of many examples of the brutal violence inflicted upon teenage prisoners at the second biggest jail in America, where nearly half of the juvenile population reports having been beaten at least once by guards. Many of these tales of injustice were laid bare in a stomach-churning report released this week by the US attorney Preet Bharara, who compared the youth experience at the “broken institution” of Rikers to the book Lord of the Flies.

Of all the revelations in the 79-page report, three stood out to me:

• On any given day in 2014, there are nearly 500 teenagers aged between 16 and 18 years old serving time or awaiting court hearings on Rikers Island.
• Around 51% of this teenage population have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
• Fully 90.9% of the corrections officers who started working at the youth jail on Rikers in 2012 were on their first assignment from the training academy.

“Any juvenile justice professional will tell you that a detention setting should be the last option for any young offender,” Steve J Martin, a prison consultant who has worked with several jail systems, including Rikers, told me this week. “When you add mental illness into the mix, it creates a perfect storm” for the system and the people in it, he added.

This is exactly the problem: The least experienced guards are often assigned to look after the most challenging population of inmates, many of whom should probably have never been placed in a jail setting at all.

The relative inexperience of these guards is not just detrimental to inmate safety, it has consequences for the entire jail staff, many of whom feel they have no choice but to turn a blind eye to abuses. Martin Horn, the former commissioner of the New York Department of Corrections, explained to me this week that whistleblowers in the system fear losing more than just their jobs if they report their colleagues’ behavior:

The Rikers report is so breathtaking because it doesn’t merely attempt to pin the jail’s issues on a few bad apples – it indicates that they’re the result of a series top-down, systemic failures.

But as bad as things are on Rikers Island – and they are quite bad – the same kind of savagery and neglect is prevalent in most major jail systems across the country. Los Angeles County has been the subject of numerous investigations and reports about the vicious treatment of inmates by guards. Cook County in Illinois is currently battling a class action lawsuit alleging a “sadistic culture of brutality and violence” in its jails. And just last year a federal judge approved a consent decreemandating sweeping changes to the notoriously violent New Orleans jail system.

That so many major American jail systems are experiencing many of the same problems – overcrowding, poorly trained and transient guards, an abundance of mentally ill prisoners and the overuse of solitary confinement – suggests that fixing them requires that we change how jails are run, who we choose to send to them and why.

There are sensible policy measures that can at least ameliorate some of the problems outlined in the Rikers report. In 2010, in an effort to keep young offenders (aged from 11 to 16) out of detention and in community-based care,New York City merged the Department of Juvenile Justice with the child welfare agency. If this measure were expanded to include 16- and 17-year-olds who are currently charged as adults under state law, there would surely be far few teenagers at Rikers.

Providing incentives to retain experienced officers in tough assignments should also help the situation. “As the situation deteriorates in any jail, it’s natural for officers who gain seniority to ask to be reassigned to a less stressful situation,” former commissioner Horn explained. So, in 2014, the corrections department authorized a pay increase for officers willing to work in more challenging environments – such as the youth jail at Rikers. It is, so far, unclear whether it will be enough of an incentive to attract and retain qualified and experienced staff. (But it might soon become an easier assignment: New York City mayor Bill de Blasio recently allocated $32.5m to build four dedicated units at Rikers for mentally ill prisoners to receive specialized treatment.)

When a mentality of “punch in the face first, cover up later” takes root, the bigger challenge for Rikers and other jail systems becomes changing the culture that has made it so apparently acceptable for prisoners to be treated as less than human. There will always be rogue officers who want to abuse their power, but they might be less likely to do so if a jail adopts a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse and those found abusing their power were to face criminal charges.

Hopefully, the latest report brings about that much needed cultural shift and, if it does, one of the country’s most notoriously bad jails might end up at the forefront of reform for a terribly broken system.

Quite eye-opening. From the report:

We conclude that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates. In particular, we find that adolescent inmates at

Rikers are not adequately protected from harm, including serious physical harm from the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by DOC staff. In addition, adolescent inmates are not adequately protected from harm caused by violence inflicted by other inmates, including inmate-on-inmate fights. Indeed, we find that a deep-seated culture of violence is pervasive throughout the adolescent facilities at Rikers, and DOC staff routinely utilize force not as a last resort, but instead as a means to control the adolescent population and punish disorderly or disrespectful behavior. Moreover, DOC relies far too heavily on punitive segregation as a disciplinary measure, placing adolescent inmates—many of whom are mentally ill—in what amounts to solitary confinement at an alarming rate and for excessive periods of time.

As discussed more fully below, these conditions have resulted in serious harm to adolescent inmates at Rikers. As a result of staff use of excessive force and inmate violence, adolescents have sustained a striking number of serious injuries, including broken jaws, broken orbital bones, broken noses, long bone fractures, and lacerations requiring sutures.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/07/teenagers-in-us-prisons-rikers-island-report

Edited August 8, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

You're posting in the wrong forum. I'm all about justice and punishment, but I have an issue with this. And because most folks can't relate, they will have no problems with the horrors that happen within prison. To them, the punishment fits the crime.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Dostoyevsky

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think the findings of this report are pretty damning. The authorities should have some duty of care to porotect vulnerable and impressionable teenagers.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I can bet, without looking at the link in detail, why those teenagers are treated that way...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hard to say really. But it's the attitude that's wrong - it should be possible to turn someone around at that age and get them off the dark path. At the very least the authorities should try.

[lostinblue 1,989]

I can bet, without looking at the link in detail, why those teenagers are treated that way...

The trouble marv is that teens going in to the prisons have no respect for authority. That is in many cases why they are there. No respect for their parents,teachers or the police. In prison you WILL respect the guards. Perhaps you can relate ....Look at boot camp in the service... What will the drill instructor do if a recruit shouted cuss words at him.... In prison that guard is that instructor.... He is the top dog ... He will get respect ... They will break you to get it... Yes sir no sir and sir may I scratch my nose..sir..Everyone respects everyone .Sit on someones bed ..It is . serious stuff that will be dealt with.... In a harsh manner.... and not by the guards.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Hard to say really. But it's the attitude that's wrong - it should be possible to turn someone around at that age and get them off the dark path. At the very least the authorities should try.

Not really. I wasn't trying to race bait. Those who end up there are in dire situations from the get go. It's a lot worse than you can imagine.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-09/news/rikers-violence-out-of-control/

[Jacque67 7,328]

Sigh. Why is no one interested in 19th century literature ? It would stop so much of this bs here.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

The trouble marv is that teens going in to the prisons have no respect for authority. That is in many cases why they are there. No respect for their parents,teachers or the police. In prison you WILL respect the guards. Perhaps you can relate ....Look at boot camp in the service... What will the drill instructor do if a recruit shouted cuss words at him.... In prison that guard is that instructor.... He is the top dog ... He will get respect ... They will break you to get it... Yes sir no sir and sir may I scratch my nose..sir..Everyone respects everyone .Sit on someones bed ..It is . serious stuff that will be dealt with.... In a harsh manner.... and not by the guards.

The real problem is deeper than that Lost. Check out my link above. They're abusing prisoners. To the point of torture.

I've served in 2 different boot camps. So I've seen what happens when you step out of line. But nothing like that happens. It's inhumane.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The trouble marv is that teens going in to the prisons have no respect for authority. That is in many cases why they are there. No respect for their parents,teachers or the police. In prison you WILL respect the guards. Perhaps you can relate ....Look at boot camp in the service... What will the drill instructor do if a recruit shouted cuss words at him.... In prison that guard is that instructor.... He is the top dog ... He will get respect ... They will break you to get it... Yes sir no sir and sir may I scratch my nose..sir..Everyone respects everyone .Sit on someones bed ..It is . serious stuff that will be dealt with.... In a harsh manner.... and not by the guards.

Respect isn't earned by brutalising people with violence (or the threat of it). In fact, all it does is promote the idea that violence is a good way to solve problems.

The real problem is deeper than that Lost. Check out my link above. They're abusing prisoners. To the point of torture.

I've served in 2 different boot camps. So I've seen what happens when you step out of line. But nothing like that happens. It's inhumane.

Exactly. I'd encourage people to read the report linked to the article, rather than their own prejudices about what people in prison 'deserve'

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Respect isn't earned by brutalising people with violence (or the threat of it). In fact, all it does is promote the idea that violence is a good way to solve problems.

Exactly. I'd encourage people to read the report linked to the article, rather than their own prejudices about what people in prison 'deserve'

And here's where you'll lose folks. To them, they're just animals who deserve worse.

[lostinblue 1,989]

The real problem is deeper than that Lost. Check out my link above. They're abusing prisoners. To the point of torture.

I've served in 2 different boot camps. So I've seen what happens when you step out of line. But nothing like that happens. It's inhumane.

What are you going to do marv... When a prisoner tosses his urine or spits at a guard.. If this is not dealt harshly .. And you call solitary harsh... Your prison will be run by the inmates. Try having 5000 prisoners spitting at you all day long. Many with AIDS... ect and ect...How do you handle that marv... Maybe give him your famous pass. I have a family member in prison ... I know enough to know what goes on. . You do not disrespect the guards. You will get along fine. Not the best.. and their are guards that should not be in the prison system. I understand that. Control is everything in a prison..

I know someone who worked in a prison... In the guard tower overlooking the yard (the yard is the most dangerous place in prison) if trouble broke out If trouble broke out the guard would shine the sight on the prisoner ..... That caught everyone attention in a hurry. You know the red dot on your chest. or head...And crack shots are in the towers...That dot is locked on you they are NOT missing. .. Prisoners filed a lawsuit about it being C and U punishment. So the guards cannot use the dots... A year later a man who never fired a shot at a person ... did have to kill a prisoner..... He firmly believes that if they were allowed that sight he would have never had to pull the trigger.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

From reading the article and the report it seems that violence against prisoners is often unprovoked. That this is how the staff routinely treat prisoners.

Again:

Any juvenile justice professional will tell you that a detention setting should be the last option for any young offender, Steve J Martin, a prison consultant who has worked with several jail systems, including Rikers, told me this week. When you add mental illness into the mix, it creates a perfect storm for the system and the people in it, he added.

I think its reasonable to conclude that this guy knows what he's talking about? Isn't it?

Edited August 8, 2014 by Hail Ming!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

What are you going to do marv... When a prisoner tosses his urine or spits at a guard.. If this is not dealt harshly .. And you call solitary harsh... Your prison will be run by the inmates. Try having 5000 prisoners spitting at you all day long. Many with AIDS... ect and ect...How do you handle that marv... Maybe give him your famous pass. I have a family member in prison ... I know enough to know what goes on. . You do not disrespect the guards. You will get along fine. Not the best.. and their are guards that should not be in the prison system. I understand that. Control is everything in a prison..

I know someone who worked in a prison... In the guard tower overlooking the yard (the yard is the most dangerous place in prison) if trouble broke out If trouble broke out the guard would shine the sight on the prisoner ..... That caught everyone attention in a hurry. You know the red dot on your chest. or head...And crack shots are in the towers...That dot is locked on you they are NOT missing. .. Prisoners filed a lawsuit about it being C and U punishment. So the guards cannot use the dots... A year later a man who never fired a shot at a person ... did have to kill a prisoner..... He firmly believes that if they were allowed that sight he would have never had to pull the trigger.

This would be a little bit easier to discuss if you didn't see everything as an absolute.

Every person whose brutalized isn't deserving of it, that's the point of the article.