Dear Lord, I need more strength when -My weaknesses and self-pity take over my thoughts, writings and actions.-My faith, hope and trust are shaken-My burdens overwhelm me and tempt me to forget You can help me.-My anger and impatience suffocate me-My pride blocks me from seeking Your Solace-My pettiness thrives even with little unimportant matters-My claim to be righteous is totally wrong.Lord, that I would heed Your Examples in Holy Scripture. Open my eyes, ears, heart and soul to Your Gentle Joys.Increase my gratitude for Your Happy and Tranquil Intentions regarding any situation in my midst.Guide me thru raging storms, Lord, in anticipation of Your Rainbows that will follow.Fill me with peace as I dwell in Your Presence.Urge me to read, repeat and remember meaningful tips like the ones in Dr. Peale's book.My strength comes from You, Lord. Change my wimpiness into courage and determination to serve You, follow You and obey You as I frown less and smile more for Your Sake.Glory, Honor and Praise to You, Precious Lord, forever and ever. Amen, Amen Caring Hugs from a lady who resolves to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative even tho she's alone with no help from...the 3 gents...Jay and Hank took Bubba to a local hardware store for his supplies. He is gonna build a patio bench.....3 cement blocks and a 6 ft sturdy board. O.K....so it's a huge project and takes male bonding.
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DRUG COURT AND PROGRAMS ARE NEEDED YOU are the Minority in this country and the MAJORITY in these prison.. are poor and cannot afford a private lawyer open your eyes-wake up and smell the coffee you are poor -you have a better chance of going to prison- or coping a plea which will keep you in the system because of poverty and being in the the modern day plantation of slavement and ... race is not the issue it is the almighty dollar because now prison is a business, some ran by private organizations. like buying stock in a company so the more people in prison the more stock the company has to sell shares young minority men ,women, open your eyes and smell the coffee.they are building citys of prisons and you keep making the stock holders > RICH.<. THESE PEOPLE ARE BUILDING MORE PRISON THAN ANTHING ELSE WHY????????????- WHY ARE THEY NOT BUILDING MENTAL HOSPITAL FOR ALL THE MENTALLY ILL INMATE THAT HAS BEEN IN JAIL 50 TIME. DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL FOR A SANE PERSON TO GO TO JAIL THAT MANY TIMES..
AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM NEEDS TO TAKE A SECOND LOOKS AT THE MENTAL ABILITY OF SOME OF THESE 2 MILLIONS INMATES
WHO DOES MTWT REPRESENT?Federal Marijuana Ex-Prisoner Gary Waid, over 3000 Florida prisoners, a number of out-of-state prisoners, their families, a few attorneys, some Florida reporters, a growing contigent of courageous officers, ex-officers, reformed felons, and myself have been compiling information ever since nine guards 'allegedly' brutally beat and kicked prisoner Frank Valdes to death in July 1999.
Therefore, this site is dedicated to Mr. Frank Valdes, whose death opened our eyes so that the walls began to fade and we could see inside: To Mr. Gary Brooks Waid, whose spirit has motivated so many and whose stories make us think; to all the men and women inside the prisons of America, be they officers or prisoners, because they face such negative energy day after difficult day that all of them need the energy of Love:
And most of all dear reader, this site is dedicated to you - for when the change comes, it will be because you got educated and got involved.
WHAT DOES MTWT DO AND WHY DO WE DO IT?We name names and provide details for investigation. We do this at great risk in an honest effort to make the walls of Florida prisons transparent so that you, the citizen, will understand that when you shut people behind walls, officer or inmate, and ignore their pain or wrongdoing, great evil will result and it will spread outside the walls, perhaps affecting you or someone you love.
All MTWT asks is that staff follow the rules. All MTWT expects is professionalism in uniform. All MTWT needs is prison to be a healing place that reflects our conscience so that we will all be safer when prisoners pay off their debt and come home. MTWT takes a stand now in hopes that abuses like Frank Valdes' murder by guards don't ever happen again. Not in Florida, not anywhere!
WHAT LIMITS MTWT'S WORK?MTWT cannot provide the proof of a pattern of abuse without full, honest, independant investigations, and access to the people involved - It's not even our job! - But, if you do not automatically assume that all prisoners are liars and all guards are honest, there is a strong basis of truth here for conjecture, investigation, and real concern.
I have provided prisoners' and prison workers' names and addresses whenever I have permission, when they are already in public domain, or if the situation is critical.
Drugs are an addiction. People have to understand this. Addictions are not easily overcome, sometimes they are never overcome. All prisoners are in prison because of bad choices THEY themselves made. So one could use the argument that therefore you all deserve exactly what you receive. We all are born with free will. That said ,personally, I do not think our system treats prisoners correctly. It treats them inhumanly and that in itself sets us all up for failure as a society. Drug addicts belong in hospitals in a medical treatment facility where they can receive treatment for their dependency. Most drug addicts already suffer from some form of mental illness to begin with, drugs only adding to the problem. What concerns me is there are not enough psychologists in prisons. Prisoners need REAL help , they don't get it. They are put into a system that only further psychologically harms them . When they are released they come out angrier. In a message dated 8/14/06 1:53:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rhysbr20032000@yahoo.com writes:. The reason why I say this is because I served 12 years within the system, and time and time again, I saw people leave prison and then go right back in ....several times...while I and others not even got our first chance at parole. Then they ended parole because they said that it just didn't work, and I can see why...yes, I truly believe that people need a break out here and that is the cause of recidivism, but when a person totally just does what he or she feels like, they have no right to complain...they put themselves in that position...and we wonder why the system is the way it is. I n the article, they make her out to be the vicitm, but this is not the case at all...she CHOSE to do what she did...period...now she has to pay for HER actions...she abandoned her family, etc. to do drugs...there is a place people go when they mess up...it is caused prison. Please do not make this woman to be a victim...she isn't. We need more programs and more ways to help those who are being released. Whether they stay out of prison or whether they go back to crime, this is the way in how we find out who belongs in prison and who doesn't. I have four good friends of mine who I served time with in the system who are ALL making it...they value what they have out here...those who don't are going to go back...and the cycle repeats itself all over again...people on the inside need to wake up to reality and realize that the system is getting worse...they can either stay in it or out...it is that simple.
written by unknown author
IT IS BETTER TO JUST STAY OUT THAT PLACE WHERE YOU HAVE NO RIGHT
THESE INMATES WHO KEEP USING THE REVOLVING DOORS TO THE PENAL SYSTEM. THERE MUST BE SOMETHING ,OTHER THAN CAGES TO REFORM THESE PEOPLE AND TAKE THAT TAX BURDEN OFF THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERMENT AND THE FAMILIES
ALSO ALL THIS MONEY IS BEING USED TO LOCK THESE PEOPLE UP FOR YERS AND MORE YEARS AND THEY EXIT PRISON WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS THEY HAD ,WHEN THEY WERE ARRESTED THE 1ST, 2ND AND ETC TIME. SOME ONE HAS TO SEE THAT THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER TO SOME OF THESE INMATES PROBLEM..WHAT IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF KEEPING THESE SICK PEOPLE IN CAGES ,WHICH IS MAKING THEM INTO HARDEN CRIMINALS.
YOU are the Minority in this country and the MAJORITY in these prisonS.. open your eyes-wake up and smell the coffee you are poor -you have a better chance of going to prison- or coping a plea which will keep you in the system because of poverty and being in the the modern day plantation of slavement and ... race is not the issue it is the almighty dollar because now prison is a business, some ran by private organizations. like buying stock in a company so the more people in prison the more stock the company has to sell shares young minority men ,women, open your eyes and smell the coffee.they are building citys of prisons and you keep making the stock holders > RICH.<. THESE PEOPLE ARE BUILDING MORE PRISON THAN ANYTHING ELSE WHY????????????- WHY ARE THEY NOT BUILDING MENTAL HOSPITAL FOR ALL THE MENTALLY ILL INMATE THAT HAS BEEN IN JAIL 50 TIME. DO YOU NOT KNOW THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL FOR A SANE PERSON TO GO TO JAIL THAT MANY TIMES..
Kerness, AFSC Prison Watch Project, 89 Market Street, Newark, NJ 07102. We very much appreciate your help.
-------------- In New York City as well as throughout America, I believe that the cancer of legal/judicial corruption has created a silence that is deafening.
Stories of police terrorizing innocent people, corporate power overwhelming the courts so that the corporate leaders - and the new "CEOs" in education - can deny an education to our young future voters, and other horrific descriptions of the destruction of our free and constitutionally-protected lives have proliferated the news for decades. Before the internet was available the masses sometimes heard about a lawsuit where an innocent person was "re-discovered" by a legal sleuth or a reporter, and this person spurred a new investigation of the case ending in an aquittal. But these victories were almost always not broadcast in the national news, or, if a case did happen to reach a national or international audience, the aftermath and follow-up from other activists about "how can this happen?" "How can we [the public] make sure that this never happens again?" was not published or pursued. American Media is owned by the very same CEO's doing the suppression and abusing the rights of due process of individuals.
A national discussion of the suppression of truth, the torture of teens and the deliberate testing of prescription drugs on "patients" that are designated as such by judges who know nothing about psychological illness cannot be allowed because the legal-government-business complex would splinter. I saw this process in action yesterday morning at the Mental Hygiene Court of Belleview Hospital. The people involved in this effort pursue business interests by using the innocent poor or minority man/woman/child as subjects in the quest to market drugs, sell insurance policies, and fuel mega-huge media and advertising companies' bank accounts. They cannot justify years of pushing people into jail or boot camps to be used as guinea pigs for drug research, which is currently happening throughout America.
Increasing numbers of people know what is going on in the courts and in Congress, and, have heard the cries of the victims and the outrage of the protestors. However, there is still a feeling of hopelessness out there, and the activists try to bring about change have not yet reached a critical mass. Millions of victims, unable to fight the system, remain convinced that there is nothing they can do. They see activists put in jail or worse, their lives and families destroyed, and good people disappearing into their other lives outside of the public eye. One tactic in the silencing of protest used by leaders of powerful organizations or countries has always been to declare an individual"crazy" and put them into a drug rehabilitation program or jail, or both. This is a simple process: I dont like what you say, or what you know and COULD say, therefore you must be given drugs or re-programmed.
A new voice needs to cry "enough"! and I believe it is the We speak Up Coalition and blog. There is no denying the power of a group, all shouting the same protest. Additionally, the megaphone of an internet blog shouting the same protest by a group is extremely powerful. However, moving the public from despair and hopelessness to action is difficult. The good news is that it will happen, as long as the internet and all its blogs and listservs remain free and unblocked by the powers that be. People want to be heard. We must remain visible, verbal, and focused and the rest will follow
U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001
Open Letter :A
PART 1
The shift in residency of the mentally ill from hospitals to the criminal justice system is the result of de institutionalization, which occurred in the early 1990’s. The impetus began in the 1970’s to eliminate the infamous mental institutions. These “warehouses†of the past where known for their sparse living conditions, brutal treatment of patients, and harsh medical procedures and treatments such as electroshock therapy. Concern for the civil rights of mentally ill persons, a desire to cut costs, and a hope that new medications could replace supervised care spurred the movement to close the institutions.
A majority of the de institutionalized mentally ill had anosognosia, a condition that made them unable or unwilling to recognize their illness. In the civil rights conscious state of the era, they were allowed to make their own decisions regarding their need for treatment. Not surprisingly, many went off of their medication and lost touch with mental health care centers.
Without family or a means to earn money for rent, many turned to life on the streets. They were then arrested on minor charges by the police, under social pressure to “do something†about the homeless population. Approaching one third of homeless people have a psychological disorder.
WE THE PEOPLE ENDORSE THE FOLLOWING PETITION IN HOPES THAT THE SURGEON GENERAL , PENAL SYSTEM, GOVERNORS AND SENATORS WOULD INTRODUCE A BILL TO RE FORM HEALTH CARE FOR ALL INMATES IN THE USA,AND FIX THIS BROKEN SYSTEM, BECAUSE TO MANY ARE DYING IN PRISON FROM THE LACK OF PROPER MEDS OR FACILITIES..
The mission of BOP, as part of the Department of Justice, is to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, appropriately secure, and which provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.
That's what the mission statement of the BOP claims. However its mission is most definitely not being met.Too many of our prisons have become a warehouse for the Mentally ill and the system has broken down completely in terms of health care both standard and for the terminally ill.
We need measures put in place, such as psychological screening for officers and programs that prepare inmates for life in the real world after their release. Staff shortages, funding cuts and a lack of will at the top have eviscerated rehabilitation efforts and made our prisons increasingly dangerous for officers and inmates.High rates of disease in prison, coupled with inadequate funding for health care, endangers inmates, staff, family, and the public with serious threats of contagious diseases such as staph infections,tuberculosis, hepatitis C , and aids
Today, some 283,800 inmates are identified as having a mental illness. This represents 16% of the inmate populations of state and local jails. Jails have effectively become America’s new mental institutions; they house a larger volume of mentally ill people than all other programs combined. However, these inmates rarely receive the treatment that they need and have a right to. The criminal justice system is overpopulated and under equipped to deal with those with psychotic disorders requiring mental health care services.
PART 3 Reported a...State PrisonFederal PrisonJailProbation Mental or emotional condition10.1%4.8%10.5%13.8% Overnight stay in a mental hospital10.7%4.7%10.2%8.2% Estimated to have a mental illness16.2%7.4%16.3%16.0%
State PrisonFederal PrisonLocal Jail Homeless In year before arrest20.1%18.6%30.3% At time of arrest3.9%3.9%6.9% Employed Yes61.2%62.3%52.9% No38.8%37.7%47.1%
Implications for the Mentally Ill Inmate
A common disorder to develop in prison is depression, a byproduct of institutionalization. In the context of a total institution, inmates are systematically broken down and manipulated by the staff. Their lives are completely supervised, homogenized, and organized. In the process, inmates tend to learn behaviors counter productive to their survival in the outside world. Some of these behaviors may include, “aggressiveness and intimidation of others or, conversely, extreme passivity, manipulative behavior and reluctance to discuss problems with authority figures. These behaviors create barriers to engagement in mental health services and treatment.â€
A result of the effect of prison life on inmates arethe alarmingly high rate of suicides. Suicide is the leading cause of death in inmates, accounting for over half the deaths occurring while inmates are in custody. Almost all who attempt suicide have a major psychiatric disorder. More than half of the victims were experiencing hallucinations at the time of the attempt. These deaths are tragic because mental disorders are highly treatable with 60-80% success rates.
Implications for Society
The overflow of the mentally ill has overloaded the prison system. The American Correctional Association recommends that jails should operate at 90% of capacity. All jails were at 85% capacity in 1985, and were up to 111% capacity in 1987. The overcrowded conditions disrupt the efficiency and function of the prison system. Room for booking and close observation areas upon admission is at a scarce. Even if a mentally ill inmate is correctly recognized as in need of further observation or treatment, on-sight mental health professionals are scarce; there may not be anyone on duty at odd hours. Admittance screening is rushed and many mentally ill inmates who should receive treatment instead slip through the cracks of the system. The original social goal of society to provide these individuals with more humane mental health care is lost.
Half of mentally ill inmates report three or more prior incarcerations. The long-term costs quickly add up. While the direct cost of mental health services was $69 billion in 1990, the estimated hidden costs of loss of productivity and long term health care costs were an additional $78.6 billion.
Why You Should Get Involved
Our society has attached a glaring stigma to mental illness, which makes it difficult for individuals to ask for or receive help. The perception that mentally ill people are violent is a common one. In reality, studies have shown that
they commit violent acts no more often than a random sample of their peers, if they do not abuse alcohol or drugs. The small percentage of mentally ill people who do represent a significant risk to themselves or others should not be ignored though. These people do belong in a correctional facility. However, many are arrested on minor charges and for non-violent crimes. In fact, 29% of jails in one survey reported holding mentally ill persons against whom no charges were ever pressed. They are jailed because more appropriate community based programs do not have the funding or space to deal with them.
Mental illness is stigmatized across every culture, every gender, and every geographic region of America. These individuals are feared and avoided as perpetrators of violence, an undeserved reputation. People need to realize that psychological disorders are a disease. They can be diagnosed and treated as such with high rates of success. Living with mental illness is a ter rifying experience. It can be a confusing and disorienting time of their lives. On their own, those with mental illness often end jobless and on the street. They need our help to set them on the path to mental health. We cannot morally afford to toss them into the prison system, to hide them in a dark corner of the American conscious. Out of sight, out of mind.
A large amount of prison inmates today suffer from psychotic disorders that are severe enough to warrant mental health care. Numerous court cases have established that mentally ill inmates have the constitutional right to these services. However, more often than not, inmates are denied these needed services. Most prison administrators report that they do not have the resources or ability to respond to the needs of mentally ill offenders. They describe their programs as “grossly understaffed€ and “in urgent need†of help from mental health organizations to develop appropriate programs. In effect, today’s prisons and jails are shouldering the responsibility for the mentally ill which used to reside with co mmunity based hospitals and institutions
.PART 4
State Prison %State Prison Cumulative % Reported a mental or emotional condition10.1%10.1% Because of mental or emotional problem inmate had... Been admitted to a hospital overnight10.7%16.2% Taken a prescribed medication18.9%23.9% Received professional counseling or therapy21.8%29.7% Received other mental health services3.3%30.2%
What Should Be Done
The federal district courts have formulated six components of a minimally adequate mental health treatment programA systematic screening procedure Treatment that entails more than segregation and supervision Treatment that involves a sufficient number of mental health professionals to adequately provide services to all prisoners suffering form serious mental disorders Maintenance of adequate and confidential clinical records A program for identifying and treating suicidal inmates A ban on prescribing potentially dangerous medications without adequate monitoring
Programs designed to fulfill these criteria would help to ensure that people already within the criminal justice system receive the help they need and deserve. Why should we wait until a psychological crisis develops and the mentally ill individual is arrested to receive treatment though? Resources need to be re-channeled back into community mental health services so that the mentally ill can gets the help they need at reasonable cost before it is too late.
PART 5
What You Can Do
The following is a sample letter that you can print off and send to any of the persons on the list below. Or, use your own creative voice to get involved. You can make a difference.
A large amount of prison inmates today suffer from psychotic disorders that are severe enough to warrant mental health care. However, less than a third of these individuals receive the care that they have a constitutional right to. I find it abhorrent that, instead of seeking to rehabilitate these inmates, prison conditions drive them further into their illness, even to the point of suicide.
Rehabilitating and treating the incarcerated mentally ill benefits everyone. The inmates can become productive members of society once again. The overcrowded prison system saves money and space by not having to deal with repeat offenders. Short-term costs are offset by the long-term savings in health care.
Please work to ensure that the mentally ill receive the help they need. The Correctional Mental Health Associates recommend that prisons employ at least the following staff to provide adequate care: 1.5 FTE psychiatrists 1 MSW social worker supervisor 3 BA level social workers 2 registered psychiatric nurses 5 licensed practical nurses Also, please increase the supervision and access to crisis centers to decrease instances of suicide upon admission.
__Dept. Of Health And Human Services Surgeon General Of The USA Washington, DC to hold accountable, any prison official, including and especially, any/all medical staff who fail to assure prisoner's safety in areas of medical and psychological needs and appropriate resolutions. All men, women and youth incarcerated in the penal system, have a God Given Right to be treated as equal, on the inside as all individuals in the Free World.
Any Prison Warden, Superintendent, Medical Doctor, Psychiatrist and/or Psychologist, who fails to meet the physical and emotional needs of a human being with a medical and/or psychological illness should be held accountable. There should be sanctions, fines, imprisonment, an d employment loss to anyone who fails af ter being employed and funded by America's taxpayers, to assure the safety, medical, psychological and psychiatric needs of a prisoner.
Progressive Health Care For Terminal And Mental Incarcerated People
.__________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ An example would include men, women and youth incarcerated with severe depression, Bi-Polar Disorders, Hepatitis, HIV-Aids, Respiratory Problems, Tuberculosis obtained while incarcerated, Cardiac Problems, Eyesight and Hearing Problems, etc. These are major issues which in most case s and in numerous prisons throughout the United States, are not being addressed. As a result many prisoners have died for lack of treatment. There have been prisoners who have died in community hospitals after being diagnosed with illnesses too far advanced to be treated in the prison/so. This should not be the case
Thank you for your efforts to reform the mental health loop holes of prisons.
My friend Heather, a guest in the Michigan Prison System, is the writer of this guest editorial for INNOCENT! She is not prone to exaggeration. Permission to reprint is granted. TRUTH BE TOLD Cement floors, cinder block walls, stainless steel toilet seats, metal slab bunk beds, stagnant air, raw sewage bubbling up through the sink drains spilling out onto the floors, over-diluted, futile sanitizer, miles of fluorescent lighting, the incessant hollering assaulting my senses---welcome to my world: a Michigan state penitentiary. Dehumanizing at best. My world is designed for my failure. "Be my snitch and I'll go easy on you, maybe even throw you an extra roll of coveted, elusive toilet paper." The reply is like the bark of a seal at feeding time. Impudent bitches man the desks squawking orders: "Clear my halls! No Movement! Get away from my desk! Chow! Clear doorways! Count time, lock up!" Civil language, teaching by example, human compassion, decorum and propriety are abstracttheorem. "Prisoners shouldn't be coddled!", they retort. Sadists tripping on authority. If they treated their dogs this way the Humane Society would bring them up on charges. If they treated their kids this way they'd be sitting here with me. They must have been PMSing the day the "rehabilitation" concept was taught. Psycho-social screenings should be mandatory for employment. Generally people reciprocate how they're treated...generally. But the bigger picture, negated by those charged with our physical and emotional well-being, is that 80+% of us will return to your world. But in what condition? Bitter? Angry? Despondent? Vengeful? Treat me as a worthy, requisite, vital member of society, and I'm more apt to become one. Batter me with insolence, malice and spite, and I'll adapt. Darn that innate self-preservation thing! I will become malignant. Where do we allot blame? Truth be told, no one cares. Our champions are extinct. Heather Robinson mdoc #309247 The illegal and immoral taking of your freedom is, as far as I am concerned, the worst possible wrong that a free society can commit against one of its citizens. PAUL J. CIOLINO__._,_.___
Blind justice demands a little vision
If wrongful convictions are to end, a betterrr way must be way need to be found for witnesses to identify suspects
Brooklyn-based freelance journalist.
May 19, 2006
As the criminal-justice system grapples with a disturbing wave of wrongful convictions, law enforcement in jurisdictions nationwide, inc luding New York, has come under enormous pressure to improve the methods that witnesses use to identify criminal offenders.
And although enhancing those procedures could help to prevent future wrongful convictions, a just-released study might be used to derail much- needed reform.
After DNA, the most significant and compelling evidence that a prosecutor can present in the courtroom is eyewitness testimony. In fact, many convictions have rested solely upon the word of crime victims or other witnesses who identify defendants in police lineups or photo spreads. But, sadly, such identifications also have incarcerated an alarming number of people for crimes they didn't commit.
According to the Innocence Project at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, which uses DNA evidence to exonerate the wrongly convicted, mistaken identification accounts for more than 75 percent of the 177 wrongful convictions uncovered nationally through DNA evidence. And it surely has been the primary cause for other false- imprisonment cases in which circumstantial evidence was the key.
In general, presumed offenders are identified when detectives show photographs of suspects to witnesses, who examine multiple photos simultaneously. When witnesses make identifications from police lineups, they also observe multiple individuals at the same time. In both cases, detectives who oversee the procedures have an expectation of who will be picked out.
As more wrongful-conviction cases surfaced in the late 1990s, research on identification procedures exposed inherent flaws, ranging from witnesses' sometimes faulty perceptions to suggestions made by detectives. As traditional methods of identifying offenders began to lose credibility, the U.S. Ju stice Department, the American Bar Association and criminal justice advocates urged law enforcement to adopt ways that would reduce the possibility of the wrong person being identified.
Last month, the Illinois State Police released findings on an experimental, yearlong program in three cities, including Chicago, where police departments used what's called the sequential double- blind method. To make the process as objective as possible, lineups were administered by detectives who didn't know which person was the suspect. And the suspects in lineups, or photographs, were presented to witnesses one at a time.
The Illinois report gave the procedure a failing grade. In 700 lineups, the study found that witnesses using the sequential method were 15 percent more likely to choose an innocent person and that locating a "blind" investigator was often a time-consum ing hurdle.
At first glance, the report appears only to reinforce the views of those in law enforcement who staunchly oppose altering traditional methods of identification. But the study clearly recommends "further exploration" into a host of other remedies that might strengthen the process. One possibility mentioned was the use of "certainty questions" such as those used by police in North Carolina. North Carolina officers are required to ask several questions intended to gauge the confidence of witnesses, and they also must tell witnesses that the people in a lineup - or the photographs that are shown - don't necessarily include a suspect. In New York, despite the discovery of wrongful convictions that resulted from mistaken identifications, local police and district attorneys' offices throughout the state have resisted attempts to review their investigative guidelines. In 2002, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes became the first chief prosecutor in the state to express interest in revamping procedures. But it isn't clear when, orif, changes will take effect. The same year, the Nassau County district attorney's office reportedly looked into alternative lineup methods, but its findings are unknown.
What remains clear is the dreadful possibility of mistaken identification. Five years ago, I examined the case of Colin Warner, convicted in the 1980 drive-by murder of Mario Hamilton, a 16-year- old student gunned down outside Erasmus High School in Brooklyn. When I interviewed a still grief-stricken Martell Hamilton about his older brother's murder, he vividly recalled the overwhelming pressure he had felt to make an identification from a group of photographs a detective aggressively displayed. Sadly, that decision implicated an innocent man and led to 21 years of wrongful incarceration for Warner, who was 18 at the time. And although more and more law- enforcement agencies, like the NYPD, are relying on computers to display the images of suspects to reduce suggestion, other mistakes happen all too easily.
Studies have shown that many witnesses automatically presume that offenders, often glimpsed in fleeting moments of enormous trauma, are in the lineups that police arrange, and the witnesses therefore feel compelled to pick someone, choosing the person who most closely resembles the perpetrator.
Ultimately, revamping eyewitness identification methods improves the credibility of the entire process. But to ignore existing flaws means that, after scores of falsely incarcerated people have been exonerated during the past decade, more innocent people could be taking their place behind bars in the future.
we see and we know and so does God
DRUG COURT AND PROGRAMS ARE NEEDED YOU are the Minority in this country and the 
Inmate locator
My friend Heather, a guest in the Michigan Prison System, is the writer of this guest editorial for INNOCENT! She is not prone to exaggeration. Permission to reprint is granted. TRUTH BE TOLD Cement floors, cinder block walls, stainless steel toilet seats, metal slab bunk beds, stagnant air, raw sewage bubbling up through the sink drains spilling out onto the floors, over-diluted, futile sanitizer, miles of fluorescent lighting, the incessant hollering assaulting my senses---welcome to my world: a Michigan state penitentiary. Dehumanizing at best. My world is designed for my failure. "Be my snitch and I'll go easy on you, maybe even throw you an extra roll of coveted, elusive toilet paper." The reply is like the bark of a seal at feeding time. Impudent bitches man the desks squawking orders: "Clear my halls! No Movement! Get away from my desk! Chow! Clear doorways! Count time, lock up!" Civil language, teaching by example, human compassion, decorum and propriety are abstract theorem. "Prisoners shouldn't be coddled!", they retort. Sadists tripping on authority. If they treated their dogs this way the Humane Society would bring them up on charges. If they treated their kids this way they'd be sitting here with me. They must have been PMSing the day the "rehabilitation" concept was taught. Psycho-social screenings should be mandatory for employment. Generally people reciprocate how they're treated...generally. But the bigger picture, negated by those charged with our physical and emotional well-being, is that 80+% of us will return to your world. But in what condition? Bitter? Angry? Despondent? Vengeful? Treat me as a worthy, requisite, vital member of society, and I'm more apt to become one. Batter me with insolence, malice and spite, and I'll adapt. Darn that innate self-preservation thing! I will become malignant. Where do we allot blame? Truth be told, no one cares. Our champions are extinct. Heather Robinson mdoc #309247 The illegal and immoral taking of your freedom is, as far as I am concerned, the worst possible wrong that a free society can commit against one of its citizens. PAUL J. CIOLINO__._,_.___ 
Blind justice demands a little vision