Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin. Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake. Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
THE AUTHOR'S OPINION
Mind of any hardens Person
who has no self -control or fear of consequences has no priority.
When writing this article, my mind was filled with a lots of wondering, what is happening to our country and why our country’s priorititys are so mis- guided. And as I think about it, not only one country but they are all seems to be guided by money and the lack there of... and it seem as if every one want money from the USA, while in the mean time we have our own people who are suffering and going without to make friends to people who have all sorts of resources and they are getting funds from our country. and our gas prices has hit an all time high, we are losing our young men, prisons are full with young black men
we seem to want to police the world? why
SUPPORTING THESE OTHERS PEOPLE ARE CAUSING ,
0ur people to get social programs cut, school budgets cuts, widow of war not being taking care of, homeless people sleeping in the street, orphan home cash cow program misguided, child protective services destroying the homes for little or nothing, courts issuing life sentence to first time offenders, big business gov getting away with low wages, illegal alien taking all the jobs , debating flag burning instead of health care, targeting newspapers for tell the truth to American citizen, trying to police the whole world when the American citizen are living in poverty and health care is a none issue, when when a person works for $5.15 an hour and can’t qualify for social program, but also can’t buy health insurance ,which is a catch 22,what are the priority of our system?
When they can feel sorry for other countries and our own people are going under, it is really gives one a reason to shake his head and wonder what in the hell is going on, there are to many murders, child molest, rape hatred of others, family jealous, back biters, loveless, careless, school violence, cash cow media ministry,leaks,false accuser, frame jobs, money hungry, high officials in low spiritual places, neighbor jealous of each other, the land is abuse, the waters are polutted,the unborn are being murdered by the millions, TV network mission want people to donate to this child that country, yet you can’t bring the child out the country except a 5 years red tape litigation, what is happening why is it happing,
it is so awful in our world now ,they even lying on God saying he was married and had a child, yes our God was Jesus in the flesh, yes they even lying on the creator a and eternal savior of the world, and yet a lot of people paid money and sat in that abomination, because they wanted to know what was said about Jesus, the Bi ble tells you what they will say and what they will do, yes Jesus pulls the cover off the evil and therefore the evil man want to try to make the word of God a lie and there fore he can feel secure that his soul will be secure from an unknown ..
GOD OWN THIS PLANET AND SURELY HE IS IN CONTROL
but I am here to tell you that there is a God and his flesh ly name was Jesus and he came to preach
he died and rose and went back to his kingdom and oh yes he will be Back to judge this society and let you know that He is God of all , and all and through all.. And he change not. well so much for our priority, it all as clear as day, we have it wrong, we put the lord out the school, the homes the church and the gov, and these are our foundations and when you get the strong man out the house the thief will break in and steal..
So people I would suggest you figure out your priority and go and ask your master and and creator for give ness and repent and God said He would heal the land... it is much easier to do the right thing than the wrong, ,in other word do what St. Matt 6-33 --- why not do it God way and see what happen, it can’t be as worse as now, it has to be better, I really believe it will be better that the state of confusion we all live and exist in now…
Written by THE CEO AND PRESIDENT...
MENTAL ILLNESS IN PRISON
Data Confirm MH Crisis Growing in U.S. Prisons
Eve Bender Mental health problems abound in the nation's jails and prisons, according to the Department of Justice. But how many inmates have serious mental illness is unknown, say mental health advocates.
Data showing the prevalence of mental illness among inmates continue to indicate a crisis that is being inadequately addressed. More than half of prison and jail inmates were found to have a mental health problem, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics in September. About a third of state prisoners (34 percent) with a mental health problem received treatment during incarceration, while only 17 percent of jail inmates did.
Jail inmates reported the highest rate of mental health problems (60 percent), followed by state (49 percent) and federal prisoners (40 percent).
Symptoms were measured using a series of questions adapted from a structured clinical interview for diagnosing mental disorders based on DSM-IV. Mental health problems were identified by the presence of symptoms generally associated with major depression, mania, and psychotic disorders in the year prior to the interview.
The surveys did not assess the severity or duration of symptoms, and no exclusions were made for symptoms due to medical illness, bereavement, or substance use.
Inmates who were unable to complete the surveys due to physical or mental impairment were excluded. For this study, the report noted, "estimates of DSM-IV symptoms of mental disorder provide a baseline indication of mental health problems among inmates rather than a clinical diagnosis of mental illness."
The data are based on findings from the department's Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004, and the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 2002. Approximately 14,500 state prisoners, 3,700 federal prisoners, and 7,000 jail inmates completed face-to-face interviews for the surveys.
To be categorized as having a mental health problem characterized by the researchers as symptomatic of major depression, inmates had to report experiencing depressed mood and decreasing interest or pleasure in activities, along with three additional depression symptoms.
To be categorized as having mania, inmates had to report three symptoms of mania during the preceding year, and to be categorized as having a psychotic disorder, inmates had to experience delusions or hallucinations during the previous year.
Inmates also answered questions about drug use, past psychiatric treatment, and history of physical or sexual abuse.
According to the findings, about 74 percent of state prisoners and 76 percent of jail inmates having symptoms characteristic of a mental disorder also met criteria for substance dependence or abuse.
Moreover, prison inmates who had a mental health problem were incarcerated for an average of five months longer than were prisoners without such a problem.
For inmates who received some type of psychiatric treatment during incarceration, prescription medication was the most common. For instance, about 27 percent of state prison inmates, 19 percent of federal prison inmates, and 15 percent of jail inmates reported taking a psychotropic medication while confined.
Inmates found to have a psychiatric problem were also more often charged with breaking facility rules. An estimated 24 percent of state prisoners with a mental health problem, compared with 14 percent without, had been charged with a physical or verbal assault on correctional staff or another inmate.
The numbers encapsulated in the report clearly demonstrate that increasingly, people with mental illness are being criminalized, Henry Weinstein, M.D., chair of APA's Committee on Jails and Prisons, told Psychiatric News. "It is the committee's mission to reverse this trend."
Weinstein pointed out that incarcerating people with mental illness is also quite costly to society, since people with mental illness often serve longer sentences than those without such illnesses.
He emphasized as well that inmates have a "constitutional right" to psychiatric care, noting that the quality of mental health services provided to them differs dramatically from facility to facility.
Others expressed concern that the methodology used in the surveys does not yield accurate numbers of people with mental illness in the nation's jails and prisons.
Since the survey excluded inmates who refused or were unable to complete the survey, relied on inmates' self-reporting of symptoms, and did not include information about symptom severity or duration, the findings probably don't apply to prisoners with severe and persistent mental illness, according to Mary Zdanowicz, J.D., executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., whose mission is to eliminate barriers to treatment of severe mental illness.
"These data aren't going to address the issues facing people with severe mental illness" in jails and prisons, she told Psychiatric News. Referring to some of the questions asked of inmates, she said, "The survey reports on inmates who are sad, feel guilty, angry, irritable, et cetera. Frankly, I worry more about the inmates who didn't report these feelings."
After acknowledging that "this report may not contain completely accurate numbers" of people with severe mental illness in prisons and jails, Tom Hamilton, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) liaison to APA's Committee on Jails and Prisons and a past president of NAMI-Texas, said the report highlights that there are too many people with mental illness who are behind bars.
"The sooner we begin to understand the cost of incarcerating the mentally ill," Hamilton noted, "the sooner we can improve access to mental health treatment in the community. This is where they should be treated in the first place."
Hamilton, who owns an investment company in Texas, also thought it was noteworthy that only a third of state prisoners in the report had received psychiatric treatment in prison.
"If I run a business, and I have a 33 percent failure rate in the product I'm turning out, I wouldn't be in business for very long. This finding may indicate that we're not doing a very good job at treating people in the community," he said.
Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
. Address to Request Application Package:
ACYF Operations Center c/o The Dixon Group, Inc. ATTN: Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program Funding 118 Q Street, NE. Washington, DC 20002-2132 Phone: 866-796-1591 Email: fysb@dixongroup.com URL: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb
ACYF Operations Center c/o The Dixon Group, Inc. ATTN: Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program Funding 118 Q Street, NE. Washington, DC 20002-2132 Phone: 866-796-1591 Email: fysb@dixongroup.com URL: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fysb
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Blind justice demands a little vision
If wrongful convictions are to end, a better way must be found for witnesses to identify suspects
BY CURTIS STEPHEN Curtis Stephen is a 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.
THE AUTHOR'S OPINION
SUPPORTING THESE OTHERS PEOPLE ARE CAUSING ,
