2010 Press Archive
Juvenile Justice Project
June 15, 2010 (New York Nonprofit Press)
PRISCO JOINS CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION
Gabrielle Prisco has been appointed by the Correctional Association to be Director of its Juvenile Justice Project.
June 14, 2010 (New York Times)
FEDERAL OVERSIGHT FOR TROUBLED N.Y. YOUTH PRISONS
Four of New York’s most dangerous and troubled youth prisons will be placed under federal oversight, strict new limits will be imposed on the use of physical force by guards, and dozens of psychiatrists, counselors and investigators will be hired under a sweeping agreement finalized on Wednesday between state and federal officials.
April 26, 2010 (New York Times)
A BETTER CHANCE
Gov. David Paterson’s juvenile justice task force was on the mark when it advised him to stop sending low-risk young offenders to faraway lockups and place more of them in lower-cost community-based programs.
March 26, 2010 (Our Time Press)
UPSTATE ECONOMY BUILT ON INCARCERATING YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS
It was because of the abuse and mistreatment of young people held in the New York State juvenile justice system, that the Department of Justice cited the state for violating their and said that if the situation was not corrected, then the Justice Department would sue the state. In response to this edict, a task force was commissioned to examine the issue and to make recommendations.
March 8, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
TREATMENT PREFERRED OVER JUVENILE DETENTION
In the basement of a church near the Capitol, a congregation of juvenile justice advocates, adult and adolescent, geared up to go ask legislators to support the closings and consolidations of four juvenile placement facilities, which are proposed in the 2010-2011 Executive Budget.
Public Policy Project
June 20, 2010 (New York Times)
LITMUS TEST IN PRIMARY: OVERHAULED DRUG LAWS
For many Democrats in Albany, it was a landmark achievement: the long-sought overhaul of New York’s strict Rockefeller-era drug laws, repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders that critics said disproportionately and unfairly fell on blacks and Latinos.
May 14, 2010 (The Wonkster; Gotham Gazette policy blog)
DROP THE LOCK UP?
Drop the Rock, the coalition that led the fight to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws, is leading the charge to close prisons across the state. They say the prison population has dropped by 14,000 inmates in the last ten years and that 5,000 prison beds will remain empty. So the logical conclusion according to Drop the Rock is to close prisons and save the state money.
May 14, 2010 (Agencia EFE)
UNA CAMPAÑA POPULAR RECLAMA EL CIERRE DE DIEZ CÁRCELES Y LA REFORMA PENITENCIARIA
La campaña popular destinada a reclamar el cierre de al menos 10 cárceles en el estado de Nueva York comenzará este fin de semana para conseguir también el apoyo a una reformas del sistema penitenciario.
May 14, 2010 (Capitol Confidential; Albany Times Union policy blog)
RALLIES FOR STEPPED-UP PRISON CLOSURES
The coalition that pushed for last year’s reforms to the Rockefeller Drug Laws are planning events tomorrow to advocate for more prison closures — a move that they argue would “save money, further reduce crime, and build healthy communities.” The group will be registering voters and gathering signatures for a petition.
March 23, 2010 (WNYC Radio)
AFTER 19 YEARS, RELEASED FROM PRISON UNDER THE ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAW REFORMS
Last year, New York State overhauled what many saw as the overly severe Rockefeller drug laws. The changes eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most drug offenses, expanded drug treatment alternatives, and reduced some penalties. But what about the people still in prison under the old sentences?
March 22, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
DROP THE ROCK GROUP ALSO WANTS TO DROP SOME PRISONS
Criminal justice crusaders from the "Drop the Rock" campaign preached reform of the state prison system from the pulpit of a church near the Capitol during an annual advocacy day event March 16.
March 21, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
STATE CONSOLIDATING INMATE HOUSING AT
17 PRISONS
Gov. David A. Paterson and state Department of Correctional Services Commissioner Brian Fischer announced last week that housing units deemed underutilized at more than a dozen state prisons will be temporarily consolidated in coming weeks.
March 15, 2010 (America)
ADMINISTERING JUSTICE
Recession-driven prison closings may provide state lawmakers an opportunity to promote a more rational approach to criminal justice that still puts public safety first.
January 29, 2010 (New York Times)
LAW HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON EARLY RELEASE FOR INMATES
While new state guidelines led to a rise in applications for medical parole — 202 inmates last year, compared with 66 in 2008 — they have hardly led to more releases.
January 25, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
PRISON CLOSURE PLAN DRAWS CONCERN FOR LOCAL ECONOMIES
Gov. David A. Paterson's Executive Budget calls for the elimination and consolidation of four New York correctional facilities and the elimination of 572 positions, moves he says will save New York $59 million over two years.
January 8, 2010 (Newsday)
SUFFOLK OFFICIALS WARY OF MODIFICATIONS TO DRUG LAWS
Suffolk County's top executive, district attorney and sheriff say they are bracing for the release from prison of drug dealers -- possibly many of them -- and they fault recent modifications in the state's harsh drug laws for going too far in the other direction. But leading advocates for reform of the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, a set of measures reputed to be among the nation's harshest, say the officials could be grandstanding, that the new laws have sufficient safeguards and that it's too early to gauge their effect.
Women in Prison Project
March 5, 2010 (Our Time Press)
GIVING INCARCERATED PARENTS A FIGHTING CHANCE TO REUNITE WITH THEIR CHILDREN
Lawmakers and criminal justice
reform advocates joined together at the State
Capitol last week to garner support for
legislation (S.2233/A.5462-A) that will allow
foster care agencies the discretion to delay
filing papers to terminate the parental rights of
parents who are incarcerated or enrolled in a
substance abuse treatment program.
March 1, 2010 (Cornell Chronicle Online)
PANEL PONDERS JUSTICE SYSTEM'S HANDLING OF CRIMES BORN OF DOMESTIC ABUSE
Thousands of women sit in prison because they fought back against an abusive person in their lives, but they don't always get to share their stories in court, said panelists Feb. 24 at the Cornell Law School.
February 25, 2010 (City Limits)
A FIGHT TO EXTEND PARENTS' RIGHTS
Foster children with parents in prison are often put up for adoption. The State Senate takes up a bill aimed at slowing that practice.
February 24, 2010 (El Diario NY)
REPUBLICANS MUST STAND UP FOR FAMILIES
Children and parents, separated through prison sentences, deserve a chance to heal and rebuild. This is why the New York State legislature must adjust a law that would give incarcerated parents and their children the ability to reunite.
General CA Issues
July 2, 2010 (New York Times, letter to the editor)
WHEN THE POLICE STOP AND FRISK
Critics of the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics do not accuse individual officers of racial bias, but question the practice itself because of how it focuses almost entirely on minority neighborhoods.