Fortune News: Spring 2006 – Crystal Meth

The Fortune Society Prisoner Re-Entry CHANGING MINDS & BUILDING LIVES

FortuneNews Spring 2006 Volume XLII, No. I

fortunesociety.org

Crystal Meth

FROM

THE

EDITOR

I first encountered crystal meth several years ago, when my car broke down in the middle of rural Indiana. With no friends or family for several hundred miles, I was dependent on the man with the tow truck sent by AAA. After nearly three hours on the side of the road, my car was left in the driveway of the local mechanic and I was dropped off at a nearby motel, where I was to spend the night and, possibly, the next several days while the repairs were made. The motel was humble, to be sure, and I was definitely the only out-of-town guest. But I kept noticing people wandering around, talking to the manager, and going in and out of the rooms all through the night. Nobody seemed to be sleeping.

When my new mechanic reached me by phone the next day, his immediate concern was not for my car (which, it turned out, would need a new engine) but for me. The motel I was staying in, he informed me, was a notorious “meth den” and I needed to check out immediately. I had never heard the term before and wasn’t quite sure what it referred to, but before I knew it, the mechanic was sending his daughter to pick me up. I spent the afternoon with his family before renting a car and continuing my journey back to New York. I didn’t really grasp the gravity of the situation – of what the terms “meth den” or “meth lab” meant – until I started seeing pictures of the explosions years later. All over the Midwest, it seemed, trailers or basements were blowing up because of a mishap while cooking crystal methamphetamine.

In many ways, 2005 was the year of crystal meth. The drug was a featured cover story for Newsweek magazine and numerous articles on the topic appeared in the New York Times.

Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil dedicated episodes of their popular talk shows to the scores of men and women across the country who are addicted to the drug. Most of this coverage was accompanied by gruesome images of decaying teeth or video montages of once- pretty faces marked by open sores, the result of endless scratching by addicts who thought they were being attacked by bugs. The pictures were not something that viewers could easily forget.

The media has an enormous power to direct our nation’s focus. But is this latest round of crystal meth coverage focusing on the right issues? A large part of our spring issue is dedicated to answering this question. Some of our contributors believe the attention will help lawmakers focus on prison healthcare, because of the devastating effects of the drug on addict’s teeth.

Others contend that this coverage is just another example of a “moral panic,” the term coined by sociologist Stanley Cohen in 1972, that describes the outrage that occurs whenever "experts" in the press, government, and the clergy exaggerate the danger a group or thing poses to society.

The issue acknowledges this possibility too. Some of the most productive conversations about crystal meth have been initiated by service providers working with HIV positive or at-risk populations who hope prevent the spread of infection by raising awareness. Their no-nonsense, factbased approach is included here, in both English and Spanish, to bring the message to as many readers as possible.

But as regular readers know, an issue of Fortune News is more than its theme. We’ve also included articles from prisoners across the country exploring topics that are important to them: trends in incarceration, drug addiction, and the simple pleasures found in a brief trip outside the walls. I’ve also tried to update you on what’s been going on at the Fortune Society since the last issue was mailed. The fall and winter is fast becoming known as “event season” in our office and you’ll soon see why – our annual fundraising benefit and the 6th Annual Art Show were just two of the ways we got the message out in the waning months of 2005.

Americans have notoriously short attention spans. Crystal meth is not likely to be making the front page a year, or perhaps even six months from now. By turning the media attention into a conversation starter, we’re hoping to open up a dialogue – one that will continue and expand long after the sensational headlines have passed. And speaking of opening up a dialogue, please take a minute to fill out the survey on page 27. We want to know your thoughts on the Fortune News – why you read it and if you have any suggestions on how to make it better. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Kristen Kidder Editor

Fortune News is the publication of The Fortune Society, a not-for-profit community-based organization dedicated to educating the public about prisons, criminal justice issues, and the root causes of crime, and to helping former prison ers and at-risk youth break the cycle of crime and incarceration through a broad range of services.

PRESIDENT/CEO: JoAnne Page, Esq. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF : Kristen Kidder EDITORIAL MANAGER : Brian Robinson FORTUNE NEWS EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Carl Johnson Jr., Stephanie Likosky, Nora McCarthy, Anthony Papa, Brian Robinson, Edmond Taylor CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: David Brum, Martin Bueno, Jason Faber, Noe Martinez, Larry Samford PHOTOGRAPHS: Edgar Barrens, Dr. Chris Herringlake, Kristen Kidder, Brian Robinson PRINTING AdSpace Ink 40 West 37th Street New York, NY 10018 EDITORIAL OFFICES 53 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10010 Telephone: 212.691.7554 Facsimile: 212.255.4948 Email: kkidder@fortunesociety.org Web: www.fortunesociety.org EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed in signed articles published by Fortune News do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of Fortune News or The Fortune Society, but are the sole responsibility of the author.

The Editors of Fortune News reserve the right to alter the punctuation, grammar, length and style of all submissions. The decision to publish manuscripts resides solely with the editors.

Fortune News has the right to offer submissions for reprint and agrees to ensure that the writer(s) receives a proper credit line. The Editor is unable to personally respond to correspondence. Staff and volunteers read and respond to all incoming mail. The Fortune Society is a community-based service organization and does not provide legal assistance, but will provide information on assistance resources.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.

CRYSTAL METH 2

From the Editor

4

From the President/CEO

5

Letters to the Editor

7

Around the Nation Larry Bratt

8

The Cost of Life Sentences

Seth Farranti

9

Inside Books Project

Latino Commission on AIDS

10

Crystal Methamphetamine & Latinos in New York City

Commision Latina Sobre el SIDA

11

El Cristal De Methamfetamina y los Latinos en Nueva York

Jay Shulman, DMD, MA, MSPH Christine Heng, DMD

12

Meth Mouth

Christine Heng, DMD

13

Prison Oral Health

Randy McGee

14

Interview with a Lifer: Three Decade Synopsis of Corrections in America

Paula Altman

16

Meth Mouth: Moral Panic ?

Derrick Corley

18

Derrick’s View: Speed Trap

Al Cunningham

19

Prison Diaries: Freedom for a Day “The Prisoner’s Life” by Zachary Redfearne

Zoë K. Harris

20

Eye on Fortune

22

Insider Art: The New Outsider Art

23

Unnecessary Shackles: Furthering the Case for Prison Healthcare Reform

24

Media Reviews

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT/CEO This issue of the Fortune News is about the arrival of crystal meth in the world of criminal justice. Not so long ago, I went to Idaho with a Fortune colleague to do training on re-entry issues for prison and parole staff. Crystal meth was one of the largest issues in their world, and as we walked through a local prison, I saw person after person whose teeth had been destroyed as a consequence of this addiction.

As crystal meth begins to be an issue among Fortune clients in New York City, I think about today’s consequences of the crack epidemic some two decades after it devastated our area. Right now, as we do our alternative to incarceration work, we are seeing the children of that epidemic as they come of age and face incarceration and drug issues of their own.

JoAnne Page, Esq.

When I was in Idaho, I heard account after account of the impact of the crystal meth epidemic on children. I heard stories of neglect and abuse and of children left parentless as their family members were swept up into the criminal justice system and into the world of addiction. As I look at our young people who survived the crack epidemic that engulfed their communities and families, I think about what it takes to prevent the kind of damage our current clients struggle with.

New York City has just faced a series of publicized cases of child abuse ending in the death of the children involved. As I talk to the young people coming through Fortune, and speak to the staff working with them, I hear the stories of what happened to their lives when they were raised in the midst of addiction and incarceration.

Our adult clients come to us, typically, from a history of neglect, abuse and institutionalization. As they come to us out of prison in their 30’s and 40’s and 50’s and older, we hear the horror stories of the abuse that they received and see the years of damage and self destructiveness before they begin to stabilize and struggle to live constructive lives in the community.

Most of our clients come to us after having served their time. But some three hundred of the three thousand people we serve each year come to us as an alternative to incarceration. They tend to be younger, less stable, more resistant to intervention…they tend to have the belief of invulnerability that characterizes young people who have not yet learned that their bones can break and that bullets can strike them. They have known far too much death and loss in their short lives and many of them come to us expecting that their future will be death or prison. What is different about the young people who were the children of the crack epidemic is that they have even less of a foundation than those who come to us from the deprivation which is typical of most of our clients. Many of these children have never known a stable parent, have never lived in a loving home, and have never really received positive adult guidance. Most have grown up in the streets and in institutions. Some of them have mental health issues more serious than we are used to and more of them are struggling with physiological and psychological challenges.

They are wonderful kids, as all of our kids are when they put their guard down and start developing trust. But they start with so little life foundation that we find ourselves having to do more parenting than we are used to and having to make up for absences in the fundamental building blocks that young people need to build positive lives. When we opened the Fortune Academy, our housing program for men and women coming out of prison, my picture of who would be living there matched that of our typical clients: adults coming out of prison. What I did not anticipate is that we would also be raising children in that building. The kids who come to us desperate for housing are teenagers who have burnt their bridges or, even more commonly, had no bridges to burn. Many of them “aged” out of the foster care system by way of arrest and detention, and when they were released, there was nothing out there to catch them and break their fall except us.

As I watch crystal meth come to New York City, I wonder if we will repeat our past history and simply wait to see what happens with the children of the epidemic. If we repeat our past history, twenty years from now we will see another generation of young people entering the adult criminal justice system at terrible damage to themselves and communities, because of the choice to let these children suffer without support and without needed intervention. We hope to learn from the past but, unfortunately, in the area of child protection and criminal justice, we seem to specialize in making the same mistakes over and over and bigger and bigger.

4 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

Letters to the Editor

AGING IN PRISON Dear Editor, Your issue’s topic of “Aging in Prison” really hit the nail flat on a dilemma pondered by many in prisons around the state of New York. Although I am not in any need of geriatric care, I have encountered discouraging medical treatment, which has left me frustrated and confounded by the level of health care available to prisoners in general.

Here at Auburn Correctional Facility there are an enormous number of old people, mental health patients and prisoners who are prescribed medications that seem to worsen their condition. And there have been circumstances that leave questions unanswered, when one takes the initiative to inquire about their own medical condition and prognosis. I, personally, have been perplexed by such.

Recently, right in the very company I am housed, an elderly individual passed out on the concrete floor during recreation and was later pronounced dead upon arriving to the First Aid Unit. It was said to be due to a stroke.

He had to have been around sixty years old. Truly saddening and an extreme wake-up call to the reality of the treatment that older patients, and the prison population in general, receive.

In my opinion, there needs to be more transparency of the health care services available to prisoners. That is, prisoners should be made aware of the level of

treatment they are entitled to receive. The level of professionalism exhibited by medical employees, practitioners and doctors in concern to patients, regardless of their imprisonment, also needs to be called into question.

Some personnel appear to take on the attitude that because they are employed in a prison their level of concern, and thereby treatment of prisoners’ medical concerns, can be negligible. Some have even gone as far as to label prisoners hypochondriacs (as was the case in a personal encounter with a practitioner here at Auburn), big babies, and drug addicts looking for methods of getting high legally. This is reprehensible conduct that deserves attention and intervention.

I look forward to future issues, as well as any opportunities to express, cultivate and secure true freedom: raising my voice and setting my thoughts free.

Robert Serrano, Jr. Auburn, NY

Dear Editor, I just became aware of the Fortune News today, due to a former and younger cell partner sending me a copy of “Aging in Prison.”

Just three days ago I was complaining to a physician assistant here about the fact that we elder prisoners aren’t told anything about aging. I turned 57 on December 10, 2005, after 27 years of incarceration. I have no real idea of how my body will change during the aging process.

We older prisoners need a simplistic book on aging in prison that explains known mental and physical health issues and possible remedies.

I’m not talking about highpowered, big word books that only the Surgeon General or a Harvard graduate could appreciate. As you know, most prisoners are either illit-

erate or functionally illiterate.

The book would also have to be translated in both English and Spanish to have the widest possible audience.

Such a publication would help people cope with aging in prison to a reasonable degree by providing readers with a sense of what to expect and possible resolutions to anticipated problems.

Thanks for addressing the issue and starting the conversation. Hopefully another organization will take it one step further.

William Carr Menard, IL

Dear Editor, This morning I was lying on my bunk reading a sports magazine when I decided to sit up in my bunk to take a break. What did I notice but a copy of the latest edition of the Fortune News. The first words that caught my attention were “Aging in Prison,” and I thought to myself, they must be talking about me.

So I turn to the first page and start reading and the articles that I’m reading are expressing issues that I have wanted to address for years. For you see, I am one of the aged prison population.

I am 44 years old and have been incarcerated since October of 1985. I am currently serving two aggravated life and four 99-year sentences for several armed robberies and one count of attempted capital murder.

Yes, I realize that I have made a giant mess of my life, for I am a three-time offender and the circumstances which led to my arrest were not good.

I’m not going to make a lot of excuses for why I’m doing time, because at the time of my arrest, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. If I had continued I would surely be dead. I’m not saying that the past is unimportant, but what

is more important is what I’ve accomplished.

When I arrived in prison I had a third grade education and had all but lost contact with my family. For all intents and purposes I was without hope. But now after two decades in prison, I can say that I have completed an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and two vocational courses – one in welding and the other in computer-aided drafting.

Soon I’ll have my Bachelor’s degree, pending the completion of one class.

I guess I’ve become one of those aging prisoners who desire another opportunity to become a productive member of society before I become too old. I would like to use my education as an avenue to help other offenders become motivated to go back to school, because higher learning for ex-convicts is the best way to make an argument for prison reform. It is success stories like mine that, in the long run, will cause law makers to take a better look at rehabilitation rather than retribution.

Anthony Bomfe Huntsville, TX

Do You Have Something to Say? Send your letter to: Fortune News Attn: Letters to the Editor 53 West 23rd Street 8th Floor New York, NY 10010 Letters should include the writer’s full name and address; they may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space.

Letters must be legible, or we cannot print or respond to them.

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 5

Letters to the Editor THANKS, FORTUNE Dear Editor: Thank you for sending copies of the Fortune News to the list of inmates I sent to you in 2004. I am a founding member of Justice Watch in Pennsylvania and those were inmates that we have been staying in touch with since they left Lackawanna County Prison. In Tennessee, I have been working with inmates throughout the United States as one of the founders of the Full-Circle Empowerment Center, a TN non-profit organization.

Last year, one of the PA inmates sent me their copy of the Winter/Spring 2005 issue that featured “Alternatives to Incarceration.” He was so impressed with the articles in this issue that he thought Justice Watch should know about it. He was especially impressed with the “From the Editor” remarks by you.

After reading this issue, I have been motivated to see what I can do to get some laws, policies and practices implemented in both PA and TN centered on alternatives to incarceration. I will continue to do more and encourage others to do more regarding this approach to justice. I have felt most recently that well thought out and tested alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders can lead to a reduction in the crime rate.

This is especially true if education, counseling, drug treatment and job placement programs are a requirement. As an educator and health professional, I feel substance abuse is a medical disorder the same as alcoholism.

I encourage you to continue the excellent work you do.

Society is certainly better for the service you provide.

Dr. Everlena M. Holmes Chattanooga, TN

Dear Editor, I just wanted to touch base with you because I believe that a lot of my outgoing and incoming mail is being intercepted by prison officials here. Please advise me – am I still on your list to receive the Fortune News?

I’m asking because I have not yet received the last five issues.

Michael Hurley Malone, New York Editor Responds: Our offices literally receive hundreds of letters like this one each year.

While we have no way of knowing the practices of specific correctional institutions, we do know that some refuse our magazine because the “Letters to the Editor” section violates regulations concerning inmate correspondence. Also, please keep in mind that the Fortune News is only published three times a year, so a few months may pass between issues.

Subscriptions are offered free of charge to inmates across the United States, but please notify us if you are transferred or if there is any other change in your address. We’ll do our best to update our records in a timely manner.

Dear Editor, First of all, I would like to thank you for everything you do and have done for those of us in the struggle. Your publication brings into our lives bits and pieces of a world we once knew, things that this place has tried to strip us of over the years: hope, possibility, beginnings.

Your dedication and persistence to stand for what is right, to stand for those of us who can’t, pushes people like myself to be something amazing. That’s enormous.

I wanted to make you aware about a website that I just started, the Prisoner’s Reform Organizational Partnership. One of our primary objectives is to educate

6 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

the world about the US incarcerated population.

Prisoners are more than what society makes us out to be.

We are humans, brothers, sons, fathers, mothers; people who have feelings and deserve to be heard. I’m hoping that through our words, we can help people understand who and what we are. Why we did the things we did. What went wrong.

Only through understanding can change ever hope to begin.

I’m asking your help to raise awareness of our web site, prisonersreform.org. Its success depends on people like you. A story cannot be told if no one is around to receive it. Thanks again for all you’ve done and will do.

As you know, change begins with the tip of a pen.

Marc Ching Vacaville, CA

Dear Editor, After reading your symposium on “Aging in Prison” and all its implications (and I myself being a 45-year old convict who is experiencing the varying dilemmas raised by the issue) I felt compelled to participate in the debate and strongly advocate for change in a system that devalues the elderly. I both admire and appreciate all of the contributors to the issue for their diligence, sense of civic duty, and commitment to support the forgotten millions in our penal system.

I’ve only had the opportunity to read that one issue of the Fortune News, but I’m going to go out on a limb and propose an idea that is of great interest to me: joining together in the prevention of future generations of incarcerated individuals. In my experience, there is a lot of intelligence to be found within the prison community and we are

in a position to think outside the box and posit solutions to a range of today’s pressing issues. Wouldn’t it be prudent to utilize this talent towards coming up with ideas for how to create a working health care system or how to underscore the importance of seeking political positions in local, state and federal governments or pursuing careers in journalism, engineering, sciences and technologies?

I think that the Fortune News should hold “symposiums” on each of these issues, thereby promoting a comprehensive and inclusive discussion with a body that represents the nation’s diverse cultures and communities. Let’s insert ourselves into the debate, and when we come across as credible, as I know we will, people will take heed. (Or at least we’ll provoke thought and ruffle a few feathers in the process!)

Henry Haro Soledad, CA Editor Responds: One of the reasons that we theme each issue of the Fortune News is to facilitate the kind of topicfocused debate that this letter describes. I try to include a variety of voices, backgrounds and experiences on each topic and therefore welcome and encourage submissions from prisoners across the country. I personally encourage you to submit an article, poem, or drawing for a future issue – we couldn’t publish this magazine without your input or support!

PRISON ARTISTS! If you’re interested in receiving updated information about Fortune’s 2006 Art Show (including an entry form), send a letter to: Fortune Society 2006 Art Show Attn: Kristen Kidder 53 W. 23rd Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10010

AROUND THE NATION The News that Affects Your World RIKERS ISLAND TO CLOSE UNIT FOR GAYS The jail at Rikers Island in New York is closing its facility that houses gays and trans-genders, officials announced late last year.

For at least three decades, gay and trans-gender inmates had their own housing unit inside Rikers Island's sprawling jail complex.

To be admitted, all a new inmate had to do was declare homosexuality, or appear to be transgender, and ask to be kept out of the facility’s main jails.

The idea, city correction officials said, was to protect vulnerable inmates who might otherwise become victims of discrimination or sexual abuse in the rough world of the general inmate population. Once the New York facility closes, Los Angeles will be the only metropolitan city to separate gay and transgender inmates.

Source: New York Times, December 30, 2005

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT: 7 MILLION IN U.S. PRISONS Nearly 7 million adults were in U.S. prisons or on probation or parole at the end of 2004, 30 percent more than in 1995, the Justice Department reports.

That was about one in every 31 adults under correctional supervision at the end of 2004, compared with about 1 in 36 adults in 1995 and about 1 adult in every 88 in 1980, said Allan J. Beck, who oversaw the preparation of the department's annual report on probation and parole populations.

Beck attributed the overall rise in the number of people under correctional supervision to sentencing reforms of the 1990s.

He said crime rates have fallen in recent years, which helps to account for slower growth among people on probation - those allowed to live in the community with some restrictions rather than being incarcerated.

Nearly 50 percent of all probationers at the end of 2004 were convicted of a felony. Twenty-six percent were on probation for a drug-law violation, and 15 percent for driving while intoxicated, said the annual Justice Department report.

Whites made up 56 percent of the probation population and only 34 percent of the prison population. "White people - for whatever reason - seem to have more access to community supervision than African Americans and Hispanics," said Jason Ziedenberg, Executive Director of the Justice Policy Institute, which promotes alternatives to incarceration.

Blacks, he noted, comprised 30 percent of probationers and 41 percent of prisoners at the end of 2004. Hispanics made up 12 percent of the probation population and 19 percent of the prison population.

SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO REVISIT FELON VOTING BAN A controversial Florida law permanently denies felony offenders the right to vote, even if they have served their sentence. The Supreme Court was recently presented with a chance to review this issue, but on November 14th the justices decided to let the ban remain in effect without any review.

"The court not only missed an opportunity to right a great historic injustice, it has shut the courthouse door in the face of hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised citizens," Catherine Weiss, the Brennan Center for Justice lawyer for the Florida ex-felons, remarked shortly after the decision.

Currently, there are 600,000 felons in Florida who have completed their sentences and supervision terms. One in 10 AfricanAmerican adults in Florida, not counting those currently incarcerated, no longer has the right to vote.

Courts in other states have ruled for the ex-offenders. In 2004, justices left intact a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allowed current and former inmates to challenge as racially discriminatory a Washington state law stripping them of their right to vote. The high court also let stand a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the opposite direction, in the case of a convicted New York felon. Iowa courts have also upheld Gov. Tom Vilsack's executive order restoring voting rights to felony offenders who have served their sentences.

There are 5 million citizens in the United States who are currently disenfranchised because of felony convictions.

Source: Washington Post, November 14, 2005

CALIFORNIA PRISONS TO BE DESEGREGATED Under the terms of a recent settlement agreement, California will begin de-segregating its prisons in 2006.

The settlement calls for three phases of integration. In March, after distributing the new policy to prisons and retraining prison staff, current racial segregation policies will end in state prison reception centers.

In 2007, the ban will extend to so-called sensitive needs yards and minimum support facilities — dorms that house minimum-custody inmates. In 2008, plans will be rolled out to bring the new integration policy to all the facilities.

Racial segregation has persisted in California prisons even as it disappeared elsewhere because officials said it was necessary to separate inmate gangs that formed along racial lines, such as the Mexican Mafia and white supremacists.

But the state had little choice except to abandon the practice after losing a decision in the U.S. Supreme Court in February. The justices, in a case brought by a black prisoner from Los Angeles a decade ago, ruled 5 to 3 that the state could segregate prisoners by race only in rare instances.

Source: Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2005

For up-to-date criminal justice news visit

www.fortunesociety.org

Source: New York Times, November 2, 2005 F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 7

People often ask lifers, “Do you have any hope of getting paroled?” The lifer always replies, “Tomorrow could be the day.”

Sadly, the political realities do not support such optimism. The following statistics, published in “The Meaning of Life: Long Prison Sentences in Context,” a 2004 Sentencing Project report, reveal the cruel realities of life in prison. As authors Marc Mauer, Ryan S. King and Malcolm C. Young note: “The number of lifers in prison rose by 83% from 69,845 in 1992 to 127,677 in 2003. One of every 11 (9.4%) prisoners in state/federal prison is now serving a life sentence. A conservative annual cost of incarceration is $20,000. At this rate the annual national cost of life imprisonment is an estimated $2.5 billion.

Life sentencing also creates a geriatric prison population, resulting in further expensive costs for health care. $69,000 per year is the resulting cost for taxpayers.”

The facts raise the question: how much time should a lifer serve in prison?

Overwhelmingly, the majority of lifers have been convicted of violent offenses. I am serving a double life sentence for homicide. Clearly, crimes of violence warrant an extended period of incarceration. Yet today’s criminal justice system has trouble making the distinction between serious offenders for whom a life sentence is justified from those whom a less severe punishment is appropriate and fair.

Furthermore, the composition of the lifer population has changed due to the increased frequency of imposing life sentences for drug offenses and “three strikes” cases for non-violent crimes. For example, California’s infamous “three strikes” law requires a sentence of 25-years-to-life for a

The Cost of Life Sentences

BY LARRY BRATT third conviction. According to the New York Times, 1,281 people (17.5%) of the state’s 7,335 three strikes cases have had a life sentence triggered by a drug offense; of these 53.5% were for drug possession.

Similarly, Michigan’s “650 Lifer” law states anyone convicted of selling 650 grams of cocaine or heroin, even as a first offense, be sentenced to life. This law alone has created over 200 lifers.

Life sentences were originally developed as indeterminate, a term of imprisonment without a prescribed duration at the time of sentencing.

Sentences such as “20years- to-life” denote a minimum length of time to be served. The actual sentence length is decided by a parole board based on factors such as the lifer’s behavior while incarcerated. This philosophy is derived from the premise that in the face of good conduct and evidence of rehabilitative efforts (participation in counseling/drug programs, obtaining education and work skills), lifers can and should be released.

Prior to the 1970s, this system of indeterminate sentencing had been the national norm for nearly a century.

Characterized by broad sentencing ranges established by legislative bodies, this system gave great latitude to judges to establish a sentence length. In practice, however, judicial discretion sometimes results in vastly different sentences being imposed on similarly situated offenders.

Additionally, parole boards that maintained broad discretion came under critique for decisions that were viewed as either too harsh or too lenient in certain cases.

| | FFortune o r t u nNews e N ew Spring 2006 News | | Spring 2003 8 8|8 Fortune | sSummer 2005

boards across the country.

These men and women have no professional standards for service such as experience in criminal justice or social services. The exception is in Ohio, where parole officials are selected for their strong backgrounds in criminal justice. These men and women serve in a civil service capacity and are appointed by the commissioner of correction.

Since future electoral concerns are the guidelines by which parole officials operate, this politicization of parole Today’s criminal elsewhere in According to justice system has the country the Sentencing trouble making the renders the rational and Project, four out distinction between empirical conof every five serious offenders for sideration of (79.4%) lifers released in whom a life sentence each lifer’s 1994 had no is justified from those application for parole unlikely. new arrests for whom a less severe Our current a new crime in punishment is parole system the first three years after their appropriate and fair. is contrary to what the release. This President’s compares to an Crime Commission recomarrest-free rate of just 32.5% mended in 1967, namely that for all offenders released from corrections professionals, as prison. There are several opposed to political possible reasons for this disappointees, staff parole crepancy. Research by the boards. If such recommenWashington State Institute for dations become reality the Public Policy found that the potential savings to taxpayers lengthy amount of time would be enormous. served by lifers led them to Locally, if former Maryland participate in rehabilitative Governor Parris Glendening programs. When coupled had accepted his own with cognitive skills programs Commission on Criminal with an emphasis on goalSentencing findings – “give setting and problem solving, individual considerations to lifers were less likely to return any recommendations for to crime. Such findings parole for persons serving life demonstrate that preparing sentences” – then William lifers for release through tarRobinson, 66-years old, geted programming can legally blind and incarcerated result in significant public since 1966, would have safety benefits of a fiscal and received parole years ago. human nature.

Instead, he withers away from Unfortunately, political numerous medical conditions appointees sit on parole These critiques led to policy changes in sentencing and parole that now impose much greater levels of restriction on judges and parole boards. Lifers have been most affected by these public policy changes in terms of the length of time to be served in prison. Because of this movement towards reduced discretion, a life sentence now results in lengthier periods of incarceration at greater cost to the public than is necessary to achieve public safety goals.

at the Jessup compound, hoping current Governor Ehrlich will sign medical parole papers.

I hold no hope in my own quest for parole, despite over 22 years of incarceration and an impeccable adjustment record. When I was recently interviewed by Sgt. Horace Pepper of the Internal Investigative Unit, a man with twenty-five years of corrections experience, he made the following statement about my likelihood for recidivism: “You pose no threat to public safety. You don’t need to be in prison anymore. You wouldn’t come back.”

True words, yet for me to believe the parole commission will consider my accomplishments – literacy tutor, nationally published journalist, jailhouse advocate for Alternatives to Violence and Touchstones Discussions programs – would be dangerous. This commission will most likely deny me parole.

Should political appointees, who blindly ignore a lifer’s changed behavior in favor of protecting a governor’s political career, judge me and other lifers for parole? Or should public servants such as Sgt. Pepper who devote lifetimes to corrections, who have a clearer grasp of which lifers would become productive citizens be the deciding factor in granting or denying parole?

Unless dynamic changes are accepted and parole opens up for lifers, the substantial fiscal costs of housing aging prisoners will result in the continued inefficient use of public safety funds. And the million dollar price tag to house each lifer for life will continue to rise.

LARRY BRATT is an inmate at the Maryland Corrections Institution in Jessup.

THE INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT BY: SETH FERRANTI

Not in Texas? No problem!

With prison overcrowding and educational cutbacks, reading material on the inside is at a premium. Although statistics indicate that education is the key to rehabilitation, without the proper tools a newly released prisoner will likely have trouble re-entering society. So what is a prisoner to do? One solution is to set up a self-schooling program and make use of projects like Inside Books.

The Inside Books Project is a volunteer non-profit organization that provides free literature and educational material to Texas inmates, the state with the largest prison population in the country. According to their website, the organization receives over 600 letters per month, which adds up to about 7200 requests every year.

The demand for inmate reading material has skyrocketed since 1998, the year the organization was founded.

“We send books to any of the 109 jails in the state of Texas that we can,” remarked a volunteer who goes only by “Skot.” “We have books on every genre out there. But the books that are most often requested from us are dictionaries (both English and Spanish), books for learning various trades, educational books, legal books, books concerning African American or Latino studies, recent political issues and general fiction.”

Inside Books’ work is essential to the education and self-empowerment of prisoners, many of whom wouldn’t have anything to read without their support. But where do all the books come from? According to Skot, most of the organization’s inventory comes from the private donations of individuals. “We also get a lot of stuff sent to us from publishers, local libraries and institutions,” she says.

“Sometimes we buy books that we need and can’t get anywhere else.”

The connection that the volunteers feel to the Inside Books Project is what keeps them stuffing envelopes day after day. “Most of these people have been abandoned by the rest of society and are offered almost no chance to help themselves get beyond the prison industrial complex once they are released,” says Skot. “Most inmates use the project to educate themselves. There is no one else to help them. That’s one of the many reasons I do this: to provide people with the chance to educate themselves.”

It goes without saying that those on the inside appreciate their efforts.

If you’re currently incarcerated in Texas and would like to request a book package from this organization, please send a letter to: Inside Book Project c/o 12th Street Books 827 West 12th Street Austin TX, 78701 Prisoners generally receive 3-4 books per request.

National Book Projects San Diego Coalition for Women Prisoners c/o Groundwork Books 0323 Student Center La Jolla, CA 92037 Women prisoners only. Sends books on women's issues only.

Write to request a book list please include a stamp for postage.

Books to Prisoners Project c/o Left Bank Books 92 Pike St. Box A Seattle, WA 98101-2095 Provides books to prisoners in all western states.

Prison Book Program c/o The Readers Corner 31 Montford Ave. Asheville, NC 28801-2529 Provides books to southeastern states Books Through Bars - Ithaca c/o Durland Memorial Alternative Library 403 N. Plain St. Ithaca, NY 14850-4054 Provides books to New York prisoners Prison Book Program c/o Lucy Parsons Bookstore 110 Arlington Street Boston, MA 02116-5302 Distributes the National Prisoner Resource List booklet. This is one of the best informational resources available in the U.S. for prisoners. Contains addresses and contact information for groups, organizations, magazines and newsletters related to prisoners and prison issues. There is no set charge for the NPRL, and it will be sent free on request, but a $1 donation (stamps OK from prisoners) will cover the printing and mailing cost.

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 9

CRYSTAL METH

Crystal Methamphetamine and Latinos in New York City A REPORT BY THE LATINO COMMISSION ON AIDS The history of crystal

cohesiveness of the LGBT community, the terrible legacy methamphetamine use long of HIV/AIDS and the growth precedes the “official” public relationships between public health concern now so manihealth departments and the fest. Going back over forty gay community. years or longer the drug was Crystal methamphetamine initially identified with the use in New York City and White population in rural State is rising at one of the areas of the country and was fastest rates in the country, primarily sold by biker clubs especially among the gay and (they carried it in their crankbisexual male and the transshaft, hence the name gender communities. It is “crank.”) The drug is also contributing to an alarmextremely easy to make with ing increase in HIV infections clear instructions available on and other sexually transmitstrategies for obtaining the ted diseases. Many seroconbasic chemicals and avoiding versions are seen as tied to law enforcement. Initially, crystal. This is due to comCrystal was largely seen promised decision-making strictly as a law enforcement while under the influence of issue with local health Crystal meth. The link departments not reporting between seroconversion and connections to increases in meth use in the LGBT popusexually transmitted diseases. lations has been studied and What is unique about the validated as a serious issue. history of crystal meth in the Methamphetamine using Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and men and women claim they Transgendered (LGBT) comuse the drug for the feelings munity has been the of hyper-sexuality, euphoria, response. liberating When crystal sexual C r y s t a l methamphetainhibitions, methamphetamine mine became a increased problem in use in NYC is rising at selfother commuone of the fastest rates esteem, nities, the in the country, especially and response has increased among the gay and been what confiaddiction bisexual male and dence. experts call the transgender They do “moral or law not think, c o m m u n i t i e s . enforcement” at first, of response. the possiPeople are ble arrested and adverse side effects of prosentenced to jail time. longed use: loss of gainful Because of the link to employment, cardiac arrest, increased HIV and STDs in shrinkage of brain function, the gay male community, the urinary retention, insomnia, response has not been anxiety, and depression, moral, but rather public among others. There are health treatment focused. In many men and women who part, this reflects the political 1 0 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

use crystal meth periodically for weekend or monthly recreational purposes. These persons are not considered “addicted” because the drug use does not interfere with their essential life functions and is not compulsive. There were a number of Latinos in the Latino crystal meth focus groups sponsored by the Commission who in fact saw no problem with their periodic crystal meth use.

Meth is ingested through a variety of ways: snorting, smoking, injecting, shotgunning (inhaling another person’s smoke and booty bumping. Booty bumping which is seen most commonly among men who have sex with me, is when one male places crystal meth dust on his thumb and inserts it into a sexual partner’s anus, or mixes crystal meth with water, puts it in a syringe without a needle and in releases this into the rectum.

This is done so that the drug enters the blood stream faster and the euphoric effects of the drug are felt sooner.

Long-term use of methamphetamine may result in anxiety, insomnia, and addiction. Crystal meth abuse and addiction can lead to psychotic behavior including intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can result in violent episodes.

Chronic users sometimes develop sores on their bodies from scratching at “meth bugs,” which describes the common delusion that bugs are crawling under the skin.

It is not uncommon for dependent users to lose their

employment, friends, housing and, of special note to the gay community, their guy membership.

For many Latinos, crystal meth use comes down to a kind of cost/benefit determination. There is no other drug that lasts so long that enables you to have so much sex. As one focus group member mentioned, “It makes sense to use Tina over other drugs because although it may cost a little more, it last a lot longer and that’s a value to me.”

Some users take meth to escape reality, also known as cognitive dissociation. Many may want to escape harsh realities, such as living with HIV/AIDS or the social pressures of being gay. Meth acts as a light switch where one can “turn off” reality and enjoy experiences that they find pleasurable, such as dancing, partying and sex. Almost instantly after ingesting meth, they can leave worries behind and let loose. This is a reason why people take other forms of drugs, but unlike heroin, alcohol and other depressants, crystal meth gives them the energy to get out of the house and actually have fun with their newfound liberation (albeit temporary.)

The Latino Commission on AIDS is a national and regional nonprofit membership organization dedicated to improving and expanding health promotion, research, treatment and other services to the Latino community. through organizing, education, model program development, capacity building & training.

CRISTAL DE METHAMFETAMINA

El Cristal De Methamfetamina y los Latinos en Nueva York PARA: COMMISION LATINA SOBRE EL SIDA La historia del uso del Cristal de metanfetamina precede por mucho la preocupación “oficial” de salud pública que hoy se manifiesta. Hace cuarenta anos o mas la droga fue mayormente identificada con la población blanca en áreas rurales del país y era traficada mayormente por clubes de motocicletas. La droga era extremadamente fácil de producir con instrucciones claramente disponibles sobre las estrategias para obtener los químicos básicos y evitar las investigaciones.

La metamfetamina era vista estrictamente como un problema legal sin poner atención a las conexiones en los aumentos en las enfermedades de transmisión sexual.

Lo que ha sido único en la la historia de la metamfetamina en la comunidad LGBT ha sido la respuesta. Cuando la metamfetamina se convirtió en un problema en otras comunidades la reacción ha sido lo que los expertos en adicción llaman la respuesta “moral o judicial.” Las personas son arrestadas y sentenciadas a largos términos de prisión. A casua de la conexión con el aumento en el VIH y las enfermedades de transmisión sexual en la comunidad gay, la respuesta no ha sido moral sino más bien enfocada en la salud pública y el tratamiento. En parte, esto releja la unidad política de la comunidad LGBT, el terrible legado del HIV/SIDA y las relaciones crecientes entre los departamentos públicos de salud y la comunidad gay.

El uso del Cristal de metanfetamina en Nueva

Cork se encuentra en aumento con una de las tasas de mayor rapidez en el pací, especialmente entre las comunidades gays, bisexuales, y transgeneros.

También esta contribuyendo a un incrementó alarmante en infecciones de VIH y otras enfermedades de transmisión sexual. Muchas seroconversiones son vistas como influenciadas por el cristal. Esto sucede en parte por decisiones tomadas bajo la influencia del cristal. La relación entre la seroconversion y el uso de metamfetamina en las poblaciones LGBT ha sido estudiada y validada como un tema serio.

Los hombres y mujeres que usan metamfetamina expresan que usan la droga por las sensaciones de hipersexualidad, euphoria, la liberación de inhibiciones sexuales, el aumento de la autoestima, el aumento de la confianza. No piensan, al principio de los posibles efectos adverso del uso prolongado: la pérdida de empleo, efectos cardiacos, la reducción de las funciones cerebrales, retención urinaria, insomnia, ansiedad, y depresión, entre otros. Hay muchos hombres y mujeres que usan la metamfetamina de cristal periódicamente para propósitos recreativo semanales o mensuales.

Estas personas no son consideradas “adictas” porque su uso de drogas no interfiere con sus funciones vitales esenciales y no es compulsivo. Hubo un número de latinos en los grupos de enfoque de la Comisión que de hecho no vieron ningún problema con

su uso periódico de metamfeciones visuals y auditivas, y tamina. episodios violentos. Los La metamfetamina es usuarios crónicos a veces ingerida a través de una vardesarrollan lesions en sus iedad de métodos: inhalando, cuerpos al rascarse o fumando, quitarse “insecEl uso del Cristal de inyectando, tos,” lo que “shotgundescribe la metanfetamina en ning” Nueva Cork se encuen - ilusión común (inhalar el de que la pertra en aumento con una sona tiene humo de de las tasas de mayor insectos bajo la otro) y “boota rapidez en el pací, espe- piel. No es bumping.” poco común cialmente entre las Boota para usuarios comunidades gays, bumping,” dependientes lo cual se ve bisexuales, y transgen - que pierdan su mas trabajo, amiseros. comúntades, vivienda, mente entre y notablemente los hombres que tienen sexo para la comunidad gay, su con hombres, sucede cuando membresía de gimnasio. un individuo coloca polvo de Algunos usuarios usan la metamfetamina en su dedo y metamfetamina para lo inserta en el ano de su escaparse de la realidad, compañero sexual. Cuando también concida como disoesto sucede la droga entra la ciación cognoscitiva. Muchos corriente sanguínea más rápiquieren escaparse de las damente y los efectos de duras realidades, tales como euforia de la droga se sienten vivir con VIH/SIDA o las premás rápidamente. Este siones sociales de ser gay. método de ingestión también La Metamfetamina actúa puede facilitar el sexo anal al como un interruptor de luz relajar los músculos del ano. con el cual uno puede “apaPero este método también gar” la realidad y disfrutar puede tener efectos secunexperiencias que ellos darios peligrosos. Utilizar encuentras placenteras, tales esto como un método crónicomo bailar, fiestear y el sexo. co de ingestión puede crear Casi de inmediato después lesiones abiertas que pueden de haber ingerido la incrementar las probabiliMetamfetamina, los usuarios dades de transmisión de pueden dejar las preocupaVIH/SIDA, al igual que otras ciones a un lado y soltarse enfermedades de transmisión sin presiones. Esta es la sexual. misma razón por la cual la El uso a largo plazo de la gente toma otras drogas, metamfetamina puede resulpero a diferencia de la heroítar en ansiedad, insomnia, y na, alcohol y otros sedativos, adicción. El abuso y la adicla Metamfetamina de Cristal ción a la metamfetamina les da energía para salir de la puede llevar a comportamiencasa y divertirse con su tos sicóticos, incluyendo recién encontrada forma de paranoia intensa, alucinaliberarse (aunque temporal.)

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 1 1

CRYSTAL METH

Meth Mouth:What We Know and What We Don’t Know BY: JAY D. SHULMAN, DMD, MA, MSPH and CHRISTINE HENG, DMD

Methamphetamine (meth) use is a growing problem particularly in the southwest, midwest, and southeast regions of the United States and its effects extend beyond the abusers into the social and justice systems. To this end, a majority of 500 county sheriffs in 45 states surveyed by the National Association of Counties reported an increase in methamphetamine-related crimes over the last five years. Moreover, 58% named methamphetamine abuse as the biggest drug problem in their counties. According to the sheriff of Moffat County, Colorado, half of the inmates in that county were arrested for methamphetamine-related crimes.

Drug offenders behind bars bring with them a host of medical and psychological problems. Dentists have reported that methamphetamine abusers suffer from devastating destruction of their teeth.

The picture on the left is a clinical slide of what is commonly referred to as “meth mouth.” Note the advanced decay on the upper teeth to the point that several teeth have broken off at the gum “Meth Mouth” Photograph by Dr. Chris Herringlake line. As you can see, these patients are likely to be in considerable pain and will need a substantial amount of urgent dental care.

Restoring mouths like these may require crowns, bridges and root canal treatments in addition to extractions and removable dentures. However, the majority of individuals with this type of advanced dental destruction cannot afford to pay for the treatment. This adds further strain on the demand for dental emergency and urgent care at community health clinics and hospital emergency departments.

When the individual is an inmate, the picture is bleaker.

Advanced dental destruction will be treated by extraction of the affected teeth since root canals and crowns are generally unavailable given the limited resources. In a period of rising inmate population and tightening budget, the likely treatment option is extractions and dentures.

What We Know In the past few years, the term “meth mouth” has appeared frequently in the news and in the dental literature. It describes a pattern of rapid destruction characterized by dark staining and a deterioration (crumbling) of the tooth enamel. Typically, the smooth (non-biting) surfaces that generally are not prone to decay are affected. Dentists in correctional and non-correctional settings are reporting that the prevalence of this condition is increasing.

The enamel destruction results mainly from the same process as dental decay (cavities). The outer layer of the tooth is composed of enamel, the hardest substance in the body.

Despite its hardness, it can be broken down (demineralized) by 1 2 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Summer 2005 Spring 2006

continuous exposure to acid. When we eat foods containing sugars, bacteria present in our plaque (the gooey film on our teeth) use the sugar for energy and produce acids. The more frequently we consume sugar, the more acid the bacteria produce.

Ordinarily, our saliva is able to neutralize the acid. However if our mouth is dry, the acid persists. This chronic lack of saliva may be due to the loss of salivary gland function as a result of disease, radiation treatment for head and neck cancer or the effects of prescription and recreational drugs. Among the prescription drugs that are associated with dry mouth are central nervous stimulants such as methamphetamine; antidepressants such as Prozac and Paxil; antihistamines such as Dimetapp and Claritin; and antihypertensives (blood pressure medication) such as Serpasil and Vasotec.

It is not uncommon for individuals who have had radiation to the head and neck to have rapidly-progressing decay; however it has a different clinical appearance than what is called “meth mouth.” Similarly, individuals on long-term therapy with certain prescription medication may have more decay but, again, the clinical appearance is different.

Several factors contribute to the dental breakdown of recreational methamphetamine users. First, methamphetamines reduce salivary flow resulting in a dry mouth and an increase in oral acidity. Second, methamphetamine users crave sugar-containing foods and consume them frequently. Sodas (often Mountain Dew) are a primary source of sugar and an independent source of acid. The carbonation in soda is due to carbon dioxide gas, which, when dissolved in water, produces carbonic acid. In a recent series of case reports by faculty members of Creighton University School of Dentistry, all of the five methamphetamine users studied reported drinking large amounts of fruit juice and carbonated beverages. Finally, methamphetamine users may not be attentive to oral hygiene and prolonged sleep cycles during “crashes” allow bacteria in the dental plaque to produce acids continuously. The oral dryness is further increased with tobacco use.

Excessive or accelerated tooth wear attributed to methamphetamine use has been reported in patients treated in the emergency department of an urban hospital. Wear was more pronounced among those who snorted as opposed to injected, smoked, or ingested methamphetamine. This pattern of wear is different from that associated with Ecstasy users, who have a tendency to grind or clench teeth due to tension and anxiety.

Preventive Measures There are a few simple steps to promote dental health, not only among methamphetamine users but also the general population. Daily oral hygiene is a start. Brush at least twice daily with toothpaste that contains fluoride. Cleaning the areas between the teeth with dental floss is also useful. Attention to your diet is also important. Restrict the frequency of snacking (especially on foods containing sugars). Even snacks such as crackers and potato chips contain sugar. Reduce consumption

of carbonated beverages, especially those that have high sugar content. Chew sugarless gum - especially gum containing xylitol. This will help if your mouth is frequently dry. Studies have shown that using chewing gum containing xylitol regularly helps to prevent dental decay. In fact, xylitol gum will soon be included in U.S. Army field rations. Finally, drink plenty of water especially tapwater that contains fluoride. Also, if it is not feasible to brush after snacking, rinse your mouth with water.

What We Don’t Know While articles on “meth mouth” appear frequently in the popular press (publications like Newsweek or Time), rarely do they base their information on professional, peer-reviewed literature. At best, they relate the experiences and observations of individual dentists. Like the blind men and the elephant, nobody is able to see the entire picture. In conclusion, the jury is out on whether “meth mouth” is a distinct condition as often suggested in the popular press or an acceleration of the dental decay process resulting from an increased intake of sugars, acid (through carbonated beverages), and neglected oral hygiene.

*****

Prison Oral Health BY: DR. CHRISTINE HENG, DMD

Numerous studies have focused on health disparities in the nation. Among these underserved populations are the mentally ill, disabled, institutionalized, elderly, racial and ethnic minorities, and people of low socioeconomic status. The inmate population as a group has high levels of health problems and oral diseases. However, even within the inmate population, disparities persist.

Many of the studies of the prison populations have found high levels of dental diseases and unmet needs among the inmates relative to the general population. These high levels of needs were found not only among the incarcerated inmates serving their terms behind bars but also newly-incarcerated inmates during their initial screening examinations. The dental services have the dual challenges of meeting the high levels of needs among the inmate populations and working within the constraints of a prison system.

This report will focus on the oral health of inmates, particularly their dental cavity experience. In a large study of the new inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was found that the total number of diseased teeth - treated and untreated combined - among male and female inmates were 13.1 and 16.0, respectively. This compares unfavorably with the general adult non-institutionalized population with 11.2 and 11.9 for males and females, respectively. More importantly, when the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth were analyzed separately, it was found that inmates, both males and females, had more decayed and missing teeth, and less filled teeth - none of which bode well for their dental health.

There were studies of state prison inmates who were serving their sentences. These studies of state prisons found a similar situation with inmates suffering from high levels of dental diseases and unmet needs. Previous surveys in a state prison in Iowa and Maryland found that the male prison population had more missing teeth, fewer filled teeth and higher levels of

unmet needs.

Compounding the problem, disparities persist within the prison walls, among different race and gender. In the federal system, white inmates had more filled and missing teeth than blacks while the latter had more decayed and untreated teeth.

Also, it was found that females had higher number of decayed and missing teeth than males. Both blacks and females had the highest levels of unmet dental needs, relative to whites and males.

Despite the grim picture of inmates’ oral health and the overwhelming level of need, the prison dental services managed to address the inmates’ acute dental needs and also deliver routine oral treatment. In a follow-up study of adult felons who had been continuously incarcerated for three years by the North Carolina Department of Correction, the author found a significant decrease in untreated cavities and a reduction in urgent treatment needs. There was a reduction of 39.1% in unmet needs and a decrease of 46.3% in untreated decay. Although there was an improvement in periodontal health, the inmate population still had higher levels of diseases than the general population but it was near the levels found among the United States military personnel. Over a three year period, the inmates averaged 6.7 dental visits. By comparison, 57.6% of the U.S. civilian population reported no dental visit during a year. This suggests that inmates utilize more dental services than the general population. Nevertheless, substantial levels of dental diseases and urgent needs remained unresolved.

There has been a general trend towards improved oral health and increased retention of teeth among the general population. However, this improvement may have eluded certain segments of the population. Restorative dental treatment is expensive and it alone is unlikely to be successful in maintaining oral health, unless it is accompanied by a change to a healthy lifestyle. Oral health could be improved with diligent daily oral hygiene (such as brushing and flossing), use of fluoridated toothpaste, a healthy diet (such as consuming less sugar), avoiding unhealthy practices (such as quitting smoking), and seeking comprehensive dental treatment (as opposed to episodic, palliative care).

The high levels of dental diseases and unmet needs among inmate populations may reflect barriers to care both prior and during incarceration. However, it can only be speculated at this point as to whether the barriers were related to physical, financial, or cultural obstacles. Additionally, the problem could be compounded by personal behavior, attitude, and knowledge in seeking and maintaining oral health.

References 1. Clare JH. Dental health status, unmet needs, and utilization of services in a cohort of adult felons at admission and after three years incarceration. J Correctional Health Care 2002;9(1):65-76.

2. Cunningham MA, Glenn RE, Field HM, Jakobsen JR. Dental disease prevalence in a prison population. J Public Health Dent 1985;45:49-52.

3. Heng CK, Morse DE. Dental caries experience of female inmates. J Public Health Dent 2002;62(1):57-61.

4. Makrides NS. The prevalence of dental caries among inmate admissions to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (Master of Public Health thesis). Houston: University of Texas Health Sciences Center, 1995.

5. Surveillance for dental caries, dental sealants, tooth retention, edentulism, and enamel fluorosis - United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. MMWR 2005;54(3):1-44. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5403a1.htm 6. Salive ME, Carolla JM, Brewer TF. Dental health of male inmates in a state prison system. J Public Health Dent 1989;49:83-6.

F o r tFuonre t uN ne w Nse w| sSummer | Spring 2005 2006 | 1 3

Interview with a Lifer: Three Decade Synopsis of Corrections in America BY: RANDY McGEE I met Mr. Arthur J. Williams-El at the St. Joseph Country Jail in South Bend, Indiana. He has been incarcerated by the state of Indiana for the past 28 years. During that time, Williams-El has seen the evolution of corrections in America and its sad decline post-Attica. When we met, I recognized the rare opportunity to interview an authentic survivor of a maximum-security prison, an inmate-educated college graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in political science. I was hoping he could help me discover whether the United States’ correctional system actually works, or if it is nothing but a smokescreen created to pacify society and justify astronomical tax expenditures.

Fortune News: Sir, from your perspective as an insider, can you explain the difference in the political climate in 1977 versus that of today?

Arthur Williams-El: I’d be happy to. Back then it wasn’t “lock you up and throw away the key,” like it is to today.

There was no “War on Drugs.” There were more rehabilitation places available, although (ironically) there was less government money for rehab. That’s because the main drug then was heroin.

And you know people weren’t using heroin like they do cocaine today. During the disco era cocaine went from the back rooms to the Board Rooms. It was the champagne drug of the elite. Stars and celebrities used cocaine because they could afford it.

That changed a lot of things politically.

FN: This was long before late President Reagan’s no-tolerance drug policy crackdown, correct?

W-EL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What happened was when the ‘80s hit there was a huge influx of coke into America. Prices went from say $60,000$80,000 per kilo down to what it is now; say $13,000. And all of this came about under the Reagan watch. If you remember, that was when Reagan signed the bill. You started hearing the term “War on Drugs.” You used to hear it occasionally, but then it became some sort of mantra.

And this was during the Iran/Contra scandal.

FN: And what changes did you see following the ‘80’s crack epidemic?

W-EL: Terrible changes.

Weapons of war were introduced to neighborhoods.

Children were killing children.

Juveniles were being portrayed by the media as coldblooded killers who needed to be locked away forever.

As a result, these kids were put in prison along with adults.

1 4 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

FN: What about newly arrived offenders during that time period; how were they different?

W-EL: Most of the guys were young and didn’t have any life experience. Most had never been out of the neighborhood they were born in. Instead of formal education, they had what we call a street education.

FN: On the average were their sentences as long or longer than yours?

W-EL: Their sentences were becoming increasingly longer because there was a climate of “Get Tough on Crime” in the country. Matter of fact, it was at this time that the prison boom started. It was almost like they had a crystal ball. It was almost like the powers-that-be knew they were going to need these jails.

FN: How about the Department of Corrections?

How did it change to accommodate the great influx of drug offenders?

W-EL: At first they made an attempt at drug treatment inside the prisons, but due to budgetary restrains and the overwhelming number of inmates with treatment needs, they were overwhelmed. They didn’t have the resources for that. Even guys with court mandates were coming up short.

America! It was almost like they had a mandate to lock up all minorities who had drug offenses or drug-related crimes.

FN: What about the lack of drug treatment programs?

It’s my understanding that since the ‘80s crack epidemic, it’s been very difficult to get anyMay sortSanders, of substance Edith age 81 abuse treatment. The majority of drug users arrested on drug-related or drug-induced crimes from 1986 on were minorities. Yet, the recent crystal-meth epidemic, which affects mostly rural whites, has spurred the Indiana DOC to create meth treatment programs. What do you make of this disparate treatment?

W-EL: I think it has a lot to do with voting blocks. White voters know how to put together voting platforms to get treatment programs, whereas inner city blacks don’t have that unity. If you look at the inner city, you’re affected by drugs everyday.

It’s easy to start feeling hopeless, to start believing that your representatives are incapable of doing anything to bring about a change. And rehab clinics take money. If your representatives can’t get money from other elected government officials that only compounds the problem.

When white children start using drugs, then you start seeing penalties going downward and treatment programs going up.

FN: Did you see more minority offenders or was the prison population racially balanced?

W-EL: No! Minorities were the overwhelming population in the prison system in

Illustration by Jason Faber

FN: Back in the ‘70s, when you began your sentence, what was prison like as far as the state providing rehabilitative programs, recreation, and opportunities for early parole?

cials anymore, or given a chance at early parole or release?

W-EL: No. No. No!

FN: So, today education is W-EL: Well, they had vocayour only shot at getting out tional school and GED proearlier? grams, but no college; that came later. For a while we W-EL: Yeah. were allowed to take Ivy Tech vocational courses. Stuff like FN: Are you able to register electronics or mechanics, and for a degree program?

Ball State [University] came in but you had W-EL: You can get to pay for it a Bachelor’s of yourself. You Arts, but can’t could also Just as a pencil declare a specific take courses major in anything. has an eraser You can only get a from Moody Bible College, minor. to correct Indiana University or mistakes, FN: Let’s look at Purdue, but prison conditions education is the and the way you you had to pay for it eraser inside were treated by because no authorities. How prison. grants were was it back in the available for 70s? convicts.

W-EL: Brutal. Brutal without FN: I’m also thinking about sophistication the impact of corrections on professional sports. Athletes FN: Define brutal for me. like Ron Leflore (Detroit Tigers), and Jumbo W-EL: Try seven or eight 200 Cummings (heavyweight lbs guards with billy clubs boxer), were actually given an beating, kicking and stomping opportunity because back all 140 lbs of me into submisthen corrections was totally sion. I was young then. I different; how has athletics survived. and its overall value to prison officials changed since that FN: OK, add ten years – time? what were the conditions like in1987?

W-El: Athletics are viewed as just a form of exercise. It has W-EL: They got a little more no value for prison officials. sophisticated in their tactics Even though their skills are and they got more equipment exceptional, it won’t get them in. The technologies were out of prison today. I’ve seen more on line. They started athletes better than many of getting stun shields, new riot those seen on TV and they equipment, new training could easily win in Olympic methods. The term Super competition, but they’ll never Predators was coming on get the chance. I once heard line, working its way from the a visiting coach tell a prison east and west coasts. They player, “I wish I could get you started talking about taking out - you’d be somebody!!!” the weights away because men were getting too buffed FN: Is an exceptional athlete up – too strong. recognized by the prison offiFN: And 18 years later?

What is it like today?

W-EL: Today, minor infractions are treated as harshly as possible. No longer is there any type of compromise on prison infractions.

You break a rule, you’re punished as severely as possible because they want to show you that they run the joint.

They are trained to dominate, humiliate, and if necessary to put you down physically because that’s how they’re trained. They dress up guards as prisoners and they train their attack dogs as lethal weapons. The dog then sees and smells the uniform and attacks. I’m talking about prisoner’s uniforms.

FN: What are some of the things you and other prisoners have done to give back to society and crime victims?

W-EL: We had youth who came in and we’d try to give them guidance to stay in school and get an education that will allow them to have some kind of gainful employment. We told them how to be able to see something coming. It may look good at first, but down the road it might not be good for you.

Don’t put that cigarette in your mouth! Don’t put that bottle in your mouth! Use a condom because you can’t even take care of yourself right now, so don’t bring a baby into the world. We held standing-room-only seminars.

We had kids come in from schools and walk through the cell houses. Inmates would tell the kids about the pitfalls of prison and how they could wind up there. I’m talking about giving it to them in the raw, with the language and everything. We raised money for Toys-For-Tots by recycling cans. Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Meningitis; we gave to food pantries in Michigan City. The Jaycees took donations and gave to various charities, up to $2,000-

$3,000 total at a time. Men at Indiana State Prison gave donations to the victims of 9/11. Our actions show that the stereotype of the coldblooded, uncaring super predator convict is a false.

We are men who are just as patriotic and sympathetic as the next person out there in society.

FN: What do you want to say to society about corrections in America today?

W-EL: Men inside were once our friends and neighbors.

They’re still your friends and neighbors, they just made a mistake. Just as a pencil has an eraser to correct mistakes, education is the eraser inside prisons. Job skills are another form of eraser. These are the things that will once again make these individuals your friends and neighbors. No one wants enemies, so don’t let these people be treated that way. We will be returning to your communities. Write your politicians because you have a right to see what goes on inside. You pay taxes and that gives you a right to know what goes on inside these prisons because it’s public information. Get involved, because given a certain situation, your own son or daughter could wind up here. That’s how I can best sum it up: Get involved!

Martha Stewart is getting involved now, so to speak.

Randy McGee wrote “Not a Bad Day After All” for the Fall 2004 issue of Fortune News.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Don’t forget to fill out the survey on page 27!

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 1 5

CRYSTAL METH

Meth Mouth: Moral Panic?

BY: PAULA ALTMAN

In August of 2005, Newsweek magazine deemed methamphetamine (meth) “America’s Most Dangerous Drug.” Local media outlets and nationally recognized journals and newspapers followed suit by devoting countless column inches on the addictive and destructive nature of the drug and its rising popularity. Last summer a local Indiana news source, FortWayne.com, produced a series representative of the kind of coverage this issue inspires: Over several days, readers were asked to follow the journey of a handful of individuals whose lives have been turned upside down following methamphetamine use: most have lost jobs, lost family and have ended up in prison. The article also permits readers a glimpse into the mouths of these users; mouths with rotting and broken teeth, swollen gums, mouths that cause constant pain and can no longer chew food.

The phrase ‘meth-mouth’ has recently been coined to describe the dramatic deterioration in oral health resulting from methamphetamine use.

The phrase refers to the broad array of symptoms associated with chronic methamphetamine use, although experts debate the actual causes. The images of the decay have come to represent the devastation of the drug, especially among the prison and criminal justice communities.

Some professionals claim that the nature of methamphetamine and its accompanying ‘high’ result in methmouth. In an interview posted on corrections.com, Bill

Batchelder, Dental Director of the Diagnostic Prison in Jackson, GA, is quoted as saying that, “because methamphetamines are made with harsh chemicals that aren’t processed down to a pure form, they are especially hard on the teeth.” In other words, it is the ingredients of methamphetamine - ingredients like fertilizer, battery acid and hydrogen peroxide - that cause the deterioration in oral health.

Another explanation frequently identified as the cause of meth-mouth is the effect methamphetamine has on saliva production.

Methamphetamine inhibits saliva production. Saliva is a good thing. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), saliva “helps prevent tooth decay… neutralizes damaging acids, enhances the ability to taste food and makes it easier to swallow.”

Because a meth high can last up to twelve hours, many view the reduction in saliva that accompanies it as especially threatening.

Meth-mouth is currently

1 6 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

regarded with growing concern and much attention has been directed specifically to the prevalence of methmouth within the country’s incarcerated population.

Batchelder is later quoted as saying that within prisons, the incidence of meth-mouth is “increasing drastically, without a doubt […] dentists in correctional facilities across the nation have noticed this increase.” In a New York Times article from June 11, 2005, another prison dentist notes that he no longer has time to conduct routine check-ups on inmates.

Evidence from dentists and prison officials seem to indicate that meth use is of ‘epidemic’ proportions and methamphetamine users are monopolizing dental resources in correctional facilities.

However, not everyone agrees with the dire predictions of these experts. In fact, Jack Shafer, editor at large for Slate, an on-line magazine and corporate cousin to Newsweek, dubbed the media circus surrounding the issue another example of a “moral panic.” As he explains in an editorial responding to coverage of the issue in the popular media: “Moral panics rip through cultures, observed sociolo-

Illustration by Martin Bueno

gist Stanley Cohen in 1972, whenever "experts" and the "right-thinking" folks in the press, government, and the clergy exaggerate the danger a group or thing poses to society.

Immigrants have been the subject of moral panics, as have alcohol, jazz, comic books, sex, street gangs, rock, video games, religious cults, white slavery, dance, and homosexuals. But in the United States, moral panics are most reliably directed at illicit drug users. No exaggeration or vilification directed their way is too outrageous for consideration.”

Shafer goes on to explain that the term ‘meth-mouth’ may not even be exactly accurate. He points out that the dental condition known as meth-mouth is not even specific to meth use; in other words, the claims that doctors have made about the relationship between methamphetamine and methmouth must be re-examined.

As evidence, Shafer cites a dental professional who studied methamphetamine use and meth-mouth in the late 1990s. The doctor concluded that methamphetamine is not in users’ mouths long enough to have an impact and thus, the nature of the drug (the ingredients) is not to blame. As additional evidence, Shafer cites the fact that there have been no studies to support the link between the ingredients of methamphetamine and the deterioration of dental health.

Shafer also addresses the claim that meth-mouth occurs because of the drastic reduction in saliva production.

Shafer does agree that lack of saliva has a profound effect on oral health, but adds that methamphetamine is only one of the many drugs that inhibit saliva and that certain populations are more prone than others to decreased levels of saliva. Shafer makes reference to a news article from 1997 in which dental experts

claim that “hundreds of medicines that Americans take every day, from the country’s most popular blood pressure pills to chewable vitamin C tablets, can cause serious tooth decay…” Thus, the symptoms synonymous with meth-mouth may appear in other, non-meth-using populations.

There is evidence to support Shafer’s position. In an article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin dated June 5, 2005, Dr. Mark Greer, chief of Hawaii’s Health Department’s Dental Division claims that “meth-mouth isn't unique to methamphetamine users,” but is found in chronic drug abusers because of the combination of "decreased sali-

vary flow, long binges of neglect, no hygiene and not eating properly.”

So is the claim that dental health problems are increasing in prisons correct? On first glance, it appears so.

Because meth-mouth can be the result of prolonged use of any drug, an increase in the number of individuals incarcerated who have indicated frequent drug use in their past, would seem to increase the likelihood that there exist more patients with these dental problems in prisons. And according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics this hypothesis is true - more people are going to jail who report regular drug use. More research, however, must be done in

order to make any conclusive statement.

But does the increased incidence of symptoms recognized by many as methmouth prove that methamphetamine use is exponentially increasing? Perhaps not. It is clear that meth-mouth results from a variety of different conditions, lifestyles and drug use. More research must be done on the relationship between methamphetamine use, and meth-mouth and dental problems in prison. Research must be done, not only to determine whether methamphetamine use in prisons is increasing, but to examine the full spectrum of causes of methmouth symptoms. It is

important that this research be designed to focus on all possible causes of methmouth (in all populations) to ensure that proper care and treatment can be developed.

There is one thing that we can say conclusively, however: the media has a profound affect on an issue and the amount of attention - and subsequent funding - it receives. Perhaps Newsweek should dedicate a cover to the issue of prison healthcare: that’s a story that would better serve the millions of incarcerated people in the United States.

Paula Altman is a Court Advocate at The Fortune Society.

Do you enjoy reading Fortune News?

Do you believe that former prisoners deserve a chance to lead healthy, productive lives?

Do you believe we can have a criminal justice system that provides for the public’s safety and is also humane and cost-effective?

If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then maybe you will consider making a contribution to The Fortune Society.

We are working to make the criminal justice system more humane and effective.

We are helping prisoners and former prisoners to improve their lives and are giving them hope for a better future.

Your financial support helps make our work possible.

We hope you will use the enclosed envelope to make a contribution to The Fortune Society.

Fortun e New | Spring 2006 17 Fortune News | sWinter/Spring 2005| 17

Speed Trap

BY DERRICK CORLEY

My experience with drugs started in 1968, when I returned to the United States hooked on heroin after serving in the military. Before this time, my only experience with substances was the occasional booze bender, but, luckily for me, I never liked alcohol or the sloppy head it provided. When I returned to Brooklyn, I found that things had changed considerably – the city was flooded with just about every drug imaginable, and just about everyone I knew was using something.

For a while I stuck with heroin, but the habit soon grew beyond my ability to maintain it legally – soon I started to feed upon the drug pushers, taking their drugs and money to support my heroin habit.

It was about that time that I got the bright idea to try to kick my heroin addiction by changing my drug of choice to speed. Contrary to popular belief, speed (slang for amphetamines) has always been readily available, in one form or another, on the East Coast. Actually, it was quite popular in the New York City area in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. So instead of shooting heroin, I started shooting crystal meth and pure pharmaceutical amphetamine.

The mind of an amphetamine user is filled with paranoia. But my speed days ended early one morning in my mother’s apartment, when she awoke and found me sitting in a chair in the center of her living room, holding a .45 automatic leveled at the apartment door, which I had barricaded with all the other living room furniture. I never touched the drug again.

Derrick’s View

cocaine, crystal meth, or even marijuana? Why make criminals by making the use and possession of certain drugs illegal? By doing this, it Unfortunately, I was not simibecomes very profitable to larly able to rid myself of illegally sell such drugs, and it heroin addiction and ended increases crime across the up in prison for most of my board as users and addicts life. commit crimes to pay for their If you’ve heard the saying drug of choice.

“Speed Kills,” it refers to The war should not be on those that use and abuse drugs, but on the root causes amphetamine. It’s a very that lead people to want to dangerous drug, a drug that get high - to feel better about themselves, their lives, The war should not be on and/or society and drugs, but on the root causes the world. Root that lead people to want to get causes like poverty, dysfunctional family high - to feel better about relationships, themselves, their lives, and/or racism, injustice and unemployment, to society and the world. name just a few. By declaring war on drugs, we focus on not only can steal your life the symptom and not the disaway, but make you nuts. I ease that eats away at the knew many “speed freaks,” fabric of our society and civibut they’re all dead now. It’s lization. Yes, drugs have a beautiful high, but it’ll kill become a problem, but that you. In my experience, crysproblem will never be tal meth and other forms of resolved if the root causes of amphetamine are more popuit are not addressed – things lar on the West Coast will only get worse. because it is basically a If we are going to declare warm-weather drug – most war on anything, it should be speed users I know of hate on our ignorance. the cold. However, the growTobacco has no ing popularity of methamphet- medicinal value - it just amine in other areas of the addicts and kills peocountry is bound to cause ple - yet we criminalize some serious problems. marijuana, denying it Alcohol has caused more to cancer patients and harm and death than all other others that it helps. illegal drugs put together, yet Does this make it is legal to consume once sense? After prohibiyou are of a certain age. tion ended, crime Nicotine, a poisonous alkaloid rates dropped around and one of the most addictive the country, especially substances known to man, is the rate for violent legally distributed in tobacco crimes. I say that the products that addict and decriminalization and eventually kill the user. How regulation of heroin are addicts that use these would have an even legal substances any different greater impact on the than someone using heroin, crime rate. Doing so

1 8 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

takes the profit out of the criminals’ hands and gives it to the people and government. The need to rob and steal to buy illegal drugs disappears, and the individual user becomes a patient rather than a criminal. The emphasis is then placed on education, treatment and rehabilitation, rather than a costly war that cannot be won.

Drugs are dangerous and should not be used, but the reality of the situation is that people are going to use and abuse them. We need to reexamine what prohibition taught us. Instead of speeding ahead with this war on drugs like a methamphetamine rush, we need to slow down to avoid our own American-style speed trap.

Wars are won not with bombs and bullets, but with strategy and intelligent action.

Isn’t it about time we all start smartening up?

Derrick Corley is a New York State prisoner. His column, “Derrick’s View,” appears regularly in the Fortune News.

Illustration by Larry Samford

THE PRISON DIARIES

Freedom for a Day BY: AL CUNNINGHAM

Because I am behind bars, I very rarely have the opportunity to interact with nature or experience the sort of things that most people come in contact with every day. Most of the time people forget to open up their eyes to appreciate the beauty that surrounds them. I do my best to take it all in. And today was a day filled with wonder,

excitement, mystery and new experiences. Today I was able to leave my cold concrete, asphalt and steel-bar encasement, free to experience the outside world – if only for a few hours.

My original plans for the morning were to sleep late and get some reading in. I certainly was not expecting to be woken up by guards at 10am and told to get ready

THE PRISONER’S LIFE The great challenge is to say what it’s really like without complaining.

The perfect inmate would see this as nothing but opportunity.

But how can I so denounce the basic desire for freedom and dignity?

Even so, I can only understand the parts I have lost.

As for the rest, they speak of a respect I’ve never possessed.

Amazing, a bird came this morning to sing. It saw only a safe perch and a captive audience.

Rabbits use the barbed wire as a briar patch to raise their bunny young in the soft bald earth between the fences.

The birds and rabbits do not know the suffering we devise.

I brush my teeth much as before, and let my blanket hang loose against the structure.

I’m in retreat, playing the same games, all my bills paid.

Zachary Redfearne

for a trip to University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Because it was such short notice, I just had a few minutes to take care of my morning hygienic rituals, but my excitement grew with every splash of water on my face. The guards didn’t waste any time.

Before I knew it I was chained and shackled and placed in the back seat of the car. The van windows would be my front row seat to the world outside.

As soon as we left the prison gates we blended in with the thousands of other cars on the busy California highway; most of the travelers resembled ants navigating crisscrossing lanes. I spent a lot of time wondering about the people in the many different cars we passed.

Did they give any thought to the two guards in their green uniforms and me sitting in the back in a bright orange jumpsuit? Could they possibly see how chained and shackled I was? I psyched myself out with that train of thought, becoming self-conscious about what the people around me might be thinking.

So to avoid any such speculation, I directed my attention to the environment, soaking in the details I have missed so much in my life over the years of my incarceration.

There were many different and beautiful trees, some showing their colorful little budding flowers, the apple blossoms with their pretty pink buds. At one point we were surrounded by water, seas and lakes and all the different sized boats, both sailing and docked. I stared at buildings and houses; I even took the time to notice how different the clouds looked in the sunlight. There

was green grass covering the hills and rolling mountains, some with weeds so tall that I bet you could stand in the middle of the field and become invisible to the eye!

Once we got off the highway and entered the city streets, I was amazed at how many people were just chattering away on their cell phones.

Everyone was out and about.

Mothers were pushing their babies in carriages; dogs were being walked on leashes. I even spotted a junkie looking for his early morning fix.

We arrived at the medical center much too soon. The visit turned out to only be for a dental examination and evaluation. Teeth were poked and prodded, but before I could absorb the doctor’s comments and conclusions, I was back in the car and returning to prison.

Even though we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on the ride back, our drive was somewhat muted. The scenery lacked the wonder, excitement and mysteries of the ride up. My thoughts filled the silence of the van.

All of the images from the morning floated around in my brain; I tried to avoid thinking about the harsh reality of the life that awaited me around the next few turns in the road.

I’ve experience the dayto-day drudgery of prison life for more years than I care to acknowledge. The sights and wonders of my trip to the dentist slowly settled into memory that night, but my dreams allowed me to enjoy the world beyond these walls – your world – in mine.

The Prison Diaries is a re-occurring column that describes the day-today realities of life on the inside.

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 1 9

STAFF RECOGNITION David Ventura It’s not unusual for former Fortune Society clients to make the transition to fulltime staff members - after all, over 75% of our employees have personal experience of some kind with the criminal justice system - but David Ventura’s story is unique in that he was able to make this challenging shift as a young adult.

As his supervisor, Elizabeth Loebman, is fond of saying to colleagues, “David may be only 23, but he has the soul of a very old, wise man.”

David first came through our doors in 2002 as a client in our Alternatives to Incarceration program.

Like so many of our clients, his formative years were challenging. David never had the opportunity

Photograph by Kristen Kidder

Fo rt un e

Ey e

on

Eye on Fortune

“My sentencing judge had my charges listed in front of him in black and white,” he says now. “I knew the only way that I would be able David is hard at work in his office. to change his perception of to know his mother and his me was to have a longer father’s drug dealing meant list of positive things to put that he was often left to right along side of it.” take care of his eight So David concentrated younger siblings alone. His on getting the most out of father was arrested in front the experience, although of the children and eventuhe found the atmosphere ally the family was split up. challenging at times.

David started selling Rather than let the lessdrugs when he was still a than-ideal situation hamteenager. “I thought that it per his progress, he would bring me closer to sought counsel from Ms. my dad,” he remembers.

Loebman. “One day he But eventually he realized met with me in private to discuss how some of the peers in his HIV Peer-Education If I got here, I can go Training were very anywhere. I’m focused. immature,” she remembers. “He I’m trying to build was 21 at the time somebody. I’m trying to and some of the other students were build a new me. as young as 14. I constantly used to tell David to ‘stick it that the path was leading out!’ I saw so much to nothing but trouble and potential in him. I knew if he was likely to succeed he graduated, he’d make only in sharing a cell with a great addition to our his father. Facing fifteen agency.” years in prison on charges David finished his prostemming from drug posgram and was subsesession and distribution, quently hired as a Senior David’s judge mandated Peer him to the Fortune Society Educator where he was able to in spend the next six months February attending programs and of 2005. taking advantage of our Every counseling and education day he services. leads David threw himself into groups his treatment program.

of young people, educating them about the dangers of HepC and STDs, including HIV/AIDS. These educational workshops are not just delivered to our clients – David gets the opportunity to travel to schools and other drug treatment programs, anyplace where people can benefit from his knowledge and experience. Although some of the people he talks to are decades older than him, David insists that they treat him as a revered peer. “They tell me stuff that they don’t always tell their counselors. Most people don’t see my age, the see the message.”

Although he’s achieved so much in such a short time, David’s not content to rest on his accomplishments. He wants to start college soon and continue working with young people. “If I got here, I can go anywhere,” he asserts.

“I’m focused. I’m trying to build somebody. I’m trying to build a new me.”

7th ANNUAL BENEFIT In the nonprofit world, all money is not created equal. Oftentimes the funds that come into Fortune to support our important work will be “earmarked” - that is, only able to be spent on a specific project or for a specific purpose. It is more challenging to raise

Stanley Richards (l) and Kevin Liles

E y e

o n

Fo r tu n e

Ey e

on

planning “unregave people a chance to and execustricted” learn about The Fortune tion of one funds, Society – what we do and of Fortune’s money the kind of impact we have most that we on communities. important can put And that level of projects, towards awareness is priceless. the resiour gendential eral facility in operat(l-r) Stanley Richards, Kevin Liles, Jim Brown, West clients have strained relaing A.D. Whitfield, and Doc Waters tionships with their chilHarlem expensH O L I D A Y P A R T Y dren and the annual holiknown as the Fortune es, which is then used to day party is a wonderful Academy. Former prisonsupport critical programs FOR CHILDREN opportunity for them to er Stanley Richards, now (including the production bond with each other. For COO of The Fortune and printing of the Fortune On December 10th, children whose parents Society is a role model to News!) Our fall benefit is 2005, The Fortune Society have served time in prison staff and clients, and a one of the primary ways held its annual holiday and who live in poverty, that we raise this important shining example of how party for our clients’ chilthe holiday season has people change once given money. dren. This not always the right tools. Myron Our most recent beneyear over been a Beldock, best known for fit, held on Tuesday, forty children festive his work in the exoneration November 1, 2005, was enjoyed a time. For of Ruben “Hurricane” an occasion to honor four fun-filled day these Carter, was honored for people who have devoted of games, kids, his dedication to justice themselves and their arts and Fortune’s and 35 years of protecting careers to issues surcrafts, storyholiday the legal rights of persons rounding prisoner re-entry: telling, carolcelebraenmeshed in the criminal Bill Frey, Senior Vice ing and a holtion is a justice system. And President of the Enterprise iday feast. rare record mogul Kevin Liles Foundation, Stanley Face paintchance to was recognized for his Richards, Chief Operating ing, musical have fun deeply felt, “hands-on” Officer of The Fortune chairs and and approach to helping forSociety, Myron Beldock, “Simons receive a mer prisoners turn their Founding Partner of the Says” were a The children have their faces painted. gift. lives around.

New York law firm few of the A special thank you to The evening marked Beldock, Levine & children’s favorite activities. our neighbors and friends one of most successful Hoffman, and Kevin Liles, A delicious and nutritious at Three of Us Studios, Executive Vice President of events yet. Tens of thoulunch was served, includwhose financial support sands of dollars were the Warner Music Group. ing holiday-themed cookand volunteer labor raised to help us continue The evening’s award presies and candy for dessert. helped to make Fortune’s our work and everyone in entation, which included And no holannual children’s holiday cocktails and canapés, iday party party a great success. was held at the Grand would be Ballroom of the Prince complete George Hotel in without sitManhattan. ting on Each of the four honSanta’s lap orees that evening have and receiv(and continue to) make ing a gift! specific and lasting contriEveryone butions to the work that Musical chairs is always a popular activity! had a good we do. Bill Frey and the time and we are already attendance was inspired Enterprise Foundation, a looking forward to next by the stories that were national community develyear’s celebration. shared. Perhaps more opment organization, were Many of Fortune’s importantly, the evening both instrumental in the

Fo rt un e

Photographs by Brian Robinson

E y e

on

F o r t u n e

INSIDER ART THE NEW OUTSIDER ART 12.13.05-12.17.05

Twenty thousand people a day walk past the windows of the Lab Gallery at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City.

Located on Lexington Avenue, just steps from Grand Central Station, the space draws curious tourists and jaded city dwellers in equal numbers. The Lab Gallery’s frequently-changing exhibits are famous for drawing people in off the street – and we think it’s the perfect place to showcase the talent that we find each year at our annual art show.

The Fortune Society’s 2005 show, aptly titled “Insider Art: The New Outsider Art,” opened to the public on December 13, 2005. In contrast to years past, we chose to display each of the nearly 300 entries that were received from prisoners in 30 different states. We had to be creative to achieve this goal; the Roger Smith Gallery is rather small and favors a minimalist approach. In fact, most of the exhibitions that are installed there throughout the year feature only a handful of pieces!

In order to best utilize the space we suspended wires from the ceiling to the floor and hung the work off of that.

“Gaming Board” by Robert Kidd These “bars” covered the windows and five were scattered strategically throughout the main floor, giving viewers the feeling of confinement that inspired so much of the work. We also took advantage of the testimonials that accompanied many of the entries by creating an event journal that listed the motivations of the artists in the show. Many visitors reported back that this feature greatly enhanced their appreciation of the work – we Audience had a hard time keeping enough of them in Favorite stock!

Of course, the installation at the Lab Gallery represented the culmination of an Internet contest and auction that began in mid-November and was hosted by the nonprofit auction house, CMarket. Hundreds of people registered as “interested persons” with “Who Dies, Who Decides” by Kenneth Reams the site, kept watches on pieces, and instigated bidding wars – just like they would on ebay! These professional

2nd

2 2 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

features introduced many people to The Fortune Society and our annual art show for the first time.

The project just keeps getting more and more “When Strangers Meet” by Jonathan Jones popular!

At its core, the art show is an opportunity for incarcerated men and women to display their talent, thus reminding people of the humanity that exists behind bars. While many of the pieces we received this year were exceptional, the following were chosen as best in show: Paul Inskeep’s “Independence” was named 3rd Place, a touching portrait of an older man sitting on a bench that was painted from paint bubbles found in his cell. Robert Kidd’s fully functional “Gaming Board” was 2nd Place, an impressive chess and checker board that was constructed using 20,000 match sticks. 1st Place was awarded to “When Strangers Meet,” an intricate pencil piece by Jonathan Jones picturing a young girl at a forest creek. The Audience Favorite Award was given to Kenneth Reams’ disturbing, yet meticulously rendered, electric chair, “Who Dies, Who Decides.”

Fortune’s annual art show is not only a chance “Independence” by Paul Inskeep for the participants to earn revenues from their work, but it also serves as a forum for prisoners’ voices – an opportunity for the talent to be displayed in a public space. The chance to create artwork provides prisoners with an emotional outlet and means for growth in a system where self-expression is stifled. And, most importantly, those on the outside can begin to discover what we already know: that the people locked inside America’s prisons are indeed people and worthy of consideration.

1st

3rd

If you’re interested in receiving updated information about Fortune’s 2006 Art Show (including an entry form), send a letter to: Fortune Society 2006 Art Show Attn: Kristen Kidder 53 W. 23rd Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10010

A recent New York Times article (“Prisons Often Shackle Pregnant Inmates in Labor” by Adam Liptak, published March 2, 2006) exposes how a female inmate in Arkansas was shackled while she was delivering her baby.

Only at the very end of her labor, after the doctor demanded that the shackles be removed, did the guards consent to let her lie unrestrained.

As shocking as this account seems, this woman’s experience is not an isolated incident. Similar abuses have been reported in correctional institutions across the United States, garnering attention from the human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In an Amnesty International Report from 1999, one woman describes giving birth while incarcerated as one of the most horrifying experiences of her life. Not only were her legs shackled, but she was handcuffed during the process and could not even hold her stomach to ease her pain.

Even women without histories of violence or attempted escapes have been subjected to these harsh restraining policies. After childbirth, many women are forced to remain shackled to their beds, despite being under the constant watch of armed guards. For any woman, this treatment is inhumane and permanently traumatizing.

But worse than unnecessary, these traumatic birth events pose health consequences for the newborn.

Shackling during labor can cause complications during delivery, such as hemorrhaging or decreased fetal heart rate. Physical restraints also ‘handcuff’ the doctor, who needs freedom to safely practice medicine, which involves closely assessing and evaluating the physical condition of mother and

their health needs are often overlooked upon entrance into the prison system. With common backgrounds of limited access to health care, Furthering the case for reform of the the prison may be the first opportunity to diagnose and prison healthcare system treat many of their health concerns.

There is limited data that BY: ZOË K. HARRIS describes the types and prevalence of problems that incarcerated women experifetus. Doctors also need to 10,800 women who need ence. A recent report conbe able to rapidly respond to prenatal care while incarcerducted by researchers at the an emergency. For example, ated. Contributing to the rise Johns Hopkins School of if a caesarean section is of the female inmate populaPublic Health interviewed 111 needed, a delay of even five tion has been the “war on women incarcerated in minutes to remove the shackdrugs” and Washington, les may result in permanent mandatory senDC jails and brain damage to the baby. tencing policies, found that Shackling makes the delivery which do not chronic conprocess far more complicated take into account ditions, such than necessary, placing the the circumas hypertenlives of the mother and stances of the sion, asthunborn child at risk. There individual. ma, and diaare sometimes long term Incarcerated betes were effects for babies delivered women tend to extremely under stressful conditions have complex common such as decreased IQ, learnand high-risk and infecing disabilities, and developpregnancies, and tious condimental problems. With the at the time of tions, includcombination of poor prenatal their arrest and ing HIV/AIDS care questionable labor and incarceration and sexually Photo by Mark Allen Johnson delivery practices, it has been many pregnant transmitted documented that babies born women lack preinfections to incarcerated women often natal care and need support were also prevalent. Mental have lower birth weight than to improve the outcome of health conditions including the general population. their pregnancy. Pregnant major depression and schizoinmates also have high levels phrenia were also present at of psychological distress, yet higher rates than in the genRising trends call for a often do not receive counseleral population. Although reexamination of the system ing or support services. there were not specific findSubstance abuse treatment ings related to pregnancy, it Twice as likely as their or mental health needs may was discovered that women male counterparts to be further complicate the pregexperienced significant disimprisoned for a drug or nancy experience for these ruptions in delivery of their property-related offense, women.

HIV mediations, and sexually women are the fastest growtransmitted diseases were ing segment of the US incaruntreated, which could lead The importance of female cerated population, and more to infertility and complications prisoners’ health than 80% of these women in pregnancy. are of childbearing age. The Differences in health servThe health needs of most recent report from the ices for pregnant women female prisoners, pregnant Bureau of Justice states that should include counseling to prisoners specifically, chalat the year-end of 2004, there reduce stress, programs to lenge the traditional models were over 180,000 women increase social support, preof health care provided in incarcerated in the United natal vitamins and specialized prisons. With so many incarStates. One report found diets, exercise, and childbirth cerated women demonstratthat six percent of women are and parenting education: all ing histories of drug abuse, pregnant when entering mental health problems, and prison, which implies that physical and sexual abuse, there are approximately CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

UNNECESSARY SHACKLES:

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 2 3

the phone,” Becky comments sadly.

But this contact comes at a price, one that is almost too high for the family to bear. Phone calls from a prison are the family had a couple of expensive. The only cars, a large screen TV, a way the inmate can stereo system, appliances, call out is to place a toys and clothes. “I wasn’t collect phone call. A always married to an inmate,” regular collect phone she acknowledges sadly. call costs more than a direct Not surprisingly, when dial call, but because of the Alan went to prison the famisecured lines the call has to ly’s financial situation shifted travel through coupled with dramatically, forcing Becky to the state to state transfer, a pawn most of their possescall from prison can cost as sions in order to pay rent and much as two to three dollars buy food. Because of a a minute. It is not unusual for degenerative knee disorder, Becky’s monthly phone bill to she has been classified as cost upwards of $800, an disabled and cannot work; expenditure that she considshe and the children exist on ers an investment in her chilthe small amount of social dren’s future. She intends for security income that comes the boys to remain connected in each month. “The families to their father, thus having a are doing time right along much-needed male authority with their men,” Becky figure in their lives, while remarks in the film’s opening. underscoring the gravity of “If you’re sticking it out, what has happened to him. “I you’re doing their same senbet you my kids aren’t going tence. He might be paying to go to jail,” she asserts. his debt to society, but I Unfortunately, the statisdon’t think he’s paying as tics aren’t on Becky’s side. dearly as his family is.”

According to the Barens Correctional takes He might be paying his Association, great debt to society, but I the lifetime risk pains to show just don’t think he’s paying as that children of incarcerated how sigdearly as his family is. parents will end nificant up in prison that debt has been estiis. His mated to be between two camera allows the audience and six times the average risk to be privy to the family’s of their peers. Additionally, a weekly phone call from the 1994 survey undertaken by prison. We watch as Josh the Virginia Commission on talks about school and Youth found that 41% of Donnie asks his father to teenagers in this demographic share with him his activities had been suspended from for the week. They hunger school and 31% had run-ins for any knowledge about their with the police. These are father’s day to day life. grim statistics for the family to Although the group overcome, odds that are exchanges letters several compounded by their poverty times a week, the Saturday and by inherited mental phone call is their most intiimpairments. Thirteen year mate connection. “The only old Donnie is currently taking father they have, the only anti-psychotic medication; his husband I have, is a voice on

EX LIBRIS

FORTUNE MEDIA REVIEWS A Sentence of Their Own Director: Edgar Barens Funded By: Open Society’s Institute’s Center on Crime, Communities and Culture U.S., 2001, 64 minutes

As incarceration rates skyrocket across the country, scant attention is paid to the families who are left behind, the countless children and spouses who are left to serve, in the words of director Edgar Barens, A Sentence of Their Own. In this important documentary, Barens chronicles the experience of one Georgia family as they struggle to maintain connections with their husband and father, Alan, who is incarcerated over one thousand miles away in New Hampshire. For sixty riveting minutes, the viewer watches as the young family negotiates the second year of his incarceration – keeping in touch via letters, phone calls and a yearly trip up north – as tightening finances threaten to cut off even these tenuous ties.

There are currently 1.5 million children in the United States who have a parent in prison. A Sentence of Their Own introduces the viewer to two of them, Donnie and Josh, preteens who live in a Georgia trailer park with their mother, Becky. The first half of the film is spent acclimating the viewer to the family’s poverty and the extreme measures that they take to remain connected to Alan.

Becky is clearly self-conscious of her home, as she tells the camera, “my trailer park is not a place to bring your friends,” and alludes to a more prosperous time when Alan was working and

Young Josh misses his father.

younger brother Josh has been diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, a condition marked by severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities.

But Becky soldiers on, and the second half of the film follows her and her children as they make their annual 1060 mile pilgrimage to New Hampshire to visit Alan.

The trip is physically, emotionally, and financially taxing. The family will spend three days there, camping by a local lake and rising before dawn to get to the facility by breakfast.

Their spirits are obviously bolstered by the time they get to spend with Alan, but as Becky honestly reflects, “there are times when you don’t want to be bothered by the fact that he’s here. This has been hell.” That trip marked the second summer that Alan spent behind bars. He has seven more years to go.

A Sentence of Their Own does an exceptional job of illuminating an angle often ignored in correctional studies: the effects incarceration on families. Becky, Donnie and Josh are the real story here. Except for his image in pictures, Alan is completely absent from the film. His crime is never revealed on camera. In many ways it’s irrelevant. His family is floundering; the specifics about why will do little to change that fact.

Becky and her children return to Georgia at the film’s conclusion. An eviction notice has been posted on their trailer door; the family is going to have to move in with

relatives until they are able to get back on their feet. The viewer learns through postscripts that finances have necessitated cutting down their phone contact with Alan to thirty minutes a month.

They weren’t able to visit the following summer.

Kristen Kidder

The California Habeas Handbook Review 4.04 Edition

By Kent A. Russell Self-Published, 2004

A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate to a prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he should be released from custody.

Decades ago prisoners could literally file a writ on just about anything – in some extreme cases, inmates even submitted them on toilet paper! But as the years passed, this liberal attitude towards filing was replaced by a gauntlet of specialized forms and unforgiving regulations.

Most of these changes were the result of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) of 1996, a series of laws designed to "deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and provide for an effective death penalty." Among other things, this legislation imposed a limit for all appeals relating to the right to writ of habeas corpus in capital cases and reduced the length of the appeal process by sharply limiting the role of the federal courts.

But help is at hand. For those intrepid sojourners who insist on advancing their post-conviction claims, Kent Russell, famed attorney, author and post-conviction expert, created The California

Habeas Handbook. This easy-to-read publication is designed to help the California prisoner navigate through the maze of state and federal courts created by the AEDPA. The Handbook differs from most law texts in its easy-to-understand format and language. From the onset, Russell explains the AEPDA’s unforgiving one year statute of limitations and details how the so-called “time-bank” actually works.

He emphasizes properly filing federalized and timely claims in order to avoid a procedural default – the litigious end for a vast number of pro per pleadings, the name given for a litigant appears on their own behalf without the assistance of an attorney.

The book is organized in nine chapters. The first explains how the Handbook is intended for unrepresented, non-capital “state” prisoners challenging a conviction or sentence. Chapters two through five offer a crash course on state and federal habeas corpus. Chapters six through eight are arranged as a “How To” guide to overcome state and federal barriers to relief.

Other notable features include a “Habeas Claims Table,” that contains 136 winning issues. This index enables one to quickly identify what constitutional principles apply to a case and which United States Supreme Court cases to cite and research.

Additionally, Russell’s “Habeas Hints” column, which appears quarterly in Prison Legal News, has been incorporated into the text as well.

Obtaining relief from the courts is often a lesson in futility, yet the California Habeas Handbook is an invaluable guide to those who wish to try. From the initial federal habeas petition all the way to the United States Supreme Court’s petition for

writ of certiorari (a decision by the court to hear an appeal from a lower court), Russell explains - in layman’s terms how it all works. However, while this text is clearly in a class by itself, one should always research one’s claims as thoroughly as possible.

To order, send $29.99 (inmate price, others should add $5 for shipping and handling) to Kent A. Russell, California Habeas Handbook, 2299 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115.

Eugene Alexander Dey

Prison Stories

By Seth “Soul Man” Ferranti Published By: Gorilla Convict Publications, 2004

Seth “Soul Man” Ferranti serves up hardcore convict life in a story as lethal as the death penalty in his first book, Prison Stories, currently available from Gorilla Convict Publications. No stranger to the system, Ferranti was arrested in 1993 after faking his own suicide and spending two years as a fugitive on the US Marshal’s “Most Wanted” list. A first-time, non-violent offender, he has currently served 12 years of his 25year mandatory minimum sentence for an LSD “drug kingpin” conviction.

In Prison Stories Ferranti brings to life to a world that few have access to: the tough, day-to-day realities of daily life in prisons across the country. The novel’s main character, Guero (Spanish slang for “white boy”), provides the reader with an unrestricted glimpse of his interactions “behind the wall.” It is an environment where displaced souls form brotherly bonds and notions of honor strain the decisions of men caught in an all-or-nothing environment. The reader learns quickly that in prison mistakes bring attention, dis-

trust is ingrained in everyone and the littlest things can get you killed. It’s clear that Ferranti applies a similar brand of stoicism to his own life, as he explains in a 1998 interview for Rolling Stone magazine: “most predators are bullies. They prey on weak people. So you can’t look weak. You just have to be assertive with people.

Assertive but polite.” This is a philosophy that he seems to have transposed onto his fictional alter-ego.

Prison Stories opens as Guero begins a lengthy sentence in federal custody and the ensuing chapters depict, in Ferranti’s trademark grit, his struggle to maintain his humanity as a convict.

The uncertainty of environment, the power and security of the prison hierarchy and the anguish when “normal” values are tested in an environment of treachery and deceit are felt in this tale of blood and bones survival.

Prison Stories transports the reader to a world surrounded by steel and concrete, bringing a level of realism seldom found in novels or in television programs like “Oz.” The reader is able to witness Guero’s struggle to overcome his demons and achieve even while surrounded by people motivated by mayhem, corruption and greed. The pages of this book represent the experience of many individuals.

Prison Stories is a must read for anyone interested in the reality of incarceration.

To order, send $18.95 to Gorilla Convict Publications P.O. Box 492, St. Peters, MO 63376. For more information, visit gorillaconvict.com

F o r t u n e N e w s | Summer 2005 | 2 5

UNNECESSARY SHACKLES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

essential factors for an optimal pregnancy and healthy baby. In addition, adequate gynecological services should be provided for every female inmate. Evidence indicates that women in prison are particularly vulnerable to many negative health outcomes, indicating the need for specialized treatment.

A closer look at the legislation Policy mandates that women prisoners who are pregnant should be managed in a sensitive manner that takes into account their particular needs and risks while optimizing the well-being of the baby. Theoretically, women are supposed to have 24 hour access to obstetric services, have an individual health care plan, counseling and support available, and are encouraged to participate in antenatal and parenting programs. It is also in the guidelines to make sure women have access to drug treatment and methadone programs.

However, the practice of shackling prisoners in labor is surprisingly common.

Twenty-one state corrections departments, along with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, have policies that expressly allow restraints during labor.

Paradoxically, the practice of shackling is defended by the Department of Corrections, despite the fact that there is no known record of an escape or assault by a prisoner giving birth. There are even policies that require comatose and brain-dead inmates to be shackled and guarded at all times.

But these political tides may be changing. California recently passed legislation that bans shackling female

prisons during labor and delivery. California Bill A.B. 478 makes it illegal to deny inmates prenatal and postpartum care, including access to vitamins and a basic dental cleaning, and bans the shackling of women during labor, delivery and recovery. This legislative change stems from the United Nations guidelines for treatment of prisoners, which (until recently) California had not been following. In Massachusetts, the policy of the correctional authorities provides that during a women’s second and third trimester, pregnant inmates are to be transported to the hospital only in handcuffs and the policy prohibits the use of restraints on inmates in hospitals in active labor unless they are disruptive.

These states have guided the way for policies that are sensitive to the health needs of pregnant women, whereas traditional public policy has ignored the context of women’s lives in sentencing policies and in treatment while incarcerated.

Where do we go from here?

It is crucial to understand and meet the growing needs of incarcerated pregnant women. Ideally, restraints should be used only when they are required as a precaution against escape or to prevent an inmate from injuring herself or other people.

Polices should prohibit restraints on pregnant women during transport and in the hospital. Restraining individuals during labor and delivery is unnecessary, inhumane and can endanger the health of the baby. Hopefully magnifying this issue will facilitate discussion and progressive reform.

It is often too easy to criticize the shortcomings of the prison health system and throw our hands in the air with frustration. To further

2 6 | F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006

this point, two exploratory studies have found conflicting results regarding birth outcomes of incarcerated women. One study found that at least a quarter of the infants born to inmates had very poor birth outcomes, and the infants required stays in neonatal units or died shortly after birth. In contrast, other studies suggest that prisons may have a somewhat protective effect on birth outcomes, with comparable or greater birth weights due to the consistent availability of food.

Incarceration has also been shown to improve pregnancy outcomes by facilitating the cessation of drug use, adoption of healthy lifestyles, and receipt of adequate prenatal care. These findings suggest that the prison health care system can be used as a window of opportunity to initiate treatment and provide adequate prenatal care to ensure that incarcerated women have healthy pregnancies. Prenatal care should be integrated with drug and mental health counseling if necessary, and extra efforts should exist to provide women with parenting classes and social support networks. Progressive policymakers and advocates who recognize that the prison health care system is an opportunity to improve the health of both mother and child should reevaluate restrictive policies that yield unnecessary and inhumane treatment of pregnant women.

Zoë K. Harris is expecting her MPH in May 2006 from the Yale School of Public Health.

She can be reached at: zoe.harris@yale.edu

KEY REFERENCES: Amnesty International.

(1999) United States of America: "Not Part of My Sentence" - Violations of the Human Rights of Women In Custody, AI Index AMR 51/19/99.

Barkauskas VH, Low LK Pimlott S. Health outcomes of incarcerated pregnant women and their infants in a community-based program.

(2002) Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. Vol 47(5) Beyrer C, Mair JS, Zambrano J. (2005) From the Inside Out: Talking to Incarcerated Women About Health Care A SURVEY OF INCARCERATED WOMEN IN D.C. JAIL FACILITIES. Bureau of Justice. (2005) Prisoners in 2004. BOJ Documents.

Kyei-Aboagye K, Vragovic O, Chong D. (2000) Birth Outcome in Incarcerated, High-Risk Pregnant Women.

Obstetric and Gynecological Survey. 55(11):682-684.

Fogel CI, Harris BG. (1986) Expecting in prison: preparing for birth under conditions of stress. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs.

15:454-457 Liptak L. Prisons Often Shackle Pregnant Inmates in Labor. The New York Times. March 2, 2006.

Martin SL. Rieger RH, Kupper LL, Meyer RE, Bahjat FQ. (1997) The effect of incarceration during pregnancy on birth outcomes. Public Health Reports. V 112:340-6.

FORTUNE NEWS READERSHIP SURVEY Please take a moment to fill out the following survey by using the envelope enclosed in the issue. If an envelope is not provided, you can mail the survey to the address at the bottom of the form.

•••••

1. We want to know more about our readership base. Please let us know if you are (please circle all that apply): Fortune Donor

Fortune Volunteer

Currently Incarcerated

Formerly Incarcerated

2. How long have you been reading the Fortune News ?

First Issue

1-3 years

3-5 years

5-10 years

10+ years

3. How many people do you share your issue of Fortune News with?

1 person

3-5 people

5+ people

I don’t share my issues

4. Is the Fortune News in your prison library?

Yes, it is

No, it isn’t

5. Why do you read the Fortune News ? Please rank 1-3 in order of importance to you. _______To learn more about The Fortune Society. _______To read stories written by prisoners. _______To learn more about criminal justice issues across the country.

6. What is your favorite section of the Fortune News ? Please rank 1-7 in order of interest. _______Around the Nation (news round-up) _______Derrick’s View (a column written by a New York State Prisoner) _______Eye on Fortune (descriptions of The Fortune Society’s recent events) _______The Prison Diaries (a column that describes life on the inside) _______Media Reviews (book and film reviews about criminal justice topics) _______Theme-related articles specific to individual issues _______Editorials 7. The Fortune News has grown over the years and is currently 28 pages. How do you feel about the length of the magazine? Please circle your preference.

Too long

Too short

Just right

8. The Fortune News has a diverse list of contributors in each issue. What kind of articles interest you more? Please circle your preference.

Articles written by prisoners

Articles written by industry experts (academics/service providers)

9. Is there anything else that you want to tell us about the Fortune News ? Please write it in the space below:

Thank You For Your Imput!

Please mail survey to: Fortune News Survey • Attn: Kristen Kidder • 53 W. 23rd Street, 8th Floor • New York, NY 10010

F o r t u n e N e w s | Spring 2006 | 2 7

IN THE SUMMER ISSUE:

PRISONERS HELPING PRISONERS Should prisons promote or require programs that enable inmates to give back to the community?

What would these programs look like? Should they be based on the “scared straight” model or something else entirely? Do programs like this exist in your institutions now? If you could create such a program, what would it look like? How do you think it would influence the re-entry process? How would adopting this sort of model change the way Americans view the corrections system?

Please send us your stories, articles or artwork.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 12TH

CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE FORTUNE SOCIETY Illustration by David Brum

Your contributions go directly to printing Fortune News, buying books and other educational materials, providing housing, reuniting families, assisting clients in finding jobs, and other critical services for former prisoners.

Help us build lives and change minds.

Please use the enclosed reply envelope to send a contribution to

The Fortune Society.

ATTENTION PRISONERS Fortune News subscriptions are FREE to all prisoners. Subscriptions must be renewed every two years and/or when you are transferred.

Please allow four to six weeks for processing of subscription request.

To subscribe, fill out the form below and return to: Fortune News Subscriptions, c/o The Fortune Society, 53 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010 *****PLEASE FILL IN ALL INFORMATION LEGIBLY ****

FortuneNews 53 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10010

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID New York, NY

PRISONER SUBSCRIPTION FORM PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY First Name: Last Name: Inmate ID Number: Correctional Facility: Address: City:

State:

Zip:

Renewal/Transfer or New Subscription (Please circle one.)