FW: [ai news updates] Digest Number 1981
Dianne Tramutola-Lawson
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Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2016 2:05 AM
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Subject: [ai news updates] Digest Number 1981
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Digest #1981
U.S. Prison by "law_union_news" law_union_news
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US Prison by "law_union_news" law_union_news
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1.1
U.S. Prison
Mon Dec 5, 2016 12:04 pm (EST) . Posted by:
"law_union_news" law_union_news
US Jail Inmates Find 'Humanity' Through Acting Last Updated: November 30, 2016 6:55 PM
Bernard Shusman http://www.voanews.com/author/4352.html
Prison Inmates Find 'Humanity' through Acting http://www.voanews.com/a/pirson-inmates-find-humanity-through-acting/3618454.html
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NEW YORK — In a Spartan gymnasium in a Rikers Island jail in New York, seven female inmates are warming up for a performance that combines dance and poetry. Ranging in age from their teens to their 40s and wearing jail garb, they display some nervous jitters.
But they have studied with the best. Professionals from one of the most renowned acting studios in America, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, have trained the performers, working four hours a week for 24 weeks. During that time, the inmates developed the piece they are going to perform, called "The Compassion Project."
How renowned is the Stella Adler Studio? Since it was established in 1949, it has trained such stars as Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert De Niro, Salma Hayek and Mark Ruffalo.
The studio was founded on the premise that the growth of an actor parallels her/his growth as a human being, which just might have some bearing at the Rikers complex. The jail sits on an island in the East River, between Queens and the Bronx boroughs of New York City. A high barbed-wire-topped fence surrounds the island.
Most of the 10,000 inmates in Rikers' 10 jails are short timers, with less than a year left to serve. The vast majority are very poor, and unable to make bail on mainly low-level offenses.
Restoring humanity
As the performers nervously prepare to go out on the gym floor, the audience is encouraging. About 50 fellow inmates, plus corrections officials and invited guests, are signaling their anticipation with cheers, applause and foot stomping.
The theater pieces combine movement and poetry. The poems, written by the inmate-actors, are used instead of normal dialogue — expressing the very idea of compassion and understanding between people.
Director Joanne Edelmann says they are a reflection "of the thought, the poetry, the frustration and the never-ending struggle to see people, all people, no matter where they reside, with compassion and understanding."
The 45-minute program goes off without a hitch. And, as each performer takes her individual bow, the applause is deafening.
Edelmann is moved to tears.
"The performance so moved 20 of the inmates in the audience that they came forward and volunteered for future productions," she said.
Pastor Johnson recites “My Continuing Passion” before an audience of Stella Adler Studio of Acting actors and inmates at Rikers Island, New York.
Tommy Demenkoff, director of outreach for the studio, says what is going on at Rikers is a model of social engagement.
"They lose a lot of humanity when they come to jail," Demenkoff said. "We are allowed to come in and reinvigorate that humanity, bring back an opportunity, allowing the inmate to reclaim part of themselves that were left behind or were told not to tap into anymore."
Those involved in the programs report there is a clear uptick in attitude and overall improvement in jail atmosphere. And, in the case of Stella Adler's program at Rikers, it is designed to carry over after release from prison. Several former inmates now work with the Adler program, which is currently in six Rikers facilities and conducts eight different programs weekly.
The programs are funded primarily by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Dream almost fulfilled
Inmate and performer Deanna Rhett understands the reinvigoration of humanity, and hope. Her dream includes taking advantage of a Stella Adler scholarship.
"I'd like to write," she said. "I want to improve my writing skills. I definitely have hope for the future."
Deanna wrote the following and performed it onstage:
My continuing passion:
Is to try to be the best that I can be,
Is to not throw my authority around just because I can,
Is to have everyone love one another unconditionally,
And to let the past be the past, and enjoy the now!
The inmates’ Compassion Project program was introduced by actress Pauletta Washington, the wife of actor Denzel Washington. Washington is very involved in the Stella Adler-Rikers program, which she says is aimed at inmates like Rhett.
"It is giving them an identity,” Washington said. “It is giving them a road map that they could possibly take when they get out of jail, to come out with hope."
http://www.voanews.com/a/pirson-inmates-find-humanity-through-acting/3617771.html http://www.voanews.com/a/pirson-inmates-find-humanity-through-acting/3617771.html
Mon Dec 5, 2016 12:28 pm (EST) . Posted by:
Texas AG: Sanctuary Cities Ignore the Rule of Law
AP File Photo/Susan Walsh
by Breitbart Texas3 Dec 2016
Editor’s Note: This Op-Ed was written and submitted to Breitbart Texas by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Politics has a nasty habit of trumping good policy. In the case of so-called sanctuary cities, it also manages to overwhelm our otherwise well-honed commitment to the rule of law.
Next year, Travis County will welcome a new sheriff, Sally Hernandez, into office. The sheriff-elect has taken a careless stance on immigration in that she has fervently and publically rebuked her predecessor’s policy of cooperating with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, when it requested that the sheriff’s office hold inmates so that they might be removed from the country.
Were we to take the sheriff-elect’s campaign promises at face value, Austin would be the first Texas municipality to fully qualify as a “sanctuary city.”
The sheriff-elect defends her radical departure of existing law by attempting to wrap immigration enforcement in a swath of social justice causes. She doesn’t think, for instance, that “you solve the criminal justice process by deporting them.” Likewise, she calls ICE’s policies “discriminatory” and has urged for a more “progressive” approach to “treat everybody fairly and equally.”
Never mind that ICE’s current deportation standards originated in the Obama Administration which, at least since 2011, has chiefly focused its enforcement effort at undocumented immigrants convicted of the most violent and heinous crimes.
Popular attacks aside, the government has little interest in breaking up families; nor do they seek to deport victims who bring incidents of misconduct to the attention of authorities.
Hernandez’s reasoning is one of ideology, not facts. It advances a narrative that lauds the appearance of compassion towards immigrants but never truly confronts the policy’s substance or how non-compliance can hurt the very audience that sanctuary cities are said to help.
Had Hernandez done so, she would have realized that sanctuary cities are the policy equivalent of a dead end. Nothing moves forward. Not public safety. Not the rule of law. Certainly not the men, women, and children who thirst for the American Dream but have had the forbearance to pursue it through appropriate means.
Indeed, our nation enjoys a proud history of lawful immigration. You might even call it our country’s cultural backbone. And you would be hard pressed to find a constituency on either side of the political aisle who wants that tradition to stop.
Sanctuary cities, however, implicate different concerns.
Exit polls in the last presidential race showed that President-elect Trump won a higher percentage of the Hispanic vote than the Republican Party’s two previous nominees. He secured that margin even though the experts had anticipated that his rhetoric against sanctuary cities and illegal immigration would hobble him in the Hispanic community.
The results are hardly a surprise when you actually take the time to learn about what matters to voters. According to that same exit poll, voters understood that lawlessness hurts immigrants who seek to enter the country legally since it makes it more difficult, more expensive, and more time-consuming to navigate the process.
The United States is a generous nation, but policymakers are unlikely to widen the entranceway if the halls are already crowded.
In addition, by cutting holes into the federal government’s enforcement fabric, sanctuary cities imperil public safety. Dangerous criminal elements now know that if deported, they have a safe place to land upon reentry—places like Denver, Seattle, New York City, Philadelphia, Austin.
“Kate’s Law,” named for murder victim Kate Steinle, mandates prison terms for those with multiple deportations and is a response to San Francisco’s sanctuary city policies, which fails to provide for the protection of its citizens.
Even here in Texas, where sanctuary cities have yet to gain full traction, residents have suffered from repeat offenders able to exploit holes in our immigration laws. Nicodemo Coria-Gonzalez was deported multiple times, only to return and commit a series of rapes in the Austin area. He’s a prime example of the criminal element which will be emboldened by the sheriff-elect’s renegade policies.
We cannot allow individuals to avoid justice and accountability. We cannot allow sanctuary
cities to harbor these criminals. We cannot allow city officials to skirt the law at their whim.
This upcoming session, the Texas Legislature will make ending sanctuary cities a top priority. Already, several bills have been filed to that effect, including S.B. 4, which would allow law enforcement to investigate a suspect’s immigration status as well as demand that municipalities implement immigration laws already on the books.
Governor Greg Abbott has endorsed the sentiment behind these efforts, promising “to sign a law that bans sanctuary cities.” He also tweeted, “I’ve already issued an order cutting funding to sanctuary cities” in the meantime.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has echoed with his own support: “No city in Texas should be allowed to ignore the law. We will end this practice once and for all this session.”
Sanctuary cities argue for keeping illegal immigrant families together, yet they ignore that Kate Steinle’s family is forever shattered. Americans overwhelmingly understand that one of our first duties as a nation is to protect our citizens. It is time that the sheriff-elect and other local officials in Texas learn the same lesson.
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/12/03/texas-ag-sanctuary-cities-ignore-rule-law/
Mon Dec 5, 2016 12:44 pm (EST) . Posted by:
From "The Sentencing Project" -----
Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:08:44 +0000
Subject: The Election is Over; Mass Incarceration is Not
The Sentencing Project has been at the forefront of changing the way Americans think about criminal justice.
People in growing numbers all across the political spectrum have been rethinking the massive costs and limited benefits of incarcerating 2.2 million people, and are increasingly aware of the destructive and disproportionate effects of mass incarceration on communities of color.
This past year alone our research and advocacy on behalf of sentencing reform, racial justice and alternatives to incarceration was covered by over 700 newspapers, radio and TV stations and prominent websites, and cited regularly by policymakers and political candidates across the country.
But we have quite a way to go before we can celebrate a criminal justice system that puts prevention ahead of punishment, uses incarceration as a last resort and is fair for everyone.
Here is a telling example. A few weeks ago 130 million Americans went to the polls to select our next President. Yet research published by The Sentencing Project showed that 6.1 million Americans were unable to cast a ballot because of a felony conviction, including one in 13 African Americans of voting age.
We recognize that the new Administration in Washington may present challenges for our work, but we will continue to push the envelope, as we have for 30 years. In 2017, with your support, we will:
Push for legislation in Congress that addresses the unjust outcomes produced by mandatory sentencing policies Analyze the implications of the growing population of life-sentenced prisoners, as well as “virtual lifers” who may never be granted an opportunity for parole Support the work of local advocates to lower state prison populations and eliminate racial disparities
Regards,
Marc Mauer
The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.
http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lhIc8Tz4DFaYOgkYwpAbYQPWhAr5lfYP http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xaFJEpdeX0%2FAAbOb4APREQPWhAr5lfYP
The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
sentencingproject.org http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lRtma4yb9kNZ2j7J1VuGYQPWhAr5lfYP
202.628.0871
http://www.salsalabs.com/?email
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Bonjour,
Au nom de l'honorable Denis Lebel, député de Lac-Saint-Jean, nous accusons réception de votre correspondance.
Soyez assuré(e) que votre correspondance sera traitée avec considération.
Sincères salutations,
L’équipe de l’honorable Denis Lebel, député
----------------------------------------------------------
Greetings,
On behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean, we wish to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence.
Please be assured that your correspondence will receive careful consideration.
Best regards,
The team of Honourable Denis Lebel, Member of Parliament
Mon Dec 5, 2016 12:46 pm (EST) . Posted by:
From "The Sentencing Project" -----
Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:08:44 +0000
Subject: The Election is Over; Mass Incarceration is Not
The Sentencing Project has been at the forefront of changing the way Americans think about criminal justice.
People in growing numbers all across the political spectrum have been rethinking the massive costs and limited benefits of incarcerating 2.2 million people, and are increasingly aware of the destructive and disproportionate effects of mass incarceration on communities of color.
This past year alone our research and advocacy on behalf of sentencing reform, racial justice and alternatives to incarceration was covered by over 700 newspapers, radio and TV stations and prominent websites, and cited regularly by policymakers and political candidates across the country.
But we have quite a way to go before we can celebrate a criminal justice system that puts prevention ahead of punishment, uses incarceration as a last resort and is fair for everyone.
Here is a telling example. A few weeks ago 130 million Americans went to the polls to select our next President. Yet research published by The Sentencing Project showed that 6.1 million Americans were unable to cast a ballot because of a felony conviction, including one in 13 African Americans of voting age.
We recognize that the new Administration in Washington may present challenges for our work, but we will continue to push the envelope, as we have for 30 years. In 2017, with your support, we will:
Push for legislation in Congress that addresses the unjust outcomes produced by mandatory sentencing policies Analyze the implications of the growing population of life-sentenced prisoners, as well as “virtual lifers” who may never be granted an opportunity for parole Support the work of local advocates to lower state prison populations and eliminate racial disparities
Regards,
Marc Mauer
The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.
http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lhIc8Tz4DFaYOgkYwpAbYQPWhAr5lfYP http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xaFJEpdeX0%2FAAbOb4APREQPWhAr5lfYP
The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
sentencingproject.org http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lRtma4yb9kNZ2j7J1VuGYQPWhAr5lfYP
202.628.0871
http://www.salsalabs.com/?email
====================================================================
Bonjour,
Au nom de l'honorable Denis Lebel, député de Lac-Saint-Jean, nous accusons réception de votre correspondance.
Soyez assuré(e) que votre correspondance sera traitée avec considération.
Sincères salutations,
L’équipe de l’honorable Denis Lebel, député
----------------------------------------------------------
Greetings,
On behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean, we wish to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence.
Please be assured that your correspondence will receive careful consideration.
Best regards,
The team of Honourable Denis Lebel, Member of Parliament
4.1
US Prison
Mon Dec 5, 2016 12:45 pm (EST) . Posted by:
"law_union_news" law_union_news
Guantánamo Bay prisoner released for resettlement in Cape Verde Yemeni Shawqi Awad Balzuhair held without trial since October 2002 Pentagon says release leaves 59 prisoners at US base in Cuba
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/guantanamo-bay-prisoner-release-cape-verde#img-1 Guards walk within the Camp Delta military-run prison, at the Guantánamo Bay base in Cuba. Photograph: Brennan Linsley/AP Associated Press in Miami
Sunday 4 December 2016 14.49
A prisoner from Yemen at the Guantánamo Bay https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/guantanamo-bay detention center has been released and sent to the West African country of Cape Verde for resettlement.
US accused of gross incompetence in cases of eight Afghans at Guantánamo
Researchers in Afghanistan say US made ‘obvious’ mistakes that harmed detainees and helped fuel country’s insurgency amid 15-year war
Read more
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/02/guantanamo-bay-afghanistan-detainees-gross-incompetence
The Pentagon said the release of Shawqi Awad Balzuhair, announced on Sunday, lowered the number of prisoners held at the US base in Cuba to 59. Twenty of those remaining have been approved for release.
The Obama administration’s stated aim to close Guantánamo looks sure to fail, as Barack Obama’s presidency comes to an end.
The incoming Trump administration is set to include opponents of closing the base https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/18/jeff-sessions-attorney-general-trump-cabinet, including President-elect Donald Trump and his nominee for CIA director, the Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo.
Balzuhair had been held at Guantánamo without charge since October 2002, following his capture along with several other suspected al-Qaida militants in Karachi, Pakistan.
A US government review board determined he was a “low-level militant” and approved his release in 2016.
The US does not send prisoners back to Yemen because of the civil war there, and therefore had to find another country to accept Balzuhair. Cape Verde https://www.theguardian.com/world/cape-verde accepted another prisoner in 2010.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/guantanamo-bay-prisoner-release-cape-verde https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/guantanamo-bay-prisoner-release-cape-verde
A Guide For Canadians Imprisoned Abroad
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/publications/imprisonment-emprisonnement-eng
Registration of Canadians Abroad
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/register
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963
http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf
International Transfer of Offenders Application
http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/frmlrs/pdf/0308E.pdf
DATABASE of Canadians/Foreigners Detained in U.S.
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/aicap-aifap/database
Civil Rights for Offender Transfers
http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/transferofoffenders/index.html
Bill C-15: International Transfer of Offenders Act
May 13, 2004
http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/bills_ls.asp?Parl=37&Ses=3&ls=c15
Prison lottery: Canadian inmates in U.S. often barred from transferring home
http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2016/06/23/prison-lottery-canadian-inmates-in-u-s-often-barred-from-transferring-home.html
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