For most prisoners, communication with the outside world is a highlight of the day. Whether it's a phone call to a loved one, a letter at mail time, or an 'email' (using JPay.com) in your inbox, it means a brief touch with the outside world and often a way to transport oneself mentally from the confines of these fences.
Shameless plug: If you'd like to write the author of this blog (even to comment on the blog contents), you may do so at:
Bryan Noonan #739416
Lakeland Correctional Facility
141 First Street
Coldwater, MI 49036
(Be sure to check the author's profile on this blog to ensure this is the most recent address.)
While technology advances in the free world at a quick pace, technology in prison is decades behind. Prisoners are able to buy MP3 players, but the price of an 8GB, Chinese-made player is over $100! the cost of songs is $1.50 per song. Color tv's only became available to Michigan prisoners around five years ago. Email, by way of JPay.com, has been available for about two years. However, prisoners have no access to online education (often free), even through an Intranet. Although this is apparently changing soon, research in the law libraries is still done all on (often outdated) books. Prisoners still use typewriters, although small laptops without Internet capabilities have been available in the free world for years.
While many people in the free world are able to call anywhere in the US and 60+ other countries for the low rate of $9.99 per month, with unlimited minutes using VOIP, prisoners are paying over $0.23/minute for debit calls, and their loved ones over $0.25/minute for collect calls.
The prices for snack food items and cosmetics has steadily risen, often at a rate of over 10% per increase, without any increases in wages paid to working prisoners. The last increase was over 20 years ago! Most prisoners make an average of $0.84/day (yes, that's per day!). Hardly enough to pay for the necessities such as soap, deodorant and shampoo, let alone the high prices of phone calls and such.
You might be surprised that Michigan prisoners are paid at all, but while other states offer Good Time (time off sentences for good behavior), Michigan has no such incentive. The high cost of incarceration is laid heavily on the backs of the prisoner's families, most of whom are counted among the poorest of our society. Whether or not you believe Michigan prisoners should bear the entire burden of their incarceration, the fact is the prisoner's loved ones often carry much of the financial burden.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Taser Use in Michigan Prisons
In the last couple of years Michigan decided to bring tasers into its prisons, allegedly to provide additional protection to the staff members and corrections officers during altercations. While it sounds good on its face, the introduction of tasers into Michigan prisons has created some controversy because of the potential for abuse.
Tasers do have potential to provide additional protection for the staff and officers during altercations, involving both inmate on inmate, and inmate on staff assaults. Proper training and following of protocol can reduce the abuse of these tools. However, the policies set for proper usage are exempt from public examination so we cannot know what the standards are. Additionally, the MDOC has a track record of covering for their own ,so abuse that does occur is unlikely to be corrected, or disciplined. There is a significant lack of accountability.
I personally have observed tasers being used to break up a fight between two inmates with nothing more than a one-second warning before being discharged into an inmate. Hardly enough time for a response by the inmate.
There is little evidence that the use of tasers has reduced the rate of injury to either inmates or staff during altercations and recent data published by MI-Cure http://www.mi-cure.org/node/1 seems to indicate that the use of tasers has made no difference at all.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of all is that the state of Michigan signed a contract for inmate phone services that more than doubled the per-minute rate of phone calls for inmates and their families specifically to include a surcharge to pay for the tasers and other 'tactical gear' for corrections officers. This was despite a Michigan law that prohibited the use of 'surcharges' on inmate phone rates, a law the MDOC apparently believes themselves to be above.
According to my own observations, taser use is much more prevalent in the higher security level prisons. It was nearly a weekly occurrence in the level four prison I was housed in, but since coming to a lower level (level II) I am aware of only a few uses in the nine months I've been here thus far.
I'm not entirely opposed to tasers being used in prisons, but there needs to be more transparency and accountability, and the MDOC needs to bear the burden of the cost, not pile it on the backs of inmates and their families. Phone calls are an essential part of maintaining a connection with family and the community which is proven to reduce the rate of recidivism. The higher costs of phone calls has a significant impact on a prisoner's ability to stay in touch.
Tasers do have potential to provide additional protection for the staff and officers during altercations, involving both inmate on inmate, and inmate on staff assaults. Proper training and following of protocol can reduce the abuse of these tools. However, the policies set for proper usage are exempt from public examination so we cannot know what the standards are. Additionally, the MDOC has a track record of covering for their own ,so abuse that does occur is unlikely to be corrected, or disciplined. There is a significant lack of accountability.
I personally have observed tasers being used to break up a fight between two inmates with nothing more than a one-second warning before being discharged into an inmate. Hardly enough time for a response by the inmate.
There is little evidence that the use of tasers has reduced the rate of injury to either inmates or staff during altercations and recent data published by MI-Cure http://www.mi-cure.org/node/1 seems to indicate that the use of tasers has made no difference at all.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of all is that the state of Michigan signed a contract for inmate phone services that more than doubled the per-minute rate of phone calls for inmates and their families specifically to include a surcharge to pay for the tasers and other 'tactical gear' for corrections officers. This was despite a Michigan law that prohibited the use of 'surcharges' on inmate phone rates, a law the MDOC apparently believes themselves to be above.
According to my own observations, taser use is much more prevalent in the higher security level prisons. It was nearly a weekly occurrence in the level four prison I was housed in, but since coming to a lower level (level II) I am aware of only a few uses in the nine months I've been here thus far.
I'm not entirely opposed to tasers being used in prisons, but there needs to be more transparency and accountability, and the MDOC needs to bear the burden of the cost, not pile it on the backs of inmates and their families. Phone calls are an essential part of maintaining a connection with family and the community which is proven to reduce the rate of recidivism. The higher costs of phone calls has a significant impact on a prisoner's ability to stay in touch.
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