Thousands more suspects face drug test

* Assessment for treatment for all who test positive
* Thresholds for illegal possession may be raised

UK: All suspects arrested for drug-related crime - currently 240,000 a year - are to be tested for heroin, cocaine and crack by the police under a scheme starting today and those whose results are positive will be required to undergo a compulsory assessment for treatment.

This expansion in compulsory drug testing comes as ministers are considering specific thresholds for the personal possession of different drugs. Carry more and the police will assume you are a dealer.

Home Office officials said last night that the government was "minded to set" the limits at 4ozs of cannabis resin, half a kilo of cannabis leaf, 10 ecstasy tablets, or 7g of heroin or crack cocaine.

The Home Office estimates that the expansion of the police compulsory testing programme from those who are charged with drug-related crimes to all those arrested for such offences means the numbers tested will rise from 80,000 to more than 240,000 a year. More than 2,200 people entered the drug treatment programme by this route last month.

[Why don't they just admit that the war on drugs is lost? Fuckwits!]

The scheme comes into force today in Manchester, Nottingham and South Yorkshire and will follow in the rest of the country next March. First-time drug using offenders will be tested if they are arrested for "trigger offences" including street robbery, burglary, theft and handling stolen goods.

Those who test positive will be required to attend a drug assessment even if they are not charged. A Home Office spokesman said those who refused to provide a sample or undergo the assessment would face a fine of up to £2,500 or three months in prison. The courts are also able to deny bail to someone who refuses assessment or the follow-up treatment and support.

The expansion of the drug intervention programme was announced yesterday by the home secretary, Charles Clarke, in a speech to the national drugs conference in London. It came as Home Office ministers launched a consultation on whether specific limits should be set for the personal possession of heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis.

The draft limits are based on an informal agreement between Nottinghamshire police and the Crown Prosecution Service. They are: heroin: 7g or 10 or more "wraps" containing 0.1g. Crack cocaine: 7g or 10 wraps of 0.1g. Cocaine: 7g or 10 wraps of 1g. Ecstasy: 10 tablets. Amphetamines: 14g or 10 wraps of 1g. Cannabis: resin - 4ozs or 10 individual pieces; leaf - 0.5 kilos or more than 20 "2 x 2" bags.

The police have resisted setting a specific threshold for cannabis, arguing that it would only lead to street dealers carrying around smaller amounts than the prescribed limits.

Opposition politicians said that the draft thresholds were so high they would make the fight against illegal drug use even harder. "A lot of dealers are going to be let off the hook," said the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Alistair Carmichael.

It emerged yesterday that Brixton police in south London intend to arrest anyone caught with even a small amount of cannabis from December 12 in a drive to tackle the growing number of drug dealers on Brixton high street.

Brixton was the first London area to pilot the police policy of cautioning but not arresting people possessing small amounts of cannabis.

By Alan Travis posted 4 December 05

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'

People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Blunkett's Quest, but is he on drugs?

The legislation is expected to introduce a new definition of "possession" of an illegal drug, making it an offence to have a certain amount in the bloodstream. This is likely to prove controversial - not least because some drugs, such as cannabis, can remain in the bloodstream for weeks.

POSSESSION? OR INVASION?

UK: This absolutely preposterous idea/theory of allowing a person/s to be possibly charged with 'possession', if found to have a drug substance within their bloodstream, just goes to prove such hypocrisies which certain hierarchies feel justifies passing legislation, is another blow for democracy!

Related:

Survey shows 11m people have taken drugs
Nearly 4 million people in England and Wales have tried class A drugs - including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms - at least once. The annual British Crime Survey drug findings show that 11 million people, aged between 16 and 59, say they have tried some illegal drug at least once, with 3.5 million saying that they have taken them in the past year.

Prison officers responsible for smuggling into jails
Fresh Home Office research also confirmed the extent of abuse in prisons yesterday, and suggested that prison staff were one route for drugs to get in. The study found that smuggling by uniformed or civilian staff was thought to be "substantially increasing" the availability of heroin and cannabis behind bars.

Prisons: Have a heart at Christmas
As the season of goodwill approaches I'm reminded of how at this time of year one of the main things on the minds of people in prison is food.

Call for reform of prison care for mentally ill
UK: Prisons would be legally obliged to provide specialist treatment and support to mentally ill inmates under Conservative proposals set before MPs.

Teaching role for prison staff urged in report
UK: Prison officers should play a greater role in the education of inmates to prevent reoffending, says an academic report published today. The report marks the first time that uniformed staff, who normally have little involvement in prisoner education, have been consulted at length.

A long stretch
UK: As head of prisons for England and Wales, Martin Narey tried to improve life for people on the inside. One of those inmates was Erwin James, then serving a life sentence. Now, as Narey leaves his job after a career spanning three decades, the two men meet and discuss the many problems still facing Britain's jails.

Plea to release Biggs rejected by ruling-class
UK: Home Secretary Charles Clarke has rejected a plea by Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs to be released from prison on compassionate grounds.

Prisons chief hits at 'gross' overcrowding
Martin Narey, a civil servant who has served every Home Secretary since 1989, highlights statistics showing that thousands of mentally ill inmates and a record number of children now constitute a significant part of the prison population.

Clarke faces a fight over probation overhaul
UK: The home secretary, Charles Clarke, yesterday confirmed his plans to abolish 42 local probation boards and instead create "a vibrant mixed economy" in the management of 200,000 offenders in the community.

The devilish advocate
UK: The devilish advocate John Hirst taught himself law in jail, and has never lost a case against the prison service. Erwin James meets up again with the former 'lifer' who won inmates the right to vote.

Racism still rife in jails, five years after the murder of Zahid Mubarek UK: The prison service will be strongly criticised for continued racial discrimination against ethnic minority inmates by the official report from the Zahid Mubarek inquiry.

UK prisoners should get vote, European court rules
UK: Laws setting out who can and cannot take part in elections are to be rewritten after the European court of human rights today ruled in favour of giving British prisoners the right to vote.

Prison plan 'will cut reoffending'
UK: A network of community prisons to help cut the number of criminals who re-offend has been outlined by Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

Clarke to scrap plan to peg prison numbers
UK: The home secretary, Charles Clarke, has said he is to abandon his predecessor's aspiration of pegging the prison population in England and Wales at 80,000. He will also drop plans to put a legal obligation on the judges' sentencing guidelines council to take the size of the prison population - currently 77,000 and rising - into account when laying down the "going rate" for major crimes.

Crowded jails 'boosting suicides'
UK: The chief inspector of prisons warned that an overcrowding crisis in Britain's jails was leading to an increase in prisoner suicides.

Chief justice calls for new approach to law and order
UK: The retiring [ruling class] lord chief justice, Lord Woolf, made a passionate plea for a new approach to law and order which would see a major shift away from punishment towards the solution of problems which generate crime.

Britain's only prison ship ends up on the beach
UK: The last inmates have departed and a skeleton staff is left guarding Britain's only prison ship - in case anyone is minded to break in rather than out.

Throw away the key
The one profession to get results on recidivism has been sacrificed to Labour's desire to lock up criminals in private prisons.

Judges' misdeeds will remain secret
UK: Judges who are disciplined for bad behaviour will not have the findings against them made public under a complaints regime to be launched next year.

Prisoner total rises 15% in six years
England and Wales are continuing to jail offenders at a higher rate than any other major country in western Europe, it emerged today. New research indicates that the government's use of prison as its main tool of penal policy has increased by 15% since 1999.

CPS drops prosecution over death in custody
UK: The family of Roger Sylvester, who died after being restrained by police officers, yesterday expressed their disappointment at a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute any of the officers involved.

Prisoner's cell death
UK: A prisoner was found hanged in his cell last week, the Home Office said, fuelling criticism over the soaring number of suicides in custody.

Plans for five new 'superprisons'
Recent figures show a total of 75,550 prisoners were held in 139 jails in England and Wales, nudging up the previous record of April 2004 by just six inmates.

Prison has lost its way - report
UK: Bristol prison is suffering wide-ranging problems because of inconsistent management, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has said.

Row over acupuncture for prisoners
UK: The Home Office has responded to criticism over prison inmates who are being offered acupuncture on the NHS in order to relieve stress.

Number of prisoners sent back to jail trebles
UK: The number of prisoners being sent back to jail after release has nearly trebled in the past five years, according to a report published today.

Top judge says crowded prisons cannot break cycle of crime
UK: Reoffending rates after a prison sentence are at an "unacceptably high level" and the failure of the criminal justice system to stop prisoners reoffending should shock the public, England's top judge, [Ruling Class] Lord Woolf, said last week.

All the World's a Prison: History
No doubt many of my readers, even those who are well-educated or widely read, think that the prison -- the place where dark deeds are darkly answered[2] -- is an ancient institution, a barbaric hold-over from barbaric times. In fact, the prison is of relatively recent origin, and this tells us a great deal about the pretentions and realities of modern times, and the wisdom and high degree of development of the ancients.

Decade after inspector left in disgust, report tells of filth
UK: Dirty, mice-infested cells, high levels of self-harm, and widespread bullying over drugs and medications were just some of the damning findings of a report into conditions at Holloway, Britain's largest women's prison.

Most women 'should not be jailed'
Women make up 6% of the prison population in England and Wales. Imprisonment of women should be "virtually abolished", a prison reform group has said.

Youth 'murdered for officers' pleasure'
UK: An Asian teenager was murdered by a white racist after they were placed in the same cell as part of a game to fulfil the "perverted pleasure" of prison officers, a public inquiry heard on Friday.

Deaths in isolation as prison segregation increases
The use of segregation [solitary confinement] of prisoners as punishment has been increasing recently in Australia, the US, and the UK. Segregation can be used for protection or punishment, but in both cases it results in extreme psychological stress. An indication that segregation is being over-used is the appearance of deaths in custody from suicide of those placed in segregation.

Inquest blames jail for overdose death
UK: An inquest jury returned a verdict itemising a catalogue of faults at Styal prison in Cheshire, concluding that the prison's "failure of duty of care" contributed to the death of Sarah Campbell, 18, who took an overdose of tablets on the first day of her three-year sentence.

Put in the way of self-harm in a place intended to protect others
UK: Sarah Campbell, 18, spent the last hours of her life in the segregation unit of Styal prison, Cheshire. "The seg", as those places are referred to, used to be known as "the block", short for punishment block. [ Seg is a bullshit word for Punishment, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Human Rights Abuse and that is State Terror.]

Britain 'sliding into police state'
The home secretary, Charles Clarke, is transforming Britain into a police state, one of the country's former leading anti-terrorist police chiefs [false flag police chiefs] said yesterday.

UK solitary confinement
UK: Segregation units are prisons within prisons - the places where the most unchecked brutality is meted out to prisoners. In recent years conditions in high security segregation units have deteriorated, and the use of long-term segregation as a control mechanism has increased.

Inquiry must root out prison racists
UK: It is difficult to imagine a more brutal murder than that of Zahid Mubarek. The 19-year-old was clubbed to death by his cellmate at Feltham Young Offender Institution in the early hours of 21 March 2000. He was due to be released just a few hours later.

Prison suicides soar as jails hire 'babysitters'
UK: Prison officers are being taken off suicide watch and replaced by unqualified 'babysitters' because the system is overwhelmed by an epidemic of self-harm.

Plan to sell off juvenile jails as job lot
UK: The government is to put out to tender all its dedicated juvenile jails that hold children under 18 in a departure in Whitehall's privatisation programme.

Failure to sack 'racist' prison staff condemned
UK: Two prison officers suspended for racism are still on full pay three years after a stash of Nazi memorabilia, neo-fascist literature and Ku Klux Klan-inspired 'nigger-hunting licences' was found in a police raid on their home.

Report slams 'unjust' jailing of women on remand
UK: Six out of 10 women sent to jail while they await trial are acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence, a report published today reveals. Introducing the report, Lady Kennedy QC calls for a complete review of the use of remand and bail for women saying it is "inhumane and unjust".

Concern as UK prison suicides hit record level
UK: More prisoners took their own lives in English jails in August than in any other month since records began, prison reformers said today.

End of years of despair as Holloway closes its doors
But now Holloway prison in north London - where Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain, was hanged in 1955 - has been earmarked for closure, along with several other women's prisons, which have been hit by a spate of suicides.

How detox and self-help brought suicide jail back from the brink
UK: Six suicides in 12 months made Styal jail notorious and the Prisons Ombudsman criticised the prison and its staff for serious failures. But things are changing.

Belmarsh detainees consider suicide, says freed man
UK: The first of the Muslim detainees released from Belmarsh high security prison after being held on suspicion of terrorism has told the Guardian his fellow prisoners are suffering such severe mental problems that they constantly consider suicide.

Suicides and unrest have soared, admits Home Office
UK:The already overcrowded prison population is set to go on rising and will top 80,000 within the next three years, a senior Home Office civil servant warned yesterday.

England tops the EU in imprisonment
England and Wales jail more offenders per capita than any other European, Union country, according to new figures.

For David Hicks

Sidney Nolan was a great Australian artist, using his talent for political and social comment, rather like a U2/Bono from some past age, when our nation relied upon some poncy British accent for a say on world issues.

While now Telstra relies upon Americans, not much has changed.

Born between the wars, Sidney's era has its similarities to today, lots of war, Middle Eastern occupation. Sidney made a comment which is still awaiting recognition let alone any real action.

Today. Syd, is most famous for the Ned Kelly series, 20+ separate scenes detailing the abstract, life and crimes of Australia's most famous villain. Ned Kelly, was a hero for some, or an uncommon criminal/cop killer to others.

Historians dig deeper, analysing Ned's written work and behaviour and have decided he was just a nutter.

Ned and David Hicks are the same creature, in anyone's eyes, just two of a production line of the same product. David is just a modern day variety, no less hidden and under suspicion, and accused of crimes committed while under persecution.

Kelly's Mum was falsely accused, making parallel situations, wrongfully arrested and imprisoned, along with trumped up charges, David felt the same about Muslims.

All this occurred well before Ned and his brothers had the 'act up campaign' against the British regime, David's decision however was made before he began a (crime spree). Maybe if the Authorities were not so insane, Kelly would have gone back to farming and David today, along with his brothers in arms would not need to defend their values.

Sidney Nolan had his opinion drawn from experience, he had family links with the Kelly gang, and his opinion was clearly explained in artistic representation, a stations of the cross in 27 illustrations. He portrayed everything Australian as scrawny, weedy and ineffectual. In 20+ scenes Kelly's short crime wave is depicted, in child like detail.

We still know all about the Kelly Gang from all points media, so it must be important to us, and even though the mask got only one outing, its centre stage in most paintings and the most prominent feature that stays with the art lover, and still we do not grasp Nolan's point

David's story was even shorter, we have no details, although his picture is always in the news, as a mask, an image only his family once knew. He's alone now uncared for and under conditions none of us would stand for, but we are in no position to argue, nor is he, as we are out of the loop because we are Australians.

The police, in Sidney's pictures, were all managed by British servants, now those who guard detainees are American.

Sidney lined the police up on the canvas to make them look ridiculous, local boys, all standing proudly to attention like our politicians at the opening of parliament awaiting orders from Washington.

Portrayed through child like styles, the playmates are wearing police costumes and fake beards acting out parts, insincere, the parallels are exacting. Nolan could re-release Kelly in an orange jump suit or something, the parody could be hilarious.

The Authorities both past and present do not quite stand vertical, as Art and reality merge, both are a bit disorganised, coalition style, barely keeping up pretences, while the Aus bush in the background has no detail or interest for the world affairs viewer.

Presently identical scenes are played out in our time on TV, concerning David as, agents of another nation make deceptions, in reality America has taken a fellow Australian whilst extradition is between our nations a sovereign right.

For some, the it's the same as demanding that Martin Bryant be imprisoned on the Tasmanian Island. There is good cause to demand extradition as he was our responsibility, some how Australia failed him, or he would not have done this thing.

We could have been responsible from the onset, but from capture there was no reason to release him into the custody of another.

We were in Afghanistan, Australian services were present during the arrest, Australians were a partner after all, and he was one of ours.
.
But do we get a say? Clearly we have no voice at all.

No crime was committed on our soil, Americas or anywhere else, there was no link with terrorism no threat to our nation, while international law was suspended worldwide for the duration, Hicks did not even fight Australians, and now faces trumped up charges, at least Kelly had by capture, committed some felony.

Nolan's point was made in 20 + pictures where Australia features as the Mask. Kelly is not even pictured, the mask and armour are used to represent the Australian self image of the time, it was not about Kelly, it was all about Australia identity.

Australia in the 1800's was well hidden and protected behind British rule, but now honest john is unAustralian, its hard to think of something more true, he should bugger off back to America to be with his mate Murdoch.

In David's eyes Australia hasn't changed much, a country hidden behind a mask of another foreign nation, freely trading independence, American values, with no real identity, with pseudo autonomy, as long as the strings are attached to another nation's apron, all crystal clear except to dim-witted Australians.

60 years on, the Ned Kelly series could become David Hicks except for the Armour and Crime business. David is innocent, he fought for valour, valiantly, it was the coalition who acted with complete disrespect for others independence, all because westerners have very different values.

Osama would feel the same as Nolan but would not share David's views, they would disagree. David gave up on Australia; Ossama is a patriot to Arab lands. For David the decision to reject British/ American Culture was his personal protest. In a brave & selfless act of direct action against the western invasion of Arab lands. David went off in protection of Muslim ideals, in a complete 360 turn around, while Bin Laden has always defended Arab lands 100% without hesitation and has always been a patriot.

The 14 year war in Iraq, war & occupation in Saudi, Palestine added to the list, for David to make up his mind, not brainwashing. But Fears of colonialism, all real were real and are now realised threats, combined and western disregard of Muslim values put David over the edge. It bothered him even though he need not have been concerned, he could have just reneged on Allah instead, but he didn't which made him very unAustralian.

Not a crime at the time I would have said.

Ossama had bigger problems, David had no need to join him, or share beliefs, so there was never any link. David just signed up for the other side, maybe he regrets choosing the Taliban, but lets face it, they were never Terrorist in the true sense of the word or our side would be to.

Ossama is as intelligent and as noble as anyone could hope a leaders to be, honest as the Artic day in mid summer is long even though he is not fighting Russian occupation any longer. Times have changed; he's only fighting America because they took over.

And neither will ever succeed, the pipeline is no closer.

What we fail to understand is that Bin Laden had no choice but to fight for independence and remain Arabian, he is patriotic, but the fight remains the same, a fight we Australians have never felt worth our nation, because we keep giving it away.

Sidney was aware of Australia's unwillingness to grow as a nation and tried a blatant enduring way to explain this fact to pseudo Englishmen, this time we get the chance to listen again, but as pseudo Americans.

If David committed a crime, it was for being unaustralian, something Howard would like to pass through senate as a crime, and he could too. But it should not be retrospective.

Introspective maybe, perhaps it's a choice thing. Would you defend this nation, by attacking women and children without questioning the source of the orders handed down by an authority?

But we do.

Across an entire region, Australian is nothing to be proud of, and is like, American basking in a current & shared sense of shame.

We could leave Muslims including Hicks alone to sort out their own problems while we deal with being led by the nose. Or we could review the known facts regarding our nation's involvement and decide if current directions appear to be crusades, face facts. Hicks and Kelly are just a product of our nations hypocrisy who woke up to it long before I did.

Thankyou for your time.

By Simon Willace posted 17 September 05

Related:

a cowardly disgrace .....
Whilst US lawyers continue their fight to secure the legal and human rights of Australian citizen, David Hicks, his government has quietly reaffirmed its decision to abandon him to his fate.

87 detainees on hunger strike at Guantanamo
A hunger strike at a US detention centre [prison] for terrorism suspects [scapegoats and patsies for resource wars in the Middle East] at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has entered its second month with 87 prisoners refusing food, a military spokesman says.

HUNGER STRIKE AT GUANTANAMO
Detainees [prisoners] at the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are on hunger strike against their indefinite detention, according to human rights lawyers.

All Australians deserve a fair trial
David Hicks will not receive a fair trial in Guantanamo Bay . We must demand that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer get David Hicks back here to face an Australian court:

GetUp! Stand Up! Stand Up For Your Rights!
This government is already rattled. But our work has only just begun. This morning Senator Robert Hill announced that the Government plans to roll back the Senate budget estimates process, which plays a crucial role in exposing government bungles and cover-ups.

David Hicks justice betrayed ......
AUSTRALIA/CUBA/USA: A stated belief of the Liberal Party is: "We believe in a just & humane society in which the importance of the family and the rule of law & justice is maintained."

HICKS: Not a Happy Birthday!
AUSTRALIA/CUBA/US :David Hicks, the Australian imprisoned at the US Base of Guantanamo Bay, will be 30 years old this coming Monday August 7, 2005.

Democrats make cowardly retreat on Guantanamo torture
US: Senator Richard Durbin's sniveling apology Tuesday for his remarks on US torture at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp was entirely predictable, another of the "profiles in cowardice" that the Democratic Party serves up on a regular basis.

HOSTAGES OF THE WAR ON TERROR
Over 17,000 people including minors are now imprisoned by the US as a result of the 'War on Terror'. More than 540 men and minors, including David Hicks remmain imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.

Hicks 'should be an Australian'
Australian David Hicks should have already been returned to Australia instead of being exploited by the US and Australian authorities.

WAR ON TERROR, WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS: AMNESTY
The Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group & the Justice for Hicks & Habib Campaign welcome the statement by Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan, condemning the US Administration for condoning torture and the suppression of 'human rights' in their 'war on terror'.

UN Dialogue among Civilizations
This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

Torture not acceptable on anyone: Community!
Australia: A former chairman of the National Crime Authority has spoken out in favour of torture for John HoWARd and the Neo-Cons no doubt, saying it should be used against terrorists and in domestic criminal situations but not against QC's?

Torture can never be justified
I am forwarding the following statement issued by AMCRAN in regards to a paper: "Not Enough (Official) Torture in the World? The Circumstances in which Torture is Morally Justifiable" written by Professor Mirko Bagaric, Head of Deakin Law School & Julie Clarke, Lecturer, Deakin Law School, in which they justify torture.

Torture okay: propaganda paper
Mean in Black John HoWARd and Pastor Peter Costello with Professor Mirko Bagaric, and fellow Deakin lecturer Julie Clarke, torture okay for them. Question?

Association for the Prevention of Torture
What needs to be done now? All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

CIA defends terror suspect transfers?
Suspected terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killings's resource wars in the Middle East] in US custody have been transferred to third countries for the past 20 years, CIA director Porter Goss told the US Senate armed services committee.

Pentagon chiefs cleared over prisoner abuse?
US: The Pentagon has cleared itself of any high-level responsibility for the abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay because it was the guard dogs that initiated the torture all along.

USA - FEELING THE HEAT FROM INTERNATIONAL FIRE:
It seems the United States of America (The World Watchdog) is dictating and practising double-standards --- a unique law for America and another set of laws for all other countries.

Guantanamo challenge puts off Hicks trial
Australian [scapegoat] suspect David Hicks's 'military trial'?, has been further delayed due to the postponement of a separate legal challenge to the US's legal process for Guantanamo Bay detainees?

Guantanamo guards blinded prisoner: lawyer
UK/CUBA: British permanent resident detained at the US camp for terrorism suspects [scapegoats] in Guantanamo Bay was blinded in one eye following an assault by guards, his lawyer says.

Amnesty slams Govt position on US trial system
Amnesty International has described as "absurd", the Federal Government's continued support for the United States military commission that will try Australian detainee [scapegoat] David Hicks on terrorism allegations.

US judge orders CIA release Guantanamo records
A US federal judge has ordered the CIA to release records regarding the treatment of prisoners detained in Guantanamo Bay and other facilities in the "war on terror" to a civil rights groups.

Hicks lawyer welcomes Guantanamo ruling
Stephen Kenny, the lawyer representing the family of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, has welcomed a US court ruling that military commissions set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay are unconstitutional.

Australia: a presumption of guilt......
KAREN PERCY: Two of Australia's leading barristers have seized on the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, to launch an unprecedented attack on the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock.

Aust Community criticises Govt for 'crimes'!
Australia: The Law Council of Australia is warning that the Federal Government must learn from its mistakes over Guantanamo Bay? Now that's a mistake!

Australian Govt Guilty of Crimes: Community
Australia: The community says federal fascists who allowed the torture of its citizenry including Mamdouh Habib may be arrested when the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal address the War Crimes Indictment set out by the community.

US judge dismisses? Guantanamo legal challenge
A US federal judge has dismissed the cases of seven Guantanamo Bay prisoners who sought to challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention?

US 'landlord' slams! Guantanamo 'law violations'
Cuba has demanded that the United States cease its "criminal conduct" in abusing prisoners held at the base it illegally occupies on Cuba's south-eastern tip, saying procedures at Guantanamo violate international law.

Concern over ramifications of Hicks FOI failure
There are claims that a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will give some countries the opportunity to refuse diplomatic aid to detained Australians.

FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse
In memos over a two year period FBI agents said they witnessed the use of torture techniques, which included the use of dogs, prisoners being shackled to the floor in foetal positions for up to 24 hours, left without food and water, left to defecate upon themselves.

Hicks alleges Guantanamo abuse: report
Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks has reportedly claimed that prisoners at the US run prison camp have been beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed, terrorised by attack dogs, and forced to take drugs.

US lawyer wants inquiry into Hicks trial process
The lawyer defending Australian terror suspect [scapegoat for resource wars] David Hicks has called for an inquiry into whether the military commission hearing the case meets legal standards.

Australia Sells Its Citizens Short
Australian citizens, Mamdouth Habib and David Hicks have been illegally incarcerated in the Guantanamo Bay facility established by the US military as part of the War on Terror.

Downer won't press US for 'torture' report?
The Australian Government says it has tried and failed so far to get a copy of a report by the International Red Cross which claims psychological and physical coercion of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba?

UK minister criticises US over Guantanamo!
UK: Washington's policy on the legal status of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba is unacceptable, a senior British minister said.

FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse
In memos over a two year period FBI agents said they witnessed the use of torture techniques, which included the use of dogs, prisoners being shackled to the floor in foetal positions for up to 24 hours, left without food and water, left to defecate upon themselves.

Lawyers hail 'unlawful' ruling in Guantanamo trial
Human rights groups and lawyers for Guantanamo detainees have welcomed a US federal judge's ruling which halted as unlawful the military tribunal trial of a Guantanamo prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver.

Hicks's lawyers seek panel decision
Lawyers for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will make another attempt to dismiss charges against their client in a series of motions hearings starting in Cuba today.

Torture, the British way
Great to be British, isn't it? Time was, we were really uptight, but now we can talk about anything - sex, religion, politics. No matter how personal and complex the subject, we'll discuss it with Richard and Judy, or slap our private Polaroids of it on our websites. Which leaves me puzzled about our silence, even shyness, over this whole torture thing.

US secretly moved prisoners out of Iraq for questioning: report
The CIA has secretly transferred detainees out of Iraq for interrogation after asking the US Justice Department to write a memo justifying the practice, which violates the Geneva Conventions.

Pentagon dumps Guantanamo tribunal officers
The Pentagon has dumped three members of a military tribunal that will hear the trials of Guantanamo prisoners, including Australian David Hicks, but kept the presiding officer despite challenges to his impartiality.

Guantanamo detainees win right for private meetings
In a defeat for the US Government, a federal judge has ruled that three prisoners held at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba can meet with their attorneys in private. In a defeat.

Lawyers complain about Guantanamo trials
US: Lawyers for 63 detainees at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have complained before a US federal court at the slow pace their cases are being handled by authorities.

Judge orders US to release Guantanamo records
The United States Government must release documents within 30 days relating to the treatment of prisoners held at American overseas detention centres, including Guantanamo Bay and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, a US federal judge ordered.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Hicks, Habib denied a fair go: Amnesty
The secretary-general of Amnesty International has criticised the Federal Government's treatment of the two Australians detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Govt's Hicks concerns an 'election stunt', says Brown
Greens Senator Bob Brown has accused the Federal Government of an election stunt with its questions to the United States authorities about the trial of "Australian Citizen" David Hicks.

Abu Ghraib inquiry slams Aust Government
A US inquiry into the Iraqi prison abuse scandal has been highly critical of Australian, Major George O'Kane, for glossing over early warnings about the treatment of detainees.

Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

Hicks family arrives at Kangaroo Caught
Terry Hicks says he feels very emotional about seeing his son for the first time in five years.

Hicks defence team likely to gain more time
The head of the military trials planned for two Australians held at Guantanamo Bay says he believes their defence teams will be given whatever additional time they need to prepare for trial.

Hicks, Habib denied natural justice: Liberal MP
A federal Liberal MP has accused the Government of not doing enough to secure a fair trial for Guantanamo Bay detainees, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

Guantanamo abuse claims prompt new inquiry calls
New claims of abuse at Guantanamo Bay Cuba have prompted fresh calls for an Australian inquiry into the treatment of detainees David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

Hicks movie to premiere in Adelaide
A movie about Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, President versus David Hicks, by award winning filmmaker Curtis Levy will be screened in Adelaide tomorrow.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
The US authorities may move hundreds of prisoners from their controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to the United States following new Supreme Court rulings, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
The Pentagon has named the officers who will decide the fate of David Hicks and two other Guantanamo prisoners charged by the United States in the first US military tribunals since World War II.

US terror suspects can challenge detention
The US Supreme Court has ruled that US courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
The lawyer for an Australian man detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling permitting judicial appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants.

Hicks and Habib in the Melting Pot
Australia: The United States has brought three criminal charges against Australian David Hicks, accusing him of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon has said.

Rumsfeld had approved abuse
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorised hoods, the stripping of prisoners and the use of dogs to terrify inmates at Guantanamo Bay almost two years ago, documents released yesterday revealed.

How much is that doggy in the prison? Woof woof!
Did the Iraqi prisoner's get their rations while they were treated like chums?

Failure to condemn prison abuse risks lives: Kenny
The Prime Minister is morally bankrupt stay "alert and alarmed"

Prisoner's identity concealed to prevent Red Cross access
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, acting at the request of the CIA, ordered that a suspected Iraqi insurgent leader be detained off the books to conceal his identity from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Pentagon has confirmed.

US has secret prisons: rights group
The United States is holding terrorism suspects in more than two dozen detention centres worldwide, about half of which operate in total secrecy, according to a new human rights report.

This won't hurt much
For some time now, I've been trying to find out where my son goes after choir practice. He simply refuses to tell me. He says it's no business of mine where he goes after choir practice and it's a free country.

Number of prisoners sent back to jail trebles

UK/Return to prison increases 247%

UK: The number of prisoners being sent back to jail after release has nearly trebled in the past five years, according to a report published today.

Most of those people returning to prison have been sent back because they have breached the conditions of their licence - which releases them into the community under the supervision of the probation service - and not because they have committed further criminal offences, the report by the Prison Reform Trust said.

The charity, which campaigns for a more humane and effective penal system, wants the probation service to increase support to prisoners on licence in order that they understand the conditions of their release.

The prison service should also always explain to prisoners why they are back in prison, so that they have time, if appropriate, to appeal the decision, the charity said.

Enver Solomon, the author of the report, Recycling Offenders Through Prison, said today: "This story isn't just about the figures but more about why these figures have gone up, why people are returned to custody and why can't they cope?"

Mr Solomon said he knew of cases where prisoners with learning difficulties had been recalled to prison after failing, as part of their license agreements, to attend probation meetings because they were unable to distinguish between Thursday and Tuesday.

He said: "These prisoners have returned to prison not because they pose a threat to public safety but because they have needs which aren't being met."

Juliet Lyon, director of the trust, said: "The current system for breach of licence and recall sets people up to fail. Arrangements designed to be tough and fair are too often turning out to be punitive and unjust."

The number of prisoners recalled to custody for breaching their licence in 2000-2001 was 2,333, according to official figures from the Home Office. By 2003-4, that figure had soared to 8,103 - an increase of 247%.

The report revealed that in a three-month period at the end of last year, 8% of offenders on parole who had been sentenced to more than four years' imprisonment were sent back to prison for committing another criminal offence.

But for prisoners who had served shorter sentences, between 12 months and four years, the number being recalled for re-offending rose to 40%. However, the report said, reconviction rates for people serving shorter sentences were traditionally higher.

The Home Office said the increase in the number of prisoners released on license being recalled to jail reflected improved performance by the probation service.

A spokeswoman said: "The increase in recall of prisoners reflects our overriding concern to protect the public from further offending and sends a clear signal that we will not tolerate poor behaviour from those offenders serving a sentence in the community."

The report comes as the prison population in England and Wales has reached a record high of 75,877, an increase of 25,000 prisoners over the last decade.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said the increase in the number of released prisoners returning to prison was due to Home Office targets introduced five years ago.

He said: "The Home Office set rigorous enforcement targets for prisoners so that anybody who failed to turn up for three appointments with their probation officer while on licence was automatically returned to prison. Our professional discretion was taken away. "The government has to decide whether it wants to continue to go down the path of punishment and enforcement or reintroduce professional discretion, rehabilitation and reform."

By Debbie Andalo Wednesday May 25, 2005

Related:

Top judge says crowded prisons cannot break cycle of crime
UK: Reoffending rates after a prison sentence are at an "unacceptably high level" and the failure of the criminal justice system to stop prisoners reoffending should shock the public, England's top judge, [Ruling Class] Lord Woolf, said last week.

All the World's a Prison: History
No doubt many of my readers, even those who are well-educated or widely read, think that the prison -- the place where dark deeds are darkly answered[2] -- is an ancient institution, a barbaric hold-over from barbaric times. In fact, the prison is of relatively recent origin, and this tells us a great deal about the pretentions and realities of modern times, and the wisdom and high degree of development of the ancients.

Decade after inspector left in disgust, report tells of filth
UK: Dirty, mice-infested cells, high levels of self-harm, and widespread bullying over drugs and medications were just some of the damning findings of a report into conditions at Holloway, Britain's largest women's prison.

Most women 'should not be jailed'
Women make up 6% of the prison population in England and Wales. Imprisonment of women should be "virtually abolished", a prison reform group has said.

Youth 'murdered for officers' pleasure'
UK: An Asian teenager was murdered by a white racist after they were placed in the same cell as part of a game to fulfil the "perverted pleasure" of prison officers, a public inquiry heard on Friday.

Deaths in isolation as prison segregation increases
The use of segregation [solitary confinement] of prisoners as punishment has been increasing recently in Australia, the US, and the UK. Segregation can be used for protection or punishment, but in both cases it results in extreme psychological stress. An indication that segregation is being over-used is the appearance of deaths in custody from suicide of those placed in segregation.

Inquest blames jail for overdose death
UK: An inquest jury returned a verdict itemising a catalogue of faults at Styal prison in Cheshire, concluding that the prison's "failure of duty of care" contributed to the death of Sarah Campbell, 18, who took an overdose of tablets on the first day of her three-year sentence.

Put in the way of self-harm in a place intended to protect others
UK: Sarah Campbell, 18, spent the last hours of her life in the segregation unit of Styal prison, Cheshire. "The seg", as those places are referred to, used to be known as "the block", short for punishment block. [ Seg is a bullshit word for Punishment, Solitary Confinement, Torture, Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Human Rights Abuse and that is State Terror.]

Britain 'sliding into police state'
The home secretary, Charles Clarke, is transforming Britain into a police state, one of the country's former leading anti-terrorist police chiefs [false flag police chiefs] said yesterday.

UK solitary confinement
UK: Segregation units are prisons within prisons - the places where the most unchecked brutality is meted out to prisoners. In recent years conditions in high security segregation units have deteriorated, and the use of long-term segregation as a control mechanism has increased.

Inquiry must root out prison racists
UK: It is difficult to imagine a more brutal murder than that of Zahid Mubarek. The 19-year-old was clubbed to death by his cellmate at Feltham Young Offender Institution in the early hours of 21 March 2000. He was due to be released just a few hours later.

Prison suicides soar as jails hire 'babysitters'
UK: Prison officers are being taken off suicide watch and replaced by unqualified 'babysitters' because the system is overwhelmed by an epidemic of self-harm.

Plan to sell off juvenile jails as job lot
UK: The government is to put out to tender all its dedicated juvenile jails that hold children under 18 in a departure in Whitehall's privatisation programme.

Failure to sack 'racist' prison staff condemned
UK: Two prison officers suspended for racism are still on full pay three years after a stash of Nazi memorabilia, neo-fascist literature and Ku Klux Klan-inspired 'nigger-hunting licences' was found in a police raid on their home.

Report slams 'unjust' jailing of women on remand
UK: Six out of 10 women sent to jail while they await trial are acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence, a report published today reveals. Introducing the report, Lady Kennedy QC calls for a complete review of the use of remand and bail for women saying it is "inhumane and unjust".

Concern as UK prison suicides hit record level
UK: More prisoners took their own lives in English jails in August than in any other month since records began, prison reformers said today.

End of years of despair as Holloway closes its doors
But now Holloway prison in north London - where Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain, was hanged in 1955 - has been earmarked for closure, along with several other women's prisons, which have been hit by a spate of suicides.

How detox and self-help brought suicide jail back from the brink
UK: Six suicides in 12 months made Styal jail notorious and the Prisons Ombudsman criticised the prison and its staff for serious failures. But things are changing.

Belmarsh detainees consider suicide, says freed man
UK: The first of the Muslim detainees released from Belmarsh high security prison after being held on suspicion of terrorism has told the Guardian his fellow prisoners are suffering such severe mental problems that they constantly consider suicide.

Suicides and unrest have soared, admits Home Office
UK:The already overcrowded prison population is set to go on rising and will top 80,000 within the next three years, a senior Home Office civil servant warned yesterday.

England tops the EU in imprisonment
England and Wales jail more offenders per capita than any other European, Union country, according to new figures.

State axes problem gambling research

Melbourne: The State Government has abandoned research into problem gambling's links to crime and depression, prompting criticism from gaming reform advocates.

It has also shelved studies into the media's role in influencing gambling behaviour and an analysis of gaming operators' loyalty programs.

Research into cultural influences on gambling and the early detection of problem gamblers has also been cancelled.

The decision not to proceed with the research - set by Victoria's recently abolished independent Gambling Research Panel - comes as the Government faces pressure to release completed gambling studies.

Confidential research revealed last month found Labor's policy of moving gaming machines from low-income areas had failed to stem problem gambling. This research, and at least two other gambling studies, are yet to be released.

Interchurch Gambling Taskforce chairman John Dalziel said the cancellation of the studies, particularly those examining crime and depression, was disappointing.

Mr Dalziel, a member of the Responsible Gambling Ministerial Advisory Council, said research into crime and depression was urgently required.

"Crime and depression are two key elements of measuring the social impact of gambling," Mr Dalziel said. "I think that research had the industry and the Government worried because it had the potential for being so negative that it would become absolutely clear gambling in certain areas should not be allowed."

Former Gambling Research Panel chairwoman Linda Hancock said shelving the research meant there would be no new gambling research in Victoria for at least 12 months.

Professor Hancock said the Government should do more research on the impact of problem gambling. And studies into gambling and crime and depression should be a priority.

Responsible Gambling Advocate Kerrie Cross is in charge of gambling research following last December's demise of the research panel.

She is yet to develop a research agenda but has signalled she favours a national approach.

The recently revealed confusion in senior Government ranks over the future of the study into gambling and crime.

Ms Cross said last month she did not believe the study was appropriate for her to do.

But Gaming Minister John Pandazopoulos said the research would be valuable.

Senior counsel Philip Dunn said research into gambling's links to crime was essential because the courts were becoming clogged with people who had gambling problems.

Opposition gaming spokesman Ken Smith said the Government was "crazy" to cancel the research and the Gambling Research Panel should be reinstated.

Debate over the research comes as the Government seeks to replace two key staff members from its gambling policy area.

Sources say that the Government's director of gambling policy and research, Michael Wheelahan, has decided to take up another public service position. Ms Cross's assistant, Leigh Barrett, has quit to join gaming giant Tabcorp.

By Richard Baker posted 24

Related:

Ad shames gamblers:that's a shame for pokie owners
An advertising campaign showing a woman leaving her partner because he is a problem gambler has upset poker machine operators, even though it has caused gamblers to flood a helpline.

Fears for poor if Social Services take a social slide?
About 350 clubs and pubs have applied for permission to install about 2300 extra poker machines in their venues in a process that could see machines move from richer to poorer suburbs.

Club expects more problem punters
The Tigers' plan for a super club with 450 poker machines at the SuperDome could create almost 100 new problem gamblers in the five kilometres around the site, according to the Balmain club's application submitted to licensing authorities.

NEW PRISONS MEANS MORE CRIME!!!

The Premier's announcement of 1000 new spaces for prisoners is irresponsible government behaviour. His statement that more prison capacity will reduce crime is misleading, and panders to ignorance and fear, while the policy does the exact opposite of what it claims.

New South Wales has the highest rate of recidivism in Australia at 44% and rising. This means that at least 44% of the new prisoners will commit more crimes within two years of their release.

The Premier also claims that the investment in new prisons will create jobs in rural economies. However, if the $1 billion were spent on health and education, it would reduce crime, and give a boost to rural economies by raising the number of skilled, healthy workers.

Money spent on prisons in NSW has been proven over and over to be money thrown down the drain.

Not only does the recidivism rate show that the Department of Corrective Services is failing in its own vision of, "Contributing to a safer community through excellence", but the net widening effect of building more prisons was acknowledged in 1994 by the Department's own Women's Action Plan:

"...the provision of increased access to correctional facilities in country areas may create a net widening phenomenon resulting in the courts sending more women to prison who may otherwise have received non-custodial sentences.

There is a strong body of opinion that in spite of oft stated support for a reductionist approach to women in prison, if additional places were provided, particularly in country areas, they would inevitably be filled." (p. 48)

Contact: Stacy Scheff, Brett Collins after hours: 0438-705-003

Justice Action
65 Bellevue St, Glebe, NSW 2037, Australia
P.O. Box 386, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
ja@justiceaction.org.au
voice: 612-9660 9111 fax: 612-9660 9100

Please log into the Justice Action Web site, designed and sponsored by Breakout Design & Print, exercising good corporate citizenship.

By Justice Action 17 May 05

Related:

Chronology of a Tasmanian Prison System: A Documented Report
Prison Action and Reform is dedicated to progressive reforms in criminal justice and to the humane treatment of inmates in our prison system.

Risdon prisoners' seize prison to protest mistreatment
Apparently one prisoner had been mistreated and held in isolation in an SHU (Segregation Housing Unit) [Solitary Confinement] because, he'd had and altercation with a screw. SHUs cause severe mental harm - regarded as torture - and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading way to keep prisoners.

No Safe Place
In a brief four month span from August 1999, five men died in Tasmania's Risdon prison. Their deaths have put the state's corrections system in the dock and led to the planned demolition of a jail which even the State's Attorney-General now calls an "appalling facility".

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

Overhaul Department of Justice: Reform Group
WA: The Prison Reform Group of WA is calling for a complete overhaul of the Department of Justice following recent events which have compromised its integrity, placing prison staff, prisoners, their families and the community, at risk. We call for the Minister to publicly apologise for last week's debacle which has seen the public badly let down by the Department of Justice yet again.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

Craig Annesley: Miscarriage of Justice
The reason for this article is because a Secretary at the Council for Civil Liberties stated to me that they haven't got the funding to help me with a false imprisonment case which happened February 97 - and in February 2005, it will be 7 years after the incident which will mean I will be too late to bring a civil case to court?

Detention Centres, Solitary Confinement
On Friday night the NSW Council for Civil Liberties awarded Sydney solicitor John Marsden honorary life membership. Julian Burnside was invited to make the speech in Marsden's honour. In the course of his speech, Burnside referred to the unregulated use of solitary confinement in Australia's immigration detention centres, criticising it as inhumane and also as unlawful.

In memory of the late Bob Jewson
Some will remember that Bob was In the Bathurst riot in February 1974 and was a leading member of the Prisoners Action Group now - (JusticeACTION) upon his release. He wrote Stir, the screenplay upon which the film Stir was based. He played a major role in agitating for a Royal Commission into the events at Bathurst, and when the Nagle Commission commenced hearings Bob was to be found every day sitting in court for the duration, following proceedings for the PAG.

Critical Resistance - Sydney
Just a reminder message about the meeting this Wednesday, if any of you are able to come down after BBA meeting. Apologies about the clash of days, definitely not intended. It seems great minds think alike!

Three-Strikes law mandatory sentencing

US: First of all, this is not about a simple baseball game.

This is about the most important thing of all, the game of life. The Three-Strikes law (mandatory sentencing for three felony convictions) came into being through fear, manipulation and, yes, full-blown prejudice.

The popular image of the African-American male as a predator continues to fuel this absurd trend, and is hardly likely to be arrested in the short term, that is, save a miraculous transformation of the media, the economy, black male collective organizations and public opinion.

Ever since the 1968 presidential campaign of Richard M. Nixon, the African-American male image has been a useful mobilizer for white votes. With the focus on street crime completely saturating the media through both entertainment and news, or a combination of both, it is not surprising that 90 percent of the American public agrees that crime is a very "serious" problem.

In the August 1995 issue of American Demographics, Cheryl Russell writes that the obsession of the media with providing the "gory" details of crime has increased the public's fear of crime. This is particularly true in regard to the largest "inner-city" areas of the nation, like Los Angeles. It is also well known that Gallup Polls rank cities according to their perceived danger of crime.

In the aftermath of the decline of the military-industrial complex as a result of the end of the Cold War and the rusting of America's industrial heartland, the business of imprisonment looms more importantly. Many, many people realize crime (or the perception of it) is profitable for a wide spectrum of firms. More than two in five Americans have additional locks on their doors, and slightly less than one in five have residential security systems or alarms.

Again, according to Russell, gun sales, Mace and other devices designed against crime have also fueled the tremendous growth of the private security industry. Today, well over $50 billion per year is spent in an industry that employs over 2.5 million guards and consists of over 22 thousand firms.

Private firms now own prisons and utilize inmates as a source of cheap labor. Prisons also represent new jobs and the infusion of new money into some rural communities previously suffering from economical depression. In addition to jobs, prisons fuel a variety of high- and low-tech industries, including surveillance and electronic monitoring, food service, medicine, supplies, health care, drug treatment programs, telecommunications, lenders, architectural firms, and the construction trades (including masonry, fencing, barbed wired, etc.) as the prison industry continues to boom.

The Origins of Three-Strikes Law

Many have traced the popularization of mandatory minimum laws to the Rockefeller Drug Law, enacted in 1973 under West Virginia's then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. These laws began the downward spiral of removing the discretion of judges from sentencing.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws incarcerate offenders for 15 years to life for possession of four ounces, or the sale of two ounces, of select controlled substances as Class A felony crimes. These laws provide an individual with the same sentence for possession of a few ounces of illegal drugs as someone convicted of murder, kidnapping or rape.

Enacted in the same year in New York state was the Second Felony law, which adds time onto sentences for second felony offenses, regardless of whether violence was involved. In New York, African Americans and Latinos comprise 93 percent of those incarcerated for drug felonies, while making up only 23 percent of New York's population.

Annually, 35,000 individuals are locked up in New York State for drug felonies. Also, while the Rockefeller and Three-Strikes law impacts society on the state and local levels, federal mandatory minimums have also had a negative impact throughout the country.

In actuality, the Three-Strikes law in California was designed for the most brutal criminals, and as is the case of federal and Rockefeller Drug Laws, meant to get the "kingpins." Instead, these laws are penalizing ordinary offenders with draconian punishments.

Over 65 percent of those imprisoned under Three-Strikes in California are non-violent offenders. According to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, African-American males sentenced in state courts on felonies receive prison sentences 52 percent of the time, while whites just receive them 34 percent of the time.

The rapidly increasing number of women being locked upnow the fastest growing proportion of America's prison populationis also seen as a cause for alarm.

By Otis L. Cavers posted 26 April 05

Related:

US incarceration rate climbs
The US penal system, the world's largest, maintained its steady growth in 2004, the US Department of Justice reported. The latest official half-yearly figures found the nation's prison and jail population at 2,131,180 in the middle of last year, an increase of 2.3 per cent over 2003.

Unlock the Box:
Unlock the Box is a product of many years of struggle to shut down the Security Housing Units in California. During this time, the United Front to Abolish the SHU was created as a forum to coordinate the actions of everyone involved in this campaign.

ACLU Report: U.S. Drug Laws Harm Women
NEW YORK - America's war on drugs is inflicting deep and disproportionate harm on women - most of them mothers - who are filling prisons in ever-rising numbers despite their typically minor roles in drug rings, the American Civil Liberties Union and two other groups contend in a major new report.

Most women 'should not be jailed'
The Howard League for Penal Reform said jail should be reserved for women who commit serious or violent offences and remain a danger to the public.

Deaths in isolation as prison segregation increases
The use of segregation of prisoners as punishment has been increasing recently in Australia, the US, and the UK. Segregation can be used for protection or punishment, but in both cases it results in extreme psychological stress. An indication that segregation is being over-used is the appearance of deaths in custody from suicide of those placed in segregation.

Unlocking the System
Four young people died in California's youth prisons last year, including Durrell Feaster, 18, and Deon Whitfield, 17, both of whom committed suicide by hanging themselves with bedsheets. In April of 2004, the release of a "Rodney-King-style" security video that showed prison staff restraining and viciously beating youth - punching one 28 times in the face - and later spraying them with chemicals, made national news. Since then, young men and women have also filed suit for sexual assault by prison staff.

US Challenges of Parole Denials rejected
The California Supreme Court decided Monday to limit sharply the ability of inmates to challenge parole denials, ruling that the parole board has the right to keep a convict in prison simply because of the nature of the crime that sent him there.

He Did Time, So He's Unfit to Do Hair
She has managed to turn life in federal prison into a nifty career move. Her company's stock is soaring, and she has plans for not one but two television shows. It almost makes you wonder why the Enron types are fighting so hard to stay out of jail.

New Strategies for Curbing Recidivism
US: State and federal lawmakers are finally realizing that controlling prison costs means controlling recidivism - by helping newly released people establish viable lives once they get out of jail.

Prison System Fails Women, Study Says
State policies designed for violent men make female offenders' rehabilitation difficult, an oversight panel finds. "If we fail to intervene effectively in the lives of these women and their children now, California will pay the cost for generations to come," said Commissioner Teddie Ray, chairwoman of the subcommittee that produced the report.

Child Offenders on Death Row
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon address the constitutionality of the death penalty for 17-year-old offenders based on scientific research that shows the human brain, particularly for males, continues to evolve in adolescence, reaching biological maturity at 21 or 22. The last regions to develop govern the mental ability to control impulses, planning, consideration of consequences, abstract reasoning and most probably moral judgement.

Race-Based Prison Policy Is Under Justices' Scrutiny
US: WASHINGTON, A California prison policy of temporarily segregating all new and newly transferred inmates by race came under attack at the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a case that pits the justices' tradition of deferring to prison administrators against their dislike of government policies that classify people by race.

Despite Drop in Crime, an Increase in Inmates
US: The number of inmates in state and federal prisons rose 2.1 percent last year, even as violent crime and property crime fell, according to a study by the Justice Department released yesterday.

DNA Evidence of Bipartisanship
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act, which includes provisions of the Innocence Protection Act. As of this posting, the legislation has not yet been signed by President Bush. Attached is an analysis of the legislation prepared by the Justice Project.

How Denying the Vote to Ex-Offenders Undermines Democracy
For starters, hundreds of thousands of people who are still eligible to vote will not do so this year because they will be locked up in local jails, awaiting processing or trials for minor offenses.

Abu Ghraib, USA
When I first saw the photo, taken at the Abu Ghraib prison, of a hooded and robed figure strung with electrical wiring, I thought of the Sacramento, California, city jail.

Restorative Justice and the Law
To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."-- Marilyn vos Savant.

Restorative Justice Practices
Restorative Justice Practices of Native American, First Nation and Other Indigenous People of North America. This is part one in a series of articles about restorative justice practices of Native American, First Nation and other indigenous people of North America. The series is not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather a broad thematic overview. A related eForum article, "The Wet'suwet'en Unlocking Aboriginal Justice Program: Restorative Practices in British Columbia, Canada," can be read at:

From Terrell Unit in Texas to Abu Ghraib Doesn't It Ring a (Prison) Bell If the president wasn't so forthright about his disinterest in the world, it would have been hard to believe him Wednesday when he said the abuse in Abu Ghraib prison "doesn't represent the America I know."

The Long Trail to Apology
Native America: All manner of unusual things can happen in Washington in an election year, but few seem so refreshing as a proposed official apology from the federal government to American Indians - the first ever - for the "violence, maltreatment and neglect" inflicted upon the tribes for centuries.

Judged Forever- The Orange County Register
California's largest job-placement program for parolees will be shut down May 31 after an Orange County Register investigation found that ex-convicts were sent to questionable jobs and that the state was charged for placements that did not occur.

Court dismisses man set-up for Stuttle murder appeal?

QLD's Bundaberg's Burnett River traffic bridge was the only witness to this crime.

AUSTRALIA: QLD: In the Supreme Court in Bundaberg last October, Ian Douglas Previte, 32, was jailed for life after being convicted of the murder and robbery of Caroline Stuttle, 19.

Mr Previte lodged the application in the Court of Appeal in Brisbane on the grounds that the trial judge erred by allowing evidence from a handwriting expert and two other witnesses to be admitted during the trial last year but has had his appeal against conviction dismissed?

The original trial was told she had been thrown from the Burnett Bridge during a struggle for her handbag in Bundaberg, 350km north of Brisbane, on April 10, 2002.

Previte appealed on several grounds, including that Justice Peter Dutney had been wrong to admit evidence of handwriting experts and taped confessions and the convictions were unsafe and unsatisfactory.

But after considering submissions, three Supreme Court justices found the jury verdict was safe and dismissed Previte's appeal?

Mr Previte is serving life in prison.

Experts gave evidence at the trial on whether a confession found on a wooden bench in a Bundaberg park was written by Previte. The confession read: "I Throw The Girl of the Brige I am sorry" (sic)? [Rubbish!]

Some letters written by Previte to his family were used in comparison tests. In one letter, Previte admitted "knowing someone in every jail in Queensland" and in another he vented his anger against a family member? [They had him in custody and chose to exploit his communication to attain some alleged confession planted on a wooden bench.]

Bent police

Justice Cate Holmes said she had concerns about the letters when there appeared to have been "abundant" other material for tests?

"It may not loom so large here but it is not an attractive approach," she said.

[To exploit any prisoner in custody like that is not justice it is a blatant frame-up by the ruling class.]

Justice Holmes said for her part the letters couldn't be described as anything but prejudicial, however, there did not appear to have been any objections to them going into evidence at the trial?

Mr Hunter said the prejudice of the letters' contents far outweighed their probative value, and a direction should have been given on the use the jury could make of them.

Mr Hunter said there were discrepancies in the evidence which meant Previte's [alleged] confessions to a fellow prisoner, and later police, should not have been admitted into evidence????

[To exploit any prisoner in custody like that is not justice it is a blatant frame-up by the ruling class.]

Director of Public Prosecutions Leanne Clare said the unsafe and unsatisfactory ground came down to the reliability of Previte's police interview????????

"There is no evidence as to why he would have made a false confession," she said?

[Oh yes there is, try a bent country, corporations, corporate media, the billion dollar tourist industry, bent police and a ruling class that doesn't give a rats arse about its citizenry or the truth, accept for maintaining 'tourism dollars' at the expense of natural justice. And he's not the only one whose been set-up in this way.]

By Injustice 8 April 05

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