Press Archive
Juvenile Justice Project
January 7, 2012 (Center for NYC Affairs)
GOVERNOR DECIDES - IN JUVENILE JUSTICE, CITY KIDS BELONG NEAR HOME
If Governor Cuomo gets his way, New York City will cut the number of children it sends to state-run juvenile justice facilities by more than two-thirds over the next two years.
October 4, 2011 (Public News Service)
NY'S "LOCK-EM-UP" APPROACH TO JUVENILE JUSTICE NOT WORKING
Putting kids behind bars doesn't keep them from committing crimes later, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
April 20, 2011 (The Center for New York City Affairs)
BROOKLYN'S HOME FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE
New York State is moving forward with plans to open its first psychiatric residence for kids with mental illness in the juvenile justice system.
August 21, 2010 (NY1 News)
BARS TO EDUCATION: TRANSITION PROGRAMS KEY TO ENDING JAIL CYCLE, ADVOCATES SAY
In the final story in our week-long series on the schools in jails, NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ looks at what happens when kids are released and how officials hope several education reforms can stop so many of them from ending up back in jail.
August 20, 2010 (NY1 News)
BARS TO EDUCATION: REFORMS TRY TO BRING JAIL SCHOOLS UNDER FIRMER CITY CONTROL
The way the Department of Education structures its schools does not work well within the structure of the justice system, but now reforms are trying to make the two systems fit together.
August 16, 2010 (NY1 News)
BARS TO EDUCATION: INCARCERATED YOUTH ALREADY SADDLED WITH SCHOOL PROBLEMS
Almost 90 percent of the city's incarcerated youth are re-arrested by the time they're 28, and the local prisons have proven to be much more successful at teaching criminal behavior than classroom subjects.
June 15, 2010 (New York Nonprofit Press)
PRISCO JOINS CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION
Gabrielle Prisco has been appointed by the Correctional Association to be Director of its Juvenile Justice Project.
June 14, 2010 (New York Times)
FEDERAL OVERSIGHT FOR TROUBLED N.Y. YOUTH PRISONS
Four of New York’s most dangerous and troubled youth prisons will be placed under federal oversight, strict new limits will be imposed on the use of physical force by guards, and dozens of psychiatrists, counselors and investigators will be hired under a sweeping agreement finalized on Wednesday between state and federal officials.
July 7, 2010 (GritTV)
VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBT YOUTH BEHIND BARS
Across the United States, the brutal and dysfunctional juvenile justice system sends queer youth to prison in disproportionate numbers, fails to protect them from violence and discrimination while they're inside and to this day condones attempts to turn them straight.
April 26, 2010 (New York Times)
A BETTER CHANCE
Gov. David Paterson’s juvenile justice task force was on the mark when it advised him to stop sending low-risk young offenders to faraway lockups and place more of them in lower-cost community-based programs.
March 26, 2010 (Our Time Press)
UPSTATE ECONOMY BUILT ON INCARCERATING YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS
It was because of the abuse and mistreatment of young people held in the New York State juvenile justice system, that the Department of Justice cited the state for violating their and said that if the situation was not corrected, then the Justice Department would sue the state. In response to this edict, a task force was commissioned to examine the issue and to make recommendations.
March 8, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
TREATMENT PREFERRED OVER JUVENILE DETENTION
In the basement of a church near the Capitol, a congregation of juvenile justice advocates, adult and adolescent, geared up to go ask legislators to support the closings and consolidations of four juvenile placement facilities, which are proposed in the 2010-2011 Executive Budget.
Public Policy Project
November 23, 2010 (Gotham Gazette)
CUOMO COULD SHRINK THE PRISON SYSTEM HIS FATHER BUILT
Gov. Mario Cuomo oversaw the largest expansion of the prison system in the state’s history. It is a legacy that Cuomo has said that he regrets. Now prison beds sit empty, as New York State, which faces a $9 billion budget deficit, continues to spend millions of dollars a year to staff and operate half-vacant human warehouses.
June 20, 2010 (New York Times)
LITMUS TEST IN PRIMARY: OVERHAULED DRUG LAWS
For many Democrats in Albany, it was a landmark achievement: the long-sought overhaul of New York’s strict Rockefeller-era drug laws, repealing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders that critics said disproportionately and unfairly fell on blacks and Latinos.
May 14, 2010 (The Wonkster; Gotham Gazette policy blog)
DROP THE LOCK UP?
Drop the Rock, the coalition that led the fight to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws, is leading the charge to close prisons across the state. They say the prison population has dropped by 14,000 inmates in the last ten years and that 5,000 prison beds will remain empty. So the logical conclusion according to Drop the Rock is to close prisons and save the state money.
May 14, 2010 (Agencia EFE)
UNA CAMPAÑA POPULAR RECLAMA EL CIERRE DE DIEZ CÁRCELES Y LA REFORMA PENITENCIARIA
La campaña popular destinada a reclamar el cierre de al menos 10 cárceles en el estado de Nueva York comenzará este fin de semana para conseguir también el apoyo a una reformas del sistema penitenciario.
May 14, 2010 (Capitol Confidential; Albany Times Union policy blog)
RALLIES FOR STEPPED-UP PRISON CLOSURES
The coalition that pushed for last year’s reforms to the Rockefeller Drug Laws are planning events tomorrow to advocate for more prison closures — a move that they argue would “save money, further reduce crime, and build healthy communities.” The group will be registering voters and gathering signatures for a petition.
March 23, 2010 (WNYC Radio)
AFTER 19 YEARS, RELEASED FROM PRISON UNDER THE ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAW REFORMS
Last year, New York State overhauled what many saw as the overly severe Rockefeller drug laws. The changes eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most drug offenses, expanded drug treatment alternatives, and reduced some penalties. But what about the people still in prison under the old sentences?
March 22, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
DROP THE ROCK GROUP ALSO WANTS TO DROP SOME PRISONS
Criminal justice crusaders from the "Drop the Rock" campaign preached reform of the state prison system from the pulpit of a church near the Capitol during an annual advocacy day event March 16.
March 21, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
STATE CONSOLIDATING INMATE HOUSING AT
17 PRISONS
Gov. David A. Paterson and state Department of Correctional Services Commissioner Brian Fischer announced last week that housing units deemed underutilized at more than a dozen state prisons will be temporarily consolidated in coming weeks.
March 15, 2010 (America)
ADMINISTERING JUSTICE
Recession-driven prison closings may provide state lawmakers an opportunity to promote a more rational approach to criminal justice that still puts public safety first.
January 29, 2010 (New York Times)
LAW HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON EARLY RELEASE FOR INMATES
While new state guidelines led to a rise in applications for medical parole — 202 inmates last year, compared with 66 in 2008 — they have hardly led to more releases.
January 25, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
PRISON CLOSURE PLAN DRAWS CONCERN FOR LOCAL ECONOMIES
Gov. David A. Paterson's Executive Budget calls for the elimination and consolidation of four New York correctional facilities and the elimination of 572 positions, moves he says will save New York $59 million over two years.
January 8, 2010 (Newsday)
SUFFOLK OFFICIALS WARY OF MODIFICATIONS TO DRUG LAWS
Suffolk County's top executive, district attorney and sheriff say they are bracing for the release from prison of drug dealers -- possibly many of them -- and they fault recent modifications in the state's harsh drug laws for going too far in the other direction. But leading advocates for reform of the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, a set of measures reputed to be among the nation's harshest, say the officials could be grandstanding, that the new laws have sufficient safeguards and that it's too early to gauge their effect.
Prison Visiting Project
July 28, 2011 (The Daily Mail)
PRISON CRITICIZED FOR INMATE TREATMENT
A recently published report from an independent prison watchdog says inmates at the maximum-security Coxsackie Correctional Facility complain that staff retaliate against those who file grievances and that physical confrontations and verbal harassment occur frequently.
July 22, 2011 (The Daily Mail)
MAKE PRISONS SAFE FOR STAFF, INMATES
While the CA concluded Coxsackie is in some ways an above-average prison, the CA also concluded Coxsackie is one of the worst prisons in regards to inmate-staff relations.
June 21, 2011 (miwatch.org)
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT REFORMED IN NEW YORK
Jack Beck, from the Correctional Association of New York, tours prisons and visits inmates in solitary confinement. Many have been there for a decade or more.
March 21, 2011 (New York Times)
NEW YORK'S PRISONS FALL SHORT, AGAIN
Perhaps as many as three-quarters of New York State’s 57,000 prison inmates need drug counseling or treatment to have a chance at productive, crime-free lives once they are released.
Women in Prison Project
HOT TOPIC: Securing justice for domestic violence survivors
- June 21, 2011 (Women's Media Center)
FAIRNESS FOR DEFENDANTS WHO SURVIVE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
On a humid morning in early June, more than 140 advocates representing some 100 organizations across New York State gathered in Albany to lobby for a recently introduced bill, the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.
- June 13, 2011 (Talk Back! WBAI radio clip)
Host Hugh Hamiliton speaks with three members of the Coalition for Women Prisoners about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act in the second hour of his show. (skip to second hour for interview)
- June 13, 2011 (Legislative Gazette)
ALTERNATIVE SENTENCES SOUGHT FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS
Kim Dadou picked up her boyfriend from work one evening. She said he noticed the car was low on gas and told her: "If we run out of gas, I will kill you."
- June 13, 2011 (Wall Street Journal by The Associated Press)
SHORTER PRISON TIME SOUGHT FOR ABUSED WOMEN IN NY
Kim Dadou spent 17 years in prison for manslaughter for shooting her boyfriend as he choked and threatened her in his car. She had called police several times before and used the gun he kept under the passenger seat to kill him.
- June 12, 2011 (Daily News)
ABUSED—AGAIN
Victims of domestic violence in New York often get the book thrown at them when they’re charged with crimes related to their abuse, advocates charge.
- June 9, 2011 (New York Law Journal)
STUDY BACKS LENIENCY FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS WHO BREAK THE LAW
Judges should be given the discretion to impose shorter sentences or bypass incarceration entirely for domestic violence survivors who become criminal defendants in New York state, a report released Tuesday recommends.
- September 21, 2010 (InterPress Service)
PRISONERS OF ABUSE
Sharon White remembers the breaking point vividly. She was 21 years old and had been married to Andre for a little over a year. Looking back, she describes their life together as "a nightmare. Every day was a fight."
- March 1, 2010 (Cornell Chronicle Online)
PANEL PONDERS JUSTICE SYSTEM'S HANDLING OF CRIMES BORN OF DOMESTIC ABUSE
Thousands of women sit in prison because they fought back against an abusive person in their lives, but they don't always get to share their stories in court, said panelists Feb. 24 at the Cornell Law School.
April 5, 2011 (Post-Star)
DOCTORS, OFFICIALS SPAR OVER WASHINGTON COUNTY JAIL'S BREAST-FEEDING RULES
Washington County officials recently rejected a request from a doctor who petitioned jail officials to allow a Washington County inmate to breast-feed her baby more frequently.
March 11, 2011 (NYNP)
VASANDANI NAMED ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AT CA'S WIPP
Jaya Vasandani has been named Associate Director of the Women in Prison Project (WIPP) at the Correctional Association of New York.
HOT TOPIC: Protecting bonds between mothers and children
- July 25, 2010 (Women's Enews)
PRISON SHOULDN'T BE A BAR TO MOTHERHOOD
Rigid foster care rules threaten to dissolve family ties when mothers are in prison or residential drug treatment. A new law in New York State takes steps to help these families weather the separation.
- March 5, 2010 (Our Time Press)
GIVING INCARCERATED PARENTS A FIGHTING CHANCE TO REUNITE WITH THEIR CHILDREN
Lawmakers and criminal justice reform advocates joined together at the State Capitol last week to garner support for legislation (S.2233/A.5462-A) that will allow foster care agencies the discretion to delay filing papers to terminate the parental rights of parents who are incarcerated or enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program.
- March 1, 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
PRISON MOMS WANT MORE LEEWAY IN PARENTAL RIGHTS CASES
The Senate seems poised to pass legislation this month that supporters say would help keep intact families separated by the criminal justice and child welfare systems.
- February 25, 2010 (City Limits)
A FIGHT TO EXTEND PARENTS' RIGHTS
Foster children with parents in prison are often put up for adoption. The State Senate takes up a bill aimed at slowing that practice.
- February 24, 2010 (El Diario NY)
REPUBLICANS MUST STAND UP FOR FAMILIES
Children and parents, separated through prison sentences, deserve a chance to heal and rebuild. This is why the New York State legislature must adjust a law that would give incarcerated parents and their children the ability to reunite.
General CA Issues
April 9, 2011 (On the Count, WBAI radio clip)
SOFFIYAH ELIJAH INTERVIEW
March 6, 2011 (Letter to the Editor, New York Times)
INMATE LABOR
“Enlisting Prison Labor to Close Budget Gaps” (news article, Feb. 25) doesn’t touch on the serious relevant concern that using prison workers to defray government costs represents a form of modern-day indentured servitude.
February 24, 2011 (NYNP)
ELIJAH NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION
J. Soffiyah Elijah has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York.
August 1, 2010 (Albany Times Union)
KROKOFF'S MOMENT
Albany has a new peacemaker in chief. The city and surrounding communities have a great opportunity to take progressive steps to promote public safety.
July 2, 2010 (New York Times, letter to the editor)
WHEN THE POLICE STOP AND FRISK
Critics of the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics do not accuse individual officers of racial bias, but question the practice itself because of how it focuses almost entirely on minority neighborhoods.