DebraDickerson.com - Blogs - Harmed and Dangerous

Does anyone remember "I Fought the Law and the Law Won," a top-ten hit in 1966 by the Bobby Fuller Four? I've provided the lyrics. As you'll see, it's a sort of contrite version of today's hip-hop. When you're through with the lyrics--and those who know the song are encouraged to sing along--I'll tell you why they're on my mind today.

"I Fought The Law And The Law Won"

Breaking rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I miss my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
Well she's the best girl that I've ever had I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won

Robbing people with a six gun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I miss my baby and the good fun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I miss my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
Well she's the best girl that I've ever had I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won

I'm guessing the reaction of the typical inmate to this contrite rap would be, "He must have had a court-appointed lawyer." Or, "Ain't he gonna appeal his case?" Or, "Breakin' rocks in the hot sun?
They be violatin' his rights, yo!"

When my twin brother was a juvenile probation officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the late 70's and early 80's (imagine a juvenile delinquent with a Gerald Ford accent), he used to sing, "I fought the law and the law won" to the kids he was paid to set straight. I saw him do it.
But
that's not the funny part. The funny part is that they never "got it."

They thought he was just singing. It didn't occur to them that they were the "I" in the song.

I've been thinking of all this since last week, when we admitted an inmate convicted of armed robbery--"Robbing people with a six gun," as the song goes. His name is Bobby Fuller.

I'm sure our Bobby Fuller has never heard, "I Fought the Law and the Law One."

But that doesn't stop me from singing it!

September 8, 2004

This just in:

Dr. R just returned from meeting a "Safekeeper" who was transferred from a county jail when he was observed eating his own feces.

"The Hindude" asked the coprophagic inmate, "Man, what were you doing?"

The inmate dismissed "The Hindude's" concern. "Man, it ain't nothin'. I was just playing. I looked in the toilet and pulled some out. It tastes like chicken."

And Colonel Harlan Sanders rolled over in his grave.

Whites Behaving Badly, But So What?

by John Schwade

[In North Carolina] we've had a spate of serious crimes by young white men lately. The media and community reaction is alarming. Regarding this article, I've been asking black inmates what they think would be the reaction if they were caught with 28 pipe bombs. They get the (sick) joke. Jarrett Brown's defenders have claimed he was just very interested in chemistry, to which I reply that Osama bin Laden was a civil engineer who was very interested in how to build--and demolish--great structures.

"Some assumed innocent: Could it be that we live in a time people really are presumed innocent until proven guilty?"

White men at their leisure. Since May, 3 college students in this state have been charged with 1st-degree murder (one defendant is black). The article says the Brothers Johnson (remember "Strawberry Letter 23"?) had "racked up petty drug charges." If they were black, the Raleigh N & O would have called them "convicted drug dealers"--and perhaps checked their criminal records. Timothy Johnson, the shooter, was also convicted of larceny (he's #0778428 on the DOC website). Nevertheless, they have the skin color the N & O routinely protects, so instead of convicted drug dealers with guns, they are "petty" criminals who really want to be psychologists. Not that I have anything personally against white guys.
For the complete story ...

"2 charged in tailgate killings: Stadium shootings shake neighborhoods in 2 states."

September 3, 2004

Public Offenders: Why criminals in Massachusetts are getting out of jail free.

September 1, 2004

Ignored in Presidential Race, Prison Growth Looms Large in Swing States says New Report. Prison spending in battleground states increased five times as fast as higher education spending; Nearly 2 million disenfranchised in swing states due to felony records; Prisons growth in Republican-leaning states double that in Democrat-leaning states.

Prison in the Cards. Many black men face a rough new rite of passage.

Urine Trouble!
by John Schwade
Copyright 2004

Witnessing the worst our species has to offer, sometimes you feel like crying along with an inmate and sometimes you feel like choking an inmate. If you indulge in the former, you are done; if word gets out, you have to find another job. If you indulge in the latter, you're likely to hear from the North Carolina Psychology Board. That leaves laughing as your only--and best--option.

"Frotteur" was a particularly loathsome inmate. I knew him from juvenile training school, where he was in the sex offender treatment program. He molested helpless boys both before and after he entered treatment. In training school, he was caught more than once committing frotteurism--while clothed, rubbing his genitals against a non-consenting juvenile--against hapless mentally retarded juvenile delinquents. "Frotteur" felt most romantic in the swimming pool, where his scantily clad victims were separated from him by fewer layers of fabric. Cold water couldn't cool his ardor.

When I first interviewed "Frotteur" as an incarcerated juvenile sex offender, he claimed to be a leader of the Latin Kings gang. He knew nothing about that gang except the name, which he had recalled from a feature on the Latin Kings that had been recently published in Vibe magazine. He was practiced at lying to the young boys he had exploited sexually, and clearly thought his lies would not be challenged. Thus he persisted with his Latin King lies even as his inability to answer my questions about the gang revealed he was a Lyin' King rather than a Latin King. I terminated the interview, telling him we would talk again when he was ready to tell me anything that was true.

The first time "Frotteur" was admitted to this prison, having been convicted of burning a church, he came to my office claiming to be mentally ill. He recounted his history, never mentioning the Latin Kings or his history of molesting boys and mentally retarded juvenile delinquents.. He could not even fabricate symptoms of a mental illness, saying I would have to ask his doctor, that "I didn't really pay attention to what he said." He did remember that I had my limits--approximately one big lie per minute--and he did not hesitate to leave when I told him he would not be helped by any treatment we had to offer. "Frotteur" served only 3 months, and I hoped I'd never hear his lies again.

But less than a year later I was handed a Mental Health referral from "Frotteur," who had returned to serve a sentence for Malicious Conduct by a Prisoner. He would not have the opportunity to engage in further malicious conduct--he was placed directly in the Single Cell building where he would not leave his cell without being handcuffed. CO's escorted him to a conference room to speak with me, and "Frotteur" began to prevaricate even before he sat down. "I been diagnosed with a couple of split personalities. That's when you can't stand being in a room." If true, this meant I had a couple of split personalities, because I couldn't stand being in a room with "Frotteur" again.

I cut him off. "You were convicted of Malicious Conduct by a Prisoner. What did you do?"

"Frotteur" turned his head to the side like a young Godfather. He casually admitted, "In the county [jail], I threw bodily urine and sperm on a female CO [correctional officer]." "Frotteur" tried to justify this atrocity. Needless to say, it was a short interview.

I returned to the Mental Health office and reported to Dr. Hanu "The Hindude" Rao that a new term had been added to the inmates' lexicon: "bodily urine." "The Hindude" instantaneously slipped into his parody of the psychologist who refuses to acknowledge the repugnance of inmate behavior. "Well, at least he didn't throw synthetic urine on her."

We both laughed. What else could we do?

[Today I got word that another inmate was sentenced to an additional 38-42 months for throwing feces on a CO. In my 10 years in this field, this is the first time a juvenile delinquent or prison inmate has been sentenced to even one extra day for throwing urine, feces, or semen on a staff member.]

August 28, 2004

How Long do the Cops Keep Evidence?

August 27, 2004

Mike Wallace Gets Apology for an Arrest called 'Overzealous'. Just like when Dante gets a beat down, right?

August 21, 2004

BET NEWS SERIES "LOCKED UP, LOCKED OUT" LOOKS AT PAROLEES AND STRUGGLES AROUND VOTING IN 2004

Five-Part BET NIGHTLY NEWS Series Starts August 23 at 11 p.m. ET/PT

New York, NY - They may well be the most forgotten block of voters in the electorate for the 2004 Presidential Election - prison parolees, individuals who have paid their debts to society for crimes of the past. Like so many, all they want to do is become contributing members in their local communities and exercise their constitutional rights. Some will finally have that chance in November, while others remain locked out by the political system.

Beginning Monday, August 23 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, BET NIGHTLY NEWS begins a five-part investigative series entitled "Locked Up, Locked Out," which looks into the lives of five successful African Americans who have struggled as parolees to regain a place among the voting populous in this pivotal political year. Award-winning CBS News journalist Randall Pinkston lends his talents as the narrator voice for the series. Among those subjects who can't escape the shackles of past transgressions is renowned actor, producer and director Charles "Roc" Dutton, who some 30 years following his parole for a manslaughter conviction still is not allowed to vote in his home state of Maryland.

"This series is a sobering and inspirational look at what some African Americans are facing as our nation prepares for the Presidential Elections this fall," said Heather Vincent Holley, Executive Producer for BET NIGHTLY NEWS. "Each featured individual in the series has rebounded from their crime conviction to become success stories as artists, business owners, writers and community activists. Yet the very system to which they pay taxes as citizens has either limited or outright denied a basic right of a democracy - voting."

The following is a schedule and synopsis of featured subjects for the BET NIGHTLY NEWS investigative series "Locked Up, Locked Out" beginning Monday, August 23 on BET (home towns in parenthesis):

Monday, August 23: Elaine Bartlett (Harlem, New York) - Bartlett served 16 years of a 20-years-to-life sentence on a first-time drug offense before being granted clemency by New York Governor George Pataki. Befriended by Village Voice reporter Jennifer Gonnerman, Bartlett has allowed her life story to become the subject of a new book "Life on the Outside" written by Gonnerman. The book chronicles the struggles that ex-convicts often face upon release back into society. In 2004, Bartlett will vote for the first time ever.

Tuesday, August 24: Jonathon Romain (Chicago, Illinois) - At age 24 and just two weeks following his college graduation, Romain was on the receiving end of a 15-year sentence for selling cocaine. Romain served seven years and was paroled in 2000. Having sharpened his art skills while in prison, Romain has now opened his fifth art gallery and counts actress Angela Bassett and local Chicago politicians among his clientele. Some of his works have sold for as much as $20,000. With terms of his parole now behind him, Romain will rejoin the voting ranks in November.

Wednesday, August 25: Shakoor Watson (Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York) - While serving eight years of a 12-year sentence for assault, Watson began cooking and baking in the prison kitchen. The skills he acquired led him to launch Shakoor's Sweet Tooth, which now exports his sweets and baked goods all over the country. Shakoor has also begun speaking at local high schools, prisons and after-school programs about his life experiences. Now age 45, Watson is eligible to vote this year for the first time since his parole 10 years ago.

Thursday, August 26: Jeff Henderson (Watts, California) - Drug charges landed Watts in prison for 10 years where he learned cooking skills. Since his release five years ago, Watts has lived in Las Vegas blossomed into one of the nation's top chefs and caterers. In 2001, Watts was named Chef of the Year by the American Food and Wine Tasting Federation. His dishes are well-renown in the entertainment world and in high demand among celebrities. Having fulfilled the terms of his parole, Watts is now a registered voter once again.

Friday, August 27: Charles "Roc" Dutton (Baltimore, Maryland) - He is one of Hollywood's most talented actors, producers and directors with more than 50 films and a successful television series to his credit. Yet in spite of his success and immersion back into society, Dutton remains outside America's political process. Convicted of manslaughter at age 17, Dutton still can't vote in his home state of Maryland some 30 years after his parole.

July 26, 2004

U.S. 'Correctional Population' Hits New High. The number of Americans under the control of the criminal justice system grew by 130,700 last year to reach a new high of nearly 6.9 million, according to a Justice Department report released today.

(Up)Lifting Story
by John Schwade

"No Firearms" signs are posted at every entrance to the prison. Inmates are, of course, disarmed prior to delivery. The signs are posted to remind the sheriff's deputies making deliveries to overcome the understandable temptation to carry arms into our high-crime neighborhood. The only arms allowed are those attached to your shoulders.

To be "armed" in prison is to have muscular arms. In fact, muscular arms are sometimes referred to as "guns" on the inside. Practiced at detecting guns on the outside, inmates immediately notice who has "guns" on the inside. It is one significant factor included in an inmate's decisions regarding whom he can intimidate and with whom he should align himself.

(Contrary to the popular myth, it is extraordinarily rare for an inmate to "muscle up" in prison. Inmates with "guns" control access to the "weight stack," and infrequently allow inmates without "guns" to arm their arms.)

As a psychologist, I am one of a handful of employees inside the prison not issued pepper spray or a baton. On the two occasions when I've had to thwart an assault, my strength allowed me to do it quickly and safely. That's why I lift heavy weights. To accommodate heavy weight, my muscles grew to a size noticed and commented upon by inmates each summer. That's when heat and humidity smothers North Carolina, and I wear short-sleeve shirts, exercising my 2nd Amendment right to bare arms.

Don't get me wrong--I don't look like a bodybuilder. I lift weights for functional strength, not to sculpt my body. I don't take anabolic steroids, the opiates of the massive. And I am still trying to shed the extra pounds of fat I stored in preparation for the Y2K cataclysm. Still, inmates comment on the size of my arms, perhaps because they don't expect to see them attached to a 50-year-old psychologist with graying hair and bifocals.

My short sleeves upset one inmate. "You ain't big!" he shouted from behind me in standard craven fashion, after passing in a line of inmates. Of course, he meant that I was too big to intimidate or to confront face-to-face. But every other inmate reaction has been friendly or beyond. They offer encouragement before staff weight-lifting competitions ("I KNOW you're gonna win"), and even promote me far beyond my capabilities, as did an inmate who commented to his friends, "Look at that man. I bet he could bench (press) fo' hun'red pounds!"

(This reminded me of the time a little boy in a candy shop mistook my father, himself capable of prodigious feats of strength, for Superman in civilian apparel, complete with black eyeglasses. Dad, never one to disappoint a child, conceded that the child had identified him sans cape, and ordered the counterman to give the child a free candy bar. Dad paid for it after the enthralled child left.)

One inmate who commented on my size provided a touching example of how some inmates crave a role model to imitate. I was at my computer typing (against only slight resistance from the keyboard) when an inmate (who was not a mental health patient) stopped outside my office. "Mister Schwade, you BIG!" he exclaimed. I invited "U. Big" into the office and answered his questions about how to achieve bigness. I began by telling him how to lift weights safely, and showed him how I kept myself motivated and on track with an exercise log. I demonstrated safe exercises that would enable him to develop functional strength and avoid developing the typical prison weight lifter's body--Tarzan from the waist up, Jane from the waist down. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying the advice or simply the attention, but I found out the next day.

"U. Big" showed up at my office rubbing his arms. "Mister Schwade, I did that workout you showed me, trying to get big like you. I'm SORE!" At once I was gratified, but overwhelmed by the responsibility inherent in the realization that "U. Big" was trying to be like me. I demonstrated some gentle stretching exercises that would alleviate the soreness while mulling the implications. "U. Big" had not only listened to my instruction, he had proceeded to the weight stack on the exercise yard and, in 90-degree air so humid your skin feels as if it is covered with wet sponges, worked so hard he was sore the next day. To "U. Big," I was more than another DOC employee or psychologist. DOC employees and psychologists must, of course, resist the pressure or temptation to step outside our roles. Still, "U. Big's" emulation boosted my determination to perform my role as well as I could in the hope that he could learn from me what he had been unable or unwilling to learn from others. And he had much to learn.

"Did you just lift weights?" "U. Big" asked one afternoon, noticing my freshly showered hair.

"No, today I went hiking in the woods," I told him. I'd cut a path through nearby woods, leading to a stream where I could hop from rock to rock while watching the frogs and turtles. For a guy from Newark, NJ, a non-flammable stream with living animals is a wonder of nature. But not for "U. Big."

"The WOODS!" he exclaimed. "Ain't you afraid of snakes?"

"Well, I watch where I step," I explained. "And I carry a stick to push the stubborn ones out of my path." I thought I'd quelled "U. Big's" concerns for my safety.

"What about bears?" he asked.

"There aren't too many bears in this area," I answered. "But if you make noise, bears will run away. They don't like people."

"Man, I ain't goin' in no woods," "U. Big" assured me. The issue was sadly moot. While "U. Big" could imitate my weight lifting, he was not free to imitate my brave forays into the wilderness.

Each time I see "U. Big" I wonder how his life might have been different if he'd had a role model--dare I say, a father. A protective father who, when he was very small, would be big for him and who later would show him how to become big so he could protect his own family. A father who would help him to overcome a child's fear of the unknown, who would take him into the woods and scare away the bears, both real and imagined. Most importantly, a father who would show and tell him how to overcome the fear of failure--in school, in relationships, and on the job.

We are wisely cautioned against "undue familiarity," and "dual relationships" that could erode our professional roles and foster exploitation. I'll never take "U. Big" hiking in the woods. But I hope that after he is released from prison someone else will.

July 16, 2004

The Source of an inmate's revulsion?
John Schwade
Copyright 2004

DebraDickerson.com has a link to a new book: Check it while I wreck it: Black womanhood, hip hop culture, and the public sphere, by Gwendolyn D. Pough.

The book description at Amazon.com promises this.

Pough demonstrates how influential women rappers such as Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, and Lil' Kim are building on the legacy of earlier generations of women…. She discusses the ways in which today's young black women struggle against the stereotypical language of the past ("castrating black mother," "mammy," "sapphire") and the present ("bitch," "ho," "chickenhead"), and shows how rap provides an avenue to tell their own life stories, to construct their identities, and to dismantle historical and contemporary negative representation of black womanhood. Pough also looks at the on-going public dialogue between male and female rappers about love and relationships, explaining how the denigrating rhetoric used by men has been appropriated by black women rappers as a means of empowerment in their own lyrics.

I don't know how Lil' Kim boasting of urinating in men's mouths, as she does on her latest CD, contradicts the "bitch," "ho," or "chickenhead" label, dismantles the contemporary negative representation of black womanhood, or empowers black women. Nor does her most notorious lyric, "I used to fear the dick / Now I throw lips to the shit" accomplish these lofty goals. In fact, had author Pough spoken to inmates in this prison, she might discovered have such portrayals of "black womanhood" render black women repulsive to audiences.

"The Source" was a black man who found black women repulsive. Being a white man, he assured me I would not face any of the mistreatment inflicted upon the black women who work here. "I won't bite, or throw piss or shit on you," he promised at one of our first "sessions." While "The Source" had no plans to socialize with black women upon his release, his obvious revulsion was extraordinarily distressing to his mother and his two black daughters.

While no one could ever claim with certainty to be capable of uncovering the source of this inmate's revulsion for black women, significantly, "The Source" could not identify a single instance of appreciable mistreatment by a black woman. This led me to consider a source for his revulsion outside his personal life. Again, even if such a source did not cause his revulsion, it could certainly maintain it.

When "The Source" mentioned that he was reading the current issue (October 2001) of The Source magazine, I gave him a homework assignment, to note how black women were pictured, described, and quoted in the magazine. That night, I purchased The Source and found that three female rappers, all black, were featured: "Gangsta Boo," "Missy Elliot" (one of the "influential female rappers" identified by Pough), and "Lil' Mo."

The interview with "Gangsta Boo" begins with, "Every nigga I fuck with gots to eat my pussy," and deteriorates from that point. "Gangsta Boo" heaps disrespect on black men: "Southern niggas think they pimps…. Niggas gots to have they own shit… a nigga must have something. That's just on the strength of my name. If not, I'd rather be by myself…. It's hard to get into a man's mind with so many chickenheads out there. One female can fuck it up for all females…. With us being women, we gotta put the pussy in. I think pussy is power…. Niggas are intimidated by me…. I don't need a nigga for nothing. All the dudes I've been with say I'm crazy. I might swing on them before they swing on me."

"Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliot" ended her interview with the threat of "slapping somebody upside the head… if I have to." She explained the meanings of her songs. "Dog in Heat" is about "a nigga that's ready to bone all day." In "One Minute Man," she laments "a guy who probably been trying to get at your for a long time, once he finally get at you, it just goes real quick or something like that." And "Step Off" is "the record every female is gonna relate to. You break up with a guy but you feel like you still gotta know who he fucking with. If the bitch tighter than you."

The words of "Lil' Mo" can't top the disgusting depictions of black men and black women above, but her photograph is itself disgusting. It shows many of her 17 tattoos. At least it does not show the side of her head with the sutures used to close a wound inflicted in a recent brawl, described in the interview.

Being a prison inmate, "The Source's" only exposure to black women who would potentially be "available" to him comes through the hip-hop music and publications of his choosing. This experience is not limited to prison inmates; much the same is true for millions of white boys and men, for whom black girls and women are geographically or culturally unavailable.. What they think they know comes from the media, and the predominant role for black women in the media today is as video sluts and rappers who call men "niggas." That's another thing.

"The Source" does not like for women to call him "nigga," or belittle him for his lack of possessions, or use their "pussy power" to manipulate him, or intimidate him, or assault him. No sane man would accept this treatment. Yet this is all that is offered by the "available" black women to whom he is exposed.

At our next session, I asked "The Source" for his impression of the black women depicted in the October 2001 issue of The Source. "Truthfully?" he asked. "Really disgusting!"

He didn't say a word about the "empowerment" of black women.

July 15, 2004

(I am so trifling. This should have been posted on Father's Day. Oh wait. I had technical difficulties. Anyway, here 'tis.....--dd)

"Perfume's" Pride in "My Deddy"
by John Schwade

The father of "Perfume," an incarcerated juvenile delinquent named after a dico-era perfume popular at the time of his birth, was a "no-good-nik," to borrow a phrase from Rocky and Bullwinkle's nemesis, Boris Badenov. "Perfume's" daddy ("Perfume" pronounced it "deddy") was a criminal handyman. He dabbled in drug sales, stolen property, and whatever other enterprises would earn him enough money to support his copious cocaine addiction.

The cost of "Deddy's" cocaine addiction was not limited to the expense of the drug. "Deddy" crashed his motorcycle while riding on snow--the kind that goes up the nose. A leg was traumatically amputated in the accident. Subsequently, a cocaine dose of greater-than-usual potency ("overdose" does not really apply to a drug without an established safe dosage) caused a massive stroke, robbing him of his speech and paralyzing the side of his body that included his remaining leg. Before age 40, "Deddy" had paid a heavy price for his addiction to cocaine. He was in such condition, in a nursing home, when his son "Perfume" was admitted to training school.

"Perfume" was aware of his father's foibles and sins, but spoke highly of him nevertheless. Indeed, "Perfume" was most proud of his "Deddy's" determination to overcome the traumatic amputation of a leg and continue to work as a criminal handyman. "He'd fight you, even with one good leg!" "Perfume" insisted. It was in the course of relating tales of his "Deddy" whipping badder men that "Perfume" almost compromised his father's reputation as a bad man by omitting a crucial detail.

"One day, this guy came over to my Deddy's garage," "Perfume" related. He said my Deddy owed him some money. He starts beatin' my Deddy on the head with his own shotgun. Just beatin' him on the head with the butt end. Had him down on the ground, beatin' him."

"Were you able to stop it?" I asked.

"Oh, my brother, he sneaked around the back and shot the man."

Children who are raised amidst such violence are often unaware that it is not the norm. "Do you know that's not normal?" I asked. "To beat a man with one good leg like that, that's cruel."

"Perfume" was uncomfortable with my sympathy for his father's plight. A bad man needs no sympathy. Having been taught manners, "Perfume" considered why I might have thought his father pitiful. Then it came to him. "Oh, oh. See, that day, my Deddy weren't wearing his leg," he explained. Presumably, if Deddy had been wearing his prosthesis, a man armed with a mere shotgun wouldn't have had a chance.

After the session, as I walked with "Perfume" to the school, I noticed he was limping. This was not uncommon among incarcerated juvenile delinquents, many of whom did the "Crip walk," bending their right knee excessively to show they were "down" with the right side (right being the patron side of the Crips). But the Crip walk looked like a faux limp, like something feigned by a character in an old Western movie called "Pappy." "Perfume" was walking with a knee locked, swinging his leg at the hip. "Did you hurt yourself?" I inquired. "You're limping."

"I'm limping?" "Perfume" reacted with surprise. Immediately, his gait returned to normal. "Perfume" was sheepish. "I guess sometimes I walk like my Deddy."

"Deddy" died while "Perfume" was locked up in the juvenile facility. After his release, "Perfume" continued to walk as his "Deddy" had--right into prison. Like the legion of fatherless former juvenile delinquents grown into adult prison inmates, "Perfume" greeted me in prison with a smile and a "Hey, Mister Schwade!"

I have two healthy legs, but they both felt heavy.

June 7, 2004

"Lee Ni Ent" sentence

by John Schwade

Below is an abstract from a Risk Assessment I wrote on an inmate who was eligible for promotion from medium to minimum custody.

As you read through the descriptions of his crimes--an armed robbery spree that included kidnapping--remember that he was only sentenced for one such crime. Eleven other felonies were "consolidated for judgement." I know I can't, but maybe someone else can decide which crime he should be sentenced for, and which were "freebies." And maybe someone can tell the victims of the "freebies" why the man who terrorized them received no punishment for that particular crime.

It boggles the mind.

If you want to get a sense of how absurd this is, consider the next time you buy 4 tires, telling the clerk you're only going to pay for one of them. Tell the clerk "the other three tires have been consolidated for payment."

Now you have some insight into why even career convicts never learn that you have to pay the price for hurting people.

******************************************************
REASON FOR REFERRAL:
Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" is currently serving a sentence of 3 years and 10 months to 5 years and 5 months for the following 12 felonies:

· Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (6 counts);
· Attempted Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (1 count);
· Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (3 counts); · Kidnapping, Second-degree (1 count); · Breaking and Entering (1 count).

This inmate was referred for a Community Risk Assessment to aid in the determination of suitability for unsupervised access to the community.
The purpose of the assessment and the limits of confidentiality were explained to the inmate.

ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES:
The following assessment techniques were used: record review (including Official Crime Version), interview with inmate, administration of BETA, MMPI-2, and Community Risk Worksheet.

HISTORY:
Criminal. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" was admitted to prison on 2-28-2003 and has a projected release date of 5-18-2006. He was first arrested at age 16 and has since been arrested 10 times. This is the first incarceration his first incarceration.

While incarcerated, he has received no infractions for serious institutional misconduct.
The Official Crime Version provided the following details of the armed robberies (Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon) for which he is incarcerated. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" was convicted of committing an armed robbery on [MONTH DELETED] 23, [YEAR DELETED], when he entered a store with two employees and took the money from the cash drawer. He assured both victims that he did not want to hurt anyone. He left in a car with two other occupants. He was caught a year later during a crime spree, during which he committed 5 armed robberies, brandishing a handgun, between [MONTH DELETED] 26 and [MONTH DELETED] 26, [YEAR DELETED]; the last 4 were committed between [MONTH DELETED] 19 and [MONTH DELETED] 26, [YEAR DELETED]. During the course of this spree, Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" became notably more adept. He committed each armed robbery alone, without accomplices who might "snitch." He learned to conceal his identity with masks, and to commit armed robberies at times and in places with fewer witnesses. He also became more threatening, forgoing his initial promises not to hurt compliant victims, and displaying anger toward his final victims.

On [MONTH DELETED] 26, [YEAR DELETED], he robbed a pizza restaurant with two employees at 10:30 p.m. He took money from the cash register, and then ordered an employee at gunpoint to accompany him to the back of the business, where he took the money from the safe.

On [MONTH DELETED] 19, he robbed a dry cleaner at 4:25 p.m. He announced, "Don't move and I won't hurt anybody. Just give me the money."

The next day, [MONTH DELETED] 20, [YEAR DELETED], he entered a store wearing an improvised mask and ordered the employees to open the cash register. He said, "I don't want to hurt anyone." After he had taken the money, he perhaps exhibited his confidence that his mask had concealed his identity, stating, "Do what you have to do. If you need to, call the police."

Four days later, on [MONTH DELETED] 24, [YEAR DELETED], he entered a video store with black pantyhose over his head. He ordered the victims to put their hands up, and took the money from two cash registers. He did not promise not to hurt compliant victims.

Two days later, on [MONTH DELETED] 26, [YEAR DELETED], he committed the armed robbery that resulted in his arrest. He entered a motel with a black mask over his face. He demanded and received the money from the cash drawer. He insisted that the clerk open the safe, but she told him she was unable. In an ill-conceived attempt to get away from Inmate "Lee Ni Ent", the clerk told him she knew where some money was kept and took him to the room of an unsuspecting motel guest. When the guest opened the door, Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" demanded the money. The clerk looked under the mattress of one bed, claiming the hotel manager kept money there, but of course there was no money. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" demanded that the guest lift the mattress on the other bed and of course there was no money to be found. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" became angry and began to shout at the clerk and the guest. In an attempt to appease Inmate "Lee Ni Ent", the clerk claimed it was her first day on the job and she had been told money was kept under mattress in the room of the unwitting guest.
Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" ran to his car and drove away. He was seen running from the motel by a police officer. That officer apprehended Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" forthwith.

TEST RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION:
Prior to the current assessment, the BETA was administered on 3-7-2003, and yielded an IQ of 95.
The MMPI-2 was administered on 4-19-2004. The results were valid. The score of 62 on Scale 4 has been associated with an increased likelihood of violent recidivism.

COMMUNITY RISK WORKSHEET:
A Community Risk Worksheet was completed. Of 10 possible risk factors, Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" had two: three prior arrests, and MMPI-2 Scale 4 > 61 (62),

Because the total is less than 3, by the standards of the Community Risk Worksheet, Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" is considered an acceptable risk for unsupervised access to the community. Nevertheless this psychologist recommends Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" not be promoted (see below).

INTERVIEWER'S IMPRESSION:
Although the seriousness of the crime indicates that Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" will always represent some risk to society, according to the instruments and standards used in this risk assessment, the risk that Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" poses if given unsupervised access to the community is rated as "acceptable". Nevertheless, in the clinical judgement of this examiner, promotion is contraindicated because of the nature of the crimes he committed and the sentence he received. This recommendation is based upon the following three factors.

1. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" committed a crime spree. While most armed robbers know that it is best to "lay low" after committing an armed robbery, "spree" criminals are unable to exercise such self-control because the excitement (positive reinforcement) they derive from each crime is too great. "Spree" criminals typically increase the frequency and severity of their crimes until they are apprehended, as happened with Inmate "Lee Ni Ent". Even in prison, "spree" criminals pose a great danger to others once they discover what crimes they can commit in their situation. Their "good" behavior in higher-security conditions [MONTH DELETED] be interpreted simply as an effect of the unavailability of a weapon, or of drugs to sell, rather than the inmate's rehabilitation or progress. 2. When it comes to avoiding detection for his crimes, Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" is a quick learner. Note how he learned to conceal his face with a mask, to rob businesses with only one employee, and to commit his robberies at night, rather than in daylight. 3. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" received an extraordinarily lenient sentence for the following 12 felonies (with the class of each felony).

· Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (6 counts), D;
· Attempted Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (1 count), D;
· Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon (3 counts), E; · Kidnapping, Second-degree (1 count), E; · Breaking and Entering (1 count), H.

The kidnapping was committed with a firearm, which made him eligible for conviction on a charge of First-degree Kidnapping (rather than Second-degree kidnapping).

Despite the number of serious felonies Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" was caught committing, all 12 were consolidated for judgement. Consequently, he could serve as little as 3 years and 10 months. Even the maximum sentence, 5 years and 5 months, is extraordinarily generous, not just in comparison to the sentence he could potentially have received, but more significantly in comparison to the sentences given to Inmate's "Lee Ni Ent"'s inmate peers. Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" is intelligent enough to understand that he received an extremely lenient sentence, that he was essentially sentenced for one felony and that the other 11 felonies were free. What implications does this have for the Department of Correction?

First, in determining the conditions of confinement and security level necessary for Inmate "Lee Ni Ent", the DOC is not obligated to overlook the 11 serious felonies for which Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" essentially received no punishment.

Second, the spree nature of Inmate "Lee Ni Ent"'s crimes indicated that the excitement, the positive reinforcement, he received while kidnapping, robbing, and terrorizing his victims at gunpoint was irresistible to Inmate "Lee Ni Ent". Rather than a sentence severe enough to deter further crimes, to override the positive reinforcement obtained through his crime spree(s), Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" received a lenient sentence. While it is not possible to predict behavior with exactitude, we can say with certainty that when a behavior (armed robbery) provides powerful reinforcement that is not countered by powerful punishment, we can expect that behavior and like behaviors to recur given the opportunity. Because Inmate "Lee Ni Ent" is in the custody of DOC under Medium Custody conditions, we should expect his behavior to recur should he be given greater opportunity, as he surely would under Minimum Custody conditions.

Therefore, I recommend that promotion be denied at this time.

Disgraced troopers collecting pensions: 2 who resigned over tapes get thousands in disability. "Two state troopers who resigned last year after the discovery of two videotapes showing them making offensive remarks about minority motorists are now receiving disability pensions worth tens of thousands of dollars annually."

This is for 'injuries' sustained "years" earlier, mind you. Poor babies had been manfully working through the pain, too upstanding to apply for disability until it occurred to them just the day before resigning in disgrace.

I bet these two of New Jersey's finest could just go on and on about 'welfare queens' and 'peole who just don't want to work', 'people who want something for nothing'.

This is why I believe in gun control; without it, I'd be offing these hypocrites left and right.

June 6, 2004

Prison and its Aftermath.

News from the Drug War. "For the past 15 years, lawmakers have pursued tough-on-drugs policies in an effort to create a "drug free America," plowing billions of dollars into prosecuting and imprisoning drug offenders. Is it working? Not according to many drug policy observers of each political stripe. Indeed, some claim the war on drugs has been a complete - and extremely costly - failure."

What the Bagel Man Saw. "An economist quits his job to sell baked goods in office parks and ends up creating the perfect laboratory to study white-collar crime."

A Long Way Down. "It wasn't easy for Jay Jones to go to prison for conspiring to defraud investors or to leave his comfortable life behind. Even harder was accepting that he had committed a crime." Poor baby.

Throwing Away the Key. "Will harsh sentences for corporate criminals really make us feel better?" If your name is Quiante and you're doing 15 years for living next door to a crack dealer- YES!

Trouble in Private U.S. Jails Preceded Job Fixing Iraq's. "Tyson Johnson was in the Santa Fe County jail here in January 2002, awaiting trial on charges of stalking and aggravated assault, when his longtime claustrophobia gave him anxiety attacks and he asked to see a psychiatrist.

But the jail, which is run by a private prison company, Management and Training Corporation, did not have a psychiatrist or a psychologist. So Mr. Johnson tried slitting his wrist and neck with a razor, and when that failed, he told the jail's nurse, Sheila Turner, "Today I am going to take myself out."

A guard, Crystal Quintana, told investigators that the nurse replied, "Let him." Ms. Turner denies this, her lawyer says.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Johnson, 27 and with no previous criminal record, was found hanging from a sprinkler head in a windowless isolation cell where he was supposedly being closely watched."

Iraq 'Supermax' Prison Won't Wipe Away Abu Ghraib Stain. "In his five-point plan for Iraq reconstruction, President Bush touted his plan to build a modern maximum-security prison in Iraq as one way to wipe away the horrid stain of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The irony is that the type of maximum-security prison Bush wants to build has come under fierce assault from prison reformers, lawmakers and even some prison officials in the United States. These prisons, popularly known as a supermax prisons, have been the target of prisoner lawsuits in Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, and Illinois. In 2000, the Justice Department brought federal charges against prison guards for shooting inmates at Pelican Bay, California's supermax prison."

June 5, 2004

Case of slain transgender teen goes to the jury in California. "A jury began deliberating Thursday in the murder case against three young men charged with beating and strangling a teenager after discovering she was biologically male."

June 4, 2004

The Control Group has a Bad Day

by John Schwade

It was her beautiful eyes, set off by chocolate colored skin more alluring than any makeup, that drew me to her. No, I'm not talking about my wife Wendy again, although her eyes still draw me like a Star Trek tractor beam. These were the eyes of Tasha Seemungal of Long Island, N.Y., seen through the window of a Raleigh News & Observer newspaper machine. Tasha was pictured above the fold waiting for her engine to cool after, as the headline above her explained, a "FATAL CRASH OF MINIVAN AND TANKER SETS OFF DAYLONG SNARL." Nothing conveys the horror, pain, and grief of a 59-year-old father of two dying inside his overturned tanker truck in the southbound lanes of I-95 quite like a photo of a fetching young woman. I invested fifty cents and found that Friday, May 28, 2004 had been a bad day for North Carolina's "control group."

Working with and writing about North Carolina's prison inmates, for me, North Carolina's control group consists of those who are not in prison, or not in prison yet, or generally considered to be the sort of people who would never commit a crime deserving of a prison sentence. Of course the actions of prison inmates are, as a group, "worser" (as we say in prison) than the actions of the control group. But how much "worser"? Perspective requires comparison of the actions of inmates with the actions of a control group.

Group comparisons are commonplace; we make and rely upon such comparisons daily. For example, if the doctor says your blood pressure is160/110, you know, or the doctor will tell you, this is bad because it is higher than the average for a control group of persons who are not at high risk for strokes or heart attacks. Yet the actions of the control group are not explicitly considered in evaluating the misdeeds of those who are sentenced to prison.

I've heard the objections from members of the control group of non-incarcerated and non-prosecuted persons. They kill innocent people! Well, that's demonstrably true. Indeed, if we gave every inmate released from prison today a Colt, Beretta, Taurus, or other firearm as they exited, surely some innocent persons would be dead before the end of the day. But annually, for every American killed by a Colt, Beretta, Taurus, or other firearm, four more are killed by a Colt, Beretta, Taurus, or other automobile. That's how an innocent 57-year-old man died when a 16-year-old driver, detoured from the scene where another man died in his overturned truck, failed to stop for a flashing red light and slammed into the side of his vehicle. Neither the 16-year-old nor her two passengers were injured.

Meanwhile, among the motorists travelling on northbound I-95 and the detoured southbound motorists, there were 15 other wrecks as emergency workers removed the dead and injured and debris from the two fatal wreck sites. How did the control group react to the tragedy of, for example, their delay in reaching "South of the Border," where fireworks can be purchased in abundance? Absent the comforting road noise of a moving bus, passengers of a bus stopped in traffic found the snoring of one passenger suddenly unbearable. The snoring passenger was awakened, and he attempted to enforce his right to sleep by pulling a knife. But those are low-class bus riders. What about the upright citizens who drive cars or support our Saudi allies in the war on terror by driving SUV's? According to the director of the Johnston County 911 communications center, "You get people flipping each other off, communicating threats, cursing at each other."

OK, OK, so the control group is impolite and kills 40,000+ people a year with their vehicles. But those are "accidents." The control group would not kill an innocent human being with premeditation. Would they? Yes, they would. Read all about it in "Three bills push N.C. prosecutors to share evidence." As the article informs, "It's a response to several recent cases--including the February acquittal on retrial of former death row inmate Alan Gell--in which prosecutors or investigators improperly withheld information favorable to the defendant." Hmmm. Sounds like the prosecutors and investigators were planning to kill an innocent man. In North Carolina, that's First-degree Murder--if you're not a prosecutor or investigator. Just in case you've never considered why it is wrong to kill an innocent man with premeditation, State Senator Tony Rand, "who has had a long career as a lawyer," wants you to know, "A case like Gell's tends to lessen the esteem in which the judicial process is held." You see, it would be tragic if North Carolina knowingly executed an innocent man, thereby diminishing the esteem of Tony Rand and others involved in the judicial process.

Davidson County Sheriff Gerald Hege had been held in high esteem. Court TV gave him his own television show, where viewers could enjoy watching him interview inmates at his jail, where he subjected them to petty humiliations, including cells painted pink with purple polka dots. Although the public was enthralled by his "get-tough" approach, I know the real secret to how he kept order in his jail. Inmates in the Davidson County jail were prescribed Elavil for "sleep problems," meaning they had a problem sleeping more than 10 hours a day. One inmate told me Elavil enabled him to sleep up to 20 hours a day, thereby effectively halving his sentence. (The North Carolina Department of Correction does not prescribe Elavil.) That's all over now. Last week, Sheriff Hege pleaded guilty to two counts of Obstruction of Justice and was forced to resign. According to "Hege's deputies off hook," Hege is incensed that the deputies who snitched on him are not being prosecuted for breaking the law, even though they faced dismissal if they did not follow his orders to break the law. Most of Hege's deputies simply pretended to comply with his unlawful order, or complied only with the lawful aspects. The District Attorney explained, "You don't want to do anything that discourages anyone in the future from...coming forward and telling the truth." While I have sympathy for Hege's beleaguered deputies, I am certain that neither they, nor Hege, nor the District Attorney ever recognized the duress defense in the case of those arrested selling drugs under penalty of death imposed by their slave master.

Everyone knows there are corrupt cops, but firemen? Not firemen! I mean, don't we tell mothers contemplating the murder of their newborns to drop them off at the firehouse, where they can be hosed off and otherwise cared for? Well, at least erstwhile High Point firefighter Randy Hughes could be counted on to receive newborn infants even when fire crews were responding to a call. In "Firefighter pleads no contest in thefts," we find that Hughes "placed false 911 calls so he could take money from fire stations while fire crews were out."

If cops and firefighters are not honorable, what about honor students? "Enloe valedictorian opts out" reports that Evan Wu, who had the highest grade-point average of the 521 seniors in his graduating class, would not address the graduates or even participate in the graduation ceremony, in accordance with the desires of many of his classmates. He had served a five-day suspension earlier in the school year for what his mother called a "silly matter." A television newscast reported Wu had forged a teacher's name on a letter of recommendation, which is not a silly matter.

Tired of crime? Then let's hang out with the rich and famous at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. That's where last year George Edward Wheatly, Jr. had a fabulous end-of-school party. George is the grandson of a prominent attorney and the son of the owner of an oil and tire company. Last year, George loaded up his jeep with beer and students, cracked open a cold one, and raced down the beach at 60 mph. It was wild. Then he overturned the jeep, killing a 17-year-old German exchange student. But George is so cool. He gets out of his jeep, looks at the girl, and says--get this--"Hey, one of you guys has to say you're the driver. I can't afford any more DUI's." The article, "Beach death brings prison," doesn't really convey how hard the privileged party, but you can read between the lines.

Well, it was an accident. Some rich people kill on purpose. But, like, they only do it help their own family. "Convicted killer dies at Butner" is the story of the life and deaths of Christopher L. Mosely, third husband of Lisa Dean Mosely, an heiress to the du Pont family chemical fortune. See, Lisa's son, Simpson, had this girlfriend, Patricia. Patricia had been a South Philadelphia prostitute. (The inclusion of this detail leaves me wondering how that is significantly different from being a North Philadelphia prostitute.) Mr. and Mrs. Mosely blamed Patricia for making Simpson dependent on chemicals. Mr. and Mrs. Mosely were themselves dependent on du Pont Chemicals, but that's a different matter. As part of Simpson's rehabilitation plan, Mr. Mosely hired three people to beat Patricia to death. Her body was found stuffed inside an air-conditioning duct in a Las Vegas motel. (The author did not specify whether it was in South Vegas or North Vegas.)

Need a distraction? What's on the radio? Bob Dumas, host of the area's top-rated morning radio show, described "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino as "ghetto." Hence the article "Radio host draws minister's ire." Defending himself, Dumas said "ghetto" is not race-specific." To Dumas, it means "just a lower-class person. It can be black, it can be white, it can be Hispanic. It can be anybody." Of course, Fantasia Barrino is black, and she can't be white, she can't be Hispanic, she can't be anybody. Oh, and Dumas predicted on the air that Fantasia Barrion was going to end up a crack cocaine addict. The Dumas defense is B.S. (Coincidentally, if you insert a "b" and an "s" into "Dumas," you produce an apt description of the area's most popular morning radio host.)

This isn't working. Let's go up north, to Canada. Oops. The Sports section has a photograph of two hockey thugs fighting under the headline, "Learning to be enemies." Hockey is even more exciting now that Russian thugs (some with ties to Russian organized crime) have joined Canadian thugs on the ice. Russian Ruslan Fedotenko translated the American thug credo, "Don't start no stuff, won't be no stuff," into clumsy English: "We're trying not to have retaliation, but whatever you give you have to expect also." I am trying not to have headache, but reading about the headache control group give to others I must expect to receive headache also.

Look at your local newspaper today. Much if not most of the misery reported is attributable to the control group rather than criminals or "ghetto" people. The same is doubtless true in your own life. You can be assured that none of the convicted felons in this prison will ever qualify for your job or for the job of the supervisor who makes your life miserable. They won't manage the HMO that attempts to fight your claim until you die. They won't squander or loot your pension funds. And don't overlook the tangible ways in which the control group contributes to crimes for which criminals are imprisoned. Some "bad" drug dealers would go out of business but for the "good" people who purchase their products.

Even with two million Americans behind bars, there is still plenty of misery and mayhem, courtesy of the control group. While it is right and proper to be concerned with crime, a preoccupation with the misdeeds of "bad people" has not and will not make us happy. Nor will scapegoating, dispensing ever-harsher sentences to those caught committing the types of crimes "bad" people commit. We've got to consider the actions of the control group. Of course, it's easier to criticize "them" than to criticize "us." On this point the "Hindude" is fond of quoting the late Jesus Christ, who admonished "You can see the speck in your neighbor's eye but you can not see the beam in your own eye."

I'd like to write more about this, but I have something in my eye.

'Cops' Re-Invited To Tape Cincinnati Police. Sheriff Welcomes 'Cops' Crews. Good Idea? "Police Chief Tom Streicher re-invited the television show Wednesday, six days after canceling an earlier invitation because of pressure from City Council members who questioned the show's impact on tourism and the city's image."

Agreement on Rockefeller drug law reform; negotiations continue, By JOEL STASHENKO, Associated Press. "With no fuss or fanfare, negotiators for the state Assembly and Senate this week agreed to ease back on the harshest of the drug laws that a panicky Gov. Nelson Rockefeller pushed through the state Legislature in the mid-1970s."

May 30, 2004

"HIP-HOPPERS NOT WELCOME IN MIAMI BEACH: Especially this weekend. Just ask Luther Campbell. It may or may not be outright racism, but the Miami Beach police department is not hiding the fact that it is not too fond of hip-hoppers gettin' their party freak on over the Memorial Day Weekend in their fair city.
The Miami Herald is reporting that The American Civil Liberties Union wants to meet with Miami Beach leaders to discuss the city's treatment of hundreds of thousands of hip-hop revelers on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend." reports the EUR.

May 25, 2004

Eliot Spitzer, Wimp: Why the New York attorney general isn't strong-arming white-collar shysters.

Supreme Stupidity

by John Schwade

Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, the NYC drug kingpin whose money is behind the "Murder, Inc." cabal of rappers (including Jay Z, who was virtually licked all over by CBS's Bob Simon in the most outrageous fluff piece ever aired by 60 MInutes), is under investigation for three murders. He isn't hard for detectives to find, as he is back in federal prison for possession of a gun by a convicted felon. How was he caught with a gun?

Creative thugs hide their weapons. In Durham, NC, a favorite tactic is to order terrified neighbors to let their grass grow long so that thugs can keep their firearms strewn about on the lawns adjoining their street pharmacies. Guns are also hidden atop automobile tires, behind the wheel well. Those with enough money have hidden panels built into their cars. Those with the most money (e.g. "Suge" Knight, the convicted felon who runs "Death Row" Records) hire corrupt police officers to serve as bodyguiards. These scoundrels do their target practice in remote locations, unless they have the neighborhood "on lockdown," in which case they simply shoot at homes in the neighborhood. But not "Supreme."

"Supreme" went to a firing range and signed up for a class in handgun training. Of course, he used an alias, but that doesn't help much when the feds are tailing you.

The moniker "Supreme" indicates that Kenneth McGriff is a devotee of the Nation of Gods and Earths, and as such considers himself to be a supreme being. (His associate is Dennis "Divine" Crosby, who adopted a moniker usually reserved for strippers.) "Supreme" lives down to his moniker. He is supremely stupid.

May 20, 2004

"The prison effect on political landscape: The US prison boom of the past 30 years - which has nearly doubled the number of state prisons to more than 1,000 and increased the nation's prison population from 218,000 to 1.3 million - has had widely recognized economic, political, and social effects. But one important political effect of the forced relocation of millions of inmates has been largely overlooked: The dilution of the urban black vote to the benefit of rural white communities." From the Christian Science Monitor.

Abandoned Children: There ought to be a law!
by John Schwade

Ralph Kiner, the perpetually befuddled baseball announcer, began a 1985 New York Mets broadcast with, "It's Father's Day, so to all you fathers out there, Happy Birthday!" For the next ten years, that remained the most egregious attempt to celebrate Father's Day that I had ever witnessed--until I began working with juvenile delinquents in a training school.

In early June of 1995, the social worker brought a box of Father's Day cards to the cellblock (euphemistically called a "cottage") where I worked. The box had 32 cards in it, one for each of the juvenile delinquents to send to his father. On the day after Father's Day, I saw the box of cards, nearly full. I counted 27 cards. The social worker explained to the new psychologist that most of the juvenile delinquents either did not know their father, did not know where their father lived, or simply had no regard for their father.

Among the inmates who come to me for treatment of mental health problems, fewer than 10% have any ongoing relationship with their father. Their relationships with their mothers give male-bashers no cause for celebration, although it is certainly harder for a woman who gives birth to a child to claim the child is not hers.

Numerous studies have shown that parental abandonment is highly correlated with not just criminality, but with the mental illnesses that I see most often among young inmates, anxiety and depression. (Symptoms of anxiety and depression overlap, and are often correlated, or "co-morbid" in the terminology du jour. Recent research indicates they might actually be the same disorder, as anxiety, especially generalized anxiety disorder, is so often a precursor of depression.) This is not surprising, given that the single best predictor of adult depression is loss of a parent before the child is 12 years of age. Every day for over nine years I have seen adolescents and young men furious at all authority figures (you were taught in Psychology 101 that there is transference of feelings about one's parents to authority figures), panicking at the possibility of abandonment (even by prison guards), or weeping as they described their abandonment by one or both parents.

There ought to be a law.

Being confronted daily with the tragic consequences of parental abandonment I believed this strongly--until I found there is a law. In North Carolina (North Carolina General Statutes 14-322.1) "Abandonment of a child or children for six months" is a Class I felony (Class A is the most serious). Here is the entire statute, fresh off the NC Legislature's web site.

14-322.1. Abandonment of child or children for six months.
Any man or woman who, without just cause or provocation, willfully abandons his or her child or children for six months and who willfully fails or refuses to provide adequate means of support for his or her children during the six months' period, and who attempts to conceal his or her whereabouts from his or her child with the intent of escaping his lawful obligation for the support of said child or children, shall be punished as a Class I felon.

This law includes a stipulation with no practical significance: a person guilty of this offense must abandon his or her child or children "with the intent of escaping his lawful obligation for the support of said child or children." The parents who have abandoned the children and adults I have treated have violated all the stipulations of this law. They do not pay child support. (In fact, the mandated centralized collection agency does not accept cash payments, let alone anonymous cash payments, so payers must reveal at least where they bank.)

Being a Class I felony, Abandonment of a Child or Children for six months is in the same class as these crimes.

· Carrying a Concealed Weapon (2nd offense)
· Safecracking,
· Breaking or Entering a Vehicle
· Forgery
· Subornation of Perjury
· Selling marijuana, opium-based painkillers, Valium, or anabolic steroids · Escape from State Prison System [we in the DOC frown upon this]

This should tell you that the NC legislature considers Abandonment of a Child or Children for Six Months to be a serious crime. Yet this statute is not enforced.

Imagine a society in which any of the other Class I felonies above were not prosecuted. What if the DOC didn't stop inmates from escaping prisons? What if the neighborhood kids could all carry guns in their backpacks? What if drug dealers could sell door-to-door? What if you observed someone breaking into your car, called 911, and the police told you they weren't interested? Abandonment of a Child or Children is even more serious than these offenses because it creates persons who carry concealed weapons, break into cars, sell drugs, and when they are caught, try to escape from prison.

Nevertheless, during the 9+ years I have been involved with juvenile delinquents and prison inmates who were abandoned by one or both parents, not one parent in North Carolina has been convicted of abandoning his or her child.

By contrast, from January 1, 1995 through January 31, 2003, the total number of convictions for another Class I felony, Forgery, is a whopping 16,414. Of those convicted of Forgery during this period, 10,910 were sentenced to probation and 5,504 to probation.

The most common objection I've heard to prosecuting those who abandon their children is, "It won't make them love their children." I agree. But there would be other benefits from enforcing this statute.

First, enforcement would be a much-needed declaration of sympathy for the victims of this crime, the abandoned children. The law can not compel parents to love their children, nor can it undo the damage inflicted by abandonment. Then again, no law, no penalty, can undo the damage inflicted by a crime. But enforcement would at least signal to the abandoned children that the rest of us agree they were treated abysmally, and most significantly, that abandonment was not their fault. You would be appalled to know how many parents tell the children they abandoned that they had to do it because "You were so bad." Every victim of a serious crime needs and deserves reassurance that they were not to blame for their mistreatment. Have we not done this for victims of rape and other sex offenses?

Second, enforcement will deter the next generation of potential neglectful parents from having children they are unwilling or unable to raise. Of course laws will always be violated, but if laws had no effect Fallujah would be the model for "Anytown, U.S.A." At the least we would no longer have young men bragging about how many babies they have abandoned, and I would have recourse when a cold-hearted inmate bragged to me that he abandoned his child because, "It was just a 'keep-a-nigga' baby," and he was not going to be kept. Also, might not some potential neglectful parents use condoms, slowing the spread of HIV?

Third, the only proven benefit of prison is to quarantine criminals so that they can not repeat their crimes. It is difficult to procreate in prison. Susan Smith (remember her?) got pregnant in a South Carolina prison, but her achievement was noteworthy because it is so rare. Those imprisoned for abandoning their children usually can not, while they are in prison, create other children to abandon.

Finally, some parents who have abandoned their children will certainly assume their parental responsibility when they get the message that the rest of us can not raise their children, and are fed up with trying. Others will do so only after they are released from prison. But the children of these once-neglectful parents will be helped just by the presence of their parents, however inept they are. I can't tell you how many times I've heard inmates say, gratefully, "My Momma was on drugs real bad, but she was there for me," or "My Daddy [pronounced "Deddy" in NC] got in lots of trouble, but he took me fishing."

How's this for a radical idea: have parents who abandon their children take mandatory parenting classes while on probation or in prison?

Unfortunately for the children of North Carolina, a new law encourages abandonment of children, as long as they are abandoned where someone kind is likely to find them, and when they are so young they are completely helpless. On July 19, 2001, Governor Easley signed into law House Bill 275, AN ACT TO DECRIMINALIZE ABANDONMENT OF AN INFANT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AND TO MODIFY SOME PROCEDURES INVOLVING ABANDONED JUVENILES. This Act was an attempt to make it more convenient for mothers to not murder the infants to which they just gave birth. Listening to the proponents of the Act, you would have thought it necessary because adoption was illegal and murder legal.

While quite convenient for the mother wishing to avoid a murder conviction, the Act neglects the urgent medical needs an abandoned infant is most likely to face. "Any individual who takes an infant into temporary custody may inquire as to the parents' identities and as to any relevant medical history, but the parent is not required to provide the information. The individual shall notify the parent that the parent is not required to provide the information." So, if the mother had active Herpes lesions while giving birth, she is not required to tell the firefighter, police officer, or social worker who scooped her little Moses out of the river. It doesn't matter that the child might be blinded. And if the mother was using drugs that would cause the infant to suffer withdrawal, she is not required to reveal that. Of course, if the mother has transmitted AIDS to the child, we'll find out sooner or later. After all, the mother is doing her infant a favor by not murdering it. Why should we ask her embarrassing questions?

Fathers are not mentioned in the Act, although there is little reason to believe that a woman who pays for artificial insemination will leave her infant at the local jail. A father who comes home from work, or war, or prison expecting to see his child might just find he no longer has a child. Too bad, Dad--you should have stayed home and watched television.

It's hard to put into words the heartlessness of this Act. Pardon me if I dust off my old stand-up comedy routine to make the point. "I'll tell ya, my wife, my wife. She gets on my nerves, you know? I mean, she gets on my nerves so bad, I had to put her in a basket and leave her at the firehouse!"

ADHD Inmate's Polical Analysis

By John Schwade

I've only seen one legitimate case of adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. "Broomstick" had been diagnosed as ADHD as a young child, and shortly after he got to prison he realized he hadn't outgrown it.

While he was sweeping the