The Limits of Citizenship: Rights of Prisoners and ex-Prisoners in USA

Contrary to popular beliefs and commonly held rhetoric, rights are not naturally given to people/residents/citizens. Very few, if any, rights are inherently granted by virtue of being born a human being. Although the authors of the Bill of Rights (in the USA) as well as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights want us to believe that these rights are innate, in fact they were fought for and only barely achieved. At any given time, there are counter forces that actively push to minimize and reverse rights that were gained after long and hard struggles. For example, in the United States the “sacred” right for privacy was vastly violated with the signature and support of President George W. Bush soon after the attack of September 11, 2001 was carried out within the boundaries of the country. This is but one example where rights are not guaranteed forever and are only in place so long as there are enough people actively fighting to keep them and, if possible, to expand them. My argument, though my data are mostly US-based, is that the rights of prisoners and ex-prisoners are an excellent measure and estimate for the strength of human rights in a given society. The more punitive and exclusionary are the policies towards prisoners and ex-prisoners, the less protected are the rights of citizens in general. The more a society excludes prisoners and ex-prisoners, the more ready it is to limit the rights of other members of that society. I would welcome a comparative study of this topic to assess which societies treat prisoners and ex-prisoners more humanly and which in a more exclusionary manner

The Impact of Prison Deinstitutionalization on Community Treatment Services

Background: With one in every 108 Americans behind bars, the deinstitutionalization of prisons is a pressing issue for all those facing the daunting challenges of successfully reintegrating ex-offenders into both their communities and the larger society. Given the strong evidence that treatment services, such as mental/behavioral health, alcohol/substance abuse, and primary healthcare may reduce recidivism, the large number of prisoner releases highlights the need for adequate treatment services in the community. It is within this context that the current study aims to examine the effects of prison deinstitutionalization on community based intervention modalities. Methods: This study set out to address a set of fundamental research questions in the current climate of reversing the 40-year upward trend in prison population. This thread of inquiry is based on a hydraulic model of institutionalization of transinstitutionalization. This hydraulic framework posits that there are many overlaps between public safety and mental health needs, and that psychiatric institutionalization and penal institutionalization are functionally dependent. Longitudinal data with annual standardized measures such as rates and percentages for this change modeling were obtained from a number of national data programs for all 50 states. Our analytical focus concentrated on the second half of the decade of the 2000s. Results: Change in the state imprisonment rate was negatively correlated with change in the rate of substance abuse treatment admissions (r = -0.24; p \u3c .05) and the change in the rate of inpatient admissions in state psychiatric hospitals (r = 0.10; p \u3e .05) as predicted. However, only the bivariate association between imprisonment and substance abuse treatment admissions attained the conventional threshold of statistical significance. Holding constant the direct and indirect effects of changes in the rates of violent crime and illicit drug use, change in prison population was negatively associated with changes in the rate of substance abuse (unstandardized coefficient = -0.891; p \u3c 0.05) and mental health admissions (unstandardized coefficient = -0.509; p \u3e 0.05) in the community. Conclusion: By using a path analysis of the hydraulic model, we argue that social systems, similar to water moving in closed tubes, aspire to equilibrate. In other words, a decrease in prison population will not go without a corresponding increase in community mental health and substance abuse services. Social voids like those created by deinstitutionalization must be filled; and with states deinstitutionalizing offenders the toll is on their corresponding communities to address the needs of those offenders who are reentering after being incarcerated. In devising a policy and practice strategy to address the projected increase in the reentry population, leadership within communities for social and supportive services to ex-prisoners, specifically treatment services should be of primary concern

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Environmentalism, pre-environmentalism, and public policy

In the last decade, thousands of new grassroots groups have formed to oppose environmental pollution on the basis that it endangers their health. These groups have revitalized the environmental movement and enlarged its membership well beyond the middle class. Scientists, however, have been unable to corroborate these groups' claims that exposure to pollutants has caused their diseases. For policy analysts this situation appears to pose a choice between democracy and science. It needn't. Instead of evaluating the grassroots groups from the perspective of science, it is possible to evaluate science from the perspective of environmentalism. This paper argues that environmental epidemiology reflects ‘pre-environmentalist’ assumptions about nature and that new ideas about nature advanced by the environmental movement could change the way scientists collect and interpret data.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45449/1/11077_2005_Article_BF01006494.pd

Assessing Philadelphia\u27s community institutional capacity for prisoner reentry

More than ever in American history and more than in any country in the world, every year hundreds of thousands of individuals are incarcerated and released. Most of those released return to communities and families that have limited capacity to support their reentry. In 2005, more than 30,000 individuals returned from prison and jail to Philadelphia neighborhoods. Thus, there is an enormous need for programs, social interventions, services and support to improve the chances of the pro-social reintegration of individuals returning from prisons and jails, which will enhance the public health and safety and cohesion of communities. The literature has shown that community institutions can and do play a significant role in easing the reentry process. As devolution unfolds, community organizations, practitioners, policymakers, and local governments are confronted with the question of communities\u27 capacities to play the role expected of them to address local challenges. Yet while there are a few studies on the role of community capacity in criminal justice, there are none assessing communities\u27 institutional capacity for prisoner reentry. This study sought to determine the community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry within Philadelphia. A cross-sectional study, this assessment utilized primary survey data, as well as administrative data obtained from federal, state and county corrections departments to assess Philadelphia\u27s reentry needs and community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry. Using inferential statistics and GIS methodologies within an asset-based framework of community organization, the study looked at the five dimensions ( Demographics and Stability. Resources, Outreach and Networking, Products and Services and Presence) of CIC necessary for pro-social ex-offender reintegration. This assessment addresses the collective efficacy that in part determines a community\u27s overall potential to address specific problems. The results were striking. Of organizations that presently serve individuals returning from prison or jail, most of them said they had the capacity to serve more ex-prisoners. Of those that do not presently serve ex-prisoners, but do not have any restrictions to serving them, 60 percent say they have the capacity to serve more. The locations of the serving organizations were found to be a barrier to enhanced utilization. Furthermore, overnight care was found to be in extremely short supply. Services were found to be uncoordinated and fragmented. The challenge, then, is to connect the tens of thousands of ex-prisoners with the much-needed services available, to develop new services, and to coordinate the service delivery system

Assessing Philadelphia\u27s community institutional capacity for prisoner reentry

More than ever in American history and more than in any country in the world, every year hundreds of thousands of individuals are incarcerated and released. Most of those released return to communities and families that have limited capacity to support their reentry. In 2005, more than 30,000 individuals returned from prison and jail to Philadelphia neighborhoods. Thus, there is an enormous need for programs, social interventions, services and support to improve the chances of the pro-social reintegration of individuals returning from prisons and jails, which will enhance the public health and safety and cohesion of communities. The literature has shown that community institutions can and do play a significant role in easing the reentry process. As devolution unfolds, community organizations, practitioners, policymakers, and local governments are confronted with the question of communities\u27 capacities to play the role expected of them to address local challenges. Yet while there are a few studies on the role of community capacity in criminal justice, there are none assessing communities\u27 institutional capacity for prisoner reentry. This study sought to determine the community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry within Philadelphia. A cross-sectional study, this assessment utilized primary survey data, as well as administrative data obtained from federal, state and county corrections departments to assess Philadelphia\u27s reentry needs and community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry. Using inferential statistics and GIS methodologies within an asset-based framework of community organization, the study looked at the five dimensions ( Demographics and Stability. Resources, Outreach and Networking, Products and Services and Presence) of CIC necessary for pro-social ex-offender reintegration. This assessment addresses the collective efficacy that in part determines a community\u27s overall potential to address specific problems. The results were striking. Of organizations that presently serve individuals returning from prison or jail, most of them said they had the capacity to serve more ex-prisoners. Of those that do not presently serve ex-prisoners, but do not have any restrictions to serving them, 60 percent say they have the capacity to serve more. The locations of the serving organizations were found to be a barrier to enhanced utilization. Furthermore, overnight care was found to be in extremely short supply. Services were found to be uncoordinated and fragmented. The challenge, then, is to connect the tens of thousands of ex-prisoners with the much-needed services available, to develop new services, and to coordinate the service delivery system

Assessing Philadelphia\u27s community institutional capacity for prisoner reentry

More than ever in American history and more than in any country in the world, every year hundreds of thousands of individuals are incarcerated and released. Most of those released return to communities and families that have limited capacity to support their reentry. In 2005, more than 30,000 individuals returned from prison and jail to Philadelphia neighborhoods. Thus, there is an enormous need for programs, social interventions, services and support to improve the chances of the pro-social reintegration of individuals returning from prisons and jails, which will enhance the public health and safety and cohesion of communities. The literature has shown that community institutions can and do play a significant role in easing the reentry process. As devolution unfolds, community organizations, practitioners, policymakers, and local governments are confronted with the question of communities\u27 capacities to play the role expected of them to address local challenges. Yet while there are a few studies on the role of community capacity in criminal justice, there are none assessing communities\u27 institutional capacity for prisoner reentry. This study sought to determine the community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry within Philadelphia. A cross-sectional study, this assessment utilized primary survey data, as well as administrative data obtained from federal, state and county corrections departments to assess Philadelphia\u27s reentry needs and community institutional capacity (CIC) for prisoner reentry. Using inferential statistics and GIS methodologies within an asset-based framework of community organization, the study looked at the five dimensions ( Demographics and Stability. Resources, Outreach and Networking, Products and Services and Presence) of CIC necessary for pro-social ex-offender reintegration. This assessment addresses the collective efficacy that in part determines a community\u27s overall potential to address specific problems. The results were striking. Of organizations that presently serve individuals returning from prison or jail, most of them said they had the capacity to serve more ex-prisoners. Of those that do not presently serve ex-prisoners, but do not have any restrictions to serving them, 60 percent say they have the capacity to serve more. The locations of the serving organizations were found to be a barrier to enhanced utilization. Furthermore, overnight care was found to be in extremely short supply. Services were found to be uncoordinated and fragmented. The challenge, then, is to connect the tens of thousands of ex-prisoners with the much-needed services available, to develop new services, and to coordinate the service delivery system