Tagged: independent oversight

Prof. Mushlin on the Proposal to Close Rikers Island

In a recent article in the Daily News, The Prisoners We Should Put on Rikers, Pace Law Professor and nationally recognized expert on prisoners’ rights Michael B. Mushlin writes that although Mayor de Blasio’s announcement endorsing the recommendation of an  independent commission to close the Rikers Island jail complex is a step in the right direction, the better solution might be to keep Rikers operational to house prisoners from the five boroughs who would otherwise be sent upstate.

Prof. Mushlin points out:

For example, 58% of incarcerated individuals from the city’s metropolitan region are in prisons more than 200 miles from their homes. And remarkably, 27% of the entire state prison population is more than 300 miles from the county of commitment.

The location of New York prisons so far away makes maintaining meaningful family ties almost impossible. These ties are strongly associated with successful reintegration, lower recidivism rates and improved behavior while incarcerated.

Prof. Michael B. Mushlin Testifies at Briefing on Solitary Confinement in CT

Michael B. Mushlin, Professor of Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Scholar, and Renowned Expert on Prisoners’ Rights, testified on February 7, 2017 before the Connecticut Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as part of their scheduled Briefing on Solitary Confinement.

Prof. Mushlin has been advocating for more humane conditions in state and federal prisons and jails, he has testified in the past, and written extensively on the topic. He has been consistently calling to ban the use of solitary confinement in prisons and jails coupled with instituting an external and independent oversight to ensure the reform is sustained.

Please read his entire testimony here.

Professor Michael Mushlin Joins NPR Report on Prison Guard Brutality in NYS

NPR North Carolina ran a story about prison oversight featuring Prof. Michael B. Mushlin of Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University who has been tirelessly advocating for meaningful prison oversight. The level and extent of brutality occurring behind the walls of many prisons is unimaginable, and the fact that many if not all of the incidents go unreported, un-investigated, and unpunished makes these situations even more dire.

Related Readings:

Inmate Denied Water Dies in Prison

BY: Michael B. Mushlin, Professor of Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Scholar, and Renowned Expert on Prisoners’ Rights.

The tragic and shocking shocking death of Terrill Thomas reminds us — as if we need reminding — that prisons and jails are places that need careful oversight. Without oversight, as Kafka warned over a century ago horrors will inevitably occur. Yet in America, sadly, there is little meaningful oversight of our penal institutions. That has to change or there will be more and more needless and cruel deaths to mourn.

Related Readings:

Will NYS Establish the Independent Office of Correctional Ombudsman?

The New York State Assembly will soon vote on Assembly Bill No. 9939, which would establish independent oversight of NY’s prisons.  Prof. Michael B. Mushlin drafted a letter in support of the Bill, which he sent to the Speaker Heastie on June 7, 2016.

The purpose of the 2015 Assembly Bill No. 9939 is summarized as follows:

[This Bill] creates the office of the correctional ombudsman to achieve transparency, fairness, impartiality, and accountability in New York state correctional facilities; relates to reports by coroners; designates investigators of the office of the correctional ombudsman as peace officers; authorizes the attorney general to investigate the alleged commission of any criminal offense committed by an employee of the department of corrections and community supervision in connection with his or her official duties; relates to the confidentiality of certain records; and includes the office of the correctional ombudsman records within the definition of public safety agency records; makes related provisions.

Prof. Mushlin concludes his letter with a quote from the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy from his 2003 speech to the American Bar Association:

It is no defense if our current prison syste is more the product of neglect than of purpose. Out of sight, out of mind is an unacceptable excuse for a prison system that incarcerates over two million human beings in the United States.

Related Readings: