New Zealand Herald
12:16PM Sunday Feb 15, 2009
Guy Adams
LOS ANGELES - There's not been a greater escape since Steve McQueen jumped aboard his motorcycle. The state of California has been ordered to release more than 55,000 prison inmates to ease pressure on its ailing penal system.
Federal judges ruled last week that California's 33 adult jails have become so overcrowded that they violate the constitutional rights of inmates, subjecting them to "cruel and unusual" punishment that is causing at least one death a month. Just over a third of the state's 158,000 prisoners must be set free by 2012 to ensure that basic healthcare is provided to those who remain behind, the judges said. The majority will go through early release and parole schemes.
Critics claim the ruling amounts to throwing open the doors of the biggest prison system in America, and will endanger the public. California's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, announced an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court, saying: "This order is a blunt instrument that does not recognise the imperatives of public safety, nor the challenges of incarcerating criminals, many of whom are deeply disturbed."
Jerry Powers, who heads the state's chief probation officers' association, called it "a game of Russian roulette".
But regardless of their concerns, something needs to be done: California's prison population has increased by nearly 80 per cent since 1990, and its penitentiaries are operating at nearly double their intended capacity of 84,000. A rise in the number of elderly prisoners is also affecting resources; 11 per cent of inmates are aged 50 or over and the average cost of housing a single prisoner is now US$46,000 a year.
Building more prisons is not an option, since state finances are in such disarray that public workers are forced to take two unpaid days' leave each month. The state government is running an annual deficit of US$12bn.
The prison crisis is not limited to California. In Des Moines, Iowa, county officials plan to start charging prisoners for toilet paper. Michigan, where Detroit has America's highest murder rate, will release 4,000 prisoners who have served their minimum sentences. New Jersey, Carolina and Vermont are putting drug-addicted offenders into treatment rather than prison. Louisiana, which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the developed world, is hoping to reform a system that spends more on prisons than on higher education.
These measures are controversial in a nation that views prison as a place for retribution rather than rehabilitation. Many states have a "three strikes" rule that means relatively petty criminals are given life sentences.
February 24, 2009
February 20, 2009
New York Post Chimp Cartoon causes uproar
Our conversation in class into the realm of social exclusion and race has exploded in the American political scene. A cartoon published by the New York post (the image above) has caused anger with readers and many criticisms. You can read the article published by the Huffington Post online with updates to the story as it evolves at the bottom of the article. I would like to hear your comments and reactions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/new-york-post-chimp-carto_n_167841.html
February 12, 2009
February 10, 2009
Judges’ strike sparks controversy in Spain
Source: earthtimes.org
A debate was rolling in Spain on Thursday on whether an unprecedented strike planned by the country's judges was legal. Such a way for judges to press their demands was "inadequate" and "disturbing," the prosecutors' association UPF said, while the association Judges for Democracy stressed that the law did not prohibit judges from staging a work stoppage.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government is engaged in a power struggle with the judges, who regard its plans for judicial reform as insufficient.
Four judges' associations are planning a day of protest for February 18 and a strike in June to press demands for higher salaries and better working conditions.
The judges say they struggle under huge workloads.
The increase of court cases has clogged courts which still had 2.5 million cases left to resolve in the end of 2008.
The government says the judiciary is a power of state which cannot go on strike.
Experts on constitutional law disagree on the matter, with some saying the constitution does not directly prohibit such a protest, while others say it would be like the government or parliament going on strike.
The government is seeking negotiations with the judges' associations, and the Socialist Party wants them to appear in parliament.
Judges first started protesting in solidarity with a colleague, Rafael Tirado, who came under criticism for not having jailed a paedophile who then killed 5-year-old Mari Luz Cortes a year ago.
Do judges have the right to strike? Would this ever happen in the USA? I would like to hear your opinions and comments.
A debate was rolling in Spain on Thursday on whether an unprecedented strike planned by the country's judges was legal. Such a way for judges to press their demands was "inadequate" and "disturbing," the prosecutors' association UPF said, while the association Judges for Democracy stressed that the law did not prohibit judges from staging a work stoppage.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government is engaged in a power struggle with the judges, who regard its plans for judicial reform as insufficient.
Four judges' associations are planning a day of protest for February 18 and a strike in June to press demands for higher salaries and better working conditions.
The judges say they struggle under huge workloads.
The increase of court cases has clogged courts which still had 2.5 million cases left to resolve in the end of 2008.
The government says the judiciary is a power of state which cannot go on strike.
Experts on constitutional law disagree on the matter, with some saying the constitution does not directly prohibit such a protest, while others say it would be like the government or parliament going on strike.
The government is seeking negotiations with the judges' associations, and the Socialist Party wants them to appear in parliament.
Judges first started protesting in solidarity with a colleague, Rafael Tirado, who came under criticism for not having jailed a paedophile who then killed 5-year-old Mari Luz Cortes a year ago.
Do judges have the right to strike? Would this ever happen in the USA? I would like to hear your opinions and comments.
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