News
7th Grader Suspended For Touching Pill…
What does it take for school administrators to use some common sense? A policy, zero tolerance or any other, is a guideline. Every situation is different, and school officials need to be able to approach each situation individually, and make an appropriate decision, based on the relevant facts. »
Bill of Health Rights for Incarcerated Girls…
A right is defined as something that all people deserve, simply because they are human beings. This bill of rights was created by young women who are or have been incarcerated in Cook County's Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. These are rights that all young women deserve, regardless of their involvement with the juvenile justice... »
If tax-paying part-time residents shouldn’t be counted outside their home districts, neither should incarcerated people.
In a recent editorial, “In new Census, home is where the vote should be,” the Times Herald-Record (Orange County, NY), examines the issue of prison-based gerrymandering in the larger context of voting and election law in New York State. If it is not right to let a two-month bungalow colony resident vote in the Town... »
March MT legislative newsletter…
The March issue of the Montana Legislative Branch Newsletter is available at: www.leg.mt.gov under the heading ‘What’s New’. If you you have any questions or comments about the newsletter contact Jeff Martin at jmartin@mt.gov or Gayle Shirley at gshirley@mt.gov. »
February Montana Legislative Branch newsletter available…
The February issue of the Montana Legislative Branch newsletter is available on the legislative branch homepage at www.leg.mt.gov under "What's New". »
First National Summit on “Justice Reinvestment” Held on Capitol Hill
A bipartisan group of congressional and state leaders and experts on criminal justice policy came together yesterday to examine how states are changing their crime and corrections policies through “justice reinvestment”—an approach that uses data-driven, fiscally responsible policies and practices to increase public safety and reduce recidivism and corrections spending. »
Have info on Montana prison system mental health treatment??
Matt Brown of the Associated Press in Billings is investigating the treatment of people who live with mental illness in the State Prison. Please contact Mr. Brown if you have information that would be helpful. His phone number is (406) 896-1528 and email is:mbrown AT apDOTorg. »
Schweitzer Admin cuts Advisory Councils…
Cutting the two Corrections Department councils will save about $18,000 over a two-year period, she said. The money pays for staff support time, travel costs and per-diem payments to citizen members of the council. »
Thanks to John Wirtala for informing the public of the Parole Board activities.
"They offer an inmate a parole board meeting before they are eligible. If the inmate isn’t aware of this when he shows up they flip them for a full year or two if they are exceptionally early. That way they can set the budget and count on that income for the next year or... »
White Elephant…
Our prisons are full because intake exceeds outflow. The bottleneck in the system seems to be the Board of Pardons and Parole. No matter how statistics are manipulated, research shows there are approximately 600 inmates who, as their duly elected sentencing judges planned, are eligible for parole right now... »