Tuesday 20 November 2012

OneChild created Davontae Sanford's Birthday




Let's all give a gift to Davontae . There are many things we can do which would make a nice birthday gift for him. Here are some ideas.- Send a letter to Davontae telling him we haven't forgotten him and we continue to fight to get the truth out about his case.- Tell a friend about the details of Davontae's caseDavontae Sanford-684070Ionia Maxmium Correctional Fac.1576 W.Bluewater HighwayIonia,Mi 48446http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice-for-innocent-teenhttp://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/http://standingupfortheinnocent.wordpress.com/about/http://standingupfortheinnocent2012.blogspot.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeDavontaeSanford/

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Juvenile detention & imprisonment-Inside Out-11-12-2012





The United States incarcerates more of its youth population than any other country in the world.

Juveniles are one of the most vulnerable groups in America and serious sentences for youths often have lasting impacts that go well beyond time spend behind bars.

According to the Equal Justice Initiative, across the United States there are over 2200 juvenile serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Worse, the EJI, found that children as young as 13 have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The Campaign for Youth Justice also notes a trend to try youthful offenders as adults. The CFYJ found out that less than 5% of youths are arrested for murder, rape, robbery and aggregated assault and yet the number of youths in adult's prison are rising.

Watch this video on our website: http://www.presstv.com/Program/271968.html

Monday 5 November 2012

US: Teens in Solitary Confinement




Youths Suffer Serious Harm From Weeks, Months in 'Lock-Down'
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/10/us-teens-solitary-confinement

Young people are held in solitary confinement in jails and prisons across the United States, often for weeks or months at a time. The isolation of solitary confinement causes anguish, provokes serious mental and physical health problems, and works against rehabilitation for teenagers.

Thursday 1 November 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Fearless



In this scene from the episode Suffolk County, MA, A teen shows no fear when prison inmates corner him and prison gaurds intervene before things get out of hand

Beyond Scared Straight: Act Hard




In this scene from the episode Suffolk County, MA, A smart alec teenager talks back to prison inmates when they try to intimidate him.

Beyond Scared Straight: Eat You Up




In this Scene, A teen who is big for his age encounters an imate bigger than him who could eat him up.

Beyond Scared Straight: Prison Lunch


In this Scene, troubled teens get a taste of prison food.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Call for Help




At-risk teens learn how cramped and dangerous a jail cell can be, especially when they make a call for help.

Monday 22 October 2012

US rights groups demand an end to solitary confinement for children

 
originally by: TBIJ
published: 11 October 2012
Children as young as 13 are being placed in solitary confinement for months at a time in US jails, according to a report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The report, Growing Up Locked Down documents, for the first time, the widespread use of solitary confinement on youth under the age of 18 in prisons and jails across the US.
The report makes shocking reading. It documents a 15-year-old carving the first letter of her mother’s name into her arm, another 15-year-old boy locked in solitary for 15 days for not making his bed, a 14 year-old who spent 60 days locked up alone and juveniles describing their experience as being like a slow death.
Nobody knows how many juveniles are held in solitary, as it is not documented, but it is estimated that between 3% and 5% of US prisoners are held in solitary and anecdotal evidence suggests that, in some systems, children may be isolated at even higher rates than adults.

Other News:

Friday 12 October 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Attitude



Teen is taken aside and put in lock down because of his bad attitude

Beyond Scared Straight: Let Him In



A teen looses his composure when the guards threaten to put him in the pen with the inmates

Thursday 11 October 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Defiance




In this scene from the episode, Hampton Roads, VA, A troubled teen can't control his anger when inmates antagonize him.

Beyond Scared Straight: This Is Jail





In this scene from the episode, Hampton Roads, VA, Teen is exposed to the realities of jail and she breaks down.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

US: Teens in Solitary Confinement





Young people are held in solitary confinement in jails and prisons across the United States, often for weeks or months at a time. The isolation of solitary confinement causes anguish, provokes serious mental and physical health problems, and works against rehabilitation for teenagers.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Body Bag


In this scene from the episode, Jacksonville, FL, A troubled teen visits the morgue and is put in a body bag to make him realize how his actions effect his mother.

Beyond Scared Straight: Hudson County, NJ - Sneak Peek - 4



In this sneak peek from the episode, 'Hudson County, NJ', The at-risk teens have to go through pushup drills and clean up the floors that are full of garbage.

Beyond Scared Straight: Wanna Be Grown




In this scene from the episode, St. Clair, IL, An inmate tries to show a promiscious teen the error in her ways.

Beyond Scared Straight: The Pod





In this scene from the episode, St. Clair, IL, Teens are exposed to one of the prisons "pods" where inmates bombard them,screaming, antagonizing them and urging them that this is not where they want to be.

Beyond Scared Straight: Hudson County, NJ - Sneak Peek - 2





In this sneak peek from the episode, 'Hudson County, NJ', The inmates talk to the teens about being in gangs and what can happen in jail if you are cell mates with a crazy inmate.

Beyond Scared Straight: Hudson County, NJ - Sneak Peek - 3

Monday 8 October 2012

Beyond Scared Straight: Sneak Peek - Ep 26 - 3





In this scene from the episode, 'St. Clair, IL', The troubled teens are sent to general population of the facility and have over 40 inmates rush at them.

Beyond Scared Straight: Sneak Peek - Ep 26 - 2





In this scene from the episode, St. Clair, IL, Inmate Ice Mike is trying to teach a troubled teen about the boys she is having sexual encounters with. Ice Mike lets her know that what's happening is actually rape.

Beyond Scared Straight: Sneak Peek - Ep 26 - 4




In this Sneak Peek from the episode, 'St. Clair, IL', The correctional officers send the teens to the quiet room. A room where inmates go that are too violent for general population.

Beyond Scared Straight: Beyond Scared Straight - Episode 26 Sneak Peek 1





In this sneak peek from the episode, 'St. Clair, IL', a female convict gives a life lesson in hanging out and partying with strangers to a promiscuous teen.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Boy Charged With Murder (TYT Supreme Court)





"Fernandez, 13, is accused of two heinous crimes: first-degree murder in the 2011 beating death of his 2-year-old half-brother and the sexual abuse of his 5-year-old half-brother. He's been charged as an adult and is the youngest inmate awaiting trial in Duval County." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/16/cristian-fernandez-story-case_n_1888...

Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian and other members of the TYT Supreme Court weigh in on this case. Should this 13 year-old boy spend life in prison, should he receive juvenile or adult treatment, tell us what you think in the comment section below.

Thursday 30 August 2012

LONELY ROAD


Davontae Sanford whos currently in jail,poor young guy who was wrongfully accused..God Bless him and his family..and big hugs to Darcy Delaproser my partner at You Must Believe C.E.O and biggupps to my producer Steve Starr on the beat and
video production..and recordings at Po ENT..Mr Askew..and TEAM HD,LOR for promotional and web work...much love.....God Is Love...Pray for these families
PLEASE LIKE & SHARE

Friday 24 August 2012

James Prindle: What will Come

James Prindle: What will Come | Why? | Scoop.it
Whatever is to become of James Prindle on Monday August 27th at his sentencing hearing, this is just the beginning. A movement has begun, and a voice will be heard, loud and strong, that James deserves the benefit of the doubt, with no DNA evidence supporting him having committed act, or anything physical either showing he did it, the DA's office and Judge Carter need to realize that this case needs to be reopened and a full investigation needs to be done. All the evidence collected, that was never tested (if properly stored) needs to be, plus the alibi James has, needs to be allowed to tell what he knows.
The Memphis Police Department completely dropped the ball on James case, testing some things, not others. There are several glaring mistakes made, and if done properly, James would not be sitting in Jail, for a sex crime, he did not commit, and possibly facing anywhere from 15 to 60 years in prison, and it would have to be served day-for-day, no parole.
We must all band together, and do the right thing, and give James a chance in life, and also help him to regain his freedom.
Your assistance is urgently needed by signing this petition
Please forward this to everyone who cares about children. If you can help in other ways, please contact me at steve.sydebotham@facebook.com
Thank You

Exploring the Cycle of Juvenile Justice




In this presentation, Professor Robert M. Worley analyzes the final chapters of Bernard and Kurkychek's (2010) book, The Cycle of Delinquency. Based upon the book, Worley argues that the juvenile justice system is returning to lenient treatments and abadoning the 'get tough' movement. He also contends that there is likely to be a reintroduction of lenient treatments in juvenile justice. Worley concludes the presentation by suggesting that we are likely to see a return of the medical model of treatment for delinquents.

Disgrace and Outrage in the Juvenile Justice System in Lousiana




FFLIC and JJPL go to Baton Rouge to visit Governor Jindal to express outrage of the Juvenile Justice System in Louisiana.

The Juvenile System of Injustice (The Meesiah Jones Story)




This is the story of Meesiah Jones and his experience in the juvenile justice system. As a youth he was convicted of a serious offense that he did not commit. At the tender age of 16 he fought a felony case in adult court and by the time he turned 17 he was being processed in San Quentin prison.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

New Up Dates On James Prindle Case ! by Delaproser



Listen to internet radio with Delaproser on Blog Talk Radio
James advocate Stephen will talk about the new happenings in James Prindle's case. James is 17 year old boy who was arrested at 15 and charged with the sexual assault of his little sister, a crime he did not commit. No DNA, nothing physical, nothing to support he committed the act. Many other kids were there at the time, and it is not in James nature to have done this


Michael McIntosh on Youth Justice - PSA

Saturday 12 May 2012

Johnnie Savory - Fighting On




JOHNNIE LEE SAVORY
Coalition Seeks DNA Testing For Man Who Insists He's Innocent of Murders That Occurred When He Was 14
Johnnie Lee SavoryJohnnie Lee Savory (Photo: Jennifer Linzer)

CHICAGO - Johnnie Lee Savory, 45, spent two-thirds of his life behind bars for a double murder that he says DNA testing can prove he did not commit.

The trouble is that, even though Illinois law guarantees the right to DNA testing when it is relevant to a claim of actual innocence, the courts have denied that right in Savory's case.

As a result, Savory is asking Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to order the testing, which would be paid for privately, at no cost to the taxpayers.

And today Savory was joined in his quest for DNA testing by a broadly based coalition of supporters — including five former U.S. Attorneys, 30 former prisoners who were exonerated by DNA, authors John Grisham and Studs Terkel, and arrays of business, religious, and civil rights leaders, academics, defense lawyers, and past and present and public officials.

Letters signed by the supporters — 212 in all — were released today at a press conference in the offices of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law.

Lawyers from the Center and the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block took on the Savory case five years ago at the behest of the late U.S. District Court Judge Prentice H. Marshall, who in retirement had taken an interest in the case and had come to believe that Savory was innocent.

Although the lawyers succeeded in obtaining Savory's release on parole on December 19, 2006, on-going efforts to obtain DNA testing through the courts have not succeeded. With those remedies exhausted, Savory's only hope of proving his innocence lies with Governor Blagojevich before whom a petition for executive clemency based on innocence is pending.

It is in that context that Savory's supporters are asking the governor to order the testing. There is precedent for that — Governor James R. Thompson did it in 1988 in the case of Gary Dotson, who as a result became the first person ever to be exonerated by DNA. Since that case, DNA has exonerated 209 additional wrongfully convicted prisoners nationally, including 25 more in Illinois.

The letter to which the exonerated lent their names notes that many of them would still be in prison and some of them might have been executed if they had been denied DNA testing, and ends with a simple plea to the governor on Savory's behalf — "We beseech you to do the right thing."

Chicago Sun-Times Story

Chicago Tribune Story

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Letter to Governor Rod Blagojevich

Letter from Exonerated to Governor Rod Blagojevich
http://youtu.be/9jzMmjukoFY

Excerpts from Johnnie L. Savory's Clemency Petition

Wednesday 4 April 2012

US justice system failing the youth?


In American kids as young as seven years old have been tried as adults and over 2,500 children are facing life sentences. Many argue that if a child isn't old enough to drink or drive legally that they should be sparred being put on trail as an adult for committing a crime. In most cases these adolescents are put in prisons with adults. Kara Aanenson, lead organizer for Just Kids Partnership

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Teen Tortured & Hogtied for Two Days in Michigan Prison


Vincent Smothers, a former Detroit hit man serving time behind bars told AP reporter Ed White among others, that Devontae Sanford, a 14 yr-old developmentally challenged teen who is blind in one eye did had nothing to do with the murders he and an accomplice committed. Devontae Sanford is being told he can not have family visitation for two years which is illegal, cruel, unusual and inhumane punishment. He told his mother he is being tortured in a letter dated Jan 2012.

Call Ionia Correctional Facility at (616) 527-6331 Sign Petition for New Trial at http://tinyurl.com/6ucbm9g

Tuesday 27 March 2012

CALL WARDEN JOHN PRELESNIK



CALL WARDEN JOHN PRELESNIK AT (616) 527-6331 TO EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT DAVONTAE’S TREATMENT AND ASK FOR HIM TO BE TRANSFERRED OUT OF THE UNIT HE IS IN.
To contact the Coalition to
Free the Wrongfully Convicted, call 313-272-1406, or email Roberto Guzman at legal_begal01@sbcglobal.net
 .

Sunday 18 March 2012

Lockup Special Lake County Juvenile Part 3


All the episodes I've uploaded here and in other places are now neatly separated and organized, and can be watched from my website: http://www.ytepisodes.com/

Inside Juvenile Detention: Boys on Fatherhood


Teen parenting is prevalent among the kids in the juvenile justice system, alarmingly so. Getting to these kids, listening to their perspectives on being a parent takes the debate away from black and white and into the shades of gray.

Inside Juvenile Prison: What It's Like #2



An extended look at the inner working of Pendleton Juvenile Prison

Sunday 11 March 2012

Davontae Sanford Rally



Davontae Sanford Rally April 23rd 2012 8am. Outside the Recorders Court Detroit, Michigan.
http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spr

Saturday 10 March 2012

POLICE STATE - 11 Year Old Girl Arrested At School For Being "Extremely ...


An 11-year-old Colorado student was handcuffed and taken to a juvenile holding facility when she became 'argumentative and extremely rude' with her school's assistant principal.

Yajira Quezada, a sixth grader at Shaw Heights Middle School, was in a hallway trying to retrieve a sweater from her locker when she was reportedly confronted by the school official.

The assistant principal began to admonish Ms Quezada before she abruptly turned away saying, 'I don't have time for this,' according to a 9news.com report.

'She told me that I need to quit giving her my attitude. Why would they handcuff me? I'm not the type of girl to get arrested,' Ms Quezada said.

After a counsellor's attempt to intervene was unsuccessful, Ms Quezada girl was handcuffed and placed in a resource officer's patrol car before being whisked away to a juvenile detention centre dubbed 'The Link.'

No charges were filed.

Ms Quezada's mother, Mireya Gaytan, questioned the school's actions and bruise marks on left on her daughter's wrist by the handcuffs.

'They're treating them like criminals. And they're not, they're kids,' Ms Gaytan, said. "I don't want this to happen to any more 11-year-old kids. They're scaring them. They're traumatizing them," Gaytan said.

Ms Gaytan has moved both her daughters to a new school following the incident.

School officials promised to take a close look at the incident, as they normally do anytime the police become involved in a school concern, according to Steve Saunders, communications director for Adams County School District 50.

'You hate to see something escalate to where it becomes a police matter. Once they step in and take over a case, it is really in their hands. The conclusion was, as far as the district was concerned, everything was handled appropriately,' Saunders told 9news.com.

In any case, Ms Quezada seems to have learned a valuable lesson when it comes to communicating with teachers.

'Not to give them attitude,' she said. 'I am blaming myself.'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111217/Yajira-Quezada-11-handcuffed-...

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Save Davontae sign now!



Davontae Sanford has supporters from all over the world, including the United Kingdom and Sweden. He has support from media personalities like Bill Proctor of Detroit's Channel 7, who runs his own Innocence Project. His case has received extensive and generally sympathetic coverage from the Associated Press . So where Is your names on his petition ?
However much time it takes to sign this petition is no where near as long as this child will serve if we don't..., save Davontae sign now!




http://www.change.org/petitions/new-trial-for-davontae-sanford?share_id=ktKqmLlQUv&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter via @change

Monday 5 March 2012

This is barbaric & Inhuman This Has To STOP !!



In the 27 months that now 16 year old Blade Reed has been at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, he has been maced or pepper sprayed by staff at least 14 times, spent 7 months in solitary confinement until February 2011, and has been in solitary confinement again since the beginning of February 2012. If Wabash has their way, Blade could spend an additional 704 more days plus in solitary. Blade suffers from many disabilities. This is barbaric treatment, and state sanctioned child abuse. This insane handling and management of Blade by Wabash/IDOC officials must cease, NOW!

Friday 2 March 2012

Davontae would appreciate some cards & letter's right now to show he Is not forgotton




Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.
-- Henry Ward Beecher
Davontae would appreciate some cards & letter's right now to show he Is not forgotton .... His address is: Davontae Sanford #684070, Ionia Correctional Facility, 1576 W. Bluewater Highway, Ionia MI 48846

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Juvenile Education: Inside a Confined World



Photographer and professor Richard Ross has spent the last five years documenting juvenile detention facilities throughout the nation. The NewsHour recently spoke with him in his studio at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

For the full story: http://to.pbs.org/wgLosI

Tuesday 28 February 2012

things to come


by dandailey

Yesterday it was announced that children under the supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) will no longer be housed in a privately-run prison or subjected to brutal solitary confinement under the terms of a groundbreaking settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The lawsuit charged that conditions at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, operated by GEO Group, Inc., the nation's second-largest private prison corporation and which houses youth convicted as adults, are unconstitutional.
The federal court in Jackson MS will enter a consent decree on March 22, which will likely be remembered as the beginning of the end in the US of torturing kids with solitary confinement. This is the first time a federal court will have categorically banned a state from subjecting young people to this morally reprehensible practice.
The decree will ban Mississippi’s use of solitary confinement as a form of punishment for anyone under the age of 18, even if they were convicted as adults. Furthermore, it will require that kids convicted as adults are to be housed in facilities governed by juvenile justice rather than adult standards. MDOC will be required to provide the youth with a broad variety of rehabilitative services and strong protections from sexual abuse and violence—exactly what we are demanding for Blade Reed in Indiana.
While in solitary, youths are held in almost complete isolation and sensory deprivation with virtually no human contact, without books, paper or pens, radios, pictures, access to television or any kind of recreational activity, and are denied all visits, telephone calls and even mail from their families. As we have seen with Blade Reed at the Wabash Valley Correctional Institution, if prison staff tags a kid as suicidal—which they often do with punitive motives—that kid is stripped naked and denied a mattress, which is more likely to drive a kid to suicide than to help improve his state of mind.
At the same time that this announcement was coming out of Mississippi, Indiana officials were engaged in a disinformation campaign addressed to those of us who have written to the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) about Blade Reed’s mistreatment.
In an identical form letter sent to at least two of our people, Ombudsman Bureau director Charlene Burkett, a direct appointee of Governor Mitch Daniels, made the following assertions which we know to be patently untrue: that Blade “has adjusted well in the unit where he is placed. He has received education and has done well working with administrators. They actually bring school directly to him and he is reportedly doing quite well and is working towards receiving a GED, which seems to be inconsistent with any claims of him being severely Autistic.”
In point of fact, Blade functions mentally below the level of a 12-year-old, his autism is thoroughly documented and known to IDOC, he is failing in his GED efforts, he is being harassed and tormented by the prison staff who report to the administrators with whom Blade is supposedly working so well, and he has adjusted so poorly to his adult prison setting that he has made at least two suicide attempts and was, in fact, under a suicide watch at the very time that Ms. Burkett was making her disingenuous, incredible claims.
This “ombudsman” is obviously not an honest broker, but a public relations flack assigned to the impossible task of holding back the changing tide. Ms Burkett, either tell the truth or please just keep your mouth shut! You are only making a bad situation worse and destroying your personal credibility (and possibly your career).
The situation at Wabash has taken a turn for the worse. In a shake-down yesterday of Blade's cell, a sharp file was planted by the guards, who proceeded to call Blade a "little fucker," a "discrace to the human race," and who said: "We ought to kill you, you little bastard." We know the nail file was a plant; otherwise Blade would have used it last week when he tried to cut his wrists with his fingernails.
Time is running out and the situation is rapidly deteriorating.
Many of us who work as juvenile justice advocates have had a growing sense that society is approaching a “tipping point” where we will collectively realize that the “justice” and “corrections” industries have gone terribly, horrendously wrong in America—so wrong that we subject many of our own children to torture in the delusional belief that we are disciplining them into better people… a degeneracy no less mad than the incestuous father who claims he is teaching his daughter to become a good wife by raping her.
“Based on available data, there are at least 80,000 prisoners in isolated confinement on any given day in America’s prisons and jails, including some 25,000 in long-term solitary in supermax prisons,” according to Solitary Watch. This estimate is prisoners of all ages; the portion which is juveniles is not known.
"It's been known for a long time that prolonged solitary confinement causes terrible suffering and psychiatric breakdown even in mature healthy adults—let alone in emotionally vulnerable children and teenagers," said Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU National Prison Project. Solitary confinement worsens pre-existing mental illness and disabilities in kids like Blade, and kids under the age of 18 are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of solitary.
“It devours the victims incessantly and unmercifully,” Alexis de Tocqueville reported more than 180 years ago from a prison in New York. “It does not reform, it kills.”
The effects are so well understood that international law recognizes that solitary confinement can rise to torture and now prohibits solitary confinement of any person under the age of 18, strongly condemning it as a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.
Tragically, the United States has been moving in the opposite direction: since the 1990s, 47 states have actually made it easier to try kids as adults and to incarcerate them in the same harsh and dangerous conditions to which adults are subjected.
Yet this Mississippi ruling is a harbinger of things to come that will eventually sweep across the nation, including Indiana. As we know, the courts in each state unfortunately move at a glacial pace, and every state has legions of professional liars who, like Ms. Burkett, are assigned to carry out delaying actions that will only forestall the inevitable.
But Blade is running out of time right now. He cannot wait for the courts to grind through their process nor for public perception and political pressure to overcome the resistance offered by bureaucrats who paper over the state’s official brutalities. Blade needs relief now.
I got out my calculator and found that only 1 in 5 of those who have visited the Diary in the last 3 days have gone on to the petition site and signed on. I had hoped we might do better than this. Maybe it’s my fault for not being more persuasive.
I implore you to please take an extra two minutes right now to click on this link and sign the petition to stop the torture of Blade Reed at Wabash. Even though he has been released from the “strip cell,” he is still being held in solitary confinement. We must break past the barrier of official lies and get him out. Your small investment of time may help to save his life. Seriously. Truthfully.
Please visit this link now and sign the petition for Blade Reed!
۞
Groove of the Day 


Sunday 26 February 2012

Help the Sanford Family take a stand for justice and truth.


If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.
Malcolm X
April 9, 2012, at 8 a.m. on her doorsteps at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
PLEASE SHARE THIS OUTRAGEOUS STORY OF INJUSTICE!
http://www.change.org/petitions/new-trial-for-davontae-sanford?share_id=ktKqmLlQUv via @change
https://twitter.com/#!/JUSTICEDAVONTAE
http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spr

Saturday 25 February 2012

End the torture of autistic juvenile Blade Reed in the Wabash Prison



We have started this petition to ask the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to cease in their abuse and torture of an autistic juvenile. Furthermore, we want Blade transfered to the juvenile youthful offenders program right away so he may receive the education, rehabilitation services, and special needs programs he is promised by law.


He has been treated as a throwaway child, his life deemed worthless and irrelevant. That is all going to change. Beginning now. And here's why...


Blade Reed was 13 years old when he was involved in a crime, along with his older brother, involving two elderly neighbors. Despite being significantly developmentally and cognitively disabled, Blade was sentenced to 30 years in the adult criminal court for robbery (with severe bodily injury). At the time of the crime he was reportedly functioning at the level of an 8-to-10 year old child. To date, Blade is 17 years old and he does not even function at the level of a 12 year old child.


Blade is autistic. Though his disability is a part of his permanent medical record, the prison facility responsible for his care has subjected him to torture and abuse that would be unacceptable for any person, let alone someone who is autistic.


Since Blade's incarceration in Wabash Valley Correctional Facility (an adult facility) he has suffered a long list of egregious punishments and horrors, ranging from multiple rapes and violent beatings. To escape these horrendous conditions and further torture at the hands of others, Blade has attempted to commit suicide a number of times. Read more about what Blade has been through and see a timeline by clicking here.


Blade has been held in solitary confinement since February 2nd because of an altercation he had with another inmate. The other inmate has a history of antagonizing Blade, yet nothing has been done to restrict their interaction. After taking a swing at the other inmate, Blade was punished for fighting. By February 11th, Blade's mother reported that her son was unwell and having a very difficult time with the solitary confinement. The other inmate received several days of lockup in his cell - a sharp contrast to what you are about to read about Blade (click here for an even more detailed description).


On February 25th, Blade was moved from solitary confinement into a "strip cell". He has been forced to strip down into his underwear. He does not have a mattress or anything to give him any comfort. He has nothing to assist in passing the long hours he spends completely alone. He is on suicide watch for 72 hours because after enduring several sleep-derived nights of listening to other inmates bang on their cells he could no longer take it and he attempted suicide using his fingernails.


Blade is an autistic individual functioning at the level of a 12 year old child. The Indiana Department of Corrections has the ability to house him in their youthful offenders program and facility until he is 21. In such a setting Blade would receive access to an education, rehabilitation services, and accommodations for his disability. Currently he is receiving none of those things. Further, he is experiencing what can only be described as torture and abuse at the hands of those who have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure his safety and care.


In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) addresses the authority and responsibility of the U.S. Attorney General to "investigate conditions of confinement at State and local government institutions such as prisons, jails, pretrial detention centers, juvenile correctional facilities, publicly operated nursing homes, and institutions for people with psychiatric or developmental disabilities. Its purpose is to allow the Attorney General to uncover and correct widespread deficiencies that seriously jeopardize the health and safety of residents of institutions."


Moreover, the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility is also in violation with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. Though the United States (along with only Somalia) has not ratified this agreement, it has agreed to its obligations and covenants by signing it.


Wabash is in direct violation with the following articles:


Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence): Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them. In terms of discipline, the Convention does not specify what forms of punishment parents should use. However any form of discipline involving violence is unacceptable. There are ways to discipline children that are effective in helping children learn about family and social expectations for their behaviour – ones that are non-violent, are appropriate to the child's level of development and take the best interests of the child into consideration. In most countries, laws already define what sorts of punishments are considered excessive or abusive. It is up to each government to review these laws in light of the Convention.


Article 23 (Children with disabilities): Children who have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support, as well as all the rights in the Convention, so that they can live full and independent lives.


Article 28: (Right to education): All children have the right to a primary education, which should be free. Wealthy countries should help poorer countries achieve this right. Discipline in schools should respect children’s dignity. For children to benefit from education, schools must be run in an orderly way – without the use of violence. Any form of school discipline should take into account the child's human dignity. Therefore, governments must ensure that school administrators review their discipline policies and eliminate any discipline practices involving physical or mental violence, abuse or neglect. The Convention places a high value on education. Young people should be encouraged to reach the highest level of education of which they are capable.


Article 37 (Detention and punishment): No one is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful way. Children who break the law should not be treated cruelly. They should not be put in prison with adults, should be able to keep in contact with their families, and should not be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without possibility of release.


We will not rest until Blade Reed is moved to the youthful offenders program and out of the adult program that has caused him so much physical and psychological trauma.
https://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-torture-of-autistic-juvenile-blade-reed-in-the-wabash-prison?


Please visit this link right now and let your voice be heard!
https://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-torture-of-autistic-juvenile-blade-reed-in-the-wabash-prison

suicide watch

by dandailey
Since February 2 when Blade Reed was goaded into taking a swing at another kid in the Wabash Valley Correctional Institution’s youthful offender wing, it’s been like watching a train wreck happening in slow motion.
Now I’m sorry I haven’t told you anything about this before now, but we were afraid the prison staff would carry out reprisals against the kid if we were to make any waves.
The staff has always reserved particular cruelties for Blade, but now it seems to us that the best way to protect him is to bring attention to the inhumane brutalities to which he is being subjected.
Right now things couldn’t get much worse for Blade, who is now in a “strip cell” in the solitary confinement unit without anything at all to occupy or calm him—that is, it couldn't get worse unless the authorities were to take away his underwear or give him a razor blade (as has happened before). They're tormenting a vulnerable, mentally-disabled juvenile.
This is state-sanctioned torture… and to what end?
The authorities would tell you they’re punishing Blade for fighting per standard IDOC procedure, and teaching him that fighting doesn’t wash at Wabash. But my take on it is that they’re meting out special treatment designed to break him or kill him, demanding behavior from Blade with which, as an autistic kid, he is not wired to comply. Despite his 17 years, Blade Reed has been evaluated and documented as functioning mentally somewhere around the level of a 10-year-old. He was functioning at an 8-year-old level at the time he was arrested and charged as an adult for his role as an accessory in a murder committed by his older brother, who called all the shots in his domineering relationship with Blade.
The incident that has landed Blade in solitary confinement was initiated by another prisoner who has taken on the torment of Blade Reed as a special pastime. He knows Blade’s hot buttons and knows that he can goad Blade into reacting to harassment that will get Blade punished much more severely than he will be punished. The authorities have consistently failed to keep Blade and his tormenter separated, and they appear to allow situations to escalate until Blade predictably does something stupid.
The other boy was confined to his cell for only five days without phone or recreation privileges; Blade was sent off to solitary confinement until April 5, where he is deprived of much more than phone and recreation, and subjected to conditions including sleep depravation that exacerbate his mental health issues.

With the full knowledge of the prison’s top administrators, a hearing was held on February 8, whereupon Blade was placed in “Administrative Segregation,” which is a prison euphemism for solitary confinement. From past experience, the authorities know this only makes Blade’s state of mind worse. This time, as a concession to help ameliorate the negative impact isolation would have on Blade’s wellbeing, the administration promised they would allow Blade to have a radio with headphones (which Stephen and Mrs. Reed paid for), but it was never delivered by the prison commissary.
Blade’s mother visited him on February 11, just three days into his solitary confinement, and she reported that Blade looked terrible. She said he had bags under eyes and drawn features. She said he seemed to be suffering.
Since Blade’s isolation began, Stephen has received two letters from Blade. The first one seemed upbeat and hopeful, and Blade promised to get through the ordeal the best he could. The second letter, however, seemed more ominous as Blade explained what he was facing and how it compared to his previous experiences in isolation. Some highlights:
“The last time I was here in the CCU, I had many problems.
“#1 Most important, I got minimum to no schooling, and for the schooling I did get there was no help. I didn't receive the material or help that I needed to learn.
“#2 Staff were constantly messing with me. I was rarely able to come out of my cell for a shower or recreation, and when I was allowed to, you know what happened.
(Note: See my previous post, “Worse than I Knew,” at:
http://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/worse-than-i-knew/.)
“#3 Recreation for us juveniles is supposed to be 2 hours a day. I was lucky to get an hour once or twice a week, when I did get it at all.
“#4 I was sprayed with mace and pepper spray twice, cell extracted, beat up, and harassed all the time by staff members.
“#5 Many times I went without eating because I was in a strip cell and staff would either not care to bring me my food or when they did bring it they would touch everything without gloves or wrappers protecting the food.
“#6 They constantly kept me in a strip cell, for one point for over a month, and I was left naked with nothing. At one point I even went one whole week without a mattress or clothes, so I was forced to stay up for 4 days until I finally fell asleep on the steel bed.”

This morning Stephen received a phone call from Blade informing Stephen that he was being transferred from a normal solitary confinement cell to a “strip cell,” which is devoid of anything to occupy his time or make him comfortable. He has been stripped down to his underwear and does not even have a mattress. Blade has been placed on suicide watch for 72 hours because last night, having been sleep deprived for a couple nights, Blade lost it, began pounding on the door for the other inmates to stop making so much noise, and then attempted to cut his wrists with his own fingernails.
Instead of providing conditions which will allow the boy to sleep, providing some basic human comforts, providing the promised radio to help Blade occupy his mind, or exercising compassion or providing any other kindnesses, the authorities are turning up the intensity of the torment and punishments that destabilized the boy in the first place. It is not a prescription for a positive outcome.
We’ve had it, and we will remain quiet no longer. This treatment of Blade Reed by the state of Indiana is in violation of Federal laws and international conventions, and we intend to bring appropriate pressure to bear to end this outrage. But more immediately, we believe that Blade’s life is at risk and we will be organizing a campaign and publicity to get someone in authority in Indiana to intervene before it is too late.
Stay tuned as we organize our efforts and keep a vigil for Blade. If you believe in prayer, please pray for Blade—and for his captors, as well, who must experience a change of mind, heart, and behavior.
Please visit this link right now and let your voice be heard!
https://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-torture-of-autistic-juvenile-blade-reed-in-the-wabash-prison
۞
Groove of the Day 
http://wp.me/pLwBV-2PP

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Save Cristian Fernandez


Cristian can receive cards and postcards at any time. Please send him one and let him know he has your support:


Cristian Fernandez
Duval Regional Detention Center
1241 East 8th Street
Jacksonville, FL 32206-4099

Starved Wis. Girl's Statements Detail Her Life

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

Free Devito, 20 years incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit Smile S...


This is a song by Squeak Macc ft Ray Paul & Mack Larry inspired by the unbelievable, unyielding faith and hope in the eyes of Gary Devito Walker each and every time we go visit him. To still have hope after 20 years of incarceration for a crime he didn't commit is unheard of. Each visit he speaks of his faith in God that one day he will be freed and this injustice will be exposed. PLEASE LISTEN TO EVERY WORD OF THIS SONG!! FREE DEVITO....






Gary Walker convicted of a crime at the age of 16 years old and has been pursuing his innocence for the past 19 years. Gary has not been successful due to the family not being able to afford legal assistance and no- one wants to hear unless they can see money. Gary was only 16 years of age when his terrible ordeal occurred. Gary was never in any kind of trouble before this and was wrongfully convicted of a crime that he had absolutely nothing to do with.




Help the Walker Family take a stand for justice and truth.

time to rise up

by dandailey

I was talking today with a reporter with one of the three newspapers that have been interfering with Jordan Brown’s Constitutional right to a speedy trial, and I want to repeat here what I told this reporter.
Today is the third anniversary of the crime and Jordan's wrongful detention, and justice for Jordan is just as distant and beyond his (and our) reach as it was three long years ago... except that the idea of justice is today more tortured and abused, and we are more cynical and resigned to business-as-usual.
I think it is high time for all of us who have been following and involved in Jordan's case to do some soul-searching and take action. This wrongful imprisonment of a child, the theft of his childhood, is the responsibility of more than just a few dishonest cops and prosecutors and politicians and second-rate lawyers. In varying degrees we have all allowed it to happen. Why have we not risen up en masse and demanded that the evidence, most of which exonerates Jordan, be examined? Why have we not demanded that this outrage against reason and honest justice immediately cease? We are all culpable.
The lawsuit being pursued by the three newspapers is threatening the freedoms of all Americans, not just the rights of a single child. The lawsuit might be good for the newspaper business, but it does not serve a higher good as long as the Constitutional rights of this child are being violated. These papers have no right to invoke First Amendment protections while they contribute to a denial of Jordan's Sixth Amendment rights. If any of us start cherry-picking the Bill of Rights, if any of us start claiming that our Constitutional rights should preempt the Constitutional rights of others, then the whole ideal of freedom in America is doomed.
Who knows? Maybe the whole situation is already too far gone. A lot of people today are saying the Constitution is already null and void. But maybe we can still save it and get our freedoms back.
We are organizing a letter-writing campaign to the US Attorney General, the President, and to Pennsylvania Congressional members to ask for intervention in this case. The state of Pennsylvania has a statute called “Rule 600” that says a person should be tried for a crime within one year of being charged. The statutes regarding juveniles are even more strict: they maintain that a child must be tried within ten days of being charged. Jordan has already waited three years for a trial, and there is no certain end in sight.

Jordan is not doing well these days. He is fighting off depression and losing weight. He is losing ground with every day of prolonged imprisonment. Time is working against him. And remember: Jordan is innocent!
The real killer remains free in Lawrence County PA. He is a violent man, an alcoholic, and a threat to public safety.
Please visit http://www.facebook.com/events/212824898815204/ to learn how you can participate in this campaign to end this abuse of an innocent child and this threat to the freedoms of all.
 Please act now. There is no more time to spare.
۞
Groove of the Day 

Monday 20 February 2012

Davontae Sanford quest for freedom. On both moral and legal grounds



 Davontae Sanford support this young man's quest for freedom. On both moral and legal grounds, we will wage a jihad for his release. We will not tire, we will not relent and we will fight for his justice. An injustice to him is personal to me because it is a wrong against us all. His rights violated were the rights we enjoy under our federal constitutional rights: due process and a fair trial. And it's time to remind this prosecutor, Kym Worthy, of those fundamental principles on April 9, 2012, at 8 a.m. on her doorsteps at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. Those who value those rights, please come. Those who are scared to speak out, stay away --Roberto Guzman



PLEASE SHARE THIS OUTRAGEOUS STORY OF INJUSTICE!
http://www.change.org/petitions/new-trial-for-davontae-sanford?share_id=ktKqmLlQUv via @change
https://twitter.com/#!/JUSTICEDAVONTAE
http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spr

Saturday 18 February 2012

Assistance needed,





Assistance needed, any musicians in the Detroit, Michigan area on April 9th.. who would be willing to donate there time. The cause is for a Innocent teen Davontae Sanford
http://freedavontaesanford-irishgreeneyes.blogspot.com/?spref=tw
onechildatatime@rocketmail.com
elishdelap@yahoo.co.uk

Thursday 16 February 2012

SOCIAL CONTRACT



Somehow people are starting to think of "entitlements' as 'extra unearned luxuries' that should be taken away during hard times. But the definition of an entitlement is a right that is granted by law or by nature, to which all are guaranteed access. True entitlements are basic needs not luxury items. When politicians insist on cutting 'entitlements' they need to ensure that only luxuries are on the cutting block not basic needs. We have forgotten the basic SOCIAL CONTRACT of rights and responsibilities that binds us together as a society. Society expects citizens to follow laws it has instated in order to protect individuals and institutions. Without these laws there would be chaos -- the strong would simply take anything they wanted and the rest would have no recourse. In return the social contract guarantees that if people follow these rules or responsibilities they will be guaranteed basic rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A guarantee of life ensures they will have access to basic human needs of water, food and shelter needed to live and to support their family. Liberty involves the ability to engage in activities the individual wishes, as long as it does not violate the law. The pursuit of happiness is a guarantee that the laws are meant to be fair and provide an equal playing field for all members of society, so that through hard work and creative enterprise, all law-abiding citizens are free to strive to attain the wants and desires they believe will bring them happiness. -- Robert Alan Silverstein


Letter of support:Christy Phillips W-94100 C.C.W.F. P.O.BOX 1508 505-3-4up Chowchilla, Ca. 93610


www.change.org/petitions/justice-for-christy-clinton-phillips-cdc-w-94100

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