Encouraging reform in Louisiana

The words "encouraging," "reform," and "Louisiana" rarely appear in the same sentence, but the state legislature, in what was an otherwise nightmarish session, passed and Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a new open files bill that is receiving praise from both prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The law, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate, requires "that law enforcement turn over all of the witness statements that would allow defense attorneys to see what everyone told police investigators."

I do, however, fear that there's a devil in the details. To be sure, prosecutorial misconduct in terms of suppressed information, etc. accounts for a lot of wrongful convictions. But inadequate defense attorneys are also a major cause. All the transparency in the world matters little when one is represented by somebody lacking the wherewithal to know what to do with that information.

The book is out!!!!!

“Solutions That Actually Work”: Teaching Conflict Resolution in Prison

 

An interview with Jonathan Shailor, Professor of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside

By Dave Buchanan

5-21-2013

In the past month (April 20-May 20), University of Wisconsin-Parkside Communication Professor Jonathan Shailor raised enough money to purchase a complete set of textbooks for a college course that he will teach this fall at Racine Correctional Institution, (RCI) a medium-security state prison for men in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.

I asked Jonathan about the course, about his history of teaching in prison, and about his motivation.

Tell me about the Conflict Analysis and Resolution class you’re going to teach at RCI? Is it different in content from the CAR classes you teach here?

The class is Comm 285: Intro to Conflict Analysis & Resolution.  It will be identical to the course that I teach here – it’s an introduction to a “communication perspective” on conflict, with an emphasis on understanding how patterns of conflict develop, from the interpersonal to the international level.  We explore the choices of interpretation and action that people make on a moment-to-moment basis, creating either destructive cycles and chaotic patterns, or opportunities for healing and transformation.

This will be the first course that the university has ever offered as a regular college course in a correctional setting.  Prisoners with a high school diploma or G.E.D. will be able to enroll as special status students at the university and take the course for credit.  I am very grateful to RCI Warden Paul Kemper and Education Director Paula Decker for their support of this initiative.  Both of them have a deep understanding of the value of education in helping to reduce recidivism.

How long have you been teaching conflict analysis and resolution at RCI? Is there a success story you are particularly proud of from this program?

My career teaching at RCI began in 1995, and has developed over four phases. In phase one (1995-2004),  I taught classes in The Theatre Empowerment, where we used storytelling, dialogue and theatre as tools for exploring the men’s conflicts, and for imagining alternative responses to recurring situations.  In phase two (2004-2008), I initiated and directed The Shakespeare Project, which involved prisoners in an annual nine-month journey of study, rehearsal, and performance.  That experience was very much about socialization and the development of problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.  Men of differing races, religions and sexual orientations, who normally would avoid one another on the yard, learned to work closely with one another, to respect one another, and manage their differences constructively.  In phase three (2008-present), I began writing and publishing on this work in earnest, including a book I edited that brought together prison theatre facilitators from across the United States (Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre - Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011).  Phase four begins this year, with the first formal college course in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

There are many success stories…  it’s difficult to choose only one, and even more difficult to convey the nature of that success in only a few sentences.  The clearest indications that this work is making a positive impact are in the letters that I receive from former prisoners and their family members.  The wife of an ex-offender writes to me that her husband is changed - now he listens to her and the children - and he credits this change to his experience in The Theatre of Empowerment course, where he learned the difference between the archetypal male roles of The King (visionary, creative, generous, bestowing blessings), and the Tyrant (controlling, fearful, rigid, self-aggrandizing, punishing).

How does your involvement in this program benefit our students?

I have great stories to tell!  I learn a great deal from the prisoners I work with, and I share that learning with our students.  I have also involved students directly in some of my classes at Racine Correctional Institution, bringing them in to work and learn alongside the inmates.  It is always a profound experience for the students.  They are deeply moved by the humanity of the prisoners, and the potential that they see in them. 

What is the Prison Outreach Fund? Who created it and what is the fund money used for?

I created the UW-Parkside Prison Outreach Fund as a resource to support university-related educational programs in Wisconsin correctional facilities.  The immediate need was 15 textbooks for this class in Conflict Analysis and Resolution.  The cost of one textbook is $146, and RCI rules prohibit inmates from buying any book that costs more than $75.  These books will be loaned to the prisoners, and will remain the property of the university. 

I have always taught at RCI on a voluntary basis (no compensation 90% of the time – the exceptions being a couple of semesters when stipends were paid).  I am teaching this fall for no compensation. 

My intention is to continue to grow the Prison Outreach Fund, so that a reservoir of support for university outreach will exist.  There will always be expenses – mostly, books and other educational materials.  If the fund grows to be large enough, we might be able to offer modest stipends, as encouragement for other faculty who are interested in teaching behind bars.  I would love to see a cohort of faculty and teaching staff who are dedicated to this work on an ongoing basis.

What textbook will you be using and why was it selected for this class? Is this the same volume you use for classes here?

The textbook is Joyce Hocker and William Wilmot’s Interpersonal Conflict (9^th edition).  I like the book because it provides a broad overview of conflict resolution concepts, and shows clearly the practical value of those concepts.  I complement this material with my own training and experience as a mediator and facilitator, and with case studies from a range of cultural and historical settings.

You mentioned people you never even met contributing to the Prison Outreach Fund. Without naming names, were there contributors who surprised you and, if so, why?

First, I want to say that I am deeply appreciative of the many generous contributions that came in from my friends and colleagues on campus.  I was also surprised, and encouraged, by contributions from a local veteran’s organization, from two children, and from an acquaintance who is worried that his own brother may soon end up in prison.  One couple, who lost their son a year ago (he was attempting to save his roommates from a fire), donated a large amount in his name.  They happened to hear my appeal for donations on his birthday, and I guess they took it for a sign.  He was a passionate advocate of getting books to prisoners.

What is your ultimate goal in teaching at RCI?

The Prison Studies Project at Harvard University notes that “studies conducted over the last two decades almost unanimously indicate that higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism and translates into reductions in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which formerly incarcerated people return” (see “Why Prison Education?” at

http://prisonstudiesproject.org/why-prison-education-programs/).   My ultimate goal is a saner, safer society, where we respond to patterns of addiction, hopelessness and aggression with solutions that actually work.

To contribute to the UW-Parkside Prison Outreach Fund, write your check to “UW-Parkside,” and mail to

Dr. Jonathan Shailor

UW-Parkside Prison Outreach

University of Wisconsin-Parkside

900 Wood Road

Kenosha, WI  53141-2000

Prison Pedagogy Study

Hi folks! PCARE's very own Susannah Bannon of Texas State University-San Marcos is currently collecting data for a project on the experiences of college educators who have taught in a correctional setting. If you fit that bill, please consider completing her online survey:

Greetings, fellow educator!

You are invited to participate in a 10-minute online research study examining teachers’ experiences working with students in correctional institutions, and students on college campuses.

I hope to recruit 100 teachers who at some point during their careers have been (paid) instructors of record for at least one class at a correctional facility, and one class on a college campus.  You do not need to be currently working in both settings to participate

Participants are asked to complete a short online survey; no identifying information is requested so responses will be totally anonymous.  The survey items are all strictly related to general teaching experiences, and do not ask about any specific location, company, or school.

Findings from this study will contribute to the understanding of correctional education, and the factors contributing to job satisfaction and motivation of those who work in that field. 

To participate in the anonymous and confidential survey just copy and paste this link to your browser’s address bar: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/teachingexperiences 

This survey is a study by Susannah Bannon from the Texas State University Department of Communication Studies and is supervised by Melinda Villagran, PhD.  For more information, please contact Susannah by email: spb36@txstate.edu.  The Texas State University-San Marcos Institutional Review Board (EXP2013Z2155) has approved this study.

Your participation is greatly appreciated!!

Susannah

Susannah Bannon

Graduate Instructional Assistant

Texas State University – San Marcos

Office:  CENT 314

spb36@txstate.edu

From Eleanor Novek

TORTURE IS A MORAL ISSUE Dear Friends, On February 4, 2013, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has agreed to a first-ever comprehensive and independent assessment of its use of solitary confinement in U.S. federal prisons.  The review is to be conducted through the National Institute of Corrections. Such a review is something for which we’ve been fighting and is a critical step in eventually ending the use of prolonged solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. We should take this opportunity to intensify our campaign to end prolonged solitary confinement. First, if you haven’t done so, we invite you to join the National Religious Campaign Against Torture's national campaign to gather endorsements from people of faith for a statement calling for government officials all across the country to take steps to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement.  Most of the maximum security prisons dedicated to solitary confinement are owned and operated by the states.  When we reach 500 endorsers from a particular state, we will send the statement, along with the list of those endorsers, to that state’s governor and top corrections official, along with every member of that state’s legislature. Most recently, we delivered 1,000 signatures to the Commissioner of Corrections in New York. Will your state be next? Please join us. NRCAT has also produced a 20-minute film, Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard, designed to be shown in congregations or religious organizations with a discussion guide.  Now is a good time to share the film with your congregation and invite others to view it, sign the statement, and take action. This week’s announcement follows the unprecedented Congressional hearing on solitary confinement held June 19, 2012.  Before the hearing, hundreds of people of faith across the nation participated in a 23-hour fast organized by NRCAT, symbolizing the 23 hours prisoners spend in solitary confinement cells per day. We hope you will join us in this moment to learn, share and take action.  The new Director of U.S. Prisons Policy and Program for NRCAT, Laura Markle Downton, looks forward to working alongside you in this effort to end torture, without exception. She can be reached at ldownton@nrcat.org. Sincerely, Linda Gustitus, President Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director For news coverage: “U.S. Bureau of Prisons to review solitary confinement” Video from the June hearing on solitary confinement can be found at: www.judiciary.senate.gov   You have received this message because you signed a statement or participated in an activity of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please click here to unsubscribe from this mailing list. Questions? Please email campaign@nrcat.org National Religious Campaign Against Torture: www.tortureisamoralissue.org

Children Leading the Way in Chicago

The horrifying levels of gun violence in Chicago continue to be a major national news story and source of intense debate both in the Windy City and nationally. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's response has been characteristic of many big-city mayors: Respond to growing violence with more police officers on the streets. In other words, expand the reach of the criminal justice system in poor communities of color already disproportionately targeted for surveillance and incarceration.

Yesterday's Chicago Tribune offers a powerful, humbling example of how communities most directly impacted by such violence are capable of developing their own visions for reversing the tide of violence. On Monday, approximately three dozen teenagers walked out of their schools and led a march honoring 15-year-old Hadiya Pendelton, who recently died in a shooting.

In addition to mourning the loss of a fellow teenager and registering outrage about ever-increasing levels of violence on Chicago's streets, these wise youth challenged Emmanuel and the rest of the city to embrace holistic measures that would make south side communities safer for children:

"According to their plan, the girls and their supporters want Mayor Rahm Emanuel to create 2,000 part-time jobs and another 2,000 summer jobs specifically for youth. They want extended hours at their schools with an emphasis on social and recreational programs and they want parental involvement to become a mandatory condition of certain school programs."

This is a powerful testament to the ability of communities with the most direct relationship to social problems to generate solutions rooted in their daily experiences. Furthermore, it represents a forceful rebuke to those who would pose a false alternative between anarchy on the streets and the enhanced militarization thereof. 

Cities everywhere would be wise to listen to such wisdom.

Education v.s. Incarceration

The troubling connection between mass incarceration and public education has been well documented by authors including Ruth Gilmore, Erica Meiners, and Michelle Alexander. Here, Washington State University sociologist Gregory Hooks provides some accessible empirical insight into the ways mass incarceration is a) utterly unjustifiable in relation to actual crime rates and b) directly redirects state resources from our schools.

Thanks to Stephen Hartnett for passing this along.