Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Volume 22 Access to Justice: The Social Responsibility of Lawyers | Prison Reform: Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons January 2006 Confronting Confinement: A Report of The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons John J. Gibbons Gibbons P.C. Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach United States Attorney General Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy Part of the Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons Recommended Citation John J. Gibbons and Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach, Confronting Confinement: A Report of The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, 22 WASH. U. J. L. & POL’Y 385 (2006), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol22/iss1/25 This Prison Reform - Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Confronting Confinement† A Report of The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons John J. Gibbons Nicholas de B. Katzenbach Commission Co-Chairs June 2006 Copyright © 2006, Vera Institute of Justice. The Commission’s report was supported in part by grants from the Charles River Fund, Ford Foundation, Fund for New Jersey, JEHT Foundation, Open Society Institute, Overbrook Foundation, and the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust. † This Article is a reprint of the Commission’s report; there are no changes to the text of the report, although photographs have been omitted and some formatting changes made. Electronic copies of this report can be downloaded from the Commission’s website, www.prisoncommission.org. 385 Washington University Open Scholarship p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 386 Journal of Law & Policy [Vol. 22:385 Commission Staff Executive Director Alexander Busansky Communications Director Jennifer Trone Senior Counsel Jon Wool Counsel Michela Bowman Operations and Outreach Manager Jenni Trovillion Senior Associate Tina Chiu Research Associate Andres Rengifo Research Assistants Michael Corradini Katherine Kimpel Website Administrator John McCrory Fellows Annie Ulevitch Cantor, Lisa Yedid Hershman, Leanne Kinsella Taylor Interns Chiraag Bains, Gregory Bennett, John Cutler, Alexander D’Addio, Robin Dull, Josh Glickman Pro Bono Attorneys Jason Harman. Arnold & Porter LLP: Stewart D. Aaron, Keri Arnold, Yue-Han Chow, Katrina Fischer Kuh, Carolina Musalem R, Glynn K. Spelliscy, Bryan Earl Webster, Elizabeth A. Wells. Heller Ehrman LLP: Lisa Cirando, Christopher Fowler, Lauren McMillen, Zakiyyah Salim, Jaime Santos. Holland & Knight LLP: Stephen F. Hanlon, Gretchen N. Rohr. Morrison Foerster LLP: Obrea Poindexter. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Jennifer Behr, Patrick Hickey. Consultants The Raben Group: Katharine Huffman, Robert Raben, Julia Sessoms. TSD Communications: Dwayne Lawler, Ricki Seidman. Photographs Andrew Lichtenstein Design Point Five Design: Alissa Levin, Karin Wood https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol22/iss1/25 p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 2006] Confronting Confinement 387 From the Commission Co-Chairs Most Americans feel that life in prison and jail does not affect them. It takes an awful event to remind people that the dangers inside can endanger them: a large-scale riot that threatens to spill over into the community; a corrections officer who is killed on the job leaving a family behind; the spread of infectious disease from cell block to neighborhood block. When the emotional reaction to the awful headline fades, however, we are left only with the sinking feeling that prison is a problem with no solution. The temptation is always to look away, hoping the troubles inside the walls will not affect us. Every day judges send thousands of men and women to jail or prison, but the public knows very little about the conditions of confinement and whether they are punishing in ways that no judge or jury ever intended; marked by the experience of rape, gang violence, abuse by officers, infectious disease, and never-ending solitary confinement. Unless the experience of incarceration becomes real through the confinement of a loved one or through a family member who works day-to-day in a correctional facility, jails and prisons and the people inside them are far removed from our daily concerns. Americans share concerns about struggling schools, dangerous hospitals, and corrupt corporations. We now talk openly about domestic violence and child abuse because we know there are terrible consequences for our loved ones, our families, and our communities if we remain silent. Yet there is a shame and a stigma about incarceration that makes it very difficult to have honest, productive conversations about what we are doing and the results. Over the course of a year, the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons tried to change that by bringing life behind bars fully, vividly into focus and by connecting what happens inside with the health and safety of our communities. Our inquiry and this report reveal both grave problems and also good work that fills us with hope. A year ago, a group of individuals with little in common promised to recommend strategies for operating correctional facilities that serve our country’s best interests and reflect our highest values. Today, we speak in a single voice about the problems, our nation’s ability to overcome them, and the risks for all of us if we fail to act. Our nation has the talent and know-how to transform all of our Washington University Open Scholarship p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 388 Journal of Law & Policy [Vol. 22:385 correctional facilities into institutions that we can be proud of and rely on to serve the public’s interests, institutions that we would trust to ensure the safety of someone we love, places of opportunity as well as punishment. We hope you will join us in this important work. —John J. Gibbons Nicholas de B. Katzenbach https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol22/iss1/25 p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 2006] Confronting Confinement 389 Contents Preface Commissioners Summary of Findings and Recommendations I. Conditions of Confinement 1. Prevent Violence 2. Provide Health Care that Protects Everyone 3. Limit Segregation II. Labor and Leadership 1. Change the Culture and Enhance the Profession III. Oversight and Accountability 1. Invest in External Oversight 2. Strengthen Accountability Within the Profession 3. Educate and Involve the Public IV. Knowledge and Data 1. Measure Safety and Effectiveness Commission Witnesses Works Cited Acknowledgments Washington University Open Scholarship p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 390 Journal of Law & Policy [Vol. 22:385 Preface A little more than one year ago, a diverse group of individuals— respected civic leaders, experienced corrections administrators, scholars, advocates for the rights of prisoners, law enforcement professionals, members of the religious community, and former prisoners—joined together as a national commission to examine the safety of America’s prisons and jails. What we discovered over months of holding public hearings, talking individually and in small groups with a wide range of experts, and reviewing the available research and data is that the people who think and care most about safety and abuse in America’s correctional facilities are concerned about many of the same problems and point to many of the same solutions. This report is the Commission’s attempt to reflect that common ground. America’s correctional facilities are less turbulent and deadly violent than they were decades ago. Many corrections administrators have done an admirable job, but steady decreases nationally in riots and homicides do not tell us about the much larger universe of less- than-deadly violence. And beyond physical violence, there are other serious problems that put lives at risk and cause immeasurable suffering. For all of the hard work and achievements of corrections professionals—most of which the public does not hear about—there is still too much violence in America’s prisons and jails, too many facilities that are crowded to the breaking point, too little medical and mental health care, unnecessary uses of solitary confinement and other forms of segregation, a desperate need for the kinds of productive activities that discourage violence and make rehabilitation possible, and a culture in many prisons and jails that pits staff against prisoners and management against staff. There is too little help and hope for the individuals we incarcerate and too little respect and support for the men and women who work in our prisons and jails. And notwithstanding these conclusions, we know less about safety and abuse in America’s prisons and jails than we should. It is simply not enough to be better than we were. We must confront and solve today’s problems. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol22/iss1/25 p385 Commission Report book pages.doc 12/4/2006 2006] Confronting Confinement 391 At the commission’s public hearings in cities around the country, witnesses testified about the realities of life behind bars in America— both good and bad. Lou West recalled a long career in Missouri as a corrections officer trying to do what his job title suggests—“to make right,” as he put it. Arthur Wallenstein and Michael Ashe talked about how providing high quality health care in the jails they run benefits the surrounding communities. Former gang member Pernell Brown described his return to prison as a counselor, helping to guide young prisoners away from gangs and violence. Corrections Secretary Theodis Beck portrayed an officer corps in North Carolina that is more diverse, better trained, and more professional than ever before. Other people who testified before the Commission described devastating events that remain with them far beyond the walls of any jail or prison.