No subject

Fri Feb 24 11:55:10 PST 2006

Oakdale.
"Many prisoners were sent to Jena prison, which had been previously shut
down due to the abusiveness of the staff there. I have no idea why they
thought it was acceptable to reopen it with the same staff. People were
beaten, an entire room of men was forced to strip and jump up and down =
and
make sexual gestures towards one another. I cannot describe to you the
terror that the young men we spoke to conveyed to us."=20

According to the report from Safe Streets Strong Communities, the
incarcerated people they interviewed described their attorney's as
"passive," "not interested," and "absent." Interviewers were told that
"attorneys acted as functionaries for the court rather than advocates =
for
the poor people they represented ... the customs of the criminal court
excused -- and often encouraged -- poor policing and wrongful arrests. =
The
Orleans Indigent Defender Program acted as a cog in this system rather =
than
a check on its dysfunction."=20

Pre-Katrina, the New Orleans public defender system was already =
dangerously
overloaded, with 42 attorneys and six investigators. Today, New Orleans =
has
6 public defenders, and one investigator.  And these defenders are not
necessarily full-time, nor committed to their clients. One of those
attorneys is known to spend his days in court working on crossword =
puzzles
instead of talking to his clients. All of these attorneys are allowed to
take an unlimited number of additional cases for pay. In most cases, =
these
attorneys have been reported to do a much more vigorous job on behalf of
their paid clients.=20

"We have a system that was broken before Katrina," Price tells me, "that
was then torn apart, and is waiting to be rebuilt. Four thousand people =
are
still in prison, waiting for this to be repaired. There's a young man, I
speak to his mother every day, who has been in the hole since the storm,
and is being abused daily. This boy is 19 years old, and not very big, =
and
he has no lawyer. His mother doesn't know what to do, and without her =
son
having council, I don't know what to tell her."=20

Pre-hurricane, according to the Safe Streets report, some detainees were
brought to a magistrate court shortly after being arrested, "where a =
public
defender was appointed 'solely for the purposes of this hearing.' The
assigned attorney did not do even the most cursory interview about the
arrestee's ties to the community, charges, or any other information
relevant to setting a bond. Other interviewees were brought to a room =
where
they faced a judge on a video screen. These individuals uniformly =
reported
there was no defense lawyer present."=20

The report continues, "after appointment, (defense attorneys) by and =
large
did not visit the crime scene, did not interview witnesses, did not =
check
out alibis, did not procure expert assistance, did not review evidence, =
did
not know the facts of the case, did not do any legal research, and did =
not
otherwise prepare for trial . with few exceptions, attorneys with the
Orleans Indigent Defender program never met with their clients to =
discuss
their case. Appointed council did not take calls from the jail, did not
respond to letters or other written correspondence, and generally did =
not
take calls or make appointments with family members . (defenders)
frequently did not know the names of their clients."=20

"This ain't just started, its been going on," Nick tells me. "I want to
talk about it, but at the same time it hurts to talk about it. Someone's
gotta start talking about it. It's not the judge, its not the lawyers, =
it's
the criminal justice system. Everybody who goes to jail isn't guilty. =
You
got guys who were drunk in public, treated like they committed murder."=20

I asked Price what has to happen to fix this system.  "First, we =
establish
who was left behind, collect their stories and substantiate them. Next,
we're going to organize among the inmates and former inmates to change =
the
system. The inmates are going to have a voice in what happens in our
criminal justice system. If you ask anyone living in New Orleans, the
police, the justice system, may be the single most influential element =
in
poor communities. It's what beaks up families, it's what keeps people
poor."=20

How can people from around the US help? "Education, health care, mental
health. All these issues that exist in the larger community, exist among
the prisoners, and no one is serving them. We need psychiatrists, =
doctors,
teachers, we need all kinds of help," Price says.

"One thing I can't forget is those children," Benny Flowers tells me. =
"Why
would they leave those children behind? I'm trying to forget it, but I
can't forget it"=20

Sitting across the table from Benny, Nick is resolute. "I'm making this
interview so that things get better," he tells me. "The prison system, =
the
judicial system, the police. We got to make a change, and we all got to
come together as a community to make this change. I want to stop all =
this
harassment and brutality."=20

Jordan Flaherty is a resident of New Orleans, an organizer with New =
Orleans
Network and an editor of Left Turn Magazine. His previous articles from =
New
Orleans are archived here

GRASSROOTS, PEOPLE OF COLOR-LED GULF COAST ORGANIZATIONS TO DONATE TO:
www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=3D689&type=3DW<http://www.lefttu=
rn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=3D689&type=3DW> =20

Other Resources for information and action

* Reconstruction Watch
* Common Ground=20
* People's Hurricane Fund=20
* Justice for New Orleans
* Black Commentator=20
* New Orleans Network=20
* Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children=20
* Four Directions Solidarity Network=20
* Color Of Change=20
* Critical Resistance: Comprehensive info and action related to =
prisoners
in New Orleans
Other Articles by Jordan Flaherty
* Nothing Stops Mardi Gras

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<DIV>
<DIV>I opened the file.. thanks.. look at this.. what has happened to=20
america?..aaron</DIV><A =
title=3Dhttp://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar06/Flaherty11.htm=20
href=3D"http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar06/Flaherty11.htm">http://www.di=
ssidentvoice.org/Mar06/Flaherty11.htm</A> Guantanamo=20
on the Mississippi by Jordan Flaherty <A=20
title=3Dhttp://www.dissidentvoice.org/=20
href=3D"http://www.dissidentvoice.org">www.dissidentvoice.org</A> Marc=
h 11,=20
2006 Sometimes the injustices here in New Orleans leave me =
numb.&nbsp;=20
But the continuing debacle of our criminal justice system inspires in =
me a=20
sense of indignation I thought was lost to cynicism long ago.&nbsp; =
Ursula=20
Price, a staff investigator for the indigent defense organization A =
Fighting=20
Chance, has met with several thousand hurricane survivors who were =
imprisoned=20
at the time of the hurricane, and her stories chill me. "I grew up in =
small=20
town Mississippi," she tells me.&nbsp; "We had the Klan marching down =
our=20
main street. But still, I've never seen anything like this." =
 Safe=20
Streets, Strong Communities, a New Orleans-based criminal =
justice reform=20
coalition that Price also works with, has just released a =
report based on=20
more than a hundred recent interviews with prisoners who have =
been locked up=20
since pre-Katrina and are currently spread across thirteen prisons =
and=20
hundreds of miles. They found the average number of days people had =
been=20
locked up without a trial was 385 days. One person had been locked up =
for=20
1,289 days.&nbsp; None of them have been convicted of any crime. =
 "I've=20
been working in the system for the while, I do capital cases and =
I've seen=20
the worst that the criminal justice system has to offer," Price =
told me. "But=20
even I am shocked that there has been so much disregard for the value =
of=20
these peoples lives, especially people who have not been proved =
to have done=20
anything wrong." As lawyers, advocates, and former prisoners stressed =
to me=20
in interviews over the last couple of weeks, arrest is not the same =
as=20
conviction. According to a pre-Katrina report from the Metropolitan =
Crime=20
Commission, 65% of those arrested in New Orleans are eventually =
released=20
without ever having been charged with any crime. Samuel Nicholas =
(his=20
friends call him Nick) was imprisoned in Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) =
on a=20
misdemeanor charge, and was due to be released August 31.&nbsp; =
Instead,=20
after a harrowing journey of several months, he was released February =
1. Nick=20
told me he still shudders when he thinks of those days in OPP. =
 "We=20
heard boats leaving, and one of the guys said 'hey man, all =
the deputies=20
gone,'" Nick relates. "We took it upon ourselves to try to survive. =
They left=20
us in the gym for two days with nothing. Some of those guys stayed in =
a cell=20
for or five days. People were hollering, 'get me out, I don't want to =
drown,=20
I don't want to die,' we were locked in with no ventilation, no =
water,=20
nothing to eat. Its just the grace of god that a lot of us survived." =

Benny Flowers, a friend of Nick's from the same Central City=20
neighborhood, was on a work release program, and locked in a =
different=20
building in the sprawling OPP complex. In his building there were, by =
his=20
count, about 30 incarcerated youth, some as young as 14 years old. "I =
don't=20
know why they left the children like that. Locked up, no food, no =
water. Why=20
would you do that? They couldn't swim; most of them were scared to =
get into=20
the water. We were on work release, so we didn't have much time left. =
We=20
weren't trying to escape, we weren't worried about ourselves, we were =
worried=20
about the children. The guards abandoned us, so we had to do it for=20
ourselves. We made sure everyone was secured and taken care of. The =
deputies=20
didn't do nothing. It was inmates taking care of inmates, old inmates =
taking=20
care of young inmates. We had to do it for ourselves." Benny=20
Hitchens, another former inmate, was imprisoned for unpaid =
parking tickets.=20
"They put us in a gym, about 200 of us, and they gave us three trash =
bags,=20
two for defecation and one for urination. That was all we had for 200 =
people=20
for two days." State Department of Corrections officers =
eventually=20
brought them, and thousands of other inmates, to Hunts Prison, in =
rural=20
Louisiana, where evacuees were kept in a field, day and night, with =
no=20
shelter and little or no food and water. "They didn't do us no kind =
of=20
justice," Flowers told me. "We woke up early in the morning with the =
dew all=20
over us, then in the afternoon we were burning up in the summer sun. =
There=20
were about 5,000 of us in three yards." Nick was taken from =
Hunts=20
prison to Oakdale prison. "At Oakdale they had us on lockdown 23 =
hours, on=20
Friday and Saturday it was 24 hours. We hadn't even been convicted =
yet. Why=20
did we have to be treated bad? Twenty-three and one ain't nothing =
nice,=20
especially when you ain't been convicted of a crime yet. But here in =
New=20
Orleans you're guilty 'til you're proven innocent. Its just the =
opposite of=20
how its supposed to be." From reports that Price received, some=20
prisoners had it worse than Oakdale. "Many prisoners were sent to =
Jena=20
prison, which had been previously shut down due to the abusiveness of =
the=20
staff there. I have no idea why they thought it was acceptable to =
reopen it=20
with the same staff. People were beaten, an entire room of men was =
forced to=20
strip and jump up and down and make sexual gestures towards one =
another. I=20
cannot describe to you the terror that the young men we spoke to =
conveyed to=20
us." According to the report from Safe Streets Strong =
Communities,=20
the incarcerated people they interviewed described their attorney's=20
as "passive," "not interested," and "absent." Interviewers were told=20
that "attorneys acted as functionaries for the court rather than =
advocates=20
for the poor people they represented ... the customs of the criminal=20
court excused -- and often encouraged -- poor policing and wrongful =
arrests.=20
The Orleans Indigent Defender Program acted as a cog in this system =
rather=20
than a check on its dysfunction." Pre-Katrina, the New =
Orleans public=20
defender system was already dangerously overloaded, with 42 attorneys =
and six=20
investigators. Today, New Orleans has 6 public defenders, and one=20
investigator.&nbsp; And these defenders are not necessarily =
full-time, nor=20
committed to their clients. One of those attorneys is known to spend =
his days=20
in court working on crossword puzzles instead of talking to his =
clients. All=20
of these attorneys are allowed to take an unlimited number of =
additional=20
cases for pay. In most cases, these attorneys have been reported to =
do a much=20
more vigorous job on behalf of their paid clients. "We have a =
system=20
that was broken before Katrina," Price tells me, "that was then torn =
apart,=20
and is waiting to be rebuilt. Four thousand people are still in =
prison,=20
waiting for this to be repaired. There's a young man, I speak to his =
mother=20
every day, who has been in the hole since the storm, and is being =
abused=20
daily. This boy is 19 years old, and not very big, and he has no =
lawyer. His=20
mother doesn't know what to do, and without her son having council, I =
don't=20
know what to tell her." Pre-hurricane, according to the Safe =
Streets=20
report, some detainees were brought to a magistrate court shortly =
after being=20
arrested, "where a public defender was appointed 'solely for the =
purposes of=20
this hearing.' The assigned attorney did not do even the most cursory =

interview about the arrestee's ties to the community, charges, or any =
other=20
information relevant to setting a bond. Other interviewees were =
brought to a=20
room where they faced a judge on a video screen. These individuals =
uniformly=20
reported there was no defense lawyer present." The report =
continues,=20
"after appointment, (defense attorneys) by and large did not visit =
the crime=20
scene, did not interview witnesses, did not check out alibis, did not =
procure=20
expert assistance, did not review evidence, did not know the facts of =
the=20
case, did not do any legal research, and did not otherwise prepare =
for trial=20
 with few exceptions, attorneys with the Orleans Indigent Defender =
program=20
never met with their clients to discuss their case. Appointed council =
did not=20
take calls from the jail, did not respond to letters or other written =

correspondence, and generally did not take calls or make appointments =
with=20
family members . (defenders) frequently did not know the names of =
their=20
clients." "This ain't just started, its been going on," Nick =
tells me.=20
"I want to talk about it, but at the same time it hurts to talk about =
it.=20
Someone's gotta start talking about it. It's not the judge, its not =
the=20
lawyers, it's the criminal justice system. Everybody who goes to jail =
isn't=20
guilty. You got guys who were drunk in public, treated like they =
committed=20
murder." I asked Price what has to happen to fix this =
system.&nbsp;=20
"First, we establish who was left behind, collect their stories and=20
substantiate them. Next, we're going to organize among the inmates =
and former=20
inmates to change the system. The inmates are going to have a voice =
in what=20
happens in our criminal justice system. If you ask anyone living in =
New=20
Orleans, the police, the justice system, may be the single most =
influential=20
element in poor communities. It's what beaks up families, it's what =
keeps=20
people poor." How can people from around the US help? =
"Education,=20
health care, mental health. All these issues that exist in the larger =

community, exist among the prisoners, and no one is serving them. We =
need=20
psychiatrists, doctors, teachers, we need all kinds of help," Price=20
says. "One thing I can't forget is those children," Benny Flowers =
tells=20
me. "Why would they leave those children behind? I'm trying to forget =
it, but=20
I can't forget it" Sitting across the table from Benny, Nick =
is=20
resolute. "I'm making this interview so that things get better," he =
tells me.=20
"The prison system, the judicial system, the police. We got to make a =
change,=20
and we all got to come together as a community to make this change. I =
want to=20
stop all this harassment and brutality." Jordan Flaherty is a =

resident of New Orleans, an organizer with New Orleans Network and an =
editor=20
of Left Turn Magazine. His previous articles from New Orleans are =
archived=20
here GRASSROOTS, PEOPLE OF COLOR-LED GULF COAST ORGANIZATIONS TO =
DONATE=20
TO: <A =
title=3Dhttp://www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=3D689&amp;type=3D=
W=20
href=3D"http://www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=3D689&amp;type=3D=
W">www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx?id=3D689&amp;type=3DW</A>&nbsp; =

<BR><BR>Other Resources for information and action<BR><BR>* =
Reconstruction=20
Watch<BR>* Common Ground <BR>* People's Hurricane Fund <BR>* Justice for =
New=20
Orleans<BR>* Black Commentator <BR>* New Orleans Network <BR>* Families =
and=20
Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children <BR>* Four Directions =
Solidarity=20
Network <BR>* Color Of Change <BR>* Critical Resistance: Comprehensive =
info and=20
action related to prisoners<BR>in New Orleans<BR>Other Articles by =
Jordan=20
Flaherty<BR>* Nothing Stops Mardi Gras<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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