"When a Woman Comes Home, She Comes Home in a Cloud of Shame": Women's Advocate and Newest Task Force Member, Rusti Miller-Hill Talks About Reentry from a Woman's Perspective

In 1993, Rusti-Miller Hill finished a three year drug sentence in Albion Correction Facility. During her term of incarceration, she battled the drug problem that lead to her imprisonment, discovered she was HIV positive, and learned that the parental rights to two of her sons had been terminated.  Emboldened instead of defeated,  Ms. Miller-Hill became an advocate for formerly incarcerated women , the founder of Brandon House 1.inc., a non-profit organization that helps women reenter their communities post-incarceration, and had another child despite the urging of doctors to terminate her pregnancy due to her HIV status. She is also employed as a Trainer in the People with AIDS Leadership Training Institute at Cicatelli Associates,  the newest member of the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force, and  is collaborating with the Women In Prison Project of the Correctional Association and H.I.R.E for  "HIRE's 5th Annual Reentry Policy Conference: Elevating Women: Strengthening Policies & Practices to Support the Needs of Justice-Involved Women" (To register, click here).  During our  interview, Ms. Miller-Hill and I spoke about her inspiration for launching her non-profit, her hope for reunification with her sons, and how and why she believes women are treated differently upon their release from prison.

Can you tell me about Brandon House 1.inc.?

Brandon House 1.inc. is my brainchild. It was created to help formerly incarcerated women reintegrate into the community. After a program that was helpful to me upon release closed, I realized that there were no other programs in existence that didn’t offer services, but provided assistance with navigation. I adopted that philosophy and incorporated it into what is now Brandon House 1.inc. What we do is collaborate with other formerly incarcerated women around supporting one another. We take a holistic approach to creating a community where women are welcomed back into society by other formerly incarcerated women.

What services does Brandon House 1.inc. provide to someone leaving prison?  

Hopefully, I would have been in contact with the woman leaving prison prior to her release so that I know who she is and make that connection. Then, if she needed someone to pick her up, someone would be waiting for her to meet her when she came out and escort her home to the community. We make sure there is someone there to say “Welcome Home.” If she had appointments or needed to have someone with her during those first couple of days home, have someone help her navigate her through transportation, public assistance, medical issues, we would offer that to her.

The whole idea is that each woman is different. All I am doing is offering guidance to them and helping them make choices. I remember I slept at the YMCA for the first 6 months when I got out, because I couldn’t go back to my community. Not because it wasn’t available, but because I chose not to because I wanted something different for myself. The real test starts when you get out, the real test is on the street. Walking those same streets where you did whatever you did and being able to overcome those obstacles. Situations did present themselves-someone offers you drugs, rather than a plate of food or a place to stay. Because of that reality, the YMCA was the best choice for me. I know that going there allowed me to grow within myself. Having the opportunity to talk about my life, my fears, to talk about what it is like to be on the outside with other women who were experiencing the same things made it easier to stay on the street.

Can you talk about your inspiration for beginning Brandon House1.inc?

Brandon House was named after my son who is now fifteen years old. Almost two years after I came home, I met someone, fell in love, got married, and became pregnant. I was told by five different doctors that my son should not be born because I had HIV and I could transmit it to him. Finally, we found a team of providers including a midwife, a 24 hour nurse, and a doctor who provided us with medical services and support to have a healthy pregnancy. Today Brandon is fifteen and HIV negative. My husband and I have been married for 13 years and he, too, is still negative. During the process of incarceration I lost parental rights to my other children, something that may have been avoided if I had had Brandon House or another organization to teach me my parental rights.

The day that I was arrested my then-12 year old daughter saw me taken away by the police. I didn’t see her again until she was 16. I also had another son who was 2 1/2 and a set of twins. My mom was able to take them for a short period of time. Eventually, she could only keep my daughter in the household and my sons were sent into foster care. They were placed with a woman who kept them together and eventually adopted them. Because New York State does not require foster care agencies or Administration for Children's Services to bring children to see their mothers once they are sentenced to a state facility, I eventually lost contact with them, which led to the beginning of my termination of parental rights. Eventually my children were adopted by their foster mother.

How were you able to deal with the idea that you had not only lost custody, but parental rights to your children, while you were in prison?

You feel a sense of hopelessness. At the time I was not an advocate or aware of what my rights were or how I could interrupt that process. I eventually went to the parole board and was granted parole. A week before I was due for release, I had a court date. The counselor called me downstairs and said “You have just been notified that one of your sons is up for adoption and the court date is tomorrow.” We talked a bit about it and he spoke with me about it. His goal was to make me see that it was better for me to leave it alone than to try to fight it. I felt like I had nothing to offer my children-no place to stay no money, no job, no lawyer, no nothing. So, I felt that my only recourse was to eat everything he said and let it be. And that is what I did. Little did I know that I had the right to attend the hearing, even have it postponed. I could have done something about it. So, I guess that was the beginning of my advocacy, trying to find out what my rights were and making sure no one else had to experience that pain.

How were you able to turn that experience into a source of strength and advocacy?

I prayed on it. I surrendered and let it go to the hands of the higher power which keeps me grounded and allows me the belief that we will be able to reunite someday. To this day, I am still waiting for that opportunity. We have sent all the necessary paperwork to Albany so that my children can find me if they chose, if and when they begin to look for me and my family. We can’t actively pursue them, but they can pursue us. So, I hope and pray that before I close my eyes, I will have the opportunity to lay my eyes on my sons. Whether or not they forgive me, accept the situation that placed them here is another story. But, I want them just to know that I never stopped loving them and wondering about them. I think that is what comforts me, knowing that eventually I will have that opportunity to see them once again.

Do you think there is more knowledge now available to women who are incarcerated or returning home than when you came home?

Yes, The Correctional Association is a great resource. I have been very involved in their work. First, I was an intern. From there, I became the chair of the Conditions on the Inside and Reentry Committee. There is also the Incarcerated Mothers Committee and the Domestic Violence Committee. But education now is much more easily accessible and making it available is what the Women In Prison Project is about. It is about educating women, letting them know what their rights are, helping them to make the choice. Not everyone wants to be an advocate, but everyone should have the opportunity to address their issues.

How do you see women being treated differently than men when they are released from prison?

When women are released, there is no big party, no one waiting to have sex with you. There is nothing. When men come home, there is a party, there are girls, the family is open and receptive. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve gone. When a woman comes home she comes home in a cloud of shame. No one wants to acknowledge where she had been what she has been through so you have no opportunity to talk about the experience, all the things that you have seen. We don’t talk about those things. No one wants to know that story.

For men, it has become a rite of passage in the neighborhood. The reason that “he” went justifies his leaving his family. If he was on the corner selling drugs, or held up a store, he was doing it to take care of whatever. He was providing for his family. For women its different. Most are in prison for doing drugs, and a lot of it stems from their own usage, to cope with trauma. It didn’t happen in a vacuum, there was something that happened that caused this woman to turn to drugs and medicate herself, to escape the pain of what she was feeling. The addiction led to whatever offense it was that caused her to become arrested

Do you think in some communities, going to prison is viewed as an expression of masculinity?

Yes. I live in Harlem across the street from the Polo Grounds which is notorious for drugs and people going to jail. We call them the “corner boys”, not to be malicious, but because I am making a distinction for my son, Brandon, to understand. I tell him “School is the option for you. You want to get out, go to school.” It is more like, painting a picture. These guys are on the corner everyday all day. They have never seen beyond the four corners that exist on that block. My son is different. He plays hockey, he plays lacrosse. There are other options which include many more opportunities than what is being presented outside your door. I frequently hear someone in passing say, “I just got out”, and the whole crowd glorifies his being away and makes him feel good about being back. For me, I had to show my son something different, something more. I had to show him you don’t need to do that to get what you need-recognition, support, friends. There are other ways to feel good about yourself. What they are offering is not real, it is false. My son understands that, he knows that while it might look good, its not good for you. So all the glitter and glamour is stripped away for the reality of what really happens post incarceration.

So your son never experienced you prior to your incarceration. How do you talk about your time upstate with him?

I am honest. I tell him that these were mistakes that I made. For his whole life he has seen me depicted in interviews. HIV is what he has grown up knowing, so its never been a secret. He has appeared in many videos with me and been a part of many of my presentations. I always say if I tell my secrets there is nothing that anyone can use against me. If I expose myself, what type of ammunition do you have to come at me with other than the truth? Those are the principles on which Brandon House. It is a safe space to meet some people who have experienced what you have experienced, to be it is who it is you imagined yourself to be while you were away.

You are planning an event to talk about some of the issues we discussed here today?

Yes, Brandon House 1.inc. is working with H.I.R.E on their 5th Annual Reentry Policy Conference on September 15, 2010 to talk about how women reenter the community. Because women are important to the community, their absence is felt by the entire community, whether they acknowledge it openly or it happens as a ripple effect. I asked the Director of HIRE, Roberta Peeples, to create a place where we can have the conversation about what formerly incarcerated need to thrive. The panelists will consist of CBOs, government workers, and community advocates. We will be able to offer resolutions, and opportunities so that the group coming behind us doesn’t have to confront the same obstacles that many of us had to overcom

Read More

Talk of the Nation Addresses "The Epidemic" of Disproportionate Incarceration of African Americans in the U.S.

Why do black individuals make up only 12% of the U.S. population but about 44% of U.S. prisons?  Why, in the U.S, are 1 in 15 adult black men (and 1 in nine young black men between the ages of 20 and 34 )in prison? Why is it that in New York City blacks get arrested seven times more than whites even though white individuals use marijuana more frequently than black individuals? Why during "stop and frisks" in New York City did police officers stop a record 575,000 people last year of which nearly 90 percent Black or Hispanic? How do the penalties of a criminal record impact families long after a person is released from prison?

These are the few of the topics the guests on NPR's Talk of the Nation's August 23rd segment "Black Men's Jail Time Hits Entire Communities," addressed in their discussion of the inequities of the criminal justice system and the long term  impact that  disproportionate arrests and incarceration has on black individuals and our communities. Listen to it, or read the transcript, here.

Guests include: 
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, correspondent, NPR
Charles Blow, columnist, New York Times
Dwayne Betts, spokesperson, Campaign For Youth Justice
Michelle Alexander, author, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness

Read More

Bars to Education: NY1's Series on Education in the NYC Jail System

Although youth are afforded a constitutional right to education in New York State,  many youth who have contact with the criminal justice system are denied a meaningful education while incarcerated and frequently have trouble accessing education upon release. Last week, NY1 began airing Bars to Education, a week long series on educational issues confronted by the 12,000 New York City students a year who go to school behind bars.

The final episode of the series, "Part 7: Transition Programs Key To Ending Jail Cycle, Advocates Say" focuses on reentry from jail and the efforts currently being undertaken to break the cyle of incarceration, which includes ensuring youth are not turned away from the school system once released from jail. 

NY1's site has each episode available here:

PART 1 Bars To Education: Incarcerated Youth Already Saddled With School Problem
PART 2 Bars To Education: Island Academy Struggles To Find Identity
PART 3 Bars To Education: Officials, Advocates See Real Opportunity For Reform
PART 4 Bars To Education: Rikers Island Teens Have Idle Summers Without School
PART 5 Bars To Education: Westchester School Gives City's Incarcerated Youth A Fighting Chance
PART 6 Bars To Education: Reforms Try To Bring Jail Schools Under Firmer City Control
PART 7 Bars To Education: Transition Programs Key To Ending Jail Cycle, Advocates Say

Read More

"Jesus cares about these inmates, why don't you?": An interview with Mark Early, CEO of the Prison Fellowship

Mark Early, former Attorney General of Virginia, once endorsed the type of tough on crime policies that he now finds himself advocating against as the CEO of Prison Fellowship, a national non-profit organization designed to "give prisoners the opportunity to experience the radically transforming power of Christ." In our interview, Mark Early spoke about the influence of religion on criminal justice politics as well as its power to change the community's response to formerly incarcerated individuals.

What is Prison Fellowship?

Prison Fellowship is an international organization that conducts outreach to prisoners and their families. It was started in 1976 by Chuck Colson [Special Counsel to Richard Nixon who was incarcerated for a Watergate-related conviction] when he came out of prison. He committed the rest of his life to helping prisoners and their families. We work in all fifty states, primarily in state prisons and federal prisons, providing services to inmates that range from spiritual, vocational, helping them upon reentry, assisting their children and helping inmates reconnect with their kids. In NY, we work in Sing Sing, Riverhead, Bedford Hills, Bayview, and Queensboro. We have been trying to increase our level of programming in some of the NY prisons, but we have to navigate some challenges in the correctional systems to do that.

Many people see individuals who have committed any crime as “bad” people, undeserving of assistance either in prison or once they leave. How does the Prison Fellowship use religion to change this perception among individuals in the community?

We are a faith-based organization that grows out of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The way that we approach people who are followers of Jesus is to remind them of the heart that he had for prisoners and those who were marginalized in society. Specifically, Jesus taught that if you visit prisoners you were visiting him. We use that to motivate people to care about prisoners both while they are prison and as they return into society.

What type of resistance have you had from religious communities?

There are some people who can’t get over the stereotype of someone who has been or is incarcerated. I would say we meet mostly with success and, ironically, much of that success in recent years has been due to the growing population of those who are incarcerated in America. Now with 2.3 million people imprisoned, there are very few individuals who go to churches or live in faith based communities who haven’t had a loved one, or a good friend, or someone they know, in prison.  So, most people now know that not everybody there is a predatory kind of person. Many of them are there because of drug or alcohol abuse.

Do you think that approaching reentry policy with a religious perspective tends to depoliticize the issue for people?

The way I generally think about the depoliticization of the reentry issue is this; In the 80’s and 90’s, and I know because I was right in the middle of it, the focus was getting tough on crime and what that meant was enacting as many laws as you could to keep offenders off the street and keep them in prison longer. Just about every state in the nation did that. So now, we have 2.3 million people in prison, and what I think is now depoliticizing is that there is not a whole left to do on the front end without becoming a military state. You know, you just don’t find politicians vying too much when they are running on who can be tougher on crime. It is not a wedge issue like it once was—it has been replaced by things like immigration and terrorism. So, now what is happening is everyone is realizing that the public safety issue today is not what we can do to incarcerate more people, because since we did all that, now we have to figure out how are we going to get all these people ready to come home so they won’t reoffend, create more victims, and create a destabilization of public safety.

What we find is that whether people are Republicans or Democrats, everyone gets this. It has become my observation that it is more of a common ground issue over the last ten years, because the emphasis has begun to shift. We have to get these ready people to come home or we are going to have the same problem on the back end as we had on the front end and we can’t afford to keep people back in prison. The money issue has forced everyone’s hand.

What the faith based issue has done is gotten more voters into caring about prisoners and caring about issues surrounding prisoners. This interest has been taken part of the conservative base and has made it harder for politicians who might tend to revert back to more of a “law and order” stance to do so. They are hearing from some of their constituents that are conservative on a lot of issues, but on this issue are hearing them say “Hey, Jesus cares about these inmates, why don’t you?” It has changed the equation a little bit on the conservative side.

I have heard you speak and say that you are currently working to undo some of the “tough on crime” policies that you helped create when you were Attorney General of Virginia. Did you believe that many of the policies and legislation you endorsed at that time (i.e. long sentences, mandatory minimums for drug crimes) would help solve the crime problem?

I did. I think unfortunately we were overreacting to problems in the correctional system. In Virginia our highest rates of violent crime were coming from felons who had been incarcerated and released, so there was this huge movement to keep these people in prison longer or not let them out at all. The solution was somewhere in between, to not let be let out on parole as quickly and not let them be let out without an opportunity to let them change their criminal behavior. The answer wasn’t to shut the door for good. We were all thinking about the front end, but not the back end. I think what has happened to me overtime, is that I’ve recognize the need for balance. I don’t have a romantic view of prisoners. Believe me, I have seen too many murder scenes and been involved in the lives of too many victims. I have seen how illegal drugs can devastate communities and families. I don’t have a romantic view, but I do think we can have a balance and we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this hole. Once you’ve put 2.3 million in prison, you have basically increased the prison population ten-fold in 30 years.  And when the demographics of that is tilted towards the minority community where the incarceration rates are so high, you have created a social problem that you cannot solve over night.

But, I do think things are moving back in a positive direction. I also think it could change over night given the political circumstances. I tell all my friends that we need to act now while the window of opportunity is open, while crime is not a wedge issue in politics as it once was.

What contribution do you see the Prison Fellowship making in preparing incarcerated individuals for reentry?

We are a flagship program. We are designed as a reentry program where inmates sign up to be part of the program-voluntarily. We take people from any faith or none, although the spiritual part of the program is based on life and teachings of Christ and we make that clear up front. There is a spiritual and intellectual component, and a physical and emotional one. We have seven core values that we emphasize. The intellectual part of the program is making sure that our participants have a GED and to help them get some type of vocational leg up so they are prepared for work upon release. We might teach them how to tear computers apart and put them back together again, or if the prison is open to having a local construction folks come in we do that. At times, we have had the capability to build a house on site and tear it down to rebuild it. We have partnered with other organizations that refurbished wheelchairs. We also always teach our participants how to develop a resume and put them through mock interviews.

We also try to recruit and train for every inmate a mentor so when they are released they have someone, in addition to family or whoever they might have, in some cases nobody, to meet them at the gate, put their arm around them, and walk back with the into the community to start that long road home. During the following year, we make sure they are staying anchored in a wholesome environment. Many of them also want to get involved in a church and we encourage this. We want them to have a positive social environment and relationships The mentor tries to help them run interference for job, housing, family and any substance abuse programs to make sure they figure all of that out. Participants graduate in a year and the program, which has been studied by the University of Pennsylvania, has very good outcomes. The bottom line of the research is that the most important thing to the success of the program is a mentor. Just like for you and me, someone vouched vouched for us. [Former inmates'] problem is they don’t have any connections coming out of prison.

Obviously, the theme of “change and redemption” is a powerful one. What type of work does the Prison Fellowship do to reach employers and share this message?

One of the things we stress is the recruiting and training of mentors, both to work with inmates in prison and upon their return. If they work with these communities and the individuals return to the community as a mentor and friend and integrate them into communities of faith, there is usually a great network that can provide job. Quite frankly, we find the church to be one of the best networking opportunities for jobs for returning individuals-especially if it’s a church that has a concern for those individuals and they are not just looking at employing them strictly from an employment standpoint.

What are your hopes and aspirations for the Prison Fellowship?

My hopes are for the men and women involved in Prison Fellowship. We view prison not as a ending place, but as a place that can be a sending place. A place where people can take some of the worst decisions they have made in life and turn them into some of the biggest opportunities. We see opportunities for them not only to become law abiding citizens, but citizens who have something to give their community vastly beyond what someone who has never been in prison can offer because of the life experience they have garnered. My hope is that former inmates can become army of leaders of the next generation.

Read More

MediaStorm Documentary: Diana Ortiz' "Exodus"

 MediaStorm, "an award-winning multimedia production studio... that creates cinematic narratives that speak to the heart of the human condition" has created an 8‑minute film on Exodus' Community Liason, and Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force partner, Diana Ortiz who spent 22 years in prison and currently works to help transform the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals at Exodus Transitional Community. Through spoken word, video, and photography,  the film captures Ms. Ortiz's journey from prison to freedom, and her strong and resilient spirit.  

You can read more about her story, (and how the Parole Board functions) in the New York Times article, "Convicted of Murder as a Teenager and Paroled at 41."

Read More

Considering "Prisons Without Walls"

The Atlantic magazine's September issue features a thought-provoking article called "Prisons Without Walls,"  which imagines a society where individuals convicted of crimes exist under constant electronic surveillance in lieu of imprisonment.  The article provides an in-depth look at a tracking device called the BI ExacuTrack AT, the impact on those who wear it, and its increasing use, and potential appeal, to criminal justice agencies as an alternative to incarceration.

Read More

Parolestat Comes to Harlem

Last week the Harlem Community Justice Center hosted the monthly Parolestat meeting. Parolestat is the New York State Division of Parole’s version of Compstat (a.k.a Comstat), the now famous NYPD data driven management accountability strategy credited with helping to drive down crime in New York City.

In New York State Parole is organized by regions; within regions bureaus are the next organizational levels. Each bureau is headed by a bureau chief that supervises senior parole officers who in turn supervises Parole Officers in the field. Last week’s Parolestat meeting focused on the Metro 1 Region covering the Bronx and Manhattan. The meeting also examined the work of Facility Operations; Parole staff in correctional facilities that process inmate transfers, pre-pare inmates for release and schedule appearances before the Parole Board.

On the hot seat were Michael Falk, Regional Director for Metro One, and his team, including Deputy Regional Director William Ponder. Executive Director Mark Manthei and Director for Planning and Analysis Michael Buckman provided the heat. The audience included other senior parole officers, bureau chiefs and some Justice Center staff. Normally these meetings only involve the Region’s senior managers and one or two bureau chiefs presenting on individual cases. In this case the executive team wanted bureau chiefs in the Region to observe the meeting and get a sense of what is being tracked and why it matters.

The Parolestat data covered a range of areas providing a clear sense of the challenges faced by Parole. Categories covered included: parole violation processing benchmarks, including time to hearings and reasons for adjournments; the number of technical violations and outstanding warrants; the number of case conferences held; failures to report, a serious violation of Parole that requires a responses within 48 hours; and the number of parolees being released to shelters. Region leadership was grilled on their outcomes, how they responded to identified problems, and what corrective actions they were taking to address on-going problems.

Parolestat is helping the Division of Parole to achieve the goals of improved public safety and better outcomes for parolees. It serves as one more example of the application of modern management strategies designed to promote accountability and the efficient and effective use of government resources.

Read More

Letters from Coxsackie ("the easiest place to get into, the hardest to get out of"): Part II

This is the second installment in "Letters from Coxsackie," a series of letters I received from inmates at Coxsackie Correctional Facility in upstate New York containing their thoughts about their past mistakes, their psychological and spiritual journeys toward redemption, and their warnings to youth who are on the same path that led the inmates to prison.  This man asked me to post his letter because "I believe we go about turning the youth away from prison and a life of crime the wrong way.  Scaring them will only make them want to be tougher, and it will lead them to gangs and other things to make them feel safe.  But giving them a real look at what they got to lose compared to what they got to gain is another story.  Cause nobody comes to prison thinking when they get out they won't have their grandparents, sisters, or brothers there to welcome them home. They don't know that they will be killing the same people they say they love."

7-14-2010

Dear Ms Boar,

I am prisoner in an upstate correctional facility and I've been here for the last 25 years.  I'm 42 years old. I came here when I was 17 years old, just a kid. I was convicted of felony murder. That is when someone dies in the course of committing another felony.  In my case, it was a robbery. Me and a few friends tried to rob a man, but when my friend pulled out the gun (which he had never used before) he ended up pulling the trigger and ending a man's life.  But, at that same moment he ended his life without knowing it and I ended mine. And we both destroyed our families lives, you see.  That man had a wife, two kids and parents who loved him, and we took him away from them, and we had no right.

We were sentenced to 18  years to life. That was 25 years ago.  I assure you that this place is the easiest to get into and the hardest to get out of.

We didn't think about the pain we caused our love ones by being in here. I learned the hard way. It took me to lose both my grandmothers, both my grandfathers, my uncle, my god father, one sister, and then my mother.  I never thought at 17 years old that I would never have my mother waking me up, or my father yelling at me to take out the trash, or my grandparents telling me that they loved me, or my sister telling me to leave her alone, but it's a reality. I lost almost everybody that I loved and all because I made a mistake when I was a kid. Even though I was poor, my family was still the best and they did the best they could.  I would give anything to have them back but I know that I'll never see them again.

 I am not looking for anyone  to feel sorry for me. I'm just hoping that maybe one kid will  read this and think "Is it worth it?"  I took the chance and look what I lost, More than dust-my freedom.  No child wants to send their parents to an early grave because they worry themselves to death. I regret putting my whole family through all the stuff I put them through and they stood by me all the way. But it doesn't change the fact that when they do decide to let me go, none of them will be there to welcome me home. I will never be able to hear their voices again.

 I never thought that this was part of the risk. We think we can go to jail and come home and tell Mom and Dad that we are sorry.  It doesn't happen like that. I know, I learned the hard way, and I wouldn't want anybody to go through what I have been going through for the past 25 years. I did my time and I'm still here. Once they get you they hold on until they are ready to let go. So I beg you. Please don't be me. All it takes is one mistake. Thanks for reading this and remember true friends don't let you throw your life away.

Read More

An End to Prison Gerrymandering?

On Tuesday, the state Legislature approved a measure that would require that inmates be counted as residents of their home instead of in the areas where they are imprisoned. The bill has yet to be approved by Governor David Paterson.

Supporters of the bill argue that the current practice amounts to prison gerrymandering and violates the one person, one vote directives under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. According to the New York Law Journal's article, "State Set to End Policy of Prison Gerrymandering" the Director of the Democracy Program at Demos, Brenda Wright, commented, " Prison-based gerrymandering is wrong because incarcerated persons do not make their home in the prison town in any meaningful sense; they are not permitted to interact with the prison town and they almost always return to their pre-incarceration community upon completion of sentence, on average within 34 months."For more on the implications of the bill if passed, check out the Wall Street Journal's article, "Under New Bill NYC's convicts Won't Pad Upstate Districts."

Read More

Understanding Parole Revocations: My Interview with Parole Revocation Specialist, Elaine Kallinikos

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services recently released its 2009 Crimestat Report which included the rates of return to prison for formerly incarcerated individuals over the period of three years, beginning in 2006 and ending in 2009. In 2006, 24,520 individuals were released from NY State prisons. After three years of release, 41.2 %of them had returned to prison. While many may assume that most individuals on parole return to prison because they have committed a new offense, the vast majority are actually sentenced to a term of prison due to a violation of the conditions of their parole. In fact, between 2006 and 2009 only 10.7% of released individuals returned to prison because they were convicted of a new felony offense. The vast majority, 30.5%, were returned to prison due to a violation of the conditions of their parole or what is referred to as a “technical violation.” A technical violation occurs when an individual on parole fails to abide by the rules set out for him by the Parole Board at the time of release. These include, reporting to a Parole Officer, abiding by a curfew, refraining from associating with others on Parole, and staying off drugs, to name a few.

To learn more about what happens when someone is taken into custody for a technical violation of parole, I sat down with Elaine Kallinikos, a Parole Revocation Specialist for the New York State Division of Parole, Manhattan Six, Special Offenders Unit. Ms. Kallinikos is responsible for prosecuting parolees serving a term of parole after a conviction for a sex offense, parolees who have a mental illness, or parolees involved in a special reentry program (including the Reentry Programs at the Harlem Community Justice Center) when they are accused of violating the conditions of their parole. Ms. Kallinikos prosecutes these individuals in front of an Administrative Law Judge at what is called a “Parole Revocation Hearing.”


What is a parole revocation hearing and what is your role in that hearing?

When a Senior Parole Officer makes the determination to issue a warrant for an individual because he has violated the conditions of his release, he is taken into custody and entitled to two hearings. The first is a preliminary hearing, the second is a final hearing. The preliminary hearing is to determine whether the Division of Parole had probable cause to issue a warrant for violating the conditions of his release. This preliminary hearing can be, and often is, waived. If the parolee decides to have the preliminary hearing, and the hearing officer determines that there was probable cause to issue the warrant, the parolee will remain in custody.

When the preliminary hearing is completed, the case is sent to me. We then have an arraignment process where I take the charges into consideration and may offer a plea. If the parolee pleads guilty his parole will be revoked and he can be sent back to prison or he may be “revoked and restored” and sentenced to a program in the community and continue on parole. Otherwise, he may have a contested hearing, a Parole Revocation Hearing, in which I bring witnesses to prove the charges and an attorney representing the parolee brings witnesses to dispute the charges.

How do you decide what type of sentence to recommend when someone accepts a plea or has a contested hearing and loses?

First, the law guides what type of sentence a parolee is eligible for. The first category is a “Category One” which means that the parolee is a “Violent Felony Offender” and he can face up to 15 months. The second, “Category Two Violators” are “Non-Violent Felony Offenders” and are eligible for programs. “Category Three Violators” are exempt from “Category Two” because they have some sort of psychiatric or medical exclusion. A “Category Four Violator” is a persistent violator, someone who has violated Parole more than two times. They can be sentenced up to 12 months.

The Revocation Specialists considers what category the parolee falls under as well as a range of other factors: whether or not this is the individual’s first parole violation, his criminal history, if he turned himself in or if he absconded. We look at whether the individual has a drug condition, whether he suffers from a mental illness, and whether he has had an opportunity for programming before. Individuals may also violate on different phases on parole. Some may have never made their arrival report so there has never been any adjustment to supervision. Some may have just relapsed from drugs or many have decompensated mentally.

for clarification, can you take me through a scenario, one that includes a new misdemeanor offense and some technical violations? An individual is on parole for a non-violent offense, a drug sale. He is accused of shoplifting at 12am (past their curfew), arrested by the police, and brought into criminal court. What happens?

First, just because an individual is arrested on parole doesn’t mean he is going to be violated by his Senior Parole Officer. The Parole Officer must do a thorough investigation. He must speak to witnesses--police officer, store security, a complaining witness—and based upon that, make a determination as to whether there is enough evidence to sustain a charge. In this scenario, there are three potential “technical charges” that the individual can be violated for. I am not referring to the new separate criminal case that will be taken care of separately. The “technical charges” are having broken the law, staying out past curfew, and possibly not reporting police contact to his Parole Officer

Cases are conferenced between the Parole Officer and the Senior Parole Officer and it is determined whether it is necessary to issue a warrant because either the individuals is a danger to community, himself, or he is in violation of his parole conditions. Alternatives to incarceration at that juncture are deemed inappropriate. Not to say that they may not be considered later on in the process, but at the point that the individual is taken into custody, generally, all other alternatives should have been exhausted and sanctions should have been imposed.

So if the Senior Parole Officer decides to issue the warrant, the parolee is taken into custody, and held on Riker’s Island [one of New York City’s jails]. A preliminary hearing must occur within 15 days from which the warrant is lodged. If the parolee waives the preliminary hearing, he must have a final hearing within 8 business days of the lodge of the warrant.

Who presides over these hearings?

The preliminary hearing determination (of probable cause) is made by hearing officers. Hearing Officers do not have law degrees. (Who are they employed by?)

The State Division of Parole.

The arraignments and final hearing are presided over by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). At these proceedings, I make my recommendation, the parolee’s attorney makes his and in non-board [Parole Board] reviewable cases, the ALJ’s decision is final.

What is the difference between Board-Reviewable cases and Non-Board Reviewable cases?

Board Reviewable Cases are cases where the individual who is being adjudicated for a technical violation is a violent felony offender. For example, a sex offender or someone who has committed a homicide. For example, you have someone on parole for rape and it is his first violation. Let’s say he has been out on parole a year and up until the point of the violation he was doing well. Let’s say what brought him back into custody was that he wasn’t attending his program and missed two reporting days. I make a recommendation, the parolee’s attorney makes a recommendation and the ALJ makes a decision. So for a sex offender first violation, if I recommend twelve months in prison and the Judge agrees with me, that case then goes to the Parole Board. The Board doesn’t have to go along with it. They can turn around and say they are going to give him more time [or less].

You work in the Special Offenders Unit. so you prosecute people with mental illnesses who I imagine have more difficulty complying with the rules of parole. How do you think about this when making your recommendation to the judge or Parole Board?

I do find that people with mental illness do have more difficulty complying with the rules. Hopefully, at the point in which that individual is brought to their final hearing, they are stabilized on medication.

The parolee’s attorney will offer mitigation regarding their mental health issue and why they were violating their condition of parole. I may argue that even though the client was mentally ill, they still understood that they had to abide by conditions of a release or that at the time they were violated they were stable.

The judge will make the determination. If the individual has committed a violent act, for which they have been violated, generally that will go to a contested hearing and then I will have to bring victims to testify. If it is just a matter of technical violation and they don’t believe the individual is a danger to community, that individual will generally end up in a program. Sometimes, I may argue that I feel the individual is a danger to the community. I may point that out to the judge, but it’s the judge’s decision. If the person is sentenced to a program, the person waits in jail until they find a program—a lot of the mentally ill individuals will be waiting in jail because there is a lot of paperwork that need to be approved.

We hear a lot about being indeterminate sentences such as “fifteen to life.” Does anyone ever serve a life sentence on parole?

“Life” is not life as we know it. Individuals who receive a life sentence are eligible for discharge from parole after 3 years. The Parole Officer submits a report to the Board for consideration. This is only their recommendation. The Parole Board makes a final decision. Individuals who have life on parole that keep on violating their parole can wind up on parole for life. They make their “life sentence” a life sentence because they keep getting technical violations and lose time.

A few questions about you. What do you like about your work?

I feel that I make a difference, that I am protecting a community. I felt like that as a Parole Officer and as a Senior Parole Officer. We work very hard and I just want to impress that it is not all about sending these guys back to prison. What sends them back to prison is their behavior and our main concern is the protection of the community. Sometimes it may be in the best interest of the community for that individual to reenter society with the supports that he needs and that is also what we try to do in the violation process as well. It’s a balance. It is not just about sending everyone back, it is also about helping them to make a successful reentry into the community.

What is your day to day like?

When I am in the office, I am preparing cases, speaking with Parole Officers, doing investigations, and speaking with police officers, ADAs, Legal Aid attorneys. I am reading through databases; I want to know the history of how the guy came to violate his parole. That is basically what I do when I’m in the office.

When I am at court, I am presenting my cases, either conferencing cases or having contested hearings.

How often do you have contested hearings?

Infrequently, only because I work very hard to resolve the cases. I really save the fight for the fight.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your work?

The Revocation Specialists work very hard and we are not a separate entity from our Parole Bureau. We do ask the Parole Officers for their recommendations and take them into consideration. It is very important for us to work together as a team. The bottom line is community safety. Even though our focus is on reentry, which is important, we should not lose sight of our mission. We should be focusing on reentry, but we should always keep the protection of the community in mind.

Read More

Reentry Policy Council Announces New Reentry Database

The Reentry Policy Council, a project of the Justice Center, Council of State Governments has just announced its new Reentry Database:

"CSG Justice Center has compiled descriptions of reentry programs and initiatives from across the country in a searchable database. These examples highlight promising efforts that may provide valuable ideas for policymakers to consider or build upon as they develop their own initiatives." Check it out here.

Read More