january 2012 correctional forum

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January 2012 Correctional Forum

MultisysteMic therapy: a New approach for at-risk youth

Offering HOpe tO YOung peOple witH BeHaviOral DisOrDers

by Erica Zaveloff

Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) is a family and home-based therapeutic approach to helping troubled youth overcome their behavioral disorders. It addresses the entire world of the in-dividual — family, teachers, coaches, neighborhood, and peers. The primary goals of MST are to decrease youth criminal activity, reduce other types of harmful behavior, and cut spend-ing by decreasing rates of incarcera-tion and out-of-home placement. MST achieves these goals through various strategies that include: enhancing the caregivers’ parenting skills; improv-

Correctional ForumPromoting a humane, just and constructive correctional system and a rational approach to criminal justice since 1787

A P u b l i c A t i o n o f t h e P e n n s y l v A n i A P r i s o n s o c i e t y

January 2012

See Therapy on page 9

See Wrongful Convictions on page 10

GuardiNG aGaiNst wroNGful coNvictioNs

witness MisiDentificatiOn in nearlY 75 percent Of wrOngful cOnvictiOns

by Marissa Boyers Bluestine

Eleven people have been released from Pennsylvania prisons after DNA testing proved their innocence. The true perpetrators of only two of these crimes have been found. Since 1973, there have been 273 DNA exonera-tions across the nation. In 55 percent of these cases, the true perpetrators of the crimes were never caught. In the other 45 percent, the true criminals committed additional crimes while the innocent languished behind bars. When we convict the wrong person, all of us are harmed.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Advi-sory Committee on Wrongful Convic-tions issued its final report, calling for major updates to Pennsylvania’s

Read about New Leash on Life USA’s first graduating class (page five).

New Leash on Life USA partners with several local organizations, including the Prison Society, to teach job readiness skills to prisoners while they learn how to train and care for dogs rescued from shelters.

Above: Prisoner/trainer Robert with dog Johnny Cash.

Photo by Jack McMahon, Jr.

criminal justice system to help prevent wrongful convictions. Formed in 2006, the committee considered various proposals to prevent wrongful convic-tions. The report takes an exhaustive view of the problems and causes of wrongful convictions, and contains recommendations drawn from best practices already in use in law enforce-ment agencies across the United States. Many of these recommendations are grounded in more than a quarter cen-tury of scientific research. (See Commit-tee Recommendations, page 10.)

An independent report from 14 members was also released, arguing that the majority report did not “reflect

ing family relations; encouraging the youth to interact with friends who do not participate in criminal behavior; helping the youth to get better grades or to develop a voca-tion; helping the youth to participate in healthy activities such as sports or school clubs; and creating a support network of extended family, neigh-bors, and friends to help the caregiv-ers maintain the changes.

Therapists who specialize in MST have small caseloads (usually four to six families at a time), are available 24 hours a day/seven days a week, and

provide services in the home at times convenient to the family. Treatment consists of up to 60 hours of contact provided during a four-month period. According to an MST therapist in Il-linois, “There’s still something miss-ing when you’re not working within the family’s immediate environment. And that’s where MST comes in and does something different. We have the approach where we see what’s hap-pening within the home. We get to experience the dynamics, so that we’re actually getting to the core of some of

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Correctional Forum January 2012

From the executive Director

wheN laws aNd Morality diverGe, society suffers

See Morality on page 9

The Pennsylvania Prison Society

Board of Directors

Looking back, 2011 brought more than its share of angst and anguish. Nationally, the economy inched forward at an agonizingly slow pace with housing foreclosures in the tens of thousands and joblessness remaining stubbornly high.

The political climate was as rancorous as possible, “compromise” was deemed a dirty word and elected leaders seemed determined to obstruct all attempts at progress. Ideology and personal ambition trump the common good!

In cities across the country, the 99 Percenters occupied public spaces from New York’s Zuccotti Park and Philadelphia’s Dilworth Plaza to LA’s Bank of America Plaza and Port-land, Oregon’s Steel Bridge — all to express outrage at the growing disparity in wealth and inequities in the tax code. Greed obscures the need for fairness!

And in State College, once proud Penn State University cowered shamefully in the spot-light of public ignominy amid a horrific child abuse scandal. Morality is sacked!

It was a year like few others when the values of the nation were hung out to dry. Ameri-can exceptionalism took on a new and ugly meaning.

Michelle Alexander, a law professor from The Ohio State University, toured the country promoting her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, and re-minded us of yet another major failing. Combining academic rigor with a passion for justice, she proclaimed that our criminal justice policies has spawned a new racial caste system.

In her book, she writes:“In each generation, new tactics have been used for achieving the same goals — goals

shared by the Founding Fathers. Denying African Americans citizenship was deemed es-sential to the formation of the original union. Hundreds of years later, America is still not an egalitarian democracy…

“In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion and social contempt. So we don’t. Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color ‘criminals’ and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind.”

In a 2007 report by The Sentencing Project, researchers Mark Mauer and Rex King found the incarceration rates for the nation break down racially as follows: whites, 412 per 100,000 population; blacks, 2,290; and Latinos, 742. Remarkably, the rates for Pennsylvania were: whites, 305; blacks, 2,792; and Latinos, 1,714.

Astoundingly, Pennsylvania’s rate of incarceration for Latinos was the highest in the nation, followed next by Idaho at 1,654 and Connecticut at 1,401. Because the rate is cal-culated against the population of Latinos within the state, jurisdictions with much larger numbers of Hispanic residents would reasonably have lower incarceration rates.

Still, the extremely high rate for Latinos and the higher than national average rate for blacks seems to confirm Ms. Alexander’s contention about the criminalization of people of color.

For far too long we have indulged in self-righteous indignation; wrestled with the mi-

Laws are sand, customs are rock. Laws can be evaded and punishment escaped, but an openly transgressed custom brings sure punishment.

—Mark Twain

Correctional ForumEditor: William DiMascio

Managing Editor and Designer: Mindy Bogue

Correctional Forum is published by The Pennsylvania Prison Society, 245 N. Broad St., Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For more information, contact Mindy Bogue at 215-564-6005, ext. 112, or [email protected].

William K. Stewart, Esq.President

William Griffin Vice President

Dianne E. Reed, Ph.D. Treasurer

Angus R. Love, Esq.Solicitor

Robert Cicchinelli, M.S.Anita Colon, M.H.S.Theodore E. Glackman, M.Ed.Bernard Granor, Esq.Ellen Greenlee, Esq.Julia G. Hall, Ph.D.Holly Harner, Ph.D.Thomas J. Innes III, Esq.Vicki W. Kramer, Ph.D.David B. Kresge, Ph.D.Keith Leaphart, D.O., M.B.A.Marcia Martinez-Helfman, J.D., M.S.W.Duncan McCallumJoanna Otero-CruzJoan PorterGrahame P. Richards, Jr.David Richman, Esq.Barbara RittenhousePeggy SimsJudith Stang, D.P.A.William Sylianteng, Esq.Lisa Varon, M.S.W.Gretchen WisemanRoger Zepernick

Emeritus

Norman Johnston, Ph.D.David W. Lauder



Notes iN passiNG

DonalD t. vaughn (1944-2011)

by William DiMascioDonald Vaughn Sr. was an excep-

tional man. As they said at his funeral, “He was a man who loved people.”

In an age of career mobility, he committed four decades to Pennsyl-vania’s prison system. Starting as a correctional officer at the Eastern State Penitentiary, he worked his way up through the ranks and made his mark as superintendent at SCI Graterford, the state’s largest maximum security institution. After his retirement as deputy secretary of corrections for all prisons in eastern Pennsylvania, he joined the Prison Society and provided his experience and influence to help advocate for reform.

In the course of his career, Donald walked among the high and mighty, including then Vice President Al Gore, Attorney General Janet Reno and Car-dinal Anthony Bevilacqua. But he was

when walking through the maximum security facility that was home to thousands for Donald to greet indi-viduals by name then explain to a visi-tor what crimes brought each inmate to the prison and who their families were. Donald genuinely cared about people and always wanted the prison experience to help people to improve their lives.

Obituary writers recounted Don-ald’s serving as chief mediator during a 1981 hostage crisis with four gun-wielding inmates. After bringing the crisis to a successful conclusion, he was cited for “outstanding courage.”

But it didn’t take an adrenalin rush for Donald’s courage to emerge. He displayed bravery every day in his in-teractions with the people around him, including the uber-ambitious staff, the haplessly mentally ill inmates, the nothing-to-lose prisoners and the underachieving bureaucrat. He chal-lenged them all to be their best.

He had a knack for touching men’s souls. And while many will miss his presence, his legacy will live on in the words and actions of those he inspired.

What more could any good man do?

DaviD P. Demarest (1931-2011)

David P. Demarest, Jr. of Point Breeze (Pittsburgh) was a retired Carnegie Mellon University English professor who helped preserve the Pittsburgh region’s immigrant and working class culture. He was also a devoted Prison Society Official Visitor.

“Dave was deeply interested in helping inmates reenter society as productive citizens. His death will be deeply felt by us and the inmates he met,” says Marion Damick, Co-Con-vener of the Prison Society’s Allegh-eny County Chapter.

equally at home strolling the blocks of Graterford in the company of society’s outcasts of whom he once said, “These men are children of God. “That he was a revered figure was obvious to anyone who peeked in on the funeral service at the Christian Stronghold Church in West Philadelphia where hundreds of friends, family members and colleagues filled the facility to hear condolences, resolutions and eulogies. Donald would have been embarrassed to hear the accolades used to describe him. Pastor Willie Richardson said Donald, like other truly great men, are not boastful.

Who would imagine that five years after retiring, this North Philadelphia native would attract a departmental honor guard, present and past secretar-ies of corrections, commuted life sen-tenced prisoners, advocates and officers?

In fact, Donald never considered such adoration as a sign of personal ag-grandizement. Instead he used it to set a tone in prison. In an environment of-ten marked by antagonism and despair, he dispensed dignity and respect.

When he did boast, it was about the accomplishments of prisoners. Among his favorites were the men in the cu-linary arts program. Donald beamed when he had an opportunity to show off their skills at making fancy hors d’oeuvres for special occasions.

He knew his charges in a way few in his position did. It was not unusual

Demarest taught literature and oth-er courses at the University of Wiscon-sin in Madison and Manitowoc, then Washington University in St. Louis, finally joining the faculty at Carnegie Tech in 1964, staying through its tran-sition to Carnegie Mellon. He retired in 1999.

He was also an early advocate of saving the Braddock Carnegie Library in the 1980s. At the time, the library, the first Carnegie Library in the United States (1889) and the second in the world, was closed and nearly a lost cause. He later became the founder and editor of the Braddock Fields His-torical Society newsletter.

Demarest was instrumental in forming the Battle of Homestead Foundation to teach people the cultural importance of the 1892 labor conflict, perhaps the most significant in American history.

Demarest’s interest in poetry led him to produce a book of poems by prison-ers, mostly from SCI Greene. He was a frequent visitor to SCI Greene, a fairly long drive from his home in Pittsburgh. Director of Volunteer Services John Hargreaves said,“His ability to address the problems prisoners shared with him led to increased reliance on the Prison Society that is a hallmark of our excel-lent reputation at SCI Greene.”

In an environment often marked by antagonism and

despair, he dispensed dignity and respect.



chester county

Jacquelyn CarterWayne Carter, Jr.Sanford DickersonRashad GroveOmar HarrisClarence Smith, Jr.Dan WilliamsLaMonte Wilson, Sr.Mike Zepp

huntingDon county

Rebecca Mitchell

lancaster county

Derik BeilerJames Petersheim

montgomery county

Jeff Schrager

New visitors

New staff

Tina Dixon Spence Executive Assistant to William DiMascio

Sarah Duncan-Wisniewski, MSS, LSW Parenting Program Coordinator

curreNt iNterNs

Donna Bender University of Pennsylvania

Ashley Bristow Gwynedd-Mercy College

Elaina Howard Temple University

Erica Zaveloff University of Pennsylvania

by Elaina Howard

virtual visitatioN: helpiNG faMilies feel “NorMal” for teN years

New voluNteer Diane Harrison

Families are not always able to visit loved ones in faraway prisons. Instead, they use Virtual Visitation to see and talk to prisoners, helping to improve family ties and support.

The Pennsylvania Prison Society has hosted the Virtual Visitation pro-gram for the past ten years, making it possible for incarcerated relatives and loved ones to see each other through videoconferencing technology. In 2010, there were 2000 virtual visits, including many with prisoners temporarily housed in Michigan and Virginia. William DiMascio, Execu-tive Director of the Prison Society, expressed the long and personal bond with the Virtual Visitation program, and the impact of the program over the last 10 years. DiMascio recounts the very first virtual visit, seeing the

“smiles and utter joy” from family members visiting loved ones they had not seen in a very long time. Di-Mascio also explains that the program is a remarkable bonding experience.

Ebonee Allen, Family Visitation Coordinator, has fa-cilitated the program for several years, planning family visits according to each prisoner’s previously

scheduled day and time. She comments, “Virtual Visitation is a very good program that benefits both families and inmates, because it helps to maintain family ties.” Over the years, Allen has observed an increase in family participation and the longevity of participants in the program. She believes the program has been successful in managing family ties and social support because family members feel that the meetings are more private and more comfortable than prison visits.

Due to a lack of funding, the Prison Society stopped hosting Virtual Visitation as of November 30, 2011. We regret the loss, but celebrate the ten years we served prisoners and their families through this program.

SAVe The DATe!

May 8, 2012The Pennsylvania Prison Society is celebrating its 225th anniversary in 2012! Stay tuned for more details about this special event.



chapter hiGhliGhts

centre county chaPter

With the holidays fast approach-ing, members of the Center County Chapter are conducting their semi-annual Art in Prison program, which provides selected inmates the oppor-tunity to create original holiday greet-ing cards for family and friends. An

experienced community art instructor encourages them to be expressive in the use of materials provided by the Chapter. The Centre County Correc-tional Facility provides postage and ensures timely mailing.

huntingDon county chaPter

Harriet Kaylor recently spoke about her Prison Society work at her church, the Stone Church of the Brethren. She not only talked about the Society’s work, but also emphasized the need for more visitors. Monthly chapter meetings do include some church members, as well as members of the Juniata College faculty, a campus minister, and others. Stone Church children have been sending greetings to prisoners all over the state for many years, which means a lot to the men she meets in the prisons.

first class Graduates froM New leash oN life usaby Mindy Bogue

New Leash on Life USA graduated the first class of its pilot program on October 24. Four at-risk shelter dogs (named after celebrities) were saved, and six inmates learned how to care for and train dogs while gaining other essential job skills. After the eleven-week session, four of the six inmates paroled were still working with animals: three interning at animal shelters and the fourth receiving further instruction from a dog trainer.

The program’s goal is to save the lives of shelter dogs by teaching participants to train the dogs, enhancing their adopt-ability. The dogs live in the cells with their inmate trainers, who have sessions with professional dog trainers, animal behaviorists, and veterinary technicians. The Philadelphia Prison System selects the prisoners who participate; those selected cannot have a record of animal, sex, or child abuse.

New Leash on Life USA has partnered with The Penn-sylvania Prison Society and JEVS Human Services to provide additional job readiness and life skills training for the participants. The prisoners attend daily workshops that address the challenges confronting many former offend-ers — frustration, lack of self-confidence, and the attraction of old ways of surviving. The program is also a morale booster for other prisoners and prison staff. In fact, three of the four dogs were adopted by corrections officers.

New Leash on Life USA founder and director, Marian Marchese, says, “[The prisoners] learned so much. They got those internships because people from shelters were impressed by how good they were with the dogs after just eleven weeks.” Marchese says the program wouldn’t exist without support from Prison Commissioner Louis Giorla

She also asked Stone Church mem-bers to learn about the alternatives to incarceration used by the local judge and district attorney.

lancaster county chaPter

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is discussing a pos-sible collaboration with the Lancaster County Commissioner and Prison Board Chair Scott Martin. This part-nership would create a joint work re-lease/reentry community corrections center for Lancaster County, which does not currently have one. Some members of the Lancaster County Chapter were involved in a white paper written by Heart for Persons in the Criminal Justice System, a group of concerned Lancaster County citi-zens working to improve conditions at Lancaster County Prison.

and Warden Karen Bryan, whom she says were instru-mental in getting this program into the Philadelphia Prison System on State Road.

There were many big-name speakers at the graduation —such as former Governor Ed Rendell — but the dogs were the biggest hit of the ceremony. All six inmate graduates received early parole, thanks to the work of Byron Cotter, Esq., of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and all four dogs were adopted into loving homes; both inmates and dogs get another chance for survival and acceptance.

For more information about New Leash on Life USA, see:www.newleashonlife-usa.org

Robert and dog Johnny Cash take a break from training. The skills Robert learned are helping him find and keep a job now that he has been released from prison. Johnny Cash has been saved from euthanasia and is now in a loving home. Photo by Jack McMahon, Jr.



Bill No.priNter No.

descriptioN chief spoNsor actioN status pps positioN

HB 1603PN 1984

Requires that, for sentencing purposes, a first offense for retail theft may include any disposition — a conviction, ARD acceptance or other.

Rep. Thomas QuigleyR-Montgomery County

Passed House Judiciary and Appropriations 178-20, 10/24/11; In Senate Judiciary 10/26/11

Oppose

HB 1958PN 2807

Revises registration for sexual offenders in relation to SORNA and federal stipulations. Certain juveniles who are transient or homeless now most register as sex offenders.(see SB 1183)

Rep. Ron Marsico R-Dauphin County

Amended in House Judiciary 12/5/11; Now on House floor

Oppose

HB 1963PN 2710

Calls for sentencing enhancement by the court for certain firearms offenses by those on probation or parole; a consecutive sentence if found guilty.

Rep. William Keller D-Philadelphia County

In House Judiciary 11/3/11 Oppose

SB 100PN 1668

Provides for prison reform measures such as risk assessment, alternative sentencing, pre-release, and more.

Sen. Stewart Greenleaf R-Montgomery and Bucks counties

Passed Senate 50-0, 10/18/11; In House Judiciary 10/19/11

Support

SB 397PN 380

Prohibits the death sentence for cases of mental retardation post-trial.

Sen. Mary Jo White R-Butler, Clarion, Erie, Forest, Venango, and Warren counties

Passed Senate 43-7, 10/18/11; now in House Judiciary

Support

SB 775PN 1826

Further provides for mandatory DNA testing; includes arrestees and those charged with crimes; mandatory DNA sampling and record purging; impact and costs for Pa. State Police

Sen. Dominic Pileggi R-Chester and Delaware counties

Passed Senate Judiciary and Appropriations 12/6/11; Sent to Senate floor 12/7/11

Oppose

SB 1183PN 1821

Extensively revises provisions relating to registration of sexual offenders, pursuant to federal mandate; makeseditorial changes. (see HB 1958)

Sen. Jane Clare OrieR-Allegheny and Butler counties

Passed Senate 11/15/11; Amended in House Judiciary 12/5/11

Oppose

SB 1220PN 1496

Requires expungement of criminal history records for certain misde-meanors committed when under the age of 25.

Sen. Timothy Solobay D-Allegheny, Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland counties

Passed Senate Judiciary, 9/27/11; In Appropriations 10/25/11

Support

leGislative hiGhliGhts

update oN philadelphia’s BaN the Box caMpaiGN

Ban the Box (The Philadelphia Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance), is happening in mid-January 2012. This new law prohibits employers from asking about criminal convictions during the job application process and in the first interview. It also prevents them from making hiring decisions based on arrests or criminal accusations that do not result in a conviction. The ordinance impacts employers with 10 or more workers in Philadelphia (but there are a few exemptions). This should help formerly convicted individuals promote their skills instead of defending their past when hunting for a job. Stay tuned for more details regarding how we are helping the City of Philadelphia implement this law.



Bookcase

all aloNe iN the world: childreN of the iNcarcerated

By Nell BerNsteiN

Review by Sook Yee Leung, former intern at Building Bridges

“Families, criminals —it’s the same thing,” said a prison telephone company vendor.

The magnitude of the insensitivity of those words will truly sink in after reading All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated.

Nell Bernstein, an award-winning journalist, takes us on a heart-wrench-ing journey of families through the words of children, grandparents, spouses, and others affected by an incarcerated loved one. Bernstein’s chapter order (Arrest, Sentencing, Visiting, Grandparents, Foster Care, Reentry, and Legacy) is representative of the journey children and other fam-ily members take with them.

Bernstein does not just follow one family through each step. She follows many families, representing each step of the journey while richly illustrat-ing each family’s life through details: physical descriptions, the family’s daily routine, and a certain child’s likes and dislikes.

In her chronicles, Bernstein also sensitizes readers to the families’ hard-ships with her sincere insight and connections to broader topics. In Carl Metz’s case, he calculated the time his mother would take during her sen-tence and said, “So you take one of her life sentences back and she still have two. You take another, she still have one. You take another one, she still have twenty years. So I was like, man. It really hit me.”

Bernstein, herself, then ponders “death by incarceration” picturing “a middle-aged Carl picking up the phone to learn from a stranger that his

mother’s long confinement has finally ended. Will that be the moment he gives up hope, or will he have let go years earlier of the idea that if he tries hard enough—earns enough money, garners enough glory, tells her story loud enough—his mother will one day come home?”

In the chapter on visiting, Bernstein considers the importance of touch, and how the lack of it upsets and confuses some children. She refers to various techniques pediatric professionals, nonprofits, parents, and children do to alleviate that, such as video calls and, even, “paper bag hugs” from incarcer-ated parents to children.

While moments of joy crop up in Bernstein’s accounts, she makes us aware of how much better these chil-dren’s lives can be. For instance, while in prison, Susana’s father was still able to create an unforgettable mem-ory by having all the inmates say, “Don’t cry, mija (term of endearment), We’ll take care of your papi for you.” The effort it must have taken Susana’s father to arrange such a performance makes one wonder what else he could have done for his daughter if he were not imprisoned.

Still, the power of All Alone in the World lies within Bernstein’s gift for collecting powerful quotes. Noth-ing represents the emotional and physical dependence children have on their incarcerated parent(s) than the words in Philip’s letter: “Dear Presi-dent Clinton, I hope you can free my mom. I need her. Because I am just a little boy!” Boy, girl, mother, father, it does not matter—children need their parents. She pulls readers into

that vulnerable position through the words of children.

Yet, it is really the different perspec-tives and how Bernstein weaves it all together that forms an unforgettable dis-course on children of the incarcerated.

Bernstein includes parents: Ida Mc-Cray expressed it best when she said, “It feels like a piece of you has been torn off and you don’t know where it is. I needed to see how my children looked. Not being able to see them made me feel less human. I felt less caring because I couldn’t care for who I really wanted to care for.”

Bernstein also includes prison-ers’ rights advocates: Carol Fennelly observes that the incarcerated may come upon a “redemptive moment in someone’s life, when they have been taken out of the context where they were doing things that got them there in the first place. A lot of times, because prisons are no longer focused on rehabilitation, that moment is lost. But if you can reach people when they want to do something in their lives — they want to be part of their families; they don’t want to come back to this place — then that moment can become valuable, and it can lead to redeeming a life that can be lost.”

Altogether, the accounts and per-spectives in All Alone in the World make one very conscious of how incarcera-tion extends beyond those imprisoned.



Sometimes a word gets so engrained in common language that we lose sight of whether its meaning continues to fit its usage. Let me explain what I mean.

I was driving to work the other day and a news item came on the radio about the effects of deployment to Afghani-stan on the jobs of members of a Na-tional Guard unit. One of the people in the unit was employed by the Depart-ment of Corrections in another state. Hmmm, Department of Corrections (?).

We all know what it means to correct — to set right, to fix an error, to steer on the proper course. When a teacher corrects, she points out a wrong answer and replaces it with the right one. When a ship captain corrects, he turns the boat to head in the proper direction. When the Department of Corrections (DOC) corrects, it…well, what exactly does it do?

Let’s try the teacher model first. If we use the definition of “correct” associ-ated with a teacher, then the DOC would point out an error and show us what was right. The error could

correct? My #*$&^%!!!Editorial by Steve Whinston

be seen as the criminal act and the fix could be seen as the action taken to make sure no such act happens in the future. OK, I can buy the criminal act part, but what is being done about future conduct? Providing weights?Since the teacher model doesn’t work, let’s move on to the ship captain’s ver-sion of “correction.” In this context, the DOC would recognize that an individual’s behavior is not follow-ing the right path and take steps to bring the person back within society’s norms. I’ll accept the premise that a criminal act is equivalent to a boat being off course, but again activities such as weight lifting and license plate stamping do not seem to qualify as enough to right the course. Of course, I’m taking a skeptical look at the big picture. Some people actu-ally do “correct” while in the custody of the DOC. But that is usually more because their strength of character and self-analysis enables them to find their own paths, rather than because they take advantage of the paths that are being provided by the system.

Since we have seen that the word “cor-rections” in this context does not seem to fit with any established definition of the word, a replacement is required. Here are some suggestions.

Department of the Goners •(DOG). While prisoners may not be forgotten, they sure are gone — far away and for a long time. The acronym DOG stenciled on inmate clothing would fit well with street usage of the word. When one in-mate calls to another saying “Hey, dog,” or “How you been, dog,” no insult would be implied. And, of course, we could refer to prison superintendents as DOG wardens.

Department of Oppression •(DOO). This could really play well with the public. They don’t seem to care about prisoners be-ing “corrected.” They want them punished. Department of Oppres-sion fits that bill exactly. It would, however, lead to some awkward acronyms. For example, if the

See Correct? on page 11

In December, two parole agents from the Phila-delphia District dropped off toys they collected for the children of our Philly ReNew clients. These two agents are specifically ASCRA (Assessment, Sanctioning and Community Resource Agent). They assist former offenders during the initial stages of transition from prison to the community. These special positions were created by the PBPP (Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole) to help stop parolees from reoffending.

Participants in the Philly ReNew program live in Philadelphia, are fathers of minor children, and criminal backgrounds. The program helps them find employment, but also teaches them how to change their thinking about working with people and suc-cessfully handling everyday and difficult situations.

For more information about Philly ReNew:

Contact Pamela Superville at 215-564-4775, x120 or [email protected]

parole officers collect toys for childreN of philly reNew clieNts



those issues the youth and their families are facing.”

BenefitsofMultisystemicTherapy

Research suggests that MST is a fiscally responsible alterna-tive to juvenile incarceration and other punitive options. To determine whether MST is cost-effective for both taxpayers and victims of crime, the Washington State Institute of Pub-lic Policy (WSIPP) evaluated MST interventions. In their 2001 report, The Comparative Costs and Benefits of Programs to Reduce Crime, WSIPP discovered that, on average, the cost of MST participation is $4,743. As a result, taxpayers save about $31,661 in criminal justice costs. When combined with the total savings to victims of crime (i.e. court and lawyer fees), the amount increases to $131,918, or $28.33 per $1 spent on MST interventions.

Research also suggests that MST reduces recidivism and risky behavior among youth. For example, the Missouri Delinquency Project conducted a 14-year study of youth who participated in MST interventions. Results show that those who participated in MST experienced up to 54 per-cent fewer arrests, up to 57 percent fewer days in jail, up to 68 percent fewer drug-related arrests, and up to 43 percent fewer days on adult probation.

Multisystemic Therapy in Pennsylvania

MST is currently available in some counties and cities in Pennsylvania, but is not yet available everywhere. For instance, there are MST specialists in Pittsburgh and Har-risburg, but there are not yet specialists in Philadelphia.

FBI. His commitment to upholding the law is so unbending there are few ethical considerations that get in his way.

Wall Street bankers, politicians, and university admin-istrators go out of their way to act within the law in maxi-mizing their profits, winning re-elections, or upholding institutional reputations. But avarice, ambition, dishonesty, and racial bias are among the viruses that infect our value systems; they are the enemies of the common good that as-sault our moral code.

In criminal justice, as in other areas of human endeavor, fairness in the way we treat each other is paramount. It’s moral. It’s the right thing to do.

Let’s hope the lessons of 2011 will make for a better 2012.

Morality, continued from page 2

Therapy, continued from page 1

For more information about multi-systemic therapy, see:

www.mstservices.comwww.patruancytoolkit.info

For more information, see:

www.sentencingproject.orgwww.newjimcrow.com

nutiae of criminal justice, and permitted those distractions to keep us from doing what was morally right. We express anguish about not having our risk assessment tools finely honed enough, then delay parole releases. We identify safe, constructive alternatives to incarceration, then turn them into punishment additions instead of substitutions. We convince ourselves that fear of punishment will be a deterrent, then increase the length of confinement. And, we decry the costs of prison operations, then impose fees for necessities like medical care while ensuring inmates lack the funds to pay for them.

All of these steps that we take are accomplished with great fanfare about public safety, sound financial management and, of course, legality. We can criminalise anything, and frequently do precisely that when sensational events hit the media. This is invariably when legality and morality diverge.

The recently released movie, J. Edgar, depicts the life of J. Edgar Hoover and his decades-long efforts to build the

the nine PrinciPles oF multi-systemic theraPy

Findingthefit1. : How do the youth’s problems relate to their environment?

Focusing on positives and strengths2. : The family helps the individual focus on his/her known strengths, using them to help build problem-solving skills.

Increasing responsibility3. : Responsibility is increased in a way that promotes trust between the youth and his/her family.

P4. resentfocused,action-oriented,andwell-definedgoals: Goals must be tracked by the individual so that he/she can relate to them and understand their importance.

Targeting sequences5. : How does the youth behave within different social groups — family, friends, school, community?

Developmentally appropriate6. : To promote the transi-tion into adulthood, the MST team stresses the ability to engage with peers and the importance of obtaining an education and vocational skills.

Continuous effort: 7. The youth and family members must work daily toward goals in order to successfully address problems.

Evaluation and accountability8. : Interventions are contin-uously evaluated for effectiveness. The MST team — not the family — is responsible for outcomes.

Generalization9. : The skills learned must be sustainable, so that the youth and family may continue to function and solve problems.



true science” and cast aspersions on law enforcement. The independent committee acknowledged that adjustments and improvements can be made to benefit all citizens, but does not see the need for systemic changes to the criminal justice system.

Many states, localities, and law enforcement agencies are adopting the proposed changes in the majority report. Across the country, eye-witness identification procedures are evolving in order to fairly pros-ecute the guilty and not implicate the innocent.

State Senator Stewart Greenleaf recently introduced two bills to implement the committee’s proposals. Senate Bill 1338, would create a Committee on Conviction Integrity. This committee would look at any proven exoneration case to determine what factors led to the wrong-ful conviction, and if changes to Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system could prevent future injustices.

The other bill, Senate Bill 1337, calls for needed improvements to methods used by law enforcement. Many of these improvements mir-ror those in the report from the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Wrongful Convictions

When an innocent person is convicted of a crime he did not commit, we are all affected: the wrongfully convicted individual usually spends years in prison, the victim gets no closure, and the public must deal with other criminal acts from a true perpetrator who escaped justice

Convicting innocent people is not a new phenomenon in our society, but with efforts like these, it need not be a permanent reality.

recommenDations From the Pennsylvania aDvisory committee on WrongFul convictions

A law requiring lineups and photo arrays • to be conducted by someone who does not know who investigators suspect

A law requiring the electronic recording • of police interrogations and confessions

State, rather than county, funding of • defense services for the indigent, with adequate compensation for attorneys

Electronic recording of statements made • to law enforcement by informants

Requirement of a hearing in capital cases • before admitting testimony from an infor-mant that is incriminated by the accused

Extension of the length of time to petition • for post-conviction relief (the “60 Day Rule”) to one year

A law requiring the accreditation of foren-• sic laboratories used in evidence collection

A statutorily created forensic advisory • board

A law requiring the state to pay damages • to those wrongfully imprisoned

A statute enabling automatic expunge-• ment of the criminal history record for those found eligible

Wrongful Convictions, continued from page 1

Marissa Boyers Bluestine is the Legal Director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. For more information about wrongful convictions, go to: www.innocenceprojectpa.org

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Commissioner were sending a memo to his Deputy of Operations, it would be addressed to DOO-DOO. And, if the Deputy did some-thing to upset the Commissioner, he might be impelled to say, “Get that DOODOO out of my office.”

Department of Penal Environ-•ment (DOPE). Some might pause at this suggestion, with its refer-ence to illegal substances. But it has the benefit of being accurate. The real problem is that the full name might be misinterpreted by

Correct?, continued from page 8 the public as referring to the study of erectile dysfunction and other such maladies. Can you imagine the hue and cry when the news-papers headline “Department of Penal Environment seeks budget increase of $100 million”? In addi-tion, the prisoners would have to get used to walking around every-day with DOPE stenciled on their garb, but, hey, prisons should not be like summer camp.

While all these name changes would be an improvement, it should not be up to me to make the final decision.

Rather, it is you, the “clients” of the so-called Department of Corrections, that should control this momentous event. Therefore, please send your bal-lots by mail, voting for either: DOG, DOO or DOPE to the Correctional Forum’s mailing address. I guess we’ll have to change that name as well.

Steve Whinston was a Pennsylvania Prison Society Board member for many years. He was also the Prison Society’s lead counsel in the fight against the 1997 Pardons Board ref-erendum requiring a unanimous vote before a recommendation may be sent to the governor for commutation of a life or death sentence.

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A P u b l i c A t i o n o f t h e P e n n s y l v A n i A P r i s o n s o c i e t y

January 2012

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paid philadelphia, pa permit no. 1391

Page 1 GuardiNG aGaiNst wroNGful coNvictioNs Imprisoning the Innocent Harms Society as a Whole

Page 3 Notes iN passiNG Donald T. Vaughn and David P. Demarest

Page 4 virtual visitatioN: helpiNG faMilies feel “NorMal” for teN years 2000 “virtual visits” in 2010

Page 7 Book review — all aloNe iN the world: childreN of the iNcarcerated A highly-acclaimed book by Nell Bernstein

Page 8 correct? My #*$^%!!! Should we change the name of the DOC?

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