Category Archives: News

Mental Health America; adopted December 5, 2015, Position Statement 55 ___________________________________________________ Position Statement 55: Confining Sexual Predators In The Mental Health System CRIMINAL JUSTICE ISSUES “At least twenty states [1] and the Federal government [2] have passed various versions of what has come to be called “sexual predator” legislation.  These laws provide for indefinite involuntary commitment of people whoContinue reading ““PUNISHMENT RATHER THAN TREATMENT””

Prison Legal News: September 14, 2015, David S. Prescott ___________________________________________________ “At what point do professionals in these settings openly acknowledge to them/ourselves that we are participating in systems that are openly unconstitutional and therefore unlawful according to the standards of much of the Western world?” By David Prescott is Director of Professional Development for a youth servicesorganizationContinue reading “As courts censure civil detention practices, is it time for professionals to speak up?”

Critics say Montgomery County jurist’s version of Texas justice crosses the line Houston Chronicle: Dec. 30, 2014 Updated: Jan. 23, 2015 5:15 p.m., Anita Hassan and Mike Ward  ___________________________________________________ CONROE – Sixteen times in the past four months, defense attorneys have petitioned to have him removed from hearing cases because of perceived bias. Eight times he has gotten theContinue reading “Judge in controversial sex offender program under fire”

Littlefield TCCC has a tremendous turnover with clinical therapists. From September 1, 2015 to September 8, 2020, 25 clinical therapists have come and gone from the facility. This has a definite impact on continuity of clinical treatment. Many treatment services are not compliant due to the extreme turnover. On average this means, residents have newContinue reading “HIGH TURNOVER”

New York Times: Aug. 15, 2015, by The Editorial Board ___________________________________________________ The essence of the American criminal justice system is reactive, not predictive: You are punished for the crime you committed. You can’t be punished simply because you might commit one someday. You certainly can’t be held indefinitely to prevent that possibility. And yet thatContinue reading “Editorial: Indefinite Imprisonment, on a Hunch”

Southern Poverty Law Center: Feb. 16, 2018, by The Editors ___________________________________________________ SOURCE: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2018/02/16/weekend-read-they-served-their-prison-sentences-theyre-still-locked The David Prescott essay I mentioned is the second piece, below… The Dobbs Wire:  Liberty stolen.  Legislators have created an extraordinary array of harsh laws for individuals convicted of sex offenses.  Prison terms are commonplace while twenty states and the federal governmentContinue reading “They served their prison sentences, but they’re still locked up”

The Washington Spectator: June 4, 2019, by Barbara Koeppel ___________________________________________________ “No matter that the men already served their prison time. Or that psychologists, psychiatrists and lawyers I interviewed insist that very few should be confined—that instead, the vast majority, many of whom are elderly or ill, should be let out.” Read More – Click Here: https://washingtonspectator.org/koeppel-gulags/

The Texas Observer: February 12, 2018 by Michael Barajas @michaelsbarajas___________________________________________________ “State officials claim Texas’ new civil commitment program is designed to rehabilitate the men. But their families and friends argue the state has simply stashed them in a for-profit prison on the outskirts of the state, far away from the support services they’ll need if there’sContinue reading “Locked Up for What You MIGHT do…”

Prison Legal News: February, 2017, Author is Not Listed ___________________________________________________ “I saw guys that were in there eight, nine, ten years and never saw the inside of a courtroom, and if the state has their way about it, they won’t,” said a former FCCC resident identified only as David, who spent 4½ years at FCCC. “EverythingContinue reading ““Living Death Sentence””