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To Amend Chapter 6 Freedmen’s Hospital, to enforce a legal limit of 250 prisoners per 100,000 residents, to create an SSI financed halfway house system of renters to achieve the legal limit over 10 years at a cost of $1.3 billion (2012) or up to 7.7% of SSI program costs, to transfer the entire federal Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) and other extra-jurisdictional judicial financing to community corrections programs, to purchase 59,000 halfway houses from foreclosure auctions over 10 years, retrain 207,090 trained, full-time parole and probation officers and social workers, ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to pass a Human Rights Amendment and 10 Year Community Based Corrections Equality Plan Amendment to Civil Rights Statute.

 

Be the Democratic and Republican (DR) prison party be dissolved, Referred to the American Probation and Parole Association

 

1st Draft 2004 & 2005, 2nd 31 January 2006, 3rd 30 January 2007, 4th 7 August 2007, 5th 31 January 2008, 6th 25 January 2009, 7th 16 August 2011

 

1.This Halfway House Act replaces the repealed sections of Freedmen’s Hospital 24USC(6)§261-270.  Forerunner of the Howard University Hospital, Freedmen's Hospital served the black community in the District of Columbia for more than a century. First established in 1862 on the grounds of the Camp Barker, 13th and R Streets, NW, Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum cared for freed, disabled, and aged blacks.  In 1863, the Hospital & Asylum was placed under Dr. Alexander Augusta (1825-1890), the first African-American to head a hospital. After the Civil War, it became the teaching hospital of Howard University Medical School, established in 1868, while remaining under federal control.   

Description: Description: Correctional Populations

2. The US prison population quintupled between 1980 and 2000.   The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that there were 4,151,125 probationers, 713,990 in jail, 1,421,911 in prison and another 765,355 on parole for a total correctional supervision population of 6,996,500 in 2004.  In 1980 the US was a model judiciary with 503,586 prisoners (220 per 100,000).   As the result of mandatory minimum sentencing legislation the prisoner population steadily increased over 400% to 2,085,620 (707 per 100,000) in 2004.  Over the past year, the female population in state or federal prison increased 2.6 percent while the number of male inmates rose 1.9 percent. By year's end, 7% of all inmates were women. Racial disparities among prisoners persist. In the 25-29 age group, 8.1% of black men - about one in 13 – were behind bars, compared with 2.6% of Hispanic men and 1.1% of white men.  The US prison population comprised 24% of the 9 million global prison population although the general US population of 300 million is only 4.5% of the world’s 6.6 billion population.  

 

3. The US has the densest concentration of prisoners in the world with an average of 756 prisoners per 100,000 citizens as of year end 2007.  The Russian Federation is the second with 629 prisoners per 100,000.  As the result of the large number of people still detained from the genocide of 1994 Rwanda is third with 604 prisoners per 100,000.  The US has the highest prison population in the world with 2,293,157 people behind bars.  China, the world’s most populated country, and second largest prison population detained 1,565,771 as of 6 December 2007.  For the US to achieve the international norm of (250 per 100,000) the total number of local jail, state and federal prison beds must be limited to less than 740,000.  1 million is  good goal. Certain states saw more significant changes in prison population in 2006. Georgia had the biggest decrease, losing 4.6%, followed by Maryland with a 2.4% decrease and Louisiana with a 2.3% drop.  Montana and Kentucky were next in line with increases of 10.4% and 7.9%, respectively.  In South Dakota, the number of inmates increased 11% over the past year, more than any other state.   The State by State Prison Brief reveals that Texas, and Louisiana, have the most serious problems with prison population rates over 1,000 prisoners per 100,000 citizens.   Maine is the only State to have a prison population less than 300 per 100,000. 

 

4. Whereas liberating such a large number of people to community corrections programs and halfway houses safely can only be accomplished with the undivided co-operation of the state and federal government, it is proposed in §41 of Chapter 2 to pass a Justice of the Peace Amendment to the US Constitution.  As it applies to community corrections the amendment states,   “Section 6 States shall probate and parole criminal offenders to halfway houses and equal employment opportunity programs to safely and sustain ably meet international minimum standards of detention under the 8th and 14th Amendments”. Two other Congressional Amendments of Civil Rights Statute in the United States Code are proposed in this Chapter at §270B-1 Human Rights Amendment and §270B-2 10 Year Community Based Corrections Equality Plan Amendment.  The Human Rights Amendment will help to integrate the Committees of the Human Rights Council into the system of institutions safeguarding our liberty and set the stage for the abolition of the death penalty, optional protocol against torture, and equality of women through the ratification of human rights Protocols.  The 10 Year Community Based Corrections Equality Plan Amendment cuts the prison population in half to less than 1 million in 10 years so that there would be 100,000 fewer prison and 100,000 more halfway house beds every year until the nation had approached the legal limit of 250 prisoners per 100,000.  Politicians from jurisdictions over the legal limit of 250 prisoners per 100,000 citizens shall not be permitted to run for high office in the federal or state government unless they make substantial progress on this mathematically quantifiable gauge of liberty without jeopardizing the security of their citizens. 

 

5. It is imperative that the United States ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 4 February 2003 to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  The Human Rights Watch Sentencing Project Summary of Losing the Rights to Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement in the United States reports, the expansion of suffrage to all sectors of the population is one of the United States’ most important political triumphs. Once the privilege of wealthy white men, the vote is now a basic right held as well by the poor and working classes, racial minorities, women and young adults.  Four states (Maine, Massachusetts, Utah, Vermont) do not disenfranchise convicted felons. In forty-six states and the District of Columbia, criminal disenfranchisement laws deny the vote to all convicted adults in prison. Thirty-two states also disenfranchise felons on parole; twenty-nine disenfranchise those on probation. And, due to laws that may be unique in the world, in fourteen states even ex-offenders who have fully served their sentences remain barred for life from voting.

 

6. To improve regulation states must account for both state prison and county jail populations so that numerical goals for state prison population reduction can be enforced.  Community corrections should be placed on the state and local ballots where it is needed to ensure popular support for the programs.  These programs should greatly reduce the cost of corrections and reduce the crime rate and recidivism by treating the wayward with the respect and dignity they have often never enjoyed.  Paying work programs, such as urban renewal and employment counseling are an important way for these residents to gain self respect and learn a trade with which to lead a crime free life.  It is hoped that the population of correctional employees shall shift from 476,000 corrections officers and 84,000 probation and parole officers in 2002 to 250,000 corrections officers and 300,000 probation and parole officers, most staffing community corrections shelters. To federally finance this transition the $3.3 billion Justice Assistance Grant program must be transferred from unspecified, treasonous, police programs to community corrections programs so as not to finance armed forces, redress the prison problem and create a model community correction program. 

 

Concentration of prisoners per 100,000 citizens

 

100,000 x prison population / total population = prisoners per 100,000

 

ie. 100,000 x 2.2 million / 300 million = 733 prisoners per 100,000

 

7. When the total number of state, local and federal detainees from a county or any other geographic region, exceeds 250 prisoners per 100,000 citizens that area must found enough halfway beds for the more harmless sentenced prisoners to serve their time on probation or parole in the community corrections system to reduce the prison population below the acceptable legal limit of 250 prisoners per 100,000.  The state and federal governments must make it very clear, in their language, in their actions, and their finance, that they require a normal rate of incarceration and to achieve such a goal safely there is no alternative to the halfway house. Community corrections costs only around $5,000 a year, per capita, while incarceration costs $25,000.  These individuals would then be free to participate in the labor market and the United States would not only fulfill the promise that America is the land of the free, but would earn tax revenues.  We will have to be careful to reinvest with the consent of the governed and co-operation with the local democracy.  Ideally residents would be informed of new halfway houses in their neighborhood and given the opportunity to express their grievances and vote to accept or reject the proposal. 

 

8. To achieve the goal of 250 detainees per 100,000 residents it is estimated that a total of 1.5 million prisoners would need to be released to 57,985 halfway houses, with an average of 25 beds.  To sustain a level of staffing of one per seven for twenty four hours a day supervision, it can be calculated that there is demand for 207,090 trained, full-time parole and probation officers and social workers to staff these new halfway houses.  For a nation of 300 million this should not be hard to absorb.  State Sherriff's auctions should be able to provide real estate at no or little cost for use as non-profit halfway houses.  Staff, utilities and taxes could be afforded with the deduction of $500 a month from mentally or physically disabled Social Security beneficiaries making no less than $700, , or more if they made significant contributions.  Released prisoners would also be eligible for $170 or so in food stamps.  Making $400-$500 a month per resident a supervised halfway house/group home could earn $2,000-$2,500 a month caring for 5 residents.  As apartment buildings are in demand and small and medium size homes are foreclosed left and right it would probably be easier to get smaller homes of two to four bedrooms, for free from Sheriff's auctions, or purchased with back pay and pay for professional supervision corporations in lieu of rent, in an ad hoc $400-$500 fashion.  An S corporation of three to five could provide 24-hour supervision to halfway houses with 10-25 residents, and command taxable incomes of $2,500 a month, work reasonable hours and afford their own home, with profits from $12,500 a month, with which to pay the mortgage, bills and insurance. 

 

9. Edmund G. Brown Jr. Governor of California, et al  v. Marciana & Plata et al No. 09–1233 of May 23, 2011 is a demonstration project for establishing an SSI financed halfway house system around the nation.  California’s medical marijuana laws may help to ease the transition and many released offenders will be able to enjoy life, without hard drugs, or breaking the law.  The cost of settling 40,000 detainees released from California is estimated to be $28 million a month or $336 million a year.  If this program were implemented nationwide in one year it would cost SSI an estimated $12.6-$13 billion at the $700 a month rate.  However if done slowly, over the course of a decade, would cost only $1.3 billion in extra SSI costs annually.  With 1.1 million applications approved out of 2.4 million applications and 7.7 million SSI beneficiaries in 2010 expedited benefits for released detainees would only increase costs about 7% if done gradually or 26% if all drug offenders and non-dangerous offenders were released all at once

 

State by State Detention and Need for SSI Financing of Community Corrections 30.6.2005

 

Correction

Agency

Total Prison Pop. in

2005

State Prison Pop.

Local Jail Population

per 00,000

Executions since 1976

Estimated Need for Community Beds/Houses

Estimated Cost to SSI

$700 mo./ $8,400 year

(Millions)

US Military

25,000

 

 

 

0 yes

 

 

Federal

179,220

N/a

N/a

58

3

 

 

Alabama

40,561

25,418

15,143

890

34

29,168/1,167

20.4/245

Alaska

4,678

4,613

65

705

0

3,019/120

2.1/25.2

Arizona

47,974

32,495

15,479

808

 22

33,131/1,325

23.2/278.3

Arkansas

18,693

12,568

6,125

673

27

11,749/470

8.3/99.1

California

246,317

164,179

82,138

682

 11

156,025/6,241

109.2/1,310.4

Colorado

33,955

20,317

13,638

728

 1

22,295/892

15.6/187.3

Connecticut

19,087

N/a

N/a

544

 1

10,315/413

7.2/86.6

Delaware

6,916

N/a

N/a

820

 14

4,808/192

3.4/40.3

District of Columbia

3,552

N/a

N/a

645

 0

2,175/87

1.5/18.3

Florida

148,521

84,901

63,620

835

60

104,054/4,162

72.9/874.4

Georgia

92,647

47,682

44,965

1,021

39

69,962/2,799

48.9/587.2

Hawaii

5,705

N/a

N/a

447

0

2,614/101

1.8/21.8

Idaho

11,206

7,419

3,787

784

 1

7,633/305

5.3/64.1

Illinois

64,735

44,669

20,066

507

12 

32,814/1,313

23/275.5

Indiana

39,959

22,392

17,567

637

16 

24,277/971

17/204

Iowa

12,215

8,578

3,637

412

 

4,803/192

3.4/40.3

Kansas

15,972

9,068

6,904

582

0 yes 

9,111/365

6.4/76.4

Kentucky

30,034

13,273

16,761

720

 2

19,605/784

13.7/164.6

Louisiana

51,458

19,591

31,867

1,138

 27

40,154/1,606

28.1/337.7

Maine

3,608

2,063

1,545

273

0

303/12

0.2/2.4

Maryland

35,601

23,215

12,386

636

5

21,606/864

15.1/181.2

Massachusetts

22,778

10,159

12,619

356

0

6,782/271

4.8/57.1

Michigan

67,132

49,014

18,118

663

 0

41,818/1,673

33.2/398.4

Minnesota

15,422

8,399

7,023

300

0

2,570/102

1.8/21.8

Mississippi

27,902

16,480

11,422

955

 6

20,597/824

14.4/172.8

Missouri

41,461

31,000

10,461

715

66 

26,964/1,079

18.8/226

Montana

4,923

2,658

2,265

526

2

2,583/103

1.8/21.8

Nebraska

7,406

4,308

3,098

421

3

3,008/120

2.1/25.2

Nevada

18,265

11,155

7,110

756

11

12,225/489

8.5/102.5

New Hampshire

4,184

2,456

1,728

319

0

905/36

0.6/7.6

New Jersey

46,411

28,790

17,621

532

 0 yes

24,601/984

17.2/206.6

New Mexico

15,081

6,567

8,514

782

 1

10,260/410

7.2/86.2

New York

92,769

63,234

29,535

482

 0 yes

44,652/1,786

31.3/375.5

North Carolina

53,854

36,683

17,171

620

39

32,139/1,286

22.5/269.6

North Dakota

2,288

1,344

944

359

0

695/28

0.5/5.8

Ohio

65,123

44,270

19,853

559

19

35,998/1,440

25.2/302.4

Oklahoma

32,593

23,008

9,585

919

79

23,727/949

16.6/199.3

Oregon

19,318

12,769

6,549

531

2

10,223/409

7.2/85.9

Pennsylvania

75,507

41,052

34,455

607

 3

44,409/1,776

31.1/373

Rhode Island

3,364

N/a

N/a

313

0 yes

677/27

0.47/5.7

South Carolina

35,298

23,072

12,226

830

 35

24,666/987

17.3/207.2

South Dakota

4,827

3,395

1,432

622

0 yes 

2,887/115

2/24

Tennessee

43,678

19,445

24,233

732

 1

28,761/1,150

20.1/241.9

Texas

223,195

156,661

66,534

976

355

166,024/6,641

116.2/1,394

Utah

11,514

4,775

6,739

466

5,337/214

3.7/44.8

Vermont

1,975

N/a

N/a

317

0

417/17

0.3/3.5

Virginia

57,444

31,020

26,424

759

94

38,523/1,541

26.9/322.8

Washington

29,225

16,532

12,693

465

4

13,512/541

9.5/114

West Virginia

8,043

3,966

4,077

443

0

3,504/140

2.5/29.4

Wisconsin

36,154

21,850

14,304

653

 0

22,313/893

15.6/187.4

Wyoming

3,515

1,964

1,551

690

2,242/90

1.6/18.8

US Totals 

2,193,798
                

1,259,905 

747,529 

737

1002 as of 6 Dec. 2005

1,449,633/

57,985

1,050/12,600

 

10. Released prisoners who meet guidelines pertaining to income of less than $674 a month and resource guidelines of less than $2,000 must be either given the paperwork to file for SSI or be automatically filed.  Because of the medical negligence evident in California prisons the burden of proving disability shall be lightened to show that they have been unable to earn a substantial gainful income outside of prison for a period of 12 months.  Release will be conducted in an orderly fashion and corrections officers will expedite applications for SSI in their monthly reports to the Social Security Administration under Sec. 1611 of Title XVI of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)XVI§1382 (E)(1)(H)(I)(i)(I) when the date of release has been finally determined.  The majority of prisoners should receive SSI the first month they are released.  This time the U.S. will be fair, the U.S. will pay benefits, in return persons receiving benefits will uphold the law and abide by the terms of probation imposed upon their release under 18USC(227)§3563. 

 

Sanders, Tony J. Halfway House. Chapter 6. Hospitals & Asylums. 25 January 2009. www.title24uscode.org/JD.doc

Test questions www.title24uscode.org/jdtest.doc