Michele Deitch
@mydeitch
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Faculty @TheLBJSchool & @UTexasLaw; research prison policy, correctional oversight, & youth justice; Director: Prison & Jail Innovation Lab @PJInnovationLab
Joined April 2009
Some personal news (I have always wanted to say that!): I am thrilled to announce the launch of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab @TheLBJSchool! Please follow us @PJInnovationLab, and check out our website at https://t.co/4NGPAHT3yc.
#PJIL #prisonoversight
pjil.lbj.utexas.edu
We're proud to lead our nation's #CriminalJusticeReform with the launch of the Prison & Jail Innovation Lab. #PJIL will focus on correctional oversight & train the next gen. of justice policy leaders! Learn more about #PJIL's impact: https://t.co/kj2tW7NdA7
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If you are a prison oversight practitioner, please join our Network & become part of a strong peer learning community where oversight professionals from around the world can exchange insights, share best practices, and call on each other for information. Contact me for more info.
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Proud to serve as the new Chair of the Int’l Experts Network on Prison Oversight and Human Rights for the International Corrections and Prisons Assn (ICPA). Presenting in Istanbul, Turkey at the Annual Conference. @PJInnovationLab @TheLBJSchool
@UTexasLaw
#prisonoversight
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Filmmaking as truth-telling and oversight. 👇👇👇
When the filmmakers behind The Alabama Solution asked me to join their team in 2019, it was an easy yes. I wrote about the six-year process behind the investigation and what makes this prison documentary different from the rest. #HBOMax
https://t.co/4a9fz3NbBg
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As I told @keribla, “You simply can't operate a safe facility w/ that many staff positions vacant. Supervision checks are left undone; staff don't want to intervene in incidents b/c there’s no backup; & lockdowns are more freq. b/c staff are not available to take ppl to programs”
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Four deaths in two weeks: What’s behind the surge in violence at one Texas prison https://t.co/ETeXjv81MF via @houstonchron
houstonchronicle.com
Texas prison violence reached its highest level in at least a decade, prompting a monthslong lockdown in 19 lockups this summer.
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Outsourcing torture is still torture.
Beatings. Sexual assault. Torture. Done to innocent men, many who had never broken a single law in the United States. No due process. No trials, no judges, no nothing; just the Trump admin giving El Salvador the metaphorical equivalent of a briefcase full of cash to jail them.
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Wow, @RenaudAntonio! Congratulations, and can’t wait to read this. 👏👏👏
In books: This isn’t a collection of poems couched in hindsight; they’re about existing within the carceral system, even after release. Overall, the collection shines with the wisdom of perspective.
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The Legislature created a new office for prison oversight. But it cannot start work (via @azcentral) https://t.co/Y7TRCYweQj
azcentral.com
Republican legislators have attacked Gov. Katie Hobbs over a major hurdle to the office's operations.
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Super important new book by my @UTexasLaw colleague Linda Mullenix about ways to hold the gun industry accountable for gun violence through mass tort litigation modeled on tobacco settlements. #gunviolence
#guncontrol
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Texas death row loosens solitary confinement for first time in years. Kudos to @TDCJ for this new initiative.
houstonchronicle.com
A new program in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, allows death row prisoners to mingle outside of solitary confinement.
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Should Texas be a model or a cautionary tale as the UK looks to reform its sentencing practices & address prison crowding? I’m looking forward to talking w/ @RichardJGarside @CrimeandJustice next Mon. abt these issues. Sign-up link below. @PJInnovationLab @TheLBJSchool @UTexasLaw
Approach with caution: Does the UK have anything to learn from Texas? A rare opportunity to hear from Michele Deitch, one of the foremost US experts on prisons and sentencing policy. @CrimeandJustice event 21 July lunchtime https://t.co/71d3FepzME
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Shelby County TN to adopt ‘Mandela Rules,’ limiting solitary confinement at prisons
actionnews5.com
Wednesday, Action News 5 toured the county’s solitary confinement unit to see firsthand the conditions.
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To learn more about correctional oversight, consider @mydeitch @PJInnovationLab's wonderful resource
prisonoversight.org
Making prisons and jails transparent and accountable. A one-stop shop to learn what correctional oversight looks like and how to[...]
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Alabama had a 106-year old man in prison. I’m sure the public was much safer as a result.
Alabama's oldest incarcerated citizen has died. Mr. Floyd Coleman was 106, born in 1919. Jefferson County's coroner says Coleman was transported to a hospital 2 days before he died, no foul play suspected. He served 40 years in prison for a murder conviction. #prison #America
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These allegations are deeply concerning. Meaningful #prisonoversight requires that independent monitors be able to report their findings without fear of retaliation or political consequences.
She said she brought 'teeth' as a watchdog over troubled juveniles halls — but claims a state agency defanged her. My latest:
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And cutting off advocates’ access to youth prisons is pretty clearly in retaliation for them reporting abuses of youth to the DOJ. This is happening at a time when our youth prisons need MORE transparency and oversight, not less. #prisonoversight
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Yes, kids need to be held accountable for violent behavior against staff, but this isn’t the way to do it. We need to be asking Qs abt why violence is occurring. Lack of MH treatment or programs? Boredom? Lack of supervision? Response to staff mistreatment? Address THOSE factors.
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Reminder: kids in adult prisons are especially vulnerable to physical & psychological risks. They face high rates of sexual assault if mixed in w/ adults, & high rates of suicide & MH issues if isolated. Adult prisons are the WORST place for them. Much higher recidivism, too.
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The one thing that we know doesn’t work with them is treating them in ways that are purely punitive. Kids aren’t thinking about the consequences of their actions. These harsher sentences won’t be a deterrent.
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