something old, something new...

I forgot to post these (as well as several others) when they were first published. But sadly, neither is old news yet.

Bing Time: What It's Like to be 16 & in Solitary at Rikers

Sixteen-year-old inmate Trevor Mobley was waiting in line for food on Rikers Island when a Correction officer ordered him to back up.

"I told him, 'I'm next to get food,'" Mobley recalled. But the officer continued to demand that he move, eventually writing Mobley a rule violation for disobeying a direct order and verbal abuse. Mobley, who was awaiting trial for drug possession, was sentenced to 60 days in solitary confinement. It was his first month at Rikers Island.

In solitary (known as "the bing" on Rikers), people spend 23 to 24 hours a day inside a small cell with only a mattress and a toilet-sink combination. They are allowed one hour of recreation outside the cell in a small cage. Recreation is offered at 4 a.m., and to take advantage of it the person must be awake and standing by their cell door. Mobley never bothered.

Read the whole story here.

and

Criminalizing Motherhood

On April 29, Tennessee passed SB1391, allowing the prosecution of pregnant women if her fetus or newborn is considered harmed from illegal drug use. Miscarriage, stillbirths and infants born with birth defects could be grounds for criminal assault charges. The woman may be able to avoid criminal charges if she completes a state treatment program.

However, only two of Tennessee’s 177 addiction treatment facilities provide on-site prenatal care and allow older children to stay with their mothers while they are undergoing treatment. Only nineteen offer treatment specifically oriented towards pregnant women. In addition, Tennessee refused Medicaid expansion, excluding many from access to basic medical or prenatal care, let alone drug treatment. Approximately twenty-six percent of people ages nineteen to thirty-nine are uninsured in Tennessee. Even before SB1391 was introduced, the Tennessee Department of Health noted that approximately twenty-three percent of live births in the state received no prenatal care. With SB1391 now law, doctors and medical professionals fear that even more women may avoid seeking prenatal care.

The new Tennessee law made headlines, outraging reproductive rights advocates nationwide. SB1391 is the first law punishing women for their pregnancy outcomes, placing responsibility for a safe and healthy pregnancy solely on the pregnant woman. But SB1391 neither addresses nor punishes the ways in which the legal system endangers mothers, babies and fetuses. When a pregnant woman goes into labor behind bars in Tennessee, she does so while shackled by her wrists and ankles.

You can read the whole post (complete with links) here.