After the Boston Bombings
September 4, 2013 - Uncategorized
After the Boston Bombings brought the looming threat of anti-American “radicalization” back into the forefront of media coverage and political debate, I began to wonder why key words like radical, extreme and fundamental weren’t applied to the case of Evan Ebel.
If you recall, on March 21, 2013, one month before the Tsarnaev brothers attacked the people of Boston, Evan Ebel, a former Colorado prisoner, went to the home of Tim Clements, the Chief of the Colorado Department of Corrections, and shot him in the chest, killing him on his doorstep.
Days later, Ebel was fatally wounded in a shootout with law enforcement on a Texas Interstate. Upon investigation it was discovered that Ebel had also murdered Nathan Leon, two days prior to Clements.
In response to the Boston bombings, Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press wrote, “Politics may divide our nation, but those who attack us can’t.” I understand the need to galvanize our resolve after such a traumatic event. But the grim reality of crime and punishment in America suggests that we have already divided into a nation of survivors and offenders.
Stories detailing the need to banish nearly seven-hundred thousand U.S. citizens to state and federal prisons each year validates the growing chasm of disunity in our communities.
Much of this can be attributed to our perception and response to crime over the past few decades. The drama, economics and politics of crime and punishment have all played a role in the desensitization, normalization and ultimately our dependency upon attacks that come from our fellow citizens. And hence, at the risk and expense of our own security and freedom, we allow it to persist.
The present-day American penal system has become an incubator for domestic extremism. It’s where American authority and its mores are supplanted by black nationalism, white supremacy, brown pride and religious zeal. It’s where toxic relationships are formed on common grounds of corruption. And, its where criminal syndicates -such as Ebel’s 211 crew- are being formed, networked and aligned to commit further attacks on American citizens.
Imagine how radical factions in the Middle East launch rockets and homocidal bombers into their neighboring countries. This is what occurs within the United States when disenfranchised and embittered prisoners prime one another to continue in criminal activity once they reach the other side of the fence. In time, 95% of all prisoners will return to society. And within three years of their release, at least one-third will commit some form of offense against the community.
In my humble opinion, the practice of radicalization over rehabilitation can easily be curtailed by making a fundamental change in the prison experience. I call this change the S.T.A.R. paradigm.
Standards To Achieve Reform (S.T.A.R.) exemplifies how the Michigan Department of Corrections motto(1), “Expecting Excellence Every Day,” can be realized. Using three symbols, a Star, a Blob and a Box, I illustrate the necessity for S.T.A.R. in this way.
#6 cont…
THE STAR: a symbol of excellence if descriptive of a person who exce ls or performs brilliantly in a given activity. The Star reflects society’s standards – laws, morals and values – which protect its integrity, ensures safety and enables us to reach our greatest potential.
THE BLOB: a symbol of something ill-defined or amorphous -lacking organization or unity-. The Blob is descriptive of members of society who choose not to conform to its standards, have no regard for its integrity, threaten its safety and fall below the most basic expectations of community by refusing to abide by the law.
THE BOX: a symbol of something used to store things, usually out of the way, in a place of darkness. The Box is descriptive of prison, where society sends those who have fallen beneath its standards.
The Box -prison- is a misrepresentation of the environment from whence incarcerated citizens have been removed and eventually will return. For the duration of their subjugation prisoners are required to conform to the shape of the Box. Thusly, to embrace a way of life that is diametrically opposed to the required way of life in the Star.
For penological interests of public safety, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and reintegration to be achieved, the S.T.A.R. paradigm calls for prisons to bring its LEGAL, ACADEMIC, EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL and PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY standards into conformity with those of society.
The evidence in plain, in its current state, the penal system within the United States is a detriment to society. And yet, our prisons are indispensible. This is the societal and political burden.
Will we choose apathy over action by standing idly by as the people of the prison nation continue to expand their scope of influence? Or, will we strive to preserve our freedoms and security by restoring justice to the criminal justice system?
PARTING THOUGHTS:
“We submit that the basic evils of imprisonment are that it denies autonomy, degrades dignity, impairs or destroys self-reliance, inculcates authoritarian values, minimizes the liklihood of beneficial interaction with one’s peers, fractures family ties, destroys the family’s economic stability, and prejudices the prisoner’s future prospects for improvement in his economic and social status.”(2)
“It’s easy for people to talk about getting tough on crime and throwing away the key, but the reality is we have to do a better job of turning people’s lives around.”(3)
SOURCES:
1. Michigan Department of Corrections, Policy Directive 01.01.100 Subject: Mission Statement
2. American Friends Service Committee 1972:33, Quoted in Restorative Justice in Prisons: A GUIDE TO MAKING IT HAPPEN, by Kimmett edgar and Tim Newell. Winchester, UK. Waterside Press 2009. p. 56
3. Dan Heyns: Director of the Michigan Department of Correction; July 17, 2011, Detroit Free Press interview with Jeff Gerritt