Casualties of our Educational System: The Illiterate Deaf Inmate

Posted on June 17, 2013 by jeanfandrews

By Jean F. Andrews

Teaching a deaf child how to read and write is an area that has perplexed befuddled and flummoxed deaf educators for hundreds of years. Why is reading so difficult to teach? What is it about the alphabetic code of English traps deaf children, youth and adults into lives of illiteracy? Is hearing really necessary to learn to read?

Interestingly, deaf children of deaf parents learn to read more easily than most deaf children of hearing parents. This is because deaf children with deaf parents learn sign language early and upon this language base they can build English language skills in reading and writing. By logical extension, it would seem that deaf children would only need to be taught sign, then base English on that sign. But this does not always happen so smoothly. This is because most deaf children are learning both sign and English at the same time and this slows their development.

Another aspect of learning to read and write revolves around classroom instruction. In preschool and kindergarten classes there is a lot of  matching activities where children match letters to sounds, words to pictures, signs to words, rather than having children read storybooks and texts. Now there is nothing wrong with these matching games as children often enjoy them.  But the focus of quality reading instruction should focus around shared book reading–both provided by the teaching in translations of stories into sign, and by independent book reading by the child on their own. But how can a deaf child read a book if he or she does not have the vocabulary?  That is the Catch-22. Indeed, many deaf children do not have the vocabulary to independently read storybooks on their own. However, there are picture books with simple words and simple phrases that teachers and parents can use develop in children a love and enjoyment of holding a book, or an e-book, and reading a story.

There are numerous reading paradigms that reading researchers bring to the table, in the journals and at conferences. For instance, do deaf children use phonology or do deaf children bypass phonology and go directly to print? Do signing deaf children use a special kind of visual phonology, using the repetition and rhythmic features of ASL and fingerspelling? Neuroscientist Laura-Ann Petitto thinks so. Petitto and her work with other cognitive scientists, linguists and psycholinguists, bilingual researchers, literacy researchers and neuroscientists at the Visual Language Learning Lab ( VL2 lab) at Gallaudet are producing research findings that may send reading instruction into new exciting directions.

Today, while researchers in deaf education are seemingly oceans apart, in their views about reading acquisition and development, they are in the same boat. Deaf educators do have common ground. Their common ground is that they agree of the harsh penalties and social injustices we impose on the Deaf community when we do not teach young deaf children how to sign, read, write, think and reason. And one only has to visit a deaf inmate in a state prison or city jail to meet these casualties of our educational system, whom we failed to teach how to read.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Super Huge Digest Post – 6/14/2013

Posted on June 14, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

OK. Spark up a Cohiba and get settled in.

Books and Movies

We recently did a review of the book, Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. Well, Netflix is planning a streamed television series based on the book. As many of you may be aware, Netflix is working to position themselves not only as a source for TV and movie rentals, but as creator of original broadcast material. Their first foray into that realm is with a continuation of the amazingly funny series – originally broadcast on Fox – Arrested Development. Fans of that show (like me) are overjoyed that Netflix saw fit to make it their flagship show. Also in that list however, will be Orange is the New Black. Created by the same production team that did the HBO hit, Weeds, Netflix appears to be writing the screenplays for the series with an eye towards a Black Comedy. I think this book is marvelously suited for that approach.

Here’s an embed of the trailer, and a link to a great review of the upcoming series on We Minored in Film.

Cops and Training

Any cop who has pictures of MLK and Ghandi on his wall, is OK in my Book Photo: Improving Police

Any cop who has pictures of MLK and Ghandi on his wall, is OK in my Book
Photo: Improving Police

I like to write. Sometimes when I’m in a stroking mood, I even refer to myself as a writer.  Here’s the thing. Cops can’t write. Most of ‘em can’t even type. Cop writing is full of stilted militarized jargon, and riddled with the most horrific of passive voice. A cop could actually turn John shot mike into A bullet fired from the weapon held by John caused death to be had by Mike - and yes, he’d omit the comma.

Well, as I’ve mentioned before, the exception that proves the rule would be the site, Improving Police by retired Police Chief, David C. Couper. As well as a blog site, Couper has written several books. His focus is on Neighborhood and Community policing and training. He’s an excellent and enlightening read. Here’s a link to his latest post, Let’s Hear it Once More About How to Train Police.

I’ve been reading his blog for a long time. He presents cogent and reasoned arguments against para-military stress training and in favor of community policing policies, and he does so from the cop point of view. And best of all, he writes like a writer. It’s worth checking out.

Shanna Groves’ Awesome Interview

The Lipreading Mom, whom I helped with her Stop Hearing Loss Bullying Campaign video, posted an interview with me talking about DeafInPrison.com. She did a wonderful job, and now my head won’t fit through my front door. Here’s the SHLB video embed, again, and a link to the interview.

Project

I was on Deaf Chat – a feature on Deaf Insight – last week, when the discussion turned to the trend in eliminating ASL from public schools throughout America. I was unaware that this was going on, but apparently, numerous schools have already discontinued their ASL programs, and more are slated to do so. It was decided that a campaign and a video would be necessary to raise awareness among the general public, and to let the schools know that a working and current ASL program needs to be a vital part of any education system. And who do you think was asked to edit the video? Yours truly – that’s who. I’m pleased that they recognize my skill, and I’m proud to be a part of this vital project.

Police Brutality

AlterNet did an article listing 12 examples of police overreach, bullying and brutality – and that was just for this month. Rather than listing them off, I’ll just give you the link to this must read post. 12 Shocking Examples of Police Brutality – This Month by Alternet

ASL Group Dot Com

The ASL Meetup group in action. Photo - BitcoDavid BlogSites

The ASL Meetup group in action. Photo – BitcoDavid BlogSites

As many of you already know, AnotherBoomerBlog‘s Marsha Graham fell down a flight of stairs and broke her shoulder. Well, what you may not know is, that event triggered a bunch of other bad luck events, and now Marsha is unable to attend our ASL Meetup sessions. This is tragic for me because she was the driving force behind getting me involved with the group. She served as my mentor and teacher, and any fledgling success I’ve had learning Sign, I owe to her – and of course, the other members of the group, all of whom are exceedingly patient and supportive.

Well, the good news is that Marsha and I are hammering out the tech details necessary to get her to be able to participate from her home computer. At first, it will be something simple like Skype or some other form of video messaging, but theoretically, we could bring the whole thing online. Soon, we’d have ASL Meetup.com! Signers from all over the world could log on and participate. How cool is that!

3 More Great Links from AlterNet

Let me save some time and some bits by just giving you these three self explanatory formatted links.

Did a “Troubled Teen” Rehab Create Murders? (Alternet) This is an article about a chain of privately owned juvenile facilities that are being investigated for abuse.

I Was Almost a Victim of the School to Prison Pipeline (Alternet) The author asks why schools are so eager to adopt police roles, and assist in the militarization of U.S. institutions?

Utah Cops Assassinated 21-year-old Woman Sitting in Her Car, Parents Claim (Alternet) A Utah drug enforcement squad is under investigation on charges of corruption and murder.

Deaf Justice

Here’s another offsite project I’ve been working on. Marsha Graham and I are working on creating an actively funded and fully functional organization, similar to the Innocence Project, but specifically for Deaf, HoH and Deaf/Blind inmates. While it’s still in its infant stages, it promises to be a way that many wrongfully convicted Deaf inmates can receive justice. Of course, DeafInPrison.com readers will be kept up on all the developments, as we work to get this project launched.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Happy Birthday Miranda

Posted on June 13, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

A huge digest post is in the can, for later on today. And I’ve been working on tons of projects offsite, that I think you will find interesting and worthy. But I wanted to get this up in time, and on its own.

RIGHT TO SILENCE @ JUX LANA

RIGHT TO SILENCE @ JUX LANA (Photo credit: n1/the larch)

Today way back in 1966, the SCOTUS ruled for the defendant in the landmark case, Arizona vs. Miranda. The controversial ruling didn’t give suspects any new rights, it merely stated that those Constitutional rights that already existed would be made available at the time of arrest, and that police were mandated to make those rights known, before any questioning could take place.

The Star Chamber

In the 47 years since its enactment, Miranda has saved many an innocent person from false confession and wrongful imprisonment. According to the Star Chamber crowd, it has also helped many a skel beat justice – and while that may be true, it’s a trade I gladly make.

In 2010, the Court amended the classic decision. In a 7-2 opinion, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing for the majority, it was decided that while you still have the right to remain silent, now you need to inform the police that you are exercising that right, immediately. And there’s a catch. If, at any time during an interrogation, you break your silence – you are tacitly ceding further use of it. This is important.

“Did you shoot that helpless little old lady?”

“I have the right to remain silent, and I’m exercising that right.”

English: The United States Supreme Court, the ...

The United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States, in 2009.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Yeah, yeah. But did you shoot her?”

“I have the right to etc, etc.”

“Want a cup of coffee?”

“Hellz yeah!”

Say so long to your right to remain silent. The Court ruled that you need to invoke your right to remain silent, immediately upon receipt of the warning, and that your silence must be consistent throughout your entire time in custody.

You have the right to an attorney during questioning – but again, thanks to the 2010 ruling, you need to inform the police immediately

English: Border Patrol agent reads the Miranda...

Border Patrol agent reads the Miranda rights to a Mexican national arrested for transporting drugs (U.S. Customs and Border Protection – United States Department of Homeland Security) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

upon your arrest that you’re lawyering up, and there’s no limit on how long they can hold you, before your lawyer is contacted. Furthermore, and again this is important. If you’re arraigned and released, you only have 2 weeks to inform the court that you need a public defender assigned to your case.

Now, I honestly don’t know how many of you have ever spent any time in interrogation – but I can tell you this. There’s nothing you want more - than for it to end. Cops know that – and they use it against you. By the time they’re done, you’ve confessed to everything since the Crucifixion.

We need these rights. We – the innocent need them. Miranda wasn’t designed to protect the guilty, it was designed to protect you.

But, the fact remains that thanks to the 1966 ruling, you have rights in arrest and interrogation, that prior to that – although they did exist – were largely ignored. And next time you tell a cop, “I have the right to remain silent,” say thank you to Ernesto Miranda and his struggle with Arizona.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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In A Prison Times Three

Posted on June 9, 2013 by jeanfandrews

By Jean F. Andrews

While some children learn to read effortlessly and on their own, I had to wait until the first grade. After my teacher taught me the 26 letters of the alphabet with the sounds they make, and taught me 20 to 30 sight words, she handed me a primer, my first book. Before my very eyes, the magic of story unfolded. I lurched forward through the talk to print connections, put it all together, until it made sense, I was on my way. Reading took me to worlds far and wide, real and imagined. And I have not put a book down since.

My ease in learning to read is not so with most deaf and hard of hearing children.

Book Club for Youth in Federal Prison - Global Giving

Book Club for Youth in Federal Prison – Global Giving

For them it is a lifelong struggle to access visual language–both signed and written. The struggle begins at home in a sound-base environment and continues to school, another sound-based setting and if they have scrapes with the law, it continues into still another sound- based setting, the prison.

My colleague, who organized a book club for hearing inmates in our town’s prison, says his book club is transforming minds. Inmates read books and get together with him to discuss ideas from the novels and share their own experiences about situations and characters they read about. Not a bad way to spend their time while they are doing time.

But if you are deaf, it’s a different story.

The 3 Weird Sisters from Macbeth. Afana.org

The 3 Weird Sisters from Macbeth. Afana.org

Most deaf inmates can’t read beyond the second grade level. It would be impossible for deaf inmates who are illiterate to get into the biography of Malcolm X or To Kill A Mockingbird or Macbeth or read Robert Frost’s poetry. My colleague’s prison book club has created a shared humanity, an oxymoron in such an incapacitating and punitive setting as the prison.

While deaf inmates reading levels are lower than the average reading level of most deaf high school leavers which is 3rd to 4th grade, still deaf non-offenders have information sources around them through the Internet, YouTube, VRS, their signing deaf and hearing friends, signing hearing friends, Deaf sports, and Deaf associations and ASL/English bilingual e-books.

Alex Dixon - Flickr

Alex Dixon – Flickr

Not so, for deaf inmates.

Deaf inmates live in cells without books or signing companions. Not only are they locked up physically; they are locked within the prison of illiteracy and within the prison without signers. It is prison times three.

What a terrible, excruciating lonely and cruel existence.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Cindy the Pooch – Public Enemy

Posted on June 9, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

We have to stop this. The latest victim in the failed war on drugs is a veteran’s dog. AlterNet reports that on Monday, June 3rd, another military commando SWAT team, armed with – among the tear gas grenades and AK47s – a search warrant for the wrong address, shot and killed an Iraq War veteran‘s dog.

Straight Edge Iraq War veteran Adam Arroyo, came home from work, to find his door smashed off the hinges, and his beloved dog – dead. Shot multiple times, and bled out on his kitchen floor. To add insult to injury, the dog was chained at the time. A real threat to life and limb.

Buffalo, New York cops have nothing to say. The warrant was for the house next door. The neighbor – for whom the warrant was intended, was allegedly dealing crack.

Iraq War veteran Adam Arroyo N.Y. Daily News

Iraq War veteran Adam Arroyo N.Y. Daily News

Now, one could say, if we’re going to have armed commandos carrying out drug busts like scenes from Saving Private Ryan, the least we could do is teach them to read. This is far from the first case of a Blackwater style band of brothers kicking down the wrong door and shooting up the wrong house. This is also far from the first case of a search warrant being used as license to enter a domicile with guns and grenades – locked and loaded.

Here’s the thing. What one Human is capable of doing to another is indeed a tragedy – but you harm a dog, and you’ve made an enemy of me.

Rest in peace, Cindy. HuffPo.

Rest in peace, Cindy. HuffPo.

Cindy’s law – That was the Pit bull‘s name – according to BitcoDavid. Immediate and unconditional cease-fire in the failed and inane war on drugs. No further use of SWAT teams or other forms of militarized police for arrests or searches unless probable cause shows the existence of lethal force at the scene. Financial compensation for all citizens – or their families – for all wrongful deaths and damage to property incurred during searches or arrests. Immediate institution of Community Policing policies and training for all cops.

When is enough, enough? When do you finally say, this isn’t America?

Here’s the link to the AlterNet page.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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“Kissface” the Horse

Posted on June 5, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

Years ago, I lived in Boston‘s West Fens – a corner of the ghetto area, Roxbury. In those days, Boston police had one of the few mounted police divisions. These cops loved their horses, and saw the posting as a position of honor and dignity. The cops would be assigned to different beats throughout the city, and would become intrinsic parts of their neighborhoods. Our particular horse-cop was a Black woman of about 40, and her horse was a brown and white Appaloosa.  Every morning like clockwork, a certain elderly woman from the community would apply her fire engine- red lipstick, and kiss the horse in the middle of the white patch on his face. After a while, the lipstick began to stain the horse’s fur, and he developed a tattoo of red lips – right smack on his kisser (sorry, couldn’t resist). We nicknamed him, “Kissface.”

Kissface and his mounted partner did more to prevent crime than we’ll ever know. This cop knew everybody in the neighborhood, and usually referred to us by our first names. She’d break up fights, get brown baggers to find some shelter for their imbibing, help abused spouses to find protection – and above all – counsel us. Sitting atop Kissface, this woman would gently remind you that what you were doing was illegal, and it would probably be a good idea for you to knock it off. In all the years I lived there, I saw her intervene in hundreds of situations, but I don’t think I ever saw her make an arrest.  She relied on the peer pressure only a neighborhood is capable of – and an understanding of the inherent decency buried within all people.

But those days are gone.

And something has changed in the makeup of police. Marsha Graham of AnotherBoomerBlog reports today, on 2 separate cases of police, beating Deaf offenders during traffic stops. In Settlement reached in police abuse of deaf motorist and in Hard of Hearing, Mentally Impaired Woman allegedly Battered by Police Officer, Ms. Graham restates the need for training of police in dealing with the Deaf and HoH, and for interpreters to be present at arrests and other police interactions with the Deaf community. I couldn’t agree more with this essential point, but I think the problem goes much deeper.

While it’s easy for cops to say they don’t know how to deal with the Deaf, and that training would help prevent these tragedies from occurring, I find that to be an overused and overly convenient excuse for simple bullying and bad behavior. I’m not a cop, but you can’t tell me that the woman above did anything to warrant the kind of beating she endured. We’re all capable of telling when we’re dealing with someone who’s confused or at a mental disadvantage – Deaf or not. And truthfully, it wouldn’t have mattered if she was a Rhodes scholar with perfect hearing and 20/20 vision. It wouldn’t even matter if she were Bonnie Parker. There is absolutely no excuse for beating someone like this. I don’t care how tough your job is. If you can justify this kind of behavior – then it’s time to switch careers.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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She Still Doesn’t Like Mondays

Posted on June 4, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

Rarely but occasionally, my many favorite subjects coincide to form a great story. In this case, they would be history, music and crime. In a piece for MadMike’s America, I was reminded of the tale of Brenda Ann Spencer, the 16 year-old girl who didn’t like Mondays, and hence shot the whole day down.

On the 29th of January, 1979, Ms. Spencer unloaded 30 rounds from her home across the street, aimed at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California – killing the principal and a janitor, and wounding 8 children. The Boomtown Rats made her a cult icon in a song, titled with her infamous quote upon being captured. This happened before Columbine, before Virginia Tech and before Newtown. It serves as a reminder that shooting tragedies – and this type of mental illness – are nothing new. Many believe it also serves as a reminder that women are as capable of going off the rails, as are men. Still others believe that poor Brenda Ann stands as testament to the state of our broken world.

And yet others can’t stop laughing long enough to seek any meaning at all, from this senseless crime. Daddy’s little girl slips her trolley one morning, swipes his service auto, and starts blasting away – screaming that she doesn’t like Mondays. They’re not laughing at the tragedy – the destroyed lives of both the victims and the perpetrator – they’re laughing at themselves, at us. The Crown of Creation, a broken toaster.

Nobody really knows why people do what they do, we just know that they can be counted on to do stupid and destructive things. And in the end, we all suffer. We suffer as much from what Brenda Ann and her ilk do, as we suffer from what we do to them. Brenda’s in prison now – one of the first juveniles to be tried as an adult, and one of the first females – but that’s our failing, as well as her own. Somebody, somewhere, failed this girl. I’m not naive enough to claim her as an innocent – I’m simply saying that we all share in her guilt.

See, a prison – any prison – isn’t a symbol of our success in fighting social deviance, it’s a symbol of our failure. As long as there are prisons, we haven’t beaten crime – we’ve merely built an ineffectual bastion against it. People ask me why I write about prison so much. Perhaps it’s because I know how easy it would be for me to end up in one. Perhaps it’s because I thank Dog – or whomever daily, that I’m not already there. But I think it’s because deviance is an essential and necessary component of civilization. That without those who violate the social contract – no such contract could exist at all.

Brenda in an interview from Chino - 2012 Image: Today in Women's History

Brenda in an interview from Chino – 1999
Image: Today in Women’s History

My heart really goes out to poor schlemiels like Brenda Ann. She’s the flat tire on our Mercedes. The Trojan in our e-mail, the fly in our soup. But without her, our world wouldn’t exist. Flu doesn’t exist because you have an immune system – it’s the other way round. Police are our immune system – prison, our antibody – and Brenda Ann is our flu.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Picture Glossaries in Jail: Do They Work?

Posted on June 4, 2013 by jeanfandrews

By Jean F. Andrews

"Jail" in Sign Image: LifePrint.com

“Jail” in Sign
Image: LifePrint.com

“A picture is worth a thousand words. ” While this is true most of the time such as in family and nature photography, pictures don’t tell the whole story for the Deaf or ELL (English as a Second Language) offender. To address their language needs, jail and prisons officials are hiring graphic art designers to develop glossy, picture aids to assist the Deaf and ELL inmates. For instance, one jail in the south developed a pamphlet made up of a glossary of 25 terms such as “correctional officer,” “jails,” “pat down search,” “bail bond”—all illustrated with one colored picture for each term, followed by the word presented in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, and Haitian-Creole. These materials I would term “good will” materials as

they show awareness and respect for the offenders’ primary language.

Sign for "Interpret" In ASL, one would add the sign for "person" to signify an interpreter. Image: LifePrint.com

Sign for “Interpret” In ASL, one would add the sign for “person” to signify an interpreter. Image: LifePrint.com

But these pictionaries don’t really provide the access that Deaf and ELL offenders need. During the jail intake procedures and during the offenders’ stay in jail there is a basic need for more in-depth, 2-way communication between the

inmate and the jail officers. Deaf and ELL offenders need qualified interpreters to explain to them the jail inmate handbook as well as the procedures for grievances while in jail. If they are sexually or physically assaulted, they need to know the procedures in getting help.

In short, picture glossaries “look good” to the outsider. But nothing replaces the need for qualified sign language interpreters for Deaf offenders, and other language interpreters for the ELL offenders.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Posted on June 3, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

Here’s a joke.

The President decides to stage a contest to determine which among the FBI, the CIA and the LAPD is the best law enforcement organization. He informs the three, that their challenge is to find a rabbit in the woods. A month goes by, and the President calls representatives from each of the law enforcement groups to the White House to present their findings.

The rep for the FBI produces a 356 page document proving that no rabbits exist, or have ever existed, in the woods. The gentleman from the CIA informs the President that the Company has spent 11 million dollars destabilizing the economy of the woods, and getting all the woodland creatures hooked on cocaine.

But the guy from the LAPD shows up with a badly beaten bear. The bear – with broken paws, black eyes and swathed in bandages – yells, “OK! I’m a rabbit!”

In Murder by Cop: a growing crisis in ‘Murica, my good friends at Prisonmovement’s Weblog document the story of a man who was tasered and shot to death by a California sheriff’s deputy, after the family had called 911. They were seeking help with the man’s depression. It looks like they got it.

Police brutality and overuse of lethal force is nothing new. In fact, nowadays people react via the press, lawsuits and other methods of combating police overreach, whereas in the past, it was simply accepted as a fact of life. In the 1930s, police forces all across this country were used against the labor movement, for strike breaking and scab recruiting. In the deep South – well into the late ’80s – it was not at all uncommon for the local sheriff to run his community like a fiefdom. Cases of wrongful arrest to generate revenue from fines, or to provide a labor pool, are well documented.

And of course, I shouldn’t have to remind you of the case of 16 year-old Lucia Roberts, gang raped and murdered by Boston police in 1982. Her parents led the charge that resulted in the 2nd largest case of police corruption and misconduct in American history. Yes, I too, remember the Silver Shield.

No, this is nothing new. What is new however, is the use of para-militarized police forces across the country. What started as an outgrowth of the failed War on Drugs, has become commonplace. Swat teams armed with military weaponry and body armor are carrying out even the simplest arrests, utilizing smoke grenades, battering rams, robots and even small tanks. These hyper-charged armies of law enforcement approach every scenario as a violent and potentially deadly conflict.

This becomes a recipe for disaster. People armed for war, and kept on a hair trigger, are bound to overreact and a mouthy kid, a deaf woman or a depressed old man can easily end up becoming just one more statistic.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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First Digest Post of Summer – June 2nd

Posted on June 2, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

I promised Moorbey I’d reblog this petition, so here it belatedly is.

http://t.ymlp330.net/mmazaymhuavamjanaujsm/click.php

Reblogged from Moorbey’z Blog:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

One month ago I made a request for compassionate release which was honored by the warden at Carswell Federal Medical Center. Today the papers are still on a desk in Washington, D.C. even though the terminal cancer that I have contracted requires expeditious action.

Although I requested immediate action by the Bureau of Prisons, I find it necessary to again request immediate action from you, my friends, comrades and supporters to call the three numbers listed below on Thursday, May 30 and request action on my behalf.

This could result in my being able to access medical treatment at Sloan Kettering so that I can face the rest of my life with dignity surrounded by those I love and who love me.

Please do this.

Yours truly

Lynne Stewart  FMS CARSWELL-53504-054

& Ralph Poynter

Lynne Stewart Defense Organization

Attorney GeneralEric Holder –  1 202 514 2001

White HousePresident Obama –  1 202 456 1414

 B.O.P. – Director Charles Samuels –  1 202 307 3198  ext 3

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Sign The Petition!

Je.Vois. posted this humorous and lighthearted piece on what it’s like to be Deaf. Here’s the link.

Meanwhile, Marsha Graham – who’s still recuperating from her broken shoulder – posted this on AnotherBoomerBlog.

HEARD posts map listing Deaf inmates by individual state and the Federal prison system. Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/10PjQvW

The term Rat takes on a whole new meaning thanks to prison privatization. Huffpo reports that a private prison company is on the hotseat – and it’s not CCA (for a change). Apparently, in a private prison in Mississippi, the inmates are selling rats as pets. The name of the company is Management & Training Corporation, based in Utah. This particular institution, the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, houses primarily mentally ill inmates, and is being sued by the ACLU. Here’s the link from Huffpo.

J-Lo gets production credit for new ABC Family series about juvenile delinquency and the foster-home system. The show is called The Fosters, and it premiers on Monday. Here’s the link to ABC Family’s page.

The above interactive embed was provided for us by Shanna Groves of Lipreading Mom. it was produced by stopbullying.gov

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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May 2013 at DeafInPrison.com

Posted on June 1, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

 

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LockUp / X’ed Out: A Video Documentary

Posted on May 31, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

This video was originally aired on MSNBC, but I found it on BGTV. I can’t caption it, because it’s 45 minutes long, but it’s a YouTube embed, so you can use their automated CC button if you need captioning.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Newest Weapon in War on Drugs? Special-Ed Kids

Posted on May 29, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

Image: AlterNet. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

AlterNet reports that a California school administrator forced a Special-Education student to buy marijuana from a teenaged suspect, for a police sting. The boy is now the subject of bullying, violence and threats, and his parents are suing the district.

In a complaint filed against the Temecula Valley Unified School District this month, the child’s mother said, “My husband and I were just dumbfounded. How is this OK?” — AlterNet. She went on to mull the question as to when school administrators became cops.

Here’s a block quote from the AlterNet story:

[T]he assistant principal asked the special-education student to ask a fellow student for some marijuana; the assistant principal had a suspicion that the student was selling pot. The student told his parents about the request, and his parents then called the school to voice their objections. But the sting went ahead as planned. The marijuana was sold, and the school district called the police, who arrested the teenage dealer.

The parents want school district officials to be held accountable for this action. The claim they filed against the district states that officials engaged in “outrageous, reckless, illegal and egregious conduct.”

The parents told the Press Enterprise that school officials have done nothing to address their concerns, though the principal did tell the mother the school let her son down.

Here’s a link to AlterNet’s coverage.

English: Close up shot of some high quality ma...

Close up shot of some high quality marijuana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the school to prison pipeline widens, and the failed War on Drugs continues to rage like a wildfire, private – for profit – corporations like CCA clap like dolphins at Sea World. America creates the largest Criminal Class in history, and gladly furthers her status as the World’s Jailer.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Amazing ASL Video Informs About Domestic Abuse

Posted on May 29, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

This video, originally posted to YouTube by DeafHope, was featured on Bellamie Harvard’s The Broken Phoenix Blog.

Not only is the message powerful and enlightening – but the Sign is beautiful. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to sign this well.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Juvenile Delinquency: Ways of Solution

Posted on May 27, 2013 by bitcodavid

By Supporter Contributor Paul Smith

[Editor's Note: As regular readers of DeafInPrison.com are aware, we are always on the lookout for writers and contributors who want to support our work - as we support theirs. If you have an opinion on any of our topics - even an opposing one to our own, please contact us via our Write for Us page. We always welcome any and all Supporter Contributions. -- BitcoDavid]

Unfortunately, crimes are widespread throughout the globe. Every single person in the world was affected by the criminals, and our society cannot completely extirpate this phenomenon. Juvenile delinquency is the special question to pay attention to. Everyone is involved in this problem: parents, neighbors, pupils, teachers, doctors etc. The reasons for this phenomenon can be different, but there is one common peculiarity: as a rule, juvenile criminals are brought up in the dysfunctional families. The government should take the problem of juvenile delinquency seriously, as problematic and uncontrolled young people are waiting in the dark courts to fulfill their black plans.

There are a lot of theories about the ways of solving this problem, but I think there is no single one, 100% effective way to erase these crimes. Working with improvement of juveniles, we need a combination of solutions. In the USA there have been a number of social programs of different effectiveness, some of them haven’t brought any result. What is more, it is necessary to decide, which is effective and which is not, for not to waste the state resources that are directed at the solution. In this case, the successful programs can be continued and bring the wanted result while the ineffective ones should be stopped. Those, which try to change the behavior at the stage, where the deviant behavior is already firmly stated are not successful, because the antisocial habits are already well-developed by that time. Those programs, which try to prevent the development of the criminal future, tend to be more effective as they stop the delinquency at the very first place. Moreover, such programs have a comprehensive aspect, as they try to interfere with various parts of the child’s life, and don’t deal with the only single one.

Visitation programs have the combination of these two aspects: intervention and comprehensiveness, and tend to decrease the risk of the juvenile delinquency. In addition, early child visitation programs are largely successful, as they deal with the children’s problems at the very early stage of their development.

However, it is difficult to recognize the children, which tend to criminal future. Of course, there are some evident risk factors that determine the underlying risk for crime. We can name the most common of them: the large family, the criminal parents, low family income, low intelligence, poor parental supervision etc. All these factors lead to a violent behavior. However, low intelligence, can lead to the poor success in school and the problems with cooperation with the other pupils. That leads to subtraction and joining the group of the similar children that compensate their problem in school by the robbery. It is connected with physical abuse from the parents. This abuse can be caused by the unstable position of the family. So, as you can see, we cannot take into consideration only one risk factor, as only the combination of them can give us the most exact forecast of the child’s behavior.

All in all, not only the state government should find the solutions to the problem, local administrative units can also reduce the risk of increasing of juvenile delinquency. They can provide the prevention campaigns, which can consult the families about how their children grow and educate, and also can provide children with their rights and responsibilities. This is where the education takes place, and if it is a proper education, then there will be more chances to grow the worthy member of society. Moreover, community policing is one good way to control the crime. However, there are some rules: officers shouldn’t care the weapon as they will be met in violence air, and they should organize the affair in a formal manner.

Poverty is considered the root of all problems and issues of the society, and it cannot be erased easily. So, I can say, that as long as poverty exists, we will deal with juvenile delinquency. The only way out is to decrease their growing popularity by implementing the mentioned above schemes. We should remember that those juvenile delinquents are those who was influenced by the society itself and have made the wrong decisions. We have no right not to pay attention to them and should try to help them to change their way of life for better.

Paul Smith works as a writer at Custom Essay Writing Services. He is a sociable person, have a lot of friends and he is always ready to help them.

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Stop Hearing Loss Bullying Video Now Online

Posted on May 25, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

I was chatting over a plate of Edamame, with my good friend Quentin Tarantino  the other day, when he said, “BitcoDavid – dude! You did such a great job on Shanna Groves’ Stop Hearing Loss Bullying campaign video, I’m totally jealous of your immense talent.”

Well, all kidding aside – I’m deeply grateful to Shanna for allowing me the opportunity to work on such an important project with her. Shanna has agreed to do a couple of Supporter Contributions for us. She’s an awesome writer with a great deal of experience and insight. I’ll be getting that ball rolling in another day or so.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Book Review: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Posted on May 24, 2013 by joannegreenberg

By Joanne Greenberg

English: Piper Kerman at the 2010 Brooklyn Boo...

Piper Kerman at the 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a memoir of fifteen months spent in Danbury Federal Prison work camp. In the range of prisons, this was the highest (best); the others were downhill from there. Piper had been a drug dealer, left the drug game, and ten years later was arrested in connection with a sweep arrest of her former gang members. This woman brought to her experience the absolute best possible strengths – she was healthy, young, attractive but not beautiful, cultured but not pretentious, and flexible.

The book reads well. The reader is brought into Piper’s  prison life as she goes through different levels of the experience, and the reader admires her ability to adjust to what are often uncomfortable but never horrific situations. Later, in jail, pending an appearance in court, things are not as manageable. The writing is smooth and interesting. I had some quibbles with her take on her fellow inmates. I don’t know of any group anywhere as comfort giving, stimulating, appreciative, or loving as how she describes her

fellow prisoners. The administration didn’t count at all. They appear and disappear in a mist with one or two exceptions that she managed to work around. The positive relations that she had with her fellow prisoners made me a little suspicious. I think she was using them to show how useless and ridiculous the modern American prison system is. I agree with her, but I can’t help feeling a little bit manipulated.

This book was highly recommended to me by a friend, and I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with her. I can see why the book would be very popular, because it strikes all the right notes. The prison system sucks, but ordinary people are the salt of the earth. As you already know, this is not the case. Most of the people I picked up when I was doing rescue just thought they were going someplace else. Occasionally, though, we got scuzzballs. I thing the police get bitter because of the scuzzball ratio and this influences their outlook.

The book can be purchased through Amazon.com as well as other outlets.

Joanne Greenberg was born in 1932, in Brooklyn, NY. She was educated at American University and received and honorary Doctorate from Gallaudet University – the world’s only college for the Deaf. She has written 2 books on the subject and has spent decades working with state mental hospitals for appropriate care for the mentally ill Deaf.

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Broken Sign: Important Announcement from BitcoDavid

Posted on May 22, 2013 by bitcodavid

By BitcoDavid

I must admit, I learned this the same way a Japanese rock singer learns an American song. Nonetheless, I’m pretty proud of myself.

If you would be interested in doing this, use the contact form below. Please hurry, the window of opportunity is closing fast. Shooting is scheduled for the 1st week in June.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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Probation Forms and the Deaf Offender: A Complex Matter With a Simple Solution

Posted on May 22, 2013 by jeanfandrews

By Jean F. Andrews

Re-Offender

Re-Offender (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Probation is a court order that allows a person convicted of a crime to remain out of jail. An individual on probation must follow certain court-ordered procedures and keep from getting into trouble with the law. Probation violations both occur when an individual either breaks the rules or fails to keep the terms of their probation, including getting arrested for another offense. Probation violations have significant consequences and penalties. When a probation violation occurs, it may result in the person returning back to jail.
For obvious reasons, offenders must understand the conditions of their probation and work with their probation officer to make sure these conditions are met on time. For instance, a court may mandate drug treatment or an anger management class, depending on the charges. For deaf offenders who are illiterate, understanding the conditions of probation, particularly reading the probation forms can be a nightmare. More often than not, deaf offenders are not provided with qualified interpreters consistently throughout their probation meetings. Further, the deaf offender may not be able to read the probation forms he or she must sign detailing the conditions for probation because they read below the 3rd grade reading level. And when the deaf offender takes the forms home, she or he cannot refer to them as a memory aid because forms are written at the 9th grade reading level or above as I found with one readability analysis of one probation form. That means you would need at least a high school reading level to comprehend this form.

Look. Even on a demo form, the perp is a Black male No comedy like reality. -- BitcoDavid. Photo courtesy of Quick-Court

Look. Even on a demo form, the perp is a Black male No comedy like reality. — BitcoDavid. Photo courtesy of Quick-Court.

To illustrate the linguistic complexity of probation forms, here is a sample sentence with a feared consequence.
Failure to answer all questions honestly or failing to fill out the forms by due date could result in a warrant for your arrest.
How can a deaf offender fill out the form honestly? How can he fill it out at all if he does not understand what he is reading? Such scenarios as this one are common. In one case, a deaf offender on probation was not aware of the fee schedule change as his probation officer failed to explain it to him and the deaf individual could not read the form he was given with the fee schedule changes listed on it. In another instance, an offender on probation was required to go to Anger Management classes but she could not get an interpreter nor could she read the class textbook which was written at the 9th grade reading level.

Probation forms are filled with difficult vocabulary such as termination, requirements, receipt, written confirmation, brackets, regarding, issued, self-addressed stamped envelope, cashiers check, that a deaf offender with a low reading level would have difficulty understanding. The probation forms are also filled with complex sentence structures, if-then cause and effect clauses, time clauses, sequencing, structures which low level reading deaf offenders stumble through. As such, both the linguistic complexity and the content of the forms with its sequencing of events and ideas on what the deaf offender should do, should not do, and the when and where the forms must be filled out and what conditions need to be made are complex and confusing for the deaf offender. Hearing offenders who are illiterate can simply ask a family member or the probation officer to explain the rules because they have a shared spoken language. However, deaf offenders are “up the creek without a paddle,” when such probation forms are placed in front of them and they are not provided with a qualified sign language interpreter. They are left to flounder and fail and oftentimes they end up back in jail because they did not understand the conditions for probation.

The solution is simple: Provide qualified sign language interpreters in all interactions with signing deaf offenders and probation officers.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

[Editor's note: Jean has touched on many important issues with this piece, but another probation / parole issue that needs mentioning is the use of urinalysis for drug testing. These tests are known to be wildly inaccurate - all the more so when administered by a non-professional such as a probation officer or cop. Something as mundane as a poppy-seed bagel can be enough to get an offender violated and sent back to jail. People should know that they have the right to refuse a urinalysis test, and instead to opt for a blood test administered by a medical professional. --BitcoDavid]

 

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