Prison officials cancel planned relocation

Submitted by Matt on Fri, 2013-08-16 20:12

Story here. All it took was an op-ed in the NYT, and bingo, the relocation was stopped. Yet male prisoners relocated routinely away from convenient travel distances for family members are... just not that important. Excerpt:

'The author of the prison memoir "Orange Is the New Black" is relieved that federal prison officials have halted plans to move 1,000 female inmates from Connecticut to a prison far from their families in Alabama, but questions the "rationale" for wanting to send the women far from their homes in the first place.
...
Kerman wrote a New York Times op-ed earlier this week criticizing the Board of Prisons plans to transfer the female prisoners incarcerated at the Danbury facility to Alabama.

It is important, she told ABCNews.com, that incarcerated women stay close to their homes and families.
...
"It's possible that no one speaks up for these women … It's hard for me to define the rationale of the BOP. I think they should comment on that. It would be important," Kerman said.
...
"It makes such a difference, she said. "The things you are working through when serving a sentence -- a lot of guilt and shame, and a lot of consideration of what put you in, and a loss of confidence in what you can or cannot achieve in this world … Connection to folks that are pulling for you, on your side, your team, is really powerful to reinforce that you are going to be able to move forward in your life," she said.'

Like0 Dislike0

Comments

Some have asked this question: Why are men more prone to ignoring what others think of them and just taking what they want, whether it be through wheeling and dealing or some other way? Or why does it seem men are so much more "independent" in their attitudes? Answer's easy: men have to take what they want since asking for it usually doesn't suffice. Being assertive is necessary since for women, just showing up is often all they need to do to get what they want. Just ask. That's all. It's hers.

But men have to work for things, and that usually isn't enough-- they must often compete for them as well. Some women in competitive fields may understand this. Undoubtedly they have a greater appreciation for life in a man's shoes as a consequence-- or so I'd hope. As for independence, well, again, when you learn early on in life that no one's bound to help you along but *you*, you learn to be independent. Women get to choose: rent myself out to a man and get paid just for being female, or not. Men don't get that option. We don't get, as one author recently said, have the luxury of "leaning out". For us, "leaning in" is always required.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by Matt on Fri, 2013-08-16 20:18

And then of course you get criticized for being "aggressive."

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by charlie on Fri, 2013-08-16 20:37

So, Piper is using her 15 minutes of fame to campaign for, essentially, parole instead of prison, but only if you are a mother. If you are a childless woman, or ANY kind of male, forget about it.

Of course, if her group is successful, they will probably drop the part that discriminates against childless women, but my bet is that men will still be out of luck. Sort of like the program in the California prisons, which sought to alleviate over crowding by granting early release...but only to women.

How any of this is legal, or constitutional, I will never know.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by StayingFit on Fri, 2013-08-16 21:16