By BitcoDavid I’ve got just 2 words for Liza Long, who published this brilliant piece in the Blue Review. Nailed it. “They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!” “You can’t wear whatever pants you want
By Jean F. Andrews John Lennon’s sad lyrics in “Nowhere Man In Nowhere Land,” resonate in the life of Junius Wilson (1908-2001). Wilson was a Black Deaf man who was incarcerated for a rape he did not commit. His first six years at the State Hospital for the Colored Insane developed into a total of
By BitcoDavid As writers, we become sensitive to certain words and phrases. Just ask me to go 12 rounds on the word folks, and you’ll see what I mean. One phrase that is increasingly starting to bother me is prison industry. It’s a sad commentary on the state of our union when we have to
By Glenn Langohr The criminal records system California relies on to stop child abusers from working in schools, and violent felons from buying guns, is so poorly maintained that it routinely fails to alert officials to a subject’s full criminal history. The other side of this issue is that a list of possible matches appears,
By BitcoDavid Who better to speak to the horrors of a broken prison system than a former inmate? Glenn Langohr’s inside view of life behind bars, in some of California’s most brutal prison facilities, is an eye opening, day in the life view that no other author could provide. Through his eyes, we see the
By Jean F. Andrews [Author’s Note: If you live in Texas, you know about Deaf Smith, a popular hero among deaf and hearing Texans alike. Dr. Steve Baldwin a prolific writer, presenter and trained historian, shares his Deaf culture research with deafinprison readers. Dr. Baldwin gives us a fresh perspective on Deaf Smith’s role in
By Joanne Greenberg Deaf men are overly represented in prison for the commission of sex crimes. They are therefore more often the targets of prison cruelty from guards and other prisoners. I think this is the result of a closed world of Deafness, itself. We know that sex offenders are more usually made than born,
By Jean F. Andrews In reviewing confessions and interviews conducted in spoken and written English between the deaf suspect and the detective, judges and prosecutors have difficulty in understanding a deaf person’s linguistic competence. They just don’t get it. Even when the videotape recording is replayed, the judge and prosecutor will listen to the talking
By Jean F. Andrews American Sign Language (ASL) is seldom learned early by parents of deaf children when the diagnoses of hearing loss occurs. As a result, few deaf children have strong ASL role models in the home. This has important educational implications. But it also has criticaL repercussions when the deaf child grows into
By BitcoDavid The British Daily Mail reports that jails and prisons across America are literally ready to burst, with more than two million Americans behind bars. California, the worst for overcrowding and ever-expanding inmate populations, houses 140,000 inmates. Her 33 facilities, designed to hold a maximum of 80,000, are stretched to beyond the limit. Currently,
