Suit alleges jail brutality
The Sheriff of Sacramento County is in the news once again...as he excuses the violent treatment of prisoners in his care. Obviously Sheriff Blanas needs to go back to school and study the Constitution once again.
Jails are used primarily for the housing and detention of “suspects”. Those are people who have not been convicted of a crime. Therefore they are innocent. And they should be treated that way. End of story. There is no excuse.
I have been in this jail a nearly a dozen occasions. You misunderstand what a jail is Steve. The jail houses suspected criminals whom judges have concluded meet some burden of law which neccesitates them not being released until trial. In addition the jail houses wards (many with past violent offenses)whom have been sentenced to terms less than 365 days. In addition the feds contract with the jails to house certian individuals for a variety of reasons. There are some bad, bad people in that jail. The jail does a pretty good job seperating the career criminal, violent offender, and petty crook. I have seen wards assault officers. Some of the people in these jails whether convicted or not are capable of harming or killing people just for sport.
ReplyDeleteMnay of the people who are petty crooks never see the inside of the jail. The sit in a holding tank which has payphones so they can call attorneys, family, bail bondsman, etc.
As part of my classes for college I got to observe this jail along with some of the surrounding jails and detention facilities. The most dangerous facility I found was the "progressive" Yolo County detention facility. The best jail was by far Placer county.
I invite you to learn more Steve because you've got this all wrong. That isn't to say the jail didn't do anything wrong, keep in mind that many of the Corrections Deputies are their only doing time themselves until they can get out on patrol. They tend to be new to law enforcement. No system is perfect. It is a tough balance between the security of staff and the rights of the wards and "suspects".
Contact the Sherrifs department and get a tour of the facility. It''l open you eyes.
I don't misunderstand it at all. "Innocent until PROVEN guilty" is the law of the land. Either it is the law or it isn't, there are no gray areas. I understand that it would be much easier to administer a jail without that proviso...but the law exists, so they must deal with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd why do you think that they included this in the very basic framework of our country, so long ago? Because of the abuses perpetrated in jails...
When a person is convicted and is sentenced to jail time, that is when they are called a criminal. They don't have some rights because they were proven guilty, and those criminals should always be separate from those who are only suspects. Will that cause a burden for the jailer? It doesn't matter, that's what they are paid for. To uphold the law. Not to make it up as they feel a need.
Steve you are missing the point, corrections officers are the security in the jail. If a crime is committed in the jail the CO's are the cops. The CO's have the duty of protecting you if you end up their from someone else that might do you harm. I hope you'll take advantage of what the county offers and go spend some time in the jail.
ReplyDeleteThe booking room is made up of everyone, the classification officer has the TOUGH job of trying to figure out where to put who for the safety of everyone in the jail. I hope to God that should I end up in jail for my protection the CO's will have done their job and provided for the security of the jail.
I'm not missing any point. Innocent until PROVEN guilty. What is it that you don't understand about "Innocent"?
ReplyDeleteYou seem to miss that crime happens in jail, that innocent people in jail get assaulted by other innocent people in jail all the time. My cousin is currently being housed in the local jail because he pulled a loaded gun on his wife. Now he is innocent (until his plea is officialy accepted by the court) and when not drunk a pretty harmless guy. I hope that the security in the jail is such that he is not assaulted by some other poor innocent person. Innocent sometimes means not yet proven guilty. I bet you attitude would change if your wife was in that jail. You'd pray to God that the bad guys are being shaken down and kept from harming your loved one.
ReplyDeleteThere are some really good people in jail, even if they are guilty. The first thing I was taught in Corrections was to have empathy for the inmate. The jail actually saves people Steve, saves them from themselves. Ever seen a person who's clothes actually become grafted onto the skin? It is a complex atmosphere, and since you are a Christian you should understand the human condition, there are going to be mistakes.