Even sentencing the worst criminal offenders to life in prison rather than killing them would make a marked difference in inmate spending. If every prisoner on death row were given life in prison instead, Alarcon and Mitchell estimate that California would save $200 million annually. More conservative minded Americans might say all this study proves is that we need to kill death row inmates faster to save money. But that’s not how the criminal justice system works; everyone is allowed their day—or more likely their decade—in court. The justice system is indeed sluggish and broken in many ways, but that’s a solution that can’t be improved in the short-term. What we can do immediately is abolish the death penalty, which is not just barbaric and unjust, but also a waste.
July 2011
June 2011
“OAKLAND. Paramedic Sheehan Gillis, an instructor and supervisor at the Oakland Fire Department (OFD), filed suit on Friday, June 17th, 2011 against OFD. Alameda County Superior Court No. RG-11-581209. In his complaint, Gillis alleges OFD mistreated Oscar Grant in its response to Grant 9-1-1 calls on January 1st, 2009 and destroyed all evidence related to the mistreatment, ordered Gillis to stop his investigation of the call response, refused to comply with an order for a call review by former OFD Medical Director Dr. Michael Howard, MD, forced Howard to quit by withholding his paychecks, and is currently retaliating against Gillis. OSCAR GRANT. On January 1st, 2009, OFD responded to the BART police shooting of Oscar Grant—an unarmed BART passenger. The shooting became a focus of community direct action during 2009 and 2010 and just recently when the shooter was released after serving a brief prison sentence.
OVERLOOKED. Overlooked until now is OFD’s role in Grant’s death. According to Gillis, OFD mistreated Grant, and that mistreatment is so egregious that it should be criminally investigated.
WOUND UNTREATED. Grant had been shot at pointblank range. The bullet made both entry and exit chest wounds. OFD Emergency Medical Services Division (EMS) first responding paramedics applied an air-tight treatment only to the entry wound—leaving the exit chest wound open to air. According to Gillis’ complaint, this misconduct is a ‘death sentence.’ Grant died from his wounds 5 ½ hours later.
SCUTTLED INVESTIGATION. On January 6th, 2009, Gillis launched an investigation and requested the coroner’s report to assess whether paramedic misconduct contributed to Grant’s death. On January 10th, 2009, OFD issued a written order to Gillis to stop the investigation and to refrain from reporting his findings to anyone—even the Grant family or law enforcement. The written order is attached to Gillis’ complaint.
EVIDENCE DESTROYED. About this time, according to Gillis, OFD destroyed all paper records related to the Grant response and the computer archive of Grant’s Patient Care Report.
DR. MICHAELS. OFD’s Medical Director, Dr. Howard Michaels, MD, ordered a call review. Even though, at the time, Michaels was the highest medical authority at OFD, the EMS Division ignored his order. Gillis alleges OFD retaliated against Dr. Michaels by interfering with his paychecks until Dr. Michaels finally left in September 2010. Dr. Michaels left OFD owed over six (6) months’ pay. When he finally left, Dr. Michaels turned to Gillis and warned, “You’re next.”
RETALIATION AGAINST GILLIS. Dr. Michaels was right. According to Gillis, OFD launched a retaliatory campaign of harassment and retaliation that included moving Gillis’ office from Jack London Square to a small trailer in the middle of a parking lot in a remote area of Oakland, eliminating his lunch break, taking his mailbox and city car access, weekly bullying sessions and monthly performance reviews, and demoting and suspending Gillis.”
From the full article. It’s hard enough to reconcile with the racism involved in Grant’s shooting (and the utter lack of justice in Mehserle’s trial) but to imagine the implications of a fire department selectively treating EMS patients is really just…ugh.
“It’s not Styrofoam or cellphones or tobacco that are killing us.
It’s poverty.
A report released Friday by the American Cancer Society echoes a 1989 statement by Dr. Samuel A. Broder, then director of the National Cancer Institute, who said that poverty is a carcinogen.
The society’s report said that the lower a person’s socioeconomic status, the greater the risk of cancer. That’s especially true for lung cancer, the report said, “for which death rates are 4 to 5 times higher in the least educated than in the most educated individuals.”
As for why, the report said that people who are lower on the economic ladder are more likely to engage in risky behavior —- partly because marketing for products such as tobacco is aimed specifically at them, and partly because of barriers —- societal and otherwise —- to opportunities for exercise and healthy food.
And then impoverished people don’t tend to engage in preventive medical care, which they can’t afford, so that by the time they seek treatment, it’s too often too late.
The costs to society are huge. The National Institutes of Healthestimated that last year, medical costs associated with cancer were $124.6 billion. Estimates are that by 2020, those costs could reach $158 billion.”
History
Mobile Voices initially began out of a collaboration between the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California (ASC&J) and the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA).
From 2008 to 2010 Drupal developers, IDEPSCA’s Popular Communication team (a team of Day Laborers and Household workers), IDEPSCA staff, University of Southern California researchers, media activists, and volunteers worked together to design the system, analyze stories, develop shared knowledge, and create training materials.
The Popular Communication Team has been volunteering for IDEPSCA for many years and takes their role of writing their own history very seriously, thus they continue to meet with IDEPSCA staff and other volunteers to strengthen the project and are active popular communicators. VozMob exemplifies Paulo Freire’s saying of “… No one knows it all; no one is ignorant of everything. We all know something; we are all ignorant of something” with that premise we worked together and successfully created this project.
A special thanks to the Popular Communication team, the group of Day Laborers and Household Workers who since 2008 have committed their time to make this project a success and who continue to lead this project.
VozMob Structure
Currently VozMob has a structure governed by Affiliates that consist of organizations and groups who are active in sharing their stories through this platform. Our active decision-making affiliates consist of IDEPSCA and the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN). LACAN has been active on VozMob.net since 2009 and have contributed greatly to the development of the project.” —
About vozmob | VozMob – Voces Móviles / Mobile Voices
This group is also amazing plan on doing some follow up with them….
(via radicallyhottoff)
I came home from middle school and mentioned that one of the few black kids on the playground got picked on that day. I’d even heard the N-word for the first time. Dad asked if I told a teacher, and I said no, I was just glad they weren’t picking on me.
“No,” he said. And his voice was soft; this was different. “Do your homework” this was not. “Whenever you hear ‘nigger,’ hear ‘dirty Jew.’ Whenever you hear ‘spic,’ or ‘fag,’ or ‘dyke,’ hear ‘dirty Jew.’ And take it personally.”
” —Seth Chalmer and his father, quoted in “My father’s lectures” (via abigq)and a woman as “straight.” In reality, any of these people might be bi―perhaps all of them.” —http://www.sf-hrc.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=989 (via biinthebiblebelt)
Find a place to get tested near you :)
