Breaking The Cycle: Women Incarcerated

     

Marissa Alexander receiving the Woman of Courage award from NOW President Terry O'Neil.

     I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2017 National Organization for Women Conference in Orlando, Florida. Although there were many outstanding speakers, I met two women who really touched my heart; perhaps because their message was especially personal for me as I reflected on students I had taught during my teaching career. Two Afro-American female students stood out in my mind. While teaching at the community college, I often taught students who were on court probation and attending class wearing ankle bracelets.  I remember one female student who was particularly distraught by her current situation. Kanesha was a very bright young woman about 20 years old.   She had gotten caught up in a drug deal orchestrated by a young man she was in a relationship with.  The transaction had ended in a murder. She possessed no drugs and was waiting in the car while he went inside, not knowing what was transpiring.  Kanesha was anticipating a long prison sentence. She could not talk without crying. I hugged her every day and tried to encourage her but knew she was up against a stone wall legal system that had enveloped her.  Kanesha had extremely low self-esteem and had been sexually assaulted as a child. My heart ached because I knew she had so much potential.   Another student, Latisha, I met in an elementary gifted classroom. Latisha was a very bright and eager to learn third grader. She came from a high poverty crime ridden neighborhood.  In an effort to help keep her off the summer streets, I secured scholarships for her and a few other students to attend summer programs at various facilities including a science camp at a private school and James K Polk History Camp. The students also received tennis and golf lessons over the course of the summer. The scholarships were secured but at the last minute, CMS backed out on providing transportation for these students.  Not wanting them to miss these opportunities, I spent my summer transporting Latisha and the other students to camps in my van. Latisha was the first one picked up and the last one dropped off every day so I got to know Latisha well.  Latisha lived in fear and confided to me that she slept with a baseball bat for fear of being molested. I followed Latisha into middle school, but upon going to her house one day, I found they had moved and I lost contact with her. I have often thought about these two students and wondered where their lives have taken them. My experience in Orlando, brought them both to mind again.  

     At the NOW Conference in Orlando, I first met Marissa Alexander, an Afro-American female,  who received our Woman of Courage award. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Marissa after the award was presented.  Marissa was an MBA graduate, fulfilling her career in IT Management when she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.  Marissa ‘s estranged husband had appeared unexpectedly, gone into a rage and threatened to kill her.  He had been arrested three times previously for domestic assault. Unable to get out of the house, Marissa fired a warning shot high into the drywall.  Marissa was charged with aggravated assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison under Florida’s minimum mandatory sentencing law.  Her story drew national attention because the Stand Your Ground Law, which was allowed in the George Zimmerman case, could not be used in her case because the Stand Your Ground law does not allow warning shots.  Finally, after 3 years in prison, her case was overturned as a result of faulty jury instructions. She accepted the original plea agreement of three years and strict probation wearing an ankle bracelet. She has now become a domestic violence advocate and speaks out against ineffective sentencing policies.

     Secondly, I attended a breakout session; Casualties of the War on Drugs: The Mass Incarceration of Women in America. The presentation included three female experts from the ACLU and a young Afro-American woman who had been incarcerated. She had been arrested three times for drug possession. Each time she had asked for help for her addiction. Each time she was placed on a waiting list. She too had been sexually assaulted and asked for mental health support and each time she was put on a waiting list. She shared some of the atrocities of incarceration for women. Women had difficulty getting access to feminine hygiene products that women needed and no access to an OB/GYN. They often traded and bartered or created their own female hygiene products using whatever means they could. Women rarely went to the doctor for fear of sexual abuse. Women were often stripped naked and put in solitary confinement for punishment. Incarcerated women were viewed in negative terms rather than human beings with specific needs seeking help. The third time she was incarcerated, she was pregnant.  She delivered her baby with both arms and legs shackled to the table. She was not allowed to hold or even see her baby.  Her baby was given immediately to a family member. Perhaps if she had received the help she needed the first time, she may not have been there the third time. 

     In recent years, the number of women in America’s jails and prisons has skyrocketed.  According to the Bureau of Justice (DOJ), at the end of 2015, there were over 1.25 million women in US Adult Correctional Facilities. That is a 700% increase. The incarceration rate of women since 1980 has far exceeded the rate of growth of incarcerated men. Nearly 60% of incarcerated women are in federal prison for nonviolent drug offenses.  Many times women, like Marissa Alexander, are swept up in minimum sentencing laws and “conspiracy” laws.  Often, the women played very nominal roles in drug crimes and were simply present when men they were in relationships with were the key players in the drug activity like my friend Kanesha.  Furthermore, women of color are no more likely than white women to use or sell drugs but are far more likely to be arrested and incarcerated on drug offenses. The great majority of incarcerated women have experienced domestic and sexual violence and exhibit symptoms of mental health disorders, yet facilities often don’t provide care as stated by the woman I met in Orlando. Placing a woman naked in solitary confinement only exacerbates the trauma.  Finally, upon release, women with felony charges may be banned from receiving financial assistance and food stamps while at the same time they struggle to get into the workforce. They basically have no opportunities to become productive members of society.

         Meeting these two young women was a real eye opener. Our criminal justice system needs dramatic reform. Yet, when there are discussions of reform, rarely do we talk about the specific needs of incarcerated women. We need to address the unique and complex needs of adult women involved in the criminal justice system. We must better understand the experiences of incarcerated women and their families and we must advocate for safe, sensible policies that recognize these distinct needs. We must advocate for policies that eliminate shackling during labor; provide quality access to OB/GYN care; and restrict the roles of male staff in female prisons to limit abuse. Effective treatment of women must address the mental health effects of battering and sexual violence in their past. There should be no waiting list for drug rehabilitation or mental health services. We must address the reasons for the unprecedented rise in the number of women who are entering our jails and prisons. The number of young girls in the juvenile justice system is on the rise. One in three teenaged girls in the US report having been a victim of sexual violence. With young women of color and LGBTQ, the rate is even higher. Trauma related services are not available in our schools and due to zero tolerance policies, these girls are often pushed out of school when they act out in a cry for help.  Young victims of sex trafficking are often viewed as perpetrators and arrested. We must address the needs of these young girls and stop the criminalization of trauma. Reform must start in our schools as well as in our juvenile court system. Reforming practices towards female offenders can bring needed healing and restoration to this very vulnerable population. 

Source of Data:

United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2016, December)

Panel Discussion: Casualties of the War on Drugs: The Mass Incarceration of Women in America.