Prison Commission to focus on corrections officers and conditions that compromise safety behind bars; witnesses to testify at the law school Nov. 1-2

Oct. 24, 2005 -- On any given day 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and over the course of a year an estimated 13.5 million individuals are confined in prison or jail for some period of time. Another 750,000 men and women spend their days and nights working in correctional facilities. Despite their numbers, they are largely invisible to outsiders.

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons, a year-long national effort to explore the most serious problems behind bars in America today and how to solve them, will hold its third public hearing from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 1-2 in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 310.

The hearing, hosted by the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will focus on corrections officers - a vast, yet poorly understood workforce that shoulders tremendous responsibilities, often without adequate leadership, training, or resources.

Officers, administrators, labor leaders, former prisoners, and other witnesses will describe pivotal changes in the workforce and the job and conditions that jeopardize the health and safety of both officers and prisoners. Those conditions range from under-staffing and compulsory overtime to inadequate training in the use of force.

In addition to illuminating the problems behind bars, this hearing and the others are designed to promote discussion about practical solutions - ideas that will be captured in the Commission's final report and recommendations, which is expected in May 2006.

"Hundreds of thousands of people work in our vast correctional system; if we are going to solve America's prisons' and jails' pressing problems we need to learn much more from both their successes and their failures," says Margo Schlanger, professor of law and member of the Commission. "This hearing will provide a great opportunity for that kind of learning, for the Commission and also for our community, including our students and faculty.

Prior to the hearing, the School of Law will host a panel discussion on "Problems and Solutions in American Criminal Justice" at 3 p.m. Oct. 31 in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 305.

The panel, moderated by Schlanger, features three other members of the Commission. Dr. Richard Dudley, a New York-based forensic psychiatrist; Saul Green, former United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and court-appointed monitor of the Cincinnati Police Department; and Gary Maynard, president-elect of the American Correctional Association and director of the Iowa Department of Corrections.

After the close of the hearing on Nov. 2, Steven B. Bright, Commission member and director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, will give a talk on "Crime, Prison, and the Death Penalty: The Influence of Race and Poverty" at 4 p.m. in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom of Anheuser-Busch Hall. The lecture is part of the law school's Public Interest Law Speakers Series.

The panel discussion, lecture and hearing are free and open to the public. Visit http://law.wustl.edu/Whatsnew/prisonhearing.html for additional event details. Information about witnesses that will be testifying during the hearing is available at http://www.prisoncommission.org/.