poused even more individualistic regional temperature and weather. ideas than Heede’s, arguing that These changes could be larger than the free market will correct the any that have occurred over the last fossil fuel problem without “punis- 12,000 years.” Exxon also mentio- hing” companies who had the mis- ned that “once the effects [of glo- fortune to become involved in an bal warming] are measurable, they unforeseeably damaging product. might not be reversible.” However, according to economists, the “free market” only functions Exxon knew that by the time anyo- properly when the situation meets ne else noticed the problem, it a number of might be too standards, late. This chil- otherwise the- ling realiza- “The fossil fuelre will be what tion might industry’s collectiveis known as a have caused nd Shell “market failu- decision to conceal a different Believe re.” In this case, its global warming company to the fossil fuel studies has tainted take action which resources are extracted and industry has to raise the marketed … it’s the consumers worked tire- alarm. For that actually burn and demand the fossil fuels that these companies every sale of fossillessly to create Exxon and provide … what the companies do its fellow is produce, extract and market the one of the most fossil fuel fuels, so that we can use them. It’s classic market producers, the consumer that produces the however, this carbon dioxide: they may be cor- fuels from the 1980sfailures: infor- porations, airlines, shipping lines, onward.”mation asym- conclusion households, utilities. It’s all dist- metry. ributed.” Heede’s work indicates that a majority of these compa- was nothing nies’ total pollution comes from consumers using their products Exxon, Shell more than an rather than their own production methods – essentially, while Heede and other fos- opportunity agrees that fossil fuel companies have to take greater responsibility, sil fuel producers to obscure the he argues that people must take greater responsibility for consu- have known about climate chan- truth from the public. In 1998, ten ming those products, too. As anger toward the top fossil fuel producers ge since the 1980s and 1990s and years after Exxon warned its own grows, many Republicans have es- have actively smothered attempts workers of irreversible impending to increase general awareness of catastrophe from their products, the danger. A 1982 Exxon internal the American Petroleum Institute memo notes that “our best estimate (API) wrote a rather different inter- is that the doubling of the current nal memo. concentration [of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere] could increa- The memo argued that, for the se average global temperature by fossil fuel industry “victory will about 1.3 degrees to 3.1 degrees be achieved” only when “average Celsius.” The document also cited citizens ‘understand’ (recognize) “potentially catastrophic events” uncertainties in climate science; that might occur if global warming recognition of uncertainties beco- continued, such as “flooding on mes part of the ‘conventional wis- much of the U.S. East Coast, inclu- dom’ … those promoting [climate ding the State of Florida and Was- change legislation] on the basis hington, D.C.” if the sea levels rose of extant science appear to be out the expected five meters. Shell’s of touch with rea lity.” Ultimately, internal memo from 1988 identi- the memo concluded, “unless ‘cli- fied similar concerns, warning that mate change’ becomes a non-issue global warming “could create sig- and … there are no further initiati- nificant changes in sea level, ocean ves to thwart the threat of climate currents, precipitation patterns, change” the companies would not 51
be able to “declare victory for our Economists warn that in cases of in- Houston Chronicle efforts.” API proceeded to begin formation asymmetry – when one producing material for teachers party in a sale has more knowledge is a net financial benefit. It also and students undermining the than the other – adverse selection gives us a feeling of control over importance of climate change as occurs. Uneven knowledge leads to an enormous problem. Not using an existential threat, in particular prices and sales that do not reflect plastic straws might not save the sending materials to elementary the most socially beneficial price world, but it might save a sea turt- schools to tell them that oil, na- and quantity. The socially bene- le, and that’s valuable. tural gas and coal were “more re- ficial price and quantity would take liable, affordable, and convenient into account negative externali- But if we don’t force the gover- to use than most renewable energy ties, which are the sale’s adverse nment to regulate the fossil fuel sources.” Exxon, Chevron, Shell, consequences that affect people industry, no sea turtles will survi- BP and ConocoPhillips were all beyond the buyer and seller. Howe- ve at all, plastic straws or not. We involved in some capacity. Eighty ver, without public awareness of can’t just stop at feeling like we’re percent of Exxon’s internal reports those negative consequences, the making a difference; we actually acknowledged the reality of hu- market can’t account for them. have to make a major difference. man-caused global warming while The fossil fuel industry’s collec- In 1988, just before burying critical only 2 percent expressed doubt. In tive decision to conceal its global climate change information under contrast, Exxon’s publicly availab- warming studies has tainted every a deluge of disinformation, Shell le commentary on global warming sale of fossil fuels from the 1980s consoled itself by feebly arguing expressed doubt 81 percent of the onward. The fossil fuel industry that “it will not be appropriate [for time. It’s impossible for environ- decided it was willing to accept Shell] to take the main burden, for mental protectionist policy to alter the consequences of selling fossil the issues are ones that ultima- a perfect market with government fuels, but consumers didn’t have tely only governments can tackle, intervention: the energy industry the chance to decide if they were and users have an important role.” has been broken by intentional mi- willing to accept the consequences When Shell delegated an “impor- sinformation for a very long time. of purchasing them. tant role” in fixing climate change to consumers and refused to give New York Times This information asymmetry lin- them any relevant information, gers: even now that we know they successfully muddied the 52 SECTION about the consequences of global waters and deflected blame from warming and lasting damage has themselves. Now, let’s take back already been done, only 19-25 that “important role” – not just by percent of Republicans believe meticulously sorting our compost that human-caused climate chan- but also by forcing governments ge is real. to hold the companies that got us into this mess to take some res- Government intervention to pe- ponsibility in getting us out of it. nalize and restrict pollution from these fossil fuel companies won’t cause a market failure, it will cor- rect one. Voters will have to apply pressure to their representati- ves in order to ensure they take a strong stand; voters will also have to show up at the polls and refuse to accept half-measures. Recycling, carpooling, biking, and going vegetarian are good for many reasons, but they can’t be a substitute for being politically en- gaged. Recycling does save ener- gy, reduce litter, create jobs and
QUE SARIN, SARIN CONFLICTING NARRATIVES SURROUNDING THE USAGE OF CHEMICAL WEAP- ONS IN THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR by Chance Boreckzy Accusations of war crimes far predate were considering airstrikes against Syrian re- the international law that defines gime forces, resulting in a hurried diplomat- those crimes; the first recorded in- ic process launched by Russia. This process ternational trial for war crimes occurred in rapidly produced an agreement, with Syria 1474, while formal international law on the submitting to inspections from the Organiza- subject was only promulgated in the 1890s. tion for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Of course, once the concept of a war crime (OPCW) and agreeing to destroy its chemical emerged, the exploitation of war crime ac- weapons stockpiles. OPCW certified the com- cusations for political gain followed. States pletion of this process in October of 2013. had an incentive to use these accusations to demonize their opponents, whether for Throughout 2014 and 2015, opposition domestic propaganda purposes or to shape groups continued to make allegations of fur- international opinion; even if the accused ther chemical weapons use, often alleging crimes did occur, they can be politicized. In the use of chlorine gas in particular. Sarin, the course of the Syrian Civil War, the sheer the nerve gas implicated in both of the ma- number of outside powers attempting to pro- jor 2013 attacks, requires significant chem- mote their own regional interests and the ical engineering capabilities and particular fragmentary nature of media access has led feedstock chemicals, while chlorine is used to the dissemination of propaganda from all for a range of legitimate industrial purpos- sides and made it unprecedentedly confusing es and is thus more easily obtained and not to separate truth from fiction. In particular, as tightly controlled by the OPCW. On April every side of the conflict and every external 4, 2017, another major chemical attack oc- power that has chosen a side has a different curred in Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-held town explanation for the use of chemical weapons in the northwest of the country. This attack in Syrian cities beginning in 2013. is believed to have used sarin, and estimat- ed death tolls ranged between 90 and 1700. The first alleged chemical attack in Syria oc- Following this incident, the United States curred in March 2013, in the Khan al-Assal executed a cruise missile strike on a Syrian district of the city of Aleppo. Even as the sto- government airfield thought to have been ry was reaching international media, accusa- the base for the attack. tions and recriminations from government and rebel forces were proliferating. Media All of the important facts missing from the attention greatly increased after a more dev- account above — most notably, the identity astating attack in August of that year in Gh- of the party or parties responsible for the outa, a suburb of Damascus. The Syrian gov- attacks — are still hotly disputed. In fact, ernment had already confirmed the existence early statements after many of the attacks of a chemical weapons program in 2012, and contradicted more basic details that are now thus its initial statements after each attack accepted, with Syrian government sources accused rebel groups of carrying out a false- often denying that bombings occurred at all. flag attack. Following the Ghouta attack, the The publication of findings from multiple UN United States and France indicated that they investigative bodies and the OPCW has not WORLD 53
Human Rights Watch Newsweek ABC Washington EPA Post IPD quieted the debate in some corners, United States to provide a pretext for although it has made it possible to airstrikes, but Russian statements divide the entities involved in the de- days later claimed that an airstrike on bate into those who accept the con- opposition-held areas had hit a stor- clusions of these investigations and age facility for chemical weapons. those who reject them. More interestingly, varying forms of The most notable critic of the UN and these “alternative” explanations have OPCW investigations is Russia; in been taken up by political and intel- addition to questioning the conclu- lectual figures in the United States, sions once they were produced, Rus- often in conjunction with a general sian government figures repeatedly skepticism of U.S. aims in Syria. The blocked initial efforts by the UN Secu- release of the OPCW report quiet- rity Council to launch investigations ed some of the speculation among and denigrated the trustworthiness Western scholars, but those findings and impartiality of the investigations have not been universally accepted. before they produced results. The Of the dissenters, Theodore Postol is Syrian government has been equal- the most notable figure; an emeritus ly vocal about condemning Western professor in nuclear engineering at explanations but has often indirect- MIT, he has been noted for his criti- ly contradicted Russian statements. cism of U.S. claims on the effective- After the Khan Sheikhoun attack, ness of missile defense technology the Syrian government alleged that and for other skepticism of national the attack had been fabricated by the security policies. The publication of
Postol’s recent findings on the Khan Taking the Khan Sheikhoun attack an attempt to insulate Russia from Sheikhoun attack triggered a fierce as the most prominent example, criticism for its own actions in the academic discussion which has not Russian and Syrian statements Middle East and Ukraine. yet been resolved. appear to have been calculated to cast as much doubt as possible on The fact that Russian and Syrian Postol’s work has been enthusiasti- the “official” explanation, not to actions after the 2013 attacks — cally repeated by Russia Today and prove a particular alternative sce- especially the willingness of both other Russian state media organs, nario. The OPCW report conclud- countries to immediately enter ne- but has also been unexpectedly em- ed that the attack was conducted gotiations — indicate Syrian gov- braced by Tulsi Gabbard, one of the using a sarin-filled aerial bomb; ernment culpability is irrelevant at more obscure Democratic presiden- statements in response proposed this point. Both countries aimed to tial hopefuls. This, and Gabbard’s that the source could have been resolve the issue quickly to avoid other unconventional stances on an IED detonated on the ground greater Western involvement, but Middle East policy, have generated by opposition fighters, ques- given the later chemical attacks in a certain measure of media specula- tioned the eyewitness evidence 2017, there is no way of knowing tion, but more mainstream political from first responders and medical whether negotiations at the time figures, such as U.S. Representative personnel that first indicated the were even sincere; they may have Ron Paul, have also expressed skep- use of chemical weapons and be- been just another ploy along with ticism at initial claims of Syrian gov- gan to lambast the international the wild conspiracy theories put ernment responsibility. Paul, for his investigation well before it had out by Russian news. In essence, part, accused American neoconser- been approved. this only goes further to show that vatives of faking the attack. At any international politics is becoming rate, belief in the “unconventional” On several levels, these claims a post-truth environment, some- explanation for the chemical attacks are fully in keeping with other thing that was realized about na- is clearly not limited to the Russian Russian attempts to defend the tional politics some time ago. and Syrian governments. Syrian government from inter- national criticism and to fend off As heinous as the use of chemi- A full technical analysis of the var- attempts by the UN and others to cal weapons in Syria was and re- ious claims made on both sides is take action, but they also serve as mains, the media and diplomatic well beyond the scope of this arti- broader deflections. Impugning frenzy after the 2013 attacks was cle. The OPCW’s information pages the credibility of international or- about far more than the attacks on the investigations in Syria are ganizations in general and alleg- themselves. The denials were not extensive and are recommended ing undue influence by the United simply self-serving attempts to es- reading, but the Russian and Syrian States is closely in line with Rus- cape accountability; they should be claims are more fragmentary. There sian efforts to deflect criticism of recognized as one of the first sal- is, for understandable reasons, no the country’s own human rights voes in Russia’s continuous war of official and permanent record of record, and accusing the West of influence, information and media these governments’ statements. fabricating Syrian chemical attacks against the West. as an excuse for regime change is “INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IS BECOMING A POSTTRUTH EN- VIRONMENT” Telegraph
DrawtilhnifegeAbFtmyohoGuoeeuwtnrriotNdahfmyarent T he Supreme Court has once Fourth Amendment’s protections. ahead with the blood test un- again avoided ruling on the der Wisconsin’s Implied Con- substance of a state law and BACKGROUND sent law which presumes that rather stuck to taking an easier, When we look at the fact pattern any person incapable of withd- less-controversial road of constitu- of this case, it’s evident that the rawing consent has not withdrawn tional jurisprudence. In this case, it driver’s Fourth Amendment rig- consent. In other words, the law was the Fourth Amendment’s pro- hts were violated by the fact that presumes consent until otherwise tections and the consent doctrine his consent was not sought prior stated. Mitchell moved to suppress that were sacrificed. In Mitchell v. to drawing his blood. In this case, the results of the blood test and Wisconsin, the Court ruled that Gerald Mitchell (the driver) was ar- claimed that it violated his Fourth drawing blood from an unconscious rested for operating a vehicle whi- Amendment rights because the of- driver after the officer detected le under the influence of alcohol. ficer had failed to obtain a warrant alcohol on his breath was cons- Deeming the initial breath test to and thus the results of the blood titutional because of the exigent be insufficient, the arresting officer test would be considered the fruit of circumstances doctrine; by ruling drove him to the police station to the poisonous tree. The fruit of the so, the Court completely ignored get more reliable results using bet- poisonous tree doctrine prevents addressing the constitutionality of ter alcohol detection equipment. the admission of evidence that was the Wisconsin law that authorized Mitchell was so intoxicated that he obtained through illegal methods: the police officer to administer the was too lethargic to cooperate with In this case, Mitchell’s blood alcohol test without the driver’s consent. a breath test at the station; thus, content from the blood test would As such, I believe that the Court the police officer moved him to a be inadmissible and would not have made a serious error of judgment hospital to get a blood test done. enough weight to convict him. The by ruling that conducting a blood Although Mitchell had not consen- case made its way up to the Supre- test from an unconscious driver ted to the drawing of his blood, the me Court, which then vacated and was well within the bounds of the police officer had the authority to go remanded it back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court that had affirmed 56 OPINION the lawfulness of the blood test. OVERVIEW OF THE OPINIONS The majority, concurring and dis- senting opinions held very different claims and approached this case from drastically different perspec-
tives. The majority opinion (written by Chief “There is so much Justice Roberts, Justice Breyer, Justice Kava- naugh and Justice Alito) states that this case the Court has to catch up on exemplifies an instance of the exigent circum- stances exception to the protections of the with Fourth Amendment pro- Fourth Amendment. An exigent circumstance is a legal principle in Fourth Amendment ju- tections...” risprudence that allows the police to conduct searches (in this case drawing blood) wit- guided the changes needed in such laws in the rest of hout having to obtain warrants or any other the states as well. court-approved document. The majority ruled that there is a “compelling need” for swift ac- WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? tion before there is time to obtain a warrant for three By choosing to look to the exigency doctrine instead different reasons: 1) public safety of freeways and hig- of the constitutionality of the Implied Consent law, hways is a vital state interest; 2) legal limits of blood the Court effectively chose the path of least resistance alcohol content serve that state interest; and finally and the path of least scrutiny. To follow a decades-old 3) the enforcement of the established BAC limits must precedent and doctrine is not what the Supreme Court be assessed by a test that can stand up in court. In the is for: the justices on the bench are supposed to navi- concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas made the gate tough constitutional questions and give guidance argument that the blood alcohol content would dete- to the federal and state legislatures. Specifically, with riorate faster than the police officers could have obtai- regards to consent, the Supreme Court has ruled time ned the warrant for the blood test, so that itself invoked and again that consent is virtually invalid unless it’s the exigency doctrine. Since preventing the destruction “free and voluntary” and that it shouldn’t be the result of evidence allows for the exigent circumstances excep- of “duress or coercion, express or implied”. The Court tion, the majority relied on the aforementioned argu- had the perfect opportunity, in this case, to deal with ments to uphold the conviction. the constitutionality of Implied Consent laws (which are in place in all 50 states) without having to take On the other hand, the dissenting opinion (written by into account any other legally accepted Fourth Amend- Justice Sotomayor, Justice Ginsburg and Justice Kagan), ment exceptions. The sheer scope of this constitutional claimed that this case has nothing to do with the exi- question was completely dismissed by the Court, and I gent circumstances at all. Rather, they argued that it was am sure there will be another case that makes its way more about whether Wisconsin’s Implied Consent law up the court system to have the same issue addressed was constitutional considering the protections of the by the bench again. There is so much the Court has to Fourth Amendment. The Wisconsin law’s presumption catch up on with Fourth Amendment protections, and of consent is the crux of the constitutional question and with this case, consent is just being added to that ever- must be resolved because all 50 states have some form growing list. With this precedent, the Court has essen- of this law in their codes. The state legislature’s argu- tially given state legislatures free rein when it comes to ment for having the law was to promote the govern- the consent doctrine under the Fourth Amendment: it ment’s interests in avoiding the destruction of evidence has conceded that it is constitutional to assume con- of BAC by the natural metabolization process and to not sent unless withdrawn, rather than mandated informed delaying the unconscious driver’s medical care due to consent in every instance. The Supreme Court seems to the time it takes to obtain a warrant. But by presuming be at a complete loss for words when it comes to con- consent (instead of mandating free, explicit, voluntary sent under the Fourth Amendment. consent), Wisconsin’s law violates the core substance of the Fourth Amendment: to be free from unreasonable government intrusion. This case should have focused on whether Wisconsin’s Implied Consent law is consti- tutional given that no other Fourth Amendment excep- tions are invoked and issued a ruling that would have 57
THE MENTAL STATE OF CALIFORNIA’S PRISONS by Isabelle Kokona-Dussau he United States is known for having the highest percent longer than inmates convicted of similar crimes incarceration rate among all developed countries. without mental illness. This large proportion of inmates The cause for this rate is highly debated, as there with mental health issues can be linked back to the lack are several factors that contribute to mass incarceration. of accessible mental health facilities. Psychiatric care in One factor that is being reexamined recently is the rate the country has been reported to be more often provid- of mental health issues in the prison system. The nation- ed by the jails in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York al average suicide rate among inmates is 16 per 100,000. City rather than hospitals. In 1950, about 500,000 peo- In comparison, California surpasses that rate with 20.4 ple were under care of psychiatric institutions, while in suicides per 100,000 inmates. In addition, Stanford Uni- 2000, only 50,000 people were reported to be under psy- versity completed a study that chiatric care. The rising rate of inmates with men- discovered that within the past Mental health tal health problems is clearly due to policy shift in ten years, the California pris- the past. The effects have been detrimental to those on population has dropped, patients rarely with mental health, as prisons are unequipped to while the number of inmates care for them. with mental health issues has get access to risen. As of 2017, the number treatment, and In late 2018, the California prison system came un- of prisoners with serious men- reports often der further scrutiny by Dr. Michael Golding, who de- tal illnesses reached about 32 livered a report demonstrating how prison officials percent of the prison popula- contradict have been systematically overruling psychiatrists tion in California. The study this reality. and lying about the care that inmates received. Dr. also found that inmates with Golding is a Chief Correction Psychiatrist in Califor- mental health issues end up nia and delivered the report with the aim of calling serving longer sentences because their cases take longer attention to the mass of malpractice faced by mental- to be resolved than those without mental health issues. ly ill patients in prison. For example, one practice that Inmates with mental illness serve sentences that are 12 affects all mental health patients, regardless of the se- 58 CALIFORNIA
verity of their condition, is that each time a mentally ill Community-based treatments have been proposed re- inmate gets transferred to another prison, officials ‘reset peatedly throughout the years but rarely receive the the clock’. By ‘resetting the clock,’ inmates have to re- funding and attention they require to be effective. Prop- start the process of getting psychiatric help. The report osition 63, approved in 2004 to dedicate taxes to com- described that it could take up to nine months to meet munity-based mental health services, was still evolving with a psychiatrist, which is three months longer than in 2016 to further its efficacy, demonstrating the mini- court ordered but considered ‘on time’ when reported, mal results from legislation thus far. In 2012, Judge Carl- due to the fact that the inmate was transferred without ton of Sacramento enforced the 2011 ruling and ordered the mental illness. that California ‘take all steps necessary’ to reach the limit for overcrowding. The response was still slow and This completely bars inmates with long-term issues from showed no intention of meeting the deadline as the state receiving consistent care, which is one of the most crit- was combative in court. In 2015, there was a settlement ical aspects of any form of mental health treatment. The system in place also elim- with the Depart- inates medical recommendations made by ment of Justice psychiatrists, as they report to psychol- that would im- ogists, who often do not have a medical prove identifica- background and make the system-wide de- tion and treat- cisions. Mental health patients rarely get ment of mentally access to treatment, and reports often con- ill inmates and tradict this reality. Golding reported that expand staff sup- while department reports indicate that 95 port. Improve- percent of patients are being seen when scheduled, this ment was min- is true for less than 50 percent of patients. Oftentimes, imal, and in 2017, a U.S. District Judge threatened the prison officials provide false reports when unable to fol- California prison system with fines if it did not attend low through with the directed care of an inmate with to critical patients within the 24-hour period that was mental health issues. required by a class-action lawsuit from 1995 and a 2009 agreement from state officials. This is not the first time California has been facing these Unfortunately, reforms were much less effective than flaws in the corrections system. In 2011, the Supreme hoped for when implemented. Oftentimes, sentencing Court forced California to address the overcrowding of reforms have been limited to those who are not mental- its facilities. This in and of itself has been a factor in ly ill. For example, People v. Dobson ruled in 2016 that prisons that has been directly linked to poor mental defendants with mental illness would not be considered health rates in facilities. California’s regulatory reaction eligible to appeal for the benefits provided via Proposi- was slow and reluctant, only allowing this problem to tion 36 or the Three Strikes Reform Act. This attributes manifest. Even when these orders were followed, the to the increased length in sentences for those with men- Stanford Justice Advocacy Project found that they rarely tal illness as well as the fact that mentally ill inmates are benefitted the mentally ill. This resulted from the fact reprimanded for violating prison rules, violations that that prisons would address overcrowding by releasing are often a result of their mental state. Attempted sui- inmates with good behavior; inmates who were men- cide is included among the violations that result in dis- tally ill could not be considered. The study concluded ciplinary action and ineligibility to receive shorter sen- that community health treatment is far more effective tencing. The reform that was intended to truly address for patients and less dangerous for prison staff, not to the mental health rates in prison was the dramatic de- mention much cheaper than incarceration. crease in prison populations in California. While this ad- 59
dressed the issue of overcrowding, the mentally ill were recovery”. Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) has taken large ultimately left behind. These reforms would be largely steps for mental health reform with SB 755 in 2017 and based on behavior while incarcerated and those who are SB 215 in 2018. These bills have provided protections to mentally ill would often have some sort of disciplinary defendants with mental illness entering the California action during their sentence. In addition, early release prison system; however, 30 percent are already incar- was given to those who had participated in rehabilita- cerated and in need of reform that focuses on them in tive programming. If an inmate needed psychiatric care, the system. they were rarely able to also participate in these pro- grams. In 2016, Proposition 57 was a start to addressing Overall, the state can look at mental health reform as this bar against mentally ill inmates by stating that any a cost-benefit. Community-based care treatment costs therapeutic programs would also count as rehabilitative around $22,000 per year, while housing a state prison- programming to help facilitate the release of mentally er costs $70,000 a year without factoring in additional ill inmates. mental health costs. The wave of deinstitutional- Several reforms are needed The wave of ization has simply shifted the problem’s burden onto the prison system. Prisons are simply not to accommodate the increas- deinstitution- equipped for these mental health issues, which has ingly large proportion of in- alization has facilitated inhumane treatment that was thought mates that are mentally ill in to be done away with in the era of psychiatric in- the California prison system. simply shifted stitutional reform. California is under pressure to So far, most have addressed the problem’s acknowledge this problem by its Supreme Court, the prison facilities and their and now with the recent whistleblower, this new quality of care; however, burden onto the evidence can help fuel the change that is needed the increase can also be at- prison system. to protect some of the most marginalized in our tributed to lack of healthcare prison population. before entering the prison system. This necessitates additional mental health reforms. For one, the number psychiatric care beds has decreased 30 percent since 1995. Michael Bien, an attorney representing inmates, argues that within the prisons system, “the monitoring procedure has to be revised. We would advocate for some kind of unannounced visits … we have to be extra dili- gent”. Furthermore, Zima Creason from Mental Health for America highlights that a therapeutic environment is what is essentially necessary for mental health treat- ment and the prisons system, “is not conducive for real 60 SECTION
y now, almost everyone has AMBER heard the infuriating details GUYGER: of the murder of Botham A SYMPTOM OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN B Jean. As off-duty police offi- AMERICAN POLICING cer Amber Guyger tells it, she mis- by Dario McCarty takenly walked into Jean’s apart- ment and shot him dead, thinking nected with the Ferguson protests and harassing him until they even- him an intruder in her apartment. The idea that an African American have been found dead. Two were tually booked him on what Orta says man can be sitting idly in his own home, doing absolutely nothing found shot in the back of the head are sham, retaliatory charges. Orta wrong, and still find himself at risk of being shot by an overextending inside the back of burning cars, one now faces four years in prison, where police officer is so absurd it’s almost satirical. But make no mistake, this collapsed on a bus and three others he has been subjected to beatings, is not an anomaly to the way our country’s police force operates. were deemed suicides. One of the threats and attempted poisonings Less than two weeks after the shoot- latter, Danye Jones, according to his at the hands of correctional officers. ing of Botham Jean, Atatiana Jeffer- son was shot and killed in her own mother, had beating marks on his The fact of the matter is that black home by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean while playing video body. To this day she claims her activists face extreme persecution games with her nephew. The most agonizing part of it all: reports say son was lynched, despite Ferguson by both our country’s law enforce- it was supposed to be a wellness check. The people who are supposed police’s refusal to ment and prison to be these community’s protectors industry. One need have become what are effectively perform an autop- \"CLEARLY, EVEN AT THE state-sanctioned executioners, and the rift this has created will only sy and the subse- HIGHEST LEVELS OF only to look into the exacerbate problems in these com- quent suicide rul- most perfunctory of munities. How can someone be ex- ing by coroners. LAW-ENFORCEMENT, findings on the sub- pected to call the police when they are truly needed when incidents like Reports like these GOOD OLD FASHIONED ject for the illusory these happen all the time? are gravely con- veil of these sup- cerning and must AMERICAN RACISM IS posed American ide- After Guyger’s trial came the news that the woman who recorded the be looked upon ALIVE AND WELL. \" als of freedom and aftermath of the shooting was fired from her job and had her profes- with great scru- protest to be quickly sional license revoked for what her employer deemed as being a “black tiny, for all signs point to a brutal expunged and the naked truth of the radical.” Retaliations of these kinds are not uncommon and frequently and unpleasant truth about Amer- brutal, unjust reality of our country far more brutal in degree — this is just one of the sickening realities of ican policing. to lie exposed before you. black activism that often goes neg- ligently underreported. One of the Consider, for instance, the man who In comparison with Orta, Guyger’s organizers of the Ferguson protests, filmed the killing of Eric Garner, time in jail will likely be much eas- which happened in response to the Ramsey Orta: police followed him ier. For an idea of what she will ex- shooting of Michael Brown, found around for years, ominously shining perience in prison, look to the ex- a python planted in his car. Even lights into his house late at night perience of Robert Bates, a cop who more startling, six of the men con- UNITED STATES 61
reach out to federal officials for aid to bolster commu- nity relations and engender reform in troubled depart- ments. It will now be replaced by a program to target gang activity and violent crime, despite the fact that vi- olent crime is at a historic low. To make matters worse, the FBI has not made any mean- ingful efforts to address the escalating white supremacy issue in our nation’s police departments. Instead, it has been found, through leaked documents, that the FBI has has pivoted to focus upon “black identity extremists” through a program codenamed ‘Iron Fist’, which allo- cates department resources to investigate, spy on and surveil black activists. One target, Rakem Balogun, has already been arrested on behalf of this crusade under the pretense that Balogun was susceptible to “use force or violence in response to perceived racism and injustice in American society.” Considering the FBI began mon- itoring Balogun due to what they said was his “social New York Times media activity and attendance at protests”, two things which are explicitly protected by the First Amendment, was put in jail for a year and a half for fatally shooting we should all be greatly concerned. However, this is an unarmed, restrained black man Eric Harris. Bates was nothing new — it’s simply a continuation of the FBI’s under 24/7 protective custody, but the guards would long, illustrious history of using taxpayer dollars to un- let him out of his cell frequently, and he ended up not dermine and harass black activists under the guise of even serving half of the time he was supposed to, due to “national security.” Clearly, even at the highest levels of “good behavior.” Guyger’s experience will likely be much law-enforcement, good old fashioned American racism of the same — after all, the prison guards will view her is alive and well. as “one of them”, and police officers still think she didn’t do anything wrong. Clearly, our country’s black and brown communities need change on this issue, and they need it now. The question then becomes: how? For one, we know that al- lowing police to investigate themselves on these mat- ters is the most backwards and counter-intuitive solu- tion possible. One need only look at the case of LaQuan McDonald for the most crass and disgusting display of this; police officer Jason Van Dyke shot the 17-year-old youth 16 separate times as the youth was running away from him, and immediately after, Chicago PD tried des- perately to cover up everything that happened. Senior officials in the Department falsified police reports, re- fused the testimonies of eyewitnesses when they tried What we are witnessing is a profound, structural issue of white supremacy endemic to America’s police de- partments. According to a Reveal News investigation, hundreds of police officers across the nation were found to be in overtly racist, alt-right facebook groups, where officers would trade flagrantly racist and hateful memes, such as “DEATH TO ISLAM UNDERCOVER” or “White Lives Matter.” It’s also no secret that in clashes between protestors, such as the recent Unite the Right rallies, police have always favored the white-supremacist or- SANCganizations. For example, earlier this year in Portland, Oregon, a police lieutenant was caught texting and col- to give statements on what actually happened and luding with alt-right extremist groups in support of their planned the mysterious disappearence of some 86 min- marches. An FBI counter-terrorism report declassified utes of footage, including the time when McDonald was in 2015 warned of this rise of alt-right members in our shot, from the nearby Burger King’s CCTV cameras after police force. According to the report, white supremacist, police requested to review the footage. The fact of the white nationalist and far-right militias had made con- matter is that this fraternization of police officers and certed efforts and succeeded in infiltrating both state their code to always cover for one another will always be and local law enforcement. a roadblock to justice. In spite of all this, the Trump administration has all but The other problem is that local prosecutors rely on their halted federal oversight of police reform, in part by roll- city or town’s police departments to provide them with ing back the Obama era policy of “collaborative reform.” the evidence and testimony they need to secure convic- This program made it so that police departments could 62
tions, so when it comes to prosecuting police officers, the It has been seven years since George Zimmerman was conflict of interest is clear. The solution must be external acquitted in the murder of Trayvon Martin and six years investigative departments. Many black activists have de- since the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement. tailed plans for such a department, with one of the most Progress has been made but that progress has been slow popular proposals suggesting to establish a special pros- coming and nowhere near enough. The Botham Jean ecutor’s office at the state level for cases, specially desig- case is all the evidence one needs that, seven years later, nated for the investigation of police violence. This office America still has a profoundly racist complex in its po- would be required and authorized to investigate all such lice departments. The fact that the incident even hap- incidents and to have its Chief Prosecutor chosen from a pened, regardless of whether Guyger’s been punished or list of candidates given by community organizations in not, speaks volumes about the current state of policing order to minimize the potential for the office’s corrup- in America. It’s time to say enough is enough America, tion. Such a solution is only a piece of the puzzle, but it for our communities cannot afford to wait anymore for would be an incredibly important first step and would go piecemeal cursory reform; the time for real, meaningful a long way in correcting the grave, erroneous injustices change in our country’s police departments is now. that our current system is perpetrating. STATE CTIONED 63
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