text:
Denver Jail Inmates Sign Up For Healthcare
Inmates leaving a Denver jail already are a step behind in life because of their criminal records or pending charges. Add a health crisis and no insurance, and those trying to get their lives in order fall even further behind.
But the Denver Sheriff Department and Denver Human Services are trying to help by enrolling inmates in the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare.
Since March, 369 former inmates have been approved for Medicaid coverage, said Andrea Albo, deputy director of assistance for Denver Human Services. There are 408 pending applications, and a total of 1,059 people have applied, she said.
Those who are denied Medicaid enrollment are referred to Connect for Health Colorado, the state's health insurance exchange.
The American Jail Association is encouraging county detention centers across the country to do the same, according to the association's website.
The plan also is saving money for the sheriff's department, said Simon Crittle, a department spokesman.
Mass Incarceration's Collateral Damage: The Children Left Behind | The Nation
Steven Alexander was in sixth grade when his mother, Carmen
Demourelle, was sentenced to twelve years in prison for pickpocketing in
New Orleans's French Quarter. Though she was held in a women's prison
just an hour away, her four children could not telephone her and visited
only about once a year.
At the time of her arrest, Demourelle was working sporadically as a
beautician, though she was mainly making "fast money" by selling drugs
and picking pockets while her children were in school, she said. But
after school, she was an engaged and caring mother—until she was sent to
prison. "I missed everything about her," Alexander recalled. "I wanted
her home."
All four of Demourelle's children moved in with their grandmother,
who worked nights at a hospital. She supported them financially,
Alexander said, but their schoolwork suffered almost immediately without
their mother, who had been strict, especially about school. She hadn't
allowed them to play outside or turn on the television until their
homework was done. She enforced early bedtimes. And the children were
not allowed to spend time with neighbors deemed troublemakers.
Soon after their mother's sentencing, however, homework went undone,
forbidden friendships blossomed, and evenings at nightclubs became
common—even on school nights.
None of the children finished high school. Almost all struggled with
addiction. Steven's older brother Stanton got into constant fights. His
little sister, Sandria, was taunted by classmates, who told her: "If
your mother loved you, she wouldn't have gone to jail." While in ninth
grade, Sandria became pregnant and dropped out. Even the oldest,
Stanley, an honor student, quit school as a senior after getting his
girlfriend pregnant.
Steven stopped going to classes during the seventh grade. "I just wasn't interested anymore," he said.
read more ..... http://www.thenation.com/article/193121/mass-incarcerations-collateral-damage-children-left-behind
2013 Winter Newsletter
CCJRC
Supreme Court case could release thousands of people in Colorado
Thousands of inmates could be released from Colorado prisons if the state Supreme Court sides with a man who says he was incarcerated two years too long, his lawyers argue.
The high court heard arguments last week in the case of Randal Ankeney. The former attorney, 43, was released from prison in August 2013 after the Colorado Court of Appeals found that the Department of Corrections violated state law when it did not use good-time credit Ankeney earned to reduce the length of his sentence.
"They are not counting that good time toward anything," said Denver attorney David Lane, who is representing Ankeney. "That time just disappears."
The Department of Corrections has appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court. Department officials declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
In October 2007, Ankeney pleaded guilty to one count of negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury, according to state records. In exchange for his plea, Larimer County prosecutors dropped six felony sex assault charges.
Ankeney was sentenced to eight years in prison.
While serving his sentence at Fremont Correctional Facility in Cañon City, he enrolled in education and drug and alcohol programs and helped teach GED classes to inmates, according to filings in the case. By participating in the programs, Ankeney accumulated "earned-time credits," and his good behavior earned him additional "good-time credits."
Ankeney also spent much of his sentence in the prison's law library researching the state's complex parole scheme, which he claims requires the state to apply both his earned- and good-time credits when calculating his mandatory release date. Using that formula, Ankeney says he should have been released in November 2011 — after serving roughly half his sentence.
But the department applied only his earned-time credits, and he was denied parole.
When he was not released, Ankeney filed a petition in Fremont County District Court. The claim was denied at the district court level, but the state appeals court later agreed with Ankeney and ordered the district court to recalculate his mandatory release date.
"To try and muddle your way through the parole statutes, you need a road map and a compass," Lane said.
Ankeney's case has become as complicated as the 30-year-long, flip-flop history of the state's parole scheme. But, Lane says, if the case is successful, it will effectively change the way the Department of Corrections calculates mandatory release dates and force the release of thousands of inmates whose good time has not been applied to their release date.
James Quinn, an attorney with the Colorado Attorney General's office representing the DOC, says Ankeney and Lane are incorrectly interpreting state law. Quinn argues that good time may be applied to the date an inmate becomes eligible for parole, but is not applicable when calculating a mandatory release date.
"You cannot apply both deductions," Quinn told the state Supreme Court.
According to a written argument filed by Quinn, multiple offenders — the filing lists 62 cases — have filed similar petitions in district court. None of those cases have been successful, according to the filing.
Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said the length of prison sentences should be addressed in Colorado.
"Whether through this lawsuit or through legislation, Colorado needs to address the fact that it incarcerates far too many people for far too long," Silverstein said in an e-mail. "It's time to reverse the trend of mass incarceration that gobbled up too much of the state's budget for too little return."
During arguments before the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, observers packed into the wooden pews. One man scribbled notes on a scrap sheet of paper sitting on top of a stack of documents from the State Parole Board.
The justices quizzed Lane and Quinn on the math they were using to calculate mandatory release dates for inmates.
"Are we faced with saying these statutes are inconsistent?" Justice Nathan B. Coats asked. "How do we reconcile this?"
The high court will issue a written opinion at a later date.
Lane has also filed a federal lawsuit against the DOC on behalf of Ankeney and three other men challenging their mandatory release dates. That suit seeks compensatory damages.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp
Colorado Supreme Court case could prompt early release of prisoners
Aurora fire crews douse 2-alarm blaze at assisted living home; 1 injured
I-270 car fire near Commerce City closes lanes, causing Denver delays
Colorado may appoint doctors to overssee psychotropic medication to foster kids
PRESCRIPTION KIDS: Read the Denver Post special report on use of psychotropic drugs in the Colorado foster care system.
A medical director would oversee the levels of mind-altering psychotropic drugs prescribed to children and teenagers in Colorado's foster care system and at the Division of Youth Corrections under a budget request submitted this week.
For the first time, the state child welfare department wants to hire a staff of medical professionals — headed by a physician — to monitor prescription medication use in youth corrections and the child welfare system, as well as other health issues. Officials have asked the legislature's Joint Budget Committee for $700,000 to hire a contracted doctor and four staff members, including two nurses.
Colorado is one of only 10 states without a medical director overseeing the foster care system.
Rising numbers of foster children nationwide are prescribed potent psychotropic medications because of behavioral problems, anxiety and depression, often brought on by trauma in their lives. Child advocates have called for fewer drugs and more therapy to treat the root cause of the children's behavioral problems.
Critics say that few studies have examined side effects on children and that heavy doses make kids seem detached and sedated.
Take Care - Health Matters: Magalie Lerman
From Ferguson to Staten Island, Justice and Accountability Are Nowhere in Sight
- By gabriel sayegh
In New York City yesterday, a grand jury failed to indict the officer who killed Eric Garner in Staten Island.
The grand jury decision isn't just disappointing, it's downright alarming.
Grand juries aren't supposed to find innocence or guilt - they're
supposed to decide whether there is enough evidence to accuse someone
and bring them to trial.
The killing of Eric Garner was caught on camera and the video went
viral. The coroner ruled the death a homicide. In the face of such
compelling, awful evidence, the Garner family and communities across the
country reasonably expected some accountability.
In refusing to indict the officer who choked Eric Garner to death,
the grand jury is saying the loss of Garner's life doesn't require even
the most basic inquiry and process of a trial. Once again, the deep
flaws with our broken criminal justice system are exposed.
Unfortunately, these flaws are found not only in New York City, but
across the country. Last week in Ferguson, MO, a different grand jury
refused to indict the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown.
From discredited stop-and-frisk practices, to the controversial "broken
windows" policing, to the indefensible racial disparities in drug law
enforcement, systemic racism – long a part of the failed war on drugs –
is clearly a standard feature in our criminal justice system.
Yet because this racism is about systems and not individuals, it
makes it harder for some people to see and understand. In her
bestselling book The New Jim Crow,
law professor, Michelle Alexander, popularized the concept of systemic
racism by outlining the long history of racial subjugation in the U.S.
and its modern manifestations, wherein policies, institutional practices
and politics combine to criminalize, stigmatize and devalue people of
Yesterday, my colleague Yolande Cadore wrote
about these connections from Ferguson, where she's marching for justice
along with faith leaders from around the country. She wrote:
"Many may ask – what does the death of Michael
Brown and America's war on drugs have in common? My answer is simple:
Black lives matter. And other than slavery and Jim Crow laws, no other
social policy has served to devalue Black lives more than America's drug
In August, when nationwide protests erupted after the killing of Michael Brown, another DPA colleague, Sharda Sekaran, wrote about
how the war on drugs "fuels the underlying thread of judgment, stigma
and marginalization that permeates how we value human life and it
enables acts of violence."
These connections are becoming ever-more apparent in the light of
these tragedies and the subsequent absence of accountability or justice
for those who have lost their lives. A recent report by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement found that every 28 hours, a Black man is killed by police in the U.S.
Too often, those in power attempt to justify these killings by
engaging in character assassination of those who lost their lives.
Authorities will claim, for instance, that the person who was killed was
using drugs – both Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were accused of
marijuana use, as if this somehow justifies a death sentence.
Eric Garner was accused of selling cigarettes, as if this somehow
justifies a death sentence. These vulgar efforts at character
assassination, coupled with the tired calls to "respect the process" in a
broken criminal justice system, represent petty attempts to obscure the
brutal, ugly reality of systemic racism. In the wake of this latest miscarriage of justice, there are again
calls for reform. The president has promised change, the Department of
Justice has launched an investigation into the Garner case, and elected
officials in New York have promised action.
What will make these promises and investigations lead to justice and
accountability? The pressure brought by peoples movements – like those
that are growing now across the country.
We know that Black lives matter, regardless of what a grand jury
concludes. We know that our country can do better – and we must.
In the midst of our frustration, despair, and anger, let's redouble
our effort to build vibrant movements for real change, dismantle the New
Jim Crow, and advance justice, equity and human rights for all.
Remember CCJRC on Colorado Gives Day!
Take Care Health Matters
We are very excited to share with you the launch of the Take Care Health Matters website. The website serves as a tool and resource to assist justice involved individuals access health care due to the new opportunities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This website is part of CCJRC's larger health care access campaign, which we have been engaged in over the past year with our partners the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP).
TELL YOUR STORY!!!
http://takecarehealthmatters.org/stories/tell-your-story
An estimated 70% - 90% of justice involved individuals in Colorado are currently uninsured. The ACA offers unprecedented opportunities to help connect these justice involved individuals with health care. Not only do we believe the ACA promotes alternatives to the overuse of the criminal justice system, but connecting justice involved individuals with health care has been shown to reduce recidivism and improve the health and lives of individuals. The ACA also provides an opportunity to treat mental health and addiction disorders as a public health issue, not a criminal issue.
We are hopeful this website serves as a resource to increase the number of justice involved individuals who are able to utilize and access health care services in Colorado.
Specific on the website you'll find:
Video stories from both justice involved individuals and criminal justice staff sharing the importance of health care
A research library highlighting the significance and impact the ACA can have on justice involved individuals
Resources for justice involved individuals on who to contact to enroll in and access health care services, including behavioral health
Recorded webinars for health care, criminal justice, and community members
A professional guide geared towards health care, criminal justice, and community members to establish relationships and connect with one another
How to find a health care provider
We encourage you to take a look at the website and spend some time learning from the stories and information. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
We are extremely grateful for our partnership with CCLP and all of you who have helped contribute to this project. While the ACA offers new strategies to reform the criminal justice system, we know there are challenges and gaps in health care services, particularly for mental health and substance abuse treatment. CCJRC will continue to engage in, monitor, and work to improve the ability for justice involved individuals to enroll in and access health care. As always, we appreciate your continued support as we work to end mass incarceration and promote healthcare as a human right.
The Marshall Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization founded on two simple ideas:
1) There is a pressing national need for high-quality journalism about the American criminal justice system. The U.S. incarcerates more people than any country in the world. Spiraling costs, inhumane prison conditions, controversial drug laws, and concerns about systemic racial bias have contributed to a growing bipartisan consensus that our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform.
The recent disruption in traditional media means that fewer institutions have the resources to take on complex issues such as criminal justice. The Marshall Project stands out against this landscape by investing in journalism on all aspects of our justice system. Our work will be shaped by accuracy, fairness, independence, and impartiality, with an emphasis on stories that have been underreported or misunderstood. We will partner with a broad array of media organizations to magnify our message, and our innovative website will serve as a dynamic hub for the most significant news and comment from the world of criminal justice.
2) With the growing awareness of the system's failings, now is an opportune moment to amplify the national conversation about criminal justice.
We believe that storytelling can be a powerful agent of social change. Our mission is to raise public awareness around issues of criminal justice and the possibility for reform. But while we are nonpartisan, we are not neutral. Our hope is that by bringing transparency to the systemic problems that plague our courts and prisons, we can help stimulate a national conversation about how best to reform our system of crime and punishment.
A Letter from Our Founder
By Neil Barsky, 11.15.2014
The seeds of The Marshall Project were planted a few years ago after I read two books. The first, Michelle Alexander's "The New Jim Crow," argues that mass incarceration — which dates roughly from President Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs in the 1980s to the present—represents the third phase of African-American oppression in the United States, after slavery and Jim Crow. Alexander documents how the United States came to be the world's biggest jailer by enacting policies that represented a bipartisan shift in how we address addiction, mental illness, and other non-violent forms of misconduct. Fueled in part by a reaction to civil rights gains and in part by fear of escalating crime, Alexander claims, we enacted tough drug laws, imposed greater mandatory minimum sentences, and ignited a prison boom. Intent can be difficult to prove; impact is irrefutable.
The second, Gilbert King's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Devil in the Grove," explores the case of four African-American males falsely accused of rape in Lake County, Fla., and the vigilante violence that ensued. At the center of the drama was NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice, who bravely but largely futilely fought in Florida's courts to spare these young men's lives. This took place in 1949, before Brown v. Board of Education (a Marshall legal triumph) and before an organized national movement to combat the Jim Crow segregation laws. The national press did not cover the proceedings.
Spurred on by these chapters in American history, I continued to explore our country's system of crime and punishment. What struck me was not only how expensive, ineffective, and racially biased it is, and how difficult it is to find anyone, liberal or conservative, who defends the status quo. But also how our condition has become taken for granted. Other American crises — soaring health-care costs, the failure of public education — typically lead to public debate and legislative action. But the spike in mass incarceration appears to have had the opposite effect: The general public has become inured to the overuse of solitary confinement, the widespread incidence of prison rape and the mixing of teens and adults in hardcore prisons. The more people we put behind bars, it seemed, the more the issue receded from the public consciousness.
The Marshall Project represents our attempt to elevate the criminal justice issue to one of national urgency, and to help spark a national conversation about reform. I named our organization after Justice Marshall simply because he embodies the principles we hold dear. He was scholarly, he was courageous, and he fiercely believed that the U.S. Constitution was the template to secure civil rights for all.
The Marshall Project will practice open-minded, fact-based journalism without fear or favor. Our editor, Bill Keller, has assembled a first-class team of reporters and editors dedicated to excellence, nonpartisan reporting, and innovation. We are a journalism organization because we think that journalism, done honestly and well, has infinite power to drive change. One need only look to the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements to appreciate how important journalists were in shaping public opinion. We do not need to be strident or ideological or selective in our use of facts . When the truth is as disturbing as it was in the segregated South, or in Vietnam, or today's prisons and courts, truthful reporting can have a powerful impact. We will explore what is working as well as what is broken, and where the potential exists for meaningful reform. Our commentary section will be written by individuals whose views encompass a broad range of perspectives. Our board of advisers, for example, includes both the inspirational civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson from the Equal Justice Initiative, and the conservative thinker Marc Levin from Right on Crime, both of whom have devoted their careers to making our system more humane and effective.
Being nonpartisan is not the same as being neutral. We approach the issue with the view — shared by a growing number of conservatives and liberals — that our system needs serious rethinking. Thank you for your interest in The Marshall Project, and please do not hesitate to tell us what you think.
A Letter from Our Editor
By Bill Keller, 11.15.2014
In March I left The New York Times after 30 years there as a reporter, editor and columnist to help launch something new: a non-profit newsroom devoted to coverage of the American criminal justice system.
In the ensuing months we have assembled a diverse team of journalists, set in motion a wide range of reporting projects, built a website to serve as a worthy stage for our journalism, and begun to forge partnerships with a range of established media organizations that will amplify our voice.
We are not here to promote any particular agenda or ideology. But we have a sense of mission. We want to move the discussion of our institutions of justice — law enforcement, courts, prisons, probation — to a more central place in our national dialogue. We believe, as the great jurist Thurgood Marshall did, that protection under the law is the most fundamental civil right in a free society. Yet, by the numbers, the United States is a global outlier, with a prison population matched by no nation except, possibly, North Korea, with a justice system that disproportionately afflicts communities of need and of color, with a corrections regime that rarely corrects.
We aim to accomplish our mission through probing, fair-minded journalism, combining investigative rigor, careful analysis, and lively storytelling. We will examine the failings of our criminal justice system — but also test promising reforms. While a number of news organizations are doing distinguished reporting on crime and punishment, the journalistic energy devoted to this kind of reporting, time consuming and expensive as it is, has been sapped by the financial traumas of the news industry. Our aim is both to restore some of that lost energy and to be a catalyst for coverage elsewhere. We will publish the fruits of our reporting here and expand our audience by collaborating with first-rate newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and other online news sites.
In addition to our original reporting, we will compile the most interesting news and commentary from around the world of criminal justice, distributing our findings in our daily email, and offer this site as a hub for debate and accord. We are nonpartisan and nonideological, which means you will find here the voices of progressives and conservatives, centrists and provocateurs. As it happens, criminal justice is one of the few areas of public policy where there is a significant patch of common ground between right and left.
We are also nonprofit, dependent on the generosity of foundations and individuals. Our website and email are free of charge, but we invite you to click the "donate" button if you find The Marshall Project to be of interest and value. And join the conversation on social media or through our Letters to the Editor feature.
Randy Ankeney suit that could release thousands headed to Supreme Court
Westword
Randy Ankeney was once a rising star in the Colorado Republican party, only to become a pariah after being found guilty of numerous sex crimes. However, he now has the opportunity to impact the state in a completely different way. A complaint he brought about alleged prisoner-release violations by the Colorado Department of Corrections is headed to the state supreme court, and if it's successful, his attorney, David Lane, says it could result in potentially thousands of inmates who've been incarcerated too long being freed. Details, more photos and original documents below.
See also: Clayton Lockett Botched Execution: Denver's David Lane Files Suit Over "Disgrace to USA"
The case is exceedingly complex, but Lane, who just spoke to us about the lawsuit he filed on behalf of Clayton Lockett, the Oklahoma killer whose execution was horribly botched earlier this year, sees its possible impact as simple. In his words, "The State of Colorado will immediately have to parole thousands of inmates if we win."
Ankeney, who was trained as a lawyer, has already won related cases at lower court levels -- a contrast to the court appearances that led to his incarceration. A 2006 Colorado Independent piece details his fall. Described by the site as a "prominent onetime appointee in former Governor Bill Owens' administration who was being groomed as a future GOP leader in Colorado," Ankeney made the wrong kind of headlines in 2001, when he was arrested on suspicion of "picking up a thirteen-year old girl he had met on the Internet, taking her to his home, getting her drunk and stoned on marijuana, taking topless photos of her and trying to coerce her into having sex with him."
Five years later, Ankeney got into trouble again, this time in regard to a twenty-year-old woman. The Independent notes that he was " originally slapped with three felony sex offenses and two misdemeanor charges, ranging from sexual assault to false imprisonment." According to the opening brief to the Colorado Supreme Court (one of three documents shared here), the cumulative cases resulted in convictions for child abuse -- negligently cause serious bodily injury, plus third-degree sexual assault and stalking -- emotional distress.
For these crimes, Ankeney was sentenced to a total of eight years, with the possibility of parole after considerably less time -- and when that parole should have kicked in is the crux of the Supreme Court case.
"Envision a sentence as a timeline," Lane says, "with your first day of incarceration on the left and the inmate serving time from left to right. The first significant date is the parole eligibility date. That's determined by statute as 50 percent of the sentence" -- in Ankeney's case, four years -- "if you've been behaving yourself. And the other significant date is the mandatory release date, when they can't hold you any longer -- they have to parole you. And good behavior should make that timeline move back from right to left."
Rick Raemish, executive director of Colorado's Department of Corrections, seen in a 7News interview, is among the plaintiffs named in the complaint.
Other credits can reduce sentences even further. If, for example, "someone's got a job in the prison," Lane says, "he can get another ten days a month off his parole eligibility date," and educational earned time can knock off an additional five days per month -- although the parole board has discretion about how it applies both of these credits. There are fewer choices in regard to so-called earned time for good behavior. Although Ankeney's accumulated credits meant he could have been released after just three years, Lane says, "once he hit that four-year mark, he had to be paroled, because he had all his credits. If you read the law, it says this is mandatory: If you're behaving yourself, you shall be given a good-time credit per month."
However, Lane argues that the DOC "is refusing to use good time to calculate your mandatory release date." As a result, "they said Ankeney's mandatory release date wouldn't hit until he'd served six years and change."
In response, Lane goes on, "Ankeney called bullshit and filed his own case in district court."
He lost his first attempt "because the parole statutes are massively complicated and confusing," Lane points out. "But then he took his own appeal to the Court of Appeals and won."
Kids For Cash: Inside One of the Nation's Most Shocking Juvenile Justice Scandals | Democracy Now!
Please be disturbed by this. Today a special on "kids for cash," the shocking story of how thousands
of children in Pennsylvania were jailed by two corrupt judges who
received $2.6 million in kickbacks from the builders and owners of
private prison facilities. We hear from two of the youth: Charlie
Balasavage was sent to juvenile detention after his parents unknowingly
bought him a stolen scooter; Hillary Transue was detained for creating a
MySpace page mocking her assistant high school principal. They were
both 14 years old and were sentenced by the same judge, Judge Mark
Ciavarella, who is now in jail himself — serving a 28-year sentence.
Balasavage and Transue are featured in the new documentary, "Kids for
Cash," by filmmaker Robert May, who also joins us. In addition, we speak
to two mothers: Sandy Fonzo, whose son Ed Kenzakoski committed suicide
after being imprisoned for years by Judge Ciavarella, and Hillary's
mother, Laurene Transue. Putting their stories into context of the
larger scandal is attorney Robert Schwartz, executive director of the
Juvenile Law Center. The story is still developing: In October, the
private juvenile-detention companies in the scandal settled a civil
lawsuit for $2.5 million.
After the Murder of Tom Clements, Can Colorado's Prison System Rehabilitate Itself? by Alan Prendergast
When Tom Clements accepted the job of executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections three years ago, he knew he was taking on an enormous challenge. Two particularly alarming sets of figures, trends that he believed to be more than casually related, caught his eye immediately.
One had to do with the excessive use of solitary confinement in order to isolate and punish the state's most troublesome prisoners. The other was the staggeringly high failure rate of parole.
Clements was a numbers guy. A native of the Show Me State, he valued empirical data more than gut instincts or sacred cows. A former parole officer who'd worked his way up to the top ranks of the Missouri state prison system, he was part of a growing reform movement in corrections: the promulgation of "evidence-based practices" by administrators whose idea of managing offenders is turning them into productive citizens again rather than simply moving them around. What mattered were hard numbers and programs with a track record of successful outcomes, and the data on the Colorado DOC wasn't good.
Tom Clements.
New DOC head Rick Raemisch was told to honor the legacy of Tom Clements.
At the time that Clements arrived, Colorado had close to 1,500 inmates in solitary, or administrative segregation — which worked out to be about seven times the national average. Only a quarter of those in lockdown were there because of assaults on staff or other inmates; ad-seg had become the one-size-fits-all method of dealing with the mentally ill, suspected gang members, chronic screwups, or anyone else who appeared to be at risk of harm or of harming others. The average stay in isolation was nearly two years. Worse, 47 percent of the ad-seg prisoners completed their sentences in lockdown and were paroled directly to the street, with little or no preparation for the move from an eight-by-ten-foot cell to city life.
Forty-seven percent. As Clements saw it, that figure had a lot to do with some other dismal figures: the state's stubbornly high recidivism rate, hovering around 50 percent, and the steady return of thousands of parole violators to prison within months of their release.
The subject of Colorado's ad-seg problem figured prominently in the discussions of the executive-director job that Clements had with Governor John Hickenlooper. Without mentioning any names, Hickenlooper made passing reference to one prisoner, the son of a friend, who'd spent the bulk of his sentence in lockdown because of disciplinary problems. Clements took the position that the routine release of damaged, violent felons directly from isolation wasn't simply a parole problem, but a threat to public safety.
Reducing the use of solitary confinement became one of the new chief's top priorities. He pushed for more frequent and thorough reviews of who was in ad-seg and why, as well as initiatives to get prisoners out of isolation and into classes, drug treatment and mental-health programs before release. During his first two years on the job, the state's ad-seg population dropped by nearly 50 percent. Clements was encouraged by the progress, but hardly satisfied.
"It's only a matter of time," he told one top deputy, "until something goes bad."
His prediction proved to be all too accurate. But not even the new chief expected it to go quite as bad as it did, literally on his own doorstep. On the evening of March 19, 2013, Clements answered the doorbell at his Monument home and was confronted by a parole absconder named Evan Ebel — the same "son of a friend" Hickenlooper had mentioned during Clements's 2011 job interview. Released from ad-seg just seven weeks earlier, Ebel had already killed Nathan Leon, a pizza delivery driver, just to get his uniform. Ebel fatally shot Clements with a nine-millimeter handgun and fled, only to be killed himself two days later in a shootout with Texas authorities.
Almost eighteen months later, many questions about the death of Tom Clements remain unanswered. Authorities have described it as a gang-ordered assassination. Citing unnamed sources, the Denver Post has even suggested that it was a murder for hire, commissioned by a Saudi national who'd been denied a transfer out of a Colorado prison just days earlier. But aside from Stevie Vigil, the young woman who supplied Ebel with his gun, no charges have been filed against anyone in the case — and longtime friends of Ebel, citing letters and a recorded message he left behind, have insisted that the murder was an act of personal vengeance against a system that he despised.
Trying to make sense of a senseless killing has put considerable strain not only on investigators, but on DOC officials, as well, who have struggled to define what sort of "lesson," if any, can be gleaned from the tragedy. On one hand, Rick Raemisch, the current director, has expressed his determination to honor Clements's legacy, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of mentally ill prisoners in ad-seg. But the shock and outrage of the slaying has also led to a major shakeup in the department's leadership team and retrenchment in many critical areas, including parole. Clements had set out to change not only the direction of DOC policy, but also the agency's internal culture, and many of his initiatives are now on hold or have been quietly scrapped. While the system failures exposed by Ebel's rampage have generated a flurry of new legislation and heightened security measures, some observers wonder if Clements's death has also jeopardized reforms that he regarded as long overdue.
continue reading Westword article
Sentencing, by the Numbers
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — IN a recent letter to the United States Sentencing Commission, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sharply criticized the growing trend of evidence-based sentencing, in which courts use data-driven predictions of defendants' future crime risk to shape sentences. Mr. Holder is swimming against a powerful current. At least 20 states have implemented this practice, including some that require risk scores to be considered in every sentencing decision. Many more are considering it, as is Congress, in pending sentencing-reform bills.
Risk-assessment advocates say it's a no-brainer: Who could oppose "smarter" sentencing? But Mr. Holder is right to pick this fight. As currently used, the practice is deeply unfair, and almost certainly unconstitutional. It contravenes the principle that punishment should depend on what a defendant did, not on who he is or how much money he has.
The basic problem is that the risk scores are not based on the defendant's crime. They are primarily or wholly based on prior characteristics: criminal history (a legitimate criterion), but also factors unrelated to conduct. Specifics vary across states, but common factors include unemployment, marital status, age, education, finances, neighborhood, and family background, including family members' criminal history.
Such factors are usually considered inappropriate for sentencing; if anything, some might be mitigating circumstances. But in the new, profiling-based sentencing regimen, markers of socioeconomic disadvantage increase a defendant's risk score, and most likely his sentence.
Advocates of punishment profiling argue that it gives sentencing a scientific foundation, allowing better tailoring to crime-prevention goals. Many hope it can reduce incarceration by helping judges identify offenders who can safely be diverted from prison.
While well intentioned, this approach is misguided. The United States inarguably has a mass-incarceration crisis, but it is poor people and minorities who bear its brunt. Punishment profiling will exacerbate these disparities — including racial disparities — because the risk assessments include many race-correlated variables. Profiling sends the toxic message that the state considers certain groups of people dangerous based on their identity. It also confirms the widespread impression that the criminal justice system is rigged against the poor.
It is naïve to assume judges will use the scores only to reduce sentences. Judges, especially elected ones, will face pressure to harshly sentence those labeled "high risk." And even if risk scores were used only for diversion from prison, it would still be wrong to base them on wealth and demographics, reserving diversion for the relatively privileged.
Evidence-based sentencing also raises serious constitutional concerns. The Supreme Court has consistently held that otherwise-impermissible discrimination cannot be justified by statistical generalizations about groups, even if those generalizations are on average accurate. People have a right to be treated as individuals, and individuals often do not conform to group averages.
For example, in its 1983 decision in Bearden v. Georgia, the court unanimously rejected the state's contention that a defendant could have his probation revoked because his recent job loss increased his crime risk. The court held that "lumping him together with other poor persons and thereby classifying him as dangerous ... would be little more than punishing a person for his poverty."
Litigation has been slow in coming, however. The risk-prediction instruments are not very transparent (some are proprietary corporate products), and defendants may not understand the role of poverty and personal characteristics. But challenges could be on the horizon. For example, I recently participated in training the Michigan defense counsel on constitutional objections to evidence-based sentencing, in preparation for the state's impending implementation.
Of course, judges have always considered future crime risk informally, and it's worth considering whether actuarial methods can help make those predictions more accurate. The problem isn't risk assessment per se; it's basing scores on demographics and socioeconomics. Instead, scores could be based on past and present conduct, and perhaps other factors within the defendant's control.
Data-driven predictions grounded in legitimate factors might be about as accurate as current profiling schemes. There is no persuasive evidence that the current troubling variables add much predictive value, once criminal conduct is already taken into account. But even if they do improve accuracy, this gain doesn't justify sacrificing fairness.
Criminal justice policy should be informed by data, but we should never allow the sterile language of science to obscure questions of justice. I doubt many policy makers would publicly defend the claim that people should be imprisoned longer because they are poor, for instance. Such judgments are less transparent when they are embedded in a risk score. But they are no more defensible.
Dear [fname]
Hi there!!! CCJRC was awarded a grant to attend and participate in a class for Digital Storytelling for Nonprofits. We created a movie and now we are in the running for a fabulous prize…
These are digital stories that nonprofit organizations created as part of their participation in Open Media Foundation's Digital Storytelling for Nonprofits class.
Winning videos will be announced on Friday August 8th at 7pm, during the live show 'SparqU Presents: The Perfect Pitch for Nonprofits'". If you have already voted for this, thank you!!
Can you go to the link below and vote for "Floorboards" ? Floorboards was written about the story of a son's experience of his mother's incarceration and their eventual reunion. This is a preview of the live performance that you will be able to see at the CCJRC "Voices for Justice" 6th Annual Fundraiser
Thank you so much!!! (After you get to the Open Media website you have to click on the red stars under the title until they turn yellow and the vote count actually changes).
https://www.denveropenmedia.org/projects/digital-storytelling-nonprofits
Don't forget to get your tickets to the
CCJRC's 2014 6th Annual Fundraiser
VOICES FOR JUSTICE
5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m
COCKTAILS AND CUISINE
BOXES AND BASKETS SILENT AUCTION
2027 West Lower Colfax
CATERED BY FOOTERS
Early bird tickets: $85
ON SALE NOW!!
PLEASE JOIN US FOR ANOTHER WONDERFUL EVENING!
This year, we are honoring Claire Levy for her invaluable contribution to criminal justice reform. As House Representative, she carried a significant number of bills vital to reducing recidivism, implementing smarter sentencing and drug policy, expanding funding for treatment, increasing alternatives to incarceration, and providing resources to people with criminal convictions. Her work on the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) was exemplary as is her current work as Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.
CCJRC has been successfully advocating for sensible criminal justice reform in Colorado for more than a decade. We were founded in 1999 when Senator Dorothy Rupert, in alliance with Representative Penfield Tate, introduced legislation calling for a three-year halt on prison expansion and the creation of a task force on sentencing reform. Today, CCJRC includes more than 100 community organizations and faith communities and nearly 6,500 individual members statewide. We have worked diligently over the years to develop criminal justice policies and grassroots campaigns that effectively promote public safety and rehabilitation while reducing the prison population.
The Rupert Tate Game Changer Award honors its two co-founders and their prescience in challenging the criminal justice status quo in Colorado. It is a great honor to extend this award to
Claire Levy
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I'd like to Sponsor this event!!!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Prison (HBO)
John Oliver destroys drug war: "A little draconian, and a lot racist"
U.S. Sentencing Commission cuts prison terms for 46,000 inmates
he U.S. Sentencing Commission voted Friday to slash sentences for 46,000 inmates serving time for drug offenses, the latest move in a concerted effort by state and federal officials to ease decades-old policies that have clogged jails and prisons.
If the move is not blocked by Congress, more than two-thirds of federal prisoners incarcerated for drug crimes will be eligible for sentence reductions averaging more than two years.
The commission decided in April to reduce future sentences. Friday's vote extends the same approach retroactively to those already serving time, starting Nov. 1, 2015.
Atty. Gen Eric H. Holder Jr. originally asked the commission, a group of judges and other lawyers who establish sentencing policies, to take a much narrower approach that would affect just 20,000 inmates.
But Holder said Friday he supports the new policy. "This is a milestone in the effort to make more efficient use of our law enforcement resources and to ease the burden on our overcrowded prison system, " he said in a statement.
Judge Patti B. Saris, chair of the commission, said, "This amendment received unanimous support from commissioners because it is a measured approach. It reduces prison costs and populations, and responds to statutory and guidelines changes since the drug guidelines were initially developed, while safeguarding public safety."
No prisoner would be released until a judge reviews their case to determine whether a reduced sentence poses a risk to public safety.
The House and Senate would have to vote by Nov. 1 to block the plan. But there has been bipartisan support in both houses for a broad change in prison policies.
Study Finds Racial Disparity in Prosecutions
Black and Hispanic defendants are more likely to be held in jail before trial and more likely to be offered plea bargains that include a prison sentence than whites and Asians charged with the same crimes, according to a two-year study of prosecutions handled by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The study, by the Vera Institute of Justice, found that race was a significant factor at nearly every stage of criminal prosecutions in Manhattan, from setting bail to negotiating a plea deal to sentencing.
But race was not the sole factor, the study's authors said. A number of legal considerations were found to be more important in predicting a defendant's fate, among them the seriousness of the charge and the defendant's arrest record.
Nicholas Turner, the president of the institute, said researchers could not determine what caused the unequal treatment. "It could be implicit bias," he said. "It could also be race-neutral policies that end up having a particular disparate effect."
The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said he was concerned that racial disparities had cropped up, especially in the areas of pretrial detention and sentencing. He promised to move forward with "implicit bias" training for his assistants to guard against unconscious prejudices in their decision-making.
"I'm glad to know the information," Mr. Vance said in an interview. "It's more important that we find out, ask the question and deal directly with what is uncovered, rather than failing to ask the question at all."
Funded by the Justice Department, the study grew out of Mr. Vance's campaign promise to determine whether race played a role in the decisions of prosecutors. In a rare move, his office opened its books to the institute's analysts for 2010 and 2011 and gave them unfettered access.
The study is one of the largest of its kind to be done in the United States, and its findings echoed what smaller studies had found in places like Milwaukee. The authors examined 222,542 resolved prosecutions over two years, scrutinizing data for all misdemeanors and a selection of felonies, including drug offenses.
The report comes at a time of heightened public debate across the nation about whether the criminal justice system treats people of different races equally. That debate drove the legal battle over the stop-and-frisk program in New York City and has prompted the United States attorney general to order an examination of federal convictions and sentencing guidelines.
"It is consistent with other studies," Don Stemen, an associate professor of criminology at Loyola University in Chicago, said. "Even when controlling for all these legal factors, race still has an impact."
One of the starkest disparities emerged in the prosecution of misdemeanor drug crimes like possession of marijuana or cocaine. The study found blacks were 27 percent more likely than whites to receive jail or prison time for misdemeanor drug offenses, while Hispanic defendants were 18 percent more likely to be incarcerated for those crimes.
The study's authors, Besiki Luka Kutateladze and Nancy R. Andiloro, looked at five key points in a criminal case when prosecutors have significant discretion. They examined the prosecutor's decisions about which cases to accept, which to dismiss, what to recommend at bail hearings, what plea bargains to offer and what sentences to recommend.
Race turned out to be a statistically significant factor at every stage, save the initial decision to accept cases, the study found.
Blacks were 10 percent more likely than whites to be remanded to jail before trial or to be unable to make bail. Asians fared even better than whites when it came to remaining free before trial: 24 percent of white defendants were detained, but only 14 percent of Asians were held.
Prosecutors were also found to be more likely to offer black and Hispanic defendants plea deals on misdemeanors that included jail time. Forty percent of black defendants and 36 percent of Hispanic defendants were offered plea deals involving incarceration, rather than probation or community service. That ratio for whites was 33 percent, and for Asians, 17 percent.
At sentencing, blacks were also found to be slightly more likely to be sentenced to jail than whites and Latinos, with Asians significantly less likely to receive jail terms.
Naional Blueprint for Drug Policy Reform
National Blueprint for Drug Policy Reform
Can't believe this is on the White House website.
Today, we will unveil the latest update to President Obama's plan for reducing drug use and its consequences, the 2014 National Drug Control Strategy. This Strategy, which continues to be shaped by the input of people across the country like you, rejects the notion that we can arrest and incarcerate our way out of the nation's drug problem. Instead, it builds on decades of research demonstrating that while law enforcement should always remain a vital piece to protecting public safety, addiction is a brain disorder—one that can be prevented and treated, and from which people recover.
Watch the release of the Strategy live today, Wednesday, July 9th, at 10 a.m. EST.
Data have shown that in several major U.S. counties, crime and substance use are linked. Most recently, we saw that in five counties, one-third or more of adult male arrestees tested positive for an illicit substance at the time of their arrest. Only one-quarter or fewer of all arrestees had ever participated in any outpatient drug or alcohol treatment and less than 30% had ever participated in any inpatient drug or alcohol treatment. Many of these men will be caught in a painful cycle of arrest, incarceration, substance use disorders, and re-arrest. Our prisons and jails are already overcrowded with people who desperately need compassionate, evidence-based treatment for the disease of addiction--not a jail cell.
The plan we released today calls for reforming our criminal justice system to find alternatives to incarceration – and effective interventions across the entire system to get people the treatment they need.
Here's the problem: far too often, for people who need it most, the criminal justice system can seem like the only way to get help for a substance use disorder. That's because until recently, prohibitively high costs and limited access to treatment put it out of reach for millions of people in need.
We know that only about 10 percent of people with a diagnosable substance use disorder actually receives treatment at a specialty facility. While several factors contribute to this abysmal statistic, much of that disparity is owed to a lack of healthcare coverage – and that's about to change. Through a rule made possible by the Affordable Care Act, we are requiring insurers to treat substance use disorders in the same way they would any other chronic disease. Specifically, this new rule expands coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services to 62 million Americans.
The plan we released today calls on healthcare providers to prevent and treat addictive disorders just like they would treat any other chronic disorder, like diabetes or heart disease. It calls on law enforcement, courts, and doctors to collaborate with each other to treat addiction as a public health issue, not a crime.
We chose to release the 2014 Strategy in Roanoke because, in three important ways, it's a microcosm of the policies our office has been promoting since 2009:
Access to treatment, a focus on prevention, and compassion. Roanoke is home to one of the largest behavioral healthcare centers in the region. The center is co-located with a Drug Free Communities coalition, which prevents substance use among at-risk youth, and a program called Project Link, which helps opioid-dependent women and pregnant mothers get treatment and give birth to drug-free babies.
Alternatives to incarceration. In 2011, the Roanoke Police Department worked with community and faith leaders in the Hurt Park neighborhood to shut down the open-air drug market operating there and drastically reduce violent crime in the area. As part of this intervention, community leaders came together to offer the low-level, non-violent drug offenders involved in the sweep a life-changing alternative: either face prosecution and lengthy sentences, or change your lives with the support of the community. In Roanoke, I met with one of those ex-offenders who is now employed full-time and caring for his family.
Local solutions for local challenges. In a corner building in downtown Roanoke operates a community action center with roots in President Lyndon Johnson's landmark anti-poverty legislation. Half a century ago, local leaders established what is now called Total Action for Progress (TAP), which operates 30 programs in the Roanoke Valley region aimed at improving employment opportunities at-risk youth, early childhood development, and re-entry and support services for veterans. I visited TAP to speak with young people and a veteran whose lives have been changed by these programs, and was inspired by their stories of hope.
Like the rest of the country, Roanoke has seen a devastating rise in heroin and prescription painkiller abuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths surpass homicides and traffic crashes in the number of injury deaths in America.[1] In 2011, more than 110 Americans, on average, died from overdose every day. Prescription painkillers were involved in over 16,900 deaths that year. Heroin was involved in more than 4,300.[2]
In response to this opioid epidemic, this Strategy updates the President's 2011 Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan by calling for increased access to naloxone, a lifesaving overdose-reversal medication.
The widespread use of naloxone in the hands of law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel will save lives. It can also serve as a critical intervention point to get people into treatment and on the path to recovery.
Today, there are millions of Americans in recovery from substance use disorders who are healthy, responsible, and engaged members of their communities. The Strategy outlines steps to help lift the stigma associated with substance use disorders. It also works to reform the laws and regulations that impede recovery from substance use disorders, including those that place obstacles in the way of housing, employment, and obtaining a driver's license or student loan because of a prior conviction for a drug-related offense.
The National Drug Control Strategy released today is rooted in the belief that illicit drug use is a public health issue, not just a criminal justice problem. As the innovative law enforcement and social support programs in Roanoke prove, this philosophy can reduce illicit drug use while building healthier, safer, more vibrant communities.
The Seond Chance Act Proves it's Worth
With corrections costs exceeding $60 billion a year, state and local governments are rightly focused on making sure that newly released prisoners stay out of jail instead of coming back in through a revolving door.
The Second Chance Act, signed into law by George W. Bush in 2008, was designed to give momentum to this effort, providing money and training for states, local governments and nonprofit organizations to help former prisoners readjust to the community. But as it stands, federal government spending on Second Chance Act programs amounts to less than $100 a year for each newly released prisoner — far less than the programs need and deserve.
A new study from the National Reentry Resource Center, created under the Second Chance Act, shows that recidivism rates can be significantly reduced when states commit to jailing only people who present a risk to public safety and to helping newly released prisoners find drug treatment, psychiatric counseling and the other services they need for a successful transition to the world beyond bars.
The report compared the three-year recidivism rates for people released in 2007 to those of people released in 2010 for eight states — Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin — and found that the percentage declines in recidivism rates ranged from 5.8 percent in Colorado to 19.3 percent in North Carolina.
North Carolina, for example, learned that probation revocations accounted for half of its prison admissions and that three-quarters of those sent to prison based on such revocations had not committed new offenses. The State Legislature enacted sweeping reforms. It intensified community supervision, and it gave probation officers better training and allowed them to use other sanctions for people who violated the rules, like punishing them with two or three days in the local jail instead of sending them back to prison for lengthy stays.
The state also established local re-entry councils that direct newly released inmates to social services to help them readjust to the community. The new measures drove down recidivism, allowing North Carolina to close nine correctional facilities, hire more probation officers and lend more support to drug treatment and other transitional programs.
The Second Chance Act has a crucial role to play by providing seed money for new reforms and helping to distinguish what works from what does not. Given the scope of the task at hand — and the fact that 700,000 people will be released from prison this year — the federal government should be spending far more than the $67.7 million that went for this purpose in the 2014 fiscal year. A higher level of expenditure would more than pay for itself in terms of lower corrections costs.
From the bill signing for HB 1355
CCJRC was excited to be invited to the bill signing for HB 1355, thanks to Rep. Kagan and Senator Guzman for all of their work.
Mass Incarceration's Collateral Damage: The Childr...
Supreme Court case could release thousands of peop...
Colorado may appoint doctors to overssee psychotro...
From Ferguson to Staten Island, Justice and Accoun...
Randy Ankeney suit that could release thousands he...
Kids For Cash: Inside One of the Nation's Most Sho...
After the Murder of Tom Clements, Can Colorado's P...
John Oliver destroys drug war: "A little draconian...
U.S. Sentencing Commission cuts prison terms for 4...


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Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Roseanne Barr is the Trump era.
In the wake of Barr's racist tweets from earlier today, ABC has cancelled her show. "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values," ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey announced in a written statement.
The Barr fiasco is the latest example of the trouble mainstream institutions face as American public opinion frays in the Trump era. Mainstream media is geared towards representing the political center but accommodating both political parties. Just as The Atlantic found itself ensnared in controversy over hiring the inflammatory conservative polemicist Kevin Williamson, so ABC learned that hiring Barr meant being responsible for her most repellent opinions.
The inspiration for rebooting Barr's show was to give Trump supporters a program that mirrors their experiences. But the show centers around a figure who embodied the darkest impulses of the times, including conspiracy mongering and racism.
As Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent suggests, even many Trump supporters are likely to be wary of Barr's particularly naked racism:
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that a lot of Trump voters would be appalled by Roseanne's virulent racism as well.
So anyone (say, Trump himself) who tried to turn Roseanne into a symbol of Trump's America was actually showing contempt for large portions of it.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 29, 2018
The Roseanne show was a huge hit, with roughly 10 per cent of Americans watching the first show. Subsequent episodes tapered off in ratings but still drew an impressive audience. President Donald Trump himself hailed the ratings success of the show and called up Barr to congratulate her.
The cancellation is likely to add gasoline to the already burning culture wars. Even in the unlikely event Trump remains quiet, many of his supporters will decry the cancellation as yet another example of political correctness run amok. Conversely, Trump's opponents will see it as further proof that the Republican Party has been taken over by paranoid bigots.
ABC's goal was surely nothing more than ratings, which they got. But they also received a lesson: that you can't profit from polarization without also being burned by it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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North Korea says door remains 'open' for US tourists
A photo taken on July 22, 2017 shows a general view of the West Sea Barrage beach outside the coastal city of Nampho, southwest of Pyongyang. The West Sea Barrage beach features as a stopping point for foreign tourists, and is a destination for North Korean work groups from the neighbouring area. The beach lies at the end of an eight-kilometre-long barrage that separates the sea from the Taedong River, which runs through Pyongyang. / AFP PHOTO / Ed JONES
North Korea's doors are still open to US tourists, Pyongyang said Friday, despite Washington banning its citizens from travelling there following the death of a US student who had been jailed in the country.
The US prohibition, which comes into effect September 1, was introduced after officials said the "serious risk" of arrest by Pyongyang authorities during tourist travel presented an "imminent danger to the physical safety" of its nationals.
The move was triggered by the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour in the North for trying to steal a propaganda poster during a tourist visit but was released in a mysterious coma in June and died soon afterwards.
But a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said Americans were still welcome.
"We will always leave our door wide open to any US citizen who would like to visit our country out of good will," he said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Washington's State Department has declared US passports invalid for travel to, in or through North Korea.
No details of how US visitors might travel to the country in the circumstances were provided by the spokesman.
"There isn't any reason for the foreigners to feel threat to their safety in the DPRK which has the most stable and strong state system," he said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.
A few Americans have faced "due punishments in accordance with the laws of the DPRK" for committing crimes against the state, he added.
Tour companies say some 5,000 Western tourists visit the North each year, with US citizens making up about 20 percent of the market.
Warmbier's death added to already high tensions in the region over North Korea's weapons ambitions.
In recent weeks Pyongyang has launched two successful tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say could reach US territory.
North KoreaOtto Warmbier
Abaribote, other Abuja zone champions vow to excel at national final


Citing God as a scapegoat for this unrelenting plight.
The corruptive hands of our leaders orchestrated their own nations decline.
Deceivers, transposing fear into a mechanism to delude their fraud.
Overruled by an isolated state of secrecy that shall stimulate new birth into an age of suffering.
What shall be done with the damned?
So what shall be done with the damned?
The only cure is genocide.
Extermination is the only cure.
So fall to your knees, they have you defeated.
Fall to your knees, they have you defeated.
Fall to your knees and die.


Black Diamond Gymnastics and Sport Centers – Will provide gymnastics, dance, cheer and martial arts. It also offers the Kids Klub after school enrichment program, off-track camps for kids, birthday parties, special events and an academic preschool and tutoring program.
Tio's Mexican Restaurant – A local Mexican restaurant with one other location currently open in Murray.
Classic Cleaners – Dry cleaners priding itself on being an environmentally sensitive cleaner. This will be Classic Cleaners third location in the Valley.
Zion's Bank – No explanation needed for this one.
Guy's Barbershop – Guy's Barbershop will open its first location offering haircuts and straight razor shaves in a traditional one-chair shop.
Oopsie Daisy –A children's boutique offering distinctive children's clothes, shoes, gifts and furniture.
San Gelato Café – Italian café offering gelato, panini and many other Italian treats.
Looking at the list one of the things I really like, is the lack of chains (with the exception of Zion's), all the businesses are locally run and operated.
There are a couple of noticeable businesses missing from the list. Rumors were that a brew pub and sports bar was due to be part of the village center. I am not sure how true these rumors were, but I hope that these businesses have not had to be scraped due to Utah's lack of available liquor licenses. The press release did say that there will be more announcements over the coming weeks, so maybe they will be announced then.


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Adam J. Bernard
Henry Krieger
Liisi Lafontaine
Tom Eyen
Album Review: Top 5 Songs on the Original London Cast Recording of 'Dreamgirls'
The Original Cast Recording of the current West End production of Dreamgirls includes every song in the show, meaning you can basically experience the entire show without having to pop over to London.
It's hard to follow the film version, which was not only star-studded but superstar-studded, starring Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson and superstarring the one and only, Beyoncé. The West End has made a solid attempt at name-recognition, however, by casting Glee powerhouse Amber Riley.
Even those outside of the musical theatre realm know "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," which is the audition or show-stopper choice for every belter or wannabe-belter throughout history. It is also the choice for satire and melodrama, likely because the lyrics hold up even outside the context of the show. It is, therefore, the song of choice when starting to measure how a new recording of the show measures up. Below, I've reviewed it along with four other stand-out selections from the West End Original Cast Recording.
1. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
Amber Riley belts as naturally as she breathes, starting out this song that famously builds and builds and builds so big you can't believe she has anywhere else to take it. She reins herself in beautifully at the appropriate moments, giving fluttering and perfect runs in her head voice. While it is all at generally the same level of theater-filling belt, meaning that she doesn't build as much as is dramatically expected, Riley finds the emotion in her growls, lung-capacity and note ranges. You can hear the standing ovation on the recording that proves that her singing out-shone any complaints a snobby-thespian could have about acting choice. It should also be noted that I forgot that she was singing live (the album was recorded live at the Savoy Theatre), an accomplishment in its own right. This is definitely a rendition to be added to the collection of the best performances this song has seen.
2. "Steppin' to the Bad Side"
"Steppin' to the Bad Side" fulfills its groovy and somewhat foreboding role in the show. It pulls out both the precision and the jazziness of the show's orchestra and the smooth blend of the ensemble, featuring those delicious and irresistible bass notes that you can feel just below your sternum. The only reason I could tell this was recorded live was because of the sound mixing; but, it listens like an old Motown standard instead of a musical theater, storytelling piece—and that's not a bad thing.
3. "I Am Changing"
The notable thing about "I Am Changing," particularly in this recording, is the character journey it shows. I had to double check the show details to make sure this was Amber Riley, the same actress playing the same character as "And I Am Telling You," which comes later in the show. Her performance on this song hints at the lung-explosion she delivers later; but, she starts out sounding younger and, appropriately, more innocent, less emotionally wrought. Instead of desperate strength she gives this song fresh optimism with a rawness that I imagine makes the onstage transition incredibly believable. Even her singing choices are more by-the-rules here and less emotionally improvisational, but that in no way detracts from the impressiveness of her performance. That's the important thing to remember when listening to a show's album: each song represents a different part of the theatrical journey the characters are on. From the sounds of it, Amber Riley nails hers…and then some.
4."Fake Your Way to the Top"
I'm not the only one who couldn't get enough of Adam J. Bernard, especially when I listened to number four on my list, "Fake Your Way to the Top"; Marc Snetiker writes in Entertainment Weekly: "Adam J. Bernard is a wide-eyed revelation as James 'Thunder' Early, whose manic 'Fake Your Way to the Top' is a human fire refusing to be extinguished." I didn't see his eyes, of course, having only devoured the album, but manic is a superlative in this context, and a supremely accurate one. You can hear the future coke-problem in that mania; you can also hear the youthful, energetic charisma that means Mr. Bernard harmoniously melted into his musical icon character.
"Listen" had to be included in part because it's a newer addition to the show; not only was it performed by Beyoncé in the 2006 film, it was written by her and a team specifically for that film. Liisi Lafontaine is making her West End debut in her role as Deena Jones, and her voice is pure with lovely moments of heart-wrenching pleading. Joined by Riley, the duo deliver the message of perseverance and resilience, of a seasoned artist offering sage advice to an up-and-comer beautifully. Their harmonies blend powerfully, and listening to them I almost joined their audience in the again audible standing ovation even though I was alone on my couch. It joins the ranks of the other songs on this list and this album that stand alone as pieces of music and not just as musical-specific pieces.
Written by: Leanna Childers
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Mission Experience in Wau, Sch. Christopher Silwembe, mccj
August 13, 2019 comboniss
By Sch. Christopher Silwembe, mccj
"The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). These are the words that occupied my mind the very moment my formators hinted that I might go to South Sudan for mission experience. Sudan!!!! I kept repeating to myself while my mind rushed to and fro; dumbfounded. Certainly, at that point it never dawn to me that, South Sudan would spring up. With a shallow smile that hid any sign of surprise, I said to them "I have no problem with that". And so began the interior journey to the land with a rich heritage of Comboni spirituality. A place where Comboni himself was shaped into the Saint we have now. Additionally, the fact that, it is easy to say the service I can offer than choosing a specific geographical mission, gave me enough space to re-adjust to the new mission and that led into a joyous anxiety to be in South Sudan.
On the 29th of May, I and two other confreres (Bernard Sossougah and Albeer Mina) touched down at Juba International Airport. It was a fine bright day coated with a relatively strong heat coming from the ground as if in protest to the insufficient rain that had just fallen. While at the immigration office, I was greeted by a fine looking gentleman who immediately identified himself as a former student of Comboni College-Khartoum upon realising that I am a Comboni Missionary. Thus began my mission experience in South Sudan. Despite all that I have heard in the media and from people who have been in South Sudan; war and porous security, I had a sincere sense of peace and feeling at home from my first step on South Sudanese's soil. I believe this was a rare grace God gave me and it is this same grace that he wants me to share with my brothers and sisters in South Sudan. For it is his joy that we live in peace and feel at home with one another.
In Juba at the Provincial House, I had a great experience with the confreres. As I was waiting for my destination, I had an opportunity to visit the Good Shepherd Centre in Kit, the Pre-Postulancy house in Moroyok, and the UN Camp where thousands of South Sudanese are staying after having been displaced from their houses due to war. The experience at the camp gave me a personal glimpse with regard to how inhuman some of our actions can be. It was an experience of shock, anger/helplessness ending in a prayer of supplication. It was heavy for me to imagine how one is a stranger in his/her home country. I remember leaving the Independence celebration at Wau Stadium on 09-July-2019- State of Wau. I felt it was a mockery to those in camps. I acknowledge the economic, political and other forms of oppression that the South Sudanese might have endured at the hand of North Sudan. I however, don't see it viable to celebrate while a fellow child of the soil is desolate.
Moving to the Diocese of Wau for my mission experience was another great opportunity of growth and authentic contact with the real situation of the mission. My experience seems to suggest that Wau has beautiful people, welcoming, social, and friendly. This gave me a sense of belonging to a larger community even when a handful of soldiers insulted me after blocking them with the Car. My mission in Wau was basically in three places; Parish, Prison and the Secondary School. At the parish, I was serving the parish youth choir, lay lectors, Comboni Vocation Group and the youths. At the Prison, I was teaching primary 2 English to some inmates. I was also teaching the senior 2, 3 and 4, Value Education at Loyola Secondary School. These gracious opportunities opened the way for me to the world of young people. It exposes me to their joys, wishes, dreams of a better South Sudan and their fears, pain and stress. Listening to their dreams in the midst of uncertainty, especially the students, gave me joy and hope and encouraged me to put in more in what I was doing. It is normally said that, the youth are a sign of hope for the future, I think for the youth in Wau and South Sudan in general, they are more than just a sign of hope. They are a sign of resistance against evil. They are a sign of surety from God that, it is possible to restart things, for it is never over until God says so. It is in this that from the missiological point of view, the methodology of Pope Francis finds great significance. That while taking advantage of the global trends, we may propagate a missiology of attraction; a church that attracts, message that attracts and a method that attracts.
Teaching English to inmates at Wau Central Prison was also a sign from God that rebuilding South Sudan socially and spiritual is a stone throw away. Some of them, spoke Arabic and had a strong Arabic ascent. However, the zeal they shown, some were even above 60 years old, yet the desire to go beyond the ordinary was awesome. I strongly belief the same zeal can gradually be used to reconcile a society at war with itself.
Towards the end of my mission experience it was becoming a struggle to accept that the time I was given is running out. Just a thought of it was a bitter pill for me. I did not want to leave South Sudan. I had become one with the community of Wau, they were my friends and so was I to them. The impact Wau and South Sudan at large, made in my spiritual and human growth is quite deep and will for ever be a point of reference for me. I believe God took me to South Sudan to teach me how to perceive a possibility among a billion impossibilities.
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News & Press: General News
Workforce News 7/19
Monday, July 22, 2019 (0 Comments)
Posted by: Robert Forristal
VIA News
A Learning Mindset Will Help You to Survive the Future of Work, Here is Why
Ruchi Gupta
While most of the debate around the future of work is tied to the disruptive nature of technology in one way or the other, a Deloitte report says otherwise. In particular, the report noted that technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI) only form part of the drivers of change in the future of work.
https://via.news/work/learning-mindset-help-you-survive-future-of-work/
Stanford Social Innovation Review
How Reverse Mentoring Can Lead to More Equitable Workplaces
Sharlene Gandhi
While most workplace activities, such as learning, development, working patterns, and project management, have become less formal, mentoring has gone the opposite direction: Initially, it was a relationship established by personal initiative—sometimes mutual—between two people of different experience and status levels. In recent decades, organizations have made mentorship contractual.
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_reverse_mentoring_can_lead_to_more_equitable_workplaces
WEEK 25 News
ICC receives $3 million federal grant for Workforce Sustainability Center
To help maintain the region's workforce needs, Illinois Central College has received $3 million federal grant for its new Workforce Sustainability Center.
https://week.com/news/peoria-news/2019/07/16/icc-receives-3-million-federal-grant-for-workforce-sustainability-center/
College isn't for everybody, Pennsylvania lawmakers hear
Superintendent Thomas Parker from the Allentown School District in Pennsylvania, along with local labor unions and employers, are speaking to the state Congress to encourage more dynamic conversations on alternatives to college like career and technical education.
https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-allentown-career-and-technical-education-hearing-20190716-46homci34vfizbbnn7ckp3w4p4-story.html
Construction Dive
Credentials: Why Do They Matter?
No author, sponsored by NCCER
"With 70% of jobs needing less than a bachelor's or graduate degree, credentials are a key element of the workforce development system in the U.S."
https://www.constructiondive.com/spons/credentials-why-do-they-matter/558595/
Is AI Going to be a Jobs Killer? New Reports About the Future of Work
Gil Press
"The number of jobs which AI and machines will displace in the future has been the subject of numerous studies and surveys and op-eds and policy papers since 2013, when a pair of Oxford academics, Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne, estimated that 47% of American jobs are at high risk of automation by the mid-2030s."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2019/07/15/is-ai-going-to-be-a-jobs-killer-new-reports-about-the-future-of-work/#7e4c02b4afb2
The Future of Work: 5 Important Ways Jobs Will Change in the 4th Industrial Revolution
"In many respects, the future of work is already here. Amid the headlines exclaiming the predicted loss of jobs due to automation and other changes brought by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and autonomous systems, it's clear that the way we work and live is transforming."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/07/15/the-future-of-work-5-important-ways-jobs-will-change-in-the-4th-industrial-revolution/#1147baa754c7
Richmond Register
Area Counties Look to Pilot Program
Taylor Six
"She explained that referrals could come from different recovery systems, district courts or workforce boards with a primary role to find jobs that will help produce a sustainable income."
https://www.richmondregister.com/news/area-counties-look-to-pilot-program/article_83c5aff5-ccbb-5060-b70d-6ba0046a9887.html
Bring Everyone Who Works for the Federal Government Under the Microscope
John York
"The biggest portion of the blended federal workforce consists of federal contractors. Today, there are about 3.7 million federal contractors — almost twice as many as there were in the 1960s."
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/15/bring-everyone-who-works-for-the-federal-governmen/
Workforce.com
Move Over, 'Net Kids,' Generation Z Has Arrived
Bethany Tomasian
"Leadership should be prepared to manage this new generation of young adults who, much like the millennials, are set to change the face of the workforce."
https://www.workforce.com/2019/07/15/move-over-net-kids-%E2%80%A8generation-z-has-arrived/
Opinion: Taxpayer Subsidized Workforce Development is a Lemon
Sarah Estelle
"That's a worthy cause for sure, but when you look under the hood, the state's effort to improve workforce development is actually quite underwhelming."
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2019/07/13/opinion-taxpayer-subsidized-workforce-development-lemon/1713347001/
Ellwood City (Pennsylvania)
BCS Debutes Mobile Lab for Online Manufacturing
Butler County Community College's (PA) manufacturing pre-apprenticeship certificate program, registered with the state Department of Labor and Industry and free to eligible students, will debut at BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing, a community college in Lawrence County, PA, in August as mostly online and bolstered by eight hands-on lab sessions using equipment to be brought to BC3's additional location in New Castle.
http://ellwoodcity.org/2019/07/16/bcs-debutes-mobile-lab-for-online-manufacturing/
The Future of Work: Either Get Skilled and Get Urban or Good Luck
"And a new study by international consultant McKinsey Global Institute on the future of work in America reminds us that such workforce upheaval has sweeping implications for Texas and Dallas."
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2019/07/12/future-work-either-get-skilled-get-urban-good-luck
America Must Focus on the Early Childhood Education Workforce
Linda Smith and Kathlyn McHenry
"Some states have also used the new funds to support workforce development with bonuses and stipends for staff to obtain credentials and degrees."
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/452626-america-must-focus-on-the-early-childhood-education-workforce
The Wilson Times
Swiss Game Developer Involved in Local Initiative
Brie Handgraaf
"This type of relationship may be a good national example to show game developers that their products have an education and workforce element, and encourage more of them to open a dialogue with workforce boards or others involved with helping youth explore careers,"
http://www.wilsontimes.com/stories/swiss-game-developer-involved-in-local-initiative,182988


Alyssa Milano is leading a group of some of Hollywood's elite celebrities in a call for Hollywood to boycott the state of Georgia should they pass a bill banning abortions after a heartbeat is detected.
"This law would make Georgia an inhospitable place for those in the film and television industry to work, including our members … If the Georgia Legislature and Governor Kemp make HB 481 law, it is entirely possible that many of those in our industry will either want to leave the state or decide not to bring productions there. Such is the potential cost of a blatant attack on every woman's right to control her own body.
The bill, H.B. 481 passed the Georgia House earlier today, and aims to ban abortions that take place after around six weeks of pregnancy.
Georgia provides film and TV productions with up to a 30 percent tax credit if they spend at least $500,000 in the state.
The Walking Dead, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, Ozark, and more all have or had a production home in Georgia.
Do you think this letter and a call for Hollywood to boycott Georgia will be effective?


Taragaia wrote: Lilith is seen in certain pagan mythology as the first wife of Adam, whom he sent away because she rebelled against him and was not obedient like Eve.
Yeah, Eve was well-known for being obedient.
God: Enjoy the garden, it's all here for you to use and enjoy. Just one thing, don't eat from this tree.
I know, but it's not my opinion I am writing, I am backing it up with facts. It's all Jewish mysticsism.
I didn't make up the mythology behind Lilith.
I understand that. I was not addressing you as much as I was the myth.
Either way I am curious what's going to happen in the time span they've given Trump, their actions are complete around the 24th of May.
That would mean a pretty swift end. Let's see..
Taragaia wrote: Either way I am curious what's going to happen in the time span they've given Trump, their actions are complete around the 24th of May.
If it does happen, i can only imagine the massive religious and political implications. The ritual will make front page news, further mainstreaming Wicca. But we also need to understand what TPTB would gain from an incapacitated sitting president.
I'm pretty sure the ritual will not get any press coverage at all, except what it already got. And I am pretty sure too that if it does get press coverage, that would be negative. But we will see.
Personally I believe nothing will happen, may 24 seems really soon and has no special occult meaning as far as I am aware.
Neither do i think anything will come of it just that the publicity given to the ritual could turn out to be a red herring.
I forgot to mention Tori Amos. She is pretty open about her involvement and if iam mentioning her, it means i fell victim.....okay, she aint exactly a favorite of mine but there is a song of hers i really like and i feel guilty whenever iam listening to it but i know the source of the inspiration.
I have nothing to do with any recommendations to join any war on any person , race or community. I do not support ISIS nor any other movement, I seek opportunities to unite mankind, I seek to look at common ground and choose to ignore differences. I do not support violence, I condemn it. I have no affiliations with any promoting of violence be it political, racial or religious.
Karlysymon wrote: Neither do i think anything will come of it just that the publicity given to the ritual could turn out to be a red herring.
Fell victim to what? Are you getting a little paranoid?
By 'falling victim', i meant being seduced by the music.


The Saudi government issued a warning for the Umrah visitors who stay longer than the visa period. The 50,000 Riyal penalty can be received and six months in Saudi Arabia prison. License registered tour operators will be canceled.
Islamabad's Ministry of Religious Affairs on Thursday, press released a notice from Saudi Arabia, which said that the Saudi Directorate of Saudi Arabia has restricted persons who come as Umrah visitors but extend their stay gain employment in Saudi Arabia. Umrah Visitor should try to avoid this situation otherwise will be charged for a fine of 50,000 rupees from such visitors , while performing other acts. Before deported to his/her country he/she will be imprisoned for six months in addition to the payment of a penalty. There will be more punishment for non-payment of fine of 50,000 Riyal. Related to disappearing of Umrah Visitors , tour operators will be responsible their tour operator's license can be canceled and according to schedule, if visitors are not returned, more strict action can be taken against tour operators.


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Last year promised to be the year of the tablet, and at least for Apple, it was. The nearly ubiquitous iPad managed not only to outsell every other tablet on the market by a wide margin, it also exceeded Mac sales in Q4 with a record 7.33 million units moved. Apple is not likely to lose its throne anytime soon, but competition is now making itself present from every possible angle. If Android's smartphone gains serve any indication this should be an interesting year for tablets.
We've compiled a comparative table with what we consider are the hottest tablets either currently available or announced so far. We'll update this guide as new tablets that catch our attention are announced and approaching their release, but with more than a dozen already in the market, this will serve as a starting point for narrowing down your purchase.
Apple's iPad remains one of the best options out there, largely due to its relatively mature ecosystem and overall polished operating system. The second-generation model hit store shelves in March, taking the same $500 starting price as its predecessor while sporting a slimmer design, a faster dual-core A5 processor with up to 9 times faster graphics, and rear and front facing cameras. Furthermore, iOS 5 is set to arrive this fall packing more than 200 new features, including wireless sync, revamped notifications, a new BBM-like messaging application, and iCloud synchronization.
On the Android camp, Motorola made a splash earlier this year when it released the first tablet to run Google's tablet-optimized operating system (aka Honeycomb). But initial enthusiasm for the device didn't translate into stellar sales, in part because of its high price but also due to its thick design and the fact that some features were missing at launch.
Eventually more Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets made it to the market and now we have options like Acer's Iconia Tab, offering features on par with the Motorola Xoom at iPad-beating prices (but weighing in among the heftiest Android tablets), and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which has a tempting $400 starting price and an optional keyboard dock.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was launched recently amid positive reviews, taking the title for slimmest tablet on the planet, and we're curious to see how Toshiba's Thrive fares when it launches next month for $430. Other noteworthy options include the 3D capable G-Slate (or Optimus Pad) from LG, though it's certainly priced at a premium, and the HTC Flyer that offers an optional stylus and has a 4G variant known as the EVO View ($400 with 2-year contract).
In our opinion Windows tablets simply cannot provide the same level of experience as their iOS and Android counterparts, so we're not including any model in this update -- and most don't even make it to retail anyway.
Lastly, there's the BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad. The former hasn't been doing too well, but diehard BlackBerry users will stand behind the platform, while the latter is set to face an uphill battle when it debuts on July 1. At least on the surface webOS seems like a very polished OS but it hasn't had much luck on the adoption side and thus with third-party developers.


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Der Konvent St. Verena in Zürich war ein Gebäudekomplex der Beginengemeinschaft. Er wurde erstmals Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts bezeugt, entwickelte sich unter der geistlichen Obhut des benachbarten Predigerklosters zu einem Frauenkonvent, jedoch nicht zu einem in den Dominikanerorden inkorporierten Kloster. Um 1300 wurde eine Kapelle der hl. Verena von Zurzach geweiht. Zum Lebensunterhalt trugen die etwa 20 Schwestern selber bei: In einer Werkstube verfertigten sie Textilarbeiten, in den benachbarten Quartieren der Stadt betreuten sie Kranke und Sterbende, verrichteten Gebetsdienste, und seit Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts führten sie eine Mädchenschule (mit Unterricht in Deutsch) für Bürgerstöchter.

Der Konvent wurde im Herbst 1524 aufgehoben wie die anderen Klöster Zürichs. Die 25 Frauen wurden in das aufgehobene Kloster Oetenbach umgesiedelt. Das Konventshaus wurde 1551 zur Druckerei von Christoph Froschauer. Heute ist im Gebäude ein Kinosaal untergebracht.

Literatur
 Magdalen Bless-Grabher: Die Beginen in Zürich. In: Bettelorden, Bruderschaften und Beginen in Zürich: Stadtkultur und Seelenheil im Mittelalter. Hrsg. von Barbara Helbling u. a. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2002, ISBN 3-85823-970-4, S. 250–263.
 Barbara Helbling: Das Gotzhus Sant Vrenen. In: Bettelorden, Bruderschaften und Beginen in Zürich: Stadtkultur und Seelenheil im Mittelalter. Hrsg. von Barbara Helbling u. a. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2002, ISBN 3-85823-970-4, S. 214–227.
 Marlis Stähli: Gebete, Psalmen und Gesundheitsregeln: «Sant Frene» in Handschriften der Burgerbibliothek Bern und der Zentralbibliothek Zürich: ein Zürcher Gebetbuch in der Burgerbibliothek Bern. In: Bettelorden, Bruderschaften und Beginen in Zürich: Stadtkultur und Seelenheil im Mittelalter. Hrsg. von Barbara Helbling u. a. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2002, ISBN 3-85823-970-4, S. 237–247.
 Dölf Wild: Zur Baugeschichte von St. Verena. In: Bettelorden, Bruderschaften und Beginen in Zürich: Stadtkultur und Seelenheil im Mittelalter. Hrsg. von Barbara Helbling u. a. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2002, ISBN 3-85823-970-4, S. 228–236.

Ehemaliges Kloster im Kanton Zürich
Zurich Verena
Sakralbau in Zürich
Zürich im Mittelalter
Zurich
Ehemaliger Beginenkonvent in der Schweiz
Konvent
Aufgelöst 1524

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