State deals with rise in inmates, violent acts

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State deals with rise in inmates, violent acts
Niki KellyThe Journal Gazette
The Journal Gazette

INDIANAPOLIS – Every month, about 100 new prisoners stream into the Indiana Department of Correction, whether there is room for them or not.

The agency hasn’t received funding for new beds or additional guards in years – a reality that has pushed inmates, correctional officers and the public into potential danger.

Violence is on the rise in the prison system – an estimated 43 percent increase in inmate assaults and a projected 6 percent increase in staff assaults.

DOC Commissioner Edwin Buss said the situation is like waiting for a disaster.

"Every murderer or armed robber sentenced today has no bed waiting for them," he said. "It hasn’t had a traumatic effect yet, but I liken prison overcrowding to playing Russian roulette.

"Every year that we add more than 1,000 offenders is like putting a bullet in the chamber. It’s going to catch up to us sooner or later."

Indiana is housing 27,300 inmates – a number that has been growing between 1,000 and 1,200 every year.

Scarcity of beds
Some areas of the prison system have more available beds than others, such as those for juveniles and women. But Buss said the department is struggling with the number of beds for adult males.

He said the department hasn’t received new funding for beds in seven years and also has received no new money for guards and staff. He said at any given time in an adult male facility, the ratio of inmates to staff could be 100 to 1.

Buss sought two prison expansions during last year’s contentious budget session. But while Democrats pushed capital construction for colleges and universities as a way to create jobs, they staked out a position against prison construction, and Gov. Mitch Daniels eventually dropped the request.

Gone are the days when Indiana was housing out-of-state prisoners because of a surplus of beds. Now, it has no open maximum-security or high-medium-security beds for adult male offenders, Buss said.

That means violent offenders are being bunked in lower-security dormitory spaces and bunks are being moved closer to fit more in, creating a potential powder keg.

Violence escalates
"It’s never been safe. It’s a violent society in there," said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary. "I can’t say what the DOC is doing and whether it’s enough, … but it boils down to money and rethinking how we are doing this."

Statistics for the first six months in 2009 show serious-injury assaults between inmates – usually involving a hospital visit or follow-up care – are on track to be up 23 percent if the trend continues. Non-serious-injury assaults – scrapes, bruises and cuts – are trending up 46 percent.

At a recent State Budget Committee meeting, the Department of Correction sought a special appropriation of $390,000 so Putnamville Correctional Facility could install a video surveillance system that would allow for remote monitoring of individual units from a centralized, secure control room.

Another facility facing trouble is Wabash Valley Correctional Facility – a high-medium-security prison in Carlisle. The number of inmate-on-inmate assaults from January through June at Wabash is just under the total for all of last year.

Mother’s anguish
Wabash has also had two homicides since March 2008. The most recent was in August when Luis Silveria allegedly strangled 25-year-old Patrick Whetstone inside the mental health unit cell they shared.

Whetstone, of Warsaw, was serving time for burglary, forgery and theft and had just 38 days left before his release.

His mother, Robin Eutsey, has hired a lawyer and is considering legal action against the Department of Correction.

She found out everything she knows about the killing on the Internet, saying DOC officials have declined to talk to her. But she did get the hospital records for her son that she said described Silveria tying her son’s hands and legs and putting a bag over his head, then waiting 20 minutes for Whetstone to stop struggling.

"Where were the guards for 20 minutes? They were in a mental health cell. Where were the cameras?" she said.

Eutsey does not whitewash her son’s crimes, including battery by bodily waste while in prison.

But she said he did not deserve to die. He deserved to come home and hold his niece for the first time and return to society.

"We had plans," she said. "He loved the outdoors. He thought there was nothing else to do in life but fish."

DOC officials declined to comment on the case.

Assaults on staff in the prison system haven’t risen as much as inmate-on-inmate violence. In fact, serious-injury assaults are on track to drop, while non-serious-injury assaults are trending up 15 percent.

Wabash Valley is also having trouble on this front and could see increases in both categories for the year.

Answers sought
So what can be done about crowding aside from increasing prison capacity?

Buss said 6,000 offenders come in every year with sentences of six months or less, many for drug possession, fraud, forgery and other nonviolent offenses.

He encourages lawmakers to re-evaluate sentencing options for these crimes.

He said a few states tried to relegate offenders with sentences of less than a year to county jails. But jails didn’t have the necessary beds, either, prompting judges to retaliate by issuing sentences of one year and one day.

"If we had buckets of money, it wouldn’t be a problem, but we don’t have buckets," said Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, chairman of the Senate Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters Committee.

Steele is filing a bill for the 2010 legislative session which would allow non-violent offenders who have served at least half their sentence to post a bond to be released from prison early.

The percentage of the sentence that must be served is flexible, he said. WBut an important part of the program would be having a family member also sign the bond and take a role in the offender’s behavior on release.

"It’s like early parole," Steele said. "But with a financial stake."

[WTHR]

Indianapolis - Indiana's prisons are experiencing an increase in inmate assaults and attacks on staff - a trend the state prison chief blames largely on overcrowding caused by inadequate funding for new beds.

In the first half of 2009, Indiana's prisons had 514 inmate-on-inmate attacks, 62 of which caused serious injuries. That compares with 719 such attacks, 101 with serious injuries, during all of 2008, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported Sunday.

Edwin Buss, the commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, said the shortage of bed space in parts of some state prisons has created a volatile situation.

"Every murderer or armed robber sentenced today has no bed waiting for them," he said. "It hasn't had a traumatic effect yet, but I liken prison overcrowding to playing Russian roulette."

Indiana is housing 27,300 inmates - a number grows between 1,000 and 1,200 every year.

Each month, about 100 new prisoners enter the prison network, whether there is room for them or not. Buss said the agency has not received funding for new beds or additional guards in years, pushing inmates, correctional officers and the public into potential danger.

Some areas of the prison system have more available beds than others, such as those for juveniles and women.

But Buss said the department is struggling with the number of beds for adult males, and at any given time in an adult male facility the ratio of inmates to staff could be 100 to 1.

He said Indiana now has no open maximum-security or high-medium-security beds for adult male offenders. That means violent offenders are being bunked in lower-security dormitory spaces and bunks are being moved closer to fit more in, adding to potential for violence.

"It's never been safe. It's a violent society in there," said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary.

Statistics for the first six months in 2009 show serious-injury assaults between inmates usually involving a hospital visit or follow-up care are on pace to rise 23 percent this year if the trend continues.

Non-serious-injury assaults, scrapes, bruises and cuts are likely to be up 46 percent for the full year based on the first six months.

The number of assaults on prison staff has not risen as much as inmate-on-inmate violence. While serious-injury assaults are on track to drop, non-serious-injury assaults are expected to be up 15 percent.

Buss sought two prison expansions during last year's contentious budget session. But while Democrats pushed capital construction for colleges and universities as a way to create jobs, they staked out a position against prison construction, and Gov. Mitch Daniels eventually dropped the request.

Buss said 6,000 offenders come in every year with sentences of six months or less, many for drug possession, fraud, forgery and other nonviolent offenses.

He encourages lawmakers to re-evaluate sentencing options for these crimes.

State Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, is filing a bill for the 2010 legislative session which would allow nonviolent offenders who have served at least half their sentence to post a bond to be released from prison early.

The percentage of the sentence that must be served is flexible, he said. But an important part of the program would be having a family member also sign the bond and take a role in the offender's behavior on release.

"It's like early parole," Steele said. "But with a financial stake."

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's prisons are experiencing a surge in inmate assaults and attacks on staff -- increases the state prison chief blames largely on overcrowding caused by inadequate funding for new beds.

The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported that in the first half of 2009, Indiana's prisons had 514 inmate-on-inmate attacks, 62 of which caused serious injuries. That compares with 719 such attacks, 101 of them with serious injuries, during all of 2008.

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Edwin Buss said the shortage of bed space in some state prisons has created a volatile situation.



Indiana houses 27,300 inmates, but between 1,000 and 1,200 new inmates arrive each year.

The DOC has not received funding for new beds or additional guards in years.