{"id":153,"date":"2006-04-25T07:58:07","date_gmt":"2006-04-25T12:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/nesson\/2006\/04\/25\/angels-working\/"},"modified":"2006-04-25T07:58:07","modified_gmt":"2006-04-25T12:58:07","slug":"angels-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/2006\/04\/25\/angels-working\/","title":{"rendered":"angels working"},"content":{"rendered":"<pre>\nKevin Wallen says:\nhi\ncharley says:\nhi\nKevin Wallen says:\nhow goes it\ncharley says:\nvery well\ncharley says:\nhow about you\nKevin Wallen says:\nburnt\ncharley says:\nhow so\nKevin Wallen says:\nbut moving right along\ncharley says:\ngood\nKevin Wallen says:\nhad a meeting with fairweather\nKevin Wallen says:\nthis morning \ncharley says:\ntell me\nKevin Wallen says:\ntough meeting\nKevin Wallen says:\ndcs has no idea what set is\nKevin Wallen says:\nand that is the problem\nKevin Wallen says:\nand i am not sure how much interest they  have \ncharley says:\nshall i call\nKevin Wallen says:\ngive me 3mins\nKevin Wallen says:\ni really need to talk some stuff true with you\nKevin Wallen says:\nthrough\n\n***\nemail to kevin\n\nhi kevin, good to talk with you.\n\ni asked <a href=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/cyberlaw2005\/Jackie\">jackie harlow<\/a> to offer suggestions. here's what she came back with. use any bits and pieces you like, but only if you like. if it's not helpful, forget it.\n\n\n\nTo: Charles Nesson \nFrom: Jacqueline Harlow \nSubject: another version of kevin's letter...\nDate: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:37:47 -0400\n\n\nthis is another version of kevin's letter, a little shorter, and more  \nsympathetic to DCS - much less accusatory.\n\n-jackie\n\nStudents Expressing Truth and the Department of Corrections share the  \nsame mission \u00ad rehabilitation.  We approach this goal from different  \nperspectives, however, as we are seated in different corners of the  \nsame room.  DCS knows better than any other organization the  \nchallenge of governing the prisons, and the importance of public  \nperception to meeting that challenge.  SET, on the other hand, knows  \nthe plight faced by those inside the prisons, their needs and  \nambitions, and what it takes to motivate and rehabilitate them.  If  \nwe are to succeed in our joint mission of rehabilitation, then we  \nmust hear and acknowledge each other.  We must regroup and learn to  \nuse our different perspectives to create, not destroy.\n\nI became involved in the prisons, in SET, to make a difference.  SET  \nis founded on a promise I made to the men and women behind bars \u00ad a  \npromise to give them a voice for expressing truth, and to support  \nthem unconditionally.  I must live up to my word if SET is to  \ncontinue to thrive and rehabilitate its students.  I cannot ask SET  \nmembers to remain silent about their experiences.  Nor can I maintain  \ntheir respect if I deny what I know or speak with two tongues,  \nsupporting them privately, and speaking against them publicly.  What  \nI can do is facilitate dialogue.  I can use my position to ensure  \nthat that DCS is heard, and that the dialogue about the prisons is a  \nrespectful one.\n\nMandating silence about the conditions in our prisons is more  \ndamaging than any criticism that could be spoken.  Change cannot  \noccur until we uncover and admit the truth about the present.  That  \nrequires openness on both sides - from DCS and from inmates.   \nTogether, we can create that openness.  The Department does not lose  \nface when inmates and ex-inmates share their experiences with the  \npublic.  Instead, it gains from encouraging an open dialogue and  \nresponding to the concerns inmates and ex-inmates raise.  If  \nmistruths, half-truths, or misconceptions are conveyed, the  \nDepartment has the power to correct them.  I have the power to help  \nthe Department correct them.  I will only have that power so long as  \nI am credible in the eyes of SET members.  Ultimately, the Department  \ncan best control its public image through responsiveness to, not  \noppression of its critics.\n\nOur prisons face numerous challenges.  DCS and SET must work together  \nto address those challenges.  It is true that most inmates are  \ndissatisfied with the system.  They are interested in working to  \nchange the system for the better, however.  Many want to change, to  \nrehabilitate themselves, but feel as though they are not given the  \nopportunity to do so.  Right now, they feel that the system does not  \nacknowledge their predicament.  They feel abandoned by officials,  \nsome of whom create the appearance that the inmates are the only  \nproblem.  Together, we can bring both sides together and overcome  \nthese perceptions to create a better environment inside our  \ninstitutions.\n\nMore interaction between high-ranking officials and inmates would  \nhelp to alleviate tension.  Inmates feel isolated from DCS  \nofficials.  They question how officials can speak of rehabilitation  \nand what it means to them, without visiting rehabilitative programs  \nin the prisons and seeing how those programs work.  I invite the  \ndirector of rehabilitation to join me at a SET meeting, to find out  \nwhat the group is really about, get to know the men and women who are  \na part of the group, and offer them words of encouragement.\n\nI cannot single-handedly reform our prisons.  When men and women are  \nreleased from prison and speak of their situations and what they  \nexperienced, officials should seize the opportunity to engage these  \nex-inmates and learn from them.  Rather that view such comments as  \ncriticism, the Department should use the information they glean from  \ninmates and ex-inmates to make improvements.  Such dialogue would  \ncreate a spirit of cooperation between the Department and inmates to  \nimprove rehabilitation that would enhance the Department's pubic  \nimage more than any official sound bite.\n\nIf we are to make progress and improve rehabilitation in our prisons,  \nDCS and SET must change course and unite.  Today, I reach out to DCS  \nand offer myself as an ambassador between the administration and  \ninmates.  If the Department will work together with SET, then we will  \naccomplish great things.  As the saying goes, if you keep on doing  \nwhat you have been doing, you will keep on getting what you have  \nalways gotten.  Nothing will change.  That is not what any of us \u00ad at  \nDCS or SET \u00ad signed up for.  Let us come together and speak openly,  \ntruthfully, about where the prisons are today, and where we will take  \nthem for tomorrow.  Let us acknowledge our struggles and successes \u00ad  \nthese truths will make us stronger and lead us toward our shared goal.\n\nemail with me may show up on my blog\nunless privacy requested\n\n\n\n***\n<img src='http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/nesson\/blog\/wp-content\/destinylogo1.jpg' alt='' \/>\nDestiny says:\ni loved jackie's letter\nDestiny says:\ni think it is perfect\ncharley says:\nnice\nDestiny says:\ni would ad a thing here and there but thats it\ncharley says:\nfeel it with your voice\nDestiny says:\ni will thats great\nDestiny says:\nit reads like a presentation that i can somehow give to the department\nDestiny says:\nmaybe that is the approach i should take with it\nDestiny says:\nmaybe i can call a meeting at dcs with its staff as well as some stakeholders and this could be my presentation\nDestiny says:\nto the group\nDestiny says:\nwhen richard comes back\ncharley says:\nyes, the mou and our prior discussions with dcs suggest that you should brief dcs staff from top to bottom\nDestiny says:\nrigth\ncharley says:\nthis is the perfect case study to discuss\nDestiny says:\nfantastic\nDestiny says:\nthis is a great pllace to start\nDestiny says:\nand we can do that now\ncharley says:\nyes\nDestiny says:\n<\/pre>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/eon\/Lemon_Red.april25.2006.mp3\">soon come<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kevin Wallen says: hi charley says: hi Kevin Wallen says: how goes it charley says: very well charley says: how about you Kevin Wallen says: burnt charley says: how so Kevin Wallen says: but moving right along charley says: good Kevin Wallen says: had a meeting with fairweather Kevin Wallen says: this morning charley says: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":370,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2179,1329,1328,2177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-berkmania","category-jamaica","category-kevin-wallen","category-rhetorical-space","p1","y2006","m04","d25","h02"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/nesson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}