Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 682 Location: Earth
CORRECTIONS AREA « Thread Started on May 20, 2010, 10:52am »
This area will concern itself with issues and stories relating to Corrections, Correction Officers and issues having to do with prisons, jails and things of that nature......(some previous Correction-related threads may be moved here in the near future)
Ex-gay Ministry Axed From Dept. of Corrections Programming
The controversial ex-gay ministry Corduroy Stone of Lansing will no longer be recognized by the Michigan Department of Corrections or allowed to operate within the Michigan prison system..
John Cordell, spokesman for MDOC, released the following statement to Michigan Messenger May 13:
"The department is processing the removal of Corduroy Stone as an approved outreach group. The reasons cited for removal are the lack of affiliation with a recognized support organization and lack of activity by the group for a period greater than six months. It is unlikely that this group would be approved in the future according the Special Activities Coordinator. The MDOC prohibits the discrimination or harassment of specifically identified protected groups by an individual or a group of individuals in accordance with standards set by the Michigan Civil Service Commission and the Office of State Employer."
The group came under scrutiny by MDOC officials in December following its break from the international ex-gay ministry Exodus Ministry. At that time, Cordell told Messenger the group may be violating a departmental ban on derogatory and defamatory language.
"The department's position is that when you are ministering to a group or even an individual that the content of that not be defamatory or derogatory," said John Cordell, a department spokesman. "We have shut down ministries in the past for doing just that (being defamatory or derogatory)."
Cordell said the department has kicked out white nationalist groups as well as the Nation of Islam for violating departmental policies.
Corduroy Stone has become the focus on increased scrutiny since its website was discovered to be hosted on the servers of Michigan State University. That discovery was made in 2007 after the American Family Association of Michigan paid to fly a banner over the Motor City Pride event in Ferndale. That banner directed people to visit a website which directed them to ex-gay ministries.
For nearly two years, officials at MSU assured advocates in the gay community the website would be removed from the public servers, but late last year, they flipped on the decision and announced the website would remain on taxpayer funded servers.
This happened after Patrick McAlvey of Lansing released a video in which he blasted the group and its founder for the therapy and treatment he said he received as a patient of the program.
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,939 Location: Venice, Florida
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #1 on May 20, 2010, 2:20pm »
I like the Corrections Area. It's a good idea.
The New York City Dept Of Correction always had strict rules regarding religious groups coming into the jails. They were welcome as long as they didn't talk "smack" about any other religions or any group of inmates, including homosexuals. You can bet that I kept an eye on them and I would have reported any crap coming out of them without hesitation. Actually, I got along very well with the Muslim Imam, the Ministers, Priests and Nuns. I was up front with them and they never got out of line with me. It's a shame I never thought about bringing in the Metropolitan Community Church for the LGBT inmates. It would have been good for them.
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #2 on Mar 18, 2011, 3:37pm »
Former prison guard awarded $244K after antigay harassment
A financial settlement has been reached for a former Ottawa prison guard who experienced a homophobic and "poisonous" work atmosphere at the hands of his previous boss.
After travelling back and forth from Ottawa to Toronto for more than 70 meetings with Correctional Services over the last decade, Robert Ranger, 50, was awarded $244,242 plus interest last month. He had been on long-term disability since 2002. He worked for 20 years as a prison guard, but he left his job at Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) because of homophobic torment he received from his superior and then-president of Correctional Services OPSEU Local 411, Mark Grady.
Ranger's settlement does not include damages, which will be decided later this year.
"[Both parties] agreed on the amount for lost wages for the grievor between 2002 and 2010, including shift premium and overtime. The parties also agreed on the LTIP paid to grievor and the interest payable if simple or compound," the decision reads. "This matter is scheduled to proceed with outstanding issues on damages in February and March, and I shall provide full reasons for the decision here in the final award on the remedy for the grievor."
The settlement follows a series of decisions the Grievance Settlement Board has already made in this case. A decision last year upheld a complaint filed against the Corrections Ministry that it allowed harassment against Ranger to continue unchecked from 1998 to 2002. During that time, Ranger worked at OCDC. When he left, it took 18 months for prison officials to begin investigating his complaints.
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #3 on Mar 29, 2011, 7:00pm »
Forrest County will Reinstate Gay Police Officer
The Forrest County Sheriff’s Department will reinstate Andre Cooley as a deputy corrections officer as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi, in which Cooley alleged that he was fired because he is gay. As part of the settlement agreement reached today, the sheriff’s department will also update its written non-discrimination policy to make explicit that the sheriff’s department does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
“I am looking forward to returning to a job that I loved in the Sheriff’s Department,” Cooley said. “I’m very happy that the Sheriff’s Department has clarified in writing that they do not discriminate based on sexual orientation. Everyone should be judged by their ability to do the job, not by their sexual orientation.” “We are happy to have Mr. Cooley return to work in the department. His sexual orientation has no bearing on his ability to perform the duties of a corrections officer,” said Sheriff Billy McGee. “The Forrest County Sheriff’s Department is an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate based on sexual orientation. Our new written policy will make this position clear to every employee in our department.”
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #4 on Jun 7, 2011, 4:21pm »
Gay L.A. Cop Denied Right to March in Pride Parade
A cop in L.A. is taking legal action against his department after being denied the right to march in uniform in the West Hollywood gay pride parade.
Andrew Johnson, a 28-year-old correctional officer at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif., was told it would be a “discredit” to the department if he marched in uniform. In retaliation, the officer set up a news conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday with lawyer Gloria Allred, who is known for taking high-profile, often controversial discrimination cases. TMZ featured a live feed of the event.
When Johnson submitted a written request to his superiors asking if he could march in uniform at the parade, the Public Information Office retaliated, citing an “unauthorized use of uniform” ordinance. His warden gave the same response. The law prohibits offers from using their uniforms in situations that would “discredit” the state, including “purchasing of alcohol in public,” political activities and entrance inside a nightclub.
He's a member of GPOA, who are among our membership here.
Update: On 06/07/2011 following the media conference the California Department of Corrections retracted their denial to allow this officer to attend the parade in uniform stating “CDCR did not intend to offend any segment of the population with its recent refusal to allow a correctional officer from participating in a Gay Pride Parade while wearing the department’s official uniform."
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #6 on Jun 11, 2011, 9:59am »
And in Michigan......this one hits kind of close to home because the Officer is a friend of a good number of us here.....
Corrections officer not allowed to wear uniform in gay pride march
The Michigan Department of Corrections has told corrections officer James Sims that he is not allowed to wear his uniform in Saturday’s gay pride march in Lansing.
Sims, who works at the Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, made the request so he could be identified as a corrections officer while participating in the march with members of the newly formed Michigan Gay Officers Action League (M-GOAL). The group represents LGBT first responders, law enforcement agents and correctional facility officers.
Russ Marlan, spokesman for the department, says the decision was made based on departmental policy. The policy in question reads:
Employees shall wear uniform items only in the performance of their official duties, during travel directly to and from their work site, and, with supervisory approval, when representing the Department in their official capacity. Employees are prohibited from wearing a uniform item which has a Department insignia while in any establishment which serves alcohol on the premises except when representing the Department in their official capacity. Employees shall not purchase or consume alcoholic beverages while wearing a uniform item which has a Department insignia unless approved by the Director at official functions.
Joined: Sept 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,939 Location: Venice, Florida
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #7 on Jun 11, 2011, 12:39pm »
James Sims is a good friend of mine, as is Cole Bouck the president of GOAL-Michigan. I spoke with Cole today. Trust me, the Michigan Department Of Correction has NOT heard the last of this.
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #8 on May 6, 2012, 2:05pm »
Federal Bureau of Prisons Requires LGBT Employee Representation in Nationwide Federal Prison System
Federal Bureau of Prisons Requires LGBT Employee Representation in Nationwide Federal Prison System
Equality Florida Instrumental in First-Ever LGBT Staff Event in a Federal Prison
In a groundbreaking move, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has announced that every federal prison in the U.S. will appoint an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) representative to their long-standing Affirmative Employment Program. The BOP employs approximately 40,000 nationwide, and until now, the LGBT staff did not have a designated representative in the program.
With the addition of an LGBT representative to the BOP’s Affirmative Employment Program, each of the more than 120 BOP facilities will hold at least one event each year that will serve to educate and inform the staff about LGBT diversity issues.
The directive also requires each facility to designate one person as the LGBT Special Emphasis Program Manager, to ensure that equal opportunity issues and concerns affecting LGBT employees are adequately addressed.
The announcement comes just one year after Brian Winfield, managing director of Equality Florida, met with a small team of courageous employees at Florida’s Coleman Federal Correctional Complex to plan the first-ever LGBT staff event within the BOP.
With the support of senior officials at the correctional complex, Winfield worked with the team to create an extremely successful event in June, nationally recognized as Gay Pride Month. As the 2011 event’s keynote speaker, Winfield was the first advocate to speak about LGBT issues at an officially sanctioned staff event within a Federal prison complex.
“I am so proud to have worked with this group of employees whose efforts impacted national policy,” said Winfield. “It is only because they believed that LGBT individuals and issues needed more visibility, and because it was the right thing to do, that employees at federal prisons now have a place at the table within the Bureau of Prisons.”
Joined: Aug 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,261 Location: New York
Re: CORRECTIONS AREA « Reply #9 on Sept 3, 2012, 4:25pm »
From Philadelphia Gay News:
Federal prisons get LGBT reps
The Federal Bureau of Prisons recently supplemented its workplace-diversity program by adding an LGBT representative at each of its 125 prisons and administrative offices nationwide.
BOP director Charles E. Samuels Jr. outlined the new initiative in a memo issued in March.
“We should cultivate tolerance and embrace our differences,” Samuels stated in the memo.
Chris Burke, a spokesperson for the BOP, said every BOP facility has a designated LGBT representative.
Additionally, the BOP recently committed to hosting at least one event a year at each BOP facility that specifically addresses LGBT issues, he said.
The new duties of the LGBT representatives will be folded into their existing job responsibilities — and won’t exceed 20 percent of their overall tasks.
“[The representatives] are authorized to spend up to 20 percent of their official on-duty time to perform their affirmative-action responsibilities,” Burke clarified.
The representatives were selected from a variety of BOP positions, including associate warden, correctional officer, secretary, counselor, case manager and food-service worker, he said.
He said the new special-emphasis program managers aren’t required to be members of the LGBT community, though some may be.
Two LGBT representatives have been designated in Philadelphia.
One is employed at the Federal Detention Center at 700 Arch St., and the other is employed at BOP’s Northeast Regional Office at 200 Chestnut St.
Their names haven’t been released to the public, and they’re not available for interviews, Burke said.
Hispanics, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, women and disabled veterans also have BOP representatives, he said.
“Each of these groups bring certain strengths that help us complete our mission,” Burke added. “If you have a homogeneous workforce, you’re only going to get one point of view.”
He said the representatives serve on BOP workforce-diversity committees and help coordinate efforts with other BOP staffers to ensure an equitable work environment for all.
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