Citizens For Justice With Mercy

06/11/2024

06/11/2022

10/24/2021

10/24/2021

This law is being presented during this next legislative session. Citizens for Justice with Mercy is perusing several Senators and Legislators to actually propose it in the session. This is the proposed bill as we have written it. This is the way to change the law.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED THE
The Prison Oversight Act
This bill seeks to enact a Part III to Article 4 in Chapter 12 of Title 15 of the Georgia Code to create a standing Grand Jury that contains members with appointed terms, whose function will be to oversee the Georgia Department of Corrections and County Jails. This type of oversight is presently lacking so that the GDC answers to no one outside of the executive branch who does not have enough money to challenge them in court. The result has been such problems as large numbers of inmate deaths, high incidence of violence and incidences of neglect so that the US Department of Justice has felt compelled to begin a civil rights investigation into Georgia prisons. The Legislature feels that this should not be done by the federal government because it should be a State function. Still, given the level of dysfunction now seen at the GDC this oversight is vitally necessary.
WHEREAS there is a crisis in the Georgia Department of Corrections that has prompted a civil rights investigation;
WHEREAS the Georgia Department of Corrections has used its power to deny representatives of the Legislature access to the prisons and their records;
WHEREAS there is not currently any neutral authority with the power and authority to investigate the Georgia Department of Corrections in an ongoing basis;
WHEREAS the Georgia Department of Corrections is responsible for some 53,000 Georgia citizens and controls a budget of over a billion dollars a year;
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
Section 1.
This Bill shall create Part 3: Prison Oversight Grand Jury to become part of Article 4-Grand Juries, Chapter 12-Juries, Title 15-Courts. The following shall be appended thereto:
Ga Code § 15-12-120 - Short title
(a) Part 3 shall be known as the Prison Oversight Act.
Section 2.
Ga Code § 15-12-121 - Scope of the Act
(a) This Act shall regulate the Judicial Oversight of the Georgia Department of Corrections and the various County Jails.
(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to abrogate the grand juries created by Ga Code § 15-12-7.
(c) Juries created by Ga Code § 15-12-7 shall share information gained with juries created by this Act.
Section 3.
Ga. Code § 15-12-122 - Formation of a Standing Grand Jury
(a) This Act constitutes a standing Penal Grand Jury, hereinafter “Jury,” consisting of 9 members appointed by the Governor and consented to by the Senate, each serving terms of 4 years.
(b) The Jury shall be comprised of three medical personnel (at least one of which will be a mental health professional), three previously incarcerated individuals, and three Senior Judges from the Magistrate, State, or Superior, or Appellate Courts.
(c) They shall meet either virtually or in person at least once a month to investigate and discuss issues that have been reported to them or have come to their notice about the operations of the Georgia Department of Corrections as created in Chapter 4 of Title 42 or the Ga Code or other jail facilities as defined by Chapter 4 of Title 42 of the Ga. Code.
(d) The Jury shall be tasked with reviewing inmate grievances, reports from the general public, or reports from any other source of prison and jail conditions, medical treatment corruption, inmate abuse and mistreatment.
(e) The Jury shall have full investigatory power including subpoena power in their access to prisons and jail including but not limited to their records, their inmates, their employees, and their contractors without notice in the official course of their duties.
(f) The constraints of documents being State secrets shall not prevent them from being able to subpoena and consider the documents so labeled.
(g) The Jury shall maintain the integrity of the State secret documents while investigating and after the investigation unless or until the Commissioner or a Superior Court Judge unseals the documents.
(h) The Jury may convene and with Notice hold hearings and compel the attendance of witnesses who will testify under oath.
(i) The Jury shall have contempt power to enforce its orders.
(j) The Jury shall have the power to indict for crimes that it discovers in the course of the scope of its investigations.
1. To indict the Jury must have at least 5 members voting to indict and at least one of the Senior Judges must be agree with the indictment.
2. Any indictment passed by the Jury shall be returned in the Superior Court of the County in which venue lies.
3. The District Attorney of that County shall take up the indictment and pursue prosecution.
(k) The Jury may bring a civil action on behalf of an aggrieved inmate, that inmate’s family, or a class of inmates against the Georgia Department of Corrections to effect justice in treatment or recovery of damages.
(l) Once a year, near the end of the calendar year the Jury shall prepare a report concerning the conditions of the jails and prisons together with their recommendations to make those conditions more just and equitable.
(m) A Member of the Jury shall be available to present this recommendation to the Senate Oversight Committee and to testify before that committee.
Section 4.
Ga Code § 15-12-123 - Provision for staff and operating budget
(a) In the yearly budget there shall be a provision for full-time staff members and office expenses.
(b) The Jury shall have at minimum three office staffers, two investigators, and funds for legal representation.
(c) If the Jury brings a civil action and prevails, they shall receive, in addition to any relief that was sought, reasonable attorney fees.
(d) Also, the Jury shall be authorized to request assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations when investigating a possible crime.
Section 5.
Ga Code § 15-12-124 – Qualifications for Jury Members
(a) Jury members must be residents of Georgia and a minimum of 25 years of age.
(b) Three of the Jurors must hold state medical licenses of some kind at least one of them must be a licensed mental health professional.
(c) Three of the Jurors must be Senior Judges from either Magistrate, State, Superior or Appellate judgeships who remain in good standing with the Bar and Judicial Qualifications Committee.
(d) The three previously incarcerated individuals must have been released from prison at least three years prior to their appointment and must have lived a life free of crime and without serious incident during that period.
(e) Each previously incarcerated individual must have at least 3 recommendations from persons without criminal records.
(f) Each prospective Juror must be nominated by a fellow Georgia Citizen to the Governor of the State except for the Senior Judges who may volunteer on their own nomination.
(g) The Governor will choose those who he/she feels will be fair, honest, and diligent in the search for truth.
(h) The Senate Oversight Committee will give prompt attention to any nominee presented by the Governor and after recommending them to the Senate floor the full Senate shall give them a speedy up or down vote.
Section 6.
Ga. Code § 15-12-125 – Effective Date
(a) This Act shall be effective immediately upon signing by the Governor.

10/17/2021

CORRUPTION GROWS IN THE DARK
Prisons need constant oversight.
(Please invite me to speak to your event).

Jesus said, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:20-21 (NIV). Every State, in an effort to have transparency in government, has some form of Open Records Act because people know instinctively that what is hidden tends to either be corrupt or grow corruption. If you send an Open Records Request to the Georgia Department of Corrections, you will find that most of the records that they keep are deemed to be “State Secrets” and can only be opened by the Order of the Commissioner or the Order of a Judge. This is true even if the requester is the attorney for an inmate and the records pertain to his or her personal information. It seems that one’s personal information is a state secret even from one’s self. This sort of secrecy is what has led to the investigation by the Department of Justice into the practices of the Georgia Department of Corrections. This secrecy from the public must change if we want the taint of corruption to be lifted from Georgia’s Department of Corrections. There are two ways to accomplish this: First, we must restrict the power of the Commissioner to make documents into “state secrets,” and secondly, we must create a standing Citizen’s Grand Jury with the power to continually hold the GDOC accountable for their actions or inactions.
Restricting the Commissioner’s ability to make documents a state secret is vital to holding the GDOC accountable for its actions. No government employee who can hide the actions of his department with a stroke of a pen can be trusted. This is not meant to disparage this Commissioner about any actions in particular, it is just to illustrate the axiom that “Secrecy breeds corruption.” Take this anecdote we have been given permission to share. A law office was representing an inmate in a transition center (TC) who had a job in the “free world” and was convinced that the TC was stealing money from his pay. The law office first asked for a copy of the inmates pay records and the Superintendent of the TC instructed them to file an Open Records Request (ORR). When the ORR was filed, the GDOC Law Department answered that these records were sealed and unavailable even to the inmate or his lawyer without direct permission from the Commissioner. In other words, they were state secrets. When GDOC will restrict pay records from the person being paid, just imagine what they will do with video of a group of guards nearly beating an inmate to death. Those who are righteous come to the light that their deeds can be shown as being righteous. We need to open up the records at GDOC.
There is one overarching reason for certain records to be secret. It is the most overused excuse in corrections: Security. There is a proper interest in security however, and it cannot be taken away from GDOC without hurting their ability to function. But that does not mean that we should not have oversight in those areas. We must enact laws to establish a standing Citizens Grand Jury with the power and authority to investigate anything GDOC related without notice or restriction. The Georgia Code currently provides for such a Grand Jury that looks into the jails on a regular basis. O.C.G.A. § 15-12-78. Unfortunately, the inmates are threatened by the Sheriffs when this Grand Jury comes around and told not to talk to any of them. That is a discussion for a different article. A similar standing Grand Jury should be formed for the GDOC. If we would properly investigate ourselves instead of sweeping our problems under the secrecy rug the Department of Justice would not be here sorting our dirty laundry.
The need for this standing Grand Jury can be seen by the refusal of the Warden at Arendelle State Prison to allow State Legislators to come in on a surprise inspection to see the prison. Of course, security concerns were used as the lame excuse for not allowing them in. Reports from inmates inside with illegal phones exposed the real reason for the delay. In the next three days, the prison was cleaned, officers were borrowed from other prisons, troublemakers were hidden away, and the rest of the inmates were threatened to keep them silent. Then, and only then, were the Legislators invited to come inspect the prison. Did they have something to hide? Yes they had plenty to hide. See Inhumane Conditions in Georgia Prisons.
After the DOJ announced that they were opening up an investigation into Georgia prisons, there was a scramble to obstruct that investigation. Inmates in administrative areas were fired and transferred to other prisons, segregated inmates were transferred. Corrections Officers were warned to keep silent. Some were fired even though the system is critically short of officers. Inmates were openly threatened not to talk or cooperate with the DOJ. Is this the actions of a “law enforcement” organization, or is this a “criminal organization?”
Probably the most “shocking” recommendation you will read here about forming a Grand Jury to oversee the prisons is the suggested make-up of the jury. One third of the jury should be medical professionals (both mental and physical health), one third of the jury should be formerly incarcerated individuals (who would have better insight), and one third of the jury should be senior judges (for their insight into the law). Everyone asks why formerly incarcerated jurors? The answer is simple: they know what they are looking at when they go into prisons. They know who to talk to, how to spot undo and illegal pressure, and they have successfully come through prison and re-established their lives. The more proper question is, why would we NOT have them on the jury? One might argue that they would have an axe to grind against the GDOC. That is possibly true, but the make up of the jury puts them at a 2 to 1 disadvantage. If their reasons do not convince the other jurors they cannot “grind their axe.” Further, we must recognize that there are formerly incarcerated individuals that can now be trusted.
A Grand Jury would have free access to all of GDOC’s records with no security exception. They would have the authority to inspect prisons without notice. They would have subpoena power to bring Officers, Wardens, and Commissioners in to testify. Their investigations would be mostly secret to preserve their integrity, but their separation from the GDOC would allow them to properly oversee the prisons. This sort of oversight would bring the strongest of disinfectant to the running of the GDOC: accountability! Who could possibly be against this? Who is against the light? Only those whose deeds are evil.

10/10/2021

Prisons Can Be Fixed!!

In Georgia, like in Alabama and Missouri before us, we have the Department of Justice investigating our prisons for Civil Rights violations. Before you say that the federal government should stay out of Georgia’s business, (which I am generally for), I want to point out that upwards of 50 inmates died in the Georgia Department of Corrections' (GDOC) care from January until September when the DOJ showed up. In the last two weeks, deaths have mysteriously stopped. Could it be that GDOC suddenly decided that these were not just prisoners who had no rights and they put some effort toward safeguarding them? Honestly, I don’t know, but it is an interesting coincidence.
Currently, the prison system in Georgia has three top priorities: 1. Security, 2. Security, and 3. Security. This leaves other priorities like education, medical care, and vocational training to suffer and die from neglect. There are steps that will both make prisons more secure, make them less expensive, and make them more productive all at the same time. First, there should be a permanent Citizen’s Review Board to oversee the GDOC. Secondly, prisons should be completely reorganized to motivate prisoners to earn their early release and earn their restoration into society. These changes will put the goal of security at number one when it needs to be there and elevate restorative goals as the offender earns that place. All of this can be done with less money, less violation of rights, and with more success than is seen in the current failed system. What follows is a sketch of that system.
First, we need to see how our system currently works. Most male offenders come through the Georgia Classification and Diagnostic Prison (GCDP) or more commonly known as “Jackson.” Females come through a similar prison called Lee Arrendale. There is a certain amount of “classification” that goes on, but basically, those with violent crimes go to Hays, Ware, Telfair, Washington State, Calhoun, etc and those with s*x offenses and less violent histories go to prisons like Dooley, Riverbend, Coffee, Wilcox, and Wheeler. There are many more prisons but suffice it to say prisoners are separated generally and go to separate warehouses. There is very little differentiations between prisons, all are focused on security as their highest priority. Some are safer than others, but all have gang activities and treatment of all is about the same. This simply should not be so. It is costly and ignores another very important goal of prisons: Earned Restoration.
First to be successful the GDOC must a Citizen’s Review Board to oversee it. The GDOC operates with impunity and whatever they do is practically a “state secret.” This can be most shockingly seen by how the newly appointed Warden of Lee Arrendale Prison, Allen Dills, treated a group of State Representatives who had the gall to show up at his prison and ask to come in to inspect. They were turned away in their first attempt and then invited back a few days later when the prison could be prepared for their visit. Jesus warned us that those whose deeds were evil shun the light, but those whose deeds are good come to the light to show you that their deeds are “of God.” The GDOC actively seeks the darkness of secrecy and one can only imagine why.
It is for this reason that the GDOC should have a Citizen Review Board appointed by the Legislature and empowered to inspect, investigate, and correct problems they find in the Georgia Prisons. They would be accessible to offenders whose final grievance appeal would be to the Board, and to family members who are not getting any response from the local Warden’s Office concerning their loved ones. This Board must have access to all records and to prisons without notice to be effective. Finally, the Board needs to have the power to first talk to the GDOC about fixing certain problems, but ultimately, they should have some referral power to the Attorney General or others to correct criminal problems that they find. Only with this sort of oversight will the corruption and ineptitude of the GDOC be mitigated. With an oversight feedback loop in place, we will be certain that real change is taking place in Georgia Prisons.
Secondly, we must fashion a prison system with three main goals: Punishment, Safety, and Restoration.
The idea of punishment is important, because those in prison are (hopefully) guilty of breaking the peace in the State of Georgia to the point that they must be punished. Nothing in this article is meant to imply that prisons should not punish. But it is also important to know that it is not up to the prisons to impose that punishment. When a free man or woman has that freedom taken way, they are isolated from their children, their spouses, and the rest of their family. That lack of “freedom” is their punishment, the prison does not have to add to that. Either the Judge or the Parole Board should set an amount of time which is designated as the "punishment phase" so that those on the inside and their families on the outside will know what to expect. Uncertainty, is like purgatory, and should never be imposed upon families.
Safety is more than just security. Safety begins with proper classification. Separating the violent from the non-violent is the key difference. That should be done from the very moment they enter a classification prison. We should separate gang affiliated from non-gang affiliated prisoners. Within these groups we should separate them by how much time they have left in their punishment phase. Doing this allows the State to concentrate the Security costs in the more difficult prisons and create an incentive program that mitigates the need for fences and guards as the offender grows more citizen-like in prison. But safety goes even further; Offenders need nutritious and filling food, they need daily healthy exercise, they need adequate access to medical care and dental care. We cannot put men and women in prison where they join gangs out of fear for their safety, eat inhuman food, sleep their lives away, and only receive medical attention for the most extreme illnesses.
Restoration is the most important goal of the Justice System after a person is convicted. If we do not have a pathway to Restore these offenders to FIRST CLASS society, and this plan does not start back the prison system and continue until they have a clean record, we have failed. Look at prison as an education camp. We should teach ethics, academics all the way through college and job skills including real job experience. We currently do a shadow of these things, but do not concentrate on them nearly enough. Citizens is preparing a detailed policy plan for this pathway to "Earned Restoration" that will be brought out in future articles and in legislation that we are preparing and backing. But for now, this restoration should begin with education offenders while they are still in prison, allowing them a means of making and saving money while paying their own way, ending with a strong transition into society with support thereafter and having a plan for them to earn a clean record. If we cannot RESTORE those who earn it, what are we doing except for creating a permanent underclass who will always be a danger to reoffend?
Much has to be done. It is much harder to have a program of earned restoration than it is to warehouse human beings and then put them on the street with some shabby clothing and a debit card containing $35. We can and must do more. We in society will be the beneficiaries of a better justice system. If you agree, contact me or join us on Facebook, YouTube, or our Website. We can make this happen.
John E. Harris, former inmate
Co-Founder of Citizens for Justice with Mercy
[email protected]

10/10/2021

Please join the group: Citizens for Justice with Mercy (Action) and share this article.

A Modern View of Criminal Justice
The Criminal Justice System is broken. Here in Georgia over 50 prisoners have died this year because of our lack of care. Our prison system is so poorly run that the Department of Justice is investigating it. Now is the time to make a change.
The view that punishment is the goal of the Justice system is a narrow one. There are two goals: preventing crime and promoting restoration. Without these goals of our Justice System is a failure.
Earned restoration is not rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is the attempt to change the offender. Restoration is giving the offender a pathway to citizenship. When we fail to provide a pathway to citizenship, we are creating a permanent underclass that is a breeding ground for crime and discontent. This is our failure in society.
Prevention of crime is the first goal. Police presence in a neighborhood is occupational unless the majority of those policing are neighbors. Police who live in the neighborhood know the people and are known by the people. Familiarity tends to promote compassion and dispel fear. To prevent crime, we must first change the relationship young people have with the police.
School age children know very little about the courts and laws. While they have a general idea of what is illegal, they have little idea what the consequences are. How can long mandatory sentences be a deterrent if the young do not know what they are? We need to teach about the law, policing and the courts in school. Police officers should rotate through schools and teach these courses. Knowing the police will dispel fear.
While poverty is not an excuse for crime, it is naïve to believe that poverty does not breed envy which is the root cause of much crime. Anyone who sells drugs can sell a legal product and be successful. We need to teach that upward mobility is an option. Entrepreneurialism and vocational trades should be a staple for young people. We need to provide micro loans and mentor programs. Every effort must be made to ensure that the young do not enter adulthood with the taint of a criminal record.
Courts and Laws must be fair, honest, and equally applied. The rule of law means nothing, if the law is not fair, honest and equally applied. Prosecutors must not view their job as a game to be won, they must seek justice over winning. We must develop the attitude that it is better to have the guilty get go free than to have the innocent convicted. The most important decision in prosecution is the decision of what charges to bring. Over charging someone to motivate them to plead guilty is coercion and it should be illegal. Convictions takes lives and break up families. Righteous convictions and reasonable sentences are a necessity not a luxury. Conviction Integrity Units should be in every county and over the whole state. An unjust conviction should NEVER be allowed to stand. You cannot have Justice if the conviction and sentence is not just regardless of procedure.
Prisons must be productive. Simply warehousing individuals is an affront to human dignity. Of course, prisons are for punishment, but they should also be where offenders receive advanced education, develop employable skills, earn and save money, and learn moral thinking. Release from prison must be dependent on merit. Prisons must be a place where we produce law-abiding citizens instead of bitter, proficient criminals. Incarceration should not be solely about punishment; it must also be about remolding citizens.
The final phase of the criminal justice system is earned restoration. Without a clear pathway to being a first-class citizen, former offenders are mired down in second class citizenship which is a breeding ground for crime. Georgia inmates leave prison with their documents, a resume, ill-fitting clothes, and $35 if they are lucky. Instead, the first year of a returning citizen’s release should be filled with programs and assistance designed to make their release a permanent success. Most returning citizens should have a pathway to earn a clean record. Everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a second chance.
Fixing the criminal justice system is paramount to our credibility as a society. It requires a societal change in our attitudes about crime, punishment and restoration. There is no “justice” in a Justice system that does not value people over process or punishment. When we release men and women and saddle them with stigma, we deserve what we get. We should be known for the way we handle those who have stumbled in life. The fact that we see those who perpetrate crime as castaways is a failing in our society. Our Justice system can be fixed, it must be fixed, and we will fix it. Get onboard!
John Harris,
Former Georgia Inmate, and
Co-founder of Citizens for Justice with Mercy, Inc.
[email protected]
770-371-0158

04/29/2021

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, who calls himself “The Crime Fighter,” was indicted on federal charges Tuesday for allegedly violating the civil rights of jail detainees.