Judges Pled Guilty in “Jailing Children for Dollars” Scheme

by duo | January 29, 2009 at 01:02 am

1506 views | 12 Recommendations | 14 comments

TWO JUDGES in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania made a conditional plea deal Monday regarding using their positions to guarantee placement of juvenile offenders into certain private detention facilities. The facilities, operated by PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care LLC, allegedly paid the judges $2.6 million in kickbacks. Judge Mark Ciavarella, Jr. and Judge Michael Conahan pled guilty Monday and may be going to jail themselves for seven years each. (Werewolves.)

*Can you guess who was not charged for any wrongdoing?

Many of the children who were unnecessarily removed from their homes to fill the judge's incarceration quotas may have suffered (and some still are suffering) irreparable harm. Two causes of mental illness that may result in imprisoned children are at the links below:

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Separation anxiety is a psychological condition in which an individual has excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (like a father and mother). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_anxiety_disorder
and

Feelings of social rejection occur when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. The experience of being rejected is subjective for the recipient, and it can be perceived when it is not actually present. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejection_(emotion) Children who were incarcerated are subject to continuing rejection by peers and peers' parents once released.

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Hundreds of children fell victim to these veteran judges’ prison profiteering scheme between 2003 and 2007 because half of the children of Luzerne County appear before the bench without attorney representation (blood of poor children). The judges shipped them off to their buddies’ private detention centers whether or not the children’s probation officers recommended sentencing (minor crimes). The judges also allegedly ensured the success of the private prison facilities by removing funding for the county-owned detention center from the Luzerne County budget.

There is an epidemic of corruption among the judiciary, who are not above wrongdoing for the big money to be made in private prison profiteering. Apparently, there were more judges in on the “jailing for dollars” scheme. According to Martin Carlson, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the indictment against the two judges was only the first developments in an ongoing investigation regarding corruption in the Wilkes-Barre courthouse. Lynn Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said that since October, five judges have been removed from the bench and two others were sanctioned. (Prison profiteering spreads like an air-borne disease.)

The Juvenile Law Center, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and the attorney general's office joined in a petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review over 250 Luzerne County cases involving juveniles who went to delinquency hearings without lawyers, but the Supreme Court flat refused on January 8. (Private prison profiteering is an epidemic.)

Read more about the alleged conspiracy against poor children in Pennsylvania at this link:

2 Pa. judges to plead guilty to public corruption
Yahoo News – Monday, January 26, 2009 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_on_re_us/courthouse_corruption

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* Did you guess it was the private detention facilities’ owners who were not charged? Right you are! (Protected class.)

The United States Department of Justice reported in 2006 that 1 in 134 adults was in prison. The Department of Justice's statistics also indicated that that 1 in 31 people in America was either in prison, on parole, or on probation (imprisoned or living under the immediate threat of prison). Just two years later, the PEW Center on the States reported in February 2008 that 1 in every 99.1 adults was in prison. Among African American men between the ages of 18 and 34, the ratio is 1 in 9. The country's high incarceration rate comes at a staggering cost to taxpayers - around $50 billion annually, not counting police work and trials. What increase in incarcerations will the PEW Center report show by February 2009?

More on th PEW Center report was carried by the Huffington Post. Excerpts are below:

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The Huffington Post - 2/28/2008

Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 - one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more than any other nation.

"For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling," the report said. "While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine."

The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women aged 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group.

The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, 2008, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That's out of almost 230 million American adults.

The report said the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which round out the Top 10.

The U.S. also is among the world leaders in capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, its 53 executions in 2006 were exceeded only by China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.
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On the Net: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org

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UPDATE

SLATE
2/12/09

http://www.slate.com/id/2211162?wpisrc=newsletter
Un-guilty! Do Corrupt Judges Get Their Decisions Erased?

Juvenile advocacy groups and personal injury lawyers are already preparing lawsuits to get the judges' rulings reversed and/or win damages for their clients. Success will depend on whether they can show that the original verdicts were influenced by bribery or were otherwise tainted. (See the link above for full article.)

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Recommended Reading:

INDICTED: VP Cheney and Former Attorney General Gonzales – Private Prison Profiteers?
http://my.nowpublic.com/health/indicted-vp-cheney-and-former-attorney-general-gonzales-private-prison-profiteers

Is America's Prison System Legalized Slavery?
http://my.nowpublic.com/health/americas-prison-system-legalized-slavery

(Access more articles at the Articles link at author’s signature block.)

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MARY'S COMMENTARY

We congratulate President Obama for issuing executive orders to close the Cuban prisons and ban torture. I am hopeful of the day when he turns his attention to the condition of prisoners within America’s borders.

The abuse of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails was the subject of a Willacy County, TX indictment last fall against former Attorney General Gonzales. The lack of investigative effort given to the abuse and deaths of prisoners in America remains a major concern for inmates and prisoner rights advocates. President Obama, please apply your zeal for preserving the human rights of prisoners to American citizens who also frequently suffer torturous prison conditions and are allowed to die in government custody without any investigative effort on the part of the USDOJ. See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Please bring your concern for prisoner rights home to America, President Obama, where 2/3 of inmates are incarcerated for non-violent offenses, and about half of the 2.3 million incarcerated persons are mentally ill. Many of the mentally ill prisoners did not even understand the laws they broke, or they lacked the wherewithal to obey the law. Mentally ill inmates also may not have understood their Miranda Rights, and many were unable to participate in their own defense. Acute mental patients should not be imprisoned after crimes, but hospitalized (especially since most crimes by mentally ill offenders only occur after treatment is withheld).

Our criminal justice system apparently targets society’s most vulnerable citizens for imprisonment: the mentally ill, children, and poor people who lack the resources for good legal counsel. America’s criminal justice system needs to CHANGE!

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For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ~ 1 Timothy 6:10

How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. ~ Psalm 82:2

Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
Articles: http://my.nowpublic.com/search?fulltext=1&type=story&keys=mary+neal
Author's page: http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=513396753
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Request: Please comment below if any of the links do not work. My writing is highly censored (not by NowPublic).

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duo

at 12:14 on February 1st, 2009

NOTE: There are more photos available at the FOOTAGE tab above the article - top, center. The photo display at NowPublic should rotate, but the ones for this article are not allowed to, in order to contain damage to the judges.

Thank you for checking out the article. I liken prison profiteers to werewolves, as they are half-human dog beasts that live off the misery of others, sucking the life blood out of their fellow Americans for their own enrichment - prefering the blood of the young (best for prison labor camps) and the poor, which includes a disproportionate number of black and brown people. About 2/3 of prisoners were convicted for non-violent offenses, and more than half are mental patients, who should be treated for their health conditions instead of suffering, often under cruel circumstances, in prisons and jails. Only half-human dog beasts would capitalize off sick people and children, destroy homes and remove parents from their children, as in America's slave past, to enrich themselves and have fresh stock for prison labor.

I also call prison profiteers the New World Order gang, because it takes a cooperative effort among elected officials, judges, businesspersons, and mainstream media to create a Prison Nation where America once stood - and to pull this off quietly, without the public becoming alarmed at the cruelty of closing mental hospitals to jail mental patients and indignant over the taxpayer expense (around $50,000 per year, per inmate, and significantly more for acute mental patients and hospice inmates).

Please share your thoughts!

Sputnic

at 06:46 on January 29th, 2009

Great post, this is just obscene. The hungrier America is for change the more likely it is to happen

duo

at 07:15 on January 29th, 2009

Thank you Sputnic. And thanks for your commendation on my Obama article, too.

I don't see how these people can feel good looking at themselves in the mirror, Sputnic, treating children like DOGS! Taking folks' children and locking them up for little or nothing, when even their PO's did not recommend they be removed from their homes. All because of greed. These judges sold their souls, Sputnic. In the Bible, Moses and other great prophets were also called "judges." They were honored. They spoke to the people on behalf of God the Father, and the judges judged important matters when there was discord among the brethren. These men do not deserve to the called the same thing that Moses was called! I think of them as werewolves!

Look at the babies in the pictures I posted. Who would hurt a child?

Mary

duo

at 06:45 on January 30th, 2009

America has become a prison nation because the U.S.A. has the most savvy business people on earth. They know how to make any enterprise prosper if they put their minds to it (bail-outs notwithstanding). I hope that some day soon, these smart and resourceful leaders will decide to put their excellent business sense and investments to the task of building or refurbishing our nation's mental hospitals and opening more community care centers for mental patients. They might not lose any money by shifting their focus from incarcerating sick people to treating psychiatric conditions, and it would be an excellent service for the Lord. We must remember that such as we do unto the least of these, His brethren, we do it also unto Him. (Matthew 25:40)

Blessings!

duo

at 18:33 on January 30th, 2009

Thank you, NowPublic. The Care2 Community has promoted this submission to the
Care2 News Network Front Page.

READ COMMENTS BY Care2 READERS AT THE BELOW LINK:

News: “Jailing Children for Dollars” Scheme - Pennsylvania Judges Pled Guilty

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babysnake (not verified)

at 21:55 on January 30th, 2009

This is absolutely obscene. Why are private prisons even allowed to exist? The entire idea of profiting from jailing people is unconscionable. They only encourage slimeball profiteers to make sure people get sent to prison to make them more money. Private prisons need to be outlawed and the owners who paid the bribes need to be put in jail. They are the ones committing legal and moral crimes against US citizens.

Babysnake

duo

at 22:53 on January 30th, 2009

Thank you for your comments, Babysnake. (What a name!)

Is this what you are looking for?

THE PETITION TO END PRIVATE PRISONS

http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html

You may want to sign the petition to END PRIVATE PRISONS. People are not commodities. It is wrong to imprison ever increasing numbers of America's black and brown or poor citizens, more than half of whom have mental health issues. Two-thirds of America's prisoners are incarcerated for non-violent crimes - often at costs to taxpayers of over $50,000 per year, per inmate.

Using prison labor - legalized slavery - to manufacture goods to further enrich prison profiteers is immoral.

Your response will help thousands of other Larrys (my mentally ill brother who died under SECRET ARREST) who are suffering imprisonment for reason of their very common and highly-treatable health issue: mental illness. http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html

God bless you for your concern, Babysnake.

TIP: Copy and save or print the page you sign your name on when you sign petitions. Sometimes, signatures are removed from human rights petitions by those who seek to curtail the efforts of petitioners. Notice what number you sign beside, and check the petitions in a week or so to see if your name is still there and beside the same number. If your associated number has slipped, notify the petition owners. It means some signatures that went before yours are gone. YES, I have proof it happens!

Mary Neal

CJaye

at 09:03 on January 31st, 2009

My God Mary whats next? The criminal element is so far up in the Government that we can't even trust the people who are there to protect us and our children. Another example of corruption in our Justice system.

duo

at 21:43 on January 31st, 2009

Thanks for checking out the article, CJaye. Nothing has changed, really. People are no worse now than they were. Evil people have always victimized those they have an advantage over - it is ancient history. Thus, we have slavery all over the world like you write about so well. We have wars, child molestation, and prison profiteers, like these judges and the folks who paid them to channel the children into their detention centers. They're the reason God keeps hell hot and ready. He knows they're coming some day.

Mary

duo

at 12:19 on February 1st, 2009

Thank you, Amy, for trying to make the photographs rotate for this article. If I were a prison profiteering werewolf, I would try to keep people from looking at the innocent children I victimized, also.

Jen in Luzerne County, PA (not verified)

at 15:23 on March 9th, 2009

Hi duo,

I live in Luzerne County. The courthouse has been stinking for many, many years. The most shocking thing to me is that Ciavarella and Conahan were actually arrested. And then pled guilty. It makes me wonder what else the FBI has on them, and I am anxious for further details of the deal to be revealed. What they did is despicable beyond words. What really stinks is that they will probably spend a maximum of 5 years or so in some country club "prison", like Allenwood. Everyone knows they both have lots of money stashed away. In a few years, they will both be laughing at all of us again. I like your website, keep up the good work.

duo

at 17:56 on March 9th, 2009

Thank you, Jen. I assure you that when my mentally ill brother was secretly arrested for 18 days in Shelby County Jail, Memphis,TN, we had no knowledge of any of this scheme to imprison people for profit. But unless county jails and juvenile detention centers are kept overcrowded, no people would spill over into incarceration in private correctional facilities, where the money is. Gonzales, who was Attorney General during the Bush administration, was forced to resign after a scandal. Then last fall, he was indicted by a TX grand jury on prison profiteering charges - withholding USDOJ investigations of county jails after prisoners allege abuse. In our case, Larry actually died under secret arrest, and the USDOJ under Gonzales would not investigate the jail. So this prison profiteering goes way up the government's ladder. Now, I must keep writing about Larry and the issue of prisoners being mistreated in order to maintain the attention on this horrible issue. My 86-year-old mother and I live under self-imposed house arrest for safety after successfully serving suit against The Cochran Firm for its fraud - working for the jail where Larry died while under contract to be my family's wrongful death attorneys. (Prison profiteering involves many people!) Friday, we wrote the USDOJ to ask for a meeting. See our announcement and VIDEOS here: http://my.nowpublic.com/world/mary-neal-requests-meeting-usdoj

Thanks for your comments.

Jenny D

at 20:06 on March 20th, 2009

I watched your video today and ran it for guests who dropped in. Mary, your name and situation are getting known in my corner of the Land Downunder. From what I've read and watched, this Cochran Firm has to answer many questions about many illegal activities, besides the conflict of interest in accepting your case. They sent you on your way with a pack of lies and a bunch of promises they knew they wouldn't be keeping.

These new people in your neighbourhood who are constantly bullying you and your mother, as well as late night stalkers like the ones messing with your water supply, it doesn't take a genius to see that they have been hired by a person or people connected with the Cochran Firm; a person or people who desperately want to stop you from finding out the truth.

duo

at 07:08 on April 3rd, 2009

Thanks, Jenny! The only way for police officers, lawyers, and courts to be kept honest and upright is by having an authorative agency over them that demands justice. That oversight is the job of the USDOJ. Need I say more?

Mary