Corrections_Today_September_October_2019_Vol.81_No.5

nEWS & vIEWS

From Jim’s Desk Protesting

B efore our country became an actual country, a foundation- al “right” for the colonies citizens was to protest against ac- tions by the crown in England. Of course, this “right” was not recog- nized by the crown, but it became a time-honored tradition of American life. That tradition is now guaran- teed by the First Amendment to our Constitution which states: “Con- gress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” While the actual word “protest” is not used in the Constitution, it has generally been held that peaceful protests are protected by the First Amendment. Americans protest nearly everything in our society you can think of today. Some persons protest pipelines being built, some

protest use of nuclear weapons, oth- ers protest issues on abortion, and the list goes on and on. Today, some in our country are protesting the use of incarceration. And those persons employed in corrections along with us at ACA, become the target of these protests. And, of course, those persons em- ployed in corrections understand that it is legislative functions that make laws, executive functions that sign laws, judicial functions that up-hold laws, law enforcement that enforces those laws, and judicial functions that carry out those laws. The correc- tion professional gets the “rap” for all other governmental functions that bring persons into the justice system. The irony of protesting ACA and corrections is that we have called for reductions in incarceration through the use of alternative sanctions, we have written expected practices and outcome measures for the reduction of restrictive housing. Our standards account for humane and considerate

treatment of those involved in cor- rectional systems. We have called for juvenile sanctions to not include life without parole, and our list goes on and on in restructuring of our justice system. Perhaps leaders of protests against ACA (like those in Boston both times we have met there) ought to take time to read our resolutions, policies and standards. Then maybe the protesters would find other tar- gets in which to effect their calls for change. But make no mistake about it, protests are as American as apple pie and the Fourth of July! We at ACA just wish that protesting was always peaceful and respectful of other viewpoints and was effective toward the correct audience.

James A. Gondles Jr., CAE ACA Executive Director

6 — September/October 2019 Corrections Today