Between The Lines - Scott Semple: Connecticut Moves Toward a More Humane and Dignified Approach to Corrections (Week Ending Sept. 18, 2015)

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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Connecticut Moves Toward a More Humane Approach to Prison Management

Posted Sept. 9, 2015

Interview with Scott Semple, Connecticut Department of Correction commissioner, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Connecticut recently made headlines when the state Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to carry out the death sentences of 11 men on death row after the state abolished the death penalty in 2012. When the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that banned capital punishment in 2012, the measure exempted those inmates already sentenced to death. But on Aug. 13, the state’s highest court ruled that the death penalty was “cruel and unusual punishment” and the 11 men awaiting execution will have their sentences converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Connecticut's new commissioner of the state Department of Correction, Scott Semple, took over as acting director in August 2014 and was confirmed in the post in January 2015 after being nominated by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. He comes to the job with 27 years' experience in the system, beginning his career as a corrections officer, then serving as a warden and later as the Department of Correction's liaison to the state legislature. Gov. Malloy and Commissioner Semple have pushed to repeal mandatory sentences and improve programs to help ex-prisoners find jobs, naming this broader initiative the “Second-Chance Society.”

Semple has been hailed by many grassroots criminal justice reform advocates as a man of compassion – a trait they say is sorely lacking in the system in general. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Commissioner Semple after he attended a recent meeting with reform advocates in New Haven. Here, he discusses his plans for reform and programs already put into place to make inmates' incarceration more humane and to ease their way back into the community upon release.

SCOTT SEMPLE: And when it comes to wellness, we’re talking about some of the things that occur in correctional environments, such as trauma and vicarious trauma and things of that nature. And over time and through experience, in general, people take those exposures for granted, but they really have some serious impacts. There are some indicators that suggest you can go in the direction of a more humane and dignified approach – with accountability – that you can lower those effects of incidents, and everyone is better for it – not just the staff, but the inmate population. What you will find in Connecticut and throughout the country in terms of how correctional facilities are designed, I call them stadium construction. You know, when an incident occurs in a correctional facility, everyone gets exposed because everyone is aware of it. It goes throughout the population, staff are familiar with it, and oftentimes the media is familiar with it. So, there are a lot of things that’s happened, and I think we’re going in a direction that takes a more dignified approach in terms of how we manage inmate populations and we’re starting to put some metrics into evaluating to see if what we do has an impact and supports those strategic initiatives that I mentioned.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Scott Semple, I understand that you recently returned from a visit to Germany to learn about criminal justice there?

SCOTT SEMPLE: About six weeks ago I returned from Germany. I was invited – myself and several other commissioners and advocates, a whole host of professionals – to just see what the European system looks like. Gov. Malloy was there with me, and what we saw was a very dignified environment, and the whole makeup of how they operate, there was some interesting aspects to their approach, and I did get to see that the vast majority of these folks, when they leave, they are employed; they have the ability to sustain themselves, and I thought that was attractive, but what was most attractive as it relates to trying to take a dignified approach within correctional facilities is that one of the facilities we went to – which would be the equivalent of a Level 4 maximum security environment, for calendar year 2014, had zero incidents, so that’s very limited trauma, if any, so that was extraordinarily attractive to me.

I am still evaluating what we can do here in Connecticut that may mirror or mimic some of the aspects of how they manage that population. There are components of what they do that we would never even consider in Connecticut, some of that being that offenders can cook for themselves; there were utensils that typically we would consider contraband that were open and in common areas. I don’t know how or if that could ever happen just based on how we design our facilities and how they’ve been designed for a long period of time. But it was worth seeing, it was worth seeing a system outside this country; I’ve seen many systems inside this country. It was very exciting.

There are some interesting things they do with the juvenile population there, primarily 18 to 25 years of age. They really focus on the whole discussion about brain development, and I think as our populations lower we may be able to entertain some of the theories that go along with that.

BETWEEN THE LINES: There have been recent attempts to scale back the number of Americans, especially men and women of color, who are incarcerated. Where does Connecticut fit in that effort?

SCOTT SEMPLE: Historically, some people refer to it as hyper-incarceration, or mass incarceration. It definitely has been a huge financial burden on state budgets, federal budgets, county budgets. Connecticut is unique because it’s a consolidated system. I have an obligation, and our agency has an obligation, to be responsive to the taxpayers, and that is the direction received from our governor, to try to have an impact on this population, in terms of his developing(?) of the Second Chance Act. It’s very, very expensive to incarcerate people in Connecticut – not only in Connecticut, but across the nation. And if you just have a 5 percent reduction in recidivism, just within correction, that equates to about $12 million in savings. That’s a substantial amount of money, but if you take it even further, there are other savings within local government and things of that nature, when police and all different types of public safety entities, that could be a cost savings as far as the social impact as well. It’s about creating law-abiding citizens and sustainable incomes, but people have to feel better about themselves. It’s not just get a job and that solves the problem. If that was the case, this initiative would be a lot easier to address.

For more information and analysis of Connecticut’s innovative corrections programs, visit the Connecticut Department of Correction’s website at ct.gov/doc.