Protecting the Innocent

Part of the argument used by those within the Catholic leadership who are calling for an abolition of capital punishment (an abolition which Lampstand does not support, see our criminal justice principles) is that current criminal justice technology—particularly carceral security—are able to protect the innocent from the aggressor to the point that it is no longer to utilize capital punishment to do so.

This article about the proliferation of cell phones in just one state prison system—one of the most secure in the nation—reveals how easy it is for the agressor, even from prison, to reach out and threaten the innocent.

“AUSTIN — After finding 775 prohibited cell phones in Texas prisons so far this year, state officials are petitioning federal regulators and the U.S. Senate for the power to jam cell phone signals in lockups — joining 27 other states who want the same authority.

“Texas and other states hope to use jamming technology to keep cell phones out of the hands of inmates, who can use them to order criminal acts outside prison walls.

“It's critical,” said the Texas prison system's inspector general, John Moriarty. “The cell phones are the most immediate threat to public safety in Texas. ... We've had a lot of crimes orchestrated over those phones.”

“State Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire — a Houston Democrat who last year was called by a death row inmate on a smuggled phone — said in a statement, “What happened to me should never happen to another person.”

“Of the 775 phones found in Texas prisons from January through June of this year, 217 were intercepted before making it to an inmate, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons. It's unclear when the rest were smuggled in. To detect and prevent contraband, the prison system conducts searches and is training dogs to find cell phones. The department received $10 million in funding for security equipment.”