Protecting the Innocent

One of the reasons the US Catholic Bishops have called for the abolition of capital punishment is that they believe modern penal technology is adequate to protect the innocent from the criminal aggressor while the agressor is locked away in prison

Consequently, in capital criminal cases, a life sentence can replace the use of capital punishment, without causing harm to an innocent person who may have played a role in the prosecution.

In my book Capital Punishment & Catholic Social Teaching: A Tradition of Support, I examined that assumption and found it wanting, as prisoners, even under the most secure lockdown status, have access to—and can control—outside criminal resources.

One method of access is the contraband cell phone and this article from the Los Angeles Times reveals how many are within prison.

An excerpt.

“State prison officials have confiscated 4,130 contraband cellphones this year, more than all those seized in the previous three years combined, according to an internal report released today.

“The findings sparked concern among legislators that the proliferation of cellphones in state lockups is a growing security problem.

“More than 100 illegal phones were discovered at the California Institution for Men in Chino, including 10 in August, according to the report from Matthew Cate, head of the state prisons system. But he said there is no evidence that inmates used the devices during a riot that occurred there Aug. 8.

“Investigations conducted within California prisons have supported allegations [that] cellphones have been used by incarcerated felons to participate in criminal activity,” wrote Cate, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Crimes committed by inmates using cellphones have included the planning of escapes, restraining order violations, use of stolen credit cards to purchase inmate quarterly packages and the coordination of smuggling contraband into prisons, Cate said.”