MARLBORO-The death of Gary Partridge at Southern State Correctional Facility was due to the shameful, and even criminal, culture of neglect by the prison health care provider, Wellpath (which is now filing for bankruptcy), and by extension, the Vermont Department of Corrections.
It is only one in a series of cases that we have read about in the press in recent years, along with endless stories of neglect and malpractice that incarcerated Vermonters have to endure.
In the last legislative session, Vermont Just Justice, an advocacy group of which I am a member, testified before the House Corrections and Institutions Committee about the many testimonials we had collected from incarcerated people and their loved ones about illnesses and injuries that were left untreated.
Sadly, the termination of the prison educator, Ben Mitchell, comes to no surprise to those of us who follow developments in our Vermont prison system.
I read with interest Peter Galbraith's Viewpoint advising the next governor on steps to increase economic justice in Vermont. I was disappointed that he did not mention one more factor that should be considered: that of criminal-justice reform. It's true that Vermont doesn't incarcerate as many people as other...
Bravo to Sheriff Keith Clark for searching for an innovative solution to our justice challenges. I particularly support the educational components proposed for this project. People at this meeting expressed concern for the safety of their community. Educating former inmates and helping them grow the skills necessary for a...
It's frightening when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. When that loved one is almost a thousand miles away, in a for-profit prison in Kentucky, the feelings of terror and helplessness are multiplied. And it's exactly what happened to me in July of this year. My husband, Richard, had a persistent sore throat earlier in the summer, and eventually was given a blood test when it didn't respond to antibiotics. The staff there first told him he might have...