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Should more (and male) inmates be permitted (and even encouraged) to raise babies behind bars?

By Douglas A. Berman

The provocative question(s) in the title of this post is prompted by this local storyout of Washington, which is headlined "8 babies behind bars at Washington womens prison."  Here are the basics that prompt my query: Right now, at Washington's largest corrections center for women, 871 inmates are serving their sentences.  Among them are 8 babies being raised right in the middle of it all.  It's a trailblazing program pioneered by Washington and now being adopted in other states. But, is prison a safe place to raise a child? Little Deegan's hands tell so much about the eight-month old boy.  He's playful, curious and always reaching out to his mother Sunny. "We're all in this and it's hard," Sunny Van Cleave explained.  "Deegan makes people happy...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 16, 2011 (boomark / email).