Emily F. Keller: Journalist

City Wins Appeals Ruling on Services for Mentally Ill Inmates

    A state appeals panel has ruled that New York City is no longer required to fulfill a 2003 mandate to provide services to inmates with mental illnesses after they are released from prison.

    The August 10 decision reverses an injunction by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Shafer last year that required the city to continue complying with terms of the settlement in Brad H. v. City of New York, a lawsuit that was filed in 1999 by a group of inmates from city jails.

    The panel said the court no longer has the power to continue enforcing the settlement, which required the city to provide services to inmates leaving prison beginning in 2003 and lasting for five years. Those services included mental health treatment, medication, assistance applying for public benefits and transportation to a home or shelter.

Special Cheer For Hard-Pressed Kids

    Dozens of children with formerly or currently incarcerated parents celebrated Christmas early at the Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope. A church deacon played Santa Claus, and members of the Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue Presbyterian churches in Manhattan donated about 200 gifts, including one toy and one piece of clothing for each child. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.

Voices Send Out a Call For Justice: Locked Up, But Not Locked Out of Life

    The nonprofit JusticeWorks Community plans a fund-raising event at the Church of Gethsemane with a poetry reading by formerly incarcerated people, and the presentation of the 2006 Rev. Dr. Constance M. Baugh Achievement Award. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the preview story.

Jail And Shopping Center? Retail Component Planned For House of Detention

    The New York City Department of Corrections has proposed re-opening Brooklyn's House of Detention in a mixed used building with retail on the ground floor. Published in Courier-Life Publications on March 17, 2006. Read the story.

The Formerly Incarcerated Find a New Start At Church of Gethsemane

    The Church of Gethsemane in Park Slope, Brooklyn welcomes people who were formerly incarcerated to its congregation with an annual Criminal Justice Sunday event, acknowledging people who are returning home from prison. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.