"The use of force can never be eliminated entirely, but prisons and jails can be managed with a minimum of physical force. We know that because we have seen it. Injury from staff violence has plummeted with no loss of administrative control in jails where we have brought and completed litigation, both in the low-security jail for misdemeanants and in the disciplinary unit, said by its managers to house 'the worst of the worst.'

"Power tends to corrupt, and that tendency is extraordinarily strong when power is exercised behind prison walls and outside public scrutiny, against people who are powerless and stigmatized and who will generally not be listened to or believed when they complain. Controlling the use of force in jails and prisons therefore requires not only lawful policies on paper, but ongoing vigilance by correctional leadership to ensure that policies are followed. In controlling the misuse of force against prisoners, there is no substitute for a genuine and attentive commitment by correctional administrators to operating its institutions with as little violence as possible. 'Nod and wink' oversight by correctional managers (often laundered with a fake paper trail of pro forma staff reports and blind-eye supervisory review) is probably the deadliest enemy of efforts to control excessive force."

Excerpted from a written statement submitted to the Commission