Joe Clark criticized for putting New Jersey youth inmates in shackles

Jet, Oct 21, 1996

Joe Clark, the celebrated, tough-love principal who was the inspiration for the movie Lean on Me, is under fire for his extreme disciplinary tactics.

Local, state and federal officials had not determined at Jet press time if they would discipline Clark, now director of the Essex County Youth Detention Facility in Newark, NJ, for putting teenagers in handcuffs and leg irons as punishment.

The boys, ages 17 and 18, were shackled for two days after several violent episodes in which they hurled excrement at guards, Clark said.

"I made them accountable for their diabolical behavior," Clark said. "They were not abused; they were not beaten; they were simply handled in a manner commensurate with their unacceptable behavior."

Since their punishment the boys have been model inmates, and Clark said he would not hesitate to use the shackles again.

Officials criticized Clark's actions, which they say are illegal. State correctional practices for juvenile detention facilities forbid use of shackles except in extreme situations or for transporting inmates, said Wendi Patella, spokeswoman for the Department of Youth and Family Services. Even then, they should be only used for 15 minutes at a time.

However, officials also said Clark, who was hired in August 1995, deserves credit for helping to clean up the center, which was in shambles in the early 1990s and still remains overcrowded.