Parole
September 9, 2011
Gov Brown announces appointments to Board of Parole Hearings, Corrections Standards Authority
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Askia Abdulmajeed, 69, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Board of Parole Hearings, Juvenile Division. Abdulmajeed has served on the Board since 2007. Abdulmajeed was a correctional chaplain in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2004 to 2006 and a program consultant for the Gates Recovery Foundation from 2002 to 2004. He served as special projects manager for Center Point, Inc., a co-ed community corrections program, from 1999 to 2002. Abdulmajeed was assistant deputy director of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs from 1991 to 1998. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,845. Abdulmajeed is a Democrat...
August 20, 2011
Prison re-alignment, paroles in the news
How will Tehama County deal with the influx of prisoners that will now fall under the responsibility of local authorities?
Law enforcement, county officials and representatives from the legal system met Thursday during the first meeting of the Community Corrections Partnership to develop a plan.
The goal of the partnership is to come up with a plan on how the county will implement the public safety realignment bill, AB 109...
LINK - RedBluffDailyNews.com
July 29, 2011
Protesters demand end to non-revocable parole law
Chanting “justice for the victims,” about two dozen people marched in front of the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, demanding change in the state policy that allows "low-level" parolees to be out in society without supervision. “I’m hoping people realize that this is happening,” said Fred Escobar, whose 27-year-old daughter Erica Escobar was killed, allegedly at the hands of an ex-convict who had been released on non-revocable parole status.
On May 3, Erica Escobar and 89-year-old Lucien Bergez were found dead in Bergez's Culver City home. A 31-year-old transient named Zackariah Lehnen was arrested two days later and charged with two counts of murder...
LINK - Culvercity.Patch.com
May 31, 2011
Woodford, Krisberg: “Don’t fear the prison (release) decision”
In his dissent from the majority in the recent Supreme Court decision requiring California to reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates, Justice Antonin Scalia warned that "terrible things are sure to happen as a consequence of this outrageous order."
But Californians shouldn't panic. The state won't have to throw open the prison doors to meet the court's order if it embraces very modest sentencing reforms.
Prudent ideas for reducing the prison population have been advocated by various task forces, including ones led by former Gov. George Deukmejian, by former Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp and by a national panel of corrections experts convened by the Legislature. The California Department of Corrections has already submitted a plan to the federal courts detailing how it expects to make the necessary prison population reductions...
LINK - LATimes.com
November 17, 2010
Marin County sues “good neighbor” CDCR over “non-revocable parolee release”
Marin County prosecutors hope they have persuaded state prison officials to abandon a plan that would have granted unsupervised release to a man convicted in the 2001 starvation death of his 19-month-old son and child abuse involving his 12 other children.
Winnfred Wright, the self-anointed leader of the Family, a cultlike Marin County group that included five women and 13 children, is scheduled to be released from prison next week. The state had planned to release Wright under a program started in January that allows nonviolent offenders to be paroled without supervision...
LINK - SFGate.com
September 3, 2010
Expert: Bracelets don’t act as a jail
A pair of scissors can make all the difference if you’re on parole or probation, stuck in an ankle bracelet and willing to risk the consequences.
Some parolees, including Siskiyou County resident Richard Leslie Taylor, removed their monitors and ran. Taylor removed the device Aug. 19 and has yet to be caught, according to the state corrections department.
Others, including Shasta County resident Daniel Edward Munger, chose to avoid the bracelet altogether. Munger was arrested Monday, the same day his arrest warrant for failing to participate in the monitoring program was issued...
LINK - Redding.com
May 29, 2010
Sex offenders falling through cracks
The men who check in Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Lynda Cummings at the Marysville Police Department are not unlike sex offender registrants in other cities and towns across the United States.
Some of them have been convicted of and have done time for crimes that involved children; others, for offenses involving only adults. Some have offenses dating back several decades and have convictions for non-sex-related crimes as well.
But unlike registrant lists in surrounding jurisdictions, Cummings' list includes no parolee addresses.
Proposition 83, better known as Jessica's Law, forbids any registrant on parole or probation from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or playground. And because Marysville is so densely concentrated, there is not a single foot of space within the city limits that is legal for registrant parolees to reside...
LINK - Appeal-Democrat.com
April 16, 2010
Corrections Dept. admits inmate release mistake
California is reversing course tonight after releasing several hundred potentially violent inmates with absolutely no supervision. Now the Department of Corrections is trying to track them down -- something that may prove easier said than done.
A new law allowed the California Department of Corrections to release more than 6,600 low-risk inmates on unsupervised, non-revocable parole. But the agency now says about 500 of those need to be supervised after all.
Its software program that helps assess the risk of them committing another crime has been upgraded-now taking into consideration an inmate's previous county convictions...
LINK - ABCLocal.go.com
March 17, 2010
CDCR investigating itself over Gardner parole issues?
Two San Diego County lawmakers are questioning whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has picked the right vehicle for reform in asking for an investigation into how parole agents handled the 2000 molestation case of John Albert Gardner III, now charged in the death of Chelsea King.
Stung by revelations that the state missed chances to put Gardner back in prison long before the Poway teenager was killed, Schwarzenegger last week ordered the Sex Offender Management Board to investigate the case, from prosecution to parole.
Lawmakers questioned whether the agency - part of the state corrections system - was the right pick. Supporters say the board has shown a willingness to be critical...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
March 17, 2010
Court orders parole releases in Oakland and South City murder cases
A state appeals court in San Francisco today ordered the parole release of two men who each served close to three decades in prison for separate second-degree murders committed in Oakland in 1979 and South San Francisco in 1982.
Bennie Moses, 61, was convicted in Alameda County Superior Court of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Willie Rhodes, whose brother had killed Moses’s father five years earlier, in Oakland on 1979. He was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison.
Ernesto Juarez, 50, was found guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court of second-degree murder in killing Bruce Farley in a vehicle collision in South San Francisco in 1982...
LINK - SFExaminer.com
March 16, 2010
Redding council may contest early prison releases
Redding City Council members tonight will consider sending a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him not to release 19,000 unsupervised prison inmates.
"It's really wrong and bad business," said Redding police Chief Peter Hansen of the proposed early releases.
In September, the state Legislature passed an emergency measure calling for the early release of more than 19,000 nonserious, nonviolent inmates as a way to help balance the state's budget and comply with a court-mandated order to stave off overcrowding...
LINK - Redding.com
March 10, 2010
Parolee with 19 arrests underscores dangers of new parole law, L.A. police union says
The union representing Los Angeles police officers said Wednesday that a parolee with 19 arrests and four convictions underscores how laws meant to ease prison overcrowding could pose a serious -- and ongoing -- threat to public safety. Ezra Hooker Sr. was arrested Jan. 5 after allegedly pointing a rifle at a prostitute and leading LAPD officers on a high-speed chase on South Los Angeles freeways.
During the pursuit, which LAPD investigators said hit 100 mph, Hooker threw a brick at officers and discarded a rifle before crashing his car. Hooker was found to be wearing body armor at the time of his arrest, police said.
Sources familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about Hooker's criminal record, said the 43-year-old South L.A. resident had 19 prior arrests dating back to the 1970s, including murder and manslaughter. He served time in state prison for narcotics and gun possession.
LINK - LATimes.com
March 10, 2010
Schwarzenegger orders change in parole file policy
State prison officials, drawing fire for destroying the parole file of a man under scrutiny in the disappearances of two teenage girls, reversed their recordkeeping policy Tuesday on orders from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
John Albert Gardner III was charged last week in the suspected killing of Chelsea King, 17, of Poway and is a person of interest, police say, in the slaying of Amber Dubois, 14, who disappeared on her way to school more than a year ago. Her skeletal remains were found Saturday in northern San Diego County.
A convicted sex offender, Gardner, 30, was discharged from parole in 2008, and his file was purged after a year under departmental policy...
LINK - LATimes.com
March 9, 2010
State’s policy on parole notes being reviewed
Three years of field notes from parole agents supervising John Albert Gardner III after his release from prison on a 2000 molestation conviction were destroyed under a state policy that is being reviewed as he faces charges of raping and murdering Chelsea King.
California prison officials said pertinent information on parolees is transferred to a central file and retained before agents’ notes are burned or shredded.
But Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who represents the Poway area where Chelsea lived and went missing, wrote to state prisons Secretary Matthew Cate Monday, expressing alarm that the department destroys any records after one year...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
February 15, 2010
Calif. early release program draws fire
A debate about public safety is raging as cash-strapped California plans early releases for more than 6,000 prison inmates in 2010 to save money, observers say.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration says legislation creating the early releases will make the state safer, while law enforcement and victims' rights groups claim the upcoming offender population shift from inside to out is a high-risk move, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported Monday.
Changes in parole practices will safeguard the public, state officials said….
LINK - UPI.com
January 25, 2010
California inmate release plan begins
The state's controversial plan to reduce its prison population by 6,500 inmates over the next year begins today, with victims and law enforcement groups once again warning it will increase crime.
"We are concerned for the public's safety," said Christine Ward, director of the Crime Victims Action Alliance in Sacramento.
"We understand that this is a move by the Legislature to help relieve prison overcrowding and save money in the budget. But we're very disappointed that public safety seems to have taken a back seat to other issues."
The idea, which opponents label an "early-release" plan, was hammered out last year during contentious budget talks…
LINK - SacBee.com
September 30, 2009
Parole holds key to California prison overcrowding
Standing in a dim prison gymnasium that's been converted into a vast cell to house 300 inmates, Phillip Nelson talks about how he's spent much of his adult life incarcerated. He's been in and out of the Deuel Vocational Institution, a 1950s-era penitentiary that is now California's most overcrowded prison, partly due to parole violations since being convicted of receiving stolen property in the 1980s.
"I wouldn't be in prison if it weren't for the parole system," says Mr. Nelson, who was most recently sent back to prison for violating the terms of his parole because, he claims, he missed a "class."
Many of his fellow inmates, who sleep in cots lined up in rows stretching the width of the gym, also say they returned to prison for parole violations.
That is set to change. California has made sweeping changes to its parole system that experts and government officials say are key to reducing dangerously high populations in the nation's largest correctional system…
LINK - CSMonitor.com
September 3, 2009
Dugard case: Is California’s parole system overstretched?
Criminal charges against a parolee in the abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard have added fuel to arguments from some California Republicans and law enforcement groups opposed to changes in the state's parole system.
But criminal justice experts say the arrest of Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender who was under GPS monitoring, for Ms. Dugard's 1991 abduction is just one example of why the state's parole system needs to be overhauled.
"Those cases are proof of why you need greater supervision for high-risk people. The system is too lenient on the most violent and too harsh on people who would literally not be on parole at all in other states," says Joan Petersilia, a professor of criminology at Stanford University and author of "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry"…
LINK - CSMonitor.com
June 10, 2009
Editiorial: One man’s journey through prisons and parole brings problem into focus
…The Reception Center at San Quentin is a warehouse, a place where people await their next jail cell. It is not a place where people like Scott learn to mend their ways. It's a Petri dish of recidivism. Jailers acknowledge that there is no attempt at rehabilitation of any kind. You are more likely to get mental health services on the moon.
This is not to say that Scott deserves kid gloves. He either can't or won't improve his condition and as a result he leaves a trail of victims everywhere he goes. His convictions include vehicle theft, fighting and obstruction of a police officer. He has never followed the instructions of his parole officer and here's betting he never will. He can be combative. He is unapologetic. He is frightening at worst and at best merely frustrating.
And he'll be back. Trust me. It's an uncertain world, but this much I know: James Scott will return here upon his release for a matter of days before he does something that gets him thrown back in jail, where you and I can pay for his three hots and a cot for another few months…
LINK - HMBReview.com (Half Moon Bay Review)
February 12, 2009
Fresno Police Chief Reacts to Early Inmate Release
Overcrowding in California prisons has become a serious issue. The situation is so bad that a special panel of Federal Judges tentatively ruled that the state will have to release as many as 58,000 inmates over the next few years. But not everyone agrees it's the right thing to do. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says as President of the California Police Chiefs Association, he testified before the three Judge Panel in San Francisco, and presented them with alternatives to releasing inmates early.
"We are facing a crisis at the local level and at the state level when these individuals get out," said Chief Dyer. According to Dyer, if tens of thousands of prisoners are released early, a minimum of 1,900 of them will return to Fresno…
LINK - KMPH.com Fox News Fresno
February 11, 2009
Calif. inmate release prompts public safety debate
Without a U.S. Supreme Court reprieve, California will have to free roughly a third of its prison inmates in a few years, and how that can be done safely is still hotly debated.
Corrections officials said Tuesday they are struggling with their response to a tentative federal court ruling this week that the state must remove as many as 57,000 inmates over the next two or three years.
The state's 33 adult prisons now hold about 158,000 inmates. But the judges said overcrowding is so severe it unconstitutionally compromises medical care of inmates, and releasing prisoners is the only solution…
LINK - SFGate.com
February 10, 2009
National Briefs: Judge says California must release inmates to relieve overcrowding
A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled Monday that California must release tens of thousands of inmates to relieve overcrowding. The judges said no other solution will improve conditions so poor that inmates die regularly of suicides or lack of proper care. The three judges suggested a target prison population of between 100,800 and 121,000 inmates — down from the current level of about 158,000…
LINK - Star-Telegram.com
February 9, 2009
Judges order state to free thousands of inmates
A federal court panel said today it intends to order the release of tens of thousands of California inmates over two to three years to relieve overcrowding that has ravaged prison medical and mental health care.
The three-judge panel said it was confident that the prison population could be reduced without endangering the public.
"The evidence is compelling that there is no relief other than a prisoner release order that will remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions," the panel said in what it labeled a tentative ruling after a trial in San Francisco last fall…
LINK - SFGate.com (San Francisco Gate)
February 4, 2009
Opinion: “Parole key to tracking offenders”
…State law-enforcement leaders have asked the governor and our state legislators to not release convicted felons from our state prisons without some form of monitoring. If our state leaders are compelled to reduce staffing to such an extent that parole supervision is not provided for all criminal offenders, we urge our state leaders to place the appropriate terms of parole on the offenders so that local police officers and sheriff's deputies can monitor them.
The California Police Chiefs Association recently asked the governor to reconsider his position: The proposed parole policies provide that anyone convicted of a so-called non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual offense will be directly discharged upon release from state prison, without any parole accountability…
LINK - SBSun.com (The San Bernadino Sun)
January 28, 2009
CA Chief Probation Officers Assn Response to LAO Criminal Justice Realignment
Today, Chief Don Meyer, President of the Chief Probation Officers of California, issued the following statement in response to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report Criminal Justice Realignment, 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series:
Probation departments throughout the state have taken severe cuts to juvenile probation services over the past few years and, yet again, this year's budget proposes to cut juvenile probation services even further.
These cuts will have devastating impacts on public safety and rehabilitation services for juvenile offenders. The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) proposal released today will deteriorate local probation services even further by requiring additional realignment of the juvenile justice system as well as drug and DUI adult offenders. Even if these additional realignments were fully funded, probation departments cannot take on this increased responsibility, or any increased responsibility, without first addressing the huge deficit probation departments are currently operating under.
Unfortunately, the LAO's proposal does not address the massive cuts recently imposed on probation services, nor does it address the further cuts being proposed to juvenile probation services over the next 18 months. The report also misses the mark by not addressing the shortfall probation will still face under a funded realignment proposal and the resources lacking in probation departments needed to fulfill the services and mandates required under the realignment.
In order for probation to take on any new responsibilities, the state must address the massive cuts probation has suffered over the past year as well as the proposed cuts for the next 18 months. Probation has been working from an underfunded status for years and further realignments would only serve to make that deficit larger. The current prison overcrowding crisis is in large part due to a chronically underfunded adult probation system that lacks resources to rehabilitate adult offenders at the local level. Over half of the convicted adult felons on probation in the community are provided little or no supervision, treatment, or other services needed to reduce recidivism. Without a responsible approach to realignment, it will only jeopardize public safety, cost the state more in increased court and prison costs, and be a detrimental downslide for proven public safety practices in our state.
October 29, 2008
Sex offender checks set for Halloween
Some of those wearing law enforcement uniforms going door to door in the Redding area Halloween night might be the real deal.
Parole agents with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and local law enforcement officers will make a countywide sweep on paroled sex offenders to make sure they're not mingling with trick-or-treaters.
It's called Operation Boo.
And it's no secret that it's coming…
LINK - Redding.com
September 21, 2008
Marsy’s Law: Under Prop. 9, victims’ rights would be made constitutional
This year, California voters have several important decisions before them on Election Day, not the least of which is who they choose for president. But for millions of California crime victims, this election will determine whether balance is brought to the state's justice system, ensuring that the rights of criminals no longer supersede the rights of victims and their families.
Proposition 9, or Marsy's Law, honors among others Marsy Nicholas, a 21-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her boyfriend ended her promising life with a shotgun blast at close range. While Marsy's mother, Marcella, and family were grieving, experiencing pain unlike anything they'd ever felt, their only comfort was knowing that the murderer had been arrested and was behind bars. Can you imagine Marcella's agony when she came face-to-face with Marsy's killer days later … at the grocery store? Marsy's killer was free on bail. No one had told the family. No one was required to do so…
LINK - TheReporter.com
August 21, 2008
Court rules governor wrongly denied killer parole
A divided state Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was wrong to deny parole to a murderer who was a model prisoner during the more than 23 years she served behind bars.
In a 4-3 decision, California's high court said the governor must consider more than just the nature of the crime when he overturns Board of Parole Hearings' decisions granting parole. The majority decision, written by Chief Justice Ronald George, said the governor must show "some evidence" that the parolee is a danger to public safety…
LINK - SignOnSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
August 12, 2008
Folsom Prison Inmate Taken into Federal Custody on Charges of Prosituting Minors Interstate
A man charged with federal violations including sexual trafficking of children and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, was taken into federal custody today by agents with the FBI, announced Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Aaron Pierre Brown, 28, of Hayward, California, controlled a prostitution operation in which he victimized minor females… The complaint charges Brown with Title 18 U.S.Code Section 1591 ( a )( 1 ), sex trafficking of minors by force, fraud, and coercion; and 2423( a ), transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
…Brown was arrested at Folsom Prison this morning, where he was serving a sentence for a recent parole violation. Brown was afforded an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Sacramento this afternoon and was detained. Brown waived his right to be tried in Sacramento and it is anticipated that he will be transported to Los Angeles to face prosecution.
LINK - Media-Newswire.com
July 5, 2008
Six arrested in gang sweep
Six arrests were made Thursday during a multi-agency planned sweep that emphasized gang suppression, according to the Glenn County Sheriff's Office.
Approximately fifteen law enforcement personnel from the Glenn County Sheriff's Office, including two K-9 units and two Correctional Officers, probation, state parole, Glenn Inter-Agency Narcotics Task Force Agents, and a Willows P.D. officer participated in the sweep…
LINK - Willows-Journal.com
June 29, 2008
Opinion: “We need to plan for that day the cell door opens”
It is as important to provide re-entry programming for incarcerated individuals as it is to offer rehabilitative services to them while imprisoned, especially for youth offenders.
Juvenile delinquency is a major pipeline to the adult prison system, which is already bursting at the seams. The truth is that very few people in prison stay there forever.
It is in our best interest to invest in helping those who pay their debt to society, whether juveniles or adults, find their way back and assist them in pursuing successful living. The reality for persons returning to society from incarceration is that most must come back to the environment they were in when they got into trouble…
LINK - CommercialAppeal.com Tennessee
June 22, 2008
Opinion: “No single solution to jail overcrowding”
SOUTH CAROLINA - Reducing the number of inmates in the Beaufort County Detention Center by clearing out "career criminals" is a laudable goal and one that Beaufort County Council should back up with money.
Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone has asked for about $187,000from the county to help pay for a special team of experienced attorneys and a victim's advocate. The team would prepare cases for trial to get these people out of the county jail and into a state prison. The total cost is an estimated $264,450 a year. Stone says he plans to go to municipalities for possible contributions. They, too, should kick in.
With a county jail designed for 250 prisoners averaging 350 prisoners a day, something must be done. These prisoners, Stone said, won't plead guilty and he doesn't want to offer themdeals. About half the jail's occupants fit Stone's description of "career criminal…
LINK - IslandPacket.com
June 21, 2008
Prison boss opposes release of ailing ex-Manson follower
California's director of adult prisons is recommending against "compassionate release" for a terminally ill former Manson family member, a spokeswoman said.
Suzan Hubbard, director of the Division of Adult Institutions, decided that Susan Atkins' request should not be sent to the sentencing court for consideration, said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Hubbard's recommendation is advisory and will not necessarily prevent Atkins' release.
The court — not the department or the state Board of Parole Hearings — has the final say on whether Atkins should be released, Thornton said. "They're the only ones legally who can recall the sentence," she added…
LINK - CNN.com
June 17, 2008
$2.5M payout doesn’t keep Anaheim man from gang
Jose Luis Munoz couldn't stay away from gang life, even after a $2.5 million payday.
The 23-year-old Anaheim man received the money from a lawsuit against the city and police. He had been on foot and was struck from behind by a police cruiser while surrendering after a brief chase in 2005.
He was released from prison in October. A gang member, Munoz already had lost four years to Juvenile Hall and prison.
He said in December while waiting for the check from the city that he was eager "to do the right thing." He was going to move out of his gang-plagued neighborhood, buy a house for his mother…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee - Associated Press)
June 12, 2008
Alabama: State explains new offender re-entry idea
For years, people have turned to community and faith-based organizations when something bad happens. The strength of that support helped rebuild local lives after recent hurricanes and other disasters, said Bill Johnson, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
On Wednesday, Johnson said the state is now asking businesses, faith-based and community organizations for support in what some may consider a more difficult challenge: helping prisoners successfully transition into the community.
"We know with your involvement, we will make the situation better," Johnson told the more than 100 representatives of various organizations who attended a regional meeting at Faulkner State Community College. "All we are trying to do is tap into this great desire of people to help with folks that actually need the help"…
LINK - AL.com (Everything Alabama)
June 9, 2008
Parole Violator Arrested After Reckless Driving
Lancaster man being held without bail for offense.
The California Highway Patrol arrested a 40-year old Lancaster man Sunday morning after receiving calls of a possible DUI driver on the northbound 14 freeway near Via Princessa.
Adrian C. Lathan, who is currently on parole for sale of narcotics, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. A search of his vehicle yielded cocaine and marijuana, as well as nearly $3,000 in cash…
LINK - HomeTownStation.com (KHTS AM 1220)
June 8, 2008
‘Barbecue pit’ killer gets date with parole board
A man who helped his girlfriend kill her parents and burn their corpses in 1975 is making a new bid for parole.
Charles David Riley is scheduled to appear before a panel of parole officials on July 1 at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. Riley, who was 19 when the murders occurred, has applied for parole a dozen times.
Riley was convicted of helping Marlene Olive, his 16-year-old girlfriend, murder her adoptive parents, James and Naomi Olive of Terra Linda. The Olives were then doused with flammable liquid and set on fire in an old sewage cistern used as a barbecue pit at China Camp State Park…
LINK - MarinIJ.com (Marin Independent Journal)
June 5, 2008
State OKs changes for juvenile parole violators
The state has agreed to provide attorneys and timely hearings for juveniles accused of violating parole, in a settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit by youths who said prison officials infringed on their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit, filed nearly two years ago by former wards of the state's Division of Juvenile Justice, alleged that the state was violating youths' rights to due process by detaining them for months without legal counsel or a hearing on the charges and by failing to offer assistance for those who were disabled, as required by federal law.
In some cases, youths would be held for so-called technical violations of the terms of their release, such as consuming alcohol or traffic offenses…
LINK - LATimes.com
April 29, 2008
Some answers given to residents about future of Paso boys school
Paso Roblans concerned about the state's plans for the next life of the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility got the change to question state officials for the first time Monday night.
The meeting, attended by about 75 people, was the first of two. A second session is today at 11 a.m. at Paso Robles City Hall.
There are three options for the site's future, which all could move forward: a 900-inmate medium security state prison; 250 inmate state re-entry facility for prisoners nearing their parole dates; and a 100-inmate fire camp…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
March 24, 2008
Police wary of parole change
A proposal to narrow California's $14.5 billion budget deficit by shifting responsibility for monitoring some parolees from the state to counties could lead to sharp cuts in police funding, local law enforcement officials said.
"It would result in a loss of officers, possibly a hiring freeze," said Stockton police Officer Pete Smith, a department spokesman.
In a February report, the state Legislative Analyst's Office recommended transferring parolees considered "low-risk," which excludes those on parole for violent or sexual crimes, to county probation departments. Approximately 71,000 parolees - around 56 percent of the total case load - are considered low-risk, guilty of drug or property offenses…
LINK - Recordnet.com
March 21, 2008
Parolee arrested after entering homes
A wanted parolee and alleged Bulldog gang member apparently was looking for a place to sleep when he broke into two houses Thursday morning in southeast Fresno, police reported. Frankie Saldate, 28, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and for parole violation, Sgt. Frank Rose said.
Saldate, who apparently cut himself when he broke windows to enter the houses, was treated at Community Regional Medical Center for his cuts before he was booked into the Fresno County Jail….
LINK - FresnoBee.com (The Fresno Bee)
March 12, 2008
County to seek property outside Soledad for state prison re-entry facility
After city officials protested, a proposed state re-entry prison facility that could house high-risk offenders may not be placed in Soledad, county leaders said today.
Trying to reach a compromise and avoid potential delays or lawsuits, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed Sheriff Mike Kanalakis to list two sites near Soledad in a proposal to the state — but make clear they are considering other, as-yet-unknown locations.
LINK - CalifornianOnline.com (The Salinas Californian)
March 7, 2008
Indian Wells City Council rejects Schwarzenegger’s parole plan
The Indian Wells City Council approved a resolution Thursday that takes aim at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to release early an estimated 22,000 nonviolent California prisoners.
Prisoners incarcerated for "non-serious, nonviolent" drug crimes and "lower-level offenses" such as property crimes would be considered for early release, according to the governor's office. The council voted 4-1, with Councilman Rob Bernheimer dissenting.
The Coachella Valley Association of Governments' Executive Committee passed the same resolution last month. "It's a complicated problem," Bernheimer said. "I'm not sure the governor's proposal is the right proposal, but it needs to be dealt with. We're making a policy statement to the governor without knowing everything."
LINK - MyDesert.com (The Desert Sun)
March 5, 2008
America Behind Bars: Why Attempts at Prison Reform Keep Failing
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared plans in January 2005 to reform California's prisons, starting with a rebranding campaign (it's the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation now), his announcement signaled much-needed relief for California taxpayers, whose overstretched, scandal-prone prison system was screaming for an overhaul.
But three years later, California maintains the second-highest prison population in the country (171,444 in January 2008) and the highest recidivism rate (a staggering 70 percent).
From the start, people familiar with the embattled prison system were skeptical. "Everybody's going to get new business cards and letterheads," said Lance Corcoran, vice president of the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association, "but we haven't changed with respect to providing inmates anything different."
LINK - Alternet.org
March 3, 2008
Sunny Acres parolees asked to leave
The controversy over Sunny Acres continues, this time state agents say parolees must leave.
Here's the latest:
- A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Action News parolees had to leave because of the facility's numerous code violations.
- So far one parolee was told to get off the property, while four more said they are expected to leave by Monday.
The sudden notice to leave isn't sitting well with the parolees.
LINK - KSBY.com (KSBY 6 Action News)
February 29, 2008
Video: No Way Out of the California State Prison Merry-go-round?
This article originally ran in December, 1998, but may of the observations and issues remain.
December 1998 Atlantic Monthly
Interviews with prisoners and inmates illustrate a clear need for change in the California prison release program that is under consideration now. Prisons are run on fear. The gangs rule. Most inmates have no skills. They want and need education and training before they hit the streets.
David Rocha went into Section A at SAC (California State Prison outside of Sacramento) to talk to inmates and guards about the control gangs have over the lives of prisoners in prison and on the streets. The inmates in Section A are "no good" former gang members who have left their gangs and are in protective custody within the prison system. Some have release dates and hope for a new crime-free life outside of jail. Is there a way out for them?
LINK - IndyBay.org
February 28, 2008
One in 100 American Adults in Jail or Prison: Report
A new report finds that for the first time, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison. At the start of 2008, 2, 319,258 adults were in American prisons or jails, or one in every 99.1, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project.
Pew researchers worked on the report with the collaboration of correctional authorities and other prison researchers. They also obtained data from U.S. justice and census reports. Last year, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years earlier, the report stated. While spending grew, the national recidivism rate is virtually unchanged.
LINK - IBTimes.com (International Business Times)
February 27, 2008
Robber Left ID Behind at Scene
Simeon Tomanogi is a suspect in a string of robberies in the Manteca area, and he might still be out there had he not left his ID at a donut store that had been robbed, police said. Manteca police arrested Tomanogi, 39, Monday during a traffic stop. Officers suspected he was in a stolen vehicle. While he was detained, police discovered he was a suspect in a number of robberies that started on February 11.
During a robbery on February 22, after Tomanogi allegedly robbed the Caters Doughnuts store located in the 1100 block W. Yosemite Avenue, he left behind his ID as he was leaving. Tomanogi, 39, is a parolee and a three-strike candidate, police said. He faces charges of two counts of robbery, one count of false imprisonment, possession of a stolen car, and parole violation hold.
LINK - News10.net
February 26, 2008
More Parolee Problems: Parolee arrested after hitting deputy’s vehicle
A driver being pursued for a traffic violation Sunday night backed his pickup into a deputy's patrol car before speeding off again, authorities said. He surrendered later after deputies identified him from his vehicle registration and telephoned him, said sheriff's Lt. Mike Munsey. The man was on parole, Munsey said.
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
February 25, 2008
Court Cannot Require Parolee to Waive Therapist-Patient Privilege
A parolee cannot be required to waive the privilege for communications with his private therapist in the absence of evidence that he is seeking therapy for some "nefarious" reason, the Court of Appeal for this district has ruled. Div. Six Wednesday affirmed a Santa Barbara Superior Court judge's ruling striking down a probation officer's order that Reynaldo Corona either sign a waiver of therapist-patient privilege or stop seeing the therapist he retained after serving a sentence of more than three years in prison for molesting his two stepdaughters.
Corona was released on parole in May 2006, and directed to comply with various conditions, including participation in treatment as ordered by his parole officer. In his petition for writ of habeas corpus, Corona contended that he had been attending monthly therapy sessions in accordance with his parole agent's order but had, at his own expense, undertaken private counseling with a specialist in sex offenses "to understand [his] offense and to eliminate any possibility of future difficulties."
LINK - MetNews.com
February 25, 2008
Prison acrimony looks inescapable
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to release tens of thousands of prisoners before they've served their full sentences to save money. The Legislature isn't inclined to hand him the cell keys. The governor advocates turning felons loose on the street without parole supervision. The Legislature is thinking they should be kept on a leash.
Schwarzenegger has proposed giving prison guards a 5% pay hike. Not now, say legislators — not while he's freezing benefits for welfare moms and for the impoverished aged, blind and disabled. Not when he's cutting back on doctor fees for treating the poor and whacking schools. There are major policy disputes between the Schwarzenegger administration, the prison guards union and lawmakers of both parties…
LINK - LATimes.com
January 3, 2008
Bowen’s Initiatives to Change Sentencing, Parole, Probation
Secty. of State Debra Bowen announces initiatives and dates for circulation.
Contact: Kate Folmar 916 653 6575.
NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS. SENTENCING, PAROLE AND REHABILITATION. STATUTE.
Requires State to expand and increase funding and oversight for individualized treatment and rehabilitation programs for nonviolent drug offenders and parolees. Reduces criminal consequences of nonviolent drug offenses by mandating three-tiered probation with treatment and by providing for case dismissal and/or sealing of records after probation.
Limits court's authority to incarcerate offenders who violate probation or parole.
Shortens parole for most drug offenses, including sales, and for nonviolent property crimes. Creates numerous divisions, boards, commissions, and reporting requirements regarding drug treatment and rehabilitation.
Changes certain marijuana misdemeanors to infractions.
Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state costs that could exceed $1 billion annually primarily for expanding drug treatment and rehabilitation programs for offenders in state prisons, on parole, and in the community.
Savings to the state that could exceed $1 billion annually due primarily to reduced prison and parole operating costs.
Net savings on a one-time basis on capital outlay costs for prison facilities that could exceed $2.5 billion.
Unknown net fiscal effect on expenditures for county operations and capital outlay.
Proponent Daniel N. Abrahamson, 510 229 5211, must collect 433,971 valid signatures by June 2, 2008.
