CDCR Star

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California’s Prison-Litigation Nightmare
In 2009, three federal judges ordered the state to release 40,000 prisoners. Is it any wonder crime is on the rise?
Heather Mac Donald, Wall Street Journal

California Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal judiciary are locked in a dramatic constitutional battle over control of the state’s prisons. In 2009, three federal judges issued what Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has dubbed “perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation’s history”: an order that California release up to 40,000 prisoners within two years to correct allegedly unconstitutional prison health care.

California Prison Population Deadline Extended Another Month
As the court decisions currently stands, California must reduce the population of its major prisons to about 110,000 inmates by the end of February 2014.
Jessie Fetterling, Correctional News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Earlier this month, federal judges gave California an additional month to reduce its prison population to the mandated population cap of 137.5 percent capacity, while negotiations continue.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

And They're Out
Lorelei Laird, California Lawyer

The reform of three-strikes sentencing - undertaken by voters last year with the passage of Proposition 36 - made 3,000 to 3,500 lifers eligible for resentencing or release.

But inmates aren't guaranteed an attorney for most post-conviction proceedings. So, at the request of Stanford Law School's Three Strikes Project, which advocates for people serving long third-strike sentences for minor crimes, most California public defenders' offices have been handling resentencing petitions for free. In counties without public defenders, the project connects prisoners with pro bono attorneys.

Lake Los Angeles Residents Angered By Plan To House ‘Pillowcase Rapist’
CBS Los Angeles

LAKE LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Some Lake Los Angeles residents are angry about the possible release of a convicted rapist into their community.

A Santa Clara County judge announced last Friday that 62-year-old Christopher Hubbart — the “Pillowcase Rapist” — could potentially be housed on Laredo Vista Avenue in Lake Los Angeles when he’s conditionally released, which could be as early as December.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Fugitive California rapist caught after publicized search
Tami Abdollah, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A publicized search for a paroled rapist who authorities say cut off his ankle monitor and harassed the family of his 80-year-old victim ended Wednesday after he was spotted on a Palm Springs street.

REALIGNMENT

Local non-profits working to create a Community Advisory Board for prison realignment(Community Voices)
Charles Eddy and Charles Turner, The Oakland Post

The Alameda County Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform is working with Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and county partners to sponsor a series of meetings seeking residents input on the proposed Community Advisory Board for prison realignment.

Residents address property crime spike in East Long Beach
Kelly Puente, The Orange County Register

East Long Beach is experiencing a rash of burglaries.

At a town hall meeting Tuesday night, residents shared their horror stories of auto burglaries and home break-ins.

Drugs, assault weapon seized during search of Vallejo home
KTVU.com

VALLEJO, Calif. —Drugs, cash and an assault weapon were seized and two men were arrested at a home in Vallejo on Monday by the Solano County Sheriff's Enforcement Team.
At about 5 p.m. that day, the team learned that a wanted suspect was at a home in the 500 block of Fifth Street.

Sentencing delayed for attacker in Davis hate crime
Don Frances, Daily Democrat

The sentencing for Clayton Garzon, who brutally beat a gay man in downtown Davis seven months ago, was continued Wednesday morning as the court sorts out issues related with California's prison realignment law.

CDCR RELATED

Police want a safe Halloween
Safety tips for youngsters and adultsThe Porterville Record

Porterville police officers will be out in force Thursday night looking out for young trick-or-treaters and also for those who are just out to cause trouble on Halloween.

“The Porterville Police Department is committed to the safety and security of our community on this fun-filled evening,” said police spokesperson Sgt. Dominic Barteau.

Valley fever is on the rise and in the dust in SLO County
Tonya Strickland, The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that patients on work crews at Atascadero State Hospital could wear respirators to prevent infection. There are no patient work crews at ASH. The crews are made up of hospital employees.

Prison officials connecting inmate literature to terrorism
Dan Bluemel, L. A. Activist

California prison authorities are reporting on inmates to the FBI for possessing political, religious and other literature they deem radical, according to a document obtained by the ACLU of Northern California. As a result of such reporting, the inmates’ personal information are often placed in national counter-terrorism databases.

OPINION

Dr. Conrad Murray and the jailhouse math behind his early release
Dr. Conrad Murray served less than two years of his four-year 'sentence.' His release highlights the need for sentencing reform.
The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board

Did Dr. Conrad Murray get out early?

The short answer is no. Murray, the doctor who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, had served nearly two years of a four-year sentence when he was released from Los Angeles County Jail just after midnight Monday. That's only half the sentence, but it's also the full amount of jail time provided for by law.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California releases controversial prison videos
Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh, The Sacramento Bee

Six videos of dramatic confrontations between mentally ill prison inmates and California prison guards were filed Thursday in federal court, giving the public its first glimpse of what inmate advocates contend are inhumane uses of force.

Tapes show inmates forced from cells by guards using pepper spray
Paige St. John, The Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO -- Videotapes released Thursday by a federal court show graphic images of mentally ill prisoners in California being forced from their cells by guards who douse them repeatedly with pepper spray.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Woman who killed pimp as teenager released from Calif. prison under new juvenile-offender law
Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — A woman who was sentenced to life in prison as a teenager for killing her former pimp was released Thursday under a new California law that allows resentencing of certain inmates convicted as juveniles.

Sara Kruzan Update: Calif. woman who killed pimp as teen released from prison under new juvenile-offender law
CBS News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sara Kruzan, a California woman who was sentenced to life in prison as a teenager for killing her former pimp, has been released under a new California law that allows for the resentencing of certain inmates convicted as juveniles.

RIVERSIDE: Sara Kruzan released from prison, in Orange County (UPDATE)
Richard K. De Atley, The Press Enterprise

Sara Kruzan, who spent years fighting what was originally a life without parole sentence for killing her former pimp in Riverside when she was 16, was released from prison before dawn Thursday, Oct. 31.

CrimeFighters Manhunt: Derrick Davidson
Carlo Cecchetto, CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a countywide manhunt for a felon who is evading authorities.

Derrick Davidson, 36, is wanted by the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating terms of his release. He has a criminal history that includes attempted homicide, felony domestic violence and multiple drug offenses.

OPERATION BOO

Sex offenders closely watched on Halloween, must observe curfew, stay away from children
A Correctional initiative keeps kids safe
Anne Stegan, 23 ABC

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is implementing the 20th Annual “Operation Boo.”

Operation Boo helps protect children from sexual predators during Halloween and its new educational component helps parents and teachers show kids how to stay away from potential sexual predators year round.

'Operation Boo' nets convicted pedophiles
Robert Holguin, ABC 7

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Police officers and parole agents were out in force in the San Gabriel Valley on Halloween night, making sure convicted pedophiles weren't trying to lure trick-or-treaters into their homes. It was all part of "Operation Boo."

'Operation Boo' successful in Alameda County
Eric Rasmussen, KTVU.com

OAKLAND, Calif. — Parole agents with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation used a variety of tactics to keep registered sex offenders from coming into contact with children this Halloween.

Operation Boo leads to 13 arrests in Sacramento
Dave Marquis, News 10 ABC

SACRAMENTO, CA - The 20th anniversary of Operation Boo netted 13 parolee arrests on a variety of charges.

Operation Boo keeps tabs on sex offenders
Dana Littlefield, UT San Diego

An otherwise pleasant-looking two-story house in National City was dark this Halloween. No ghostly decorations adorned the home’s white picket fence and no porch light illuminated the way to its closed front door.

Operation Boo keeps tabs on known predators on Halloween
Mariana Jacob, ABC 30

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Parole agents carried out a series of stings this Halloween on sex offenders throughout the Valley. "Operation Boo" aims to keeps known predators off the streets and away from children.

Parole Agents Crack Down on Sex Offenders on Halloween
Rachael Laine, Central Coast News

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.- Authorities are cracking down on local paroled sex offenders and child molesters this Halloween night. It's part of Operation Boo and the goal is to make sure kids are safe.

REALIGNMENT

Calif. prison realignment: Many women are serving more time in custody (photos)
Rina Palta, KPCC

Caryn Quincey holds up a photo she keeps in her jail cell at “Twin Towers” lockup in Downtown Los Angeles.

"Different, right?" she said.

CDCR RELATED

Taft forging ahead despite failed contract with LA County
Bakersfieldnow.com

TAFT, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) - A deal that would send Los Angeles County jail inmates to the Taft Community Correctional Facility unraveled at the last minute when L.A. County supervisors voted to nix the plan.

LA Jail System Not Expanding After All As Taft Deal Dies
Saki Knafo, The Huffington Post

Prison reform advocates were appalled when Los Angeles County’s top elected officials last month agreed to lease an empty jail about two hours from Downtown LA.

Sex offender arrested at Calif. Halloween event
The Associated Press

RAMONA, Calif. -- A convicted sex offender wearing a costume has been arrested for allegedly bothering children and offering them candy at a San Diego-area Halloween event.
Authorities say 29-year-old Danny Shaw was arrested Thursday for investigation of being a sex offender harassing children and failing to register as a sex offender.

OPINION

If only all parolees were like Sara Kruzan
Karin Klein, The Los Angeles Times

Some 19 years after Sara Kruzan, convicted murderer, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, she’s going free. Not that she wasn’t guilty; she openly admits to killing a man at the age of 16, and also admits she deserved to be punished for it. Yet of all the people overcrowding the state’s prisons, Kruzan shouldn’t be one of them. As a January 2011 editorial in The Times noted:

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Jeffrey Beard's Constant Crisis Control
Scott Detrow, The California Report

Department of Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard may have the toughest job in California politics. He has faced a widespread hunger strike and a never-ending battle with federal judges over control of California’s prisons since he joined the Brown Administration late last year. But this isn’t Beard’s first go-round with those controversial issues.

To listen to the interview follow this link: Audio Interview

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Program benefits from donation
The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - Juvenile offenders from the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility presented a check for $8,235 to the county District Attorney's Victim Witness Program on Thursday at the youth facility.

Race, murder roil Chico
Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle

For nearly 25 years, Steven Crittenden has been condemned to Death Row at San Quentin State Prison for the gruesome 1987 murder of a prominent Chico couple in their home. Since the day of his arrest, Crittenden has looked for a way to escape, first briefly breaking out of the Butte County Jail prior to his trial, and through endless appeals since he was sent to prison.

Life sentence for defendants convicted of killing California man who picked them up in 1989
The Associated Press

SAN BERNARDINO, California — Two defendants convicted of killing a Southern California man who stopped to give them a ride 24 years ago have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

El Dorado County jury convicts man in 1980s slayings of three teens
Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

A man who previously served prison time for a murder in Washington state has been convicted by an El Dorado County jury of the 1980s slayings of three teenage girls, including 15-year-old Kathy Graves of South Lake Tahoe.

Sacramento judge orders 25-to-life prison term for woman who hid pregnancy, stuffed baby in garbage bag
Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee

Courtney Kathleen Addington was a warm, gentle young woman with a love for children and a Christian upbringing by a good family. Before this year, she had a minor criminal history and plenty of friends who loved her.

Inmate Suspected Of Strangling Cellmate At Central Valley Prison
CBS San Francisco

DELANO, Kern County (AP) — An inmate serving a life sentence is suspected of killing his cellmate in a Central Valley prison, according to state corrections officials.

48-year-old Carmen T. Guerrero was found dead of apparent strangulation at Kern Valley State Prison early Friday morning.

Release of serial rapist to Antelope Valley delayed after housing offer withdrawn
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The release of a serial rapist linked to attacks on dozens of women will likely be delayed after a landlord decided against supporting the man's move to northern Los Angeles County.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parolee pleads not guilty to Roseville shoot out charges
Ed Fletcher, The Sacramento Bee

Samuel Nathan Duran, the Roseville shooting suspect who allegedly held law enforcement officers at bay for hours last week, entered a not guilty plea Friday to an array of charges, including seven counts of attempted murder of a police officer.

REALIGNMENT

Sheriff Transfers Inmates to Fire Camps
Santa Clarita Valley News

(Note: This news story is actually a reprint of a press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. CDCR was given the chance to edit the release, and suggested rewriting the second and third sentences of the second paragraph. It appears that CDCR’s suggestion was not followed. Here is what CDCR suggested for that section: “CDCR has for decades assigned lower-level offenders to live and work in rural fire camps. However, that segment of the prison inmate population has fallen significantly since Public Safety Realignment (AB109) took effect. Starting in October 2011, offenders who commit non-violent, non-serious, non-sex offense crimes are sent to jail or some other form of local supervision. The Sheriff’s Department is drawing from that offender population to help staff the county’s fire camps.”)

The first 20 inmates were transferred from Los Angeles County Jail to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Inmate Fire Suppression Camps on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The transfer took place at Holton Conservation Camp (Los Angeles County Fire Camp 16), in Sylmar. The Fire Camps are a joint venture of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Fred Avila, Hope pedaller
Rich Greene, The Red Bluff Daily News

A few years ago, back when he owned Fast Wheels Bike Shop, Fred Avila recalls a night when a sheriff's employee showed up at his store with a bicycle handcuffed to a patrol car.

The officer explained that he was driving around when he passed a man who was quite well-known around town for riding on his bicycle.

Study: Changes needed in prison realignment law
Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- A study of Gov. Jerry Brown's 2-year-old prison realignment law released Friday recommends major changes that would relieve some of the burden from California's counties.

Under the law, lower-level offenders are sent to county jails instead of state prisons, sometimes for lengthy sentences. When they're released, they're supervised by local probation officers instead of state parole agents.

Two Studies Reinforce Long Term Goals for Prison Realignment
Christopher Nelson, PublicCEO.com

Two studies, one in-state and one national, dominate the world of realignment news this week.
First, Dr. Joan Petersilia, who is one of the most respected researchers on corrections issues in California, just issued volume 2 of her “Realignment in Review” that attempts to answer how California county stakeholders view public safety realignment.

CDCR RELATED

Roseville has worked to reduce gang presence
Ed Fletcher, The Sacramento Bee

Sammy Duran, the tattooed gangster charged this week with seven counts of attempted murder, represents a part of Roseville life that few visitors ever see and that city officials have worked for years to eliminate.

Joe Guzzardi: New technology, innovation works to fight drunk driving
Lodi News

Lodi Mayor Alan Nakanishi described Oct. 22, the day when six were killed and several others injured in a tragic six-car crash, “a black day.” Even more than 2,500 miles away in Pittsburgh, I share the pain and horror of my former friends and neighbors.

Police seize weapons, arrest 16-year-old gang member
Probation search of an East Palo Alto residence yields numerous weapons, ammunition
Elena Kadvany, Palo Alto Weekly

East Palo Alto Police conducted a probation search of a 16-year-old gang member's East Palo Alto residence on Wednesday, Oct. 30, seizing a loaded semi-automatic handgun, a stolen shotgun, an assault rifle, numerous firearm ammunition magazines and numerous cartridges of ammunition, according to a police department press release.

OPINION

Editorial: Government pension costs rise fast, even as municipalities shed employees
The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board

New bills from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to local governments went out last month. The numbers are alarming. To replenish its recession-battered pension fund, CalPERS is requiring cities, counties and special districts to pay out millions more in retirement contributions.

CDCR NEWS

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Checks on 1,267 Sex-Offenders During Operation Boo
Sweep results in 90 arrests statewide; weapons, drugs and child porn confiscated
Luis Patino, Public Information Officer II

November 4, 2013 - SACRAMENTO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole agents arrested 90 of the 1,267 sex-offender parolees who were contacted during compliance checks or searches as part of the 20th annual Operation Boo Child Safety Project on Halloween night 2013. Most of the arrests were for violations of special conditions of parole; however some offenses were more serious, prompting new charges to be filed against six of the sex-offender parolees. Six other parolees were found to be out of compliance with their requirements to register as sex offenders.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California's Corrections Secretary Faces Steep Challenges
Scott Detrow, KQED

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard has the toughest job in California politics.

From a widespread hunger strike to a never-ending battle with federal judges over control of health care in California’s prisons, Beard has faced crisis after crisis since he joined the Brown Administration late last year.

REALIGNMENT

Inmates trained in fire suppression
Relocating prisoners to fire camps helps free up beds in overcrowded jails
Jim Holt, Santa Clarita Valley Signal

As part of the ongoing effort to reduce jail overcrowding, more than 500 Los Angeles County inmates now in custody are slated to be transferred to county “fire suppression” camps beginning Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

FAQ: Looking at the effects of California's prison realignment program
Rina Palta, KPCC

About two years ago, Californians were introduced to a new term: realignment. It is the policy that shifted responsibility for thousands of criminals from the state’s prisons to the local level. KPCC’s Rina Palta has been covering realignment for years and created this handy FAQ.

Man steals police car, again
Highland Community News

On Oct. 21 at approximately 8:20 a.m., a man was observed walking to a parked unmarked San Bernardino Police vehicle that was parked in the Court Street parking lot of City Hall. The man was seen entering the vehicle and driving west from the Court Street location.

CDCR RELATED

Planting Justice helps communities build edible gardens
Lou Fancher Oakland Tribune

OAKLAND -- Planting Justice is an Oakland-based grass-roots organization working to solve the urban hunger crisis and finding answers by digging deep.

If its evolution is a metaphorically packed story, it's also the tale of a muscular, powerfully effective punch to the belly of a systemic problem affecting low-income, underserved communities across the nation.

OPINION

Prison videos spark talk of right, wrong
California guards shown dousing mentally ill inmates with pepper spray
Steven Greenhut, U-T San Diego

SACRAMENTO — In an article about the concept of “administrative evil,” University of San Diego associate dean George Reed describes a bus driver who diligently picks up passengers and delivers them to their destination each day. He is punctual and hard-working, yet we learn that the driver is taking political prisoners to their execution.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

San Quentin Inmates Share Life Lessons From Prison
Christina Sterbenz, Business Insider

A recent Quora post asked the question: What is the most important life lesson you've learned up to this point?

Inmates at California's San Quentin State Prison — who certainly have a lot of time to think about life — responded to the question through volunteers with a program called The Last Mile.

Released From Prison, and Starting a Company
Donna Fenn, The New York Times

Like most entrepreneurs, Frederick Hutson cannot resist trying to solve a thorny problem. His company, Pigeonly, based in Las Vegas, taps an underserved and “captive” market by offering prison inmates an easy and efficient way to receive photos from loved ones and to make phone calls to them inexpensively. “Isolation is the worst thing for an inmate,” Mr. Hutson said. “It makes it hard for him to rebuild his life when he gets out.”

Three Strikes, He’s Out
Santa Cruz County’s only Proposition 36-eligible inmate is released
Jessica M. Pasko, Good Times

When Kevin O’Connell was sentenced to life in prison back in 1995, he had been convicted of possession of a stolen necklace. His previous felony convictions had occurred more than 15 years prior.

Sacramento man who killed mother ordered released from mental hospital
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

A Sacramento judge ruled Tuesday that a man who stabbed and beat his mother to death – but was found not guilty by reason of insanity – is no longer dangerous and ordered his release from a state mental hospital.

Ronald Benjamin Toppila, 73, will now be transferred from Napa State Hospital to a locked facility in Manteca before his likely move sometime next year to an unsecured group home in Sacramento.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parolee suspected of stabbing girlfriend killed by Fairfield police
The Associated Press

FAIRFIELD, California — Authorities say a parolee suspected of stabbing his girlfriend more than 30 times has been shot and killed by police on a highway in Fairfield after he lunged at officers with a knife.

OPERATION BOO

'Operation Boo' sex offender sweep on Halloween yields 10 arrests
Joseph Serna, The Los Angeles Times

Ten sex offenders were arrested for allegedly violating their parole on Halloween, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

REALIGNMENT

Tehama Sheriff presented with award for AB 109 auto shop
The Record Searchlight

A statewide association presented Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt with an award for his agency's autobody shop, which uses inmate labor.

East Sand Slough work starts today
Andre Byik, The Red Bluff Daily News

The Tehama County Resource Conservation District and Tehama County Probation will begin slough improvement efforts in earnest today, said Brin Greer, who is with the conservation district.

Police: Two of Shasta's Most Wanted arrested
The Record Searchlight

Redding Police say officers have arrested two people recently featured as Shasta's Most Wanted, a public awareness program targeting individuals who allegedly skipped court dates.

Officers say Danielle Christy Davis, 32, and Richard William Johnson, 26, both of Redding, were captured today.

CDCR RELATED

3 officers injured in southeast Fresno shooting, suspect dead
Marc Benjamin and Carmen George, The Fresno Bee

(Note: The CDCR officer who was injured works for the Office of Correctional Safety, not Parole)

Three law-enforcement officers were shot and injured Tuesday by a man who emerged from a pile of clothing in the garage of a southeast Fresno apartment and opened fire.

The officers -- a parole agent, a U.S. marshal and a Fresno County sheriff's detective -- were taken to Community Regional Medical Center with minor injuries.

‘It’s Chaos When They Return Home’ -- Children and Parents Speak About Reentry
Anna Challet, Video by Jean Melesaine, News America Media

Both of Mailee Wang’s parents were incarcerated for part of her youth, her father for two years and her mother for much of her life. Now 30, she recalls what it was like, particularly after her mother was released.

“Having a prison mentality is real … It doesn’t shut off and that’s what I lived though with my mom,” says Wang. “The trauma that [the incarcerated] experience, it’s chaos when they return home.”

Even with changes, U.S. prisons might stay overcrowded: report
David Ingram, Reuters

(Reuters) - Overcrowding in U.S. federal prisons is so severe that the problem could go on for years even if Congress takes steps to reduce the number of people behind bars, according to a report released on Tuesday.

But the report from the nonprofit Urban Institute said lawmakers have many options available to start making dents in a prison population that by one ranking is the largest in the world.

Holder Looks for Answers on Overcrowded Prisons
Kathy Matheson and Pete Yost, Associated Press

The nation's top law enforcement officer got a glimpse of the challenges facing ex-offenders attempting to rebuild their lives on Tuesday as he attended an unusual court session and then met with several of them afterward.

Attorney General Eric Holder watched as more than a dozen men on supervised release updated a federal judge on their jobs and personal situations, discussing problems from needing more hours at work to the cost of cataract surgery for the family dog.

Jews in Prison Stick With Faith To Cope With Flood of Anti-Semitism
Kosher Food a Luxury for Minority of 1% — Threats Are Many
Doni Bloomfield, The Jewish Daily Forward

Joseph was lying on his bunk, looking at the Hebrew blessings he’d hung on the wall to celebrate his first Hanukah in prison when his new, neo-Nazi cellmate was brought in.
The man sported a large swastika tattoo on one arm, with Adolf Hitler’s face drawn in the center. “Skinhead” was tattooed across his chest in five-inch letters.

OPINION

EDITORIAL: Fix obvious flaws in prison realignment
The Press Enterprise

California’s ambitious restructuring of the criminal justice system should not merely push state prison ills onto county government. The Legislature needs to make adjustments to the realignment program, including changes to jail sentences and parole violations, to ease the burdens on overstressed counties.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Violence in jails and prisons can inflict lasting trauma on victims
Carrie Stetler, Medical Press

Ashley Schappell remembers hearing about the prisoner who was beaten and stomped by a fellow inmate in the cafeteria before his attacker poured a scalding pot of coffee on his head. Other inmates described random fights that culminated in stabbings.

Man serving life sentence is convicted of killing Orange County woman in 1994
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — A man serving a life sentence under California's three-strikes law has been convicted of killing an Orange County woman more than 19 years ago.

REALIGNMENT

First set of Los Angeles County prison realignment offenders transferred to fire camps
Beatriz Valenzuela, Press-Telegram

The first 20 prison realignment offenders participating in a unique county inmate firefighting program were transferred from Los Angeles County Jail to the Los Angeles County Fire Department Inmate Fire Suppression Camps on Wednesday.

'Needing to care,' Kern panel votes to spend millions on rehab
James Burger, The Bakersfield Californian

Kern County police and social welfare leaders -- in a conscious repudiation of their wild west law enforcement reputation -- voted Wednesday to spend $8.9 million to fund rehabilitation programs for local inmates and parolees.

Santa Clara County approves $4 million for housing, other support for former three-strikers
Mary Gottschalk, San Jose Mercury News

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is using a one-time reserve of $4 million from the AB 109 fund balance to provide rental assistance and intensive case management services to former prison inmates.

Prosecutors Across State to Converge on Riverside for Summit
Valley News

RIVERSIDE - Prosecutors throughout California will be in Riverside today, hammering out legislative priorities for 2014 and comparing notes on how recent changes in state law have impacted their counties.

CDCR RELATED

Law enforcement leaders pay tribute to Madera County’s finest
Merced Sun Star

Two of Madera County’s top public servants were honored Oct. 31 at a lunch-eon sponsored by Madera County Law Enforcement Leaders Association at the Madera Golf and Country Club.

Sacramento County jail finally addresses mental-health needs
An estimated one in three inmates has mental-health issues
Raheem F. Hosseini, Sacramento News and Review

Jail may not be the optimal environment to treat mental illness, but it’s fast becoming the go-to place for such cases.

In the two years since California realigned its prisons, shifting lower-level offenders to local counties, the number of inmates with mental-health issues doubled at Sacramento County’s main custodial facility. Thirty-four percent, or roughly 750 of the men and women incarcerated at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, have mental-health issues varying from mild to severe, said the facility’s commander, deputy chief of corrections Milo Fitch.

Learning how to save lives
Rebecca Unger, The Desert Trail

JOSHUA TREE — “You cannot panic as a firefighter,” Master Fire Instructor James Brakebill told his students during a Friday afternoon Fire Technology class at Copper Mountain College last month. “I’m not here to fail you, I’m here to make you a career firefighter. People’s lives depend on you knowing this material.”

14 Men Arrested In Online Child Sex Sting In Monterey County
CBS San Francisco Bay Area

MONTEREY (CBS SF) — Fourteen men were arrested in an online sting targeting child sexual predators in Monterey County last month, the county sheriff’s office announced.

OPINION

In defense of AB 109
Prison realignment is not as bad as portrayed
Chico News and Review

The cooperative effort by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Chico to employ those serving out-of-jail sentences to help keep Caper Acres playground open presents a good argument for a state law that has been misleadingly—and mercilessly—criticized by local representatives, including state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber).

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Judge to decide treatment of mentally ill inmates
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge is set to decide whether the heavy use of pepper spray by state prison guards against mentally ill inmates violates prisoners' civil rights, with closing arguments in the case beginning Thursday.

The trial in federal court in Sacramento featured the airing of a half-dozen videos — since made public — that showed pepper spray used multiple times on screaming inmates who refused to leave their cells. Officials said last month that they will change their rules to limit how much pepper spray can be used.

Fellow inmate says Oakland man accused of killing investigator appeared in good spirits before her body was found
Paul T. Rosynsky, Oakland Tribune

OAKLAND -- Before police located the body of Sandra Coke, the man accused of killing her wrote a boastful letter to a fellow inmate expressing pleasure about the perceived lack of progress in the law enforcement investigation.

"So far so good," Randy Alana, 54, wrote to the inmate. "It's after the first 48."

Turlock mother found guilty of murder in 2-year-old’s death
Rosalio Ahumada, The Modesto Bee

A prosecutor told a jury that a Turlock mother murdered her 2-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy by leaving her in a room without giving her water or food for nearly three days, knowing her actions could have grave results.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Education, job info available at state parolee resource fair
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - A day reporting center for state parolees is holding a resource fair today to provide awareness of education and employment opportunities available to former offenders.
Approximately 18 organizations, companies, trade unions and education representatives are expected to have booths at the event.

"If you are on parole, you are highly encouraged to come," said Chris Castaneda, program manager of the center operated by Behavioral Interventions, a private company that contracts with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

REALIGNMENT

Dan Walters: New crimes could undermine California’s ‘realignment’
The Sacramento Bee

So far, about 40,000 felons have been affected by California’s “realignment” program, which is aimed at reducing overcrowding in prisons in accordance with federal court orders without, it’s said, releasing dangerous criminals to prey upon the public.

CDCR RELATED

Man arrested in crash that killed Corrections officer
Jason Anderson, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - Police arrested a man on suspicion of murder, vehicular manslaughter and other crimes Thursday, a month after a collision authorities said he caused killed a member of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Event includes law enforcement demonstrations, displays, freebies
Times Press Recorder

Children and their parents got an up-close and personal look at law enforcement equipment and techniques Sunday, Nov. 3, at the 20th annual Cops ’n Kids Field Day in Arroyo Grande.

Prison gardens grow new lives for inmates
ABC News

(ABCNews)-- From Enfield, Conn., to New York City and the San Francisco Bay, lush gardens filled with ripe fruits, vegetables and flowers are growing in unexpected places — prison yards.
Prisons use them to rehabilitate inmates and to teach them basic landscaping skills that they can use to get jobs. All of the prisoners involved in each garden’s program are eligible for release.

Community Gardening: Providing Hope for Prisoners
Gina Putt, Decoded Science

The community gardening movement has blossomed. The American Community Garden Association estimates there are 18,000 community gardens in North America. The gardens may be urban, suburban, or rural. Or even inside a prison yard – and these gardens make a real difference.

California unions to San Jose mayor: Drop your pension initiative
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

It took a while, but the leading union coalition in the ongoing battle over California’s public pension policy has answered Mayor Chuck Reed’s invitation to meet with a letter that could be summed up in three words: “Take a hike.”

In a letter released this afternoon, more than a dozen unions represented by Californian’s for Retirement Security, brushed aside the San Jose Democrat’s sit-down offer.

Shooter vowed he wouldn’t be taken alive
Jim Guy, The Fresno Bee

FRESNO — Jerry Vue, who died in a close-range gun battle with a deputy U.S. marshal, had vowed he would not be taken alive, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

At a Wednesday news conference, the chief described how Vue exchanged multiple rounds with the marshal at a distance of about 20 feet. Although struck multiple times, Vue continue to fight before he finally fell to the ground outside of the southeast Fresno apartment where he was found on Tuesday.

5 Los Angeles County jail inmates awarded $740,000 in excessive force suit against guards
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A federal jury has awarded $740,000 to inmates who suffered broken bones when guards put down a Los Angeles County jail protest.

City News Service says five inmates were granted the money Thursday in an excessive-force lawsuit. The jury considers additional punitive damages next week.

Orange County Crime Lab made error in calculating blood-alcohol levels, could affect 20 cases
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — Authorities say the Orange County Crime Lab has mistakenly identified about 20 people as having illegal blood-alcohol levels.
The Orange County Register SANTA ANA, California — Authorities say the Orange County Crime Lab has mistakenly identified about 20 people as having illegal blood-alcohol levels.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

34 years after being wrongly convicted, a man savors his new freedom
Kash Register has spent his first days out of prison getting reacquainted with family and a city he last saw when Jimmy Carter was president.
Kate Linthicum, The Los Angeles Times

Kash Delano Register sat in a park Sunday afternoon, taking it all in.
He felt the sun on his face and the breeze coming in from the ocean. He heard the sound of birds and children playing.

"This is really beautiful," he said. He was smiling, but there were tears in his eyes.

Soul on Fire
California Is Burning—Can a Motley Crew of Prisoners Save It?
James Pogue, Vice

You always plead. Statistically speaking. There’s literally no end—today in the paper, they’ve got a quote from a guy doing life for armed robbery—to what they can do to you if you fight, and anyway most of the time they have the documents, the surveillance videos, the gun under the passenger seat, and you take what they give you. Because the number they come to you with—ten years with half, eight years at 80 percent, it’s all very baroque—is only the beginning. The higher the number, the rougher the yard, and in California, this second set of numbers—level-three yards, level-four yards—can denote their own kind of punishment.

Convicted murderer gets new trial, no blacks on jury
Jack Minor, US Finance Post

A convicted murderer in a pair of horrific crimes form the 1980s has now been granted the righto a new trial for the reason that none of his jurors were African-American.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported how Steven Crittenden has been sitting on the state’s death row at San Quentin for murdering a couple in Chico in 1987.

From prison isolation to a sense of doom
Geoffrey Mohan, Los Angeles Times

He's the older guy in class. Old enough for you to notice. But he notices you, too, like he notices everyone else — your face, your gestures, where you sit, your race.

It's only after he's taken this unconscious roll-call that Steven Czifra turns his attention to Irish poet William Butler Yeats, yearning for the Lake Isle of Innisfree.

"And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow…"

REALIGNMENT

Counties differ on prison reforms
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- A university study released Friday showing how California counties are spending $4.4 billion to implement Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment law found that nearly 20 percent have fundamentally changed how they approach criminal justice.

California's 'realignment' of some felons gets mixed reaction
Dan Walters, The Sacramento Bee

California's "realignment" of responsibilities for handling felons deemed to present little threat to the public is getting a decidedly mixed reaction from local law enforcement and judicial officials who are most intimately involved, according to a series of interviews conducted by the Stanford University Criminal Justice Center.

Stakeholders Have Varying Opinions on California Prison Realignment
California Healthline

Law enforcement and judicial stakeholders have varied opinions of California's prison realignment plan, according to a new report by the Stanford University Criminal Justice Center, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports.

The report is the second in a planned series examining the state's effort to reduce prison overcrowding (Walters, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 11/11).

California study examines titanic shift in criminal justice
Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News

PALO ALTO -- Two years after California loaded responsibility for most low-level criminal offenders onto counties, the titanic policy shift, according to a new study, is getting mixed reviews from law enforcement and justice officials, many of whom continue to fret about a possible rise in crime and decline in public safety.

The Stanford Criminal Justice Center's eye-opening report is the first comprehensive look at how those involved in one of the most sweeping correctional experiments in recent history really feel about it.

L.A. County has lost track of thousands of probationers
Beatriz Valenzuela, The Press Telegram

Los Angeles County has lost track of about 2,000 prison realignment probationers under its supervision, which is a higher rate than most nearby counties.

High recidivism rates among this population of offenders, coupled with the sheer number of those under supervision, may have led to 1,844 criminals, or slightly more than 18 percent, of 10,142 being lost from the system, Los Angeles County Probation officials said last month.

CDCR RELATED

Coalinga hopes jailer job fair pays off
Lewis Griswold, The Fresno Bee

Coalinga is holding a job fair Wednesday and Thursday to hire correctional officers in anticipation that the city-owned Claremont Correctional Facility will reopen.

"It's a roll of the dice" whether the city will get a contract from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to house lower-risk inmates at the city's 513-bed, dormitory-style facility, Police Chief Cal Minor said.

When bullets fly, Valley law officers lean on training to stay alive
Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee

Law enforcement officers aren't looking for a fight when searching for dangerous felons, but they have to be ready for it.

Officials say thorough preparation, gun training and the use of anti-ballistic body armor help officers survive battles such as Tuesday's at a southeast Fresno apartment complex, when a wanted kidnapper tried to shoot his way to freedom.

Program helps homeless veterans find shelter
Mark Andrew Boyer, Richmond Confidential

Rhonda Harris was beaming when she arrived at the Veterans Resource Program with a rolling suitcase in tow. “We’ve got good news: We got $4,000 for our mural,” she said with a fist pump. “It’s a grant – it’s our first grant!”

Harris unrolled a sketch of the mural by Air Force veteran Ann Reesman, which will honor military veterans from the Korean War, Vietnam and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The mural will blanket the house’s eastern face. The money will come from arts grant awarded by the city of Richmond. It won’t cover the entire cost of the mural, but Harris hopes it will help her secure matching funds.

10 Ways To Reduce Prison Overcrowding And Save Taxpayers Millions
Saki Knafo, Huffington Post

America’s federal prisons are in trouble.

They’re so crowded they’re endangering the lives of inmates and corrections officers, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Charles Samuels Jr., testified at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. And the immense cost of confining so many people is draining vital resources from from other public safety endeavors, including investigations and prosecutions.

OPINION

OP-ED: Fix obvious flaws in prison realignment
The Press Enterprise

California’s ambitious restructuring of the criminal justice system should not merely push state prison ills onto county government. The Legislature needs to make adjustments to the realignment program, including changes to jail sentences and parole violations, to ease the burdens on overstressed counties.

Letter to the Editor: Jeffrey Callison
La Voz Weekly

(Note: The following “letter to the editor” was sent to La Voz to point out errors in a story. The paper chose to publish the letter.)

There were several errors of fact in Jay Serrano’s recent piece about prison crowding and Realignment:

1. California does not “need to release 9,600 inmates by the end of the year.” The current deadline is actually the end of February 2014. Also, the difference between the current population of the state’s prisons and the level determined by the court is actually a little over 8,000.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Shakespeare in Prison
The Shakespeare at San Quentin program provides inmates a lens through which to examine their own lives.
Adelyn Baxter, East Bay Express

Until recently, Andress Yancy hadn't given much thought to the works of Shakespeare, and he certainly never thought their themes related to his life. "I thought this was a nerd thing," said Yancy. But now, after studying works like Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice, Yancy said he has realized just how relatable Shakespeare's words are. And he learned this as an inmate within the walls of San Quentin State Prison. "Who's the biggest nerd now?" he said.

Southern California banker gets 2-year prison sentence for stealing customers' funds
The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — A Wells Fargo banker in Southern California has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for embezzling at least $293,000 from customer accounts.

Man sentenced to death for torture, rape, murder of 84-year-old Anaheim woman
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — A man who raped, tortured and murdered an 84-year-old Orange County woman has been sentenced to death.

Twenty-nine-year-old Anthony Wade of Los Angeles was sentenced Tuesday. He confessed during the trial.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Oakland: Randy Alana must face jury in alleged murder of federal investigator girlfriend
Paul T. Rosynsky Oakland Tribune

OAKLAND -- A felon accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, a federal public defender investigator, must stand trial before a jury, a judge ruled Tuesday after a lengthy preliminary hearing.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Capitol Alert: AM Alert: California panel weighs state prisons' efficiency
Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento Bee

When Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled his plan earlier this year to expand California's prison capacity, a bid to satisfy federal orders to slim the state's inmate population, he spurred skepticism from critics who said enlarging the state's network of inmate facilities represented a step backwards.

REALIGNMENT

Realignment: S.F. Praised For Absorbing State Inmates, Yet Crime Is on the Rise
Chris Roberts, SF Weekly

In a town with a reputation for rebel prosecutors, District Attorney George Gascón stands out.
Locals would never confuse San Francisco's chief prosecutor -- the longtime cop, former chief of police, and former Republican -- with progressive predecessors like Terence Hallinan. Yet when implementing state prison reform, San Francisco is still way out there -- in a good way, according to a recent report from the Stanford Criminal Justice Center.

Stanford University studies look at how California's prison realignment is playing out
Rina Palta, KPCC

The state's prison realignment program shifted thousands of would-be state prisoners to local control. But it didn't set up a mechanism for tracking what happened to the population or the impact on the counties where they ended up.

Now, two papers out of Stanford Law School's Criminal Justice Center look at how realignment is playing out in California counties.

Fresno County Jail: To ease overcrowding, build two new courts
John Ellis, The Fresno Bee

To relieve chronic overcrowding at the Fresno County Jail, local officials are seeking state help to create one and possibly two new courtrooms.

The proposal is being called an "arraignment court," and the idea is it could handle lower-level criminal arraignments as well as plea agreements, sentencings and cases where individuals will serve time in local jails -- instead of state prisons -- under the state's realignment program.

CDCR RELATED

Drug Court graduates 180 participants
Eric Woomer, Visalia Times Delta

Judge Glade Roper didn’t have much hope when he helped start Tulare County’s Drug Court 17 years ago. Now, with more than 2,000 graduates, Roper says he was wrong.

“We started on a wing and a prayer and it’s been a success,” he said.

Elmo Visits Prisons to Help Children With Incarcerated Parents
NBC Bay Area

Sesame Street is reaching out to children who have parents in prison, by sending Elmo to San Quentin and Santa Rita Jail.

The "Alameda County Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership" is hosting several events and a workshop called "little children, big challenges" that focuses on incarceration.

Ex-Soledad prison nursing director retires under fire
Accused of filing false records to cover drug thefts
Virginia Hennessey, Monterey County Herald

The former Soledad prison nursing director facing state disciplinary action has retired from her position.

Angelia Britt retired from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Oct. 29, the day after testimony ended in a hearing in which the state was seeking suspension or revocation of her nursing license.

First court date for Lodi crash suspect
Jason Anderson, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - The man authorities believe caused a deadly collision that killed six people in Lodi last month has been moved from a hospital to the San Joaquin County Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance today, according to jail records.

CDCR RELATED

Calif. Gov. Brown Announces Appointments for Nov. 13, 2013 including to California Department of Toxic Substances
Christopher Simmons, California Newswire

…..Michael Stainer, 50, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Institutions, where he has been acting director since 2013 and served as deputy director of facility operations from 2012 to 2013. Stainer held multiple positions at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi from 2004 to 2011, including warden, acting warden, chief deputy warden, associate warden and correctional captain. He was a correctional captain at the California State Prison Los Angeles from 2002 to 2004 and held multiple positions at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi from 1987 to 2002, including correctional counselor supervisor, lieutenant, sergeant and officer. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $155,436. Stainer is a Republican.

California sentencing commission could be coming, Ammiano says
Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento Bee

The prospect of a renewed push for a statewide sentencing commission surfaced during a Wednesday hearing on California's criminal justice system.

Under a federal court order to reduce crowding in California's prisons, Gov. Jerry Brown last year introduced a bill to buy the state time by allocating $315 million for new inmate facilities. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, backed that plan, while Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg rallied his caucus behind an alternate proposal calling for an advisory sentencing commission.

Coalinga Jail May Reopen, Create Jobs
Yourcentralvalley.com

(Note: The reporter has been informed that realignment does not involve sending inmates to leased beds.)

A jail in Coalinga may reopen and bring with it jobs.

The Claremont Custody Center in Coalinga could be receiving some inmates from the state's prison realignment plan.

REALIGNMENT

Community members and law enforcement talk about the impact of prison realignment
Carlos Correa, 23 ABC News

(Note: The reporter has been informed that realignment does not involve moving inmates to jails.)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Governor Jerry Brown’s realignment plan is meant to reduce overcrowding in state prison’s by moving inmates to counties throughout California.

Mele Discusses Local Effects Of AB 109
Mark Truppner, My Mother Lode

Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele is concerned over the increase in crime in Tuolumne County and attributes AB 109 as a contributing factor.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Exclusive: 'Landlord from Hell' Defends Terrorizing Apartment Tenants
Lynn Redmond, Francesca Ferreira and Alexa Valiente via 20/20

Kip Macy, 39, and his wife, Nicole Macy, also 39, were deemed "landlords of hell" by authorities for menacing the tenants of their San Francisco apartment building.

CDCR RELATED

Former CCI warden appointed director of CDCR Division of Adult Institutions
Tehachapi News

Governor Jerry Brown announced Wednesday that former California Correctional Institution warden Michael Stainer, 50, has been appointed director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Institutions.

8 Shocking Facts From the ACLU’s Report on Life Without Parole
A new study documents the thousands of Americans serving life without parole for committing non-violent crimes
Denver Nicks, Time

A sentence of life in prison without the possibility parole seems like it would be a punishment reserved only for the most heinous criminals, those deemed unfit for reintroduction into society. That’s not always the case, according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, which advocates for more lenient sentencing.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Elmo pays a visit to San Quentin
Vivian Ho, San Francisco Chronicle

(11-14) 19:47 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- The low baritone rumble of the male inmates gathered in San Quentin State Prison's visiting room was replaced by a fevered falsetto as a red, man-size creature covered in fur strolled into view.

The children in the room squealed and gasped, as their fathers, uncles and grandfathers, wearing their prison blues, dropped to their knees to fuel their enthusiasm - not that the tykes needed the help.

San Quentin commemorates Veterans Day
Sukey Lewis, Richmond Confidential

It was early morning on Monday—the fog lifting in the salty air and the cries of seagulls echoing over the lap of waves against a rocky beach. Two sea otters tumbled through the water about twenty feet from shore. However, two hundred yards from this idyllic setting, 4,186 men live behind razor wire, granite walls and steel bars.
Approximately 450 of these men are veterans of America’s wars.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Woodland man sentenced to prison for hit-and-run death
Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

A 19-year-old Woodland man has been sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter in the Aug. 5 hit-and-run death of 53-year-old Douglas Gatie.

Gatie was walking on the sidewalk in front of 304 Main St. in Woodland just before 1:30 a.m. when he was struck by a vehicle driven at a high rate of speed by Ivan Martinez, according to a Yolo County District Attorney’s Office news release. Martinez was traveling 75 mph in a 25 mph zone when his vehicle jumped the curb.

Man convicted of 2001 killing of Daly City teen
Henry K. Lee, The San Francisco Chronicle

(11-14) 12:53 PST DALY CITY -- A man has been convicted of murder in connection with the 2001 slaying of a 15-year-old boy in Daly City, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Reynaldo Maldonado, 34, faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 31 for his role in the stabbing death of Quetzalcoatl Alba, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

CrimeFighters Manhunt: Biliulfo Luna
Carlo Cecchetto, CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a countywide manhunt, looking for a registered sex offender who targets children.

Biliulfo Luna, 51, is wanted by the CPAT -- the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating conditions of his release. His criminal history includes sexual assault of a child under 14 and theft-related charges.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Man draws life sentence for murder after judge rejects a friend’s last-minute claim
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

Acquitted of murder, Tony Van made a play to help out a co-defendant who was convicted of murder in a 2008 Sacramento shooting and was looking into the abyss of a life term in prison.

Santa Rosa man sent to prison after 8th DUI
Jeremy Hay, The Press Democrat

A Santa Rosa man was sentenced to five years in prison following his eighth conviction on driving under the influence.

Man sentenced to life for shooting brother in Fresno over property dispute
The Associated Press

FRESNO, California — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting his brother in Fresno, causing part of his body to be paralyzed and leaving the family bitterly divided.

Orange County man sentenced in DUI crash that killed teenager
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — A man has been sentenced to 21 years to life in prison in a drunken driving crash that killed a 14-year-old girl and injured her friends as they headed home from a birthday party.

Man sentenced to 50 years to life in death of estranged wife
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — A man has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for fatally shooting his estranged wife near the preschool where she worked.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parolee arrested following robbery at Howe Avenue bank
Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

A 21-year-old man was arrested this morning, accused of robbing a Howe Avenue bank a short time earlier.

REALIGNMENT

19 arrested during Pomona gang sweep
Lori Fowler, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

POMONA >> “Whatever it takes.”

That’s what Pomona Mayor Elliot Rothman said Sunday after it was reported that 19 people were arrested during a gang sweep across the city.

DEATH PENALTY

California’s Death Penalty: A Year in Review
Paula Mitchell, Justia.com

On November 6, 2012, California voters narrowly defeated Proposition 34, a measure that would have replaced the state’s death penalty with the sentence of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) as the state’s most severe punishment. Prop 34 failed to pass by about 250,000 votes.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Judge accepts reports for mental health reform at Salinas Valley State Prison
Allison Gatlin, The Salinas Californian

“Dangerous” and “deeply disturbing” practices in Salinas Valley State Prison’s mental health unit will be up for review on March 31, per a federal court order.

Overruling Gov. Jerry Brown and the state corrections administration, on Wednesday U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton accepted a report by Special Master Matthew Lopes concerning the prison’s psychiatric unit. Within the report, Lopes, an attorney with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC, outlines what he believes to be barriers to proper mental health treatment at the Soledad prison.

Judge overrules governor, changes to be made at Soledad prison; Federal judge makes decision on Salinas Valley State Prison
Julia Reynolds, Monterey Herald

Overruling objections by Gov. Jerry Brown, a federal judge has ordered corrections officials to follow a special master's recommendations for alleviating serious problems at a Soledad prison's mental health unit.

CDCR RELATED

Separate jail facilities seek to cut recidivism rates among veterans
The San Diego sheriff offers classes, special housing to increase the chances vets don't repeat offenses. Programs also assist with drug and alcohol abuse.
Tony Perry, The Los Angeles Times

VISTA, Calif. — The N-Module-3 housing wing at the San Diego County Jail was recently repainted red, white and blue.

Brightly colored paintings now hang on the walls: one of the Statue of Liberty, another of the U.S. flag, and one of a screaming eagle landing with talons outstretched. Hanging from the ceiling are the service flags of U.S. military branches and the POW/MIA flag.

Brown Vetoed 'Wiser Choice' in Drug Possession Prosecution with SB 649Dan Aiello, California Progress Report

California's drug laws will remain steeped with inconsistent consequences for those convicted of simple possession after Governor Jerry Brown's October veto of a bill to make unlawful possession of certain controlled substances, including opiates, punishable as either a felony or as a misdemeanor.

Some European Prisons Are Shrinking and Closing—What Can America Learn?
Prisons that could actually reform and rehabilitate criminals are a reality.
Peter Zachariadis, Take Part

Imagine prisons where inmates return to their cells at night after spending time with family, where solitary confinement is seldom used, and freedom of movement within the building is common.

OPINION

PD Editorial: Assessing costs, benefits of realignment
The Press Democrat

Two years ago, when California began shifting inmates from state prisons to county jails, we called it “an experiment, even a gamble.” And, we conceded, it was the state's only option. It still is.

Realignment — the bureaucratic name for the reorganization — wrought unprecedented changes at every level of California's criminal justice system.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

An inmate learns about self through caring for others
Tommy Shakur Ross, KALW

KALW has partnered with radio producers inside California's oldest prison to bring you the San Quentin Prison Report, a series of stories focusing on the experiences of these men, written and produced by those living inside the prison's walls.

Sandy Rashid Lockhard is 35 years old. In 2002, he robbed four men at gunpoint outside of a Walmart store in Lancaster, CA. He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 24 years in state prison.

REALIGNMENT

Realignment in Review: Sentencing reform is necessary
Christopher Nelson, California Forward

The way we sentence those who have committed crimes may be the single most important aspect of the criminal justice system we can change to reduce prison populations and recidivism.

Questions Of Parolee Supervision Persist In State’s Prison Realignment Program
CBS Los Angeles

WESTLAKE DISTRICT (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles police are helping oversee paroled prisoners who have been released under the state’s controversial prison realignment program.

Richmond: Felon charged in crash that injured two women
Rick Hurd, Contra Costa Times

RICHMOND -- A felon released in compliance with legislation designed to reduce California's overcrowded prisons has been charged with three felonies after allegedly leading police on a chase that resulted in a car crash last week that injured two women.

Pomona Police Probe Produces Perps A-Plenty
Lee Brown, Crime Voice

POMONA – In a response to 26 murders in 2013, among other crimes, a citywide gang sweep netted 19 arrests on Sunday.

Six different agencies, including police departments from Pomona, Rialto, Baldwin Park and Covina, along with a Regional AB 109 Task Force and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept. conducted the sweeps that began on Saturday afternoon and lasted into the early hours of Sunday morning.

CDCR RELATED

New Folsom Prison officer slashed by inmate with handmade weapon
Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee

A correctional officer at New Folsom Prison is in fair condition after being attacked by an inmate wielding a handmade weapon, according to authorities.

The officer, a 15-year veteran of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, was slashed on his neck and taken to an outside hospital for treatment, according to a news release from the corrections department.

California Third Strikers Have to Find Their Own Path to Freedom
Michael Montgomery, Lisa Pickoff-White and Suzie Racho, KQED

A little more than a year ago, Californians voted to allow the release of third strikers convicted of non-violent, non-serious crimes. Since then, about 1,000 people have been released. KQED followed three men from prison to their new lives outside.

A Year After Release, Only 2 Percent of Three Strikers Have Committed New Crimes
Michael Montgomery, KQED

Convicted of stealing two car alarms from a Walgreens store, Richard Brown spent 18 years in prison under California’s notorious Three Strikes law. Then, quite suddenly, he was standing outside the gates of San Quentin earlier this year, a free man.

OPINION

Mercury News editorial: Kids sentenced to life in prison deserve a shot at redemption
Mercury News Editorial

There are crimes so terrible, so ghastly that their perpetrators deserve to be locked up and the key thrown away. But when those perpetrators are kids, 13 or 15 years old, they deserve different treatment.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said so, and California lawmakers recently passed two laws to make sure it happens. But the criminal justice system needs to move more quickly to enforce these laws.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Brown optimistic on talks to resolve prison impasse
The governor says negotiations between inmates' attorneys and his administration have been informative while seeking more time to comply with judges' order to remove 9,600 prisoners.
Anthony York, The Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown expressed hope Tuesday that court-ordered negotiations can resolve the lingering impasse over how to relieve prison crowding in California.

REALIGNMENT

Accused rapist, murderer is fit to stand trial
Jennifer Rodriguez-Moore

STOCKTON - Doctors have determined that a 40-year-old man accused of raping and murdering his grandmother is competent to stand trial after having responded well to psychiatric medication.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Yolo County officials applaud graduates of Day Reporting Center
Don Frances, The Daily Democrat

A who's who of Yolo County law enforcement joined educators, local leaders and several clients of the Yolo County Day Reporting Center on Tuesday as they celebrated its first-ever graduating class.

Vista jail gives vets a place of their own
The Associated Press

VISTA -- A cellblock painted red, white and blue has been reserved for U.S. military veterans at the San Diego County jail in Vista, as part of a new program initiated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Folsom inmate sentenced for assault on fellow prisoner
Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

An inmate California State Prison, Sacramento in Folsom has been sentenced to an additional 23 years to life behind bars for assaulting a fellow prisoner.

A Sacramento County jury in August convicted Mario Aguillon, 26, of assaulting an inmate with a deadly weapon and possession of a sharp instrument. On Friday, Aguillon’s motion for a new trial was denied.

Man sentenced to life after robbery-gone-wrong
Anne Stegan 23 ABC

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Three men accused of murder have each been found guilty and sentenced after a robbery-gone-wrong in a Foods Co parking lot.

Christopher Patterson, Maxamillian McDonald and Lawrence Slaughter were each found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree robbery and participating in a street gang.

CDCR RELATED

Room for compassion in our system
Michael Fitzgerald, The Stockton Record

Over the years, I have developed a healthy dislike for embezzlers. They betray trust. They often shirk restitution. Many reoffend, and they rarely, in my opinion, get what they deserve.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Startups emerge behind bars
Laurie Segall and Erica Fink, CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The next great tech startup could emerge from a classroom full of men serving double-digit sentences for offenses ranging from car-jacking to murder.

Kamala Harris, Jackie Lacey Unveil Initiative To Curb Inmate Recidivism
CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris was joined Wednesday by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey and other law enforcement leaders from across Southern California and the state to unveil a new initiative aimed at curbing recidivism.

California attorney general announces new initiative to reduce recidivism among criminals
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — California's attorney general launched a new initiative on Wednesday aimed at reducing one of the nation's highest rates of recidivism among people convicted of crimes.

Tulare killer who attacked lawyer in court get 50 years to life
Lewis Griswold, The Fresno Bee

A man who murdered the mother of his children and stabbed his lawyer in the face at his murder trial was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in prison, the Tulare County District Attorney's Office said.

Jury convicts North Highlands wife-killer of murder
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

Daniel Weddle on Wednesday was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of his wife on Dec. 1, 2011.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury returned a first-degree murder conviction today against Daniel Marlan Weddle for the Dec. 1, 2011, shooting death of his wife, Margaret.

REALIGNMENT

Reality Check: Dangerous Criminals Finding Way to Local Jails
Sam Brock, NBC Bay Area

Should offenders guilty of serious crimes, like human trafficking, sexual abuse and vehicular manslaughter, end up in county jails?

That’s one pressing question before the public as lawmakers, policymakers and criminal justice experts look to tweak California’s most significant overhaul of crime and punishment policies in decades.

Cities Association urges state legislators to change realignment program
Alia Wilson and Mara Van Ells, San Jose Mercury News

Representatives from the Cities Association of Santa Clara County have sent a letter to state Sen. Jerry Hill this month in hopes of addressing challenges posed by the state's criminal justice realignment proposal, known as AB 109.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Nathan Eugene French Wanted by California State Parole for Tampering with Ankle GPS Device
Fugitive.com

California State parole authorities are currently seeking Nathan Eugene French for allegedly tampering with his ankle Global Positioning Device. According to parole, he is a convicted sex offender and has allegedly violated his conditions of parole by tampering with his GPS monitoring device, and he is unable to be located by his parole agent. CDCR WARNING-Do Not attempt to apprehend him yourself. Consider him Armed and/or Dangerous.

CDCR RELATED

Gang sweep targets friends of alleged Roseville cop shooter
Ed Fletcher, The Sacramento Bee

More than a dozen associates of Sammy Duran, accused of shooting police officers, joined him behind bars Wednesday after the Roseville Police Department teamed up with six other law enforcement agencies in a gang suppression sweep.

The effort resulted in the arrest of 27 people, with eight more detained on immigration holds, said Dee Dee Gunther, a spokeswoman for the Roseville Police Department.

Scientologists Help Stockton Combat Crime/Drugs
Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and Church of Scientology Sacramento team up with Stockton clergy and youth group mentors to lower the northern California city’s crime rate by reducing drug abuse.
Robert Adams, PRWeb

Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and the Church of Scientology of Sacramento have joined forces with community and religious leaders to combat drug abuse and drug-related crime. They conducted a seminar on November 9 to train 71 mentors representing Stockton’s 13 Boys and Girls Clubs and several local ministers on the Truth About Drugs, the drug education and prevention initiative the Church supports.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

The Last Mile at San Quentin Allows Prisoners to Become Entrepreneurs – Ray’s Ray of Hope
Ray Rossi, New Jersey 101.5

Some of the most dangerous convicts in the California penal system are housed behind the walls of San Quentin State Prison.

Some of the most dangerous, yet some of the most driven to eventually emerge from their incarceration.

Man gets 35 to 45 years in prison for sex assault of Nebraska teen
The Associated Press

LINCOLN — A 39-year-old man already serving time in a California prison for sexual abuse of a minor has been sentenced to 35 to 45 years in a Nebraska prison for a similar teen sex crime committed years earlier.

Man sentenced to 84-plus years in Plumas County murder
Jane Braxton Little, The Sacramento Bee

QUINCY -- Gregory Chad Wallin-Reed was sentenced Thursday to spend from 84 years and eight months to life in state prison for the 2011 murder of Rory McGuire, 20, of Susanville.
The sentence, delivered in Plumas Superior Court by Judge Ira Kaufman, included 50 years to life for first-degree murder and 34 years, eight months for seven other felony counts that range from firing at an occupied vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of an illegal assault rifle.

Former Whitney High teacher sentenced to prison for sexual relationship with student
Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee

A former Whitney High School teacher has been sent to prison for having a sexual relationship with a student, according to authorities.

Placer Superior Court Judge Michael Jones sentenced Matthew Scott Yamamoto to four years and eight months in prison, a news release from the District Attorney’s office states.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Shafter community correctional facility to reopen
23 ABC

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Assemblymember Rudy Salas announced that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the City of Shafter have reached an agreement to reopen the Shafter Community Correctional Facility, Thursday.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Multi-Agency Effort Leads to Arrest of Suspected Flasher
A South Gate man is accused of exposing himself to several victims within various Los Angeles County cities.
Gina Tenorio, Southgate-Lynwood Patch

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and a team of other agencies, including Long Beach Police, partnered to build a case against a South Gate man they say exposed himself multiple victims at various locations throughout the county.

Albert Raul Pulido, 26, is currently in a Los Angeles County Jail awaiting transfer to State Prison in connection with a Long Beach incident, authorities said.

CrimeFighters Manhunt: Kilimaco Vargas
Carlo Cecchetto, CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a countywide manhunt for a registered sex offender who's evading authorities.

Kilimaco Vargas, 46, is a convicted felon and is wanted by the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating the conditions of his parole. Vargas has a history of rape, death threats, assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary.

Compliance Sweep Yields Meth Lab
Dutra’s The Paper

Los Banos Police Department, with the assistance of the Merced County Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, conducted an operation on November 18, 2013. The operation was a combination of compliance checks on State Parolees, adults on Merced County Probation, and Individuals released under California’s AB109/State Prison Realignment.

REALIGNMENT

Three graduate from the Imperial County Sheriff’s GED program
Chelcey Adami, Imperial Valley Press

The three graduates in the Imperial County Sheriff’s GED graduation class of 2013 beamed as they stood up to accept their diplomas during a ceremony at the Herbert Hughes Correctional Center.

All three had the highest scores from the group that took the test and that group included people not in custody as well.

Counties talk realignment funding at statewide conference: Humboldt County supervisors discuss homelessness, water issues, health care
Catherine Wong, The Times-Standard

Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn said Tuesday that prison realignment -- which has the county seeking up to $20 million in state funds for jail expansion -- is one of the hot topics of this year's annual California State Association of Counties conference in San Jose.

”The AB 109 discussions have been really interesting,” Bohn said. “It seems like everyone is after the SB 1022 funds. Everyone wants to expand their jails and jail programs.”

HEMET: Sweep results in 34 arrests of parolees
Craig Schultz, The Press Enterprise

A police operation aimed at parolees resulted in 34 arrests in and around Hemet on Wednesday, Nov. 20, according to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.
The sweep targeted convicted criminals who were released from jail early under the Post Release Community Supervision program.

CDCR RELATED

Aryan Brotherhood targeting black teens who beat WWII vet to death: cops
Kenan Adams-Kindard and Demetrius Glenn, both 16, are accused of murdering Delbert Belton in Spokane, Wash. But the boys are in protective custody after cops got word the Aryan Brotherhood is offering a $10,000 bounty on the teens.
Sasha Goldstein, New York Daily News

Two Washington state teens accused of beating an 88-year-old World War II veteran to death are in the crosshairs of the Aryan Brotherhood.
The white supremacist group reportedly put a $10,000 bounty on Spokane teens Kenan Adams-Kinard and Demetrius Glenn, both 16 and black and both accused of murder, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

CA prisons finding new ways to prevent drug-smuggling
Labrador retrievers to be introduced at California prisons
Leticia Ordaz. KCRA.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —They are supposed to be maximum security facilities, but drugs continue to find their way into California's prisons.

Contraband is smuggled in by wives, mothers and even babies, according to California prison officials. Even prison staff has been busted for smuggling in contraband.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmates learn tech sector from Silicon Valley pros
Associated Press

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — The budding entrepreneurs wear blue sweat pants labeled “prisoner” and huge, flapping blue shirts. Their doors are triple locked, and lunch is a stale peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Complicating matters, participants in this growing Silicon Valley startup incubator are barred from the Internet.

Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin moves to new prison
The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s killer was moved to a new prison in California on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Kennedy’s brother, President John F. Kennedy.
Sirhan Sirhan, 69, was transferred Friday from the Corcoran prison in central California to the Richard J. Donovan prison in San Diego, more than 250 miles south.

Odd murder case is almost over
13-year-old crime led to many 'twists and turns'
Cincinnati.com

Juan Kinney was all but forgotten in Ohio even though he stabbed a man to death in Mount Auburn 13 years ago.

That’s because Hamilton County prosecutors, in what they admit is an unusual case, decided not to try Kinney on his murder indictment – because he already was serving a life sentence in California.

Fresno program helps sex offenders rebuild lives
The Gathering addresses social and spiritual needs
Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, Mennonite World Review

FRESNO, Calif. — On a Friday afternoon, two men arrive at Mennonite Community Church to set up tables. Both are registered sex offenders.

They got to know each other through Circles of Support and Accountability, a re-entry program for sex offenders returning to the community from prison.

Marin judge sentences Joseph Naso to death row for murders of six women
Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal

Calling him "an evil and disturbed man," a Marin County judge sentenced convicted serial killer Joseph Naso to death Friday for the murders of six women over a span of nearly two decades.

Woman whose boyfriend shot Bodie the Sacramento police dog gets 31 years to life
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

It was hard enough watching his dog get shot in the face. If Randy Van Dusen hadn’t made a quick move to his right that day in May 2012, he’d probably be dead. He had to return fire at the guy who was shooting at him, but he wasn’t excited about having to kill him.

Man to spend life in prison after 2010 fatal shooting of woman in Rancho Cordova
Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee

A man who shot into a stranger’s car and killed a woman after he reportedly perceived a threat that wasn’t there will go to prison for the rest of his life, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled today.

Man who beat, raped Orange County prostitutes is sentenced to 75 years to life in prison
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — A man who attacked three Orange County prostitutes, savagely beating and raping two, has been sentenced to 75 years to life in prison.

City News Service says Jose Mejia was sentenced Friday for the 2009 and 2010 attacks on women he picked up in Santa Ana.

CDCR RELATED

California corrections to hire 7,000 officers
Marina Gaytan, Merced Sun-Star

CHOWCHILLA — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials announced this week the intent to hire close to 7,000 correctional officers over the next three years because of increased attrition rates.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Releases Draft Inmate Fire Camp Contract Rate Proposal
Sierra Sun Times

November 22, 2013 - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) recently released a draft proposal for their revised fire camp contract rates. Under the proposal, CDCR would make available approximately 350 beds for counties to utilize for sending local offenders who are eligible for housing and service in the state fire camp system.

Inmate firefighters: Taking the heat, away from the cooler
For convicts, battling wildfires can provide a break from monotony – and a cheap alternative to paid firefighters
Brooke Jarvis, Aljazeera America

Daron Ehling fought 19 wildfires this year — long hours of cutting firebreaks and felling trees in the sweltering heat of eastern Washington. In 2012 he went out on 16 fires. And the year before that?

"The only thing I knew about a chain saw was how much they'd give me at a pawn shop," he says.

California Controller Chiang sues firm over failed payroll project
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

After months of finger-pointing over who is to blame for a failed payroll system upgrade, California Controller John Chiang is taking global tech firm SAP Public Services Inc. to court for breach of contract.

Andy Kendzie, spokesman for SAP, said this morning that the company wouldn't comment on the specific of the lawsuit, which its lawyers are reviewing.

REALIGNMENT

Realignment in Review: The struggle to bring services to AB 109’s probationers
Matthew Grant Anson, CAFWD.org

Combining a shift of some qualifying inmates from prison to jail with an investment in post-release services, Realignment is supposed to work as an antidote to the revolving door of recidivism in California. But key to Realignment actually working is for these post-release services to be delivered in a way that keeps people from re-offending.

Study finds results ‘mixed’ after implementation of prison realignment
Beatriz Valenzuela, Press-Telegram

A recent study has called California’s Prison Realignment an experiment in prison reduction “that was poorly planned” and in many instances gave counties little to no time to properly prepare for the influx of inmates into the local supervisory system.

FORCED TO CHANGE: Kern County putting more realignment money into treatment
James Burger, The Bakersfield Californian

Kern County Deputy Sheriff Francis Moore stood at the doorway of the packed classroom tucked in the middle of the minimum security inmate barracks at Lerdo Jail and waved his hand at the barbed wire, sally ports and cell block units.

"We ain't got room for you," he told the 21 men sitting at school desks. "We want you to succeed."

Note to crooks: Get out of jail, don't go back
Attorney General Kamala Harris and county prosecutors target recidivism
Dana Littlefield, U-T San Diego

California’s prisons remain filled beyond capacity, and now that some offenders can serve much longer sentences in county jails, those populations have swelled as well.

Because of this, state and local authorities have acknowledged that they need to do some things differently with regard to criminal justice — specifically, they need to work harder to keep offenders from winding up back behind bars.

Will jail overcrowding only worsen?
More arrests likely as Stockton police force is beefed up
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - The passage earlier this month of Measures A and B promises more police officers on the streets of Stockton.

And it raises the question: What will a larger police force do to a County Jail that is bursting at the seams?

CALIFORNIA INMATES

2nd correctional officer attacked by inmate at Sacramento prison
Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

A second correctional officer in less than a week has been attacked and badly injured by a convicted murderer at California State Prison, Sacramento, according to correctional officials.
The latest injury occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday when prison staff was trying to conduct a random search of the cell housing convicted murderer Delvin E. Cottingham. Cottingham exited his cell and unexpectedly walked toward an officer.

6 Months on, These Prisoners Have Learned How to Start Their Own Tech Companies
Good idea?
Dain Fitzgerald, Politix

Operating just beneath the radar, a program in place since 2011 allows prisoners in California to learn how to build and maintain websites and run online businesses. In other words - and to use a popular buzzword - to "code."

Napa Judge Grants "Second Chance" to 23-Year-Old Vallejo Man
In a plea deal, Marquis Douglas, 23, of Vallejo, is sentenced to 5 years probation for his role in 2007 incident that killed Anthony Gee, 17, of Fairfield.
Keri Brenner, Napa Valley Patch

CLARIFICATION: The story below has been modified to correct the town where Anthony Gee was living in 2007 from American Canyon to Fairfield. The "sweet 16" party he attended when he was killed was in American Canyon.
----

As tears flowed throughout a Napa County Superior Courtroom Monday, Judge Michael Williams granted a suspended sentence and five years probation to Marquis Douglas, 23, of Vallejo in the case of a 2007 shooting incident that killed Anthony Gee, 17, of Fairfield.

REALIGNMENT

County Considers Expanding Drug Treatment Programs
Jennifer Wadsworth, San Jose Inside

Santa Clara County needs more drug rehab housing for convicts slated for release under the state’s 2011 prison reform measure. In September, a Superior Court judge told the county it has to expand residential treatment centers to accommodate defendants released under AB 109, a law that orders counties to free non-violent and non-sexual offenders to ease prison overcrowding.

Counties Prioritizing Jail Construction to Answer Realignment Challenges
Highland Community News

Activists and analysts who have monitored California's criminal justice realignment since its debut in 2011 released an updated Realignment Report Card Tuesday that shows the state moving away from realignment's early promises.

CDCR RELATED

Housing Prisoners from other States has become a $320 Million a Year Industry
Noel Brinkerhoff, Danny Biederman, ALLGOV

Private prison operators are making more than $300 million a year just to house inmates shipped out of their home states, according to a new report (pdf) from the progressive group Grassroots Leadership.

At least four states—California, Vermont, Idaho and Hawaii—have exported a combined 10,500 prisoners to other states, where they’re being held in facilities operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison company.

Stockton gang sweeps net arrests, weapons and drugs
Seven suspects nabbed as part of investigation
Joe Goldeen, The Stockton Record

STOCKTON - A combined local, state and federal law enforcement task force armed with search and arrest warrants swooped down on the notorious Norteño street gang Monday morning, making seven arrests and confiscating weapons, ammunition and drugs, authorities said.

OPINION

Deadline on prison overcrowding must be extended
State Senator Darrell Steinberg, San Francisco Chronicle

One life saved.

For most of her adult life, a 31-year-old San Francisco violinist had been ravaged by debilitating mental illness. Newspaper accounts chronicled the compelling journey of Kim Knoble, who was caught in a cycle of shelters and homelessness, lack of self-control and aberrant behavior. It culminated in Knoble's arrest for assaulting an elderly passenger on a city bus.

Letting Convicts Free to Skimp on Prison Costs
Michael P. Tremoglie, Main Street

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — A federal court ruled that the state of California must improve the health conditions of its convicted criminals. A three judge panel of federal judges said the prisons were overcrowded. As a result, Californians were sold on the idea of anti-incarceration groups of revising their three strikes laws because it was costing the state government too much money.

Did anybody worry about the cost - economic, emotional, and social - to the citizens of California of letting criminals out of prison early?

CALIFORNIA INMATES

California begins to release prisoners after reforming its three-strikes law
Lorelei Laird, ABA Journal

In 1992, 18-year-old student Kimber Reynolds came home to Fresno, Calif., to be a bridesmaid. As she left a restaurant, two men rolled up on a motorcycle and tried to snatch her purse. When she resisted, one of them shot her. She died 26 hours later.
As the Reynolds family grieved, they learned that the shooter and his accomplice both had long rap sheets, largely for drugs and petty theft. Outraged that they had been freed, Mike Reynolds, Kimber’s father, wrote a proposed “three strikes and you’re out” law for repeat offenders.

Where are the bodies? I-Team asks Joseph Naso
Dan Noyes, ABC 7

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- Where did 79-year-old Joeseph Naso dump the bodies? Investigators believe he is responsible for more than the six murders for which he was convicted this past Friday in Marin County Superior Court. In Naso's first interview, the ABC7 News I-Team pressed him for answers.

CDCR RELATED

Battling Flames in Forests, With Prison as the Firehouse
Fernanda Santos, New York Times

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — The men cluster in a tight pack, identities obscured by fire-resistant Nomex clothes, each one anonymous except for the color of his helmet: red for corrections officers, blue and yellow for inmates.

Monterey County jail expansion gets its final go-ahead
Julia Reynolds, Monterey County Herald

Six years after Monterey County began a vigorous pursuit of funds to add more jail beds, its budget committee approved an $88.9 million expansion project.

At a county budget meeting Tuesday, Public Works Assistant Director Paul Greenway called the expansion "the largest public works project that we've managed in recent history."

REALIGNMENT

San Bernardino County graded with ‘double fail’ for prison realignment spending
Melissa Pinion-Whitt, The San Bernardino Sun

A statewide activist group dedicated to curbing prison spending has graded San Bernardino County with a “double fail” for its plans to expand three jail facilities, according to a report released Tuesday.

Glenn County Board of Education will hold special session to review charter school petition
Susan Meeker, Glenn County Transcript

The Glenn County Board of Education members have a mountain of documents to read over the holidays if they want to get their new charter school up and running in 2014.

The board plans to meet in special session on Tuesday to develop and approve a process to review the new petition for the "second-chance" charter school, in which troubled teens and adults will be given an opportunity to get a high school diploma.

CDCR NEWS

People in the News
Central Valley Business News

Cynthia Florez-DeLyon, 50, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Office of Victim Services, where she has been acting chief since 2012. Ms. Florez-DeLyon has served in multiple positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 1992, including chief of the Office of Policy Standardization from 2011 to 2012 and director of the Division of Rehabilitation Programs from 2009 to 2011.

Fairfield man tapped for correctional post
The Reporter

Charles Dangerfield, 50, of Fairfield, has been appointed chief of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Office of Correctional Safety by Gov. Jerry Brown.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Warped and Diminished by Prison
Hiring Ex-Convicts
David Macaray, Counter Punch

Anyone who clings to the belief that serving time in prison constitutes “paying one’s debt to society” has obviously never done time or tried to get a job after being released. Even if your crime was non-violent and non-invasive (e.g., drug possession) and your time in prison relatively short, when you get out and apply for a job, you quickly learn (if you didn’t already suspect) that you carry an ineradicable stigma.

At San Quentin, teens who committed murder seek second chances
Aaron Kinney, Contra Costa Times

SAN QUENTIN -- Michael Nelson doesn't look like a killer.

He is handsome and well-groomed. His voice is gentle, his demeanor polite. You wouldn't flinch if he approached you on a dark and empty sidewalk.

But when he was 15, Nelson sneaked up behind a middle-aged man and cracked his skull with a baseball bat. Then he watched a friend finish off the victim with a knife. Charged as an adult, Nelson pleaded guilty in 1998 to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life.

Prop 36: A year after release, only 2 percent of three strikers charged with new crimes
Michael Montgomery, KQED

A little more than a year ago, Californians voted for Proposition 36, allowing the release of three-strikers convicted of non-violent, non-serious crimes.

Since then, about 1,000 people have been released. Many of them had been in and out of prison and had drug problems — and they spent a long time locked up.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Palo Alto murderer dies after 'compassionate' parole
Kenneth Fitzhugh was convicted in 2001 of killing his wife, a music teacher
Sue Dremann, Palo Alto Weekly

Kenneth C. Fitzhugh Jr. had always claimed innocence after being convicted in one of Palo Alto's most brutal murders, even fighting his case in the California Supreme Court.

CrimeFighters Manhunt: German Rojo
CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a countywide manhunt, looking for a fugitive on the run.

Twenty-seven-year-old German Rojo is wanted by C-Pat, the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating the terms of his release. Rojo has a criminal history of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

REALIGNMENT

AP Exclusive: Violence rises in Calif. jails under Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment plan
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — County jails that account for the vast majority of local inmates in California have seen a marked increase in violence since they began housing thousands of offenders who previously would have gone to state prisons.

Gang bangers arrested
Highland Community News

Another of those AB 109 (Post Release Community Supervision) gang members was arrested Friday after being identified as the driver of a getaway car during a Highland car burglary.

Highland Deputy Darrell Smith responded to the call at 8:07 a.m. Nov. 29 in the 7700 block of Church Avenue.

CDCR RELATED

The State Worker: Battle over pensions goes local
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s proposed public pension ballot measure absorbed another political hit this week, this time from about two dozen local politicians who have asked him to drop the idea.

OPINION

The debate on solitary confinement
As California works to lower its prison population, lawmakers should extend Pelican Bay's limits on solitary confinement statewide.
The Times editorial board, Los Angeles Times

Treatment of prison inmates has finally begun to capture the attention of California's lawmakers and public, in large part because two lawsuits over constitutionally inadequate medical and mental health care resulted in a federal court order to reduce the inmate population by thousands. The Dec. 31 deadline has been pushed back to February as the state negotiates with plaintiffs in the consolidated suits, and lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown work through plans to devote more funding to treatment and alternative sentencing for mentally ill felons. Mental illness, and its pervasiveness among criminal offenders and inmates, has emerged as a major focus.

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