CDCR Star

CDCR NEWS

CDCR to Hire Approximately 7,000 Correctional Officers

SACRAMENTO— The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) expects to hire approximately 7,000 correctional officers over the next three years due to the increase in retirements.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Cell Phones in Prisons: Staying One Step Ahead of Inmates
Zohreen Adamjee, Fox 40 News

SOLANO COUNTY-Just as humans have built ways to keep prisoners away from the world, prisoners have devised ways to keep their secrets away from us.

At prisons across the state, inmates spend up to $500 for a cell phone and up to $2000 for smartphones, according to Paul Medina, Assistant Gang Investigator at CSP Solano. He says many times, they’re used for illegal activity.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate-run newspaper seeks to expand, with help of Berkeley graduate students
Melissa Wen, The Daily Californian

This semester, six UC Berkeley graduate students hatched a business plan that led them to prison.

It is their clients, however, who are wearing the blue uniforms.

The business and policy students, who enrolled in a UC Berkeley Haas School of Business class that provides guidance to nonprofits, arrived at prison to assist the only inmate-run newspaper in California, the San Quentin News.

A little more than a dozen felons write, edit and design from behind the walls of San Quentin
State Prison in Marin County.

Father and son reunited in prison
Troy Williams, 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.

Ron Everett has been incarcerated almost 31 years. Everett was arrested soon after the birth of his son, and their relationship became estranged over time.

Born of Grief, ‘Three Strikes’ Laws Are Being Rethought
Jane Gross, The New York Times

This week’s Retro Report video is a story of how personal tragedy led to what has been called one of the harshest criminal laws in the country, California’s “three strikes” law. Intended to lock up the most violent repeat offenders for 25 years to life, the law was almost immediately embroiled in controversy.

For an examination of the effects of California’s three strikes law, watch the video above. Below, a former Bay Area bureau chief for The Times recalls the case that galvanized the proposition drive for the law.

To most of the world – back in 1992 and even now — Mike Reynolds’s effort to keep repeat violent offenders locked up for life after the murder of his 18-year-old daughter, Kimber, in Fresno, Calif., was a non-event, not the opening salvo of what would become a barrage of state laws and referendums eventually known as the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” movement.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

One arrested, two sought in connection with home invasion
Record-Bee Lake County News

CLEARLAKE -- Clearlake Police Officers responded to a home invasion robbery early Thanksgiving morning, according to Sgt. Rodd Joseph.

When officers arrived at Lakeview Terrace Apartments, they reportedly found three adults tied up and robbed at gunpoint.

One of the victims was visiting from out-of-state and met the suspects on a flight from Colorado to San Francisco on Nov. 21.

The out-of-state victim sat next to a couple who claimed to be from Oakland.

The out-of-state victim told the couple he was traveling to Clearlake to visit friends and exchanged phone numbers during the flight.

CDCR RELATED

Drone Used To Sneak Contraband Into Georgia Prison
The Huffington Post

Amazon may be making the headlines for drone deliveries, but four suspects in Georgia are one step ahead of the online shopping giant.

The four were arrested in the city of Morgan last week after a corrections officer at Calhoun State Prison saw a remote-controlled helicopter soaring above the prison yard, NBC News reports. The suspects were allegedly trying to make a delivery to inmates.

CDCR RELATED

California prison system hiring 7,000 officers
Confronted with a growing wave of retirements, the California Department of Corrections said today that it will need to hire approximately 7,000 prison officers over the next three years to fill current and future vacancies statewide.
Jon Ortiz/Sacramento Bee

The state has about 25,000 fewer inmates in its 34 adult prisons owing to a two-year-old program that sends more convicted offenders to local jails, while attrition also is draining the prison-officer ranks with an average 150 retiring each month, according to corrections statistics. The state employees about 28,500 full-time-equivalent parole and prison officers, according to state union contract documents posted on the California Department of Human Resources’ website.

State exploring private prisons to ease overcrowding
CHARLESTON — Facing overcrowded prisons and more than 1,100 offenders waiting for beds at a state facility, the West Virginia Division of Corrections is exploring its options with private companies that would temporarily house those offenders out of state.
By Pamela Pritt Register-Herald Reporter

The move across state lines would be temporary, and would help offenders fulfill the obligation of their sentencing, according to Lawrence Messina, Communications Director, W.Va. Departmentof Military Affairs and Public Safety.

REALIGNMENT

Humboldt County supervisors receive realignment update; Weott water line replacement continues
Catherine Wong/The Times-Standard

As state officials continue assess which counties will get a financial boost to expand their jail facilities, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday received an update on how staff and local law enforcement have handled prison realignment during the past two years.

DEATH PENALTY

In California, death sentence is a long goodbye
Jury now has to decide whether Iftekhar Murtaza, convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s sister and father, should be executed. But capital punishment is a lengthy process in California, and inmates are more likely to die of natural causes.
Claudia Koerner, Orange County Register

After finding Iftekhar Murtaza guilty of killing his former girlfriend’s sister and father, jurors have another question to answer: Does he deserve to die for his crimes?
Orange County courts held hearings in various stages of nine capital cases in 2013, and so far, juries have recommended death for three men. Like the case of Murtaza and the burned bodies found in Irvine, many have been splashed across headlines for years. Anthony Wade, who killed an 84-year-old Anaheim Hills woman, and Waymon Livingston, who killed a woman in Anaheim, have been formally sentenced to death in Orange County this year.

The Meaning of Thanksgiving on Death Row
A land of punishingly bad food, the vending machines are the stuff of dreams.
David McConnell, Esquire

The people who visit inmates on San Quentin’s death row are a mixed bag. Women by a large majority, plus a few toddlers, lawyers, religious nuts, activist journalists and the occasional serial killer super-fan. But mostly nobody visits.
Even knowing that, even seeing the sparse crowd, I wasn’t especially moved by the symbolism of a Thanksgiving visit this year. Neither was Ray*, the man I’ve written, visited and interviewed for about five years. We both shrugged it off with the middle school cool that the frozen-in-time, strangely juvenile atmosphere of prison demands.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Two get eight years for 1982 killing and assault at Rowland Heights Park
Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Two men were sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for fatally stabbing a Valinda man and injuring his friend at a Rowland Heights Park 31 years ago.

Gilbert Leal, 52, of Riverside County and Marcelino Diablos Corona, 50, of Fontana took the deal offered by the judge and pleaded no contest to the voluntary manslaughter of 20-year-old Richard Hernandez and assaulting with a deadly weapon then 19-year-old Daniel Ontiveros on Aug. 8, 1982.

Conviction in Hayward 'staredown' slaying
Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle

An alleged gang member was convicted of second-degree murder for killing a 17-year-old boy in Hayward in 2010, a slaying that resulted from a "staredown," authorities said Wednesday.
Robert Joseph Yim, 23, of Hayward fired the shots that killed Samuel Nava on May 3, 2010. Nava was a passenger in a car making a U-turn on busy Mission Boulevard.

REALIGNMENT

Group opposes Los Angeles, San Bernardino counties’ bids for more money for more jails
Beatriz Valenzuela, Press-Telegram

On the heels of a scathing report card that gave failing grades to both Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties for their handling of the state’s prison realignment program, an advocacy group and concerned residents caravaned to Sacramento Wednesday to voice opposition to the counties seeking grant money to build what the group calls “cages for our children.”

Humboldt County supervisors receive realignment update; Weott water line replacement continues
Catherine Wong, The Times-Standard

As state officials continue assess which counties will get a financial boost to expand their jail facilities, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday received an update on how staff and local law enforcement have handled prison realignment during the past two years.

S.J. makes pitch for jail money
County seeks $40 million for new lockup, farm
Zachary K. Johnson, Recordnet.com

SACRAMENTO - San Joaquin County officials Wednesday made their pitch for $40 million from the state to build a new jail, replacing an aging facility known as the Honor Farm and creating space for new programs designed to keep inmates on the right side of the law after their release.

Police arrest suspects in drug deal turned robbery
Redding.com

Redding Police said today they arrested two men, one following a chase, suspected of robbing a man under the guise of a drug deal.

Officers say Danny Wayne McKee, 26, of Redding, and Timothy Robert Yakaitis, 32, of Shasta Lake, were taken into custody Tuesday. They said the pair met with the victim for a marijuana sale Nov. 21, at about 11:09 p.m. at a hotel on Hilltop Drive. But, police said, Yakaitis pulled out a handgun and threatened to shoot the victim while McKee beat him.

CDCR RELATED

SF shooting suspect remains at large
Seth Hemmelgarn, The Bay Area Reporter

San Francisco police are still looking for the man suspected of fatally shooting Melquiesha "Mel" Warren, 23, outside a gay South of Market nightclub almost three weeks ago.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS
Skeptical council approves CCF agreement with state
Doug Keeler, Midway Driller

The Taft City Council approved a 4½ -year, $51-million contact with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to reopen the city's Community Correctional Center Thursday night.

The State Worker: A sign of the times: California prison guards’ union embraces former enemies
Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee

Most beefs between law enforcement employers, unions and the rank-and-file fall into three areas: workplace safety, money and respect.

All three have coalesced in a brouhaha that recently erupted over an abbreviated correctional officer academy now running in eastern Kern County.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Dunsmuir man gets reprieve from life sentence
Skye Kinkade, Mt,Shasta News

Siskiyou County, Calif. - A former Dunsmuir man serving a life sentence in state prison was resentenced today under a reform of the Three Strikes Act.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Police Arrest Man Near 99 Ranch Market in Newark
Vanessa Castañeda, Newark Patch

Police arrested Matthew Grisso, 30, in Newark Wednesday morning for a parole violation.

Law enforcement officials drove two cars to the 3500 block of Newark Blvd. at about 11:30 a.m. Witnesses said upon arrival, the undercover vehicles stopped in traffic then “hopped out with guns drawn and grabbed” Grisso. “He was whisked away in just seconds in one of the cars.”

Crime fighters manhunt Sergio Dominquez lara
CBS News 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a manhunt for a registered sex offender known to frequent the North County.
Sergio Dominguez Lara, 53, is wanted by the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating the terms of his release. Lara has a criminal history of sodomy of child under 14.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Jury Clears Richard Tuite in Stephanie Crowe Slaying
Rory Devine, R. Stickney and Paul Krueger, NBC 7 San Diego

Jurors have acquitted a mentally-ill transient who spent eight years behind bars for the brutal killing of an Escondido girl.

Stephanie Crowe was just 12 when she was stabbed nine times in her bed and then collapsed and died in her bedroom doorway.

Issues surround placement of serial rapist Christopher Hubbart
Wes Woods, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Authorities and experts are not sure what will ultimately happen to Christopher Hubbart, dubbed the “Pillow Case Rapist.”

On Friday, Los Angeles County district attorney’s spokeswoman Jean Guccione said there was no update on a timeline for finding a location for the convicted serial rapist’s release from custody.

REALIGNMENT

Realignment in Review: Back to the basics
Christopher Nelson, CAFWD.org

We spend a lot of time playing so-called “inside baseball” here when discussing Realignment. We get key stakeholders of criminal justice in the room together, we try to share our knowledge with them as well as get them to exchange knowledge with each other.

Davis hate crime sentencing postponed until January
The Daily Democrat

The sentencing for Clayton Garzon, who brutally beat a gay man in downtown Davis last March, has been continued until January, while attorneys determine if a plea agreement reached in October needs to be revised.

CDCR RELATED

Todd Phillips' Longtime Exec Exits to Focus on Social Action
Tina Daunt, The Hollywood Reporter

"Hangover" producer Scott Budnick has decided to pursue his interest in juvenile justice reform and more socially conscious television and movies.
Scott Budnick, producer of the blockbuster Hangover comedy franchise, has decided to end his 14-year association with filmmaker Todd Phillips' Green Hat Films and to pursue his interest in juvenile justice reform and more socially conscious television and movies.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Technical correction made for Copper sex offender
Gray George, Calaveras Enterprise

A hearing was held in Department 4 of the Calaveras County Superior Court Tuesday, Dec. 3, to recalculate the prison credits of convicted sex offender Stephen Christopher Hamblin. Hamblin, 55, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of child molestation, eight counts of penetration with a foreign object, two counts of oral copulation with a minor and one count of statutory rape in 2009. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Remorse, resolve
Roger Phillips, Record

COALINGA - Spurred by her sister and brother-in-law's taking in of D'Angelo, Yolanda Garduno entered a long-term residential rehabilitation program and conquered her drug addiction. D'Angelo, meanwhile, was accorded the stability that eventually would put him on his current course.

REALIGNMENT

Auto thefts rise during realignment's first year
Henry K. Lee, SFGate

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's historic reduction of the state prison population has coincided with a spike in auto thefts and other property crimes, but no significant increase in violent crimes such as murder and rape, according to a study released Monday.

Probation sweep yields drugs, weapons, multiple arrests
23 ABC News

Officers from the Kern County Probation Department's Adult, Juvenile, and AB 109 units conducted a probation gang sweep in the metro Bakersfield area.

In total, officers conducted 67 probation home calls, 68 probation searches and completed 46 field identification cards on documented gang members and associates.

CDCR RELATED

U.S. citizen born in Mexico sues state prisons over job rejection
Kate Linthicum, LATimes

Two years ago, an American named Victor Guerrero applied for a job as a prison guard with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He passed a written and physical examination, then submitted to a background check. It asked whether the applicant had ever used a Social Security number "other than the one you used on this questionnaire.” Guerrero, who was born in Mexico and came to the United States at age 11, truthfully answered "yes."

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California given two-month extension to reduce prison crowding
Sharon Bernstein, Reuters

(Reuters) - California will have an extra two months to reduce crowding in its prison system, a panel of three federal judges ruled on Wednesday, in the latest twist in a decades-long dispute over conditions and medical care for inmates.

Update: CCF contract signed and executed, city to start hiring
Facility may be expanded to hold up to 600 inmates.
Taft Midway Driller

The Taft Community Correctional Facility is officially under contract with the State of California again.

Judge adds solitary confinement to prison crowding negotiations
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — Federal judges considering California’s request for more time to reduce prison crowding have asked the state in turn to limit how long some mentally ill prisoners spend in solitary confinement.

REALIGNMENT

Editorial: Prisoner plan needs revisions
Chico Enterprise-Record

Our view: We hope legislators believe the research about increasing crime and address the deficiencies of prison realignment.
It took a nonpartisan think tank to verify the obvious for California's citizens and political leaders: When you let a bunch of petty thieves out of jail, petty crimes are going to increase.

Violence up in jail since state prisoners came, officials say
Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials say inmates have become more brazen and more likely to fight since state law sent inmates from prisons to local lockups.
Salvador Hernandez, Orange County Register

As angry inmates closed in, deputies who had been searching a cell in Theo Lacy jail in Orange last month found themselves forced into an unusual tactic for protection: They locked themselves into a high-security cell and waited for backup.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

100+ officers check high-risk offenders in Palm Springs area
Sweep in response to AB109 prison realignment law.
Reza Gostar, The Desert Sun

More than 100 local, state and federal officers swept the Coachella Valley on Wednesday in a first-of-its kind operation targeting parolees and probationers released early due to the state’s new prison law.

Underage sex victims not criminals
David S. McCabe, UTSan Diego

In October, Gov. Jerry Brown decided not to oppose a parole recommendation for Sara Kruzan. As a result, Sara was paroled from Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla after serving 19 years of a life sentence. For those who may be unfamiliar with the case, Sara Kruzan was, at the age of 16, convicted of the first-degree murder of her pimp, George Gilbert Howard. She was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Sara was one of the tragic and growing numbers of sexually exploited minors in our state and throughout our country.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

‘What they did was monstrous, but they are not monsters’
San Jose Mercury News/MCT

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.

Tuite to be supervised upon release
Kristina Davis, UTSan Diego

SAN DIEGO — Richard Tuite, the mentally-ill transient acquitted last week in the killing of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe, will not be placed on parole but will be briefly supervised by county probation officials after his release from jail.

CDCR RELATED

Wild chase ends with arrest in Antioch
KTVU and Wires

ANTIOCH, Calif. — An Antioch man was arrested after striking a police officer with his vehicle and then leading officers on a high-speed chase on state Highway 4 through Contra Costa County on Wednesday evening, police said.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate death at Jamestown prison prompts homicide investigation
The Modesto Bee

Jamestown — Authorities are investigating a homicide at the Sierra Conservation Center after the death of an inmate.

Pregnant In Prison
Two hundred thirty three inmates gave birth while incarcerated in California’s prison system in 2011 and 2012, the most recent data available. Most were back in shackles two days later, their infants off to live with relatives or foster parents.
Deepa Fernandes, KPCC

Chapter One: Pregnancy In the first days of 2013, Regina Zodiacal was escorted from a Santa Ana jail cell to a bus headed to the California Institute for Women, a state prison in Chino.

REALIGNMENT

$24.6M coming to expand Santa Cruz County jail services
Jason Hoppin, Santa Cruz Sentinel

LA Selva Beach -- Santa Cruz County looks to be a shoo-in for a $24.6 million state grant to overhaul an underutilized minimum security facility at the Rountree Detention Center into a campus to help inmates lead more productive lives on the outside.

Monterey County out of running for additional jail funds
Allison Gatlin, The Californian

Monterey County may have picked up an $80 million infusion from the state’s jail expansion fund, but it likely won’t be a beneficiary of $500 million up for grabs in rehabilitative service funding.

Solano County wins funding for jail classrooms
The Reporter

The Solano County Sheriff's Office submitted a proposal to the Board of State and Community Corrections back in October in an effort to secure funding to construct classroom and vocational spaces for offender rehabilitation programs.

DEATH PENALTY

California Death Penalty Process Reform Advocates File Ballot Initiative
Max Pringle, Capital Public Radio

A coalition of California district attorneys, victims’ rights groups and law enforcement officials have submitted a ballot initiative to the state attorney general’s office that would overhaul the death row process.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Man wanted in three stabbings is a fugitive in SoCal, police say
Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County gang detectives believe a fugitive parolee wanted in three stabbing attacks is hiding in Southern California, officials said.

Crime Fighters Manhunt Robert Kwitt
CBS 8 SAN DIEGO

San Diego (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 Crime Fighters are helping the California Parole Apprehension Team in their search for Robert Kwitt.

Tuite to get parole, not probation
Teri Figueroa, UT San Diego

San Diego — In a reversal of an earlier decision, state parole agents — not county probation officers — will monitor Richard Tuite when he gets out of jail.

CDCR RELATED

If the Sun Salutation Has to Fit Into a Cell
BRANDI GRISSOM, The Texas Tribune

Palestine — Quiet is hard to find in prison. But in the Powledge Unit gym on Tuesday afternoon, the silence was interrupted only by the sounds of breathing, toes on sticky yoga mats and occasional moans from nine men in white uniforms as they sank deeper into pigeon pose.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Record Numbers Of Life-Term Inmates Granted Parole In California
Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star

SAN DIEGO -- For his first 19 years in prison, Stephen Anderson had been anything but a model prisoner.

Convicted in 1988 of first-degree murder for shooting to death Jackie Bewley as she ran from his van following an argument in an Oxnard parking lot, Anderson was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. He was 25 years old.

Richard Tuite Released From County Jail
Paul Krueger, Matthew Wood and Monica Garske , NBC 7

Richard Tuite, found not guilty last week in the 1998 murder of Escondido teenager Stephanie Crowe, left San Diego county jail at about 1 p.m. Friday, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) told NBC 7 San Diego.

Local man illustrates state sex offender trend
Jim Holt, The Santa Clarita Vally Signal

On the same day last month that state Attorney General Kamala D. Harris was announcing an initiative designed to stop criminals from re-offending, prosecutors were in Antelope Valley Superior Court for a pretrial hearing in a case filed against Yale Joseph Yurman, 70, a Valencia resident and three-time convicted sex offender.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

San Quentin's inmate-run newspaper seeks to expand its circulation to all state prisons
Megan Hansen, Marin Independent Journal

WHEN RAHSAAN THOMAS was sent to prison 13 years ago after being convicted of second-degree murder, the New York native had no idea he'd end up as the sports editor for San Quentin News — the inmate-produced newspaper at San Quentin State Prison in Larkspur.

CDCR RELATED

Jail Assaults Jump as California’s Public Safety Realignment Takes Toll on Local Law Enforcement
Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk

Assaults inside the Santa Barbara County Jail system have increased significantly since public safety realignment was implemented in 2011, according to Sheriff’s Department data.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parole board to set minimums for life-term prisoners
Corrections officials agree to the change in a settlement in the case of a convicted killer who said he was unjustifiably denied parole. Up to 35,000 inmates could be affected.
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO — State corrections officials agreed Monday to a major change in California's parole system that could lead to earlier releases for convicted killers and other inmates sentenced to a maximum of life in prison but who are still eligible for parole.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Reputed Marin Serial Killer Ordered to Pony Up
Superior Court judge wants death row inmate Joseph Naso to pay $171,000 for expenses incurred during his murder trial.
James Lanaras, Bay City News Service

Marin County Superior Court Judge James T. Chou ordered convicted serial killer Joseph Naso to pay the county nearly $171,000 for expenses incurred during his murder trial this year.

CDCR RELATED

Napa wins $13.47 million grant for jail facility
Peter Jensen, The Napa valley Register

Napa County is set to receive a $13.47 million grant to construct a 72-bed facility that will provide secure, transitional housing for inmates as they near the end of their sentences.

State Medical Board targets former Fresno County Jail psychiatrist
Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee

FRESNO, Calif. — The former chief of psychiatric services in Fresno County Jail has been accused of gross negligence, incompetence, unprofessional conduct and inadequate record-keeping in his treatment of inmates.

How water efficiency saves money and increases safety
Using water more efficiently is an important way to reduce costs, increase safety, and improve public image
Paul Sheldon, C1 Contributor

The American Correctional Association’s Policy and Standard on Environmentally Responsible and Sustainability-oriented Practices include guidance on water efficiency as part of any commitment to achieving certification as an ACA-accredited institution as follows:

Big Sur fire destroys at least 15 homes, including the fire chief's
Virginia Hennessey, Phillip Molnar and LARRY Parsons, The Herald News

Residents of disaster-prone Big Sur waited Monday night to learn if their homes were destroyed by an uncontrolled fire that swept through at least 500 acres of the Pfeiffer Ridge area west of Highway 1.

REALIGNMENT

L.A. County plans push for more state prison realignment money
Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County officials agreed Tuesday to step up lobbying of the Legislature for more money to jail and care for lower-level felons who became the responsibility of counties under state prison realignment.

County Officials Report On AB 109 Results At County Board Meeting
Allison Pari, Santa Clarita News

Two years after Assembly Bill 109 was passed in the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, Los Angeles County officials reported to the Board of Supervisors at their Tuesday meeting on the success and challenges of prison realignment.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

This Prison Program Turns Inmates Into Entrepreneurs
Vivian Giang, Business Insider Australia

On Sept. 25, 1995, Kenyatta Leal was a 26-year-old convicted felon who had just been told by a judge that he would be spending the rest of his life in prison.
Leal had been arrested for possession of a firearm after two armed robbery convictions. His third arrest made him an offender of California’s three strikes law, which mandates that state courts give harsher sentences to those who have been convicted of three or more serious offenses.

DEATH PENALTY

Justice for victims, not luxuries for Death Row inmates
Kermit Alexander, SFGate

California's death penalty system needs to change. Tiequon Cox, who has lived on Death Row for more than 27 years, has exhausted all of his federal and state appeals. On Dec. 1, he celebrated another birthday. Why do I care about Cox? Because on Aug. 31, 1984, Cox murdered my mother, sister and two nephews during an early morning home invasion. Cox, a for-hire killer, went to the wrong address and mistakenly killed my family - four acts of murder committed on an innocent family in exchange for $3,500.

CDCR RELATED .

Week in Realignment: Back to Basics Pt. 2
Christopher Nelson, CAFWD

Last week we broke down the difference between probation and parole in our “Back to the Basics” series on public safety realignment. This week, we tackle two more topics intertwined with our inaugural one: the differences between prisons and jails and between Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Big Sur fire grows slightly to 550 acres; 5 percent contained
Lisa M. Krieger, Virginia Hennessey, Phillip Molnar, Paul Rogers and Larry
Parsons, San Jose Mercury News

BIG SUR -- A wildfire in the Pfeiffer Ridge area along California's iconic Big Sur coast grew slightly overnight and is now 5 percent contained, officials said Tuesday morning.

REALIGNMENT

Case overload
Howard Hardee, News Review

A report released this spring by Chico State political science professors indicated the prisoner realignment under Assembly Bill 109 has been a success, both locally and statewide, in terms of reducing rates of recidivism.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Authorities arrest five, find flashlight turned into gun in Covina sweep
Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

COVINA - Authorities arrested five people on a variety of charges and seized a flashlight that had been converted to fire shotgun shells after a Wednesday sweep targeting parolees and probationers.

First Resource Fair For Parolees Held In Sacramento
About 260 California prison parolees attended a resource fair held at Mather Field today to help them find the skills they need to avoid returning to prison.
Bob Moffitt, Capital Public Radio

The fair was held in conjunction with a six-month program run by the Sacramento County Office of Education and the California Department of Corrections.

Deciding future of state's killers
Timm Herdt, The Fresno Bee

There are no four-star or five-star hotels near Calipatria. In fact, about the best a visitor can do is to book the Brawley Best Western, 10 miles away.

Accommodations are not much better in the area around Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, or Ironwood State Prison in Blythe. Very few of California's adult penal institutions are located in what anyone would call a garden spot.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Sid Landau, 74 y.o. Sexually Violent Predator, Loses Yet Another Bid for Release
Matt Coker, OC Weekly

Sexual predator Sid Landau has tried through the legal system for years to be freed from a state mental institution on grounds he had not committed a crime against children in three decades.

DEATH PENALTY

In Death Penalty’s Steady Decline, Some Experts See a Societal Shift
Erik Eckholm, The New York Time

The death penalty in the United States continued its pattern of broad decline in 2013, with experts attributing the low numbers to a critical shortage of drugs used for lethal injection, increasing public concern over judicial mistakes and the expense of capital cases, and a growing preference for life without parole.

CDCR RELATED

Local corrections officer ordered to trial in Lancaster prison drug smuggling case

M. Dilworth, The Antelope Valley Times

LANCASTER – A former corrections officer accused of smuggling drugs and cell phones into the Lancaster prison for a criminal street gang has been ordered to trial.

Judge to begin considering whether California prison isolation rules harm mentally ill inmates
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — A federal judge was expected to wrap up hearings Thursday on the last of four legal challenges to the way California treats mentally ill inmates, months after he rejected Gov. Jerry Brown's attempt to end court oversight of prison mental health programs.

Total U.S. Correctional Population Declined in 2012 for Fourth Year
Department Of Justice, The Sacramento Bee

WASHINGTON-- The total U.S. correctional population (on probation, parole, in prison or jail) decreased for the fourth consecutive year during 2012 (down 51,000 offenders or 0.7 percent), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. This was the smallest decrease in the population since 2009.

Hanretty gets pension despite his conviction
Barbara Wood, The Almanac

Tim Hanretty, the former Woodside and Portola Valley school official who was recently released on probation from state prison for stealing or misappropriating money from both districts, has been receiving more than $41,000 a year in pension pay-outs since retiring in February 2012, about five months before he pleaded "no contest" to six felony charges related to the misdeeds.

Fewer Kids Incarcerated in California
California has drastically reduced the number of kids it’s incarcerating.
Katie Orr, Capital Public Radio

A new study out shows California reduced its youth incarceration rate by 46 percent between 2001 and 2011. It’s one of several states singled out in a new report from the National Juvenile Justice Network

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Group calls for release of 12 inmates
Laura Olson, Orange County Register

SACRAMENTO – Guy Miles has been in state prison since 1999 for an armed robbery he says he didn’t commit.

He’s not the only one who says so. After an investigation by attorneys from the California Innocence Project, two other men confessed that they, not Miles, were involved in a June 1998 hold-up of the Fidelity Financial Investment office in Fullerton.

Duenas starts prison term for wife's murder
Anderson Valley Post staff

Mark G. Duenas, 53, of Cottonwood was transferred last week from Shasta County Jail to Deuel Vocational Institution to start a state prison sentence of 25 years to life, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

CrimeFighters Manhunt: Courtney Townsend
Carlo Cecchetto, CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 CrimeFighters are helping authorities in a manhunt for a fugitive known to frequent East County.

Courtney Townsend, 25, is wanted by the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating the terms of her release. Townsend has a criminal history of burglary, auto theft, possession of stolen property, and multiple narcotic related charges.

Parole extended for Tuite
Teri Figueroa, UT San Diego

Richard Tuite, the mentally ill man recently acquitted in the 1998 stabbing death of Stephanie Crowe, will be on parole until July – much longer than the 10-day period imposed last week, a state parole spokesman said Thursday.

DEATH PENALTY

MORENO VALLEY: California Supreme Court upholds death penalty in 1995 double-slaying
Richard K. De Atley, The Press-Enterprise

The California Supreme Court upheld the death penalty Thursday, Dec. 19, for a Moreno Valley man condemned for the throat-slash murders of a father and son during a home-invasion robbery.

California jury recommends death penalty for John Wayne Thomson
Barbara LaBoe, The Daily News

John Wayne Thomson should be executed, a California jury announced Thursday — but first Cowlitz County prosecutors say he’s coming back here to stand trial for the slaying of Lori Hamm of Longview.

REALIGNMENT

Prison program shift drives property-crime increase, report says
Santa Clara County has highest crime jump in state
Sue Dremann, Mountain View Voice

Property crimes across the state rose 7.6 percent this year, and Santa Clara County was hit the worst, with an increase of 20.4 percent, according to a recent report that pins the rise on California's controversial prisoner-realignment policy.

Murders, car thefts, robberies up in Visalia, burglaries, assault decline
Jessica Peres, ABC 30

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police said murders, car thefts and robberies are up in Visalia, but other crimes are down.

Officers say the increase in Visalia car thefts is directly related to AB109--the state's realignment bill. While car theft and other crimes are up, burglaries and even assaults are on the decline.

CDCR RELATED

I-80 update: Facts about prison bus caught in accidents no Nicolas Cage movie
Steve Timko, Reno Gazette Journal

1p.m. update: There was a prison bus with 15 inmates caught in the accidents that closed Interstate 80 near the California line this morning, but the facts turn out to be far from a Nicolas Cage movie.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parolee arrested after police pursuit, crash
CBS 8 San Diego

LA MESA (CNS) - A parolee wanted for a traffic offense led law enforcement on a car chase Sunday through La Mesa and El Cajon until his vehicle crashed into two others, and he tried to run off with a female passenger, police said.

Holiday probation sweep results in 40 arrests in east Los Angeles County
Wes Woods, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

A “Home for the Holidays” probation sweep from Dec. 9 through Friday in eastern Los Angeles County resulted in 40 arrests in connection with a variety of crimes, according to a Pomona Police Department news release.

Killer denied parole in 1985 attack in Santa Cruz
Stephen Baxter, Santa Cruz Sentinel

VACAVILLE -- A 52-year-old man convicted of murdering a backpacker in Santa Cruz in 1985 was denied parole on Thursday.

Man to stand trial for allegedly groping store clerk
Defendant has a record of sexual battery
Kerana Todorov, The Napa Valley Register

A Napa County Superior Court judge on Friday ordered a registered sex offender with multiple encounters with the law to stand trial for allegedly groping a female clerk at a downtown Napa boutique in November.

REALIGNMENT

Calif. county probation officers adapt to changes spurred by realignment
After the passage of state prison reform in 2011, many offenders are now monitored by local probation agencies instead of state parole agents
Cindy Von Quednow, Ventura County Star

VENTURA, Calif. — Mario Castillo had just been released from jail when Ventura County Probation Agency officers rolled up to his house in east Ventura one late November morning.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

First California Prisoner Resentenced Under New Fair Sentencing Act
Kaitlyn Mullin, Neon Tommy

Amidst ongoing national debate about juvenile culpability after a Texas teen avoided jail time following a drunk driving incident that claimed four lives, prisoners in California who were sentenced to life without parole before turning 18 may also be getting a second chance.

Tails of Marin: Meaningful bonds form in Pen Pals program at San Quentin
Craig P. Salazar, Gilbert Torres and Max Krohn, Marin News

CANINE HANDLERS in the Pen Pals program at San Quentin State Prison were asked recently what the Marin Humane Society program has meant to them. Here is what they had to say:

CDCR RELATED

Sentencing commission, suggested in Sacramento, faces long odds
Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento Bee

Key California lawmakers this summer suggested that a commission to review and overhaul criminal sentences not only could bring coherence to a disjointed system but also perhaps ease chronic prison overcrowding in the long term.

CDCR deploys electronic inmate welfare check system
Amy Stewart, Tech Wire

In a bid to curtail inmate suicides, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has deployed an electronic tracking system that prison guards must use to carry out welfare checks at 33 institutions.

Teaching “The Odyssey” at San Quentin
Bill Smoot, SALON

The opening of “The Odyssey” describes Odysseus as polytropos, a man “much turned” and “much turning.” He makes much happen, and much happens to him. When I selected “The Odyssey” as the first text for my English 101 course at San Quentin Prison, I worried about the choice. It’s a difficult work for readers of limited literary background, and I wondered how a population of mostly black and brown men doing long prison terms would relate to the story of an ancient Greek king. As it turned out, I had them at polytropos.

REALIGNMENT

Study Shows California Prison Population Dropping After Realignment
A new state study shows arrest rates for California inmates released during the first year of Governor Jerry Brown’s prison realignment program were down nearly three percent. Conviction rates were nearly unchanged.
Max Pringle, Capital Public Radio

A few years ago, a panel of federal judges ordered California to reduce its prison population. To obey the order, state lawmakers approved a prison realignment plan offered by Governor Jerry Brown. It sends nonviolent offenders to county jails instead of prison. State prisons officials say the law is working.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

VALLE VISTA: State camp inmate surrenders in Long Beach
Gail Wesson, The Press-Enterprise

An inmate who walked away from a minimum security inmate camp near Hemet last week surrendered to authorities in Long Beach Monday, Dec. 23, a state Department of Corrections spokesman said.

California Inmate Convicted As Minor Resentenced Under New Law
Lydia O'Connor, The Huffington Post

A youth offender who was serving life without parole has been resentenced under a California law that allows those tried as minors to request a resentencing hearing.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Sheriff roundup
Ukiah Daily Journal

Man arrested in Covelo robbery. Authorities on Sunday arrested a 29-year-old Covelo man who allegedly walked into a convenience store in the remote town and demanded money from the clerk, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Court archives reveal Richard Tuite's first convictions
Mitch Blacher, abc News 10

SAN DIEGO - A search of San Diego County archived court records conducted by Team 10 showed Richard Tuite's criminal history predates the crimes he is best known for.

CDCR RELATED

Ark. prison system sends seized phones to charity
Jeannie Nuss, Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Inmates aren't allowed to have cellphones in Arkansas' prisons, but that doesn't stop them from trying.

The state Department of Correction has seized more than 1,000 cellphones since 2008. As those phones piled up, prison officials searched for a way to put the confiscated devices to good use.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate firefighters comprise the bulk of those battling the Big Sur blaze
David Schmalz, Monterey County Weekly

As I approach a crew of firefighters on the edge of smoldering redwoods, just west of the Big Sur River, it struck me that their uniforms were orange, not the yellow you usually see on firefighters.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

First wave of state inmates arrives at Cal City prison
City expects benefits from influx of staff
Emily Brunett, Tehachapi News

The first busload of state inmates arrived at the California City Correctional Facility on Dec. 17. The prison previously housed federal inmates as a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America, but a deal between the company and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transferred operations to the state agency.

REALIGNMENT

New California Study Shows Post-Prison Arrests are Down, Convictions Static under Realignment
CDCR tracked inmates released from prison pre- and post-Realignment
Sierra Sun Times

December 23, 2013 - SACRAMENTO, CA – One-year arrest rates are down and conviction rates are virtually static for offenders released after completing their state prison sentences post-Realignment, according to a report released today by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Tulare County works to secure jail funds
Visalia Times Delta

Tulare County is one step closer to receiving $40 million in state funds to replace the existing Men’s Correctional Facility and Day Reporting Center located north of Visalia.

Former Inmate’s Return To Jail Highlights Limits To Prison Realignment Program
CBS Los Angeles

PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — The return to jail of a former inmate once thought to be a success story of California’s prison realignment program is raising questions about the challenges inmates face upon release.

Parole operation nets 10 arrests
Alene Tchekmedyian, The Burbank Leader

Ten people were arrested Sunday in Burbank, Glendale and San Fernando after authorities from eight law enforcement agencies, including officers who are part of the AB 109 Task Force, conducted compliance checks at 24 locations for individuals on probation or parole, police said.

Dubbed “Operation Sleigh Ride” because it took place so close to Christmas, the effort netted two arrests in Burbank, six in Glendale and two in San Fernando.

CDCR RELATED

Californians To Watch in 2014: Donald Specter brings evidence-based approach to prison overcrowding
Christopher Cadelago, The Sacramento Bee

Don Specter believes it’s easier to invoke fear than it is to explain it away.

After spending decades looking out for the constitutional rights of prisoners in California, perhaps that’s why he’s often overshadowed by big-name politicians in the clash of made-for-television blurbs. Supporters maintain he’s gained the upper hand where it most matters: the courtroom.

Donated toys at San Quentin State Prison confiscated from visiting children
Megan Hansen, Marin Independent Journal

Family members of incarcerated men at San Quentin State Prison expressed frustration this week after some toys donated for distribution to visiting children were confiscated by correctional officers.

Calif. CO shoots teen who tried to rob him
Correctional officer was sitting in his car using his cell phone when a teenage boy allegedly armed with a handgun walked towards his car
Doug Saunders, San Bernardino County Sun

VICTORVILLE — A suspected would be robber got more than he bargained for when he allegedly tried to rob an armed off-duty correctional officer in Victorville Monday night.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Grappling with prison overcrowding
U-T San Diego

Chronic overcrowding at state prisons prompted a court order calling for a population cap of 137.5 percent of capacity. In September, judges granted a third extension, giving the state and Gov. Jerry Brown until Jan. 27 to come up with a solution. Jeffrey A. Beard, who was sworn in as secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation a year ago, recently met with the U-T San Diego Editorial Board to talk about the issues facing the state’s prison system. Here are condensed and edited excerpts of the interview.

California prisons in 2013
2013 in the correctional field in California has been largely defined by two overlapping, intersecting issues: Population cap and realignment
Bob Walsh, Corrections One

The year in the correctional field in the formerly great state of California has been largely defined by two overlapping, intersecting issues: population cap and realignment.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmates go from lock-up to start-ups
Entrepreneurs create a high-tech incubator at San Quentin that teaches prisoners about technology, then gives them paid internships upon release.
Jessica Guynn, The Los Angeles Times

SAN QUENTIN — North of Silicon Valley on a rocky promontory overlooking San Francisco Bay stands California's oldest prison.

Inmates here are cut off from the innovation the nearby high-tech industry produces. They are not permitted on the Internet, and most have never touched a smartphone or a tablet.

Defendant who tortured cat, beat housemate sentenced to prison
Ukiah Daily Journal

A former Sacramento man who was successfully prosecuted for imprisoning and assaulting another man, and torturing a cat at a Fort Bragg residence has been sentenced by the Mendocino County Superior Court to state prison.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

CrimeFighters Manhunt: Steven Price Read
Carlos Cecchetto, CBS 8

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The CBS News 8 Crime Fighters are helping authorities in a manhunt for a dangerous fugitive on the run.

Steven Price Read, 49, is wanted by the California Parole Apprehension Team for violating the terms of his release. Read has an extensive criminal history including robbery, auto theft, assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of firearm, felony domestic violence, and multiple narcotic related charges.

REALIGNMENT

AB 109 Task Force Makes 40 Arrests in Multi-City Sweep
Aaron Castrejon, Glendora Patch

The holiday season typically brings an increase in a variety of crimes. Many of those crimes are committed by repeat offenders who realize that citizens will tend to have more money and property with them during the holiday season. In addition, criminals who are on probation or parole, or have absconded, tend to return home for the holidays to be with their families.

CDCR RELATED

Brown pardons mostly target drug offenders who were convicted years ago, have not re-offended
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Jerry Brown issued 127 pardons on Tuesday, the vast majority of them to people who had been convicted of drug dealing, cultivation or possession.

Typical of the handful of crimes that were not direct drug offenses is that committed by a Humboldt County woman, who was convicted in 1995 after she broke into a home to steal food so she could feed her children.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

First wave of state inmates arrives at Cal City prison
Emily Brunett, Tehachapi News

City expects benefits from influx of staff

The first busload of state inmates arrived at the California City Correctional Facility on Dec. 17. The prison previously housed federal inmates as a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America, but a deal between the company and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transferred operations to the state agency.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Convicts on the Crew: Inmates in the California Conservation Camp Program Help Battle Wildfires
David Schmalz, CV Independent

As I approached a crew of firefighters on the edge of smoldering redwoods, just west of Central California’s Big Sur River, it struck me that their uniforms were orange—not the yellow you usually see on firefighters.

Prison escapee found in Folsom neighborhood
Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

A walk-away inmate from a Folsom-area prison was found Sunday in a neighborhood not far from the correctional institution.

With Quora, San Quentin inmates freed from social media lockdown
Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO -- How do new inmates cope with the lack of privacy in prison? What advice would an inmate give someone facing a long prison sentence? What are the effects of incarceration on inmates' families?

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY: Inland juries vote for execution, but capital punishment is on hold
California has not used its San Quentin death chamber since 2006 as officials go over the protocols for administering lethal injections
Richard K. De Atley And Claudia Koerner, The Press-Enterprise

Jurors voted for the death penalty three times this month in Inland courts. But while jurors continue to recommend death, the sentences are effectively on hold while the protocols for California’s lethal injection procedures are under judicial review.

REALIGNMENT

Inmates in Tehama County to learn woodworking
Andre Byik, Daily News

Tehama County in the new year will add woodworking to its stable of inmate rehabilitation programs that have stemmed from state prison realignment.

At a Dec. 17 Tehama County Board of Supervisors meeting, Chief Probation Officer Richard Muench presented a plan that will convert a Red Bluff cabinetry shop into a woodworking training program for offenders on supervised release.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Man convicted of Merced double homicide dies in prison
Victor Patton, Merced Sun-Star

A 51-year-old man on California’s death row for committing a 1998 Merced double murder has died of natural causes.

Albert Ruiz was pronounced dead early Sunday in a hospital unit at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Gang member freed after serving eight years for murdering Carson woman when he was 13
Larry Altman, Daily Breeze

A gang member who killed an innocent Carson woman when he was 13 years old walked out of a courtroom a virtually free man Monday after state parole officials released him two years earlier than expected.

REALIGNMENT

Legal fight over Calif. prisons could intensify, and end, in 2014
John Myers, abc News 10

In a matter of days, eleventh hour negotiations over the size of California's prison population and its impact on inmate health care will be over -- with the fate of a decade-plus long fight over prison conditions left again to three federal judges.

Split sentencing generally shunned in county
Luke Money, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal

The state’s controversial prison realignment program is now more than two years old, and the man charged with overseeing the Los Angeles County Probation Department said he would like to see more offenders divide their sentence time between custody and formal supervision.

Is realignment working well?
David Briceno, The Union

The Department of Corrections closed its parole office in Marysville two years ago. No big event. The parole office in Placerville permanently shut, too. Also, no big event. However, both shutdowns shifted many of their parolees to Auburn’s parole/probation office, which means more ex-cons resided in neighboring Placer County than before AB 109 or “realignment” was signed into law in 2011.

CDCR RELATED

One in four GPS devices on criminals in L.A. County were faulty
Probation department audit says violent felons released in L.A. County could roam undetected for days and sometimes weeks.
Paige St. John, Los Angeles times

One in every four GPS devices used to track serious criminals released in Los Angeles County has proved to be faulty, according to a probation department audit — allowing violent felons to roam undetected for days or, in some cases, weeks.

Dan Morain: Matthew Herrera is getting care now, but for how long?
Dan Morain, The Sacramento Bee

Matthew Herrera showed me his fingernails. Nice manicure. He jutted his cleanly shaven chin. Smooth.
He handed his mother a sweet Christmas card he made in a crafts class and ate the brownies she brought for him. He smiled, made a few jokes and was feeling much better than when I saw him the last time.

Upper Lake couple in court on drug and weapons charges; investigation into fatal shooting continues
Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An Upper Lake couple whose property was the scene of a fatal Christmas day shooting were in court on Monday for charges relating to large amounts of marijuana and weapons found in their possession during the death investigation.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Prison visits can be whirlwind of emotions
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, The Stockton Record

Guadalupe Medina said goodbye to her son and prayed with him before making the 300-mile trip back home to San Fernando.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Known sex offender evades parole in Escondido
CBS 8 News

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8)- A wanted sex offender in Escondido is on the loose Wednesday morning.

REALIGNMENT

Santa Clara to Conduct Post-Realignment Assessment Study
Correctional News

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nearly three years after California’s controversial prison realignment plan went into effect, Santa Clara County officials have approved a jail study and needs assessment they hope will result in more improvement funding.

Controversial Prison Realignment Update
Rocklin and Roseville News

SACRAMENTO, CA - One-year arrest rates are down and conviction rates are virtually static for offenders released after completing their state prison sentences post-Realignment, according to a report released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Newspaper behind bars boasts compelling storytelling
For the inmate editors and writers of the San Quentin News, the work is a reminder that life doesn't end when people are locked up. They want to increase circulation tenfold.
Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times

SAN QUENTIN — The scene was almost indistinguishable from that in any other newsroom. Editors sat around chatting about the next issue and tinkering with stories. Front pages were tacked up on the walls, and family photos were taped to computer terminals.

CDCR RELATED

State Prisons End Conjugal Visits
R.L. Nave, Jackson Free press

Columbus B. Hopper, a sociologist at Ole Miss, visited Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1962 to study the effects of the conjugal visits on inmate behavior. In talking to prisoners, Hopper found that most had a favorable view of conjugal visits, which they believed helped save marriages, keep families intact, prevent men from having sex with other men and boost morale.

A Black Sheep from the Street
Joel Hersch, Good Times News

A former Salinas gang member dedicates his life to educating local youth on healthy life choices
By the time Willie Stokes was 14 years old, living in East Salinas with his aunt and three sisters, he was deeply entrenched in gang life. Stokes was addicted to hard drugs, and would not think twice about robbing someone or breaking into a home. He spent much of his childhood in and out of juvenile hall, spent the subsequent 17 years in and out of penitentiary, and ultimately served 10 years at the maximum security Pelican Bay State Prison.

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