CDCR Star

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Charles Manson’s body still on ice while battle over his remains continues

Christina Kelley, MyNewsLA.com

A Kern County official is asking that a petition filed in Los Angeles County by the grandson of Charles Manson to obtain his grandfather’s remains be transferred or dismissed so that the issue can be decided in the Kern County courts.

Documents filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Kern County Deputy County Counsel Bryan Walters state his office has filed a petition for instructions regarding Manson’s remains and that a hearing is scheduled Jan. 31 in Superior Court in Bakersfield. Meanwhile, a hearing is set this Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court on Manson grandson Jason Freeman’s petition to obtain the body.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Suspect surrenders in shooting death of 3-year-old boy in Compton

Alene Tchekmedyian, The Los Angeles Times

Authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man suspected in the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy in a Compton parking lot over the weekend.

Dwayne Christopher Ward turned himself in to Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide detectives Monday afternoon, a surrender facilitated by his family and attorney, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Ward, who was booked on suspicion of a parole violation, is being held without bail.

DEATH PENALTY

California’s death penalty law may hinge on outcome of Arizona case

Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle

After narrowly surviving voter initiatives in 2012 and 2016, California’s death penalty law may soon be in jeopardy again, this time at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court is being asked to take up a challenge to the death penalty in Arizona, where the law makes virtually every first-degree murderer subject to potential capital charges. According to a lawsuit on behalf of a condemned double murderer, the state is violating Supreme Court rulings dating from the 1970s that limit capital punishment to specific categories of especially heinous killers — the “worst of the worst,” in plain English.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Mother: Son died of starvation at state prison in Vacaville

Ryan McCarthy, Fairfield Daily Republic

FAIRFIELD — The mother of a California Medical Facility inmate is suing the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation because she said her son died of starvation at the state prison in Vacaville.

Ann Marie Patrick said in the Solano County Superior Court filing Wednesday that her son, whose name is not included in the lawsuit, was found unresponsive Aug. 26, 2015, in his prison cell and pronounced dead later the same day after the prison staff requested his transfer to NorthBay VacaValley Hospital.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

An earnest examination of ‘Ear Hustle’

Podcast host detailing lives of San Quentin prisoners visits Burlingame

Austin Walsh, The Daily Journal

Is it dangerous for you in San Quentin? Is the show ever censored? Is it difficult to get the inmates to open up while they serve time in a maximum security prison?

Those are the sorts of questions Nigel Poor frequently receives when fans of the “Ear Hustle” podcast ask about her experience producing the show detailing the lives of those incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Bringing Construction and Design Skills to Future Parolees

Aileen Cho, ENR

Having spent the early part of his career as a military police investigator and as a narcotics officer in Alabama, Charles Pattillo has seen firsthand how job skills, particularly high-level skills, can make the difference between a repeat convict and a rehabilitated individual with a new career. When he joined the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), the agency had a program in which inmates produced items such as license plates and shoes.

Pattillo thought that wasn’t enough. “We started developing programs that were nontraditional and nonexistent in the prison system,” says Pattillo, now CALPIA’s general manager. “We focused on construction and carpentry and ironworking. We knew the demand out there for trained people was huge.”

Formerly incarcerated fathers write and perform play about the justice system

Carla Javier, 89.3 KPCC

A group of formerly incarcerated fathers are bringing their experiences to the stage with a show they wrote called "A Man Like Me."

At a recent rehearsal in Atwater Village, one of the actors asked why they had to sit so close together for a scene set in jail.

"We'd be talking and people would always try to come up and hang on the end of the bed," 54-year-old Derrick Hill told him, remembering his own experiences behind bars.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Three Contenders Claim Charles Manson’s Body

Tom Ozimek, The Epoch Times

What’s left of Charles Manson lies inside a morgue, oblivious to the battle for his body heating up outside.

“His body is still here. He hasn’t been cremated,” Sgt. Stephen Wells, a spokesman for the coroner division of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, told the New York Daily News. Two months after his death, the remains of Charles Manson are still being held in a California coroner’s division.

Man who walked away from parole caught in Salinas, police say

Joe Szydlowski, The Salinas Californian

Salinas police said Tuesday they've arrested a man who walked away from a custody program under the state corrections department in December.

Jesus Perez, 24, was arrested in the area of Kenneth Avenue and Fairhaven Street, according to a social media post by the Salinas Police Department Tuesday night.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

California may up its rehab efforts to keep ex-inmates from returning to prison

Sophia Bollag, CALmatters

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to add millions in new spending on programs to help former inmates stay out of jail—a proposal generating bipartisan praise because of concern they are returning to prison in large numbers. But some say it still isn’t enough.

The proposed $50 million would expand job training for prisoners and assist them in finding jobs once they are released, such as training them to become firefighters.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Rebuilding futures: Young offenders graduate from Chaderjian’s new construction program

Almendra Carpizo, Stockton Record

STOCKTON — As Jonathan Hernandez-Sanchez walked into his graduation ceremony Thursday, he scanned the room for his mother.

He knew his mom, Yvette Sanchez, was somewhere among the dozens of businessmen, dignitaries and correctional officers gathered to watch him and his peers receive their certificates.

It’s an important day, the 20-year-old Hernandez-Sanchez said. Thursday’s graduation means he’s getting a second chance at life.

Inmates blossom in first garden project

Rachel Zirin, Folsom Telegraph

Folsom Women’s Facility (FWF) inmates blossomed through rehabilitative work in the first garden at the prison, and things are looking and smelling fresh.

The rehabilitative Insight Garden Program (IGP) has expanded to inmates at the FWF, where the women installed a beautiful garden Saturday, Jan. 20.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

From hidden cameras to crotch-watching: California pays out millions for sexual harassment

Marjie Lundstrom, The Sacramento Bee

Four young men who were locked in a youth correctional facility in Southern California accused a male staff counselor of coercing them into sex acts in exchange for contraband and special treatment. The cost to taxpayers to settle their lawsuit: $10 million.

At California State University, Fullerton, a female student in her 20s reported that her professor encouraged her to drink whiskey with him in his office and advised her to masturbate during the week to relax, then report back to him on her progress. The cost? The CSU system paid $92,000 to settle her case, while the student became fearful and anxious after the encounters and her “quality of life declined,” her lawsuit contended.

Has the rate of California’s prison spending nearly tripled since 1970?

Chris Nichols, PolitiFact

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown reeled off statistics on California’s prison spending during his final State of the State Address after a total of 16 years as governor.

Brown, who has followed a federal court order to reduce the state’s prison overcrowding, warned legislators at the state Capitol not to simply pass more crime laws but instead consider a holistic approach to criminal justice.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

California looks for a way to keep parolees from coming back to prison

Sophia Bollag, The San Francisco Chronicle

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown wants to add millions in new spending on programs to help former inmates stay out of jail — a proposal generating bipartisan praise because of concern that parolees are returning to prison in large numbers. But some say it still isn’t enough.

Brown’s plan is to spend $50 million to expand job training for prisoners and assist them in finding jobs once they are released. The governor’s budget plan also includes $106 million for an existing incentive program that rewards counties for reducing recidivism.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Local firefighters, officers honor fallen colleagues at charity football game

Daniela Pardo, KXTV

Local firefighters and law enforcement officers went head-to-head at Hornet Stadium Saturday afternoon for the 44th Annual ‘Guns and Hoses’ charity football game. During the event, the players paid tribute to their colleagues killed in the line of duty.

“I’m just honored to be a part of this," said Correctional Officer Keenan Fields, who works at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton. "I’m a newer officer. I only have four years at my department, so to be a part of something like this, I think it’s special."

Suspect charged in series of drive-by shootings in Fresno, California

Julia Jacobo, Alex Stone, ABC News

California authorities have filed charges against a suspect they believe is responsible for a string of recent drive-by shootings in two different counties.

Ten vehicles were struck by gunfire between Nov. 21, 2017, and Dec. 17, 2017, in rural sections of Fresno and Madera Counties during morning and afternoon commuting hours, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said last month.

The shootings had stopped for several weeks after Mims put out a description of the suspect's vehicle at a Dec. 21 press conference.

OPINION

Ex-offenders deserve a second chance at life

Rick Muth and Aaron Moore, Orange County Register

This weekend, one of us — Rick — will join hundreds of business and philanthropic leaders in Palm Springs for a biannual event hosted by David and Charles Koch. The gathering will focus on breaking down the barriers that prevent too many Americans from realizing their full potential. Few barriers are as great as our broken criminal justice system.

The proliferation of criminal penalties — often for nonviolent crimes — means that nearly one-third of working age adults today carry a criminal record. Even after paying their debt to society and serving out their sentence, they often find that businesses have little interest in hiring an ex-offender.

The Right Stuff: Prison reform has lack of real rehabilitation

James Lewis and Jim McCully, Fairfield Daily Republic

We discussed in our past two columns some tools and methods for reducing recidivism and thereby helping people prosper in the marketplace. We stated teaching people how to think is important. And we quoted at length the explanation about critical-thinking from the Foundation for Critical Thinking.

We felt it was better to give a more in-depth review of critical-thinking than just a summary.

Teaching inmate’s good citizenship cannot overlook the factors of functional illiteracy on several levels, thus our recommendations inherently include academic education as well as manual trades. By current law, despite qualification, some trades/vocations are simply out of reach for 90-plus percent of such offenders, e.g., financial institutions, law enforcement, medical practice, to mention a few.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate dies at Mule Creek State Prison. His cellmate is a suspect

Anthony Sorci, The Sacramento Bee

A 36-year-old inmate died Monday afternoon at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, and his cellmate has been named a suspect in the possible homicide.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports in a news release that Robert Dahl was found unresponsive in his cell about 2:15 Monday. Custody and medical staff responded and began lifesaving measures. Dahl was taken to the prison medical unit, but was pronounced dead at 2:56 p.m., according to the CDCR.

Former Lions WR Titus Young opens up about mental health in LA Times report

Michael Rothstein, ESPN

Former Detroit Lions receiver Titus Young opened up to the Los Angeles Times by sharing parts of a 141-page diary about his struggles, which were chronicled in a story published Monday.

Young has been incarcerated at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, California, since his April 2017 sentencing after a 2016 fight -- the last in a string of legal incidents that led him to prison. Before that sentencing, he began to write in a diary, one the Times said he hopes to turn into a book. Young could be paroled in March, the Times reported.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Armed parolee on motorcycle arrested after 120 mph pursuit in High Desert

Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise

A wanted Victorville parolee carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .357 revolver was arrested Saturday, Jan. 27, after he crashed his motorcycle at the end of a 120 mph pursuit, the California Highway Patrol said.

The pursuit unfolded in the High Desert community of Landers, north of Yucca Valley.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Fresno Arts Council giving Central Valley inmates freedom of expression

Gilbert Magallon, ABC 30 News

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's a showcase of literary and visual art produced by students enrolled in the Arts in Corrections programs inside state prisons of the Central Valley.

Thanks to the California Art Council the Fresno Arts Council is able to hire local artists to offer workshops such as choir, graphic design, poetry, mural painting, Latin drumming, mariachi and many more.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Why are taxpayers on the hook when government workers misbehave?

Marjie Lundstrom, The Sacramento Bee

When The Bee reported Friday that the state had paid out more than $25 million in the last three fiscal years to settle sexual harassment-related cases –most of it taxpayer money – many readers wanted to know why.

“This is the most disgusting use of taxpayer dollars we’ve ever seen,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “There is no way taxpayers should be on the hook for this.”

PROPOSITION 57

Fresno Police: Guns, gang crackdown is paying off; Proposition 57 is not paying off

Liz Gonzalez, KMPH Fox 26

Fresno Police say a crackdown on crime in the new year is paying off.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Monday violent crime is down 15.2%.

Shootings are also down, 33 this year compared to 51 last year at the same time.

One big reason: more guns are being taken off the streets.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Charles Manson’s Grandson Denied Right to Remains, Judge Rules

Tom Ozimek, The Epoch Times

A man who says he’s the grandson of Charles Manson will not get to claim the mass murderer’s remains, a judge in California ruled.

Jason Freeman, one of three men in contention for the right to the deceased cult leader’s estate, will not be allowed to pick up Manson’s body from the morgue where it is being stored, according to TMZ, at least for now.

It is reported that the reason the court denied the grandson the right to take possession of his grandfather’s body is because–the judge lacks jurisdiction. Freeman filed in Los Angeles, whereas Manson died in Kern County.

Man who killed California cellmate gets life in prison

The Associated Press

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A man who stomped to death his cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison has been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole.

The Bakersfield Californian says 47-year-old Dennis Bratton was sentenced Tuesday.

Authorities say Bratton killed Andrew Keel at the Delano lockup in 2013, three years after beating and stomping another inmate so badly he needed brain surgery.

Yesterday’s Crimes: The Hillsborough Mansion Murder

On a February day in 1985, the Bay Area's most opulent mansion became a house of horrors.

Bob Calhoun, SF Weekly

By the 1980s, the Carolands Mansion was in a state of gothic decay that you’d expect to find in the Deep South, not in an affluent enclave overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Only 20 years earlier, the 110-room Hillsborough chateau was occupied by a European countess and coveted by President Kennedy as the location for a West Coast White House.

Countess Lillian Remillard Dandini bought the palace for a mere $80,000 in 1950. She died in 1973, leaving the estate to the town of Hillsborough for use as a library and arts center. Hillsborough passed it along to the State of California, and the state couldn’t give it away in 1975. The neglect, however, was just a sad prologue to the terrors that took place within the mansion’s musty walls 10 years later.

DEATH PENALTY

California's new lethal injection plan already faces hurdles: Drugs barred from import or execution use

Maura Dolan, The Los Angeles Times

California moved a step closer to resuming lethal injections this week but still faces significant hurdles before inmates can be executed.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has unveiled a revised single-drug method of execution, allowing the state to use either pentobarbital or thiopental in a single infusion to put condemned inmates to death.

But the barbiturates are extremely difficult to obtain, lawyers on both sides of the death penalty debate said Tuesday, and their lack of availability could eventually doom plans to restart the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Assault of California State Prison, Corcoran Officers Under Investigation

CDCR News

CORCORAN – California State Prison, Corcoran (COR), officials are investigating the attempted homicide of two correctional officers.

At 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, inmate John Nieto, 28, began stabbing a correctional officer with an inmate-manufactured weapon. Another correctional officer intervened to help stop the attack and Nieto began stabbing the responding officer as well. Additional staff responded to the incident and used pepper spray, batons and physical force to subdue Nieto as he continued to strike staff with the weapon. Nieto continued to ignore orders to submit and staff used physical force to place him in handcuffs and leg restraints.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Inmate rehab program at work in Corcoran State Prison

Brandon Johansen, ABC 23 News

CORCORAN, Calif. - As President Trump called for better prisoner rehabilitation programs during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, a local group was preparing to continue their work in inmate reform.

"Pawsitive Change", a program created by Marley's Mutts in Kern County, was highly visible at Corcoran State Prison on Wednesday. The 14-week program pairs shelter dogs with inmates, with the goal being rehabilitation for both parties.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Corcoran State Prison inmate allegedly stabs two guards with a homemade weapon

Lewis Griswold, The Fresno Bee

An inmate at Corcoran State Prison is being investigated for attempted murder after allegedly attacking two correctional officers with a home-made prison weapon.

At 4 p.m. Monday, John Nieto, 28, began stabbing a correctional officer. Another officer intervened and Nieto began stabbing that officer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Prison staff used pepper spray, batons and physical force to subdue Nieto as he kept striking staff with the weapon, and finally put him in handcuffs and leg restraints.

Prison Inmate Found Dead, RivCo Man Accused In Killing

The man has been named a suspect in his cellmate's death.

Renee Schiavone, Patch

CABAZON, CA — A former Cabazon man, locked up in Northern California for a deadly Riverside County stabbing, is now accused of killing his cellmate, prison officials say. Todd Richard Laverty, 46, has since been sent to the segregation unit at Mule Creek State Prison.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials say Laverty is a suspect in the death of fellow inmate Robert Dahl. Dahl was 36 and was serving nearly 25 years for second-degree robbery, manufacture/sale/possession of a weapon by a second-striker, and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

Manson corpse case on ice for another month in heirs dispute

Brian Melley, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The corpse of Charles Manson will remain in a morgue for at least another month while would-be heirs and a friend wait for a court hearing to fight over his remains.

A Kern County Superior Court commissioner on Wednesday set a March 7 hearing in the dispute that includes a son of Manson, a grandson and a pen pal who collected and sold memorabilia of the murderer.

The Kern County coroner's office filed the case to have a judge referee who should get the body of the cult leader who orchestrated the 1969 killings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and eight others. Manson, 83, died Nov. 19 in a Bakersfield hospital.

OPINION

Redemption is not just for me

Emile DeWeaver, The San Francisco Chronicle

Gov. Jerry Brown commuted my sentence in December from 67 years to life to 20 years to life — a rare act of mercy. I had imagined the effects of a commutation on my life; the commutation’s effect on incarcerated people at San Quentin State Prison, though, surprised me. The night of my commutation, men cheered in their cells like the 49ers had just won the Super Bowl. It felt fantastic to hear men call out to me with joy, but I also recognized that they weren’t cheering for me. They were applauding something much more important than me.

That “something” is difficult to convey, as it showed up in emotions more than in concrete events. In their questions, I heard a thousand times: Emile, why do you take so many self-help classes? Why are you always reading? Who are you trying to impress? These questions didn’t come from everyone; but when they came, they felt loaded with judgment.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Death row inmate who stole $200K in fatal heist dies

The San Francisco Chronicle

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — A California man awaiting execution for killing an armored car guard has died, leaving behind a mystery over what happened to more than $200,000 stolen in the deadly heist.

Corrections officials said Thursday that 48-year-old Joe Henry Abbott died Wednesday of unknown causes after he was found unresponsive alone in his death row cell at San Quentin State Prison.

PROPOSITION 57

California Supreme Court further limits charging kids with crimes

Sudhin Thanawala, The Associated Press

The California Supreme Court on Thursday expanded the scope of a ballot measure that limits prosecutors from charging juveniles with crimes in adult court.

The court ruled unanimously that Proposition 57 applies to cases that were pending before it took effect. The justices said voters appeared to want to extend the measure as broadly as possible.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

California's mentally ill inmate population keeps growing. And state money isn't enough to meet needs, lawmaker says

Jazmine Ulloa, The Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown has earmarked $117 million in his new state budget to expand the number of treatment beds and mental health programs for more than 800 mentally ill inmates found incompetent to stand trial.

State officials said they have struggled to keep up with the needs of a population that has jumped in size by 33% over the last three years, as judges are increasingly referring defendants to treatment. But one state lawmaker says additional funds are not enough.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Riverside County convict stabbed prison guard in face, officials say

Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise

A former Banning resident serving an almost-19-year prison sentence for stabbing someone in 2012 is accused of stabbing a correctional lieutenant in the face Saturday, Feb. 3, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Monday.

Jarvis Bell, 33, was receiving a hearing about a rules violation at the Corcoran State Prison substance abuse facility when he stabbed the lieutenant twice with a weapon made in prison, a news release said. He grabbed the lieutenant’s pepper spray and turned it against the officer.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

How a 43-year-old American youth counselor turned to ISIS

Zachary Cohen, CNN

Washington (CNN)As a 43-year-old youth counselor from Sacramento, California, Brian Dempsey certainly did not fit the traditional profile of someone likely to travel to Syria in hopes of joining ISIS -- but his journey is helping shed new light on why some Americans decide to fight alongside extremists in combat zones on the other side of the world.

Dempsey is one of 64 Americans whose experiences in Iraq and Syria were profiled as part of a new report released Monday by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

'Absolutely Shocked': Prosecutor Fears for Life After Murderer to Be Granted Parole

"His cellmate had come forward and had relayed that he was making plans to not only murder me, but to murder my family in front of me first, and then to shoot me," he said.

Eric Leonard, NBC 4 News

A Southern California prosecutor, who has prosecuted the likes of infamous New York real estate heir Robert Durst, said he's terrified for his life after a man he helped send to prison for the 1988 execution style murder of his estranged wife is to be granted parole.

"I was absolutely shocked," said L.A. County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin.

The California Department of Corrections said William T. Bradford "was granted parole suitability" last week, after a commissioner decided Bradford was not be a danger to society.

San Bernardino County DA castigates ‘liberal’ board after six convicted murderers granted parole

Shea Johnson, VV Daily Press

Strongly urging the governor to reject their recommendations, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos castigated the California Board of Parole Hearings on Tuesday as liberal agendists after six convicted murderers in this County were granted parole last month.

“Are you kidding me? I mean what’s going on in this state?” Ramos told the Daily Press. “We’re going to have to take back this system.”

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Taskforce arrests sex trafficker as part of statewide operation

Foothills Sun Gazette

VISALIA – Late last month the Tulare County Human Trafficking Taskforce made some progress in their mission to get human traffickers off the street. The task force along with a multitude of local, state and federal law enforcement authorities participated in the effort named Operation Reclaim and Rebuild. The operation is intended to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.

As a result of the operation, the taskforce arrested 34-year-old female Jessie Daily on charges of pimping an adult family member in Tulare on Jan. 25.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

San Quentin's Inmate-Run Newspaper Hits Major Milestone

Michael Bott, NBC Bay Area

As newspapers across the country downsize and lay off staff, one Bay Area paper, facing its own unique challenges, is thriving.

The San Quentin News, San Quentin State Prison’s inmate-run newspaper, celebrated a major milestone last month after releasing its 100th edition.

The paper, featuring news, columns, cartoons and book reviews, has a circulation of 30,000 and a readership spanning 43 states and 36 California prisons.

The origin of the San Quentin News goes all the way back to the 1920’s, when it was published as a newsletter under the name Wall City News.

Podcast ‘Hustles’ toward second season

The Sac State Hornet

“Ear Hustle,” a popular podcast co-produced by a Sacramento State professor and two prisoners, is preparing to launch its second season.

After season one, the podcast gained popularity with its unique look into the prison system. Each episode is based on stories of inmates inside San Quentin State Prison.

The show is co-hosted by Nigel Poor, a photography professor at Sac State, and Earlonne Woods, an inmate serving 31 years to life for attempted second degree robbery. Antwan Williams, who works as the show’s sound designer, is serving a 15-year sentence for armed robbery.

San Quentin staffer made me a sex slave, murderer says. He’s awarded $65,000

Matier & Ross, The San Francisco Chronicle

The #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse has taken an unusual gender and geographic turn, with a convicted murderer in San Quentin State Prison being awarded $65,000 in damages by a federal jury after being turned into a “sex slave” by a female prison staffer.

“This type of claim probably would not have been taken as seriously five years ago, but now people are willing to challenge authority and take into account the claims of people dispossessed by society,” said Ben Rothstein, an attorney at San Francisco’s high-powered Keker, Van Nest & Peters law firm who, with co-counsel Julia Allen, represented the prisoner plaintiff pro bono.

OPINION

To parole or not to parole? Debate sparked after panel says Inland killers have redeemed themselves, should be freed

Stephen Ramirez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos believes some crimes are so heinous that the perpetrators deserve to be locked up for as long as the law will allow it.

Others, like the California Board of Parole Hearings, believe that some inmates have turned their lives around and deserve to be freed.

The issue came to a head this week when it was announced that the state parole board ruled in January that six inmates convicted of murder should be granted parole.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Police Arrest Man Accused of Stabbing Store Clerk During Attempted Robbery in Colton

Kristina Bravo, KTLA

A man accused of stabbing a store clerk during an attempted robbery in Colton last November has been arrested, police said Thursday.

Eddie Charles Lockhart, 28, allegedly stabbed the victim four times after demanding money at a smoke shop in the 1600 block of East Washington Street the morning of Nov. 14, 2017. The assailant fled the scene, and the victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition but survived, according to police.

Lawsuit reveals how tech companies profit off the prison-industrial complex

A lawsuit alleges that prisoners are forced into accepting high-fee JPay debit cards to access their own money.

Katie Rose Quandt, ThinkProgress

On the day he was released after nearly 30 years in the California prison system, Joe Rudy Reyes was taken to a bus station. A corrections officer handed him a debit card preloaded with $442.20 — the balance in his inmate trust account, plus an additional $200 from the state to help him get home. So began a year-long nightmare as Reyes tried unsuccessfully to access his own money.

In January, Reyes, with representation by the Human Rights Defense Center, filed a proposed federal class action lawsuit against JPay, Inc., a prison technology giant and subsidiary of Securus Technologies, Inc. The Reyes v. JPay complaint, filed on behalf of every person who has received a JPay card upon release from prison, alleges the company’s policies are monopolistic and illegal.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Judge: California Must Consider Early Parole for Sex Offenders

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

California must consider earlier parole for potentially thousands of sex offenders, maybe even those convicted of pimping children, a state judge said Friday.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner preliminarily ordered prison officials to rewrite part of the regulations for Proposition 57. The 2016 ballot measure allows consideration of earlier parole for most state prison inmates, but Gov. Jerry Brown promised voters all sex offenders would be excluded.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

City Visions: What can San Quentin inmates tell us about human nature?

City Visions

February 12, 2018: Host Grace Won talks to Nigel Poor and Jody Lewen, both of whom work at San Quentin State Prison, often in active collaboration with inmates, and as such have a unique window into a world most of us never see.

Nigel Poor is the co-host and co-producer of Ear Hustle, a podcast that features prisoners sharing their experience of prison life. Nigel is also a visual artist and professor of photography.

Jody Lewen is the founder and Executive Director of the Prison University Project at San Quentin, which in 2016 was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Obama for providing prisoners access to higher education.

Inmates denied costly hepatitis C cure, suit says

Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

California prison inmates with hepatitis C are being denied curative treatment that relies on expensive new drugs, according to a class action lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Sacramento.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Sacramento attorneys Mark E. Merin and Fred J. Hiestand. The 18 prisoners named as plaintiffs all have hepatitis C and “seek to require” the prison health care system to provide them and other inmates who have the viral infection with the new drugs.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Who’s your daddy? Charles Manson

MyNewsLA.com

A man who says he is a son of Charles Manson filed court papers Friday seeking to administer the estate of the late mass murderer.

Michael Brunner, who lives in Wisconsin, brought his petition in Los Angeles Superior Court. He will compete there with Dale Kiken, an attorney for Manson grandson Jason Freeman, who also wants the appointment.

CALIFORNIA PRISON

State Prison, Sacramento investigating inmate death as homicide

Folsom Telegraph

A California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC) inmate was found dead in his cell this morning, Feb. 12. Prison officials are investigating the death as a homicide.

At 11:10 a.m., Monday, Feb. 12, staff discovered inmate Juan Victoria, 48, unresponsive in his cell. Medical staff was summoned and a responding physician pronounced Victoria deceased at 11:22 a.m.

Victoria’s cellmate David Acuna, 34, was placed in restraints and removed from the area. Acuna had minor injuries that showed signs of a possible struggle between the two inmates. He has been identified as a suspect.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Charles Manson's body has been on ice for nearly three months. Here's why

Stephanie Becker, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN)Nearly three months after his death, Charles Manson's body is still on ice in Kern County, California, as at least four people fight to claim his body.

Two relatives, and two other men who insist they have the only valid Manson will, have been waging legal battles in two California counties for the right to the notorious cult leader's body and estate.

Caught in the middle is the Kern County Coroner's Office, which has been storing the body since Manson died on November 19 at age 83. Manson spent 46 years in prison for his involvement with the brutal murders of seven people in August 1969, a killing spree that terrified the nation during the turbulent '60s.

Here's a look at the people vying for Manson's body, why it's been such a lengthy process to decide who gets it, and what could happen next.

Offender Walks Away From Alternative Custody Program

CDCR News

SACRAMENTO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are looking for an offender who walked away from the Alternative Custody Program (ACP).

Around 5:40 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, CDCR was alerted that Thomas Ruark, 30, had removed his electronic monitoring device. Ruark had been participating in ACP at New Start, a sober living residential facility on Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento. Local law enforcement was notified and agents from CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety were immediately dispatched to locate and apprehend Ruark.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Former NFL player Titus Young is denied parole

Nathan Fenno, The Los Angeles Times

California's Board of Parole Hearings has declined to release former Detroit Lions receiver Titus Young because of his "history of violent criminality."

Young, raised in Los Angeles, is serving a four-year sentence at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco after pleading guilty last year to assaulting a neighbor. He is also serving a two-year sentence concurrently for an assault in Carlsbad.

San Jose Police Chief 'In Shock' Over Judge's Proposition 57 Ruling

Proposition 57 allows the early release from prison of criminals serving time for non-violent crimes

Damian Trujillo, NBC Southern California

More than 20,000 sex offenders might get out of California prisons early now that a Sacramento judge ruled they cannot be exempt from Proposition 57.

The proposition allows the early release from prison of criminals serving time for non-violent crimes. With the judge's ruling, that also means people serving time for crimes like pimping children.

OPINION

Editorial | Proposition 57 a debacle for Jerry Brown because of potential early parole for sex offenders

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board has advocated for criminal justice reform more often than any other editorial board in California in recent years for good reason. The U.S. has more — to much more — crime than nations with less punitive judicial systems, and in California, tough-on-crime policies from the 1990s have led tens of thousands of people with salvageable lives to be warehoused in prison long after they posed a likely public threat.

Even so, in 2016, our board could not bring itself to endorse Proposition 57, a deeply flawed measure Gov. Jerry Brown trumpeted as a big step forward for the criminal justice reform movement. The problem was that the measure was originally supposed to target juvenile justice, but it was revamped into a much broader constitutional amendment that stated anyone convicted of a nonviolent felony offense would be eligible for early parole consideration. A lower court ruling said the changes were unacceptable, but in June 2016, the California Supreme Court overturned the ruling on the grounds that a 2014 state law allowed flawed measures to be fixed before being put before voters.

OPINION

Gov. Jerry Brown defends Prop. 57, rips 'shameless fear-mongering'

The San Diego Union Tribune

Proposition 57 makes legal system better

Re: “Proposition 57 a debacle for Jerry Brown because of potential early parole for sex offenders” (Feb 12): For an editorial board that claims to have “advocated for criminal justice reform more often than any other editorial board in California,” it was rather shocking to see the Union-Tribune revert to the shameless fear-mongering that spawned decades of mass incarceration.

Instead of offering an honest assessment of Proposition 57, the editorial board rehashes the same shoddy arguments it peddled for the 2016 election, this time citing a lower court’s decision, which I believe is clearly wrong. Voters soundly rejected these claims when they passed Proposition 57 by a nearly two-to-one margin.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Corcoran correctional sergeant recovers after inmate assault

yourcentralvalley.com

CORCORAN, California - A correctional sergeant is recovering from injuries suffered during an attack by an inmate Tuesday at California State Prison-Corcoran, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Wednesday.

Around 7:45 p.m., inmate Peter Matus, 33, was being escorted to his assigned cell by a correctional sergeant when he attacked the sergeant, punching him in the face, the CDCR said.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate Suspected In Death Of Man Convicted Of Santa Cruz Robbery

George Argueta, who was convicted of second-degree robbery in Santa Cruz County in 2012 was stabbed Tuesday, according to officials.

California Patch

A reputed gang member who was convicted of conspiring to murder a fellow gang member in San Leandro in 2011 has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a fellow inmate at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, prison officials said today. Jacob Castro, 38, has been named as the suspect in the death in

the death of 26-year-old George Argueta, who was convicted of second-degree robbery in Santa Cruz County in 2012, according to state Department of Corrections officials.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Monterey County reentry program graduates ready for change

Cristian Ponce, The Californian

Sharon Barajas has gotten her life together at the Monterey County Day Reporting Center after being placed on felony probation, Barajas told a roomful of people in Salinas on Monday night.

“I wasn’t doing very well, I wasn’t on a good path and I needed a wake-up call and this definitely was the start of a new life for me,” said Barajas.

Barajas is one more than a dozen probationers and parolees who were recognized Monday at a transition ceremony for graduating from the Monterey County Day Reporting Center by GEO Reentry Services, in collaboration with the Monterey County Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

He earned $540,000 working at two California jails. Was that too much?

Adam Ashton, The Sacramento Bee

Prison psychiatrist Anthony Coppola earned a pretty good living splitting his workdays – and vacation days – between two California government agencies.

In 2016, he pulled in $309,000 from his main job at a state prison in Tracy and another $233,000 from his part-time job at an Alameda County jail. He made even more money in 2015 and 2014.

It was a conspicuous sum that caught the attention of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation leaders two years ago in the midst of a staffing shakeup at the Tracy prison. One regional prison health care executive remarked to a warden that Coppola must have been “double dipping,” a pejorative term that refers to public employees simultaneously earning income from multiple government employers.

He was a prison counselor in California before he turned to jihad, FBI says

Benjy Egel, The Sacramento Bee

A former Sacramento youth counselor for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on suspicion he lied to the FBI about his role fighting alongside Islamic militants in Syria.

Brian Arthur Dempsey Sr., 46, faces five charges of false statements involving international terrorism, up to eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years probation if convicted.

Dempsey supervised wards and oversaw rehabilitation programs for CDCR’s Division of Juvenile Justice – then known as the California Youth Authority – from March 2001 until he resigned in April 2012, said Bill Sessa, CDCR spokesman. He commuted from his Sacramento home to two Stockton-area prisons as well as Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione over that 11-year span.

CDCR NEWS

Sweep targets street gang directed from California prison and based in Woodland

Don Thompson, The Associated Press and Daily Democrat

Authorities arrested 31 people Wednesday who they said are connected to a violent, drug-running multi-state street gang directed from inside one of California’s most notorious prisons.

The massive sweep by more than 750 law enforcement federal, state and local officers netted 29 suspects on drug and weapons charges across 10 Northern California counties.

Two others were arrested in Pittsburgh and the Medford, Oregon, area.

Woodland residents and those in Davis first learned of the raids early Wednesday when dozens of federal, state and local law enforcement officials served search warrants and used flash bang grenades in the roundup.

A cellphone found in prison leads to huge bust of gang selling drugs on Snapchat

Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee

Federal officials using an army of 750 officers rounded up dozens of suspects in Northern California, Pennsylvania and Oregon early Wednesday to disrupt what they described as a massive street and prison gang conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin using social media.

Authorities targeted prison gang leaders – and arrested two inmates already serving time inside Pelican Bay State Prison – and swept up a number of suspected members of Varrio Bosque Norteno, a Norteno-affiliated street gang known as “VBN” that is based in Woodland.

Woodland, Yolo County center of 11 county, 3 state gang sweep

Hans Peter, Woodland Daily Democrat

The FBI targeted Woodland and Yolo County along with 10 other counties in a massive raid against street gangs Wednesday morning.

As reports spread countywide, federal, state and local law enforcement officials were serving search warrants and making arrests in what appears to have been a yearlong effort to take suspected criminals off the streets.

“A violent criminal organization that started out in Woodland years ago and spread throughout Northern California faced a day of reckoning today,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott, opening a press conference at the Robert Matsui federal courthouse in Sacramento. “... several agencies culminated this morning in the execution of 39 federal search warrants and 30 parole and probation searches at locations in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and (11) California counties.”

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Brown's parole measure hits big legal snag

Dan Walters, CALmatters

When Gov. Jerry Brown was promoting Proposition 57 to voters in 2016, he characterized it as a common sense criminal law reform that would give nonviolent felons a better chance at rehabilitation by allowing them to earn earlier releases on parole.

However, it did not specify which felonies would be deemed nonviolent. Rather, Brown’s campaign confirmed that it would be every felony not included on a specific Penal Code list of 23 violent crimes – and that lack of specificity is now backfiring.

Indirectly, leniency would be allowed for quite a few felonies, such as sex crimes, that most of us would deem to be violent – and, in fact, are counted as violent offenses in crime data provided by the state Department of Justice.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Escaped inmate captured in Tuolumne County likely to face additional charges

Giuseppe Ricapito, The Union Democrat

The earliest possible release date for a Tuolumne County inmate at North Kern State Prison has been extended to October as the state prison system and the county District Attorney’s Office considers additional charges stemming from his prison escape and subsequent capture in a Tuolumne County homeless camp last November.

Daniel Salazar, 31, has been a serving a three-year, eight-month sentence in the prison after being convicted in Tuolumne County of second-degree robbery and using someone else’s identification.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Legislator calls for inmate rehabilitation oversight

Andrew Clark, The Signal

State legislators introduced a bill calling for an analysis on the effectiveness of California’s prisons, but Gov. Jerry Brown is considering multiple investments in rehabilitation as part of his budget.

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Antelope Valley, said Assembly Bill 1929 would require the state’s inspector general to evaluate rehabilitation programs and report to the Legislature over a 10-year period beginning in July 2019. Lackey authored and introduced the bill last month.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

In-depth: Man learns how to code in San Quentin prison, now works in Silicon Valley

Ella Sogomonian, KRON4.com

SANTA CLARA COUNTY (KRON) — Finding success in the Silicon Valley, and it comes right down to learning the code.

In-depth on Thursday night, KRON4’s Ella Sogomonian reports on an unlikely tech employee and where he first learned to code.

It’s another day of computer coding in Silicon Valley. The lifeblood of the tech industry has in turn given a second chance at life for Aly Tamboura.

“I definitely think that coding opened all these doors to opportunity,” Tamboura said. “I think without coding those opportunities wouldn’t be here.”

Beauty behind bars: Inmates at one of the biggest women's prisons in the US train as make-up artists and hair technicians while serving time

Jessica Rach, Daily Mail

Female prisoners in a US jail are finding hope for their futures, thanks to an inspiring cosmetology teacher who is training them to be professional beauticians.

Elsa Lumsden runs a beauty therapy course at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California, which provides the inmates with the opportunity to gain cosmetology qualifications that could help them to find work upon their release.

Elsa, who has been teaching for around 13 years, told Barcroft TV: 'I never looked at prisoners in a negative way, if they have support and the tutoring and mentoring they can be great people.'

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Proven probation re-entry program to be expanded

Chico Enterprise-Record

Oroville >> A program with a proven record of reducing recidivism among probationers and parolees got a boost this week when the Board of Supervisors approved a state-funded expansion of the Male Community Re-entry Program.

The program has selected male adult probationers complete a tailored plan that includes alcohol and drug treatment, anger management, forward thinking, parenting and job training classes.

Booted From Colorado, Violent Sex Offender Now Calls Carmichael Home

Angela Greenwood, CBS Sacramento

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) — A sex offender and convicted rapist was booted from his Boulder, Colorado, community and transferred to a quiet Carmichael neighborhood.

Christopher Lawyer, 42, who was deemed a sexually violent predator in Colorado, moved in with a relative four months ago, but neighbors say they just found out and now they’re worried for their safety.

It’s a quiet and well-manicured community. On one street in Carmichael, everyone knows their neighbors.

DEATH PENALTY

Death sentence for gang homeless camp killer: Six first-degree murders

Christina Kelley, MyNewsLA.com

A gang member was sentenced to death Thursday for the murders of five people at a homeless encampment near a Long Beach freeway in 2008 and the shooting death of a man in the Lancaster area in 2009.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury that heard the case against David Cruz Ponce, 37, recommended Oct. 2 that he be sentenced to death for the crimes.

“Your desire to live a gangsta lifestyle … led you down a terrible path,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo told Ponce. “The circumstances of each murder was horrific.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Innocent California inmate says $2 million can't make up for lost years

Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A former California inmate wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years says it was the "worst nightmare" and that even nearly $2 million in state compensation granted on Thursday can't make up for his lost time.

The California Victims Compensation Board granted 70-year-old Craig Richard Coley $140 for each of the 13,991 days he spent in prison before he was pardoned by Gov. Jerry Brown before Thanksgiving.

CORRECTIONS RELATED

Man learns how to code in San Quentin prison, now works for Mark Zuckerberg

Ella Sogomonian, WISH-TV

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — Finding success in the Silicon Valley comes right down to learning the code.

It’s another day of computer coding in Silicon Valley. The lifeblood of the tech industry has in turn given a second chance at life for Aly Tamboura.

“I definitely think that coding opened all these doors to opportunity,” Tamboura said. “I think without coding those opportunities wouldn’t be here.”

Tamboura didn’t learn the skill in college, but instead, in prison.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Sacramento Blues musician, incarcerated Vacaville inmates, perform

Kimberly K. Fu, The Reporter

Music swirled around the gym Friday at California State Prison, Solano, mentally transporting inmates far beyond prison walls into a personal space they described as transformative, peaceful and healing.

The talent was palpable and for professional Sacramento musician and CSP, Solano music teacher Lew Fratis, the experience was nothing short of amazing.

“Music is so important and what better place to do it than in a prison,” explained the Blues Hall of Fame inductee. “This has been a life-changing experience. .., I was really amazed at the depth of talent.”

Vacaville inmates perform blues, rock, jazz

Susan Hiland, Fairfield Daily Republic

VACAVILLE — A two-year campaign to bring music to inmates at California State Prison, Solano, came to fruition Friday thanks to a Sacramento musician and his incarcerated students.

Lew Fratis spent countless hours over the past two years teaching inmates how to play instruments. Part of that was learning how to communicate with each other when many times the inmates would never interact with one another outside the music class.

“People have said you are crazy to be doing this,” Fratis said. “I’m a musician who has played for 40 years. I know how music makes me feel.”

PROPOSITION 57

Redding council may back initiative to reform AB 109, Props. 47, 57

Sean Longoria, Record Searchlight

The Redding City Council on Tuesday will weigh endorsing a statewide measure to change state prison reform laws local officials blame for many of the city’s public safety woes.

Police Chief Roger Moore will ask the council to support the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018, which would make key changes to state law to deal with “unintended consequences” of Assembly Bill 109 and propositions 47 and 57.

Police Chiefs support prison reform initiative

Dan Squier, Eureka Times Standard

At Tuesday’s Eureka City Council meeting, councilmembers will discuss whether or not to throw their support behind a proposed ballot initiative that would amend Propositions 47, 57 and AB 109, measures that were passed as part of the state’s prison realignment process.

Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson forwarded a recommendation to the council with the support of city manager Greg Sparks asking for the council to support the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe act of 2018.

The initiative has the support of the California Police Chiefs Association and is aimed at amending sections of the three laws to address repeat offenders and to ease the burden on county jails.

Inmates with Violent Pasts Paroled Under Prop. 57

Eric Leonard, NBC News 4

A number of California prison inmates who committed violent crimes, including stabbings and shootings, have been granted parole under Proposition 57's Nonviolent Parole Program, according to records obtained by NBC 4.

Prop. 57, approved by voters in 2016, promised to reduce the state's overcrowded prisons by expanding parole eligibility for nonviolent criminals, and by encouraging inmates to take part in rehabilitation, therapy, and vocational programs.

The cases include those of Alfredo "Freddy" Casillas, who took part in the murder of a rival gang member in Burbank, and Luis Steven Flores, who went to prison for assault with a deadly weapon with a semi-automatic firearm, and served time for battery on a peace officer, as well as battery on another inmate.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Rodney Alcala: The Killing Game

Peter Van Sant, Forty Eight Hours

Police say a photographer and one-time contestant on "The Dating Game" was also a chameleon and a serial killer -- perhaps the deadliest in U.S. history -- and investigators are unsure if they will ever know how many victims he left behind.

When "48 Hours" first investigated the case of Rodney Alcala, he had been convicted of the murder of five California women. But it wasn't over; he would be tied to other cold cases.

A series of photos that Alcala had taken and posted online by "48 Hours," would lead to one woman finally finding out what happened to her sister who had vanished almost 40 years ago. How many other cases are there?

CDCR NEWS

Job Fair Slated for Open Positions at Two California State Prisons

Open positions include carpenters, electricians, groundskeepers, pest control technicians, plumbers, and water and sewage plant supervisors

NBC Southern California

State corrections officials will host a job fair in Blythe Wednesday, seeking tradespeople to fill open positions at two state prisons.

Wednesday's fair will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Ironwood State Prison, 19005 Wiley's Well Road. The hiring workshop will be held to fill vacancies at Ironwood, as well as Chuckawalla Valley State Prison.

New job opportunities available in the desert

Jeremy Chen and Christopher, KESQ

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. - If you're looking for a new job locally, there are some opportunities available in the desert.

Lowes is holding a hiring event Wednesday... As part of their "national day of hiring", according to the home improvement store all Lowes across the nation are holding the event. They're looking to fill full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions.

We're told the Lowes in Palm Desert on Monterey Avenue at Gerald Ford will for sure be holding the event. The other Lowes locations throughout the Coachella Valley will also be taking part in the nationwide hiring event.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Riverside man who killed friend in 2012 dies following prison fight

Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise

A Riverside man who gave his homeless, longtime friend a shower and clothes one day in 2012 — and then slit his throat — was himself killed in prison on Friday, Feb. 16, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Prison staff found Kevin S. Mansfield, 37, unconscious and face down in his cell at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi about 11:30 p.m. Friday, with cellmate Josh Powers repeatedly striking him, a news release said. Staff had to use pepper spray, batons and other force to subdue Powers, who had injuries that showed he had been injured in a fight, the release said.

PROPOSITION 57

UPDATE: Redding council backs proposed reforms of AB109, props. 47, 57

Sean Longoria, Record Searchlight

Redding is hoping voters statewide will get behind an attempt to change prison reform laws officials blame for contributing to local crime.

The City Council on Tuesday night approved Police Chief Roger Moore’s request to support the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018, a pending ballot initiative to make key changes to state law to deal with “unintended consequences” of Assembly Bill 109 and propositions 47 and 57.

Eureka City Council supports criminal justice reform

Hunter Cresswell, Eureka Times Standard

On Tuesday evening the Eureka City Council expressed support of an initiative in the signature-gathering phase that aims to reduce the negative impacts of Assembly Bill 109 and Propositions 47 and 57.

Critics have pointed to these pieces of legislations as the cause of the so-called revolving door criminal justice system even though they were presented to voters as efforts to reduce prison populations and increase public safety, Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson said in his presentation to the present council members.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Modesto man convicted in deadly gang fight. Now, he's eligible for parole

Rosalio Ahumada, The Modesto Bee

A 36-year-old Modesto man convicted of killing a teenager in an alleged street gang confrontation near Ceres has been found suitable for parole.

A Stanislaus County jury found Miguel Quezada guilty of second-degree murder and three counts of assault with a gun in the 1998 shooting that killed 16-year-old Daniel Reyes.

Convicted Rapist Who Moved To Carmichael From Colorado Back Behind Bars

Angela Greenwood, CBS 13 News

CARMICHAEL (CBS13) – A convicted rapist living in Carmichael is no longer a threat to the community, for now, at least.

Forty-two-year-old Christopher Lawyer was arrested Monday night on a parole violation. We first brought you the story last week after learning the man had been transferred from Colorado as part of a parolee transfer program.

Daily Clorrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Correction Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips

Daily Corrections Clips