Daily Corrections Clips

May 23, 2013, 11:27 am

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CDCR RELATED

Millions meant for California crime victims goes unpaid
Dan Noyes, ABC 7

If you've been a victim of a crime, the state of California might be looking for you. It may have some of your money. A lack of communication is causing a delay in victim restitution.
 
Virtual Jail Provides More Bed Space At Local Level By Rehabilitating Low Level Inmates
Realignment Funds Backing Rehab For Short Timers
Mike Hart, ABC23

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Kern County Sheriff's Department is reviewing a program, born in the days following the implementation of AB 109, that aims to curb the cycle of crime in the prison system.

Can police investigate their own? Some want citizen oversight of police
Jose Gaspar, Bakersfield Now

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The death of 33-year-old David Silva while in custody of the Kern County Sheriff's Department raises a question that's been asked numerous times of law enforcement in Kern County.

Drug czar report shows most Sacramento inmates test positive for drugs
Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

The nation's drug czar on Thursday released study results showing that 78 percent of adult males arrested in Sacramento County tested positive for at least one illegal drug.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmate crews gear up for California fire season
Julie Zeeb, Red Bluff Daily News

CalFire inmate fire crews from Salt Creek and Devils Garden were two of 47 crews from across California Wednesday to be evaluated over a three-day period at the Ishi Preparedness Exercise.

Ex-Estate Financial vice president is out of prison, done with probation
Joshua Yaguda, convicted of defrauding investors of more than $300 million, served only three years of an 8-year term; his mother is also expected to get out of prison early
AnnMarie Cornejo, The San Luis Obispo Tribune

The former vice president of the defunct Estate Financial, Joshua Yaguda, who with his mother was sentenced to prison after defrauding investors of more than $300 million, has completed his prison term and subsequent probation.

REALIGNMENT

Kern County crime rate continues to rise, more funding coming
17 KGET

BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County is planning to pour more money into agencies dealing with the effects of prison realignment, namely the courts. This comes as Kern County public defenders and prosecutors handle thousands more cases, they say, because of the implementation of AB 109.
 
CALIFORNIA PRISONS
 
State's prison overseer blasts CA officials for stalling reforms
Julie Small, KPCC

The federal receiver in charge of medical care in California’s 33 prisons says state officials have dug in and are resisting mandated reforms.  

To read more on this topic follow this link:  

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-ff-court-receiver-says-brown-ignoring-prison-conditions-20130522,0,4732224.story

DEATH PENALTY

A prolonged stay: The reasons behind the slow pace of executions
Raymond Bonner, Moneylife

Opponents of the death penalty have hit upon an effective tactic: Learn who is making the lethal drugs used in executions and publicly shame them. Now, death penalty states are fighting to make the names of the drugs a state secret

States that impose the death penalty have been facing a crisis in recent years: They are short on the drugs used in executions.

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Daily Corrections Clips

May 28, 2013, 11:48 am

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CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California Health Care Facility Nears Completion
Bob Walsh, CorrectionsOne.com

There isn’t a whole lot of prison construction under way in California and hasn’t been for some time, despite the need. 

Brown Administration Says Prison Complaints Are Blame-Shifting
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown's administration disputes complaints that the governor's vocal legal challenges to orders to improve prison conditions has brought progress to a halt.

California Gov. Jerry Brown bristles at releasing more prisoners
Channel 10 News

(CBS NEWS) -- California Governor Jerry Brown is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in a battle over the state's prison population.

REALIGNMENT

Editorial: Realignment hasn't caused a crime wave
The Sacramento Bee

What happens to offenders who finish a state prison term? Unless they have a life-without-parole sentence, they all eventually go home. They get $200 in "gate money" and have to find jobs and housing. They also are supervised for three years. Unfortunately, during that supervision period in the past, more than two-thirds ended up back in state prison, a dismal success rate.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Former inmate program in Fontana shines
Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer

FONTANA -- Heartbreak over the death of his brother in a 2004 motorcycle crash sent Charles Johnson down a destructive path of drugs, crime and incarceration.

Inmate suspect in slaying of prison cellmate
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Recordnet.com

A man imprisoned for the attempted murder of a San Joaquin County prosecutor is now under investigation for the death of a fellow inmate at California State Prison, Corcoran.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

S.J. poised to take over parole hearings from state
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Recordnet.com

STOCKTON - Landing behind bars every time he violated parole for using drugs or stealing to feed his addiction didn't stop Rance Latham from re-offending.

CDCR RELATED

Powerful quake rattles rural area of California; no one injured
The Columbus Dispatch

GREENVILLE, Calif. — Residents in rural northeastern California assessed damage to their homes and businesses yesterday from a magnitude 5.7 earthquake, one of the strongest temblors to hit the densely forested region in decades.

New Therapy Offers Hope as Heroin Use on the Rise in OC
Rex Dalton, Voice of OC

With heroin use among young people in Orange County skyrocketing in recent years, public health officials are encouraged by a new drug therapy that offers a better, cheaper way to beat this most dangerous of addictions.

Authorities Conduct Probation And prison Realignment Compliance Sweep
Beatriz Valenzuela, The Daily Bulletin

ONTARIO -- Dozens of San Bernardino County Probation officers and other law enforcement authorities took the Inland Empire streets Thursday as part of a probation and Prison Realignment compliance sweep. 

Abel Maldonado takes on Jerry Brown, prison realignment
The former Republican lieutenant governor, who is pondering a run for governor, wants to repeal the prison policy, saying it has endangered the lives of Californians.
Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times

Abel Maldonado was a young Latino rancher and fresh-faced state lawmaker when he addressed the Republican National Convention in 2000 and was hailed as the GOP's future. Nine years later, he parlayed his deciding vote on tax increases into an appointment as lieutenant governor, albeit for a brief stay.

Branch jail expansion slated to start in July
New facility will accommodate exploding inmate population
Seth Nidever, The Sentinel

HANFORD — An old Kings County incarceration building called the branch jail is about to get a makeover to house a crush of new inmates.

Solano Jail Adds More Beds
The Reporter

The Solano County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that it has reopened the final unoccupied 80-bed section at the county's Sentenced Detention Facility in Fairfield.

Courts, jails deal with realignment
Split sentences, electronic monitoring, rehabilitation help jailers, inmates
Brian Bullock, The Santa Maria Times

Even though the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act — better known as Assembly Bill 109 — has pushed more state prison inmates into Santa Barbara County Jail and more of those felons are being released under electronic monitoring, the county is faring better than most in response to the controversial legislation.

Jail policies spur calls for change
Coachella Valley officials pressing lawmakers to end the early release of offenders
Barrett Newkirk, The Desert Sun

One local councilwoman called it the “turnstile effect:” the repeat offenders and more crime law enforcement agencies believe are the result of California’s prison realignment.

Fontana man who shot at SWAT, FBI was on AB 109 probation
Beatriz E. Valenzuela, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

SAN BERNARDINO -- With his slight build and his long, curly hair, the white, 37-year-old Fontana man who was forced to use a glass eye does not look like a typical Bloods street gang member, but, according to law enforcement, he has proven looks can be deceiving.

Chino police anticipates increasing its overtime budget by $100,000
Canan Tasci, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

CHINO -- Chino Police Department anticipates increasing its overtime budget by $100,000 to help fight a spike in crime tied to the California Prison Realignment Plan.

Daily Corrections Clips

May 29, 2013, 9:28 am

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CDCR NEWS

Day in the Life of a Material Storeroom Supervisor
Keeping our prisons supplied
Dana Simas, Public Information Officer

Imagine a California state prison doctor dressing an inmate’s wound: He reaches for an alcohol pad to sterilize the wound, but he can’t find any. He reaches for gauze, yet again, he can’t find any. Making sure even the smallest items are available is a mission-critical job, and it’s the job of Nancy Harris, Material Storeroom Supervisor at Folsom State Prison (FSP), to ensure they’re available.

REALIGNMENT

Study finds Butte doing well on realignment
Almendra Carpizo, Chicoer.com

An assessment done by Chico State University professors and students shows efforts by the Butte County Sheriff's Office in dealing with prison inmate realignment are headed in the right direction, but it offers help on progress, too. 

State & OC Officials Wrangle Over Transfer of Prisoners
Nick Gerda, The Associated Press

County and state officials continue to argue over whether Orange County is being underfunded for the additional housing, probation and medical costs for prisoners whose supervision is being shifted back from the state to the local level.

Repeat jail time isn't the solution
The Monterey County Herald

(Note: The following article from the Monterey County Herald is a reprint of a recent editorial in the Sacramento Bee.)

What happens to offenders who finish a state prison term? Unless they have a life without parole sentence, they eventually go home. They get $200 in "gate money" and have to find jobs and housing. They are supervised for three years. Unfortunately, during that supervision period in the past, more than two-thirds ended up back in state prison, a dismal success rate. 

Marin grand jury says jail needs more resources for potential influx of felons
Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal

Now that county jails are housing felons who used to go to prison, Marin County needs to improve conditions at its jail or face potential lawsuits about overcrowding and health care, according to a watchdog report released Tuesday.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

San Quentin prisoners perform Shakespeare play about mercy, revenge
Megan Hansen, Marin Independent Journal

There's a scene in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" where Shylock argues that people share the similarity of being human, and thus should be treated with respect despite their differences: "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?" 

Officials investigating death of prison inmate
The Associated Press 

IONE, Calif. -- California prison officials are investigating the death of an inmate at a Northern California prison as a possible homicide, with his cellmate as the suspect.

Oakland man convicted in brutal 1998 kidnapping, rape of Oakland High School girls
Paul T. Rosynsky, The Oakland Tribune

OAKLAND -- A 32-year-old felon has been found guilty of a horrific sexual assault that he and at least two others committed 14 years ago against two Oakland High School girls.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Bill would increase penalties for paroled sex offenders who disable GPS monitoring devices
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — Sex-offender parolees who remove or disable their satellite-linked tracking devices would face increased penalties under a bill approved by the state Senate.

CDCR RELATED

Former gang member devotes his life to reaching at-risk youth
Garth Stapley,  The Modesto Bee

MODESTO, Calif. — Ignacio Pizano’s forearm used to bear a tattoo of a devil smoking a marijuana joint. Other body art left no doubt about his allegiance to a street gang and drug-fueled violence that left him facing a life sentence at 15.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Jail inmates’ health lawsuit should be tossed, attorneys say
Riverside County responds to a federal lawsuit claiming inadequate health care in its jail; Aug. 12 is a court date for the sides to meet
Richard De Atley, The Press Enterprise

Riverside County has asked a judge to dismiss a civil rights class-action lawsuit filed against its jail system, saying the inmates who complained about inadequate health care had declined to take prescribed medicine and refused or failed to attend medical appointments while in custody.
 
Stay at Lerdo costs more than Marriott
17KGET.com

It used to be called the Honor Farm, but Lerdo jail is becoming more dangerous by the day - and more expensive, too - according to a new report by the Kern County Grand Jury.

Daily Corrections Clips

May 30, 2013, 9:14 am

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REALIGNMENT

Realignment results
Reports say state prison plan is working
Tom Gascoyne, Chico News and Review

Two recently released reports indicate that, despite some political claims to the contrary, the state’s prisoner-realignment effort is working both locally and statewide. Based on Assembly Bill 109, and triggered by order of the U.S. Supreme Court, the realignment has reduced the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons by about 28,000 since October 2011 by sending low-level felons to county jails rather than into state custody.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Constitutional crisis coming over prisons?
Thomas D. Elias, The Coast News

Rarely since the Civil War have state officials anywhere in America been as close to openly defying federal authority as Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature are today.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Sacramento Skinheads gang member sentenced to 75 years on meth charges
Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has sentenced a white supremacist to more than 75 years in prison after a jury convicted him of distributing methamphetamine to benefit the Sacramento Skinheads street gang.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parole Board Reversal by Former Gov. Schwarzenegger Didn't Violate Ex Post Facto
Albert Samaha, San Francisco Weekly

In 1987, Jeffrey Biggs was convicted of murder. A judge sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole. In 1988, California passed Proposition 89, which gave the governor power to reverse parole-board decisions involving prisoners locked up for murder.

CDCR RELATED

Why the Producer of "The Hangover Part III" Spends So Much Time in Prison
Scott Budnick, the man behind the blockbuster comedy franchise, is a tireless advocate for incarcerated kids.
Michael Mechanic, Mother Jones

The past few weeks have been particularly busy ones for Scott Budnick, the 36-year-old executive producer of the hilarious, cringe-inducing, and incredibly lucrative Hangover film franchise. In case you hadn't noticed, this is opening weekend for The Hangover Part III, starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms. It is almost certain to kick ass at the box office—at least so long as they didn't let Mike Tyson sing again.

Bakersfield shooting suspect arrested
Suspect served full term in prison
Denise Charles, 23 ABC

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Bakersfield Police Department has arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting that happened Wednesday morning.

Monterey County Jail report says low staffing, poor facilities pose risk
Report cites low staffing, poor facilities
Julia Reynolds, The Monterey County Herald

An independent report assessing conditions at Monterey County Jail said low staffing levels combined with an outdated, labyrinthine building design pose serious risks for staff and inmates.
 
The State Worker: California employee retirements are rising
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

California will likely bid farewell to more than 10,000 state employees by the end of this year as a range of factors – from age to the economy to politics – prods them to retire.

Daily Corrections Clips

May 31, 2013, 10:49 am

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DEATH PENALTY

California appeals court upholds moratorium on executions
Ronnie Cohen, Reuters

(Reuters) - A California appeals court upheld a judge's ruling on Thursday prohibiting the state from executing condemned inmates until it adopts a new lethal-injection protocol, in the latest judicial move against capital punishment in the state.

Court: Calif. erred in new lethal injection regs
Jason Dearen, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO—Executions in California will remain suspended after a state appeals court ruled that corrections officials made several "substantial" procedural errors when they adopted new lethal injection rules.

To read more on this topic follow these links: 

http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_23359925/lethal-injection-issues-stall-death-penalty-california

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=9121965

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Appeals-Court-Issues-New-Set-Back-to-Calif-Death-Penalty-209594871.html

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/31/5460309/appellate-court-upholds-halt-to.html

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Bill to distribute condoms in California prisons advances
Susan Abram, The Los Angeles Daily News

A bill that would allow condoms to be distributed in California prisons has passed the state Assembly and now moves to the Senate, officials said Thursday.

REALIGNMENT

Realignment, SJ County style, appears to reduce crime
Dennis Wyatt, Manteca Bulletin

Prison realignment - given how San Joaquin County is implementing it - may end up reducing crime.

Agency: Realignment law undermines role of judges
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Overcrowding in many county jails is forcing local sheriffs to assume the role traditionally held by judges in deciding who should make bail and how long convicts should serve behind bars, a state oversight agency said Thursday.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Female Inmates Helping To Fight Wildfires
CBS Los Angeles

MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — With fire season off to an early start, female inmates in one of California’s prison camps are working together to help prevent and fight wildfires in the Southland.

Lawyers claim physical abuse of mentally ill inmates
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

Prison lawyers have asked a federal judge to sanction California for excessive physical punishment, from overuse of pepper spray to isolation in barren cells, against mentally ill inmates.
 
Bay Point: Christopher Miller, a serial child porn distributor, convicted in abuse of 11-year-old
Matthias Gafni, Contra Costa Times

BAY POINT -- In what prosecutors call one of the worst Contra Costa child molestation cases in recent memory, a jury Wednesday convicted serial child porn peddler Christopher Miller on 29 child molestation counts, along with child pornography charges.

Man who stabbed pregnant wife in front of children at Chula Vista home gets 15 years to life
Associated Press

CHULA VISTA, California — A man who stabbed to death his pregnant wife in front of their sons in San Diego County has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

CDCR RELATED

A last chance for San Diego kids
Marty Graham, California Health Report, HealthyCal.org

A unique San Diego diversion program may be the last chance for many troubled local kids to stay out of the criminal justice system.

Jay Moser, a San Diego police sergeant who runs the program, employs a combination of “Scared Straight” tactics for the kids and a parenting class for their families that steeps them in ideas about who their kids are, how to better connect with them and how to manage their own frustration and anger.

Sacramento's correctional center: Information, insights
Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department invited the local media for a tour of the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center this morning.

Located in deep, rural south Sacramento County, RCCC is one of two correctional facilities run by the Sheriff's Department and primarily holds inmates who've already been sentenced. Inmates awaiting trial typically are housed at the Main Jail in downtown Sacramento, though RCCC currently holds about 420 pre-trial inmates who couldn't fit in the Main Jail.

Arrest warrant issued before man allegedly shot pregnant woman
Carol Ferguson, Bakersfieldnow.com

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A man wanted for the attempted murder of a pregnant woman was already wanted by police for previous crimes. Eyewitness News has learned an arrest warrant for Ruben Cervantez, 30, went out on Tuesday. He's accused of shooting the woman on Milo Avenue early Wednesday morning.

Daily Corrections Clips

June 3, 2013, 9:30 am

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REALIGNMENT

Making sense of numbers
Santa Maria Times

We don’t like going against a native son with regard to public policy, but we don’t see any good reason to support Abel Maldonado’s opposition to prison realignment.

CDCR RELATED

Q&A: Sacramento County's new probation chief faces big challenge
Brad Branan, The Sacramento Bee

Lee Seale has advanced from jobs at three state agencies to his latest position as Sacramento County's chief probation officer, where he started last week.

Seale, 41, leads a county Probation Department with more than 600 employees, far fewer than a few years ago. Yet the department now faces more demands.

WILL ADAMS: For a correctional officer, the workday is just another day in the war zone
The Bakersfield Californian

I am a 25-year veteran of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at a maximum security prison. Since 2006, I have held a job in the administration building. Every afternoon, I take my stack of mail to the various mailboxes on the other side of the building. 

California prison overhaul brings justice by geography
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle

California counties face a momentous new choice when they punish many convicts.
They can jail them for their full sentence, only to watch them hit the street with no follow-up, or “split” their sentence by building in a stretch of probation supervision designed to transition them back into the community.

Letter sparks prison realignment controversy
Kings County sheriff hits back at claims made by committee
Joe Johnson, The Hanford Sentinel

HANFORD — An eight-page letter written to the governor by a independent oversight committee has raised the ire of Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson.

The document, released by the Little Hoover Commission on Thursday, claims that county sheriffs, not judges, are making bail and sentencing decisions by releasing inmates early from overcrowded facilities.

AB109 attacked as failure by Maldonado
Gubernatorial hopeful points to Ibarra torture, murder case as example
Niki Cervantes, Santa Maria Times

Santa Barbara County’s overcrowded main jail is no stranger to many of the 11 defendants in the gang-related torture-murder case of Anthony Ibarra.
Between them, four had violated the terms of their release from prison a dozen times and were out on the streets when Ibarra’s body was found stuffed in a U-Haul truck in March.

Daily Corrections Clips

June 4, 2013, 9:40 am

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CALIFORNIA INMATES

Calipatria State Prison's Institution Athletic Organization a 'win-win'
Chelcey Adami, Imperial Valley Press

CALIPATRIA — In many ways, sports can be the great equalizer that allows people to just be fellow athletes with each other, but at Calipatria State Prison, sports are much more.

The prison’s Institution Athletic Organization began in 2003 at the behest of inmates looking for more activities.

2 inmates die in separate Calif. prison incidents
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One inmate died and two others were seriously injured in a fight Monday that involved about 40 inmates at a state prison in the San Joaquin Valley, corrections officials said.

Judge sentences Calif. job applicant killer to life in prison without possibility of parole
Associated Press

OAKLAND, California — An Oakland man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the fatal shooting of a Virginia man who was visiting the San Francisco Bay area for a job interview at Google Inc.

Fremont man gets 16 years to life prison sentence in fatal stabbing of Newark HS football star
Associated Press

OAKLAND, California — A 19-year-old man has been sent to prison for the gang-related fatal stabbing of a Northern California high school football player.

Orange County man gets life sentence for beating lover to death, stealing his car, TV
Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — Orange County prosecutors say a man convicted of beating his lover to death with a rock decorated with religious symbols has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Judge says witnesses, evidence disagree in inmate beating case
Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee

The investigation concluded that five prison guards pinned down, kicked and stomped a handcuffed inmate so violently that one nearby onlooker wept, closed her eyes and began to pray.

CDCR RELATED

Riverside County supervisors push proposal to expand capacity of jails
The Desert Sun

RIVERSIDE — Plans to expand Riverside County jail facilities to reduce the number of inmates being returned to the streets because there’s not enough space in lockups will be on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda Tuesday.

Court Says Prison Can't Confiscate Erotic Werewolf Novel
Scott Graham, The Recorder

SAN FRANCISCO — Bringing a scholarly take to trashy literature, the First District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that state prison officials can't stop an inmate from reading an erotic romance novel built around human-werewolf relationships.

Daily Corrections Clips

June 5, 2013, 10:40 am

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REALIGNMENT

Meeting the Challenge: San Bernardino County Takes On AB 109
PublicCEO.com

Crime doesn’t pay — it costs. Anyone who has ever been a crime victim can tell you that, but so can county sheriffs and probation chiefs who are responsible for keeping track of many of the people who commit crimes in California. They will tell you that it is far more expensive to keep someone in jail than it is to supervise them in the community. The corollary to that is it is far less expensive to help someone so they don’t break the law again, than it is to have to put them back in jail if they do. And if they aren’t committing more crimes, they aren’t creating anymore victims either.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

RivCo Inmates Headed to Fire Camp
After their training, the inmates will be shipped back to local Riverside County fire camps whenever possible.
Tonic McAllister, Palm Desert Patch

Twenty inmates sitting in Riverside County jails have qualified to participate in a state fire camp program, a law enforcement official announced Tuesday.

Written apology by convicted killer John Gardner drawing outrage
'Lost Girls' signed by Gardner being investigated
Itica Milanes, ABC News 10

SAN DIEGO - A San Diego-based auction site Wednesday was selling for $275 a copy of a true crime book inscribed by imprisoned rapist and murderer John Albert Gardner III, sparking outrage from at least one of his young victim's mother.

Plea Deal Reached for Former Nurse Accused of Sexually Battering Patients
Paul Robert Simon, 53, of Murrieta was sentenced to two years in prison in connection with the case involving two female patients at Rancho Springs Medical Center.
Maggie Avants, Murrieta Patch

A former nurse for Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta accused of sexually battering two female patients will serve two years in prison as a result of a plea agreement reached in the case.

Police: DNA links inmate serving time for Walnut Creek sex assault to 2010 case
Rick Hurd, Contra Costa Times

A Walnut Creek man convicted of attempting to rape a Las Lomas High School teacher at a park in June 2012 has been linked to a sexual assault that happened in the city almost three years ago, police said.

Convicted Alameda County rapist a suspect in Southern California prison death
Katie Nelson, Oakland Tribune

LOS ANGELES COUNTY -- A man convicted of rape in Alameda County is now a suspect in an fellow inmate's beating death, prison officials announced Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of 48-year-old Victor Jones, an inmate at California State Prison, Los Angeles County after he was found unresponsive in a housing unit day room floor on Friday, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Leslie Van Houten, Charles Manson Follower Convicted In Tate-LaBianca Murders, Faces Parole Hearing
Linda Deutsch, Associated Press

CHINO, Calif. -- She was the youngest Charles Manson follower convicted in the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders – a girl of 19 who seemed the one most likely to win parole one day.

Bodega Bay killer granted parole
Kerry Benefield, The Press Democrat

A state hearing board has granted parole for Clifford Lee Bair, who is serving 27 years to life for the 1984 murder of an elderly Bodega Bay woman.

Bair, 68, has served 30 years of his 27-years to life sentence for the murder of Theresa “Tress” Aiken, who was known as the “Mother of Bodega Bay.”

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Grand jury: Delta Camp isn't secure
Catherine Bowen Mihs, The Vacaville Reporter

A inquiry into the management of Delta Conservation Camp by the Solano County grand jury raised red flags concerning safety and security at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation-run fire camp, according to a recent report.

CDCR RELATED

Violent crime rates up in Costa Mesa
Jeremiah Dobruck, Daily Pilot

The number of violent crimes in Costa Mesa increased by almost 10% last year on top of a boost in property crimes that was common among large Orange County cities, according to statistics the FBI released this week.

Bakersfield police chief: More officers and staff needed
17KGET.com

BAKERSFIELD, CA -Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Williamson said his department needs more officers to help handle an increasing crime rate. It's a $1.3 million investment, but the department said it's necessary to keep our streets safe.

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Daily Corrections Clips

June 6, 2013, 10:55 am

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CDCR NEWS

Day in the Life of a Disability Placement Program teacher
Helping those who may have fallen through the cracks
Dana Simas, Public Information Officer

Attaining a high school diploma or GED is hard enough for the average inmate, but imagine the difficulties facing an inmate who is blind, deaf or has a severe learning disability.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Leslie Van Houten, Charles Manson Follower Convicted In Tate-LaBianca Murders, Denied Parole For 20th Time
Linda Deutsch, Associated Press

*NOTE* Yesterday’s parole denial for inmate Leslie Van Houten was her 19th denial. 

CHINO, Calif. — A parole panel refused an emotional bid by former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten to release her from prison 44 years after she participated in a notorious set of murders.

Manson follower Leslie Van Houten denied parole for 20th time
ABC 7 – Los Angeles

CHINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Leslie Van Houten, the youngest Charles Manson follower convicted of murder, was denied parole Wednesday for the 20th time.
To read more on this topic please follow these links:

http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/06/05/Youngest-Manson-follower-has-20th-parole-hearing/9721370455449/?spt=fsb&or=ros

http://www.inquisitr.com/688721/youngest-manson-follower-up-for-parole-for-20th-time/

http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Youngest-Manson-follower-Van-Houten-denied-parole-4581753.php

CALIFORNIA INMATES

RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Inmates sent to fire camp training
Richard K. De Atley, The Press Enterprise

Riverside County is the first of the state’s counties to send jail inmates to join the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s fire camp program, which trains qualified prisoners to help in fighting wildfires.

Jury delivers mixed verdicts in Valley High basketball player's murder case
Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee

Assigned to pass judgment on a gang, the jury in the G-Mobb/Guttah Boys murder trial sifted through the evidence and returned individualized verdicts Wednesday against the four defendants charged in the case. 

Driver in fatal hit-run faces maximum 8 years in prison
Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee

It'll be eight years at the most for Steven Robert Hernandez Jr. when he is sentenced later this month for taking off after he ran over two people and killed one of them last year on Winding Way.

Kern County jury finds inmates guilty of murdering fellow inmate
BakersfieldNow.com 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A Kern County jury found two inmates guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder in the death of a fellow inmate.

Travis Frazier and Kenneth Nowlin stabbed 20-year-old Evan Broderick to death in 2009 in a yard at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.

REALIGNMENT

Corrections program invites community to weigh in on realignment budget
For the first time, Sacramento’s Community Corrections Partnership solicits input for how to spend $35 million
Raheem F. Hosseini, Sacramento News and Review

Realignment realigned 

Two years and roughly $50 million later, a Sacramento County partnership with the word “community” in its name is finally asking for community input.

CDCR RELATED

Lake Elsinore, Wildomar Supervisor Proposes Takeover of Norco Prison for County Jailing Purposes
Supervisor Kevin Jeffries asked the board of supervisors Tuesday to look into the possible acquisition of the Norco prison when the state shuts it down to help address jail overcrowding issues in Riverside County.
Renee Schiavone, LakeElsinore-Wildomar Patch

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday endorsed a policy to expedite -- whenever and wherever possible -- the expansion of county jail facilities to prevent large numbers of inmates from being returned to the streets because there's not enough space for them.  But while most of the board was proposing expansions closer to home, Lake Elsinore and Wildomar's supervisor came up with another idea.

Jail not expanding
$70M in operating costs among reasons behind supervisors' vote
Zachary K. Johnson, Recordnet.com

STOCKTON - County officials pulled the plug on plans to expand the crowded San Joaquin County Jail, turning down $80 million in state funds and shifting away from a years-long push to tackle the county's crime problems by building a bigger jail.

OPINION

Justices Thwart the Voters’ Will
Mountain News

If they’ve heard about it, 6,460,264 California residents may be outraged by a story that broke last Thursday. It described how California’s 1st District Court of Appeals had issued a ruling that could prevent capital punishment in California for the foreseeable future.

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June 7, 2013, 1:14 pm

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CDCR RELATED

Victims not keen on long prison terms
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle

A survey that a crime victims' group described as the first of its kind in California yielded some findings contrary to conventional wisdom Thursday: Most victims question the benefits of imprisoning more criminals and prefer rehabilitation, education and Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment program.

South Bay residents taught lifesaving skills
Allison Sampite-Montecalvo, U-T San Diego

CHULA VISTA — Shake for a response. If there isn’t one, call 911. Then begin compressions. These were the three lifesaving steps taught Tuesday to the public at the South Bay Family YMCA in Chula Vista. 

Upset San Jose crowd begs jail officials not to restrict mail to postcards only
Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE -- It's not often that a burly ex-con from Pelican Bay prison cries in public, but then again, Rudy Contreras was recalling the core reason he went straight -- the voluminous letters his wife sent to the supermax prison while he was locked up.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

DA to indict man for attempted murder
Lompocrecord.com

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office will indict a Santa Maria gang member for attempted murder of a custody deputy nearly two years ago while he was being held at the Santa Maria Courthouse holding facility.

Ex-husband gets 40 to life in hostage death
Kristina Davis, U-T San Diego

EL CAJON — A man who handcuffed and killed his ex-wife during a SWAT standoff in Alpine was sentenced Thursday to 40 years to life in prison.

Justin Meltzer, 44, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Dec. 23, 2011, shooting of 40-year-old Debra Meltzer.

Jury deadlocked on whether to free purported psychic from custody
Patrick S. Pemberton, San Luis Obispo Tribune

After a jury failed to reach a decision on whether or not he should be freed from a state hospital, a self-proclaimed psychic and karate expert will learn June 17 whether the District Attorney’s Office plans to challenge his petition for release again.

Killer's upbringing in spotlight during sentencing
Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee

There was some discussion Thursday during the sentencing of Richard Tyrell Carter about the shortcomings in parental supervision he received before he grew big enough, according to a jury's verdict, to murder Kevin Kent Burks.

His lawyer, in a sentencing memorandum for a mitigated term for her client, wrote that the 18-year-old Carter "had insufficient adult support and supervision for his entire life."

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June 10, 2013, 11:01 am

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CALIFORNIA INMATES

Calif. acting program allows inmates to open up emotionally
Organizers believe this rehabilitation would encourage them to express themselves, explore emotions through acting exercises
Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — They milled around the room aimlessly, their faces painted — some ghost white, others in different colors like a tribal mask — and they followed the instructions: They glided when they were told to walk as if they were filled with air, then slowed to a deliberate shuffle when told to act like they'd been shackled.

Calif. serial killer Richard Ramirez dies
Linda Deutsch and Don Thompson, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Richard Ramirez, the demonic serial killer known as the Night Stalker who left satanic signs at murder scenes and mutilated victims' bodies during a reign of terror in the 1980s, died early Friday in a hospital, a prison official said.

To read more on this topic follow these links: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/us-usa-richardramirez-idUSBRE9561CA20130607

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/justice/california-night-stalker-ramirez-dead/index.html

Three receive life sentences for murder
Resolutions have been reached with a total of eight defendants charged in the killing
Samantha Scroggins, Santa Maria Times

Three Lompoc men, two of them teenagers, were given life prison sentences Thursday in a Santa Maria courtroom for their roles in the January 2010 murder of Isidro Madera.

Fate of convicted killer Kevin Cooper unresolved
Lori Fowler, Inland Valley Bulletin

It's been 30 years since three members of the Ryen family and a young neighbor were brutally murdered -- hacked to death -- inside their home in an area that is now Chino Hills.

DEATH PENALTY

Initiative supporters want to bring California death penalty back to life
Neil Nisperos, Dailybreeze.com

Frustrated by a recent appeals court ruling that invalidates the state's lethal injection procedures, supporters of the death penalty in California plan to launch a campaign to bring the suspended system back to life.

CDCR RELATED

NORCO: Prison ridding grounds of feral cats
Peter Fischetti, Press Enterprise

Mistreatment is a common complaint at prisons, but at California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, the alleged target is not the inmates.

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June 11, 2013, 9:30 am

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CDCR RELATED

State holding onto millions of dollars for crime victims: $2M owed to SD victims
State system makes it tough to locate victims
Cristin Severance, ABC 10 NEWS

SAN DIEGO - Team 10 discovered the state of California is holding onto millions of dollars owed to crime victims, and Troubleshooter Cristin Severance explains what's causing the delay.

SEIU Local 1000 says tentative labor agreement includes raises
Sacramento Bee

The state's largest public employees union says it bargained a new contract with Gov. Jerry Brown that includes an across-the-board pay raise of 4.5 percent over 3 years.

Fire burning in San Gorgonio Wilderess
BigBearGrizzly.net

The Hathaway fire burning north of Banning in the San Gorgonio Wilderness is 15 percent contained.

The fire was reported just before noon June 9 and has burned 1,500 acres. It is burning in steep, rugged terrain in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. It started on the northern portion of the Morongo Indian Reservation. The fuels have been impacted by drought and bark beetle, according to Forest Service officials.

Harsher Sentencing Guidelines Can’t Be Used for Old Offenses, Justices Say
Adam Liptak, New York Times

WASHINGTON — In a 5-to-4 decision that broke along ideological lines, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that courts violate the Constitution when they rely on current federal sentencing guidelines if those guidelines call for harsher punishment than the ones in place at the time of the offense.

Santa Clara County grand jury indicts 48 alleged members of Nuestra Familia street regiment
Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE -- In Santa Clara County's largest gang case to date, a criminal grand jury has indicted 48 alleged members of a Nuestra Familia street regiment on 77 charges ranging from selling methamphetamine to murder.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Condemned murderer of elderly woman dies of natural causes
Courtenay Edelhart, Bakersfield Californian

An inmate condemned for the fatal 2007 beating of a 90-year-old Bakersfield woman died, June 2 of natural causes, Corcoran State Prison announced Monday.

Los Angeles jury recommends death for gang member in killings of 4 people, including boy
Linda Deutsch, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The third Los Angeles jury to hear penalty evidence against a man convicted of four gang killings recommended death Monday for Charles Ray Smith in a case that involved the murder of a 10-year-old boy.

S.J. judge overturns jury's death sentence
Childhood abuse cited; prosecutor expresses shock
Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Recordnet.com

STOCKTON - A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge on Monday unexpectedly overturned a jury's decision to send a man to death row for killing a prison cellmate, the second time he'd killed a cellmate.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

California's Great Prison Experiment
Following a landmark court ruling, the state is on deadline to release tens of thousands of people from prison. Is it succeeding?
Tim Stelloh, The Nation

On February 22, 1998, Pete Gallagher arrived at Building 13 at Solano State Prison in Vacaville, California. It was Gallagher’s thirteenth year behind bars, and he’d already done time in Chino, Folsom, San Quentin and, most recently, the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility outside San Diego. Building 13 was large, open, fluorescent-lit and crammed with double bunks. Inmates were everywhere. It reminded Gallagher of a warehouse or a military barracks. He took one look, then found a corrections officer. “I’m not going to live like this,” he told him. “Take me to the hole.”

REALIGNMENT

A Conservative Case for Prison Reform
Richard A. Viguerie, New York Times

MANASSAS, Va. — CONSERVATIVES should recognize that the entire criminal justice system is another government spending program fraught with the issues that plague all government programs. Criminal justice should be subject to the same level of skepticism and scrutiny that we apply to any other government program.

Sacramento County sheriff warns of big patrol cuts at budget hearing
Brad Branan, The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones warned supervisors Monday he would have to slash patrol services nearly in half to absorb a proposed $10 million cut in his budget.

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June 12, 2013, 9:14 am

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CALIFORNIA INMATES

Living the Green Life – Behind Bars
Juan Haines, Earth Island Journal

California’s San Quentin State Prison is a tough place to live. The prison’s North Block is home to 700-plus men who have been convicted of a range of offenses – from petty theft to brutal murder. Throughout the day the block hums with activity like a beehive. The men kill time by playing cards, chess, and dominos. Each morning the buzzing begins once again with a beeline of men headed to the chow hall. The routine never wanders – day by day, week by week, eons of the same.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Facility bustling as it prepares for first inmates
Reed Fujii, Recordnet.com

STOCKTON - The state's newest prison, the $900 million California Health Care Facility, is quickly nearing completion in southeast Stockton

San Joaquin prison hospital nearly done, still hiring
J.N. Sbranti, The Modesto Bee

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY -- The massive prison hospital in southern San Joaquin County is almost complete, its staff is being hired and the first of its inmates will arrive in early July.
The California Health Care Facility, Stockton, cost $900 million to build and is expected to eventually employ 2,400 people.

REALIGNMENT

RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Agencies line up for realignment funds
Richard K De Atley, Press Enterprise

The joint Riverside County agency that oversees local spending on state prison realignment issues got its budget proposals for the next fiscal year on Tuesday, June 11.

CDCR RELATED

What triggers raises in CA state worker union contract?
First there were "trigger cuts." Now, trigger raises.
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

The tentative agreement reached between Gov. Jerry Brown and SEIU Local 1000 features a deferred raise of 4.5 percent over three years, but it's timing depends on the state's financial health. The agreement requires approval by the union's members before it takes effect.

How ex-bad boy Danny Trejo became a Hollywood hero
Tony Castro, VOXXI.com

Danny Trejo’s pre-Hollywood days’ resume doesn’t read like the typical actor’s curriculum vitae: Folsom, Soledad, and San Quentin.

Those aren’t acting schools. They’re prisons in California.

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June 13, 2013, 9:23 am

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Short Version

California Prisons

Even warden finds it hard to escape

Anthony Skeens
The Triplicate
Lewis has retired, but he’s still coming to work at the prison. A year after reaching the apex of his career at Pelican Bay State Prison by being officially appointed as warden, Greg Lewis is on his way toward full-time freedom.

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California Inmates 

Man convicted of molesting 2 Modesto girls denied parole

Modesto Bee
MODESTO -- A man convicted of molesting two girls in Modesto was denied parole on his four concurrent 15-years-to-life sentences, the Stanislaus County district attorney's office announced this week.

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Realignment

Auburn police cars get $61,000 tech update, web access

‘Severely outdated’ systems to be replaced in 10 vehicles
Jon Schultz
Auburn Journal   
For the Auburn Police Department, 2013 marks the year that officers will finally have access to Internet in their cruisers, as City Council approved spending $61,610 for 10 computers to replace the old ones that have been used since 2005-06.

Meeting the Challenge: Glenn County’s Community Re-Entry Work Program (CREW)

Public CEO

In Glenn County, individuals now have a choice between receiving general assistance for three months or enrolling in CREW. The latter option is a 12-month program the provides ex-offenders the opportunity to receive assistance in a variety of areas, from housing and employment assistance to life skills and education. As Community Services Manager Lucy Hernandez is quick to explain, “It’s not a hand out; it’s a hand-up program.”

Counties team up on inmate rehab programs

Sally Morris
The Trinity Journal
Trinity County is teaming up with Sierra, Plumas and Lassen counties to develop and share a system of inmate rehabilitation programs designed to meet the intent of California’s public safety realignment under AB 109.

County budget proposal reflects renewed optimism 

By Zachary K. Johnson
Stockton Record
STOCKTON - San Joaquin County's proposed $1.33 billion budget for next year adds more than $60 million to the current year's spending plan and shows a turnaround from the cuts and layoffs that marked the past five years as the county weathered the impact to revenues from the mortgage crisis and the economic recession that followed.

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CDCR Related

South Bay Residents Taught Life-Saving Skills

First responders stress importance of steps that can save people experiencing cardiac emergencies
By Allison Sampite-Montecalvo
San Diego Union-Tribune
CHULA VISTA — Shake for a response. If there isn’t one, call 911. Then begin compressions. These were the three lifesaving steps taught recently to the public at the South Bay Family YMCA in Chula Vista.
At the June 4 event, local first responders teamed up with South Bay residents to teach them “sidewalk” CPR, a hands-only technique focused on chest compressions without mouth to mouth for sudden cardiac arrest emergencies.

Padilla to Face Attempted Murder Charges
Santa Ynez Valley News
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office will indict a Santa Maria gang member for attempted murder of a custody deputy nearly two years ago while he was being held at the Santa Maria Courthouse.

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June 14, 2013, 9:50 am

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California Inmates 

11 products you might not realize were made by prisoners

Prisoners make millions of license plates each year. But what else do they make for us?

Lucas Reilly, The Week

1. Books for the blind
There are 36 prison Braille-writing programs in the United States. Through the American Printing House for the Blind, offenders help write K-12 textbooks for blind students. In Missouri, the Center for Braille and Narration Production employs 102 convicts, many whom are certified through the Library of Congress. They transcribe anything, from novels to music.

Best Father’s Day gift? For dads in prison, it’s Get on the Bus

Gretchen Kell, UC Berkeley News

Spending Father’s Day in prison might sound grim, but dozens of Bay Area youngsters and their incarcerated dads can’t wait to be reunited this weekend in Soledad. They will spend four hours together hugging, talking, eating and playing games through a statewide program called Get on the Bus, which considers UC Berkeley “a flagship” among California schools for the dedication of its student volunteers.

RIVERSIDE: Sara Kruzan recommended for parole

Richard DeAtley, Riverside Press-Enterprise

After spending 19 years behind bars for killing her ex-pimp in a Riverside hotel room at age 16, Sara Kruzan has been tentatively granted parole, and could be released within months.

Realignment 

Editorial: Supervisors must drill down on realignment 

Editorial Board, Sacramento Bee 

Sacramento County supervisors can't seem to hog enough air time complaining that the county doesn't get enough money from the state for public safety realignment. And the sheriff threatened that he would have to eliminate patrol officers if he didn't get more money. The jail, he said, is his top priority.

Let's wait for the evidence on Calif. prison realignment

Tim Herdt, Fresno Bee

When former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado unofficially kicked off his campaign for governor by announcing the launch of a tough-on-crime ballot initiative, he had by his side Nina Salarno-Ashford, a member of the executive board for the group Crime Victims United.

That group was founded by the mother of a murder victim, in close association with the state prison guards' union.

CDCR Related 

Nuestra Familia case: Details of biggest gang prosecution in Santa Clara County history 

Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE -- Flanked by a multijurisdictional group of law enforcement officials from agencies as big as the FBI and as small as the town of Los Gatos, District Attorney Jeff Rosen on Tuesday released details about the biggest gang case in county history.

Jail crews work to prep fairgrounds

Heather Nyberg-Schlotzhauer, Humboldt Beacon

The Humboldt County Fair board and staff have turned to a new group of helping hands to give the fairgrounds in Ferndale a facelift for the August event: County inmates.

Through the supervision and coordination of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, SWAP crews have been putting in over two days a month to help meet maintenance goals for the upcoming fair dates.

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June 17, 2013, 9:13 am

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CDCR RELATED

NEWSMAKERS -- Published June 17, 2013
The Stockton Record

…….Health facility feted by chamber

The Correctional Health Care Facility, a 1,722-bed prison-medical facility in the final stages of construction in southeast Stockton, received the Community Benefit Award for 2013 from the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Judge considers barring 3,000 inmates from 2 Central Valley prisons because of airborne fungus
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday is scheduled to consider whether an airborne fungus that occurs naturally in the San Joaquin Valley presents enough of a public health danger that thousands of vulnerable state prison inmates should be moved to other locations.

REALIGNMENT

Barnidge: Prison realignment burdens bring new focus on rehabilitation
Tom Barnidge, Contra Costa Times

Because high-speed rail, water diversion and education funding have stolen the spotlight, it's been easy to overlook the 20-month-old work-in-progress that is California's prison realignment program.

This week in Realignment: June 14, 2013
Christopher Nelson, CAFWD.org

Last week, we touted a study by Californians for Safety and Justice as giving a voice to one of the oft overlooked key stakeholders in public safety realignment: the victims of crime.
 
Crime is on the rise in the Inland Empire
Some officials cite prisoner realignment as factor
Beatriz E. Valenzuela and Gregg Cappis, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Crime in many Inland Empire cities - from Pomona to Redlands - has shot up in the last year, and some agencies say it's a result of California's Prison Realignment Plan.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Woman sentenced in Sacramento for arranged murder of husband
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

Shajia Ayobi apologized to her four teenage children Friday for the murder of their father, but she suggested she did what she did on their behalf, sort of as a pre-emptive strike.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

West Sacramento man denied parole in fatal gang shooting
Cathy Locke, The Sacramento Bee

A West Sacramento man serving time for his role in a 1999 gang murder will remain in prison for at least three more years.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that the Board of Parole Hearing Commissioners on Tuesday denied parole to 32-year-old Ramiro Acevedo Jr. The hearing was held at the California State Prison in Soledad, where Acevedo is serving a sentence of 15 years to life.

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June 18, 2013, 11:10 am

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CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Judge considers barring 3,000 inmates from 2 California prisons because of airborne fungus
Mihir Zaveri and Don Thompson, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — A lawyer representing inmates at two California state prisons told a federal judge Monday that an airborne fungus occurring in the San Joaquin Valley presents the deadly threat of valley fever and that thousands should be transferred immediately.

Valley Fever May Lead to Transfer of Thousands Of California Inmates, Delays Show A 'Callous Disregard For Patient Health And Safety'
Rebekah Marcarelli, Headlines and Global News

A San Francisco federal Judge is considering moving thousands of state prison inmates to other locations in order to protect them from an airborne fungus.

Plan for new prison detailed at briefing
Allison Sampite-Montecalvo, U-T San Diego

*Note: The 792-bed construction will be a housing facility on the same property as R.J. Donovan State Prison. It is not a new prison.*

SOUTH COUNTY — A new prison for nonviolent offenders proposed for Otay Mesa would have 792 beds and may be built near the state’s R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility, officials said at a briefing Monday.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

'Get On The Bus' Program Reunites Inmates with their Children for Father's Day
Cassandra Arsenault, Central Coast News

SOLEDAD, Calif.- A lot of kids are celebrating their Father's this weekend in light of Father's Day, but some are not as lucky. Sixty percent of parents in state prison are over 100 miles from their loved ones, and the distance and expense prevents many children from seeing their parents. However a program called "Get On the Bus" is helping to change that. 

Cancer killed Calif. serial killer Richard Ramirez
Don Thompson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A form of cancer killed the serial killer known as the Night Stalker who terrorized Southern California in the mid-1980s, coroner's officials said Monday.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE 

Bakersfield parolee, sex offender with alias wanted for violating parole
Man known to frequent Ventura, Las Vegas
23 ABC – Bakersfield

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is asking the public’s assistance in locating Ronald Buckenberger.
 
High risk registered sex offender parolee at large
Tehachapi News

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is asking the public’s assistance in locating Eryc Sutton. Sutton is a parolee at large and high risk registered sex offender. He was released from the Lerdo Detention Facility on Thursday, June 13, and failed to report to his parole officer. He has a prior conviction for child molestation. His last known address is 8047 California City Blvd. #26, California City.

CDCR RELATED

California finance director will decide when state raises kick in
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

State workers, welcome to the back of the line.
The tentative agreement covering 95,000 state employees represented by SEIU Local 1000 includes a 4.5 percent raise spread over two years starting in mid-2014.
 
California bill requires reports on moonlighting state workers
Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee

Among the mountain of budget-related measures lawmakers approved last week, two paragraphs in the voluminous Assembly Bill 76 call for greater scrutiny of "additional appointments" and the policy that fueled them.

Man who killed his mother recommended for release to Sacramento facility
Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee

A man who stabbed and bludgeoned his mother to death nine years ago has been recommended for placement in a community group home by a state-contracted agency.

OPINION

Dan Morain: Patient dumping comes in all forms
Dan Morain, The Sacramento Bee

After determining that Paul Weston was neither a danger to himself nor gravely mentally disabled, Sacramento County jailers released him at 11:13 p.m. Weston started walking.

Drummond: San Quentin parolee faces changed world after his release
Tammerlind Drummond, The Oakland Tribune

When Gary "Malachi" Scott, then 16, was sentenced to 15 years to life for second-degree murder, there was no Facebook. No iPhones. People still bought much of their music on CDs and got their news from print. There had never been a black president of the United States. The twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York City were still standing.

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June 19, 2013, 10:38 am

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CDCR RELATED

Homes spared as wind-swept fire burns Petaluma pastureland
Sean Scully, The Press Democrat

A wind-swept fire burned about 19 acres of pastureland on the western outskirts of Petaluma on Monday, consuming several outbuildings but barely missing more than a dozen adjacent homes.
 
Calif. county donates ninth K-9 to state corrections department
Pink, the 1-year-old puppy, will now acclimate herself to her new handler
Andrew Lopez, Ventura County Star

PIRU, Calif. — Above all, Viking is obedient. The 5-year-old takes direction exceedingly well and work is the highlight of his day, his handler said.

Police to instruct parents on gang symbols, clothes
Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee

Parents can learn if their children are in gangs by attending a Rancho Cordova Police Department seminar Thursday.

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Fewer Kids Being Jailed in California
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is a national leader in reducing the number of juvenile offenders incarcerated in state and county lockups, according to a study advocacy groups released Tuesday.

REALIGNMENT

California prison realignment bill funds jail programs to educate, train inmates
Nick Monacelli, News 10 – ABC

ELK GROVE, CA - It's been about a year and half since California Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment plan took effect. 

Imperial County amends Local Community Correction Plan
Alejandro Davilla, Imperial Valley Press

Services for state paroles brought under local supervision through realignment law will increase under the amended Local Community Correction Plan approved by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

Assembly Bill 109, which came into effect in October 2011, mandates nonviolent, nonsexual and non-serious state inmates to return to supervision to their counties of arrest.
 
Probation chief wants to keep tabs on felons after jail terms end
Abby Sewell, The Los Angeles Times

A top Los Angeles County lawman wants judges to issue more “split sentences” so state felons being held in local jails under prison realignment must also serve a period of probation.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Psychologist working at Lancaster State Prison attacked by inmate
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Daily News — A psychologist working at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster was injured during an attack by an inmate today, authorities said. 

California's prison crowding is growing, state report says
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times

In the state's monthly progress report to federal judges, California acknowledges prison crowding has again begun to creep upward while Gov. Jerry Brown promises to seek legislative solutions "shortly."

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

UPDATE: Canyon Country: Standoff ends peacefully
Case handed off to parole officer
Jim Holt, Santa Clarita Valley Signal

A tense barricade situation in Canyon Country ended peacefully Tuesday following a five-hour standoff that resulted in the evacuation of some residents.

Sheriff's officials say parolee arrested after firebombing house near Sacramento
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California — Sacramento County sheriff's officials say a 50-year-old parolee has been arrested after tossing a firebomb into a house.
 
OPINION

Editorial: Valley fever is too deadly for delays
The Sacramento Bee

Whatever crimes they committed, the inmates at two state prisons in the San Joaquin Valley weren't given death sentences. Yet state officials' sluggish response to a continuing outbreak of valley fever is putting prisoners at an unacceptable risk of serious illness, even death.

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June 20, 2013, 9:26 am

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CALIFORNIA INMATES

Inmates Fight Fires, Gain Skills for Life After Prison
Elizabeth Lee, Voice of America

LOS ANGELES — The western state of California is known for wildfires that can quickly burn out of control, and this year the fire season has been extremely busy. Because of the fire risk, the state has some of the most experienced firefighters in the industry. It also enlists the help of prisoners to stop the fires.

REALIGNMENT
                  
Felons get shot at new life through jobs program
Kyndell Nunley, Eyewitness News

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — These felons have faced troubled pasts, but a Kern County program is pushing to give them a better plan for their future.

Humboldt County realignment committee reimburses General Fund, sheriff's office
Catherine Wong, The Times-Standard

The Humboldt County Community Corrections Partnership executive committee approved reimbursements to the county General Fund and sheriff's office during its meeting Wednesday afternoon.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS

Committee supports Brown's nominee to head prisons
Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A legislative committee recommended Wednesday that the Senate confirm Gov. Jerry Brown's choice to lead California's prison system.
 
Judge could expand oversight of California prisons
Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- Attorneys who represent California inmates asked a federal judge Wednesday to expand the court's oversight of prison mental health care to include the Department of State Hospitals.

Federal court asked to investigate Salinas Valley Psychiatric Unit
Staffing levels contribute to deaths, attorneys argue
Julia Reynolds, Monterey County Herald

SACRAMENTO — Saying "lives are at stake," attorneys representing California's 30,000 mentally ill prison inmates asked a federal court Wednesday to investigate the Department of State Hospitals' operations at the Salinas Valley Psychiatric Unit in Soledad. 

Court hears testimony on state of mental health care in California prisons
Julie Small, KPCC

Psychiatrists and other witnesses are testifying Wednesday that state hospital units charged with treating mentally ill prisoners are dangerously understaffed.

CDCR RELATED

Man pleads to shooting 2 officers in Albany
The Associated Press

CORVALLIS — A Los Angeles man has pleaded no contest to attempted murder and assault charges for a shootout in Albany last year that wounded two police officers who are still recovering from their wounds.

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CALIFORNIA PRISONS

UPDATE 2-Judges tell California to cut prisoner count by 10,000
Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters

(Reuters) - A panel of federal judges ordered California on Thursday to ease overcrowding in state prisons by reducing the number of inmates by about 10,000 this year, and criticized in harsh terms what they described as foot-dragging in dealing with the matter.

Judges: Brown must fully comply with prison order
Don Thompson, The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A panel of federal judges on Thursday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown's attempt to circumvent its long-standing order for reducing California's prison population, the latest step in an ongoing legal drama over how to improve inmates' medical and mental health care inmates.
 
Monterey County sheriff says jail won't take any more state prisoners after judges order their release
Sheriff vows to fight if inmates ordered housed
Julia Reynolds, The Monterey County Herald

The reactions of local criminal justice leaders ranged from shocked to inspired to defiant Thursday after federal judges ordered California to immediately begin further reducing the prison population, even if it means waiving state laws to do so. 

Southern California police say they need more resources to confront potential inmate releases
Andrew Edwards and Brian Charles, The Daily Breeze

A court order that could, in what may be considered a worst-case scenario, lead to the early release of thousands of state prison inmates prompted outrage from Southern California police leaders, as well as liberal and conservative politicians who decried the ruling as a threat to public safety.

To read more articles on this topic follow these links:

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/20/5512376/judges-order-california-to-immediately.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578557813405725172.html

http://www.redding.com/news/2013/jun/20/judges-california-must-release-inmates-end/

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-ff-california-prison-release-order-20130620,0,1486280.story

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/us/judges-order-california-to-free-prisoners.html?_r=0

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=9146118

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10133738/Thousands-of-Californian-prisoners-to-be-released-early-to-combat-overcrowding.html

http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/06/20/federal-judges-to-gov-brown-stop-delaying-prisoner-release/

CALIFORNIA INMATES

Imperial Council drops inmate contract
Alejandro Davila, Imperial Valley Press

IMPERIAL — Centinela State Prison inmates won't be doing park maintenance and landscaping for the city's common areas starting in July, the City Council determined Wednesday.

Death Row's William A. Noguera, 'But He Was One Of Us...'
Walter Pavlo, Forbes

As we celebrate graduations across the country, many of us take time to look back on our own lives from years ago and wonder, “Whatever happened to ___ (fill in the blank).”  Facebook has helped many of us fulfill that curiosity with a 10 minute ‘creeping‘ of our former classmates’ profiles.  I know that is all I need, no class reunions for me.

Orange County woman sentenced in Mother's Day family shooting that killed husband, wounded son
The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, California — Prosecutors say an Orange County woman has been sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison for shooting her husband to death and wounding their 16-year-old son on Mother's Day.

CALIFORNIA PAROLE

Parole denied DUI driver in death of Huntington Beach police detective
Orange County Breeze

The following information was released by the Orange County District Attorney.

The Board of Parole Hearings (Board), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation denied parole for three years yesterday, June 19, 2013, for an inmate convicted of murdering an off-duty detective by crashing into his vehicle while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Richard Gene Gonzales, 63, is currently being held at California State Prison, Solano in Vacaville. The case was originally prosecuted by then-Deputy District Attorney Thomas Goethals.

Registered sex offender suspected of stealing women's wallets at South Bay stores
Larry Altman, The Daily Breeze

A registered sex offender suspected of stealing wallets out of women's purses and shopping carts at South Bay supermarkets was arrested in El Segundo, police said Thursday.

CDCR RELATED

Peace Ambassadors Graduate to a life of Peacemaking (Community Voices)
Urban Peace Movement, Oakland Local

On Monday June 17th, Urban Peace Movement held a graduation for the Peace Ambassadors. For the past eight months, they had been meeting to strategize about ending violence. The youth shared meals and got to know each other beyond school campuses and bus stops. They discussed the most challenging issues facing Oakland today, and came up with creative ways to address them.

Sir Richard Branson joins Filner on drug panel
Diane Bell, UT San Diego

Mayor Bob Filner stopped short of calling for decriminalization of all drug use but took a strong stand on local governments’ right to choose how to address the issue.

He was on a panel with British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, who speaks passionately about our country’s failed war on drugs. Branson arranged for Thursday’s town hall-style discussion of the issue following a screening of the documentary, “Breaking the Taboo” at the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Sacramento police unveil virtual neighborhood watch program
Jack Newsham, The Sacramento Bee

The Sacramento Police Department has partnered with a social networking website to foster what it calls a "virtual neighborhood watch program."

The Police Department's partnership with neighborhood networking website Nextdoor comes on the heels of the department's new app for the iPhone.

Violent crime rises 20% in Roseville, say FBI data
Ed Fletcher and Phillip Reese, The Sacramento Bee

Driven mainly by a sharp increase in robberies, Roseville experienced a nearly 20 percent increase in violent crime last year, according to new FBI statistics.

Roseville police reported 293 violent crimes in 2012, up from 248 in 2011. Reported robberies nearly doubled to 84 robberies from 43 the year before.