CALIFORNIA INMATES
California sheds light on plans for out-of-state prisoners
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
California inmates serving their sentences in private prisons out of state now have their first glimpse at whom the state intends to bring back, and when.
Elderly man sentenced for child sexual assault
Hernandez gets 8 years for molestation of 5-year-old
Shea Johnson, Desert Dispatch
BARSTOW• A 72-year-old Barstow man accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl.
'Hardcore' Gangsters Sentenced after Brutal Jail Fight
A group of known gangsters from Santa Cruz County will face hard time.
Jacob Bourne, Scotts Valley Patch
Contributed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office:
District Attorney Bob Lee announced that three "hardcore" gang members were sent to prison for lengthy terms today. Alex Leonor, David Murillo and Cesar Nieblas pled no contest to charges alleging active participation in a criminal gang, assault, and a gang enhancement. They were sentenced to the California Department of Corrections for twelve, nine, and eight years respectively.
CHP: Prison bus involved in minor crash on I-880 in Fremont
By Kristin J. Bender, Oakland Tribune
FREMONT -- A bus carrying state prisoners from San Quentin to Salinas was hit by a car on southbound Interstate 880 Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
REALIGNMENT
California Prison Realignment Controversy Continues
Correctional News
OAKLAND, Calif. — California’s ongoing prison realignment adventure continues to evolve as various counties come up with their own unique strategies for addressing a changing justice system.
Senator Tries to Ease Strain From Prison Realignment
Jasmine Viel, Central Coast News
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Senator Anthony Cannella introduced SB 144, the Realignment Reinvestment Act, in direct response to the strain increased jail and community supervision populations placed on counties, like Monterey, as a result of the Governor's 2011 Local Public Safety Realignment legislation.
CDCR RELATED
LA Sheriff Lee Baca chooses Terri McDonald, undersecretary for California prisons, to head LA jails
Rina Palta, KPCC
If all goes according to plan, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department will announce a new custody chief next week.
Activists Question California's New Prisons Chief
Some reformists contend that Jeffrey Beard's track record on prison expansion and overcrowding in Pennsylvania should be cause for concern.
George Lavender, East Bay Express
When Jerry Brown announced late last year that he had selected a new chief for California's troubled prison system, the governor argued that his choice — Jeffrey Beard — was uniquely suited for the job. In 2008, Beard provided expert testimony in support of prisoners who had challenged the substandard health care in California prisons due to overcrowding. "[T]he very critic, namely the plaintiff's expert witness, is now running the system so he's very well aware of the issues that are at hand here," Brown said of Beard. But some prison reform activists who monitored Beard's work in Pennsylvania when he ran that state's Department of Corrections from 2001 to 2010 say his record on prison expansion and overcrowding should be cause for concern in California.
Secrets to Success for CIOs
Jessica Mulholland, Government Technology
At California's Public-Sector CIO Academy, held Feb. 6 and 7 in downtown Sacramento, six agency CIOs discussed how to transition from the role of a "leader" to a trusted CIO-class executive that will lead his or her agency toward success.
Our Ebbing Urge to Incarcerate
Mark Funkhouser, Governing Institute
Most informed public officials know that America leads the world in the number of people it incarcerates, but they may not know by just how much. In fact, our rate of imprisonment, 500 per 100,000 residents, is five times as great as that of comparable countries. The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but the 2.3 million people it has behind bars account for nearly a quarter of all the people imprisoned in the world.
West Sacramento crime in 2012 far lower than PD's first figure
Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee
The news, at first, was startling. Crime data released by West Sacramento police this week showed the city's violent and property crimes increased by 30 percent in 2012 from the previous year.
Federal Prison Agency Agrees To Examine U.S. Solitary Confinement Practice
Nicole Flatow, Thinkprogress.org
The practice has been deemed torture, cruel and inhumane, and worse than being held hostage in Iran. Yet in the United States, the country with far more prisoners than any other in the world, solitary confinement remains a common practice even for holding juveniles and the mentally ill. In the wake of a Senate hearing on the human rights, fiscal, and safety impacts of confining a prisoner in isolation for months or years at a time, the federal agency tasked with overseeing prisons has agreed for the first time to undertake a close examination of the practice.
California sheds light on plans for out-of-state prisoners
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
California inmates serving their sentences in private prisons out of state now have their first glimpse at whom the state intends to bring back, and when.
Elderly man sentenced for child sexual assault
Hernandez gets 8 years for molestation of 5-year-old
Shea Johnson, Desert Dispatch
BARSTOW• A 72-year-old Barstow man accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl.
'Hardcore' Gangsters Sentenced after Brutal Jail Fight
A group of known gangsters from Santa Cruz County will face hard time.
Jacob Bourne, Scotts Valley Patch
Contributed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office:
District Attorney Bob Lee announced that three "hardcore" gang members were sent to prison for lengthy terms today. Alex Leonor, David Murillo and Cesar Nieblas pled no contest to charges alleging active participation in a criminal gang, assault, and a gang enhancement. They were sentenced to the California Department of Corrections for twelve, nine, and eight years respectively.
CHP: Prison bus involved in minor crash on I-880 in Fremont
By Kristin J. Bender, Oakland Tribune
FREMONT -- A bus carrying state prisoners from San Quentin to Salinas was hit by a car on southbound Interstate 880 Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
OPINION
SUSAN ESTRICH: Keeping older inmates jailed, is it worth it?
Susan Estrich, Courierpostonline.com
*Note: Bruce Davis was convicted and sentenced to life in prison—not life without parole.
Forty years after he was convicted for his part in two murders committed by Charles Manson, a California parole board has found that Bruce Davis is suitable for parole. His crimes, if it matters (and why should it?), didn’t involve the notorious murder of the pregnant Sharon Tate; he participated in the killing of a musician and a stuntman.
SUSAN ESTRICH: Keeping older inmates jailed, is it worth it?
Susan Estrich, Courierpostonline.com
*Note: Bruce Davis was convicted and sentenced to life in prison—not life without parole.
Forty years after he was convicted for his part in two murders committed by Charles Manson, a California parole board has found that Bruce Davis is suitable for parole. His crimes, if it matters (and why should it?), didn’t involve the notorious murder of the pregnant Sharon Tate; he participated in the killing of a musician and a stuntman.
REALIGNMENT
California Prison Realignment Controversy Continues
Correctional News
OAKLAND, Calif. — California’s ongoing prison realignment adventure continues to evolve as various counties come up with their own unique strategies for addressing a changing justice system.
Senator Tries to Ease Strain From Prison Realignment
Jasmine Viel, Central Coast News
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Senator Anthony Cannella introduced SB 144, the Realignment Reinvestment Act, in direct response to the strain increased jail and community supervision populations placed on counties, like Monterey, as a result of the Governor's 2011 Local Public Safety Realignment legislation.
CDCR RELATED
LA Sheriff Lee Baca chooses Terri McDonald, undersecretary for California prisons, to head LA jails
Rina Palta, KPCC
If all goes according to plan, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department will announce a new custody chief next week.
Activists Question California's New Prisons Chief
Some reformists contend that Jeffrey Beard's track record on prison expansion and overcrowding in Pennsylvania should be cause for concern.
George Lavender, East Bay Express
When Jerry Brown announced late last year that he had selected a new chief for California's troubled prison system, the governor argued that his choice — Jeffrey Beard — was uniquely suited for the job. In 2008, Beard provided expert testimony in support of prisoners who had challenged the substandard health care in California prisons due to overcrowding. "[T]he very critic, namely the plaintiff's expert witness, is now running the system so he's very well aware of the issues that are at hand here," Brown said of Beard. But some prison reform activists who monitored Beard's work in Pennsylvania when he ran that state's Department of Corrections from 2001 to 2010 say his record on prison expansion and overcrowding should be cause for concern in California.
Secrets to Success for CIOs
Jessica Mulholland, Government Technology
At California's Public-Sector CIO Academy, held Feb. 6 and 7 in downtown Sacramento, six agency CIOs discussed how to transition from the role of a "leader" to a trusted CIO-class executive that will lead his or her agency toward success.
Our Ebbing Urge to Incarcerate
Mark Funkhouser, Governing Institute
Most informed public officials know that America leads the world in the number of people it incarcerates, but they may not know by just how much. In fact, our rate of imprisonment, 500 per 100,000 residents, is five times as great as that of comparable countries. The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but the 2.3 million people it has behind bars account for nearly a quarter of all the people imprisoned in the world.
West Sacramento crime in 2012 far lower than PD's first figure
Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee
The news, at first, was startling. Crime data released by West Sacramento police this week showed the city's violent and property crimes increased by 30 percent in 2012 from the previous year.
Federal Prison Agency Agrees To Examine U.S. Solitary Confinement Practice
Nicole Flatow, Thinkprogress.org
The practice has been deemed torture, cruel and inhumane, and worse than being held hostage in Iran. Yet in the United States, the country with far more prisoners than any other in the world, solitary confinement remains a common practice even for holding juveniles and the mentally ill. In the wake of a Senate hearing on the human rights, fiscal, and safety impacts of confining a prisoner in isolation for months or years at a time, the federal agency tasked with overseeing prisons has agreed for the first time to undertake a close examination of the practice.