CALIFORNIA PRISONS
New warden at California Men's Colony settles in
AnnMarie Cornejo, The Tribune
Warden Elvin Valenzuela sits at ease behind a large, orderly desk at the California Men’s Colony. At 6 foot 3 inches tall, his hulking figure dominates the office, but his voice remains steady and calm as he talks without reservation about the daily operations at the prison.
CALIFORNIA INMATES
The Mastery of The Escape Artist
Walter Pavlo, Forbes
On a cold day this past January, Melissa (full name withheld) loaded original artwork into her vehicle to start her trip to a storage unit she has rented. The artist, who has entrusted her with his works, relies on her sole support to accomplish everything necessary to continue to promote the noted artist’s latest works. Melissa receives each piece then begins the meticulous process of cataloging, photographing, copyrighting and repackaging the art in an archival quality print sleeve for preservation. The digitized images are painstakingly uploaded to the website she has created to showcase the original pieces that have been accumulated over the four years she has advocated for this one of a kind artist and personal friend.
Inmate exonerated in '06 Oakland shooting
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle
A man who has spent nearly seven years in prison for a shooting in West Oakland is on the brink of being released after his attorneys argued he was the innocent victim of shoddy police work and lying witnesses who have since recanted.
Former Jesuit High Coach Charged In 1996 Nashville Cold Case Murders
Nick Janes, CBS Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A California inmate already serving time for brutal crimes in the Sacramento area is now linked to two cold case murders in Tennessee that date back 17 years.
Metro announces break in 1996 murder
Brian Haas, The Tennessean
A California inmate has been indicted on two counts of premeditated first degree murder for the 1996 deaths of two Nashville teenagers at an adult tanning salon, Metro police said Thursday.
State continues to release inmates from isolation
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
California prison officials continue to move prisoners out of its controversial high-security units, where inmates are held, many indefinitely, nearly 23 hours a day in spartan isolation with minimal access to exercise and reduced privileges for such things as canteen food.
CALIFORNIA PAROLE
Caught on Film?
Cops say they shot a dangerous parolee in Temecula—but alleged video footage and conflicting accounts muddy the waters
Tommy A. Purvis, Inland Empire Weekly
Twenty-four hours before law enforcement made what several social media critics feel was an organized effort to blackout media coverage to the fiery end of the Christopher Dorner manhunt near Big Bear, another fugitive from justice—29-year-old John Christopher Armes of Fallbrook—was shot and killed by a still unnamed parole officer in Temecula.
CDCR RELATED
Solving two problems with one job
Charlie Mintz, KALW San Francisco
We hear a lot about green jobs these days – those in renewable energy like solar, or wind, or retrofitting houses so they stay warmer. President Obama, campaigning in 2008, promised that investing $150 billion in clean energy would generate five million jobs. But after $90 billion from the stimulus, only a fraction of that number have been created.
Project gives people a new outlook
Jeanne Sparks, Santa Maria Times
Toni De La Guerra’s mother died when she was 10 years old. Four years later, she had her first run in with the justice system, something that continued most of her life. Now at 55, Toni has changed her life around and Poetic Justice has been a big part of that change.
UPDATE: FBI Abandons Dig Of Linden Well After Coming Up Empty
Laura Cole, CBS Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A six-week excavation effort for human remains in a Linden area well failed, the FBI said in a press conference on Thursday.
A team from the FBI has been out at the abandoned well since Jan. 7 in the search for possible humans remains connected to the “Speed Freak Killers” murder spree several decades ago.
New warden at California Men's Colony settles in
AnnMarie Cornejo, The Tribune
Warden Elvin Valenzuela sits at ease behind a large, orderly desk at the California Men’s Colony. At 6 foot 3 inches tall, his hulking figure dominates the office, but his voice remains steady and calm as he talks without reservation about the daily operations at the prison.
CALIFORNIA INMATES
The Mastery of The Escape Artist
Walter Pavlo, Forbes
On a cold day this past January, Melissa (full name withheld) loaded original artwork into her vehicle to start her trip to a storage unit she has rented. The artist, who has entrusted her with his works, relies on her sole support to accomplish everything necessary to continue to promote the noted artist’s latest works. Melissa receives each piece then begins the meticulous process of cataloging, photographing, copyrighting and repackaging the art in an archival quality print sleeve for preservation. The digitized images are painstakingly uploaded to the website she has created to showcase the original pieces that have been accumulated over the four years she has advocated for this one of a kind artist and personal friend.
Inmate exonerated in '06 Oakland shooting
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle
A man who has spent nearly seven years in prison for a shooting in West Oakland is on the brink of being released after his attorneys argued he was the innocent victim of shoddy police work and lying witnesses who have since recanted.
Former Jesuit High Coach Charged In 1996 Nashville Cold Case Murders
Nick Janes, CBS Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A California inmate already serving time for brutal crimes in the Sacramento area is now linked to two cold case murders in Tennessee that date back 17 years.
Metro announces break in 1996 murder
Brian Haas, The Tennessean
A California inmate has been indicted on two counts of premeditated first degree murder for the 1996 deaths of two Nashville teenagers at an adult tanning salon, Metro police said Thursday.
State continues to release inmates from isolation
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
California prison officials continue to move prisoners out of its controversial high-security units, where inmates are held, many indefinitely, nearly 23 hours a day in spartan isolation with minimal access to exercise and reduced privileges for such things as canteen food.
CALIFORNIA PAROLE
Caught on Film?
Cops say they shot a dangerous parolee in Temecula—but alleged video footage and conflicting accounts muddy the waters
Tommy A. Purvis, Inland Empire Weekly
Twenty-four hours before law enforcement made what several social media critics feel was an organized effort to blackout media coverage to the fiery end of the Christopher Dorner manhunt near Big Bear, another fugitive from justice—29-year-old John Christopher Armes of Fallbrook—was shot and killed by a still unnamed parole officer in Temecula.
CDCR RELATED
Solving two problems with one job
Charlie Mintz, KALW San Francisco
We hear a lot about green jobs these days – those in renewable energy like solar, or wind, or retrofitting houses so they stay warmer. President Obama, campaigning in 2008, promised that investing $150 billion in clean energy would generate five million jobs. But after $90 billion from the stimulus, only a fraction of that number have been created.
Project gives people a new outlook
Jeanne Sparks, Santa Maria Times
Toni De La Guerra’s mother died when she was 10 years old. Four years later, she had her first run in with the justice system, something that continued most of her life. Now at 55, Toni has changed her life around and Poetic Justice has been a big part of that change.
UPDATE: FBI Abandons Dig Of Linden Well After Coming Up Empty
Laura Cole, CBS Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A six-week excavation effort for human remains in a Linden area well failed, the FBI said in a press conference on Thursday.
A team from the FBI has been out at the abandoned well since Jan. 7 in the search for possible humans remains connected to the “Speed Freak Killers” murder spree several decades ago.