CALIFORNIA PRISONS
Does this broomstick go with my prison stripes?
Witchcraft behind bars
Debra J. Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
In its wisdom - and yes, I am being ironic - the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a ruling Tuesday that revives a California inmate lawsuit to force the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to hire a paid, full-time Wiccan chaplain. Oddly, the three-judge panel found that the complaint "did not contain sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal theory under the First Amendment." Nonetheless, the court overturned a federal judge's 2011 dismissal of the lawsuit.
CALIFORNIA INMATES
Centinela inmates to receive GEDs, vocational certificates
Imperial Valley Press
IMPERIAL — Centinela State Prison will hold a graduation ceremony for 57 inmates who have earned either a GED or certificates in vocational training at 9 a.m. today.
Inmates go high-tech as startup mania hits San Quentin
Jerry Shih, Reuters
(Reuters) - One by one, the entrepreneurs, clad in crisp blue jeans and armed with PowerPoint presentations, stood before a roomful of investors and tech bloggers to explain their dreams of changing the world.
CALIFORNIA PAROLE
State parole board backs release for killer in 1980 Santa Rosa stabbing
Chris Smith, The Press Democrat
The blow Gail Case Currier took Thursday was nothing compared to what she suffered in her living room before dawn on Nov. 23, 1980, when she screamed as a Santa Rosa street crook stabbed her husband again and again.
Paroled sex offenders removing tracking devices
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
Thousands of paroled child molesters, rapists and other high-risk sex offenders in California are removing or disarming their court-ordered GPS tracking devices, a Times investigation has found, and some have been charged with new crimes, including sexual battery, kidnapping and attempted manslaughter.
Convicted sex offender removed GPS ankle bracelet and 'molested two teen sisters' and THOUSANDS more are doing the same
Supreme Court declared California prison overcrowding unconstitutional
in 2011; Convicted sex offenders 'no longer fear being sent to state prison'; 3,400 arrest warrants, many for known sex offenders, issued in past 18 months
Louise Boyle, Daily Mail
A convicted sex offender has been arrested for allegedly molesting two sisters, aged 13 and 15, after breaking into their home and threatening them.
Carson City man arrested on felony California parolee fugitive warrant
Carsonnow.org
A 31-year-old Carson City man was arrested and faces a felony charge of being a fugitive from justice out of California.
Compliance Checks in Hollister
Debbie Milius, Central Coast News
Hollister, Calif.--On Friday, February 22nd at about 6:00 AM, Hollister Police Department officers assisted the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, State Parole, UNET and the San Benito County Sheriff Office with conducting compliance checks on more than 25 individuals currently on parole within the city limits of Hollister.
TEMECULA: Man shot by officer unarmed, family says
Sarah Burge, The Press Enterprise
A man fatally shot in Temecula on Feb. 11 was unarmed and trying to run away when an officer opened fire, according to his girlfriend who witnessed the shooting.
Family of slain parolee cries for "justice"
Aaron Claverie, UT San Diego
TEMECULA — The family of a parolee shot by a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation agent earlier this month says he was unarmed when he was shot four times in the back after a chase that ended in a suburban Temecula neighborhood.
System fails struggling mom again
Dan Morain, The Modesto Bee
Sacramento County jailers released Matthew Herrera a week ago Saturday after keeping him separate from other inmates for his safety and theirs. Because he had no clothes, jailers issued him a disposable paper jumpsuit and flip-flops, and sent him on his way.
CDCR RELATED
Hiring has begun for 2,400 jobs at San Joaquin facility
J.N. Sbranti, The Modesto Bee
Hiring has begun to fill 2,400 positions at the soon-to-open prison hospital in southern San Joaquin County. Most of those jobs will go to folks with medical training, and current or recently laid-off state employees are expected to snag many of them.
Good Ole’ Boys Part 2
The Good Ole’ Boys is a TRT series featuring personal success stories shared by those who are working to overcome addiction, loss and incarceration. The subjects hope to inspire others to improve their lives with sobriety and self-care.
If I can Do it, Anyone Can!
Rhonda Bigovich, Two Rivers Tribune
For Michael Gabriel, the real action is in living sober and getting an education.
Gabriel is no stranger to riding on the wrong side of law, but this Yurok/Rosebud Sioux Lakota decided to hang up the wrong war bonnet and move on to live a productive life.
Who Belongs in Prison?
Katti Gray, The Crime Report
The Georgia legislature, once noted for its tough-on-crime approach, voted last year to stop imprisoning certain non-violent offenders—particularly those involved in drugs—and divert them instead into cheaper, community-based rehabilitation programs.
Capitol Alert: AM Alert: California lawmakers' proposed measures top 2,000
Jeremy B. White, The Tribune
Friday was the deadline for California lawmakers to file bills, so we have a map of the legislative landscape. As of 5 p.m. Friday, here's the count: Assembly: 1,376 bills; Senate: 813 bills.
HITS & MISSES: Image aside, we need that prison cash
The Bakersfield Californian
HIT: Kern County officials charged with helping implement prison realignment measures have put aside concerns that participating in a statewide study to see how the program is working would negatively affect the county's image. They've signed on the study.
California search for victims of "speed freak" killers grows cold
Ronnie Cohen, Reuters
(Reuters) - Investigators searching for possible additional victims of California's "speed freak" serial killings of the 1980s and '90s have run out of places to look, after the latest excavation of a suspected burial site came up empty, the FBI said. No human remains were found in the abandoned, 100-foot-deep well dug out by hand during a six-week operation on a patch of pasture land near the San Joaquin County town of Linden, east of San Francisco, the FBI said on Thursday.
Does this broomstick go with my prison stripes?
Witchcraft behind bars
Debra J. Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
In its wisdom - and yes, I am being ironic - the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a ruling Tuesday that revives a California inmate lawsuit to force the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to hire a paid, full-time Wiccan chaplain. Oddly, the three-judge panel found that the complaint "did not contain sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal theory under the First Amendment." Nonetheless, the court overturned a federal judge's 2011 dismissal of the lawsuit.
CALIFORNIA INMATES
Centinela inmates to receive GEDs, vocational certificates
Imperial Valley Press
IMPERIAL — Centinela State Prison will hold a graduation ceremony for 57 inmates who have earned either a GED or certificates in vocational training at 9 a.m. today.
Inmates go high-tech as startup mania hits San Quentin
Jerry Shih, Reuters
(Reuters) - One by one, the entrepreneurs, clad in crisp blue jeans and armed with PowerPoint presentations, stood before a roomful of investors and tech bloggers to explain their dreams of changing the world.
CALIFORNIA PAROLE
State parole board backs release for killer in 1980 Santa Rosa stabbing
Chris Smith, The Press Democrat
The blow Gail Case Currier took Thursday was nothing compared to what she suffered in her living room before dawn on Nov. 23, 1980, when she screamed as a Santa Rosa street crook stabbed her husband again and again.
Paroled sex offenders removing tracking devices
Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times
Thousands of paroled child molesters, rapists and other high-risk sex offenders in California are removing or disarming their court-ordered GPS tracking devices, a Times investigation has found, and some have been charged with new crimes, including sexual battery, kidnapping and attempted manslaughter.
Convicted sex offender removed GPS ankle bracelet and 'molested two teen sisters' and THOUSANDS more are doing the same
Supreme Court declared California prison overcrowding unconstitutional
in 2011; Convicted sex offenders 'no longer fear being sent to state prison'; 3,400 arrest warrants, many for known sex offenders, issued in past 18 months
Louise Boyle, Daily Mail
A convicted sex offender has been arrested for allegedly molesting two sisters, aged 13 and 15, after breaking into their home and threatening them.
Carson City man arrested on felony California parolee fugitive warrant
Carsonnow.org
A 31-year-old Carson City man was arrested and faces a felony charge of being a fugitive from justice out of California.
Compliance Checks in Hollister
Debbie Milius, Central Coast News
Hollister, Calif.--On Friday, February 22nd at about 6:00 AM, Hollister Police Department officers assisted the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, State Parole, UNET and the San Benito County Sheriff Office with conducting compliance checks on more than 25 individuals currently on parole within the city limits of Hollister.
TEMECULA: Man shot by officer unarmed, family says
Sarah Burge, The Press Enterprise
A man fatally shot in Temecula on Feb. 11 was unarmed and trying to run away when an officer opened fire, according to his girlfriend who witnessed the shooting.
Family of slain parolee cries for "justice"
Aaron Claverie, UT San Diego
TEMECULA — The family of a parolee shot by a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation agent earlier this month says he was unarmed when he was shot four times in the back after a chase that ended in a suburban Temecula neighborhood.
System fails struggling mom again
Dan Morain, The Modesto Bee
Sacramento County jailers released Matthew Herrera a week ago Saturday after keeping him separate from other inmates for his safety and theirs. Because he had no clothes, jailers issued him a disposable paper jumpsuit and flip-flops, and sent him on his way.
CDCR RELATED
Hiring has begun for 2,400 jobs at San Joaquin facility
J.N. Sbranti, The Modesto Bee
Hiring has begun to fill 2,400 positions at the soon-to-open prison hospital in southern San Joaquin County. Most of those jobs will go to folks with medical training, and current or recently laid-off state employees are expected to snag many of them.
Good Ole’ Boys Part 2
The Good Ole’ Boys is a TRT series featuring personal success stories shared by those who are working to overcome addiction, loss and incarceration. The subjects hope to inspire others to improve their lives with sobriety and self-care.
If I can Do it, Anyone Can!
Rhonda Bigovich, Two Rivers Tribune
For Michael Gabriel, the real action is in living sober and getting an education.
Gabriel is no stranger to riding on the wrong side of law, but this Yurok/Rosebud Sioux Lakota decided to hang up the wrong war bonnet and move on to live a productive life.
Who Belongs in Prison?
Katti Gray, The Crime Report
The Georgia legislature, once noted for its tough-on-crime approach, voted last year to stop imprisoning certain non-violent offenders—particularly those involved in drugs—and divert them instead into cheaper, community-based rehabilitation programs.
Capitol Alert: AM Alert: California lawmakers' proposed measures top 2,000
Jeremy B. White, The Tribune
Friday was the deadline for California lawmakers to file bills, so we have a map of the legislative landscape. As of 5 p.m. Friday, here's the count: Assembly: 1,376 bills; Senate: 813 bills.
HITS & MISSES: Image aside, we need that prison cash
The Bakersfield Californian
HIT: Kern County officials charged with helping implement prison realignment measures have put aside concerns that participating in a statewide study to see how the program is working would negatively affect the county's image. They've signed on the study.
California search for victims of "speed freak" killers grows cold
Ronnie Cohen, Reuters
(Reuters) - Investigators searching for possible additional victims of California's "speed freak" serial killings of the 1980s and '90s have run out of places to look, after the latest excavation of a suspected burial site came up empty, the FBI said. No human remains were found in the abandoned, 100-foot-deep well dug out by hand during a six-week operation on a patch of pasture land near the San Joaquin County town of Linden, east of San Francisco, the FBI said on Thursday.