CDCR STAR - Corrections Clips

NEWS STORIES:

Death Penalty:

Death penalty debate far more important than Morales
By Michael Fitzgerald, Stockton Record -- Stockton death row inmate Michael Morales and the civilized way of killing people. Morales - or his attorney - got a rise out of the public with the claim Morales was subject to a mock execution and so is a victim of torture. This claim goes back to January 2006. The warden at San Quentin informed Morales his time was at hand. Morales would be executed Feb. 21. He remains there to this day. All executions are on hold until the constitutional issues of California's execution procedure can be resolved. This is just the latest.

Health Care:

San Quentin won't accept new inmates, citing flu
The Associated Press -- San Quentin State Prison will stop accepting inmates from 19 Northern California counties Wednesday because of swine flu fears, corrections officials said Tuesday. Nearly half the 5,200 inmates in the prison north of San Francisco are being quarantined. Luis Patino, a spokesman for the federal receiver who oversees prison medical care, said tests show four inmates likely have the H1N1 virus, and 47 inmates are showing symptoms. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Oscar Hidalgo said the department is arranging with counties to bring incoming inmates to other prisons for processing as early as Wednesday.

Programs:

Graduation provides job opportunities for female inmates
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin -- Filling out a job application was always a daunting task for Doreen Rucker - the question about her criminal history haunted her. This time around, Rucker hopes her prison experience will actually work in her favor and help her land a real job. After participating in 1,500 hours of on-the-job training, she and 10 other inmates from California Institution for Women graduated on Tuesday from California Prison Industry Authority's Carpentry Pre-Apprenticeship program. Recidivism rate among California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's general population is 50 percent. But those who complete carpentry training fare much better once they are out.

Prison Nursery Programs a Growing Trend in Women’s Prisons
By Women's Prison Association -- The Women’s Prison Association (WPA) has released the first-ever national report on prison nursery programs. The report examines the expansion of prison nursery programs across the U.S. These programs allow incarcerated women to keep their newborns with them in prison for a finite period of time. The report also looks at community-based residential parenting programs, which allow women to serve criminal justice sentences with their infants in a non-prison setting. Many women parenting their infants in prison nurseries could be doing so in the community instead.

OPINION:

California keeps stalling: Prisoners still need care
Vacaville Reporter -- Considering the shameful foot-dragging that California has already demonstrated when it comes to fulfilling a federal court order to improve health and mental health care for prison inmates, the governor's recent rejection of a plan to build two prison hospitals should come as no surprise. The plan, hammered out by federal court-appointed receiver J. Clark Kelso and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate, seemed workable when it was announced last month. It called for building two prison hospitals -- one in Northern California, the other in Southern California -- to house 3,400 inmates. The $1.9 billion price tag would be paid from already-approved bonds designated for prison construction.

Plans for using shuttered prison have merit
By The Muskegon Chronicle Editorial Board -- Two proposals under consideration for the use of the Muskegon Correctional Facility merit further study. Area residents should press elected officials for more detail on Muskegon County's proposal to use the shuttered state prison to house overflow or longer-term county prisoners and the state's plan to house California's overflow prison population. One potential problem with this plan is California's own budget problems. The state is facing a multi-billion dollar deficit. It would create a huge mess for Michigan if we were to take California's cons and then not get paid. An IOU is not going to cut it.