CDCR NEWS:CDCR Amends Contract to House More Inmates Outside of California
In its continuing effort to reduce prison overcrowding and increase access to health care and rehabilitation programs, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that it has amended its agreement with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to temporarily house additional inmates out of state. This addendum will allow an additional 2,336 out-of-state beds to house California offenders, for a total of 10,468 beds. “California is continuing to move aggressively to reduce overcrowding in our prisons,” said Scott Kernan, CDCR Undersecretary for Operations.
NEWS STORIES:
Policy:
Cases Show Disparity Of California's 3 Strikes Law
By Ina Jaffe, National Public Radio -- California's three strikes law has imposed some very long sentences on some very dangerous people. A third strike carries a sentence of 25 years to life and that sentence can be imposed for any felony, not just a violent one. Some people have challenged the law — but the results have been mixed. Three strikes has become so entrenched in California's criminal justice system that the political will to change it just isn't there.
California moves more prisoners out of state
KGO-TV -- Monday, the Department of Corrections announced that it will soon send an additional 2,300 inmates to prisons outside the state. The move will bring the number of inmates relocated out of California to more than 10,000 since 2006.
Institutions:
Sirhan Sirhan moved to Coalinga prison
By Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times -- Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968, has been transferred to a different prison, California corrections officials said today. Sirhan, who has been in the state prison system since May 5, 1969, was moved from California State Prison in Corcoran to Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga at his request, the officials said. In Corcoran, Sirhan was kept in the Protective Housing Unit, one of the most isolated areas of the state prison system, said Oscar Hildalgo, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Susanville Symphony hits a high note in small Lassen County city
By Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee -- Here in California's high desert capital, the place to be last weekend – if you weren't one of the 8,000 residents behind bars – was the Susanville Swing Concert at the Veterans Memorial Hall. Led by Matt Mullin, associate warden at one of two state prisons in town, the concert launched the Susanville Symphony's seventh season. Sometimes called "Prison Town USA," Susanville would rather be known as the little town with the big sound.
Sex Offenders:
Law enforcement's 'Operation Boo' leads to the arrest of three sex offenders
Visalia Times-Delta -- A law enforcement operation designed to keep about 100 paroled sex offenders in Tulare County away from Halloween celebrations on Saturday led to the arrest of three parolees on drug and curfew violations. Called "Operation Boo," and commonplace throughout California for the past 17 years, the crackdown was instituted in Tulare County this year for the second consecutive year. As in years past, parolees were issued a set of rules that required them to be indoors with their porch lights off on Halloween.
Anthony Sowell and Phillip Garrido Cases Raise Questions About Sex Offender Monitoring
By Emily Friedman, ABC News -- Registered sex offender Anthony Sowell was able to hide six decomposed bodies in his Cleveland home from officials who routinely checked in on him, calling into question the effectiveness of the probation and parole system. There are too few officers checking on a growing registry of sex offenders that often tops 100 for each officer to keep an eye on, at times giving the same level of scrutiny to offenders who had one-time flings with a minor to dangerous predators.
Man Sentenced for Not Registering as Sex Offender
San Diego 6 -- A 59-year-old Indiana man who failed to register as a sex offender in that state or to update his registration upon traveling to San Diego was sentenced Monday to 20 months in federal prison. Bruce Rowland Lawrence pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego. According to court records, Lawrence admitted he was previously convicted in California of oral copulation and the use of a knife and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:
Former CIM warden Poulos takes over as head of state's maximum-security prisons
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin -- Mike Poulos, warden at California Institution for Men for the past four years, has left his post to take up another challenge in Sacramento - as head of the state's maximum-security prisons. "As warden for the California Institution for Men, Mike brought incredible leadership, accountability and vision during a very complex time for that facility," said Terri McDonald, chief deputy secretary for adult operations.
El Cerrito victims' son: Don't execute killer
By Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle -- Eric Rogers was 17 when he saw his parents stabbed and bludgeoned to death by his own uncle at their El Cerrito home just before dawn in January 2006. The convicted murderer, a trucker named Edward Wycoff from the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights, is as unsympathetic as they come. He insists he deserves to be rewarded for ridding the world of two evil people, that he knew how to raise his sister's three kids better than she and her husband did. Rogers said his uncle should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Authorities seek inmate who deserted fire camp
Monterey County Herald -- An inmate who is believed to have walked away from the Gabilan Conservation Fire Camp in Soledad is being sought. Phillip Anthony Lopez, 41, disappeared after a head count about 1a.m. Monday, Lt. Peter Spoto said. Lopez was serving time at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility for the manufacture, sale and possession of weapons, and possession of a controlled substance, Spoto said. He could have been released on parole in less than a year.
OPINION:
Elected officials should run prisons, not inmates or lawyers
By Assemblyman Anthony Adams, San Bernardino Sun -- In California, three federal judges are pushing to give inmates the keys to open their own prison cells and walk free before completing their sentences. If they have their way, inmates and their attorneys will get to draw straws on which 40,000 out of 150,000 felons in our 33 state prisons should be let out early. As it stands today, California has until Nov. 12 to submit a plan to the court to suspend state laws and slash prison populations by 40,000 inmates over the next two years. If they don't, inmates and their attorneys are anxiously awaiting their opportunity to write their own get out of jail free scenario - and the judges threaten they'll approve it.
In its continuing effort to reduce prison overcrowding and increase access to health care and rehabilitation programs, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that it has amended its agreement with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to temporarily house additional inmates out of state. This addendum will allow an additional 2,336 out-of-state beds to house California offenders, for a total of 10,468 beds. “California is continuing to move aggressively to reduce overcrowding in our prisons,” said Scott Kernan, CDCR Undersecretary for Operations.
NEWS STORIES:
Policy:
Cases Show Disparity Of California's 3 Strikes Law
By Ina Jaffe, National Public Radio -- California's three strikes law has imposed some very long sentences on some very dangerous people. A third strike carries a sentence of 25 years to life and that sentence can be imposed for any felony, not just a violent one. Some people have challenged the law — but the results have been mixed. Three strikes has become so entrenched in California's criminal justice system that the political will to change it just isn't there.
California moves more prisoners out of state
KGO-TV -- Monday, the Department of Corrections announced that it will soon send an additional 2,300 inmates to prisons outside the state. The move will bring the number of inmates relocated out of California to more than 10,000 since 2006.
Institutions:
Sirhan Sirhan moved to Coalinga prison
By Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times -- Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968, has been transferred to a different prison, California corrections officials said today. Sirhan, who has been in the state prison system since May 5, 1969, was moved from California State Prison in Corcoran to Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga at his request, the officials said. In Corcoran, Sirhan was kept in the Protective Housing Unit, one of the most isolated areas of the state prison system, said Oscar Hildalgo, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Susanville Symphony hits a high note in small Lassen County city
By Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee -- Here in California's high desert capital, the place to be last weekend – if you weren't one of the 8,000 residents behind bars – was the Susanville Swing Concert at the Veterans Memorial Hall. Led by Matt Mullin, associate warden at one of two state prisons in town, the concert launched the Susanville Symphony's seventh season. Sometimes called "Prison Town USA," Susanville would rather be known as the little town with the big sound.
Sex Offenders:
Law enforcement's 'Operation Boo' leads to the arrest of three sex offenders
Visalia Times-Delta -- A law enforcement operation designed to keep about 100 paroled sex offenders in Tulare County away from Halloween celebrations on Saturday led to the arrest of three parolees on drug and curfew violations. Called "Operation Boo," and commonplace throughout California for the past 17 years, the crackdown was instituted in Tulare County this year for the second consecutive year. As in years past, parolees were issued a set of rules that required them to be indoors with their porch lights off on Halloween.
Anthony Sowell and Phillip Garrido Cases Raise Questions About Sex Offender Monitoring
By Emily Friedman, ABC News -- Registered sex offender Anthony Sowell was able to hide six decomposed bodies in his Cleveland home from officials who routinely checked in on him, calling into question the effectiveness of the probation and parole system. There are too few officers checking on a growing registry of sex offenders that often tops 100 for each officer to keep an eye on, at times giving the same level of scrutiny to offenders who had one-time flings with a minor to dangerous predators.
Man Sentenced for Not Registering as Sex Offender
San Diego 6 -- A 59-year-old Indiana man who failed to register as a sex offender in that state or to update his registration upon traveling to San Diego was sentenced Monday to 20 months in federal prison. Bruce Rowland Lawrence pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego. According to court records, Lawrence admitted he was previously convicted in California of oral copulation and the use of a knife and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:
Former CIM warden Poulos takes over as head of state's maximum-security prisons
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin -- Mike Poulos, warden at California Institution for Men for the past four years, has left his post to take up another challenge in Sacramento - as head of the state's maximum-security prisons. "As warden for the California Institution for Men, Mike brought incredible leadership, accountability and vision during a very complex time for that facility," said Terri McDonald, chief deputy secretary for adult operations.
El Cerrito victims' son: Don't execute killer
By Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle -- Eric Rogers was 17 when he saw his parents stabbed and bludgeoned to death by his own uncle at their El Cerrito home just before dawn in January 2006. The convicted murderer, a trucker named Edward Wycoff from the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights, is as unsympathetic as they come. He insists he deserves to be rewarded for ridding the world of two evil people, that he knew how to raise his sister's three kids better than she and her husband did. Rogers said his uncle should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Authorities seek inmate who deserted fire camp
Monterey County Herald -- An inmate who is believed to have walked away from the Gabilan Conservation Fire Camp in Soledad is being sought. Phillip Anthony Lopez, 41, disappeared after a head count about 1a.m. Monday, Lt. Peter Spoto said. Lopez was serving time at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility for the manufacture, sale and possession of weapons, and possession of a controlled substance, Spoto said. He could have been released on parole in less than a year.
OPINION:
Elected officials should run prisons, not inmates or lawyers
By Assemblyman Anthony Adams, San Bernardino Sun -- In California, three federal judges are pushing to give inmates the keys to open their own prison cells and walk free before completing their sentences. If they have their way, inmates and their attorneys will get to draw straws on which 40,000 out of 150,000 felons in our 33 state prisons should be let out early. As it stands today, California has until Nov. 12 to submit a plan to the court to suspend state laws and slash prison populations by 40,000 inmates over the next two years. If they don't, inmates and their attorneys are anxiously awaiting their opportunity to write their own get out of jail free scenario - and the judges threaten they'll approve it.
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