CDCR Star - Corrections Clips

NEWS STORIES:

Institutions:

CTF: Soledad inmates not on mass hunger strike
By Kimber Solana, The Salinas Californian -- The state's prison system Monday disputed a woman's claim that hundreds of inmates at Soledad State Prison are on a hunger strike to protest the anniversary of California's Three Strikes law. Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said Monday that staff at the Correctional Training Facility have not seen any mass hunger strike. Like Thornton, CTF spokesman Lt. Gary Gilman said he heard about a flier circulating in the facility from "some inmate organization, that they were doing a peaceful protest against [the Three Strikes law]."

Sex Offenders:

State's policy on parole notes being reviewed
By Michael Gardner and Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union Tribune -- Three years of field notes from parole agents supervising John Albert Gardner III after his release from prison on a 2000 molestation conviction were destroyed under a state policy that is being reviewed as he faces charges of raping and murdering Chelsea King. California prison officials said pertinent information on parolees is transferred to a central file and retained before agents’ notes are burned or shredded. Officials say they are rethinking the practice, which allows the destruction of field records as soon as one year after an offender completes parole. “We are pretty confident that the system does work,” said Oscar Hidalgo, the top prison spokesman. “We are always willing to look into the policy and see if we can learn more and adjust that policy, and we are going to do that.”

Amber DuBois' Family Disagrees on Who Killed Her
By Russell Goldman, ABC News -- The family of Amber DuBois, the missing California teenager whose body was found over the weekend, are divided as to whether she was killed by the same sex offender recently charged with the rape and murder of Chelsea King. DuBois disappeared more than a year ago and her skeletal remains were discovered Sunday, less than a week after registered sex offender John Albert Gardner III, 30, was arrested for the rape and murder of 17-year-old King.

King parents console Calif. family of dead teen
USA Today -- The parents of Chelsea King shared their grief with the family of 14-year-old Amber Dubois after the skeletal remains of Dubois were discovered over the weekend in a remote area of a Southern California Indian reservation. John Albert Gardner III, a convicted sex offender, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of King in the potential death penalty case. Gardner was registered as a sex offender in Escondido, a north San Diego suburb, from January 2008 to January 2010, with some gaps, police said.

How Sex Offenders Are Processed
By Kimberly Cheng, KPSP -- John Gardner III, a registered sex offender, is suspected of multiple violent crimes. The allegations are raising concern for many about how closely sex offenders are monitored. There are 500,000 registered sex offenders across the country, said Mika Moulton, with Christopher's Clubhouse, a youth empowerment non-profit group. In Gardner's case, he was registered in San Diego County when police believe he attacked a girl in Riverside County. He wasn't considered a person of interest until recently.

Parole:

Early parole and its effect on the region: Wary of inmate release
By Veronica Rocha, Burbank Leader -- Despite reassurances from state officials that the thousands of inmates due to be released early from prisons will be low-risk offenders, Burbank and Glendale authorities say the state is abdicating its duties, forcing their officers to act as parole agents. Glendale, Burbank, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta could see up to 44 newly released inmates move into their communities without supervision, although local officials say that number could be far higher. “We are expecting that list is probably going to shrink, but that is a conservative estimate and projection,” said Gordon Hinkle, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Policy:

Early release enrages family of woman killed by DUI driver
KGET-TV -- Jorge Diaz was sentenced to six years in prison, but he is getting out after serving only about two-and-a-half years. Department of Corrections spokesperson, Terry Thornton, told 17 News Monday afternoon, the reason Diaz is getting out five months early is because of SB X318, otherwise known as the Early Release Law. It went into effect January 25, 2010. Thornton said the Early Release Law now enables inmates who work as firefighters to earn extra credit.

CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:

Killer picked on 'Dating Game'
UPI -- Convicted California serial killer Rodney Alcala won a date on the TV show "The Dating Game" in 1978, said a contestant who sat next to him. "He was creepy. Definitely creepy," game show contestant Jed Mills, an actor, said of Alcala. Alcala, 66, was found guilty last month in Santa Ana of killing four women and a child in separate crimes dating to the late 1970s. He already had served time in prison for the 1968 rape of an 8-year-old girl when he appeared on "The Dating Game."