CDCR STAR - Correction Clips

CDCR NEWS:

CDCR This Week: DJJ Graduates Diverse Group in First Academy in Two Years, Pine Grove YCC Meets Amador High in Intramural Match, 2010 MOV Ceremony Set for April 30, 2010 in Sacramento!

NEWS STORIES:

Healthcare:

Details of prison deal emerging
By Scott Smith, Stockton Record -- Almost a week after state officials announced an agreement with local leaders over construction of a massive inmate medical facility, details are beginning to emerge. The county will gain traffic fees and sales tax revenue paid on construction materials and equipment. San Joaquin General Hospital will add a 25-bed wing that will be known as the Medical Guarded Unit.

Audit: California wasted millions on drugs for inmates
Associated Press -- A report says California wasted at least $13 million last year through inefficiencies in the way it delivers drugs to prison inmates. The report by David Shaw, the inspector general for the state corrections department, says many costly prescriptions are discarded because of poor inventory record-keeping. Others are lost when inmates are transferred or released from prison.

Sickest Calif. Inmates Cost Millions
By Joanne Faryon, KPBS -- The head of Prison Health Care Services wants to find a way to release some of the sickest and most expensive inmates in state prisons. Twenty-one inmates cost taxpayers more then 4$0 million in medical bills last year.

Policy:

Parole Sex Offender Legislation Approved
KCBS Bay Area -- Legislation that would require parolees entering California to undergo a risk assessment has cleared a legislative hurdle. The bill by state Senator Mark DeSaulnier of Concord was approved unanimously by the Senate Public Safety Committee by a 6-0 vote and is now headed to the Senate floor. DeSaulnier said the bill was inspired by the case of Jaycee Dugard, who was allegedly kidnapped by parolee Phillip Garrido in 1991 and held captive for 18 years in his Antioch home.

Corrections Dept. admits inmate release mistake
By Nannette Miranda, ABC Los Angeles -- California is reversing course tonight after releasing several hundred potentially violent inmates with absolutely no supervision. Now the Department of Corrections is trying to track them down -- something that may prove easier said than done.

State goofs on releases, says 656 need parole
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee -- A message from the state of California to hundreds of parolees who thought they were out of prison free and clear: Please tell us where you are. Three months into the state's new parole policy, corrections officials have changed course and are trying to undo the status of 656 parolees who mistakenly were told they would be released from prison without supervision.

For victims, ‘low risk’ is still risk
By Veronica Rocha, Glendale News Press -- The early release of certain inmates imprisoned for domestic abuse has prompted members of the city’s Commission on Status of Women to urge victims to take a stand in protecting themselves. With April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, commission Chairwoman Paula Devine said the message is critical given that the thousands of “low-risk” inmates who have been released early from prison without parole supervision.

State searching for 500 unsupervised parolees
By Nannette Miranda, ABC Los Angeles -- Lawmakers eliminated parole for some prisoners to save millions of dollars, but hundreds of high-risk inmates were released without supervision, apparently by mistake. At least one lawmaker is trying to figure out how to fix the mess.

Hundreds of parolees must report regularly to officials, state says
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee -- State corrections officials have revised their assessment of 656 parolees who initially were told they were being released from prison without supervision, and now says those parolees are higher-risk and must report regularly to parole officers. The revision impacts roughly one out of every 10 parolees who have been placed on "non-revocable parole" status since a new law took effect Jan. 25, and has left corrections officials searching for hundreds of released inmates to tell them that they now must report to parole agents.

Violent inmates released early
By James Burger, Bakersfield Californian -- By March 31, another 810 were freed under the bill's new rules. The California Legislature passed the bill in an attempt to save money in tough budget times by releasing jail and prison inmates early -- and by creating a new class of parolee who cannot be returned to prison without a trial and is not being actively monitored by a parole officer.

State admits it released wrong inmates
By Nancy Mullane, KALW San Francisco -- The California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union representing more than 30,000 guards working inside the state's prisons and youth facilities has posted a notice on its website today acknowledging that the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) released several hundred potentially violent inmates with, "absolutely no supervision." A number of phone calls by KALW to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation which runs the state's 33 adult prison and youth facilities have gone unanswered. Linking its news release to a story that appeared on ABC News, KGO, on April 15th, the CCPOA reports now that the Department of Corrections is trying to track down the more than 500 inmates who were mistakenly released.

High Profile Case:

Prosecutor says evidence against Phillip Garrido is overwhelming
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee -- The evidence against Jaycee Lee Dugard's alleged kidnapper and rapist is overwhelming, the prosecutor said Thursday, but the case against Phillip Garrido's wife may show she acted under his control. The pronouncement by El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson came during another court hearing for the Garridos, who are inching toward trial on charges of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee in 1991. "This is a case that we can prove without any difficulty as to Mr. Garrido," Pierson said, adding that the mere existence of Dugard's two daughters – allegedly the product of Garrido's raping of Dugard while she was held – "is incriminating as to Mr. Garrido." But the case against Nancy Garrido may be more complex, he signaled, telling the judge that there is evidence that Nancy Garrido might have been under her husband's control.

Parole agents rarely checked on Garrido in early years, documents show
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee -- Newly released documents show California parole agents rarely checked on convicted rapist and kidnapper Phillip Garrido in the early years of his supervision and sought to have him win release from parole. The documents, released by state corrections officials today in response to a suit filed and paid for by The Bee, show agents did not conduct a standard parolee interview of him when they took over his case in 1999 and did not bother to visit him in his Antioch-area home for the first 11 months after he was released from prison.

Phillip Garrido lacked supervision for 8 years while on parole, state says
By Cindy Adams, San Francisco Examiner -- An internal California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation document reveals that registered sex offender, Phillip Garrido was unsupervised much of the time he was out on parole after a rape conviction sent him to prison in the late 1970s. In 1991, while on parole, Garrido is accused of abducting an 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard, raping her, and holding her captive for almost two decades. She reportedly bore him two children while still a minor in captivity.

Gardner pleads guilty to murdering Chelsea, Amber
By Mark Walker and Teri Figueroa, North County Times -- Convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III pleaded guilty Friday to raping and murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King of Poway and 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido. As the parents of the two girls looked on in a packed courtroom, San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen accepted Gardner's surprise pleas in the two cases that have gripped the region. The judge told Gardner he would be sentenced to life in prison without parole; prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

AP, media go to court for Gardner records
Associated Press -- A lawyer for The Associated Press and other media is seeking access to sealed court records relating to the case of a sex offender charged with killing a San Diego County teen.

Sex offender led authorities to Calif. teen's body
By Elliot Spagat, Associated Press -- A prosecutor says convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner led authorities to the body of missing teenager Amber Dubois. San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Friday Gardner agreed to lead authorities to the body on the condition that they could not use that information against him in court. Dumanis says it was a difficult decision, but prosecutors had no other evidence or DNA to link him to the death of Dubois.

State's death penalty lacks urgency
By Teri Figueroa and Mark Walker, North County Times -- The father of slain teen Chelsea King was right Friday when he complained that in California the death penalty "has become an empty promise." The 701 death row inmates in California stand a better chance of dying from old age or disease than an executioner's needle. Appeals that can be filed at virtually every level of state and federal courts generally prevent the death penalty from being exercised in anything close to a speedy fashion in California.

Victims’ kin know anguish of plea deals
By John Wilkens, San Diego Union Tribune -- The wishes of families are only one part of the equation, Pfingst said. It’s also important to make sure the death penalty — long criticized for being applied unevenly to certain races and classes — is used consistently. “People who commit the same crime should be treated the same,” he said. “It shouldn’t depend on the fortuitous circumstance of getting a family who doesn’t want death, or one that does.” Prosecutors also have to guard against responding to the notoriety of a case or public outrage. “Some cases have ‘death’ written all over them,” Pfingst said. “But the ones that don’t, you become very introspective.”

CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:

Judge backs Redding atheist who balked at religious anti-drug program
By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee -- Barry A. Hazle Jr. served a year in prison on a drug charge. After he got out, his parole agent sent him back for being an atheist. Now, the 41-year-old Redding computer technician has won a ruling from a Sacramento federal judge against the state and stands to collect damages for having his constitutional rights violated.

New court aims to help mentally ill criminals
By Sarah Gordon, North County Times -- For the first time in San Diego County, some mentally ill criminals will be diverted from jail to a closely supervised treatment program. Trentacosta said the court is a compassionate response to a population whose mental illness drives their criminal life. "A lot of these folks, they are repeat offenders," the judge said. "They are released from custody and they have no support system. They take to their old habits, which would be stealing, selling drugs. We keep doing the same things and we expect different results."

For US death row inmates, a long wait for execution
By Lucile Malandain, Associated Press -- They wait alone, in cells of just a few square meters, often for 15 or 20 years, sometimes more. For US inmates on death row, the sentence is just the beginning of a long countdown to execution. The lengthy wait and harsh conditions that US death row prisoners face has sparked debate over whether they are being punished twice, with long-term imprisonment and execution -- and even US Supreme Court justices have weighed in.

Prison programs that help inmates being cut by states
By Michael Velardo, San Francisco Examiner -- Prison programs that help inmates, such as substance abuse, and mental health are on the chopping block again according to a report by the Associated Press 4-16-2010. The actions, forced by shrinking state revenues, and budget cuts will make an already dismal rehabilitation process even more ineffective.

Tougher Pennsylvania Megan's Law act may hit snag because of costs
By Chuck Biedka, Valley News Dispatch -- Major changes could be coming to Pennsylvania's version of Megan's Law, the statute designed to track sex offenders.The proposed change, based on a 2006 federal law, would place more stringent restrictions on Pennsylvania's Megan's Law offenders.

National Poetry celebration at Broad Street
What: Prison Art and Poetry Show by New Folsom prisoners
When: Reception, 6 p.m. Friday; poetry night, 5 p.m. every Friday; dinner with special guests, 6 p.m. Saturday, April 24; music with George Schroeder, 7 p.m. April 30
Where: 426 Broad St., Nevada City
A showing of art and poetry will be held this month at Broad Street Bistro in Nevada City with poetry and open mic every Friday evening. Guest poets such as Myron Stebbins, Chad Conner, Q and Joaquin Flores will be featured. An April 24 reception and dinner will include a book release reading by author Judith Tannenbaum and prisoner poet Spoon Jackson at 7 p.m. and a concert with singer/songer Diane Patterson at 8 p.m.

OPINION:

Parole office denies rights
By Jannetta Yax, Modesto Bee -- We all agree that if you commit a crime you do the time. It is my understanding that the parole department was designed to not only to make sure the offenders stayed out of trouble, but to also assist them in returning to society. Then why is a parolee's proper tool of complaint, a 602 form, scarce in some parole offices? Why have some parole officers taken it upon themselves to set up some parolees to get violations and sent back to prison?

ONLINE COMMENTARY:

California’s big mistake
By Denton Dubbels, CSU Fresno -- Parole is an integral part of any criminal justice system. But, California decided to throw it out the window a few months back. As it turns out, maybe that decision wasn’t such a good idea. Surprise, surprise.