CDCR Star

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-02-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Hollywood Executive Produces More than Comedies: Producer Scott Budnick changes the lives of hundreds of troubled youth
By Dana Toyama, Information Officer I-- In 1996, Scott Budnick was an intern in Los Angeles whose passion for troubled youth was about to get a big push in an altruistic direction. After reading a Rolling Stones article about the murder of a Los Angeles Police Department officer’s son, and the resulting trial of six teenagers, Budnick grew interested in the criminal justice system and its treatment of juveniles.

Letter to the Editor: Lake County Record Bee

The goal of Public Safety Realignment is not to “save money”, as Mandy Feder implies (“Saving Money, at What Cost?”, January 19). In fact, the State of California is investing heavily in the success of Realignment, even as the budget of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is reduced with the declining inmate population.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent this year to support Realignment at the local level, and that’s expected to rise to more than $1 billion in 2013. The money helps pay for more staff and training at the counties, and for the expansion and construction of county jails.

It’s important to remember that Realignment is driven by a federal court order, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, to reduce prison overcrowding in California. Realignment allows that to happen without the early release of inmates from state prisons.

However, along with being California’s cornerstone program for meeting the federal court order, Realignment is also a sweeping reform of how California manages low-level offenders. State prisons will continue to house serious and violent offenders serving long and life sentences. This change will give the state more space, options and resources for the serious and violent offenders in state prison. The lower-level offenders will be closer to their families and local services and that has been shown to make rehabilitation more likely, thus reducing recidivism and the long-term cost to the state.

NEWS:

California Institutions

Event celebrates Calipatria's State Prison's 20th anniversary
By Silvio J. Panta, Imperial Valley Press-- While the surrounding community has changed a lot in the past 20 years, so has Calipatria State Prison, said Robert Silvas.

California's youth prisons nearing an end
By Barry Krisberg, The San Francisco Chronicle-- In January 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his plan to shut down all state youth prisons by 2014. If backed by the Legislature, the governor's proposal would have counties share $10 million to develop prudent local alternatives to state custodial facilities.

Federal Receiver

California struggles with funding prison medical care
KPCC-- State officials may be relieved that populations of previously over-crowded California prisons are dropping as a result of a 2011 diversion program that redirects non-violent criminals to county wards, but they now have a potential medical care problem to solve.

OPINION

Editorial: State must grapple with aging prisoners
The Sacramento Bee-- California finally is making headway in reducing numbers in overcrowded prisons – enough to get the federal courts to say that the end of federal receivership "appears to be in sight."

CDCR Related

Measure to scale back Three-Strikes law passes state Assembly - but no vote til 2014
By Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News-- A group of Stanford University professors backing an initiative to scale back California's tough Three Strikes Law will continue to aim for the November ballot, even as the state Assembly on Tuesday passed a similar measure that wouldn't appear before voters until 2014.

Three-Strikes Reform Initiative Moves to Senate After Surprise Passage by Assembly
KQED-- Update 10:57 a.m. In a surprise outcome, the Assembly has passed AB 327, Tom Amminao's Three-Strikes reform bill. It now moves to the Senate.

Inmate Fire Crews Focus Of New Bill From Lake Elsinore Lawmaker
By Toni McAllister, Lake Elsinor-Wildomar Patch-- Lake Elsinore Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries introduced legislation Monday that would put in place one option for keeping inmate fire crews up and running.

Parole Agent Says Killer Can Be Transported Safely For Search
CBS 13-- The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department has serious concerns about the safety and security in transporting a serial killer to help with a search for victims’ remains, but the parole agent who met with him says it can all be done safely.

Hayward Police Looking at ‘Speed Freak Killers’ In 1988 Case
CBS 13-- The twisted tale of two serial killers has taken yet another turn. Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine, the so-called “Speed Freak Killers,” were convicted in 2001 of four murders but are suspected in many more.

Jerry Brown orders review, finds missing X-ray machine, dental chairs
By David Siders, The Sacramento Bee-- Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown was confiscating state-issued cellphones and cars. This year, he's finding grout pumps and chairs.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

PIA Dive Program

Inmate Divers Earn Respect and Support

Link:http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/ADCS0112/index.php#/48/OnePage

Case Study:California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation

Verdiem-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the state’s largest agency with approximately 65,000 employees and a $10.3 billion budget.

Layoffs

California cuts prison staffing

Central Valley Business Times-- With about 14,000 fewer inmates in its prisons because most of them have been transferred to county jails, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is sending notices to 548 workers that they will lose their jobs.

CMC facing limited layoffs

By Karen Valie, Cal Coast News-- Of the 545 layoff warning notices the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent out last week, only seven went to employees of the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.

California Institutions

Statewavers on future of closed Paso Robles correctional facility

By Bob Cuddy, San Luis Obispo Tribune-- California may still turn El Paso de Robles into re-entry facility for prisoners, but some say city should get property.

StatePays $200,000 to Turn Off Employees' Computers

By Bob Moffitt, Capital Public Radio-- California Department of Corrections says it will save $750,000 with investment.

CDCR Related

CaliforniaAssembly considers softening Three Strikes law

By Judy Lin, Associated Press-- Some state lawmakers want to ask voters to revise California's Three Strikes Law as a way to reduce prison sentences and save money on corrections, but they're having a hard time getting the issue through the Legislature.

Herzogcourt fight will go on

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- Loren Herzog may be dead, but the outcry over his placement in Susanville continues.

Topic A:Shermantine

By Scott Smith, Stockton Record-- San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore on Monday first defended himself and next apologized in two separate cases both potentially involving Wesley Shermantine, a Linden man on death row for serial killings.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Secretary Cate

Q&A: CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate Discusses Prisons, Health Care and Realignment
By Lisa Kopochinski , Corrrectional News-- Matthew Cate has served as secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since being appointed in May 2008. In this capacity, he and his staff’s mission is to improve public safety through crime prevention and recidivism reduction strategies.

Receivership

AP Interview: End of prison oversight not certain
By Don Thompson, The Associated Press-- The court-appointed receiver overseeing California's prison health care system said Friday the state must keep its promise to spend more than $2 billion for new medical facilities before the federal courts can end an oversight role that has lasted six years.

Federal receiver: California at risk of sliding backward on prison medical care
By Julie Small, KPCC-- The federal receiver in charge of California’s prison medical care said Friday he won’t return control to the state. He says he first has to get the money he was promised to build new medical facilities and upgrade old ones.

State Workers

Hundreds Of Calif. Prison Employees Get Layoff Notices
KSBW-- California prison officials sent layoff notices to 545 employees, including 140 guards, as the inmate population declines to comply with a federal court order.

Sentence overturned for prison guard
The Associated Press-- A federal appeals court panel has overturned the sentence of a former guard convicted of abusing two shackled inmates at California Institution for Men at Chino.

AB 109

San Diego jail inmates released to avoid crowding
The Associated Press -- San Diego County jail inmates are being released early to avoid overcrowding as a new state law sends criminals to local lockups instead of state prison.

California Parole

Judge tosses Calif. standards for revoking parole
The Associated Press -- California's voter-approved standards for revoking parole violate parolees' rights to legal representation and tips the scale toward sending them back to prison, a federal judge ruled.

SWAT team arrest barricaded parolee
San Gabriel Valley Tribune-- A parolee who shot at law enforcement then holed up in a garage was arrested by a sheriff's special weapons team just before 11 p.m.

CDCR Related

Gang bust gives rare glimpse of Mexican Mafia's grip on North County
By Brandon Lowrey, North County Times-- A federal indictment of 119 San Diego County gang members, including a Mexican Mafia boss arrested in a pre-dawn raid of his San Marcos home, portrays a sprawling, well-organized criminal network that ran drug dealing on the streets of North County and even extended inside the Vista jail.

Massive arrests target county gangs
By Greg Moran, U T Tribune-- More than 100 alleged members of street gangs from every corner of the county were arrested Wednesday in what authorities said was one of the largest operations of its kind in the San Diego region.

Mexican Mafia target of San Diego arrests
The Associated Press-- Two men who police said are members of the Mexican Mafia are among 119 people charged in a San Diego-area gang crackdown, authorities said Wednesday.

Ross Valley Sanitary District in $1 million dispute with Central Marin Sanitation Agency
By Richard Halstead, Marin Independent Journal -- …At the center of the dispute is a lucrative contract with San Quentin State Prison. For the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2011, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation paid the Ross Valley district nearly $3.9 million.

Assemblywoman Frustrated By Lack Of Action In Search For Victims
CBS-- A state Assemblywoman wrote a letter to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Thursday expressing frustration in the lack of action regarding a search of victims from the “Speed Freak Killers.”

Sheriff to address victim remains search efforts
By Leigh Paynter, News 10-- The searches started 12 years ago. The San Joaquin County Sheriff brought out cadaver dogs, military radar technology, and field crews with shovels to dig up areas east of Stockton and remote areas of Calaveras County, all searching for remains of victims of convicted killers and boyhood friends Wes Shermantine and Loren Herzog.

Dig for remains of Cyndi Vanderheiden yields no results
By Katie Nelson, Lodi News-Sentinel-- A joint search between two county sheriff’s departments for the remains of Cyndi Vanderheiden yielded no results Friday.

Deputies Confirm Search For Vanderheiden
KCRA-- San Joaquin County authorities confirmed Friday that investigators conducted a search for the body of Cyndi Vanderheiden, who was last seen in 1999.

OPINION:

Death penalty not worth the cost
By Donald W. Blount, The Stockton Record-- … About 2,850 miles away, Wesley Shermantine sits in his cell on death row in San Quentin State Prison for four murders, including those of Cyndi Vanderheiden, 25, of Clements and Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler, 16, of Stockton. He, too, sends letters to the local newspaper, The Record, claiming to include directions to the remains of one of his victims. And, of course, the so-called directions lead to no bodies.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 109

Realignment played no role in in Yuba rape suspect's early release
By Rob Parsons, The Appeal Democrat-- An Olivehurst man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at knife-point last week served seven months of a two-year sentence, with credits for time served, and was released in late December, authorities said, but Joseph Scott Mason did not receive an early release from prison, the California Department of Corrections said Thursday.

Public Officials Talk About Public Safety Realignment
KERO-- Public officials and advocates talk about the 2011 Public Safety Realignment, here's what they're saying...

REDLANDS: Step-by-Step adds Program Coordinator
The Press-Enterprise-- Local nonprofit Step-by-Step has intensified its focus on public safety in Redlands through the recent addition of Teal Bohrer as its first program coordinator.

Going Green

CDCR says its 34K PCs are going green
By Elise Armitage, TechWire.net-- Agency chief information officer Joe Panora says that green IT is a “key strategic priority” for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). By installing a system that remotely controls the power use of 34,000 PCs at preprogramed times when they are not active, Panora’s department will save $750, 000 in annual energy costs.

California Inmates

Number of Older Inmates Grows, Stressing Prisons
By Timothy Williams, The New York Times-- The number of Americans in prison older than 55 is growing at a faster rate than the group’s share of the population at large, and many prisons are unprepared to provide them with health care, which can cost as much as nine times more than for younger inmates, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Friday.

Prison dilemma: surging numbers of older inmates
The Associated Press-- In corrections systems nationwide, officials are grappling with decisions about geriatric units, hospices and medical parole as elderly inmates — with their high rates of illness and infirmity — make up an ever increasing share of the prison population.

Prison Program Helps Community
KYMA-- The inmates have raised $4,600 this year alone for several organizations.

Calipatria Prison's Straight Life Program Makes a Difference
By Felicia Martinez, KSWT-- More often than not people think inmates are just doing their time and paying the price for whatever crime they committed. However, for members of the Calipatria State Prisons Straight Life Program, it's become much more than that.

California Institutions

New acting Warden at CCI
By Ed Gordon, the Tehachapi News-- Newly appointed Acting Warden Kim Holland was introduced at the Jan. 17 meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee at the California Correctional Institution.

California Parole

Judge strikes down standards for revoking paroles
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee-- A Sacramento federal judge has struck down California's voter-approved standards for revoking paroles.

Parole agents rush to keep track of sex offenders after campsite eviction
By Leigh Paynter, NEWS 10-- The Stockton city government had a highly publicized eviction of homeless squatters at a shanty town down in Mormon Slough last week. However, further down the Slough, by Jefferson and A Streets, a different campsite was quietly dismantled; it was the long time home to dozens of sex offenders.

CDCR Related

Bill on media access to prisoners advances
By Josh Richman, Ibabuzz-- The Assembly voted 47-22 today to pass a Bay Area lawmaker’s bill that would lift the ban on media interviews with specific inmates in California’s prisons.

New letter prompts search
By Scott Smith, The Stockton Record-- Frustrated by a lack of action from officials, death row inmate Wesley Shermantine provided new information Thursday that he says will lead to a murder victim he buried in 1999.

OPINION

Seize the Moment -- Shut the Youth Prisons Down
By Jakada Imani, The Huffington Post-- Governor Brown has done it again. He has proposed in the state budget to close the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) once and for all.

My Word: Protecting and serving is much harder than it looks
By Paul Lind, The Oakland Tribune-- Cops have it hard, very hard. "To serve and protect" is, in the abstract, doable; in reality, it is very difficult.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Women’s Prison Conversion

Valley State Prison inmates express concerns over pending conversion
Sacramento Bee-- Inmates at Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) have flooded the office of Madera County District 2 Supervisor David Rogers with letters expressing their concerns and fears over the state's plan to convert the prison to a men's facility.

Chowchilla Prison Conversion: City Says Not So Fast
KMPH-- If you thought the state's plan to convert the Valley State Prison for Women into a men's prison was a done deal, think again.

State halts Chowchilla prison switch
By Joshua Emerson Smith, The Merced Sun Star-- California corrections officials have agreed to temporarily halt a conversion of Chowchilla's Valley State Prison for Women into a men's facility.

Plans Stopped to Convert Chowchilla Prison
KMJ Now-- A judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday, keeping the state of California from moving male inmates into the Valley State Prison for Women until September.

State Workers

The State Worker: California settles up -- interest free -- with prison guards union
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee-- California's prison officers union is getting a loan from taxpayers – interest-free – to settle a multimillion-dollar debt it owes the state.

Folsom Prison psychologist pleads no contest to phony assault
By Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee-- A state prison psychologist pleaded no contest today to a felony conspiracy charge related to her falsely reporting to police that she had been sexually assaulted.

Sacramento psychologist who reported phony sexual assault pleads guilty to conspiracy
By Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee-- The prison psychologist who phoned in a frantic but phony 911 sexual assault call to persuade her husband that they needed to move to a better neighborhood pleaded out Wednesday to a felony conspiracy charge.

Former Prison Psychologist Pleads No Contest To Staged Assault
CBS Sacramento-- A psychologist formerly employed at New Folsom Prison pleaded no contest Wednesday to conspiracy for reporting a staged sexual assault at her home.

AB 109

Calif. Prisons Chief: Despite "Bumps," There's "Hope" in Realignment
By Ben Adler, Capitol Public Radio-- Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate says realignment isn't perfect. He acknowledges hearing "anecdotes" about crimes that might not have happened without it. But he says realignment might prevent a lot of crimes too.

State Judges Propose Changes for Prison Realignment Program
By Azenith Smith, KION-- Some judges want to shake up California's prison system. They want to follow felons for a lot longer than they can now. It would force big changes to the state's prison re-alignment plan.

Auto thief who boasts 1,000 heists gets probation
The San Francisco Chronicle-- A California auto thief who boasts 1,000 heists in less than a year has been placed on probation rather than serve jail time for the crime spree.

California Parole

Judge strikes parole-revocation provisions in California law
By Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee-- A Sacramento federal judge has struck down as unconstitutional the part of California's so-called Victims' Bill of Rights that governs parole revocation.

Exclusive: Convicted Baby-Killer Denied Parole
San Diego 6 News-- A convicted baby-killer from Chula Vista was denied parole Wednesday despite his defense team's claim that modern scientific evidence suggests he never committed the crime.

CDCR Related

Youth sex offenders must report for 25 years
By Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle-- Juveniles convicted of serious sex crimes in federal court can be required to register as sex offenders for at least 25 years, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Youth sex offenders must report for 25 years
Associated Press-- An appeals court in California has decided juveniles convicted of sex crimes in federal court can be required to register as sex offenders for 25 years.

Woman can't sue over son's death, court says
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle-- A state appeals court says it sympathizes with the mother of a slain Redwood City man, but California law does not authorize her to sue San Mateo County for her son's murder by a teenager who walked away from an unlocked probation camp.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Institutions

Supervisors seek alternatives to rebuilding Men's Central Jail
By Christina Villacorte, Daily Breeze-- Reluctant to invest $1 billion to rebuild Men's Central Jail, the (Los Angeles) county Board of Supervisors sought alternative proposals Tuesday to address the growing inmate population.

California Inmates

Inmate Death at SATF in Corcoran Being Investigated As A Homicide
The Pine Tree-- Officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) are investigating an inmate death as a homicide. Jeffrey Lynn Goodwin, 43, was found on the institution’s recreation yard with an apparent head injury Thursday, January 19.

California Parole

Parolee convicted of murder for killing his wife in front of children
KFMB-- A paroled rapist who shot his wife to death in front of her two young children in Oceanside as the family prepared to go to church was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder.

Oceanside man convicted of wife's murder
The Associated Press -- An Oceanside man has been convicted of shooting to death his second wife last year as their children were in another room.

AB 109

Four months in, some California judges want more say over state's new sentencing rules
By Tracey Kaplan, The San Jose Mercury News-- Some California Superior Court judges are calling for a major shift in Gov. Jerry Brown's 4-month-old realignment policy -- the power to keep track of certain nonviolent felons for a lot longer than the policy now calls for.

More state prisoners may be moved to Rio Cosumnes jail
By Bryan M. Gold , The Elk Grove Citizen -- The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors chair said last week the county will continue to feel Gov. Jerry Brown’s ongoing push to help slash California’s deficit by shifting some of the state’s responsibilities to local governments.

More parolees than expected entering Yolo County
By Katherine Jarvis, The Daily Democrat -- While Yolo County officials have more figures concerning prison realignment, the full effects won't be known for at least several more months, if not years.

Solano's First Sweep of Felons Under Gov's New Prison Realignment Program
By Rowena Lugtu-Shaddox, Fox40-- Three arrests off the top, during Solano County law enforcement officers' very first sweep of felons under the Governor's new prison realignment program.

CDCR Related

Victim’s father speaks out about Herzog’s death, still wants proof
Lassen County News-- For one family, the news of serial killer Loren Herzog’s death, even by suicide, means justice has been served.

Convicted killer offers to point to buried bodies
By Joel Metzger, Calaveras Enterprise-- A convicted murderer who once terrorized Calaveras and San Joaquin counties may return to his old stomping grounds to guide authorities to the remains of long-buried victims.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Death at SATF in Corcoran Being Investigated As A Homicide
Officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) are investigating an inmate death as a homicide.

NEWS:

AB 109

California counties revamping bail policies
By Marisa Lagos, The San Francisco Chronicle-- Some California counties are changing long-held policies about who must remain in jail while awaiting trial, allowing judges to free criminal defendants based not on whether they can afford bail but whether they're a risk to public safety.

Beaumont School Board's Orozco Touts 'Public Safety Realignment' Forum 2/15
By Guy McCarthy, Banning-Beaumont Patch-- A Beaumont school board member who is running for State Assembly announced on Monday a forum "to discuss the impact on community safety" created by passage of Public Safety Realignment Act AB 109.

Homeless man found dead in alley was one of first parolees released under realignment
By David Benda, The Record-Searchlight-- The man whose body was found in a Redding alley on Friday had a criminal history in Shasta County that goes back to the 1980s.

California Parole

Milpitas parolee arrested, three handguns seized
San Jose Mercury News-- Milpitas Police Department officers arrested 53-year-old Milpitas resident Johnny Munoz on charges of being a felon in possession of weapons and drugs on Jan. 17 at about 11 a.m.

State Workers

California prison dorm supervisor charged after having sex with inmate
By Paige Osburn, KPCC-- A 42-year-old woman faces up to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty last week to having sexual relations with a male inmate at the California prison where she worked.

CDCR Related

Search for Speed Freak Killers' victims may begin soon
Lassen County Times-- A search for the remains of some of the victims of The Speed Freak Killers .. may begin as soon as law enforcement officials from a number of federal, state and county agencies determine the best way to get it done.

Bounty hunter claims Cyndi Vanderheiden’s remains are near San Andreas
By Ross Farrow, Lodi News-Sentinel-- The remains of Cyndi Vanderheiden lie on property in the San Andreas area, less than a quarter-mile from those of another murder victim, Chevelle “Chevy” Wheeler, according to Sacramento bounty hunter Leonard Padilla.

San Joaquin County sheriff accused of harming investigation
By Tim Daly, News10/KXTV -- San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore is being charged, in writing, with "placing his own interests above those of the victims and their families" in connection with the Wes Shermantine case.

OPINION

Editorial: Inmate care has far to go
San Jose Mercury News-- It's hard to celebrate California's progress in meeting constitutional health care standards for prison inmates when it's spending the outrageous sum of $10,000 per inmate each year to do it.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Institutions

San Quentin green jobs fair draws more than 200 men
By Will Jason, Marin Independent Journal -- With their release on the near horizon, more than 200 incarcerated men turned out to a green jobs fair Saturday inside San Quentin State Prison.

Oakland Effect: Inmates find work rewarding at San Quentin News
By Scott Johnson, Oakland Tribune -- Among them, the five men seated around the table have spent 67 years behind bars at San Quentin State Prison. Their crimes range from bank robbery to home invasion to making threats, and many things in between. Their ages, ethnic backgrounds,

Mutual aid: Prison program helps inmate, blind community
By Susan Winlow, The Daily Republic-- Deep within the California Medical Facility, behind the razor-wire fence, beyond the clang of several sets of locked bars and down the long central corridor that seems to go on forever, is a small, nondescript door.

AB109

Prisoners ride shift; inmates return to Shasta County under new state law
By Ryan Sabalow, The Record-Searchlight-- Randy Cates, a 38-year-old homeless man staying at the Good News Rescue Mission in Redding, has been in and out of prison before. But this time it's different.

California Parole

After 14 Years, Vanderheiden Still Waiting For Closure
By Janet O, KCRA-- John Vanderheiden is frustrated "operation closure" was canceled Wednesday. The covert operation would have taken convicted killer Wesley Shermantine out of prison, so he could have led officials to where some victims' bodies are buried.

Death Row inmate to help search for victims
The Tracy Press-- San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore announced plans Friday to seek help from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in locating several bodies in San Joaquin and Calaveras counties.

Search for remains back on
By Scott Smith, The Stockton Record-- Officials on Friday revived a plan that includes possibly transporting Wesley Shermantine from death row to pinpoint the burial places of a dozen or more murder victims.

More Herzog suicide details revealed
Lassen County Times-- The Lassen County Sheriff’s Office has released more details about what deputies found when they responded to a report that convicted serial killer Loren Herzog, 46, was found dead.

Details released about Loren Herzog's suicide
By Michael Bott, News 10-- According to a Lassen County Sheriff's Department press release, Loren Herzog's suicide note simply said, "Tell my family I love them."

Wesley Shermantine Jr. could return to look for bodies
By Katie Nelson, Lodi-News Sentinel-- A meeting Friday morning between local, state and national law enforcement resulted in an unprecedented move in San Joaquin County — to allow a convicted killer on death row to return to the area and point out the locations of the bodies of his victims that he buried over a decade ago.

Newark burglary suspect involved in fatal crash dies
By Bay City News Service -- One of three burglary suspects involved in a crash that killed another driver in Newark last week has died, police said this morning.

OPINION:

Our View: Signs of progress in state prisons
Merced Sun Star-- Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment already is having a positive impact on the statewide prison system

Some answers die with Herzog
The Stockton Record-- In the end, convicted killer Loren Herzog died alone and by his own hand.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

CDCR to Save $750,000 Per Year with Energy Efficiency Program
New computer management reduces unneeded energy usage SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will save approximately $750,000 per year with a new energy-saving program that shuts down the department’s approximately 34,000 networked personal computers (PC) after a period of inactivity.

NEWS:

UPD officers 'maxed-out' with each handling 1,200 calls a year
By Justine Frederiksen, The Daily Journal -- Chief Dewey exploring ways to ease burden on his staff The Ukiah Police Department "has maxed-out its officers' time" and is looking for ways to reduce their workload by enlisting interns, volunteers and expanding its Community Services Officer (CSO) program

California Inmates

Sheriff halts plan for killer to reveal remains
By Scott Smith, Recordnet.com -- San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore deflected critics Thursday who accuse him of derailing a covert operation to transport death row inmate Wesley Shermantine into remote parts of Calaveras and San Joaquin counties so he could reveal the burial places of murder victims.

California Parole

Note discovered in Loren Herzog’s trailer following apparent suicide
By Katie Nelson, Lodi News-Sentinel-- More details are emerging surrounding the death of convicted killer Loren Herzog, including the discovery of a note he apparently left behind for family members.

New details revealed in Herzog's death
By Scott Smith, Stockton Record-- Parolee Loren Herzog of Linden apparently hanged himself outside - and not inside - his state-issued trailer parked next to a Northern California prison, Lassen County Sheriff Greg Growden said Thursday.

Bounty hunter fears he prompted suicide of 'Speed Freak Killer'
By Sam Cohen, Fox 40 Sacramento-- When a Sacramento-area bounty hunter heard about the suicide of paroled killer Loren Herzog on Tuesday morning, he thought maybe he had caused it.

Parolee's Suicide Linked to Inmate's Body Dump Admission
The Associated Press -- Law enforcement officials are considering whether to search anew for several bodies thought to have been killed by the "Speed Freak Killers" in California's Central Valley in the 1980s and 1990s.

Law officials mulling search for possible victims of 'Speed Freak Killers'
The Modesto Bee-- Shermantine has provided false leads before, including during his 2001 trial when he demanded $20,000 in exchange for revealing the location of Wheeler and Vanderheiden. The families and district attorney refused the deal. Then Shermantine turned down a prosecution offer to sentence him to life without parole instead of death row in exchange for information about the missing bodies

Calif. Long-Term Care Ombudsmen Concerned With Medical Parole Law
California Healthline-- Long-term care ombudsmen in California are raising concerns that a state law allowing paroled prison inmates to receive care at nursing homes could be putting other nursing home residents at risk, the Bay Citizen/New York Times reports (Mieszkowski, Bay Citizen/New York Times, 1/19).

Convicted Felons Sent to Bay Area Nursing Home
By Katharine Mieszkowski-- Before Kenneth Bryan Holcomb shot and killed a homeless man in San Mateo County in 1992, he had been in prison for burglary and drug dealing. While he was serving a 22-years-to-life sentence for the murder, he fractured his spine during a fight, which left him a quadriplegic, unable to walk, dress or bathe himself.

OPINION:

Take the good with the bad
The Stockton Record-- California may soon regain control of its prisons.A federal judge ordered the state to prepare for the end of a receivership that has lasted six years and cost the state billions.

Progress in reducing prison overcrowding
The Sacramento Bee -- Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment already is having a positive impact on the statewide prison system

Ink Out Loud: Saving money, at what cost?
By Mandy Feder, Lake County Record Bee-- Ink Out Loud: Saving money, at what cost? The day before Christmas Eve a grisly discovery led Chico Police to a man who was released from San Quentin State Prison on Dec. 9. He was supposed to report to parole in San Luis Obispo, but he never did.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Calif. hopes for end to court oversight of prisons
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- Gov. Jerry Brown has likened it to the "Sword of Damocles," the sense of foreboding and uncertainty that has hung over California government since the federal courts assumed control over the state's massive prison medical operations.

California Inmates

How California's lifers are dying inside
By Sadhbh Walshe, The Guardian-- In 1981, when Randall Ellis was 16 years old, he participated in a robbery in which his co-defendant shot and killed a young store clerk. Because he took part in a robbery that led to a murder, he was found guilty of the murder and was tried as an adult by the state of California, which chose to impose the maximum sentence the law would allow, of 25 years to life.

Still searching for Cyndi Vanderheiden
By Ross Farrow, Lodi News-Sentinel-- Cyndi Vanderheiden's remains are likely located in Calaveras County, said nationally known bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who added that he's willing to pay convicted killer Wesley Shermantine Jr. $15,000 to show where her body is located.

Should Cops Search For New 'Speed Freak Killers' Victims?
KCRA-- Law enforcement officials are considering whether to search anew for several bodies thought to have been killed by the "Speed Freak Killers" in California's Central Valley in the 1980s and 1990s.

California Parole

Convicted killer Loren Herzog commits suicide
By Katie Nelson and Ross Farrow, Lodi News Sentinenial -- Loren Herzog, convicted in the killing of Cyndi Vanderheiden of Clements, committed suicide by hanging Monday night, according to prison officials.

Loren Herzog Suicide: Bounty Hunter Called Parolee Before His Death
By Paul Elias, Associated Press-- The apparent suicide of a parolee suspected of killing as many as 19 people occurred after a bounty hunter called him earlier in the day with an ominous warning.

Gang member, woman nabbed on suspicion of burglary
By Veronica Rocha, Glendale News-Press-- A 21-year-old woman and a reputed gang member who was recently released on unsupervised parole were charged Wednesday with receiving stolen property, officials said.

Killer denied parole in 1974 Santa Cruz murders
By Stephen Baxter, Santa Cruz Sentinel-- A 57-year-old man convicted of killing a Santa Cruz convenience-store clerk in 1974 and two others in a three-week span was denied parole from state prison, prosecutors said Wednesday

OPINION

Gov. Brown's vision
By Los Angeles Times-- The gist of Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address — that California is recovering — is hard to absorb, given the continuing high levels of unemployment, the year-to-year multibillion-dollar shortfalls in the state budget, the shuttering of state parks, the looming cuts to schools and the dismantling of human services programs.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Parolee Loren Herzog’s death investigated as possible suicide
SUSANVILLE – Parolee Loren Herzog, 46, was found dead at his trailer on state property outside the perimeter of High Desert State Prison (HDSP) on January 16, 2012, at approximately 11 p.m.

Judge Henderson Says “End of Receivership … In Sight”
Cites Progress in Overhaul of Medical Care in California Prisons
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is ready to start planning for the end of federal oversight of prison medical care, said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate today.

NEWS:

Judge To End State's Prison Receivership
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- A federal judge on Tuesday ordered California officials to prepare for the end of a six-year, court-ordered oversight of the prison system that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars and helped force a shift of lower-level criminals from state prisons to county jails.

Federal oversight of state prison healthcare to end
By Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times-- Federal oversight of prison healthcare in California is nearing an end, a judge said Tuesday, six years after he ruled that abysmal medical conditions were contributing to an inmate death every week.

Six-year court management of prison health care almost over
San Francisco Chronicle-- Nearly six years after a federal judge took control of California’s woeful prison health care system, he says it’s improved enough to start planning for a return to state management.

California Inmates

Oft-released nonviolent offender now accused in mail-theft ring
By Nicole C. Brambila, The Desert Sun-- The accused woman at the center of a recently busted fraud and mail-theft ring has spent the last decade in and out of prison for forging checks.

California Parole

'Speed freak killer' Loren Herzog found hanged
By Will Kane, San Francisco Chronicle-- A man once convicted in a string of killings that terrorized San Joaquin County for more than a decade was found hanged in his residence on the grounds of a state prison in northeastern California, officials said Tuesday.

Paroled killer Loren Herzog found hanged in his trailer at prison
Los Angeles Times-- A convicted killer was found dead Tuesday after he apparently hanged himself, TV news stations reported.

Free for a year, 'Speed Freak Killer' found hanged in trailer
By Paul Elias, Associated Press -- A serial killer who was the target of court battles and protests over where he should live on parole appears to have committed suicide in his government-issued trailer just outside the walls of the High Desert State prison in Susanville, Calif.

Convicted Killer Loren Herzog Found Dead by Parole Agents in California
By Alicia Tejeda, ABC News-- A convicted killer's body was found late last night and is being investigated as a possible suicide, officials tell ABC News.

Herzog found dead in home
By Scott Smith, Stockton Record-- Convicted serial killer Loren Herzog apparently hanged himself in his fifth-wheel trailer Monday outside Susanville, the same day he received a call warning him that his boyhood friend, Wesley Shermantine, was actively building a case against him from Death Row.

Convicted killer Loren Herzog found dead
By Tim Daly, News10/KXTV-- One of two men convicted of being responsible for a series of killings in San Joaquin County is dead, apparently from suicide.

OPINION:

Juvenile offenders and lawmakers get another chance
By Robert Greene, Los Angeles Times-- We've said it before -- more than a dozen times. A child, even a bad one, should not be sent to prison for life without any chance at parole. It's a mark of societal fear and a lust for revenge.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Budget

Gov. Jerry Brown plans $1 billion in prison cuts
By Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle-- Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut state prison spending next fiscal year for the first time in nearly a decade, a departure from the goals of recent administrations, which consistently increased corrections spending and pushed for prison expansion.

California Inmates

Ione inmate's kosher quest is backed
By Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee-- California prison officials must be ever vigilant to prevent inmates from getting their hands on forbidden stuff – shanks, dope, phones and the like.

California Parole

Report: Convicted murderer Loren Herzog kills self
The Associated Press-- State officials say convicted serial killer Loren Herzog has committed suicide.

Convicted Serial Killer Herzog Found Dead
By Mike TeSelle, KCRA-- Convicted serial killer Loren Herzog has hung himself, KCRA 3 first learned exclusively Tuesday morning.

Herzog hangs himself outside High Desert State Prison
Stockton Record-- Loren Herzog, the Linden man once convicted of three murders, apparently hanged himself late last night, a state prison spokeswoman said today.

Murderer paroled to Susanville area found dead from hanging
By Paul Janes, News10/KXTV-- Convicted killer, Loren Herzog was found dead around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to corrections officer Terry Thornton.

Loren Herzog found dead at HDSP
Lassen County Times-- Killer Loren Herzog — serving parole in a trailer on state property outside the fences at High Desert State Prison in Susanville — is dead, according to a report from News10KXTV.

Judge: Calif. fails to protect disabled parolees
The Associated Press-- California prison officials have failed to monitor and protect hundreds of disabled parolees in county jails, a federal judge ruled, citing "overwhelming and disturbing evidence" that inmates with disabilities are being denied access to housing, programs and services.

Disabled inmates denied crucial access, judge says
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle-- California prison officials have failed to monitor and protect hundreds of disabled parolees in county jails, some of whom have been denied such basic aids as canes and wheelchairs and aren't allowed to file grievances, a federal judge ruled Friday.

San Jose police identify two bank robbery suspects
By Sean Webby, San Jose Mercury News-- San Jose police have identified the two suspects they say were involved in a bank robbery and bomb scare that jammed traffic for more than five hours Thursday on Highway 85.

Bank robbery/bomb scare suspect hails from Gilroy
By Blair Tellers, Gilroy Dispatch-- One of two suspects involved in yesterday's bank robbery/bomb scare that backed up traffic on State Highway 85 for several hours is Alfred Apaiz, a 23-year-old resident from Gilroy.

Police ID pair arrested for robbing bank, crashing car
ABC 7-- San Jose police Friday have identified two men who allegedly robbed a bank and then crashed their getaway car while trying to flee from authorities on Thursday.

Car theft, chase ends in arrest of Fairfield parolee
By Catherine Bowen, The Reporter-- A Fairfield man, out of prison for just three days, was arrested Monday morning after allegedly forcing three young women out of a parked car in Fairfield and leading authorities on a multi-county chase that ended when he was taken into custody in Sacramento, authorities said.

Parolee arrested in connection with drug violations
Napa Valley Register-- A 49-year-old man on California State parole was arrested at about 4 a.m. Thursday at Walmart Supercenter in American Canyon on suspicion of being under the influence, according to the American Canyon Police Department.

Impact Of Knott Case Still Felt By CHP
10 News-- 10News was the only station to attend former California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Peyer's parole hearing Wednesday at the California Men's Colony at San Luis Obispo.

CDCR Related

Tulare County taking state to court over suspended payments for juvenile offender programs
By David Castellon, Visalia Times-Delta-- Tulare County is taking the California State Controller to court to stop plans for the state to suspend payments totaling more than $890,000 to support juvenile offender programs here.

OPINION:

Prison realignment is the best way
Bakersfield Californian-- The recent opinion piece by a psychologist at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi about California's program for reducing prison overcrowding was full of inaccuracies ("What has realignment of prisons wrought? More than state warned," Jan. 9).

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

Santa Clara County won't compete for jail-expansion grant
By Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News-- Flush with more than 1,000 empty jail beds, Santa Clara County supervisors have decided not to compete for state funds to rehabilitate their outdated jails after all, despite a recent report that found there was a "desperate need" for the overhaul.

CDCR Related

California May Ease Restrictions on Media Access to Prisoners
By Ryan Schill, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange-- The California State Assembly is considering a bill that would ease restrictions for members of the press to interview prisoners. The legislation, known as AB-1270, passed unanimously out of the Public Safety Committee Jan. 10 before being referred on to the Appropriations Committee.

Realignment

RivCo officials promise careful examination of inmates released from county jails
By Kerri S. Mabee, Southwest Riverside News Network-- Riverside County jails are full, and efforts are underway to relieve the pressure of too many criminals and not enough beds.

OPINION:

Our Voice: Mail fraud case highlights the risk of identity theft
The Desert Sun-- The massive mail fraud case brought against a Rancho Mirage woman and a Cathedral City man serves as a reminder that identity theft is a serious threat nowadays.

2012-01-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Riot at Kern Valley State Prison
Delano – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that approximately 300 inmates began rioting at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP).

NEWS:

California Institutions

Guards quash inmate riot at state prison in Corcoran
Los Angeles Times-- This post has been changed. See the note at the bottom. Guards at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran used pepper spray and other less-than-lethal weapons Tuesday afternoon to break up a riot by inmates, authorities said.

Officials say several inmates hurt in prison riot
The Associated Press-- California prison officials say several inmates were hurt when about 300 inmates rioted Wednesday afternoon at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano.

300 Inmates Riot At Kern Valley State Prison
KERO-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Wednesday that approximately 300 inmates rioted at Kern Valley State Prison.

California Parole

Ex-CHP officer denied parole in 1986 murder
The Associated Press-- A former California Highway Patrol officer convicted of murdering a woman motorist while on duty 25 years ago has been denied parole.

Ex-CHP officer who killed San Diego State student to stay behind bars
Los Angeles Times-- The state parole board Wednesday rejected parole for a former California Highway Patrol officer who murdered a San Diego State student in 1986.

REGION: Parole denied for former CHP officer convicted of Cara Knott murder
By Morgan Cook, North County Times-- The former California Highway Patrol officer convicted of murdering a 20-year-old college student was denied parole Wednesday, and it will be 15 years before he is again eligible for parole, authorities said.

Board Denies Parole For Ex-CHP Officer Craig Peyer
10 News-- A parole board Wednesday denied parole for a former California Highway Patrol officer convicted of strangling a 20-year-old San Diego State University student during a 1986 traffic stop.

Counties Struggle With New Probationers
Capital Public Radio-- Thousands of California prisoners are being released to county probation departments with the hope the recidivism rate can be cut in half. That hope has already been dashed in one Sacramento case.

State Probation Transfers To SD County Include Mentally Ill
By Amita Sharma, KPBS-- Some of the 700 prisoners whom the state has transferred to San Diego County probation have mental illnesses. Unlike Los Angeles County, so far San Diego’s psychiatric unit has not been overwhelmed.

CDCR Related

Crime renews lawmaker's concerns about shifting felons to counties
Los Angeles Times-- A Republican lawmaker who opposes shifting supervision of many felons from the state to counties voiced concern Wednesday over the arrest of a Sacramento man this week on sexual assault charges a month after he was released from state prison.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Riot at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran Contained
CORCORAN – A riot involving approximately 60 inmates at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran (CSATF/SP) was contained shortly after it broke out just after 12 p.m. today on a maximum-security yard. Correctional custody staff used pepper spray and less-than-lethal weapons to quell the disturbance.

NEWS:

AB 900

Yolo County moves ahead with prison renovation grant
By KATHERINE JARVIS, Daily Democrat-- In the next four years, Monroe Detention Center could see a major renovation that would include 148 additional beds.

California Institutions

Guards quash inmate riot at Corcoran State Prison
L.A. Now-- Guards at Corcoran State Prison used pepper spray and other less-than-lethal weapons Tuesday afternoon to break up a riot by inmates, authorities said.

5 Stabbed In Prison Riot At Corcoran
By Monty Tores, KMPH-- A bloody riot Tuesday at a south valley prison left several inmates injured and authorities trying to figure out what happened.

$200 Million Annually for Local Economy
By Mayra Barrios, Bilingual Weekly-- A new health care facility under construction brings hopes to enhance the quality of healthcare of patient-inmates while bringing economic prosperity to Stockton.

Realignment

Placer County has game plan to handle state prisoner influx
By Gus Thomson, Auburn Journal-- AB 109 community corrections partnership plan gains supervisors’ OK

Jail population expected to double in 4 years
By Eiji Yamashita, Hanford Sentinel-- The Kings County Jail could be flooded with twice as many inmates than it is designed to hold by 2014 because of an ongoing influx of new prisoners under the state prison realignment, according to Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson.

New law could land more offenders on city streets
By Toby Lewis, Roseville Press Tribune-- Roseville Police Chief Daniel Hahn said he is concerned about property crime increasing in Roseville as a result of new laws which could put more non-violent drug offenders on city streets.

Prisoner realignment and mental illness
KGET-- A deeper look into prison realignment. County mental health and substance abuse programs now have to deal with a new breed of parolee released into our area.

California Inmates

L. A. County jailers more likely to use force on mentally ill inmates
By Jack Leonard and Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times-- Mentally ill inmates make up about 15% of the Los Angeles County jail population but are involved in about a third of use-of-force incidents by deputies.

Nevada to buy inmate shoes made by California cons
Sacramento Bee-- Nevada inmates will soon be wearing shoes made by California cons.

California Parole

Ex-CHP officer gets parole hearing in 1986 murder
The Associated Press-- A former California Highway Patrol officer convicted of killing a woman while on duty 25 years ago will get a chance for freedom.

D.A. urges no parole for CHP officer who killed SDSU student
L.A. Now-- San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis will attend a parole hearing Wednesday to urge the board not to release a former California Highway Patrol officer who murdered a San Diego State student in 1986.

REGION: DA to oppose parole for CHP officer convicted of Cara Knott murder
By EDWARD SIFUENTES, North County Times-- San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said a former California Highway Patrol officer convicted of murdering a 20-year-old college student 25 years ago should not be allowed to go free.

Parolee charged with strangling woman in RV
The Associated Press-- A parolee has been charged with strangling a woman in a recreational vehicle parked the driveway of his parents' Huntington Beach home.

Huntington Beach parolee charged with murder
Orange County Breeze-- A third-striker parolee has been charged with murdering a 21-year-old woman by strangling her to death in his recreational vehicle (RV). Ean Keith Brown, 38, is charged with one felony count of murder and sentencing enhancements for two prior strike convictions and serious felony priors for second degree robbery in 1995 and burglary in 2008. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 85 years to life in state prison.

Parolee charged in strangulation of 21-year-old Huntington Beach woman
Contra Costa Times-- A 38-year-old parolee was charged today with strangling a 21-year-old woman in a recreational vehicle parked in his parents' driveway in Huntington Beach over the weekend.

CDCR Related

Stopping Prison Construction Important First Step: More Reductions in Corrections Spending Needed to Protect Social Services
By Emily Harris, California Progress Report-- Governor Brown’s surprised Californians by unveiling his 2012-13 budget five days early on January 5th. The Budget has Californians calling for additional cuts to the corrections budget to prevent even further slashing of welfare, childcare, health care, education, and job opportunities.

Sacramento police: Woman assaulted in home by burglar
By C. Johnson, News 10-- A man released last month from jail has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a Sacramento woman during a burglary.

Man arrested in Sacramento burglary, sexual assault
Sacramento Bee-- A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Sacramento home Monday morning has been arrested.

Police Arrest Suspect for Sexual Assault and Burglary
By Ian McDonald, Fox 40-- Sacramento Police arrested a man Monday night that they say sexually assaulted a woman and stole several items from her home earlier in the morning.

Police: Woman Assaulted Getting Out Of Shower
KCRA-- Police said a 29-year-old man recently realigned to Sacramento County Probation was arrested after he broke into a home and sexually assaulted a woman after she got out of the shower.

Savings from '3 strikes' reform may be smaller than claimed
By Ryan Gabrielson, California Watch-- Prisoners serving long sentences under California’s “three strikes” law are so expensive that legislative analysts say releasing some of them early could eventually save the state $100 million.

Police to search landfill for missing Arizona girl
The Associated Press-- Police plan to begin searching a landfill outside of Phoenix in the next few weeks in hopes of finding the body of a 5-year-old Arizona girl who has been missing for months and is now believed dead, they announced Tuesday.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

Report: Jail expansion needed in Santa Clara County despite 1,000 empty beds
By Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News-- Even though more than 1,000 jail beds sit empty in Santa Clara County, a new report is calling for a $104 million jail expansion and overhaul that would require millions more each year to staff.

Budget

Brown proposes to shut down youth prison system
By Nannette Miranda, ABC7-- California's youth prison system may soon cease to exist, ending a notorious legacy that included 23-hour cell confinements, using cages as punishment for misbehaving and staff beatings, sometimes caught on tape.

Jerry Brown wants to eliminate youth prison system
KFSN-TV-- State prisons for juvenile offenders may soon be history. The entire system is on the chopping block under Gov. Jerry Brown's new budget proposal. Many applaud the move, saying many juveniles are treated cruelly.

Governor's Proposed Budget Concerns Prison Guard Union
KION-- The union representing state prison guards and parole officers says it's very concerned about the Governor's proposed budget.

Realignment

Prison realignment affecting county agencies
KGET-- A new report from the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi says the number of realigned felons, flooding into counties statewide, is two to three times the number anticipated by state officials.

Solano County on track to avoid jail overcrowding
By Catherine Bowen, The Reporter-- As inmates nabbed in the early days of the state's new realignment plan reach the end of their sentences, Solano County Jail is preparing to open its gates to release pressure that has been building in county facilities that have been pushed to capacity since October.

Mentally ill prisoners overwhelm system in Calif
The Associated Press-- The state's shifting of newly released state prisoners to the responsibility of local probation agencies has meant many ex-convicts with serious mental illnesses are slipping through the cracks.

California Inmates

Calif. death sentence for 1998 killing overturned
North County Times-- The California Supreme Court on Monday reversed the death sentence for a man who was convicted of killing a woman who was robbed, raped, tortured and beaten while walking to a Long Beach store to use $6 worth of food stamps.

California Parole

Craig Peyer To Have Parole Board Hearing
San Diego 10 News-- The former California Highway Patrol officer behind one of the city's most notorious murders will make a plea for freedom before a parole board on Wednesday.

CDCR Related

LaMalfa kills inmate bill
Redding Record Searchlight-- State Sen. Doug LaMalfa said Monday he was killing a bill that would have required state prison officials to notify local authorities 10 business days before an inmate is transferred into a state fire camp.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Criminals to heroes: California penal system trains inmates to be firefighters
By Nikolas Bunton, Blast Magazine-- “I’m not perfect by any means, and nobody is, but I’m ten times a better man than I was before this camp term,” inmate firefighter Philip Kirkpatrick, an eager camp inmate in his late twenties recounts of his experiences at Baseline Conservation Camp, one of the 19 prison fire camps conveniently placed throughout the state of California to fight wildfires, “I feel like my life has purpose to it now, and that’s something that I’ve honestly never had before. I’m ready to take on the world.”

Proposed Budget on CDCR

New Budget: Less Prison Time For Women, Juveniles
By Richard Sharp, KCRA-- Under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations will be cut by about $1.1 billion.

Gov. Jerry Brown calls for historic shuttering of state's notorious youth prison system
By Karen de Sá, San Jose Mercury News-- Following years of failed attempts to rehabilitate juvenile offenders and improve public safety, California's once-sprawling youth prison system may soon shut its gates for good.

Jerry Brown's California budget slashes $1 billion from prisons
By Julie Small, KPCC-- Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut state prison spending by a billion dollars in the next fiscal year — mostly by cutting staff. Prison officials say they won’t need as many employees because the number of prisoners they oversee is dropping fast — the state has 11,000 fewer inmates since California’s “realignment” law took effect in October.

Women’s Prison Conversion

City of Chowchilla to take legal action over prison conversion
Merced Sun-Star-- The city of Chowchilla said Thursday it plans to file a legal challenge against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation about the state prison system's attempt to convert the Valley State Prison for Women into a men's prison.

Realignment

State convicts arrive in L.A. County with costly mental illnesses
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times-- Newly released state prisoners are arriving in Los Angeles and other counties with incomplete medical records and mental illnesses that have officials struggling to provide treatment.

Early Release Possible For Inmates As Local Jails Fill
By Toni McAllister, LakeElsinore-Wildomar Patch-- The state’s prison inmate population is shrinking, but the number of convicted criminals housed inside Riverside County jails is growing, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff's Officials Say Jails Maxed Out: Some Inmates To Be Released Early
By Guy McCarthy, Banning-Beaumont Patch-- Riverside County jails are at maximum capacity because of transfers from state prison and new sentencing guidelines under State Assembly Bill 109, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department said.

California Parole

Mother Lode man uses prison survival skills on the outside
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee-- Parolee Michael de Vries, 67, would just as soon stay out of the newspaper. "I'm under the radar now," he said after serving 26 years of a 17-years-to-life sentence for murdering his wife. Few people in his foothills community know much about his past, he says, and most who do are nonjudgmental.

CDCR Related

California bill so reporters can interview prisoners progressing
By Deborah Dupre, Examiner-- Bill to restore freedom of the press, allowing reporters to interview prisoners in person.

OPINION:

Dan Morain: A risky shift in criminal justice
By Dan Morain, Sacramento Bee-- Not that many years ago, California legislators worked themselves into a law-and-order frenzy, and with voters' help, infused the justice system with steroids by approving the nation's toughest "three-strikes" sentencing measure.

BRIK McDILL: What has realignment of prisons wrought? More than state warned
Bakersfield Californian-- Well, golly, gee whiz -- AB 109 is still a newborn and here's what we have already found.

Our View: Kudos to Chowchilla for its stand
Merced Sun-Star-- The California Department of Corrections' plan to convert a women's to a men's prison seems insensitive.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Firefighter Dies of Presumed Natural Causes
SAN LUIS OBISPO – A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate firefighter assigned to Cuesta Fire Camp at the California Men’s Colony died of presumed natural causes Wednesday afternoon during a training exercise with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE).

CPAT Agent Shot in Lakewood Terrace Recovering from Surgery
Agent remains in stable condition and a full recovery is expected. SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agent, who was shot in an apparent gunfight with a parolee at large in the Lakewood Terrace area of Los Angeles on January 4, is recovering from surgery and remains in stable condition.

NEWS:

Brown promises funds for Calif. police in tax push
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- Gov. Jerry Brown told county officials Thursday that he will make good on his promise to provide adequate funding for a new law that sends inmates convicted of lower-level offenses to county jails instead of state prison.

Jerry Brown budget would slash 3,000 state jobs, merge departments
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee-- Gov. Jerry Brown's 2012-13 budget proposal would cut state government by a few thousand jobs and consolidate nearly 50 state organizations, while avoiding furloughs.

Realignment

Jails get a bit of relief as inmate influx slows after realignment
By SEAN EMERY, The Orange County Register-- The wave of inmates arriving in Orange County jails as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the state correctional system slowed in December, as local law-enforcement officials continued to adjust to increased responsibility for confining and monitoring convicts.

Donnelly Vows New Try at Prison Reform
By Glenn Barr, Mountain-News-- Frustrated by what he sees as a partisan rejection of his plan to cut prison costs and overcrowding, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly is pledging to take up the fight again when the legislature reconvenes this month.

California Institutions

Medical prison takes shape
By Reed Fujii, Stockton Record-- Construction is well under way on the California Health Care Facility, a nearly $1 billion prison medical project in southeast Stockton, and the action is expected to only get hotter.

Prison camp alert sought; LaMalfa bill pursues notice on inmates
By Ryan Sabalow, The Record Searchlight-- State Sen. Doug LaMalfa has introduced a bill that would require state prison officials to notify local authorities 10 business days before an inmate is transferred into a state prison camp.

California Inmates

UPDATE: Inmate firefighter who died during training is identified
By Cynthia Lambert and Stacy Daniel, San Luis Obispo Tribune-- An inmate firefighter who died while taking part in a County/Cal Fire training program at Camp San Luis Obispo on Wednesday has been identified as Crisanto Leo Lionell.

Woman indicted in California severed penis case
The Associated Press-- A grand jury has indicted a California woman accused of cutting off a man's penis after tying him to a bed.

California Parole

Lake View Terrace parolee, a biker gang member who allegedly shot cop, had prior standoff with police
By Melissa Pamer, Los Angeles Daily News-- A violent felon who allegedly shot a parole officer in the face, prompting a four-hour manhunt in Lake View Terrace Wednesday triggered a similar standoff with police in Sylmar nearly a decade before.

2nd Gun Sought in Lake View Terrace Shooting
By Olsen Ebright, NBC LA-- Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies on Thursday continued the search for a second handgun allegedly used in gunfight between a parolee and state parole officers in Lake View Terrace.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Women’s Prison Conversion

Q&A: Will Chowchilla fight prison conversion?
By Rina Palta, KALW-- Yesterday, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation travelled to Chowchilla in the Central Valley to talk to locals about the pending conversion of Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s facility.

California Inmates

Inmate firefighter dies on training hike at Camp San Luis Obispo
By Stacy Daniel, San Luis Obispo Tribune-- An inmate firefighter assigned to Cuesta Fire Camp, located at the California Men’s Colony, died while taking part in a County/Cal Fire training program at Camp San Luis Obispo.

California Parole

Suspect arrested in parole officer's shooting in Lake View Terrace
By Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times-- Officials say parolee Steven Hoff was arrested after an hours-long manhunt that shut down a section of the 210 Freeway, creating a traffic nightmare.

Suspect in Parole Officer Shooting Faces Attempted Murder Charge
KTLA-- The suspect was involved in a similar incident with police in 2002. A man suspected of shooting a California state parole officer in the face Wednesday will be charged with attempted murder, authorities said Thursday.

Parolee Shooting Suspect Identified, 210 Reopened
By Nicole Charky and City News Service, La Canada Flintridge Patch-- Steven Hoff, 43, was taken into custody after several hours of a suspect search and barricade in Lake View Terrace when he allegedly shot a parole agent.

Freeway shut down in manhunt for parolee who shot officer; Delphi Academy locked down
Contra Costa Times-- A freeway was shut down today as authorities sought a parolee who shot a law enforcement officer in Lake View Terrace today and may have been wounded by return fire.

Manhunt continues for parolee who shot officer in Lake View Terrace
By Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News-- A 45-year-old parolee with two strikes and a violent past shot a law enforcement officer today in Lake View Terrace, prompting a massive manhunt and the closure of the Foothill Freeway, authorities said.

State Worker

CCPOA settles former employee's discrimination lawsuit
The Sacramento Bee-- The California Correctional Peace Officers Association has settled a discrimination and unfair treatment lawsuit brought by a former longtime employee whose husband had been a 2008 candidate for the union's presidency.

Prison psychologist loses license, job
By Laura Newell, El Dorado Telegraph-- A psychologist who allegedly faked her own rape earlier this year has lost her job with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

CDCR Related

Battle of the Badges' blood drive touted a success
By SILVIO J. PANTA, Imperial Valley Press-- Alonso Holguin waited to do more than give back to the community Wednesday. He was among a throng of people who waited to donate blood.

OPINION:

Editorial: Prison progress, at last
The Reporter-- A decade after the state of California agreed to improve inmate health care in the state prison system, it is finally on track to fulfill that agreement.

California’s Death Penalty: Unusual but Not Cruel
By Charles Johnson, Big Government-- Big Government contributor Charles C. Johnson writes against California’s bid to abolish capital punishment in the Los Angeles Times. He thanks Big Government contributor and past assemblyman Chuck Devore of the Texas Public Policy Foundation for the Texas and California death penalty comparisons.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Escapee from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility apprehended
San Diego, CA – San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with assistance from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility’s (RJDCF) – Investigative Services Unit and Crisis Response Team and Special Agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) – Office of Correctional Safety (OCS), apprehended Inmate Thomas Francis Kelley on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at approximately 9:30 a.m. at a location in Lemon Grove, California. Inmate Kelley had escaped from the RJDCF on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

NEWS:

Calif. meets first inmate target set by court
By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press-- California has met the first target set by federal courts to reduce its inmate population as a way to improve health care in the nation's largest state prison system, prison officials said Tuesday.

Women’s prison conversion

Impact of shift at Chowchilla prison debated
By JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH, Merced Sun-Star-- Corrections officials tried to appease Chowchilla and Madera County leaders Tuesday during a special meeting to discuss the possible impact from the conversion of Valley State Prison for Women to a men's facility.

Financial concerns with Chowchilla prison changes
By Carlos Saucedo, ABC 30-- State officials are moving ahead with their plan to convert the Valley State Prison for Women into a male prison to reduce overcrowding. There have been many concerns about the switch since the announcement was made last month and county leaders raised some of the financial issues at a meeting Tuesday morning.

Controversy in Madera County
CBS 47-- Community members raise their concerns over the Statewide Prison Realignment that could mean Valley State Prison for Women could soon become a prison for men as well. Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz has his concerns.

State and County Square Off Over Chowchilla Prison
KSEE News-- County and city leaders aren't sold on plans to convert a women's prison in Chowchilla. Representatives with the Department of Corrections met with Madera County supervisors. They laid out plans to convert one of the prisons into a men's facility.

California Inmates

California inmate caught after fire truck escape
By Marty Graham, Reuters-- Police captured an inmate on Tuesday who had escaped from a San Diego-area prison by driving away in a yellow fire truck from the California correctional system's firefighting detail, authorities said.

Man who escaped Southern California prison in fire truck is caught at trolley station
Associated Press-- Authorities say a man who escaped a state prison in San Diego in a fire truck on New Year’s Day has been captured.

Calif. prison realignment may mean 1,500 less inmate firefighters
By Leticia Juarez, ABC 7-- Areas at risk of wildfires and mudslides could have fewer crews to help out in 2013. The pool of inmate firefighters who pitch in during disasters is shrinking.

California Parole

Parolee ordered to return to San Luis Obispo County ends up accused of killing mother
By Nancy Chen, KSBY-- A man who was supposed to report to San Luis Obispo County for parole is instead behind bars again, accused of killing his mother.

AB 900

Tuolumne County Requests Jail Funding
By B.J. Hansen, My Mother Lode-- Tuolumne County is requesting funding from the State of California to build a new jail.

Realignment

County seeks input on realignment
San Mateo Daily Journal-- After months of wrestling with public safety realignment, the county’s Probation Department is asking the public for its thoughts on how best to implement the state’s budget-balancing plan that shifted low-level state prisoners to local jails and parolees to local supervision.

CDCR Related

Gov. Jerry Brown weighs clemency petition for a grandmother
By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- Brown is being asked to commute the 15-year-to-life sentence of Shirley Ree Smith, convicted of killing her grandchild. An appeals court had overturned her conviction; the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it.

Daily Corrections Clips

2012-01-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

DJJ

Cuts Could Trigger Bigger Juvenile Justice Bills
By Trey Bundy, The Bay Citizen-- Juvenile offenders are often reminded that bad decisions have consequences. The juvenile justice systems in California counties are about to learn the same hard lesson.

California Institutions

New warden at San Quentin State Prison
By Rob Rogers, Marin Independent Journal-- A Folsom Prison official has been named as the new warden at San Quentin State Prison.

California Inmates

Prisoner steals fire engine, escapes
By Arthur Weinreb, Digital Journal-- Officials at a California state prison may want to reconsider letting inmates convicted of auto theft go outside the prison's walls and have access to vehicles.

State Workers

Law enforcement rises to the occasion, helps area families during the holidays
By Joe Johnson, Hanford Sentinel-- Some people question whether peace officers have the community's best interests at heart. But police Cmdr. Steve Rossi doesn't.

CDCR Related

Getting Prison Numbers Down—For Good
By Malcolm C. Young, The Crime Report-- Some commentators are celebrating the decrease in prison population numbers reported for 2010 by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—and they should.

Va. Tech killer Cho’s calculator for sale, renewing debate on ‘murderabilia’
By T. Rees Shapiro, The Washington Post-- According to the seller, the item is a Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus calculator, similar to thousands of others used in college-level math classes. It usually retails for about $99. This one is listed at $3,700.

OPINION:

PD Editorial: Weighing cost, effectiveness of death penalty
Press Democrat-- California’s chief justice struck the right tone in her grim assessment of the state’s capital punishment system.

Why the Death Penalty Is Slowly Dying
By Adam Cohen, Time Magazine-- Little by little, governors, state legislatures, judges and juries are quietly deciding not to support capital punishment.

California's death penalty: Unusual but not cruel
By Charles Johnson, Los Angeles Times-- With a drug cocktail that puts death row inmates to sleep, California's capital punishment can hardly be said to be cruel — but it is so unusual that death row inmates in the Golden State routinely die of old age or by suicide.

STATE: Fire-crew folly
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE-- Reshaping the state’s corrections system should not carve a hole in state fire protection. The Legislature needs to ensure that the valuable, cost-effective inmate firefighting program continues. California should not let a change in inmate supervision erode the ranks of badly needed prison fire crews.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Alternative Custody Program

More California women inmates serving time at home
By Julie Small, KPCC-- California’s prison population has dropped by more than 8,000 inmates since October, when the state began shifting low-level criminals from state prisons to county jails.

California Inmates

Prison inmates register with the IRS as tax preparers
By Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY-- Hundreds of prison inmates have found new careers behind bars — by registering with the IRS as income tax preparers.

California Parole

State high court revises parole appeal guidelines
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle-- California courts have been too quick to second-guess decisions by the parole board and the governor that deny release to convicted murderers and other life prisoners, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.

State Workers

Prison psychologist in alleged rape scheme fired
The Associated Press-- A California prison psychologist charged with faking her own rape has been fired from the prison system.

Psychologist fired over fake rape charge
United Press International-- A California prison psychologist accused of falsely reporting she was sexually assaulted and robbed at her Sacramento home has been fired, officials said.

CDCR Related

Annual total of death sentences in California falls to 10
By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times-- The prior two years had each seen capital punishment ordered for 29 criminals. Analysts say a broken appeals process is driving the trend, and some observers cite tight budgets prosecutors face.

OPINION:

Mercury News editorial: End capital punishment in California
San Jose Mercury News-- The promised 2012 ballot proposition to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole can't come soon enough to California.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

CDCR Preparing January Filing To Three-Judge Court
SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is preparing to update the Three-Judge Court on its progress towards meeting the court's directive to reduce inmate population to 167 percent design capacity, or 133,000 inmates.

CDCR Searching for Fugitive Juvenile Offender
First In Seven Years to Escape from Amador County Camp. Sacramento – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is searching for a juvenile offender who was driven away by accomplices from a roadside community service project in Sutter Creek, Amador County.

NEWS:

DJJ

Youthful offender from Amador County recaptured in Sacramento
The Sacramento Bee-- A young prisoner who was driven away from a work project by accomplices on Tuesday was taken back into custody early this morning in Sacramento.

Marshals capture CDCR teen escapee in Sacramento
News 10-- U.S. marshals arrested a juvenile offender who escaped custody when he was allegedly driven away by accomplices during a community service project Tuesday around 10:55 a.m in Sutter Creek.

Teen Wanted For Escaping Youth Camp Caught
KCRA-- A 19-year-old who was the first person to escape the Pine Grove Conservation Camp in seven years was captured, officials with the U.S. Marshals said Wednesday morning.

Teenager escapes inmate work crew
By JULIA REYNOLDS, Monterey County The Herald-- State corrections officials are searching for a Monterey County teenager who escaped from an inmate work crew on Tuesday.

Juvenile offenders: Cuts put counties on the spot
By Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle-- Prosecutors and prisoner advocates are warning that an impending change in the way California handles juvenile offenders could threaten the success of criminal justice statewide.

Three-Judge Court

State Prisons Appear to Fall Short on Overcrowding Reduction Order
By Dave Rice, San Diego Reader-- Today is the first benchmark date for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to reduce prison overcrowding as per a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. CDCR has until January 10 to prepare and provide a report on the progress of inmate population reduction for review by a three-judge court which initially issued the order.

California On Pace to Meet Prision Realignment Goals
KHSL-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is preparing to update the Three-Judge Court on its progress towards meeting the court's directive to reduce inmate population to 167 percent design capacity, or 133,000 inmates.

CA reduces prison population by thousands, almost meets Supreme Court target
San Francisco Chronicle-- California’s prison system has been shedding an average of 933 inmates a week since the governor’s realignment plan took effect this fall, and the state almost hit a court-mandated goal to reduce the population to 133,000 inmates by Dec. 27.

California Institutions

California prisons ready to expand home detention program for women inmates
By Julie Small, KPCC-- Tuesday was a benchmark day for California prisons. A federal court order requires the state to reduce its prison population by 10,000 inmates. The first progress report is due today.

Executions at San Quentin remain in limbo after Marin judge's order
By Howard Mintz, Marin Independent Journal-- As California nears its sixth year without an execution, state officials find themselves once again grappling with a judge's order that concludes they've botched crafting a new and legal method of putting condemned killers to death by lethal injection.

California Inmates

San Quentin firehouse offers inmates skills, hope
By Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle-- There aren't many things to be grateful for when you're locked up in San Quentin State Prison. But here's one: It's a heck of a lot better serving time in the fire station than in a conventional cell.

Prison Christmas Death Ruled Homicide
KERO 23 Bakersfield-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Tuesday that Kern Valley State Prison investigators are working with the Kern County Coroner and District Attorney’s Office to investigate the Christmas Day death of an inmate, which has been classified as a homicide.

Kern Valley State Prison inmate believed to be killed Sunday
Bakersfield Californian-- A Kern Valley State Prison inmate was found dead in his cell Christmas morning during a routine head count.

Court to hear appeal of man who parked SUV on tracks, killing 11 aboard Metrolink trains
Contra Costa Times-- A state appellate court panel next month will hear oral arguments in the case of a man who parked his SUV on railroad tracks at the Glendale-Los Angeles border, causing a Metrolink train derailment that killed 11 people and injured more than 180 others.
California Parole

Parolee gets 10 years in animal abuse case
The Associated Press-- A Sacramento judge has sentenced a parolee convicted of animal abuse to serve 10 years in state prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

Motel Room Mini-Siege Yields Entirely Predictable Result, Plus Pot Poundage
The Arcata Eye-- Three Subjects Arrested for Conspiracy, Possession of Marijuana for Sale and Possession of Methamphetamine. On Sunday, December 25, 2011, at approximately 11:20 pm, Officers contacted and arrested 35 year old James Bauer of Arcata for a felony warrant for Parole Violation. That arrest led to a room at a Motel on Valley West Blvd. In their subsequent investigation, APD Officers contacted and detained an associate of Bauer’s; 21 year old Jarame Johnson of McKinleyville. Officers determined that Bauer and two associates were renting a room at the motel and were suspected of sales of controlled substances.

Sex Offender From California Arrested In Rochester
13 Wham-TV-- The U.S. Marshals Task Force arrested a high risk sex offender wanted in California Friday night.

Phillip Lewis, fugitive sex offender, arrested in Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle-- A paroled sex offender from California who had been on the run for more than two years was arrested without incident Friday in Rochester.

CDCR Related

Keeping low-profile, California Gov. Brown reaps few victories in 2011
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Los Angeles Times-- In swing states across the country this year, an emboldened group of new Republican governors teamed with GOP legislatures to remake government from top to bottom.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Californians to Watch: Matthew Cate directs prison downsizing
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee-- The usual measures of bureaucratic success for a state government agency are bigger budgets, expanding influence and a higher profile for the person at the very top.

Calfornia Inmates

California could lose 1,500 inmate firefighters
By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times-- A prison realignment program will send low-level offenders to county jails, depriving the state of using them to help clear brush, cut fire lines and stop infernos from spreading.

California Parole

Dos Palos police arrest 'armed and dangerous' parolee Monday
Merced Sun-Star-- Dos Palos Police Officer Cliff Battles on Monday arrested a subject considered armed and dangerous on Monday for a parole violation.

Realignment

AB 190 - Tehama County plans for realignment
By ANDREA WAGNER, Red Bluff Daily News-- Note: The following is part one of a series of articles giving a first look at the Tehama County realignment plan being written by the Community Corrections Partnership to carry out California Assembly Bill 109. Administrators got a first look at what will eventually be molded into the Tehama County realignment plan for state Assembly Bill 109, Dec. 8.

CDCR Related

California executions remain in everlasting limbo
By Howard Mintz, San Jose Mercury News-- As California nears its sixth year without an execution, state officials find themselves once again grappling with a judge's order that concludes they've botched crafting a new and legal method of putting condemned killers to death by lethal injection.

California chief justice urges reevaluating death penalty
By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, one of the high court's more conservative members, says the death penalty is no longer working for the state.

CA's top judge: Death penalty no longer effective
The Associated Press-- In her first public comments about California's capital punishment system, the state's top judge said the death penalty is "not effective" and needs an overhaul that the state cannot afford.

ID errors put hundreds in County Jail
By Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times-- Wrongful incarcerations totaled 1,480 in the last five years, a Times inquiry finds.Hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized those arrested were mistaken for wanted criminals, a Times investigation has found.

Murder victim's family wants CHP officer to stay in prison
Los Angeles Times-- The family of a San Diego State student killed by an on-duty California Highway Patrol officer in 1986 is leading a letter-writing campaign to the state parole board to keep him in prison.

25 years since murder of SDSU student by CHP officer
CBS 8-- Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the murder of a San Diego State student by an on-duty California Highway Patrol officer who will face a parole board at a state prison in a few weeks.

Family of slain wants killer to stay in jail
The Associated Press-- The family of a San Diego State student murdered by an on-duty California Highway Patrol officer more than 20 years ago is leading a letter-writing campaign asking the state parole board to keep him in prison.

OPINION:

Death penalty, by the numbers
Los Angeles Times-- Statistical evidence of racial bias should be considered when handing down capital punishment.

Daily Correction Clips

2011-12-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Inmates

Pelican Bay inmate sentenced in guard attack
Associated Press-- A Pelican Bay State Prison inmate already serving a life term got another 10 years tacked onto his sentence after he pleaded guilty in a prison guard attack.

Death row inmate charged in 1989 strangulation of Wilson High School student
By Tracy Manzer, Press-Telegram-- A death row inmate has been charged with capital murder in the 1989 strangulation of a 15-year-old Wilson High School sophomore, police and prosecutors announced Thursday.

California Parole

Parole board denies release to Patterson
The Union-- The Nevada County District Attorney's Office announced today that Mitchell Patterson has been denied parole.

State Workers

Calipatria State Prison Corrections Technician Charged with Fraud
Imperial Valley News-- United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that on December 15, 2011, a federal grand jury in San Diego handed up an indictment against David Santos Zamudio, II, a medical office technician for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”). Mr. Zamudio worked primarily at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, California. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Zamudio earlier today.

CDCR Related

Police believe Arizona girl was killed, dumped in trash
Los Angeles Times-- Police in Glendale, Ariz., think they may know where Jhessye Shockley, the 5-year-old girl who disappeared in October, ended up: in a trash bin across town.

Officer shoots armed parolee after car, foot chase
The Associated Press-- A Southern California police officer has shot an armed parolee after a high-speed car chase and foot pursuit in Riverside.

Execution-drug info must be revealed, court rules
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle-- A state appeals court has ordered prison officials to identify pharmaceutical companies they contacted in search of drugs to be used in executions, saying the public is entitled to the information even if it leads to a backlash against the companies.

OPINION:

Editorial: Realignment fails early test
Chico Enterprise-Record-- Our view: The shooting of an ex-con in Magalia is an example of what can go wrong with prison realignment in California.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Inmates

Prison inmates create Braille materials for students across California
By Cindy Von Quednow, Ventura County Star-- When Casey Tuley leaves Ironwood State Prison in January after nine years of incarceration, he will be the first of 21 inmates in a training program to walk out as a certified Braille transcriber.

Tehama prison camp walk-away is recaptured, booked into jail
Redding Record Searchlight-- State prison officials and local authorities Tuesday evening captured an inmate who had walked away from Ishi Conservation Camp in rural Tehama County.

California Parole

Manhunt for Male Called Off by MVPD and US Marshals
By Claudia Cruz, Mountain View Patch-- The search for a state parolee associated with a Menlo Park investigation involved several area police agencies.

Susanville battles residency of San Joaquin County killer
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- Notorious as a once-convicted serial killer in San Joaquin County, Loren Herzog is an unwanted resident anywhere California parole authorities try placing him.

State Workers

DVI warden: Time to move on
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- It was important for her to let employees know where she stood on issues, said Socorro Salinas, and she leaves with no regrets of the way she ran Deuel Vocational Institution as chief administrator.

California officers own 7,600 assault guns
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- Peace officers throughout California have bought more than 7,600 assault weapons that are outlawed for civilians in the decade since state lawmakers allowed the practice, according to data obtained by The Associated Press after it was revealed that federal authorities are investigating illegal gun sales by law enforcement.

Realignment

Prison Realignment Sparks Lively Debate
By Lisa Kopochinski, Correctional News-- It’s no surprise that AB109, California’s new inmate transfer bill — or “realignment” — is a contentious issue. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when tempers remained relatively calm at a recent conference in Sacramento on this very topic, allowing for a constructive debate to take place between invited panelists and those in attendance.

CDCR Related

Police believe 5-year-old Ariz. girl missing more than 2 months was killed, dumped in trash
Associated Press-- Police now believe a 5-year-old Arizona girl missing for more than two months was killed and that her body was dumped in a trash bin across town before her mother reported her missing — the most substantive information detectives have released about what they think happened to the girl.

Friend accused of helping Sacramento prison psychologist fake attack
Associated Press-- The woman accused of helping her friend fake a home-invasion robbery and a sexual assault has been arrested.

How do you hold mentally ill offenders accountable?
By Ina Jaffe, NPR-- Mental health and law enforcement officials in California are trying to find ways to hold violent psychiatric patients accountable without punishing people for being sick. It's a response to escalating violence in the state's mental hospitals, where thousands of assaults occur annually. Only a tiny fraction of them, however, result in criminal charges.

'Three Strikes' Reform Gets A.G. Kamala Harris' Ear
Prison overcrowding and rising healthcare costs push new ballot initiative-- By Chris Levister , Black Voice News. While refusing to take an official position on reforming California’s Three Strikes and You’re Out law this week state Attorney General Kamala Harris opened the door.

Documents Identifying Suppliers of Execution Drugs Are Public Record, Court of Appeal Rules
By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Metropolitan News-Enterprise-- The state cannot withhold the names of the pharmaceutical companies from which it acquires the drugs used in its lethal injection protocol in response to a Public Records Act request for this information, the First District Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.

OPINION:

California’s Lethal Injections
The New York Times-- In 2006, a federal district court ordered California to stop executing people because the state’s three-drug protocol for lethal injection lacked “reliability.”

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Who Walked Away from Conservation Camp Apprehended

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) have apprehended a minimum-security inmate who walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek yesterday. The inmate was apprehended on December 20 at approximately 7:30 pm by CDCR officials and local law enforcement.

Fewer Inmates Returning to Prison After Release

The “2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report” shows inmate recidivism rate declines. California’s recidivism rate fell to 65 percent this year, according to the 2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). This significant reduction of 2.4 percentage points in one year equates to 2,766 fewer offenders returning to prison and an approximate saving to California taxpayers of $30 million.

Inmate Walks Away from Conservation Camp in Tehama County

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are looking for a state prison inmate who walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek, located in Tehama County, today at approximately 9:45 am.

NEWS:

Recidivism Rate

State says fewer inmates returning to prison after release

Central Valley Business Times

Recidivism among felons released from California’s vast prison system fell to 65 percent this year, according to a report compiled by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

State Report Says Recidivism Rate Has Dropped

By Jenny O’Mara, Capital Public Radio

A state report says the number of released California inmates returning to prison has dropped this year by more than two-percent.

Fewer Inmates Returning to Prison After Release

KPSP

Fewer inmates in California are returning to prison after they've been released, state officials said Tuesday.

California Institutions

California Prisons Can’t Afford Costly Three Strikes Law

Bloomberg

The costly mess that is the California prison system has produced inmate strikes, violence and a Supreme Court ruling that its teeming institutions are unconstitutional. Now it may produce a welcome byproduct: justice.

California Inmates

Northstate Prison Escapee Found And Arrested

By Kerry Loring, Asst. News Director

Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) says a state prison inmate who walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek was found about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Paynes Creek Inmate escaped, still at large

By Julie Zeeb, Red bluff Daily News

Authorities are still searching the Paynes Creek area for a minimum security Ishi Conservation Camp inmate who escaped about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Inmate walks away from prison camp in Tehama County

By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee

An inmate walked away from a conservation camp in Tehama County this morning. Arthur Turner, 31, serving a sentence for second degree robbery out of Stanislaus County, walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek at about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

UPDATED: Inmate captured after walking away from Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek

By Ryan Sabalow, Record Searchlight

PAYNES CREEK -- State prison officials and local authorities this evening captured an inmate who walked away from Ishi Conservation Camp in rural Tehama County.

California Parole

Parolee leads deputies on High Desert chase

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, The San Bernardino County Sun

A Hesperia parolee in a vehicle stolen from Chino led sheriff's deputies on a chase through the High Desert on Tuesday. Jose Robledo, 30, was arrested at the end of the chase and booked into jail on suspicion of felony evading, possession of stolen property, driving while under the influence and violating parole.

Parolee hiding from SWAT team falls from ceiling

Associated Press

A California parolee hiding from a SWAT team has fallen through the ceiling and into the arms of officers who lobbed tear gas into the attic.

Parolee at large leads deputies on high-speed chase

Beatriz E. Valenzuela, Dessert Press

A parolee at large with a smiley face tattoo on his head was arrested Tuesday morning after leading deputies on a high-speed chase through numerous city streets in a stolen vehicle, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Hesperia station officials said.

Realignment

County already feeling impact of inmate transfer

By Dan McDonald, Plumas County News

Plumas County’s public safety system is already feeling the effects of the state’s Assembly Bill 109 inmate realignment. The number of prisoners and parolees in the county’s corrections system has been steadily rising since AB 109 went into effect Oct. 1.

CDCR Related

Prison worker arrested for smuggling

By Silvio J. Panta, Imperial Valley News

An arraignment hearing is set today for a clerical worker at Calipatria State Prison who was arrested on an indictment for allegedly accepting about $33,600 from prisoners in exchange for smuggling cell phones and tobacco into the prison.

Prison worker accused of smuggling cellphones, tobacco to inmates

Los Angeles Times

A 28-year-old employee of the state prison at Calipatria in Imperial County has been indicted on suspicion of taking $33,600 in bribes to smuggle cellular telephones and tobacco products to prisoners, the U.S. attorney's office announced Tuesday.

Calif prison worker accused of taking bribes

Associated Press

A federal grand jury has indicted a California prison worker on charges that he accepted bribes from prisoners in exchange for cell phones and cigarettes.

Feds: Worker smuggled contraband to prisoners

Sign On San Diego

A man who worked at Calipatria State Prison was arrested Tuesday after federal authorities accused him of taking money from inmates to smuggle cellphones and other contraband into the facility, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego.

Calipatria prison worker indicted for fraud & smuggling charges

By Mauricio Marin, KSWT

Calipatria, CA -- A Calipatria prison medical technician has been arrested for allegedly taking part in wire fraud and smuggling contraband to prisoners.

Prison Worker Arrested for Smuggling Cell Phones: FBI

By Lauren Steussy, MBC San Diego

A man accused of smuggling cell phones and cigarettes into a state prison was arrested by FBI officials Tuesday.

Calipatria prison medical technician indicted

Imperial Valley Press

A 28-year-old Calipatria State Prison medical office technician was arrested today by federal authorities for alleged crimes involving wire fraud and smuggling contraband to prisoners.

Prison employee accused of wire fraud, smuggling

KYMA

A former medical technician at Calipatria State Prison faced a federal judge today, after being accused of smuggling cell phones and tobacco products into the prison.

California prison psychologist's friend charged in alleged rape hoax

By Kim Minugh, Sacramento Bee

The woman accused of helping her friend fake a home-invasion robbery and a sexual assault has been arrested.

California prison psychologist's friend charged in alleged rape hoax

By Kim Minugh, Sacramento Bee

The woman accused of helping her friend fake a home-invasion robbery and a sexual assault has been arrested.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Institutions

Prison pulls out all the stops for schoolchildren
By Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate-- Christmas came early for some students at Smith River Elementary School on Friday.

Kris Kringle Conveys Kids to K-Mart
By Robert Jenson, The Desert Independent-- Santa Claus arrived in Blythe this morning, not on a sleigh but by a helicopter provided by the REACH Air Ambulance Service. St. Nick’s visitation was arranged by Civil Servants for Santa, organized by Chuckawalla State Prison Community Liaison Kenny Kalian and Capt. Richard Smith.

Realignment

State Prison Population Has Dropped by 8,000 Under Realignment Plan
California Healthline-- The number of state prison inmates has fallen by more than 8,200 since California implemented a realignment plan in October, according to court papers filed by state officials, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports (Small, "KPCC News," KPCC, 12/16).

Leaders divided on felon strategies
By Dana M. Nichols, Stockton Record-- A bitter rift among the leaders of Calaveras County public agencies is delaying progress on plans for handling felons who since Oct. 1 are being released from state prisons into county supervision.

CDCR Related

Three-strikes law could go on ballot
By Tracey Kaplan, The Daily Democrat-- Buoyed by a favorable financial analysis, advocates of an initiative to scale back the nation's toughest "three-strikes" law will soon launch a signature-gathering drive to put the measure on California's November ballot.

In Calif. Mental Hospitals, Assaults Rarely A Crime
By Ina Jaffe, National Public Radio-- Part of an ongoing series. If anyone came up to you on the street and clocked you in the face, I'm pretty sure they'd be arrested. [But at California's psychiatric hospitals], arrest is something that happens very rarely. - Psychiatrist Mona Mosk

Have You Ever Interacted With the Police?
By Holly Epstein Ojalvo, New York Times-- A new study shows that approximately one-third of Americans have been arrested by age 23. And a black college student wrote an Op-Ed about being stopped by the police multiple times and how, he says, racial profiling has affected young people. What kinds of experiences have you and others you know had with the police?

California teen gets 21 years for killing gay student
By Sara Weisfeldt, CNN-- A Southern California teen who pleaded guilty to killing a gay classmate was sentenced Monday to 21 years in prison.

Pasadena hopes to give a second chance to ex-cons
By Brian Charles, Pasadena Star-News-- Dozens of men and women recently released from county jail or state prison crowded a community center hoping that a 90-minute workshop will mark the beginning of a new chapter in each of their lives.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

Can county still lock up jail money?
San Mateo Daily Journal-- Even without a formal invitation to apply for up to $100 million in state money, county officials still hope the plan for a new 576-bed jail in Redwood City can still quality for the construction funds if other counties drop out.

DJJ

California trigger cuts pose young inmate problem in Stanislaus County
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee-- The "worst of the worse" young criminals could return from state lockups to Stanislaus County under California's projected "trigger cuts," local authorities fear.

California Inmates

Fresno County sued over prisoners' rights
The San Francisco Chronicle-- We knew it would happen eventually, but this was fast: The Prison Law Office and two other firms sued Fresno County this week on behalf of four prisoners who say the county's jail system violates their constitutional rights by denying them medical and mental health care and maintaining dangerous facilities.

State Workers

Million-Dollar Nurses Show California’s Struggle to Cut Payroll
By Michael B. Marois, Bloomberg-- California (BCAX) has paid Lina Manglicmot $1.5 million since 2005, an average of $253,530 a year, to work as a prison nurse in the agricultural town of Soledad.

Realignment

EXCLUSIVE: Prisoner shifts leave murderers better off than nonviolent criminals
By Brandon Lowrey, North County Times-- California's violent criminals and sex offenders might have much more comfortable stays behind bars than those convicted of less-serious crimes, though they are serving similarly long sentences ---- because of a new law aimed to relieve prison overcrowding and save the state money.

Inmate numbers up slightly in SLO, SB counties
By April Charlton, Time Press Recorder-- Two months into a “realignment” program that diverts some state prisoners to local custody, San Luis Obispo County is seeing slightly more than the expected number of inmates.

California prison population drops by 8,000 since realignment
By Julie Small, KPCC-- The number of inmates in California prisons has dropped by 8,000 since “realignment” took effect Oct. 1. Court papers state officials filed Thursday indicate the change. Officials reported the new numbers Thursday under a federal court order to reduce crowding in the prisons.

CDCR Related

Judge rejects California execution plan
Los Angeles Times-- A judge on Friday threw out California's new lethal-injection protocols, which have been six years in the making, because corrections officials failed to consider a one-drug execution method now in practice in other death penalty states.

California: Judge Rejects Lethal Injection Protocol
By Ian Lovett, New York Times-- A judge tossed out California’s newly adopted lethal injection protocol on Friday, throwing the state’s execution system into further upheaval.

California judge throws out state's lethal injection procedure
By Julie Small, KPCC-- A Superior Court judge in Northern California Friday threw out the state’s revised protocol for lethal injections. The judge said prison officials failed to properly vet and adopt the new rules six years in the making.

Susanville wants Herzog moved
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- Notorious as a once-convicted serial killer in San Joaquin County, Loren Herzog is an unwanted resident anywhere California parole authorities try placing him.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

California Inmates

Inmates Give Gifts to Needy Kids

By Elena Gomez, NBC San Diego

It’s the gift many kids dream of for Christmas: A brand new bicycle.

For 110 needy children in San Diego, their Christmas wishes were granted extra early this year, not from Santa but by inmates.

SD Prisoners ReceiveChristmas Gifts

By Diana Guevara, NBC San Diego

"Inmate Vendor Program" allows inmates to receive gifts. The holidays are a time when many people look forward to the gift giving season – even prison inmates. It is not only candy and cookies coming their way, but also watches and televisions are being sent to state inmates serving hard time. It is called the "Inmate Vendor Package" program. The program was established in 2004 to approve and keep better track of items being sent to inmates serving time in California.

Phil Spector to take appeal of murder conviction in actress’ death to USSupreme Court

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A lawyer for imprisoned music legend Phil Spector is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his murder conviction, arguing his constitutional rights were violated by the trial judge. Attorney Dennis Riordan contends that Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler became a witness for the prosecution by offering his opinion on an expert’s testimony.

Music legend Phil Spector expected to appeal murderconviction to high court

By Bill Mears, CNN Supreme Court

Washington (CNN) -- Famed music producer Phil Spector is expected to file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, contesting his 2008 murder conviction. Justice Anthony Kennedy had earlier allowed Spector's lawyers until week's end to formally challenge his conviction and 19-years-to-life sentence.

Realignment

Probation reports on realignment;concerns raised for public safety

By Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News

LAKEPORT, Calif. – County supervisors this week received an update on the state’s correctional realignment and what it means for Lake County, with the county’s acting chief probation officer warning of serious health and safety implications for community residents.

Los Angeles Jail Plan HitsResistance

By Keeley Webster, The Bond Buyer

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors are balking at a proposal from the county sheriff’s department to issue $1.4 billion of bonds to rebuild the 5,000-bed Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

Drug Penalties: Too Harsh for Anyone’sGood

By Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, California Progress Report

Drug Policy Alliance

Under recently enacted AB 109 and subsequent legislation (“public safety realignment”), most people convicted of a drug law violation are no longer being sent to state prison. Instead, they now remain under supervision at the county level. That means it’s now up to the counties to decide how to respond to most drug law violations, but only up to a point. State laws continue to dictate penalties.

DJJ

StateDivision of Juvenile Justice to Charge County Millions

By Rachel Ramirez, KION

Salinas, Calif. -The "trigger" cuts could put your safety at risk. As part of Governor Jerry Brown's plan, the state will charge counties a total of $72 million more in fees to house the most dangerous juvenile criminals.

CDCR Related

Judge plans on tossing California’s deathpenalty

By Paul Elias, Associated Press

Prison officials failed to properly adopt the state's new lethal injection execution procedures, a judge said in a ruling Thursday that, if upheld, will throw California's stalled capital punishment system into further doubt.

The Public Eye: Better Business Bureau is the target of ascam

Sacramento Bee

When it comes to scams, the Better Business Bureau is vigilant about warning consumers. Now, it's the victim of one.

In recent weeks, thousands of consumers and companies have reported that they've had suspicious emails, purportedly from the BBB. The emails include attachments or links that, if opened, could give online thieves access to personal or business computers.

Boardsuspends license of accused prison psychologist

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

The California Board of Psychology announced that it has suspended the license of Laurie Ann Martinez, a psychologist employed by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who is accused of falsely telling police that she was sexually assaulted.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

County officials pursue $66 million jail project in Porterville
By David Marsh, Valley Voice Newspaper-- With an official endorsement from the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, Tulare County plans to join 25 other counties competing for a share of almost $603 million in state AB 900 jail expansion funds.

California Inmates

CMC inmates raise thousands to donate to local charities
By Jimena Martinez, KSBY-- Some local charities are getting a very much needed financial boost this holiday from inmates at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.

Realignment

‘Trigger cuts’ falling on county probation
San Mateo Daily Journal-- San Mateo County’s already financially strained Probation Department will need to pay California $1.6 million annually, money that may force deeper program and service cuts, for housing 13 juvenile criminals in state facilities under the so-called trigger cuts announced on Tuesday.

CDCR Related

Executions, death sentences continue steady declines in 2011
By Bill Mears, CNN-- The number of executions and death sentences nationwide continues a steady decline, according to a study released Thursday, matching dwindling public support for capital punishment in general.

Why the death penalty is at historic low in the US
By Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor-- Concerns about the racial fairness, costs, and growing numbers of life-without-parole sentences have all played a role in a steep decline in the number of executions and death penalty sentences in the US this year, legal analysts say.

Ballot measure would relax California 3 Strikes law, which some say is draconian
By Frank Stoltze, KPCC -- This week, California Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to issue the title and summary for the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012.

Did a prisoner once sign a contract to play pro baseball?
The Los Angeles Times-- BASEBALL URBAN LEGEND: A convict signed a contract to play professional baseball...while still in prison!

OPINION

What is real recidivism rate in our state's prisons? And yes, it matters
By Brik McDill, The Bakersfield Californian-- It hardly bears saying that in any research, the final findings depend entirely upon how one defines and sets up the measured parameters.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

Tulare County supervisors OK seeking $60m for new Porterville-area jail
By David Castellon, Visalia Times-Delta-- The Tulare County Board of Supervisors has authorized Sheriff Bill Wittman to apply for a $60 million state grant to fund construction of a new 200-bed jail in the Porterville area.

Sheriff asks board for new jail
KGET-- Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood wants to build a new jail at a cost of more than $134 million.

California Inmates

Victim's rights groups get thousands from inmates
ABC 7-- Several victim's rights organizations received checks for thousands of dollars Monday straight from the paychecks of inmates.

San Quentin inmates share $38,000 of earnings with local agencies
By Richard Halstead, Marin Independent Journal-- Thirty inmates at San Quentin State Prison shared more than $38,000 of their earnings from prison labor with five Marin County agencies this week.

Jury recommends death penalty for LA serial killer
By Greg Risling, The Associated Press-- Jurors on Tuesday rejected a plea for a serial killer to be shown leniency because of an abusive childhood and instead recommended he get the death penalty for murdering six women and a teenage girl.

What Santa's bringing California inmates for Christmas
By Dave Maass, San Diego City Beat-- Prisoners can order everything from watches to Xbox games through 200-page catalog. Naughty list notwithstanding, California convicts will be getting presents this Christmas—and they’ll be getting a lot of them.

Realignment

Prisoner shift a threat to public safety?
By Joel Metzger, Calaveras Enterprise-- Thanks to the state-mandated realignment of prisoners, crime levels in Calaveras County could be on the rise and the jail will have even less space, meaning low-level offenders are unlikely to serve time.

Stanislaus sheriff changes course on jail
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee-- Stanislaus County's sheriff no longer hopes to snag a multimillion-dollar contract with federal authorities to house immigration detainees.

California Parole

CA parolee back on parole despite lewd gestures
The Associated Press-- A California inmate is back on medical parole despite committing lewd acts days after he was first released in November.

Parolee who made “indecent gestures” at nurse will stay out of prison
The San Francisco Chronicle-- California officials have determined that a burglar who was released this year on medical parole and was later accused of making indecent gestures at a female nurse should not return to prison.

Career burglar, 56, wins his second medical parole
By Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee-- A career burglar from Sacramento who was awarded medical parole in November and then returned to custody after several days in a medical care facility has been found to be eligible for the medical parole program once again, despite committing lewd acts days after he was first released in November.

CDCR Related

Convicted child molester turned Santa Claus
KGET-- An East Bakersfield woman, who asked to remain anonymous, contacted 17 News concerned about a convicted child molester dressing up as Santa and, she fears, interacting with children in her neighborhood.

OPINION:

Public Safety, Innocence and Cost: Replacing the Death Penalty is California's Only Viable Option
The Huffington Post-- If any good has come out of California's current economic challenges, it has been that pragmatism may have overtaken emotionalism in our public discourse.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

County supervisors back new application for jail money
By Marga K. Cooley, Santa Ynez Valley News-- Despite concerns about finding nearly $18 million a year to pay for operational costs, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has given initial support to Sheriff Bill Brown’s quest for $80 million in state money to build a bigger and better North County jail.

Realignment

Prison Realignment Hitting Jails Hard
By Mike Watson, KRCR TV-- County jails are starting to feel the impact of the state's prison realignment law that went into effect in October.

Stanislaus supervisors to tackle jail and morgue projects
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee-- Stanislaus County supervisors will deal this morning with jail and morgue projects worth more than $132 million.

State Workers

Prison psychologist arraigned in faked rape case
By George Warren, News 10-- An attorney representing the prison psychologist charged with staging a rape and robbery in her home said there's more to the story than has been reported.

'Fake Rape' Suspect Faces Conspiracy Charge
By Sharokina Shams, KCRA-- A woman who works as a licensed psychologist for the California Department of Corrections faced a judge for the first time after she allegedly faked being raped so that she could persuade her husband that the couple should move to a better neighborhood.

California Inmates

Man Convicted of Murdering Cabbie Killed by Cellmate
Half Moon Bay Patch-- Anthony Steadham, who was serving a life sentence for killing a San Mateo cab driver in 1993, died at a Sacramento prison on Saturday.

Murder Suspect Spent 6+ Years in Prison
By Sam Cohen, Fox 40-- A man accused of killing a woman, and then living with her corpse for a few months, spent prior time in prison for assault.

Riverside, California inmates to pay for their own jail stays
Q13 Fox News-- Inmates in Riverside County, Calif. will now have to pay for the privelage of their jail stays, reports the New York Times. The County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on the plan to bill for health care, food, and clothing.

CDCR Related

Victim's family: Release of teen's killer `slap in face'
By Dana Bartholomew, Los Angeles Daily News-- Karen Francis Severson, one of two San Fernando Valley women convicted of murdering her childhood best friend, has been released from prison.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Women’s Prison Conversion

Chowchilla women’s prison will house men
KALW-- In an effort to both ease overcrowding in the prison system and keep all prisons open and running, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has opted to convert Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s prison.

Women's prison in Chowchilla to house male inmates instead
The Los Angeles Times-- In a sign of the vast changes in California's prison system, the state department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Friday that it will convert a women's prison in Chowchilla to one that will house medium- and low-security male inmates.

Prisons dept. makes strides toward meeting court crowding order
The San Francisco Chronicle-- State prison officials announced Friday that they are converting a Chowchilla women’s prison into a low-to medium-security men’s lockup, the latest step in an ongoing effort to ensure California complies with a U.S. Supreme Court order to reduce its prison population.

California Institutions

Homicide Investigation Underway At California State Prison
KCRA-- California State Prison officials from the Sacramento Investigative Services Unit are investigating the death of an inmate who was discovered in his cell Saturday, authorities said.

Cellmate suspected in Folsom prisoner's killing
The Sacramento Bee-- The death of an inmate at California State Prison, Sacramento, early Saturday is being investigated as a homicide.

Cause of prison riot still not released
Associated Press-- A private prison in the western Oklahoma town of Sayre still does not have a cause it can release for a riot among inmates that occurred nearly two months ago, a spokesman for the facility says.

California Inmates

In California, a Plan to Charge Inmates for Their Stay
By Jennifer Medina, New York Times-- A one-night stay in this city’s finest hotel costs $190, complete with sumptuous sheets and a gourmet restaurant. Soon, a twin metal bunk at the county jail, with meals served on plastic trays, will run $142.42.

County officials hope to offer health treatment, prevention information to early-release prisoners
By Jim Steinberg, Redlands Daily-- The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health wants to connect with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prisoners immediately after their release to get a handle on cases of tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis.

State Workers

Psychologist accused of faking robbery, rape still works for prison system, authorities say
By Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee-- The prison psychologist accused of faking a rape and robbery at her Northgate home is still working for the prison system, a corrections spokeswoman confirmed today.

Folsom prison psychologist 'faked rape to get her husband to move to a better neighbourhood'
Daily Mail-- A Folsom prison psychologist faked a rape attack to persuade her husband to move to more desirable neighbourhood, police allege.

Prison Psychologist Arrested For Faking Her Own Rape
By Rowena Shaddox & Cristian Tapia, FOX40 News-- Sacramento Police arrested 36-year-old Laurie Martinez for faking that she was raped inside her Norgard Court home; all in a plot to get her husband to move them out of their neighborhood.

Realignment

Alameda County realignment plan "ambitious" but moving in the right direction
By Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune-- More than a hundred felons have filtered into Alameda County since Gov. Jerry Brown's controversial plan to shift inmates from state prisons to local jurisdictions kicked in on Oct. 1.

California's county jails struggle to house influx of state prisoners
By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times-- The early release of inmates in some parts of California is accelerating as officials at county jails struggle to accommodate state prisoners flowing into their facilities.

Butte County Jail crowded; prisoner realignment shifts 110 to county lockup
By Katy Sweeny, Enterprise Record-- Officers struggle every day with crowding in the Butte County Jail since the prisoner realignment.

Calaveras County Jail likely to fill
By Dana M. Nichols, Stockton Record-- By this coming summer, most of the beds in the Calaveras County Jail will be occupied by inmates who would previously have been in state prisons, Calaveras County District Attorney Barbara Yook said last week.

San Bernardino County Releasing 150 Inmates Early
By Gordon Tokumatsu and Neil Costes, NBC LA-- San Bernardino County on Friday began releasing 150 inmates early due to overcrowding.

First group of released prisoners hit the streets
By Melissa Pinion-Whitt and Mike Cruz, San Bernardino Sun-- The early release of 150 San Bernardino County jail inmates due to the state's prisoner realignment law generated mixed reactions among law enforcement and educators.

Imperial County to apply for state money to build second jail
By Silvio J. Panta, Imperial Valley Press-- The uncertainty over how California’s new sentencing law is going to impact the Imperial Valley has it applying for state funds to construct a 250-bed jail facility, a sheriff’s official said Thursday.

CDCR Related

Policing the police: Drug testing policies for officers vary throughout state
By Rachel Cook, Bakersfield Californian-- The arrest of a Bakersfield police officer suspected of using methamphetamine last week has stirred up questions about how law enforcement police their own for possible drug use.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Update on Riot at California State Prison-Sacramento
REPRESA – Officials from California State Prison-Sacramento’s Investigative Services Unit are investigating the cause of the December 7 riot that involved more than 150 maximum-security inmates.

CDCR Announces Plan to Convert Female Facility to House Lower-Level Male Inmates
Conversion will reduce inmate overcrowding and keep jobs in region

NEWS:

Realignment

Inmates set to be freed
By Mike Cruz, The Contra Costa Times-- Prison realignment leading to overcrowding. One-hundred-fifty parole violators could get an early release from county jails in the next several days so deputies can handle jail overcrowding that the Sheriff's Department says is due to state prison-realignment plans.

Early Jail Releases – More Serious Crime?
By Kathryn Herr, CBS 47-- It’s becoming more difficult to keep accused criminals locked up. It’s bad now, and may only get worse.

Overcrowding Forces Jails to Release Inmates
By Gina Tenorio, The Loma Linda Patch-- The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s will begin the process of releasing as many as 150 non-violent offenders from the county prisons today.

150 IE inmates to be free due to realignment
By Melissa MacBride, ABC -- More than a hundred San Bernardino County jail inmates will be released back on the streets due to overcrowding. It's the result of the state's controversial new realignment plan.

Imperial County to cover programs under new sentencing law at time of scarce resources, officials say
By Silvio J. Panta, Imperial Valley Press-- Tommie Rogers was uncertain about how low-level offenders released on parole under California’s new sentencing law would be served.

California Institutions

Officials Investigating California State Prison Riot
KPSP Local 2 News-- Officials from the California State Prison-Sacramento's Investigative Services Unit are looking into the cause of Wednesday's prison riot.

150 inmates in Folsom involved in prison riot
By Abby Sewell, The Los Angeles Times-- Corrections officials are investigating what led to a prison riot in Folsom that involved 150 inmates, triple the initial estimates.

Corrections Ups Number of Rioters to 150
By Bob Moffitt, Capitol Public Radio-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation now says 150 inmates were involved in Wednesday's riot at the New Folsom Prison and that 11 of those inmates had to be hospitalized. One had been shot.

150 inmates involved in prison riot
The Monterey County Herald-- Prison riot bigger than reported. More than 150 maximum-security inmates were involved in Wednesday's riot at the California State prison in Folsom. Eleven inmates were injured.

CDCR Related

San Diego Tackles Prisoner Recidivism Rates
By Nicholas McVicker, Alison St John-- Frederick Recupido, 35, recently arrived in San Diego after spending much of the last decade serving two terms in Tahachapi State Prison, located near Bakersfield. “I had no place to go,” he said.

Police allege Folsom prison psychologist staged fake rape attack
By Kim Minugh, The Sacramento Bee-- Sacramento police responded to a 911 call from the Martinez home on Norgard Court last April and found Laurie Ann Martinez lying on the floor, crying hysterically.

Chile looks to adopt California penal practices
By Steve Shea, Santiago Times-- The Chilean government is looking to open four new prisons, using California’s Solano State Prison, specifically, as a model. The Minister of Justice, Teodoro Ribera, submitted a proposal this week for the new prison system to President Sebastián Piñera on the one-year anniversary of the fire at San Miguel Prison.

OPINION

Find a way to keep fire crews
The Reporter-- California could be in danger of losing one of its most cost-effective tools in fighting wildland fires, all because state and county officials are fighting over which taxpayer pocket the money to pay for it should come out of.

Abolish the Death Penalty, Replace With Life Without Parole
By Ralph E. Stone, Fog City Journal-- The death penalty should be abolished in the United States because life without parole is more humane, less discriminatory, and a less costly alternative – and it avoids the risk of executing an innocent person.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Riot at California State Prison-Sacramento Contained
REPRESA – A riot involving approximately 50 inmates in the maximum-security yard at California State Prison-Sacramento was contained shortly after it broke out at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Prison staff used pepper spray and rubber projectiles and fired shots to quell the incident.

Remaining CDCR Contracts with Community Correctional Facilities Expire
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that the eight remaining contracts with Community Correctional Facilities (CCF) statewide expired last week as the state reduces the number of offenders eligible to be housed in CCFs.

NEWS:

California Institutions

Inmates hurt in California prison riot
CNN-- About 50 inmates rioted in the maximum-security yard at the California State Prison in Sacramento Wednesday afternoon, a prison spokeswoman said.

Prison guards shoot two inmates during Folsom riot
Los Angeles Times-- California prison guards Wednesday shot at least two inmates at a maximum-security facility near Sacramento as officers tried to quell a riot involving some 50 prisoners, officials said.

Calif inmates injured in riot at New Folsom prison
By Don Thompson, Associated Press -- Corrections officials say some inmates have been stabbed and were shot by guards during a riot at a prison east of Sacramento. Some employees also suffered minor injuries as they worked to quell the disturbance.

Guards shoot some prisoners to quell California riot
By Greg Lucas, Reuters-- Nine prisoners were wounded, some of them shot by guards, during a riot of 50 inmates at a California prison on Wednesday that was eventually quelled, authorities said.

Former Correction Officer: Riot at New Folsom State Prison
News 10-- Four of the nine inmates injured at California State Prison, Sacramento in Folsom --aka New Folsom State Prison--have been treated, released from the hospital, and sent back to prison.

Inmates Shot, Stabbed In New Folsom Prison Riot
KCRA-- Seven of 10 inmates injured during a riot at the California State Prison in Folsom have been released from hospitals and are back at the facility, a prison spokesman said Thursday morning.

The State: Nine inmates injured in prison riot
The Monterey County Herald-- Nine ambulances were called to a California state prison Wednesday after a riot that injured several inmates.

Inmates Riot at Sacramento Prison
Capital Public Radio-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says nine inmates have been hospitalized with stab wounds, bullet wounds and blunt force trauma. The department's Terry Thornton says the prison is on lockdown pending an investigation.

Inmates hurt in California prison riot
CNN-- About 50 inmates rioted in the maximum-security yard at the California State Prison in Sacramento Wednesday afternoon, a prison spokeswoman said.

Several injured during riot at California State Prison in Folsom
News 10-- A shooting at the California State Prison in Folsom has left several inmates and prison staff with injuries.

CDCR Contracts With Community Correctional Facilities Expire
KERO-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that the eight remaining contracts with Community Correctional Facilities (CCF) statewide expired last week as the state reduces the number of offenders eligible to be housed in CCFs.

Realignment

Santa Barbara County Will Apply For $80 Million For North County Jail
KION-- In a unanimous vote, the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors gave the go-ahead for Sheriff Bill Brown to apply for more jail funding to construct the North County Jail.

County jail, probation dept. challenged by realignment
By Skye Kinkade, Mount Shasta Area Newspapers -- Two months after the state’s public safety realignment plan went into effect, Siskiyou County is seeing an influx of inmates at a rate faster than expected.

California Inmates

Court orders inmate's death penalty reconsidered
The Associated Press -- A federal appeals court in San Francisco has ordered the reconsideration of the death sentence meted out to a man convicted of killing a police officer more than 30 years ago.

California Parole

WesSac murderer denied parole
Yolo County, District Attorney, The Woodland Press-- Convicted murderer Kevin Bruce was denied parole for a period of three years today at California State Prison-Solano in Vacaville, California.

CDCR Related

How one man got caught up in California's convoluted sex-offender law
By Kelly Davis, San Diego CityBeat-- For four days in March 2007, Charles Small had all the worst details of his life picked over: In his early 20s, just back from Vietnam, he’d been arrested twice for indecent exposure.

Former San Quentin warden pushes anti-death penalty initiative
By Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal -- During a 26-year career at San Quentin, including five years as warden, Jeanne Woodford says she was morally opposed to the capital punishment the entire time.

OPINION

Op-Ed: Wake Up! The case for abolishing the death penalty
The Stanford Press-- It is rare these days to find advanced first-world nations that still employ the death penalty. In fact, other countries that appear on the list of “Death Penalty Permitted” besides the United States are countries that have developed negative reputations over recent years.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

AB 900

Sheriff gets OK to seek jail funding
By Jim Johnson, Monterey Herald-- Joining the rush for newly available state funding, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave Sheriff Scott Miller the go-ahead to seek $80 million for expanding the overcrowded county jail.

Monterey County supervisors approve request to continue with jail grant
The Californian-- The pursuit for more jail space moved forward Tuesday as Monterey County Supervisors gave Sheriff Scott Miller the green light to continue with the application for $80 million in state money.

Realignment

Realignment May Reduce Inmate Firefighting Program
By Shirah Matsuzawa, NBC LA-- In the next year or two, the state may see a reduction of 1,500 inmates who work on firefighting crews.

New hires at Yolo sheriff's office
The Daily Democrat-- The Yolo County Sheriff's Department has hired nine employees to assist with the influx of prisoners from prison realignment.

California Institutions

County grand jury report cites narcotics and cellphone problems at local state prisons
By Silvio Panto, Imperial Valley Press-- An ongoing problem of illegal narcotics and a continuing issue with inmates in possession of cellular phones are problems that Centinela and Calipatria state prisons are dealing with, according to the findings of a final report issued by the Imperial County Civil Grand Jury.

CDCR Related

Man Linked To Missing SDSU Student To Be Released
San Diego 10 News-- The man who admitted to dumping to the body of San Diego State University student Donna Jou will walk free on Wednesday after serving just three years behind bars.

Man tied to student's death getting out of jail
By Greg Hardesty, The Orange County Register-- The parents of a college student from Rancho Santa Margarita who believe the man tied to her disappearance in 2007 fabricated his version of her death are scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday, decrying his scheduled release after serving about half of a five-year prison sentence.

Jacksonville Residents Get Warning From Victim's Family to be Careful of Soon-to-be-Released Inmate
First Coast News-- Family members of Donna Jou are sending a warning to Jacksonville residents over the release of a sex offender in California.

Former San Quentin warden pushes anti-death penalty initiative
By Gary Klien, San Jose Mercury News-- During a 26-year career at San Quentin, including five years as warden, Jeanne Woodford says she was morally opposed to the capital punishment the entire time. But she carried out the law, and oversaw four executions herself.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Juan V. Corona Denied Parole
CORCORAN-- The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today to inmate Juan V. Corona. Corona, 77, has been serving 25 concurrent terms of 25-years-to-life for 25 counts of first-degree murder.

NEWS:

Realignment

State prison realignment not risk-free
By Michael Fitzgerald, The Record-- While the city of Stockton is preoccupied fighting a full Fukushima financial meltdown, the state is shipping hundreds of criminals here, with little public scrutiny.

District Attorney’s Office seeks $968,000 for realignment costs
City News Service-- Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach will ask the Board of Supervisors today to earmark $968,000 to cover D.A. office expenses incurred from “realignment,” which shifted responsibility for a number of criminal justice activities from the state to counties.

Supes consider lease for probation center; it's hoped facility will bring better outcomes for prisoners, community
By Thadeus Greenson, The Times-Standard-- Humboldt County Chief Probation Officer Bill Damiano feels like he's trying to turn the Titanic.

Remaking case for a new jail
Santa Maria Times-- Thirteen months ago, voters in Santa Barbara County rejected Measure S, a half-cent sales tax to build and maintain a North County jail.

California Inmates

Calif. inmate shift could hurt firefighting crews
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- Moving California's lower-level criminals to counties could deprive the state of a third of its inmate firefighters unless agreements are reached with counties, officials said Monday.

Inmate shift threatens fire camps program
By Ryan Sabalow, The Record Searchlight-- California prison and fire officials told lawmakers Monday at least a third of the state's inmate fire crews might be disbanded by 2013 if county jailers are unable to provide the state with enough prisoners to keep them full.

CMF Inmates share the spirit refurbishing bikes for kids
By Catherine Bowen, The Reporter-- The spirit of giving is in the air, and inmates at California Medical Facility in Vacaville are getting into the action by assembling hundreds of bicycles to be donated to area children this Christmas.

Cellmate is suspect in death of CA prison inmate
The Associated Press-- Los Angeles County authorities say a California prisoner is suspected of killing his cellmate in Lancaster.

Inmate death at California State Prison investigated as homicide
By Seth Chavez, LA Law Schools Examiner-- Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California State Prison-Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC) are investigating the December 4, 2011, death of a 46-year-old inmate as a homicide.

Court: L.A. gang leader "Big Evil" off death row
Associated Press-- The California Supreme Court on Monday tossed out the murder convictions and death sentences of a Los Angeles gang leader who authorities believe was the "shot caller" responsible for as many as 60 killings.

California Parole

Calif. Man Who Killed 25 Farmworkers Denied Parole
By Don Thompson, Associated Press-- A California man who was once known as the nation's worst serial killer was again denied parole Monday after he admitted his guilt for the first time before the parole board.

Serial killer Juan Corona is denied parole a seventh time
By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times-- Juan Corona, convicted of killing 25 migrant workers in California some four decades ago, was again denied parole Monday.

Man who killed 25 is denied parole
CNN-- Now-aged serial killer Juan Corona was denied parole for the sixth time on Monday, California authorities said.

Mass murderer Juan Corona denied parole today
By Bill Lindelof, The Sacramento Bee-- Convicted mass murderer Juan V. Corona was denied parole today, the Sutter County district attorney's office reports.

Serial killer Juan Corona admits to murders
By Nancy Pasternack, Appeal-Democrat-- A killer convicted of murdering 25 transients in the orchards north of Yuba City 40 years ago confessed Monday during a parole hearing, and raised questions about additional killings.

Mass Murderer Juan Corona Denied Parole
KTLA-- Convicted mass murderer Juan Corona was denied parole today.

Ex-prosecutor, convicted wife beater denied parole
The Associated Press-- Former Sacramento prosecutor and convicted wife beater Richard Hamlin remains behind bars after his request for parole was denied.

CDCR Related:

Prison inmates in Arizona crying foul over medical care
By Bob Ortega, The Arizona Republic-- To stave off a lawsuit, Arizona's Department of Corrections has agreed to investigate scores of complaints by inmates that they are routinely denied medical care for weeks or months even for severe, life-threatening conditions.

Is Antiterrorism Training Keeping Up With the Diverging Threat?
By Jim McKay, Emergency Management-- Though Walid Shoebat’s message to about 300 South Dakota police officers that all Islamic organizations in America are the enemy and that Islam and terrorism are inseparable may be an extreme case, there is growing concern about the antiterrorism training being delivered to law enforcement and other first responders around the country.

OPINION:

Lawyers in Capital Cases
The New York Times-- Problems with lawyers routinely plague death penalty cases. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case involving a California death-row inmate’s request that his court-appointed lawyer be replaced. The court should not use this narrow case to limit the ability of defendants to get the representation they need.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Inmate Death at California State Prison – Los Angeles County Being Investigated as a Homicide
LANCASTER – Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California State Prison-Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC) are investigating the December 4, 2011, death of a 46-year-old inmate as a homicide.

NEWS:

Realignment

'Depopulation'
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- Not long ago, Dorm X buzzed with the chatter of dozens of state prisoners who were in protective custody.

Meeting to focus on inmate firefighters
The Reporter-- Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, Chair of the Rural Fire Protection Working Group, has called a meeting for Monday at the State Capitol to discuss the potential loss of inmate fire crews under the state's prison realignment program.

AB 900

Sheriff to lay out new jail plan
By Marga K. Cooley, Santa Maria Times-- Sheriff Bill Brown on Tuesday will ask the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to support an application for $80 million in state construction funds to build a new North County jail.

State Worker

Gov. picks local woman for labor post
By Chris Daley, The Mountain Democrat-- Brigid Hanson of Cameron Park started her new job last week as the assistant secretary for Labor Relations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

California Inmates

Inmate dies, cellmate suspected at LA-area prison
The Associated Press-- Authorities are investigating the possible killing of a prison inmate in northern Los Angeles County, and the man's cellmate is a suspect.

Lancaster prison inmate's death was homicide, officials suspect
By Larry Gordon, The Los Angeles Times-- The death of a male inmate at the state prison in Lancaster on Sunday is being investigated as a homicide, and his cellmate is the main suspect, authorities said.

California Parole

Calif. man who killed 25 farmworkers up for parole
Associated Press-- A California man who once was the nation's worst known serial killer is up for parole, four decades after the mutilated bodies of 25 farmworkers were unearthed in orchards north of Sacramento.

Juan Corona goes before parole board Monday
By Rob Parsons, The Appeal Democrat-- More than 40 years after the worst mass murder in California history, convicted killer Juan Corona is set appear before the state parole board on Monday.

CDCR Related

Six-Figure Settlement But California Prisons Keeps No-Beards Policy
By Anju Kaur, The Sikh News Network-- Trilochan Singh Oberoi, a retired Indian naval officer who is now an American citizen, was working at Walmart before the California state prisons system offered him a settlement he could not refuse: A $61,000-a-year job and $295,000 in damages.

OPINION:

California's Prisoner Problem
By Larry Gerston, NBC LA-- Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's idea of sending state prisoners to county jails may be helpful to the goal of meeting a federal court order to pare 30,000 inmates from the state prison population.

Law enforcement keeps eye on impact of new state laws
The Bakersfield Californian-- The New Year is almost upon us. As a result of legislative action taken during the course of the year, several new laws will be enacted on Jan. 1. While I cannot include all the new laws here, I would like to address several of the ones local law enforcement has been keeping a close eye on during the past legislative session.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

Calif Prison Realignment Is a Charade … Lindsay Lohan is Exhibit ‘A’
By Wayne Lusvardi, CityWatch LA-- Gov. Jerry Brown’s prison realignment involves diverting lesser offenders to county jail instead of state prisons. But due to a history of bad choices by policy makers, not due to realignment per se, it will end up part of the existing revolving-door system of justice for lower-level crimes

Inmate influx
By Jamie Gentner, Siskiyou Daily News -- The Associated Press (AP) reported at the end of November that some counties are seeing a higher-than-expected influx of inmates as a result of the state’s realignment, and Siskiyou County is following that trend.

California Inmates

Inmate shares story at Vacaville prison for World AIDS Day
By Catherine Bowen, The Reporter-- For Bob Fenenbock, the commemoration of World AIDS Day on Thursday at Vacaville's California Medical Facility took on a very personal meaning.

California Parole

Where was Betty Lou?
By Ty Beaver, Herald and News-- Bonnie Sue Dukes walked into the cemetery on the northeastern edge of town. It was a cold spring day in 2011. She was visiting the grave of her daughter, Betty Lou Parks, killed in 1992.

The road to justice
By Ty Beaver, Herald and News-- Jordan Funk let it be known he was angry. He couldn’t believe the new district attorney was giving Christopher Bradbury a plea deal in the murder of Betty Lou Parks. He even signed on, pro bono, to represent Parks’ family in protesting and trying to block the plea agreement.

CDCR Related

How an electoral tweak is throwing California lobbyists into disarray
By Rina Palta, KALW-- In 2012, a big shift will hit California’s electoral system: open primaries. Open primaries, brought in by voters through 2010′s Proposition 14, will allow the top two vote-getters in any primary for state office to advance to the general election, which means we could see districts with two Republicans or two Democrats competing in a general election.

OPINION

Releasing prisoners to county
By Michelle Scray Chief Probation Officer- Highland Community News-- The Public Safety Realignment Bill, known popularly as AB 109, was signed into law by Governor Brown on April 5, 2011. It represents the most sweeping changes to community corrections in a generation.

Physicians, heal thyselves
The Stockton Record-- The Los Angeles Times reported this week that at least 30 physicians and mental health professionals collected about $8.7 million since 2006 as they went through a lengthy appeals process to determine whether they should be fired or reinstated.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

CDCR Agents Instrumental in Capture of New Jersey Man Suspected of Murdering of His Daughter
Sacramento -- Members of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Fugitive Apprehension Team were instrumental in the November 29 capture in San Diego of a 27-year-old man who was on the run from New Jersey police for allegedly killing his 2-year-old daughter.

Inmates Captured After Walking Away from Minimum Support Facility at Salinas Valley State Prison
SALINAS– The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the apprehension of two inmates who walked away from the Minimum Support Facility at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) on November 19, 2011.

NEWS:

Realignment

Inmate shift quickly filling some California jails
By Don Thompson and Greg Risling, Associated Press--Two months into California's most far-reaching public safety realignment in decades, some counties are seeing a higher-than-expected influx of inmates who could crowd jails to the breaking point much earlier than expected.

Inmates sentenced below projections
By David Marsh, Valley Voice Newspaper-- While neighboring counties resort to desperate measures in an attempt to cope with rising jail populations resulting from a flood of newly arriving inmates under the state's AB 109 realignment plan, Tulare County corrections officials are seeing numbers lower than those previously projected by the state.

Finding solutions for jail overcrowding
By Jason Campbell, Manteca Bulletin-- San Joaquin County Sherriff Steve Moore knows that he’s going to have to do something about the number of convicted felons that will soon start trickling into the county jail.

Parolee Population Concerns City Heights Residents
KGTV San Diego-- Nearly 200 City Heights residents attended a meeting on Wednesday to voice concerns over a new law that shifts responsibility for thousands of criminals and parolees to the county.

About 85 parolees released in Kern under realignment
Bakersfield Californian-- As of Wednesday, about 85 parolees had been released early from Kern County jails because of overcrowding caused by the state's prison realignment plan, Kern County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Kevin Zimmerman said.

Antonovich rails against prison realignment
By Jim Holt, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal-- Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said he wants the state to stop dumping violent offenders in Los Angeles County.

California Inmates

Two Salinas Valley State Prison Escapees, Back Behind Bars
By David Lee, KION-- The two escapees who broke out of Salinas Valley State Prison on November 19th are back behind bars.

Salinas Valley State Prison escapees captured
By Sunita Vijayan, The Salinas Californian-- Two minimum-security inmates who escaped nearly two weeks ago from the Salinas Valley State Prison near Soledad have been captured, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced today.

Escaped state prison inmate captured in Compton
Contra Costa Times-- One of two inmates who walked away from a minimum- security facility in Salinas was arrested in Compton, state prison officials reported today.

Music therapy heals the ill and calms Soledad prison inmates in real, measurable ways.
By Sara Rubin, Monterey Weekly-- Doctors didn’t think a 32-year-old survivor of a brainstem stroke could even hear, much less respond to the world around her. She’d lost all mobility, except for blinking, and her voice. But Seaside’s Cathy Rivera, a music therapist, patiently plucked a guitar and sang to her paralyzed client for years, until she developed enough strength in her hand to play chords and keep time with a metronome.  

CDCR Related

Campaign to repeal California death penalty nets nearly $1.2 million
By Torey Van Oot, The Sacramento Bee-- A group seeking to ask California voters to repeal the death penalty has netted nearly $1.2 million in recent weeks to aid its drive to qualify for the 2012 ballot.

Jhessye Shockley Missing: Arizona Girl's Mom Not Charged After Arrest For Child Abuse
Huffington Post-- A week after she was taken into custody by police on suspicion of child abuse, the mother of missing Arizona girl Jhessye Shockley was released without charges.

Jail sentence angers Jacksons
The Canberra Times-- Michael Jackson's mother Katherine and his brother Jermaine have condemned Conrad Murray's four-year prison sentence as pitiful, insisting the punishment is not enough.

OPINION:

Our Voice: Guarantee payment for the shift of criminals to counties
The Desert Sun-- The Desert Sun joins Riverside County public safety leaders in their call for the state to pay for the cost of housing low-level criminals in county jails instead of state prisons.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

State inmate numbers up slightly for SB, SLO counties
Santa Maria Times-- Two months into a “realignment” program that diverts some state prisoners to local custody, Santa Barbara County is seeing slightly more than the expected number of inmates, law enforcement officials say.

Tuolumne County Selects BI Incorporated to Open Day Reporting Program for Adult Probationers
By BI Incorporated, Corrections.com-- The Tuolumne County Probation Department has selected BI Incorporated, the nation’s largest provider of treatment, training and supervision programs for community corrections, to open and operate a day reporting program for adult probationers.

Alameda County finalizes prison realignment plan details
By Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune-- Alameda County has finalized details for dealing with hundreds of felons the probation department will inherit from the state as a result of the controversial realignment program that kicked in Oct. 1.

Local Inmates May Be Released Early With Anklets
By Jessica E. Davis, Temecula Patch-- A new state law affecting overcrowding in prisons may cause inmates to be released prematurely with ankle bracelets, officials say.

State Workers

Prison doctors facing malpractice take home 6-figure salaries
KPCC-- State records show that California's prisons have paid at least 30 doctors and mental health doctors suspected of malpractice millions of dollars in pay for years, all for doing little to no actual work.

California prison doctors get millions while not working
Associated Press -- California prison doctors barred from treating patients because they were suspected of malpractice received nearly $9 million in pay for doing no work or only menial chores like sorting the mail, state records show.

California Institutions

State will be paying $10 million for CCF
Taft Midway Driller -- The state of California may be broke, but it is going to commit itself to paying nearly $10 million in lease payments over the next 5 years for a facility it has no plans to use -- the now-closed Taft Correctional Facility.

California Parole

Gregory Matthew Miley, Accomplice of "Freeway Killer" William Bonin, Seeks Parole
By Matt Coker, The OC Weekly-- Gregory Matthew Miley could have received the death penalty for his role in the kidnappings, sexual assaults and murders of two boys in Orange and Los Angeles counties the morning of Feb. 3, 1980.

D.A. Against Parole for Man Convicted of Murdering Two Teen Boys
By City News Service, West Hollywood Patch-- The Orange County district attorney's office expects to fight against parole Wednesday for a man convicted of taking part in the kidnap-murders of two boys, ages 12 and 14, in February 1980.

Killer who shot a man in the face denied parole
By Larry Welborn, The Orange County Register-- A 51-year-old Santa Ana man serving a term of 19 years to life in prison for murdering a man outside a bar after an argument over a woman in 1995 was rejected in his application for parole Tuesday after a hearing at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.

CDCR Related

Jackson doctor sentence example of new sentencing law
ABC7-- Dr. Conrad Murray's case is highlighting how California's new sentencing laws for non-violent, non-serious offenses are working.

Murray sentence puts spotlight on state prison system
By Nannette Miranda, ABC7-- Why will Dr. Conrad Murray do his time in county jail instead of a state prison? It's because of the state's effort to save money on the cost of housing inmates.

Jackson doc gets 4-year sentence, tongue lashing
By Linda Deutsch, AP-- It was clear that Michael Jackson's doctor was going to get the maximum four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter before the judge even finished speaking.

Conrad Murray gets four years for role in Michael Jackson's death
By Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times-- The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray in the drug overdose death of Michael Jackson ended with a resounding rebuke from the trial judge, who lambasted his treatment as "money for medicine madness."

D.A. to seek to have Conrad Murray serve his time in state prison
By Richard Winton, The Los Angeles Times-- Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Tuesday said his office would fight to have Dr. Conrad Murray serve his four-year sentence in a state prison, rather than county jail.

Jackson's Doctor Gets Four Years, Will Serve Two
By Ethan Smith, Wall Street Journal-- A judge sentenced Michael Jackson's doctor to four years in a county jail for his role in the pop singer's 2009 death, calling Conrad Murray "a disgrace to the medical profession" in blistering remarks.

Burglar faces possible 75 years for third strike
By Joel Metzger, Calaveras Enterprise-- Gerald Wise is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. A decade-old case came to a close Nov. 16 when a jury found Wise guilty of committing three felonies during a crime spree in Arnold, and he now faces 75-years-to-life in prison.

OPINION

State must fix three strikes law
San Jose Mercury News-- Californians can no longer afford their emotional overreaction to the high crime rates of the 1990s. It's past time to revise the state's 17-year-old Three Strikes Law and take a more nuanced approach to dealing with repeat felons.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

‘Smart on Crime’ Plan Not So Smart without Transparency and Community Help
By Janet Denise Kelly, CityWatch LA-- California is making the transition to become smart on crime. AB 109 that took effect in October of this year shifts the responsibility for newly convicted offenders who are deemed to be non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenders from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to local counties.

Prisoner realignment might affect Colonies case
By Joe Nelson, San Bernardino Sun-- A new law meant to reduce California's prison population raises questions as to whether four defendants in a sweeping San Bernardino County corruption case would serve time in prison if convicted.

Residents Voice Concerns About Inmates' Move
By Bianca Rae, KESQ-- In October, the state moved some prison inmates into county jails. Now, two months later, people are speaking out.

Riverside County accepts 735 parolees from state prisons
By Kate McGinty, The Desert Sun-- Riverside County has taken over control of 735 parolees since a state law went into effect Oct. 1 and shifted oversight of most felons to local counties.

Officials push for more money to cover costs of parolees
By Kate McGinty,The Desert Sun-- With nearly a year to go until the next statewide election, Riverside County public safety leaders ramped up efforts Monday to secure voter support for a proposed amendment to the state constitution.

State Workers

Some California prison doctors, barred from seeing patients, collect full pay
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times -- California prisons have paid doctors and mental health professionals accused of malpractice an estimated $8.7 million since 2006 to do no work at all or to perform menial chores such as sorting mail, tossing out old medical supplies and reviewing inmate charts for clerical errors.

California Inmates

Plan to deter prison crime hits a snag
By Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate-- District Attorney Jon Alexander hit a snag last week in his campaign to seek fines to deter criminal activity by inmates serving long sentences at Pelican Bay State Prison.

CDCR Related

Three Strikes Project drafts ballot initiative
By Margaret Rawson, Stanford Daily-- Faculty and students involved with Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project have drafted a ballot initiative that would revise California’s controversial Three Strikes Law.

Conservatives eye criminal justice spending
By Julia Reynolds, Monterey County Herald -- Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Ed Meese... They're not names most Americans would associate with a criminal justice reform movement calling for fewer prisons, shorter sentences, and lower incarceration rates.

Convicted RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan seeks prison release
By Michael Martinez, CNN-- Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, should be freed from prison or granted a new trial based on "formidable evidence" asserting his innocence and "horrendous violations" of his rights, defense attorneys said in federal court papers filed this week.

Sirhan Sirhan: Lawyers for RFK assassin allege new forensic evidence
By Linda Deutsch, Associated Press-- Lawyers representing convicted assassin Sirhan Sirhan argue in newly filed court documents that a bullet was switched in evidence at his trial and new forensic details show he is innocent of the 1968 killing of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

Fresno County Jail turning away parole violators
The Associated Press-- Fresno County officials say overcrowding in the county jail is forcing them to turn away some parole violators.

First Adult Pre-Trial Facility pods opened
By David Marsh, The Valley Voice Newspaper-- AB 109 is presenting a unique set of challenges in 58 different ways, as officials in each of the state's 58 counties are quickly finding out.

Yolo County looking at possible jail expansion
By Katherine Jarvis, The Daily Democrat -- Yolo County has expressed interest in expanding its nearly 23-year-old jail but questions remain whether the county can afford to operate a larger facility.

Jail Fee Benefits Unclear—Officials
By Glenn Barr, Mountain News-- Local governments sometimes imitate each other when it comes to innovative programs. But a new Riverside County ordinance to require jail inmates to pay $142 a day for their upkeep may have dubious prospects in San Bernardino County, officials say, at least in its adopted form.

Town Hall Meeting Addresses Prison Realignment & Its Impact
KPSP Local 2 News-- A town hall forum Monday will focus on the state's public safety realignment and its impacts.

California Institutions

State ends contract with Desert View prison in Adelanto
By Natasha Lindstrom, The Victorville Daily Press-- The state has canceled its contract with the privately operated Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility, putting about 150 workers out of a job.

California Inmates

Notorious Kern County killer dies of natural causes on death row
By Jason Kotowski, The Bakersfield Californian-- One of Kern County's most infamous killers died in his prison cell from natural causes Tuesday night.

Man who murdered 3 USC film students in 1978 dies on death row
By Andrew Blankstein, The Los Angeles Times-- A San Quentin inmate on death row for the 1978 murder of three USC film students was found dead in his cell, state prison officials said Wednesday.

Man Who Killed 3 USC Film Students Dies On Death Row
By Lindsay William-Ross, LAist-- David Leslie Murtishaw, convicted and sentenced to death for the 1978 murders of three University of Southern California film students, was found dead in his cell at San Quentin State Prison late last night.

Kern triple murderer dies on Death Row – of natural causes
KGET-TV -- A man sentenced to death for three Kern County murders has died in San Quentin's Death Row -- of natural causes.

Some behind bars will eat well today; others will not
By Katie Nelson, News-Sentinel-- Inmates in California prisons are behind bars for a number of reasons, be it grand theft, fraud or murder. But today, criminals will have something special to be thankful for — a hot Thanksgiving meal.

The Missing Chair at the Holiday Table
By Gretchen Burns Bergman, The Huffington Post-- Mothers Decry the Family Devastation Caused by the War on Drugs

Care and atonement: At a loss for the right words
By Kurt Streeter,Los Angeles Times -- My name, he wrote, is John Paul Madrona. "I just want to say I am sorry for the pain I have brought to you."

Capital Punishment

Death row inmates' desire to die renews debate
By Carol J. Williams, The Los Angeles Times-- Serial wife-killer Jerry Stanley wants to die. Imprisoned on death row for the past 28 years, Stanley insists he deserves execution for the cold-blooded killing of his fourth wife in 1980 and for shooting to death his second wife five years earlier in front of their two children.

CDCR Related

'3 strikes': Proposed law tries to restore intent
By Marisa Lagos, The San Francisco Chronicle-- As California braces for more budget cuts and moves forward with a plan to reduce its prison population by 33,000 inmates, opponents of the state's "three strikes and you're out" law are preparing to ask voters to make major changes to the harsh sentencing mandate.

The hidden impact of three strikes
By Julia Reynolds, The Monterey Herald-- Across California, hundreds of criminals convicted of non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual crimes last month were no longer sent to prison under the state's massive inmate realignment — but this group of "low level" offenders does not include more than 2,200 inmates currently imprisoned for the exact same crimes.

OPINION

The real prison industry
By JonahbGoldberg, NewsDay-- I've long thought the notion of a prison-industrial complex to be laughable left-wing nonsense peddled by Marxist goofballs and other passengers in the clown car of academic identity politics.

Death penalty just a cruel joke
Chico Enterprise-Record -- Our view: When death row inmates are better at killing themselves than the state is at executing them, it's time for a change.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Jeffrey Callison

Radio host Jeffrey Callison appointed to Corrections job
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee-- Jeffrey Callison, whose Scottish brogue has been a distinctive feature of Capital Public Radio's "Insight" radio program for years, has been tapped for the press secretary of media relations position for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Capital Public Radio host Jeffrey Callison named to media position at prisons agency
By Jon Ortiz and Ryan Lillis, The Sacramento Bee-- Jeffrey Callison, whose Scottish brogue has been a distinctive feature of Capital Public Radio's "Insight" radio program for years, has been tapped as press secretary of media relations in the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Capital Public Radio host Callison moving to press secretary job
By Melissa Wiese, Sacramento Business Journal-- Jeffrey Callison, host of Insight, a public affairs program on Capital Public Radio , will move on to work as a press secretary for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Realignment

GCOE will educate state inmates
By Susan Meeker, Tri-County Newspapers-- When the state starts shifting some of its prisoners to Glenn County to supervise, rehabilitate and manage, their education will likely fall to the Glenn County Office of Education, school officials said.

California Institutions

Another prison riot at Pelican Bay
By Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate-- Dozens of inmates rioted at Pelican Bay State Prison on Tuesday, the second uprising in nine days.

California Inmates

2 inmates charged in guard attack at Pelican Bay
The Associated Press-- Two Pelican Bay State Prison inmates have been charged with attempted murder in a January attack on three correctional officers.

Parole

GPS tracking being discussed regarding prisoner releases
By Penne Usher, El Dorado Telegraph-- The monitoring of criminals using electronic devices can be a useful tool for law enforcement — however, they are only part of the equation.

CDCR Related

19 Arrested During South Monterey Gang Sweep
KSBW-- On Friday, November 18, 2011 2:00 PM, the four South Monterey County Police Departments of Greenfield, King City, Soledad and Gonzales, along with Officers from the California Highway Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, California Department of Rehabilitation, (Salinas Valley State Prison), California Department of Corrections (State Parole) and Del Rey Oaks Police Department participated in a multi-jurisdictional Cal- GRIP gang suppression operation.

OPINION

Is realignment an opportunity? If so, let’s not waste it on building costly jail beds.
By Emily Harris, Capitol Weekly-- November 17th's "California's Prison System - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” conference, organized by Capitol Weekly and the University of California, brought together experts, advocates, and law enforcement and highlighted the devastating impacts of the expansion of California's prison system and consequent shift in state spending on education and social services.

Realignment is a dangerous, reckless mess
By Jim Nielsen, Capitol Weekly-- Last week, Capitol Weekly sponsored a panel discussion on the governor’s public safety realignment. The more discussion and scrutiny that can be focused on this ill-conceived policy the better.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

Riverside County Charges for Jail Time
By Paul Krueger, NBC-- Riverside County has a new motto: "If you do the crime, you'll do the time, and now, you'll also pay the dime."

Activists fear Calif. prison release plan won’t work
By Charlene Muhammad, National News-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has been releasing inmates from its prisons under a federal order to reduce overcrowding but some activists and community-based organizations remain confused about the plan and how it will be implemented.

State Workers

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation updates jobs lists
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has posted a new list that shows where the agency is overstaffed and cutting jobs and where it is understaffed and is looking to fill positions.

State Fund's layoff deal unavailable for staff who already left
By Jon Ortiz, The Sacramento Bee-- A question has come up from a few State Worker blog users about the severance package that the State Compensation Insurance Fund is offering employees in danger of layoff: Can State Fund staff who recently decided to leave rather than move or be terminated get the package?

California Inmates

Salinas Valley prison escapees still at large
By Sunita Vijayan, The Californian-- Authorities said Monday they are still searching for two minimum-security inmates who escaped Saturday night from the Salinas Valley State Prison just north of Soledad.

Inmates Use Smart Phones to Harass Victims on Facebook
By Susanne Brunner, KION-- Smart phones are letting criminals terrorize their victims. On Monday, the Center for Investigative Action learned what's being done to stop the growing problem. We first told you in May about the cell phone smuggling epidemic in state prisons.

Inmates "Like" Using Facebook to Intimidate Victims
KMPH-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says more inmates are using social networking sites like Facebook to harass their victims and accusers.

Authorities Say Jail Doesn't Keep Some Criminals From Harassing Victims
By Carrie Winchel, KSPR-- Authorities say inmates are using social networks and the growing numbers of smartphones smuggled into prisons and jails to harass their victims or accusers and intimidate witnesses.

In prison hospice, at a loss for the right words
By Kurt Streeter, Los Angeles Times-- Second of two parts-- My name, he wrote, is John Paul Madrona. "I just want to say I am sorry for the pain I have brought to you…"

CDCR Related

Felony Drug Court graduation held today
The Daily Democrat-- The Yolo Superior Court will hold a court proceeding and formal ceremony Monday, for graduates of the Court's Felony Probation Drug Court... Six men and one woman are scheduled to graduate, saving taxpayers $1,012,928. The savings is based on the annual cost of $44,688 for incarceration as determined by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 2009-2010 budget.

Mother of missing girl arrested on child abuse charges
KTAR-- Glendale police have arrested Jerice Hunter, mother of missing Glendale girl Jhessye Shockley, on charges of child abuse related directly to her daughter.

Missing girl's mom arrested on child abuse charges
By Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press -- Police on Monday arrested the mother of a missing 5-year-old Arizona girl on child abuse charges "directly related" to the girl, and said they don't believe they'll find the child alive.

OPINION

Bulging Jails Are Other American Exception
By Albert R. Hunt, Bloomberg News--One area where the U.S. indisputably leads the world is incarceration. There are 2.3 million people behind bars, almost one in every 100 Americans.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

District Atty: Realignment "Overly Optimistic"
By Conan Nolan, NBC-- California’s new prison program, which will transfer state prisoners to local jails, is “an ill-conceived fool’s errand,” according to L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

Prison plan sways prosecutors in filing charges
By Marisa Lagos, SF Chronicle-- Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley's office handles about one-third of California's felony convictions, making this single county critical to the success of Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to reduce prison overcrowding by sentencing nonviolent felony offenders to county jails.

Shifting prisoners to counties could strain local services
By Sam Pearson, California Watch-- California needs to pay attention to potential strains on county services as it implements Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to shift nonviolent criminals and parolees to counties, a RAND Corp. study

Prison realignment pressures county jail space
By Neil Nisperos, Contra Costa Times-- San Bernardino County jailers are putting more inmates in work release programs and using electronic monitoring to make way for state prisoners.

Riverside County to make inmates pay jail costs
By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times-- A judge will decide whether and how much each convict is able to pay. Riverside County officials say the state probably won't cover the costs of putting inmates in county jails instead of state prisons.

One stop, one goal
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore, Stockton Record-- In the past, when Victor Corral got out of prison, geography could get him into trouble.

Layoffs

State, workers grapple with prison layoff process
By Rachel Cook, Bakersfield Californian-- Many correctional workers are in limbo as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's first "wave" of layoffs rolls out.

California Inmates

Secrecy Surrounds Inmate Suicides in California State Prisons
By Julianne Hing, Colorlines-- California prisoner advocate groups have raised alarm about a string of suicides in California state prisons committed by inmates who participated in hunger strikes this year to demand an end to inhumane conditions.

Advocates Link Inmate Suicides to Recent Hunger Strike
By Erin Sherbert, SF Weekly-- Advocates for prisoners involved in the recent hunger strikes are linking three inmate suicides to the unsavory prison conditions that prisoners had been protesting when they refused to eat state-issued meals for several weeks.

In California, most youthful offenders stay in juvenile detention
By Raul Hernandez, Ventura County Star-- Although California law technically allows juvenile offenders, under very specific circumstances, to be housed in adult jails, it rarely happens.

Inmates harass victims via Facebook
By Don Thompson, The Associated Press-- Lisa Gesik hesitates to log into her Facebook account nowadays because of unwanted "friend" requests, not from long-ago classmates but from the ex-husband now in prison for kidnapping her and her daughter.

Amid ill and dying inmates, a search for redemption
By Kurt Streeter, Los Angeles Times-- The two men walked slowly through the steel-framed door, the older one leading the younger. The door slammed shut behind them.

CDCR Related

Vallejo, Calif., police officer fatally shot
The Associated Press-- A veteran police officer was killed Thursday when he was shot during a pursuit of bank robbery suspects, authorities said Thursday.

Lone suspect identified in Vallejo officer's slaying
By Jessica A. York and Tony Burchyns, Mercury News-- A man accused of robbing a bank and then shooting and killing the police officer who chased him through the streets of Vallejo acted alone, authorities said Friday.

Fairfield man arrested in killing of Vallejo police officer
The Associated Press-- Authorities identified a suspect arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a Vallejo police officer as residents and city officials on Friday mourned the officer’s death.

Vallejo community mourns death of officer
By Jonathan Bloom, ABC 7-- Throughout the day Friday, the memorial on the front steps of the Vallejo Police Department nearly doubled in size. Many came to pay their respects to Officer Jim Capoot as an officer and a mentor in the police department, but he was also a mentor to the dozens of teenagers he coached in high school basketball.

Three get life without parole for killing during robbery
By Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee-- Salvador Heredia-Arriaga Jr.'s energy pushed him deeply into football. It directed him back to his old high school where he taught and coached. It landed him in law school at night where he studied to be an immigration lawyer.

Killer's death brings closure: Family of Oroville boy relieved death row inmate finally gone
By Barbara Arrigoni, Chico ER-- When Lou and Yola Cecchi heard that the man who murdered their grandson 13 years ago had killed himself, the report brought shock that gave way to relief, a sense of justice and something else: They were glad.

Governor Brown Issues Statement on Death of San Bernardino Police Department Officer
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the death of San Bernardino Police Department Officer Daniel Clark:

OPINION:

California's prison realignment has perils, potential
The Modesto Bee-- Many people are already convinced that shifting custody of low-level felons from state prisons to county jails and probation departments is going to be a disaster.

Parolee released on medical basis re-evaluated
San Francisco Chronicle-- Any policy change involving the release of criminals is bound to hit a few bumps - but this one had us wondering.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Condemned Inmate Brandon Wilson Dies of Suicide
SAN QUENTIN – Condemned inmate Brandon Wilson, 33, who was on death row for the murder of a 9-year-old boy, was found hanging in his cell this morning at San Quentin State Prison. Wilson was pronounced dead at 6:47 a.m. He was single-celled.

NEWS:

Realignment

Prisoner with violent record headed to L.A. area hospital
The Los Angeles Times-- State officials have decided to release a prisoner with a history of violent crimes to a local hospital over the objections of Los Angeles County supervisors.

Antonovich calls on Brown to stop transfers of dangerous inmates
The Downey Patriot-- Citing the pending transfer of a violent state prisoner to a county hospital on Friday, County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich called on the Governor to honor the commitments made by the state under the AB 109 realignment plan, which states that only low-level prisoners subject to parole -- and not deemed to be a mentally disordered offender -- can be assigned to county supervision.

California Inmates

63 Pelican Bay inmates riot
By Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate-- A riot involving 63 inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison broke out on Sunday morning.

Pelican Bay inmates still on lockdown after riot
Associated Press-- Pelican Bay prisoners remain on lockdown after a riot broke out over the weekend, involving 63 inmates and injuring three.

Inmates Who Escaped from Suisun-Area Facility Still At Large
By Bay City News Service-- Two minimum-security inmates who escaped from the Delta Conservation Camp just outside of Suisun City on Tuesday morning are still at large, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman said today.

Condemned child killer hangs self on California death row
By Emmett Berg, Reuters-- A man convicted in the 1998 murder of a 9-year-old boy was found hanging in his death row prison cell on Thursday in an apparent suicide at a Northern California prison, officials said.

Man Who Killed Boy In Oceanside Restroom Dies In Prison
News 10-- A man on death row for murdering a 9-year-old boy in Oceanside 13 years ago was found dead in his cell at San Quentin State Prison Thursday, a death authorities believe was a suicide.

Man who killed Oroville boy hangs himself
AP-- A California death row inmate who senselessly killed a 9-year-old Oroville boy in an Oceanside park restroom has committed suicide, almost 13 years to the day after the crime.

Convicted child-killer commits suicide in prison
By Brandon Lowrey, North County Times-- Brandon Wilson, a man on death row for killing a 9-year-old boy in an Oceanside Harbor public restroom 13 years ago, was found dead Thursday, hanging in his cell at San Quentin State Prison, authorities said.

California Parole

Charles 'Tex' Watson: No Parole 42 Years After Manson 'Family' Killings
The Huffington Post-- Charles "Tex" Watson, the former disciple of Charles Manson who once referred to himself as the cult leader's "lieutenant for killing," has been denied parole again.

CDCR Related

Man convicted in wife's contract killing is sentenced to death
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- As hired killers slit Pamela Fayed's throat in a Century City parking garage, her "bloodcurdling" screams echoed throughout the structure. Bystanders turned their heads in the direction of the horrific attack, footage from security cameras shows.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS

Inmate Charles Watson Denied Parole
IONE – The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today to inmate Charles Denton Watson at a parole suitability hearing at Mule Creek State Prison. Inmate Watson, 65, has been serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1969 Manson Family murders.

NEWS:

Realignment

Prisoners with Serious Mental Health Issues Land in LA County
By Hazel Lodevico-To'o, Glendora Patch-- Los Angeles County is dealing with state prisoners with more serious mental illnesses than anticipated, while about half of those prisoners are refusing treatment, county officials told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Supervisors approve prisoner realignment plan
By Greg Welter, Chico Enterprise-Record-- Brandon Thompson said he's especially hopeful about one aspect of Glenn County's plan to supervise offenders who will complete their prison sentences on probation in their home communities.

L.A. County supervisor concerned about inmate realignment
By Miriam Hernandez, ABC-- Concerns are being raised over the possible release of a potentially dangerous inmate due to jail overcrowding.

S.B. County jails seeing expected rise in state prisoners
Victorville Daily Press-- One month into California’s prison realignment process, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials say they’re well within projected numbers of prisoners kept in local jails while other counties are dealing with hundreds more state prisoners than anticipated.

County hopes to avoid jail overcrowding
By Michelle Knight, The Acorn-- Ventura County justice experts said earlier this month that they’re crafting a plan to prevent jail overcrowding as a new law hands them the responsibility of housing hundreds of low-level offenders who will be transferred from state prisons.

Realignment running smoothly says sheriff's department
The Valley Voice Newspaper-- A month and a half into the AB 109 realignment plan, Tulare County jail administrators are continuing to absorb a steady stream of new inmates into the county's four main jail facilities.

California jails getting more state prisoners
By Richard Winton, Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times-- The number of state prisoners arriving in county jails under California's controversial prison diversion program is significantly higher than officials had estimated, adding new pressure on sheriff's departments to figure out what to do with thousands of extra inmates.

California Institutions

No significant progress on Taft CCF
By Doug Keeler , Taft Midway Driller -- Only a handful of employees will be left at the Taft Community Correctional Facility after Friday, leaving more than 40 people without jobs and leaving the city without a major source of revenue.

California Parole

Cult Leader Manson Follower 'Tex' Watson Denied Parole
Associated Press-- The self-described right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson, who was convicted of orchestrating the Tate-LaBianca slayings 42 years ago, was denied parole from a California prison Wednesday for the 14th time.

Charles Manson's 'right hand man' seeks parole for 14th time after becoming a born-again Christian in prison - and gets denied
Daily Mail-- Charles 'Tex' Watson appeared before a parole board in California to seek release after being denied over a dozen times before - and was denied again.

Manson accomplice denied parole in California
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters-- Charles "Tex" Watson, imprisoned for his role in the Manson family Tate-LaBianca killings of 1969, was denied his latest request for release on parole on Wednesday, prison officials said.

Manson Follower Charles "Tex" Watson Denied Parole, Again
KTLA-- Charles "Tex" Watson, jailed for his role in the Manson family Tate-LaBianca killings of 1969, appeared before a parole board on Wednesday and was denied release for the 16th time.

Manson follower Charles 'Tex' Watson denied parole
Los Angeles Times-- The self-described right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson was denied parole Wednesday for the 14th time after decades behind bars. He will be considered for another parole review in five years.

Corona Sex Registration Sweep Leads to Three Arrests
KPSP-- A compliance sweep to ensure convicted sex offenders living in the Corona area were abiding by the terms of their parole uncovered no violations, but three other people with outstanding warrants were taken into custody.

CDCR Related

California finance director says mid-year budget cuts likely
Gov. Jerry Brown's finance director said Wednesday that some mid-year cuts are "likely," increasing the possibility the state will slash education and social services in the coming months.

How America's prison epidemic spread to California
By Ronald Fraser, Record-Bee-- How did America's addiction to prisons and mass incarceration get its start and how did it spread from state to state?

OPINION

Turning jails into prisons: An opportunity for real reform
By Lawrence M. Hinman, San Diego Union Tribune-- Gov. Jerry Brown’s prison realignment initiative to transfer nonviolent offenders from state prisons to local facilities may be motivated primarily by cost-cutting concerns, but it provides California with a golden opportunity to take a leadership role in transforming our nation’s penal system.

Turning jails into prisons: An open door or bridge to nowhere?
By Paul Sutton, The San Diego Union Tribune-- Last spring, the Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population by 33,000. On Oct. 1, the state rolled out its massive – and terribly flawed – “realignment” plan, which is designed to move all but the most serious and violent offenders from state prisons to county jails…

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS

Inmates ESCAPE from Delta Conservation Camp/Suisun City California
Two Minimum security inmates escaped from Delta Conservation Camp which is located just outside of Suisun City, California.

Medical parolee returned to custody pending hearing
SACRAMENTO – The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) has ordered a medical examination for Peter Post, who was released to medical parole on November 3, to determine whether his condition has improved to the extent that he no longer qualifies for medical parole.

NEWS:

Realignment

Supervisors demand changes to Gov. Brown's prison realignment plan
By Christina Villacorte, The Daily Breeze-- Alarmed that unarmed probation officers have been put in charge of violent criminals, the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday demanded changes to Gov. Jerry Brown's month-old realignment plan.

Teflon Sheriff Lee Baca Can Now Decide Inmate Sentences: D.A. Steve Cooley Concerned About More Bad Guys on L.A. Streets
By Dennis Romero, LA Weekly-- If you think Sheriff Lee Baca's L.A. County Jails are a mess now, what with years'-old allegations of deputies beating inmates and a reported system of problem cops being assigned to lockup duty, just wait.

California jails receiving more state prisoners than expected
By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times-- The number of state prisoners arriving in county jails under California's controversial prison diversion program is significantly higher than officials had estimated, adding new pressure on sheriff's departments to figure out what to do with thousands of extra inmates.

County has plan to handle inmates
By Rick Longley, Willows Journal -- Glenn County's plan to deal with state inmates returning to this area includes drug and mental health checks, as well as a review what kind of risk they represent.

State Workers

Former correctional officer pleads guilty for taking bribes
Lassen County Times-- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Bobby Joe Kirby, 54, of Reno, Nev., pleaded guilty today to a single count of honest services wire fraud for taking payments in exchange for smuggling tobacco and cellular telephones into a Susanville prison.

California Inmates

Prison Vets
To watch video click here

State pays $2.2 million in attempted suicide case at Camarillo youth detention facility
By Adam Foxman, Ventura County Star-- Shanelle Crawford had been at the state's Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo for 20 days when she covered the window of her cell in a mental health ward.

2 inmates escape conservation camp
The Associated Press -- Two Minimum security inmates are on the run from the Delta Conservation Camp just outside of Suisun City.

Two inmates make early escape from camp near Suisun City
By Catherine Bowen, The Reporter-- Two Solano County inmates escaped early Tuesday morning from a minimum-security corrections camp located just outside Suisun City, officials said.

Two inmates walk away from California prison camp
By Sam Quinones, The Los Angeles Times-- Two inmates from Los Angeles walked away early Tuesday morning from a corrections camp in Northern California.

Inmates With Local Ties Escape From NorCal Prison Camp
KTLA News-- Two minimum security inmates with ties to the Los Angeles area walked away from a Northern California facility Tuesday morning.

Manson follower 'Tex' Watson seeks parole in California
By Don Thompson, The Associated Press-- The self-described right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson, who was convicted of orchestrating the Tate-LaBianca slayings 42 years ago, has his latest parole hearing scheduled Wednesday in a California prison.

Charles Manson's Top Deputy Seeks Parole
By Greg Wilson, NBC Los Angeles-- Tex Watson, who was the right-hand man of murderous mastermind Charles Manson, is seeking parole after serving 42 years in a California prison.

California Parole

L.A. County supervisors angered over possible release of convicted felon
The Los Angeles Times-- Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday decried the potential release of a violent felon under the state's controversial prisoner release program.

Residents speak out on release of sex offender
By Brian Bullock, Santa Maria Times-- Santa Maria residents lined up to express their fear, disgust and outrage to the City Council Tuesday night about the possibility of a sexually violent predator being released into their city.

Calif. parolee may be returned for lewd gestures
By Don Thompson, The Associated Press-- A former inmate freed under California's new medical parole law is back in custody and may have his parole revoked for committing lewd acts within days of his release, corrections officials said Tuesday.

Freed inmate is back in custody
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- A California inmate paroled because doctors thought he was too sick to "perform activities of basic daily living" is back under guard after nurses said they caught him masturbating in his hospital bed.

Sacramento career burglar on medical parole is returned to prison custody
By Sam Stanton, The Sacramento Bee-- A 33-year-old career burglar from Sacramento who won medical parole earlier this month has been returned to custody after his behavior in a long-term care facility made it clear that he no longer qualified for the new parole program, officials said Tuesday.

Event puts women's old lives out of style
By Jordan Guinn, The Stockton Record-- She was one of roughly 200 women who received makeovers and participated in the third annual Dress for Success event Tuesday afternoon. The show, hosted by the Stockton Parole Women's Support Group, aims to offer women in rehabilitation programs clothing and tips for job interviews.

CDCR Related

Are Child Molesters Really the Most Hated People in Prison?
By Brian Palmer, Slate-- A Pennsylvania judge released accused child molester Jerry Sandusky on $100,000 bail on Monday. The decision keeps Sandusky out of the reach of prison inmates, who have a reputation for attacking child molesters. Are molesters really the most reviled people in prison?

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

First month of prison realignment program has been problematic
By Christina Villacorte, The Daily Breeze-- The first month of Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment plan has been problematic in Los Angeles County, where understaffing forced probation officers to double their caseloads and sheriff's deputies were not given authority to arrest no-show parolees until just a few days ago.

'Realignment' crowds Calif. jails
By Salvador Hernandez and Sean Emery, The Orange County Register-- Twice as many inmates as projected arrived at Orange County jails during the first month of an ambitious overhaul of the state's correctional system that has county governments taking on new responsibilities for confining and monitoring convicts.

Hard start for realignment
By Christina Villacorte, The Contra Costa Times-- The first month of Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment plan has been problematic in Los Angeles County, where understaffing forced probation officers to double their caseloads and sheriff's deputies were not given authority to arrest no-show parolees until just a few days ago.

L.A. County jails may be out of room next month
By Andrew Blankstein and Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times-- The state law that shifts prisoners to local authorities means the Sheriff's Department may release thousands of inmates awaiting trial. A new way of identifying the least risky ones is in the works, Baca says.

L.A. jails nearing capacity, inmate releases considered
Los Angeles Times-- Los Angeles County’s jails could run out of space as early as next month due to an influx of state prisoners, prompting officials to consider releasing potentially thousands inmates awaiting trial.

State Workers

Little-known state board overturns employee terminations
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- The board has reversed dozens of terminations in recent years, turning the employees' time off into the equivalent of long, paid vacations. Among the cases: a mentally disturbed prison doctor fired for mistreating inmates…

Prison guard pleads guilty to smuggling phones, tobacco to inmates
By Denny Walsh, The Sacramento Bee-- A California corrections officer confessed Monday in Sacramento federal court to smuggling cell phones and tobacco into a Northern California prison in return for cash payments.

Calif. prison guard pleads in phone-smuggling case
The Associated Press-- A California prison guard has pleaded guilty to a federal crime stemming from allegations that he took bribes from inmates to smuggle tobacco and cell phones.

California Inmates

Manhunt On For Two Escaped Inmates In Solano County
CBS-- Law enforcement agencies in Northern California are looking for two inmates who escaped from a minimum security camp in Solano County this morning.

Rodney Alcala Wants to Stay on Death Row
By Matt Coker, The OC Weekly-- Serial killer Rodney Alcala has been behind bars since his arrest in 1979 for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe of Huntington Beach. Through his original convictions, overturned convictions and re-affirmed convictions, the 68-year-old has remained incarcerated in California.

Convicted 1970s Calif. serial killer says he shouldn’t be sent to face NY charges
Associated Press-- When prosecutors announced last winter that a convicted California serial killer was being charged with two 1970s murders in New York, they said they were determined to have him brought back east from death row to face the new charges.

Jesus in San Quentin
K-LOVE's Marya Morgan visited felons radically transformed by powerful faith in Jesus Christ.

CDCR Related

Court Requires Woman to Pay Alimony to Ex-Husband When He Gets Out of Prison For Sexually Assaulting Her
LAist-- A woman in Carlsbad convinced a jury that her husband should be put in prison for sexually assaulting her. But she couldn't convince a family court judge that she shouldn't have to pay spousal support to her ex-husband when he gets out of prison.

OPINION

OUR VIEW: No easy choices on prison overcrowding
The Gadsden Times-- In May, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to release more than 30,000 inmates because of conditions in its overcrowded prisons. That’s a fate that Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange wants to avoid, and he says “hard choices” are ahead for the state.

Editorial: Riverside County plan to charge prisoners for jail time impractical
Highlander News-- Last week, the Riverside County board of supervisors unanimously approved a measure that will allow the county to charge certain prisoners a fee for every day they spend behind bars.

Prison dispatch: Class warfare and punishment
By Richard Gilliam, KALW-- [T]oday I’d like to talk about class warfare in a different light. I’m talking about a double standard the non-wealthy experience when it comes to crime and punishment.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

State prisoners arrive in Stanislaus County jails
By Erin Tracy, Modesto Bee-- Stanislaus County correctional deputies were attacked by inmates recently while searching the cell of two maximum-security Norteño gang members.

New Law Pumps Up L.A. County Jail Population
By Samantha Tata, NBC LA-- Realignment attempts to crack down on overcrowding in state prisons by referring specified inmates to county authorities.

Realignment sends more inmates to already crowded LA County jails
By Frank Stoltze, KPCC-- Los Angeles County supervisors are scheduled to hear an update Tuesday on how prison realignment is affecting L.A. County jails. One report suggested the influx of new inmates will force more early releases.

Realignment brings in more inmates than expected
By Salvador Hernandez and Sean Emery, The Orange County Register-- Twice as many inmates than projected arrived at Orange County jails during the first month of an ambitious overhaul of the state's correctional system that now has county governments taking on new responsibilities for confining and monitoring convicts.

Dozens of parolees released in Kern County
KGET-- 50 parolees have been released from county jails because there is no space for them. It's part of a federal mandate to reduce overcrowding in state prisons.

AB 900

County eyes funds for jail expansion
By Julia Reynolds, The Herald-- Monterey County has come one step closer to a possible $88 million jail expansion, just as already chronic overcrowding threatens to worsen under state prisoner realignment.

California Inmates

California pays $2.25 million to family of brain-damaged inmate
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times-- California prisons have paid $2.25 million to the family of an inmate left severely brain-damaged after she tried to hang herself in the mental health unit of the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo.

Convicted Killer Found Dead in State Prison
India West-- Gurparkash Singh Khalsa, who was serving a life sentence for murdering his daughter’s boyfriend in 2007, was found dead Oct. 29 in Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, Calif.

You did the crime, should you pay for your time? Riverside County wants to charge prisoners $142.42 per day
KPCC-- Faced with budget woes, Riverside County has come up with a creative solution: stick prisoners will a bill for $142.42 per night for their stay in county jail.

Veteran vendors, prison inmate workers battle over contracts
By Malcolm Maclachlan, Capitol Weekly-- They’re not only fighting over who rehabilitates better, but who has the right to sell peanut butter and other food products to Corrections and other state agencies.

California Parole

Sex offender back in custody; GPS showed former priest near Catholic school
By Ruby Gonzales, San Gabriel Valley Tribune-- Less than a month after his release from a Los Angeles county jail, sex offender and former priest Michael Stephen Baker is behind bars again.

San Jacinto: Rifle, heroin found during parole search
By Yazmin Alvarez, Southwest Riverside News Network-- Three people were arrested Friday after gang task force officers found an assault rifle along with heroin during parole search at a San Jacinto home.

CDCR Related

Conrad Murray Verdict: Will He Go to Prison?
By Kevin Dolak, Jim Avila, and Christina Ng, Good Morning America-- Dr. Conrad Murray's conviction for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson could result in a maximum of four years in prison, but it's possible that the doctor may not go to prison.

OPINION

Prison realignment done right
LA Times-- Putting California inmates under county control offers a chance for innovation and progress.

Realignment can boost public safety
By Roger K. Warren, Sacramento Bee-- When fully implemented, California's Public Safety Realignment legislation will shift corrections responsibility for roughly 60,000 mainly low-level prisoners and parolees from state to local government.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

California invests millions in new jails to deal with overcrowding
By Rina Palta, KALW-- The Legislature decided to shift responsibility for a wide variety of offenders to the local level. KALW’s criminal justice editor, Rina Palta has been following the developments. She joined Holly Kernan in the studio.

Community Leaders Call County's Realignment Plans an Insult
BVN-- Rev. Raymond Turner, spokesman for the IECAAC (Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches), said the County of San Bernardino plan to get ready for the prisoners who are being released early because of prison overcrowding is an “insult to our community”.

County seeks $33M to expand jail
By Seth Nidever, Hanford Sentinel-- County leaders are seeking $33 million from the state to pay for a long-awaited jail expansion project.

California Inmates

Riverside County, California To Charge Prisoners $142 Per Day Of Their Stay
Huffington Post-- In one southern California county, prisoners will soon have to pay for the privilege of staying in jail.

Parole

Baby killer denied parole
Daily Democrat-- The Woodland man convicted of the November 1983 murder of his girlfriend's 22-month-old son has been denied parole again for an additional three years.

CDCR Related

Three youngsters face charges after shooting boy with pellet gun
By Chase Writer, The Hour-- Three youngsters are facing criminal charges after a 12-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder with a pellet gun Tuesday afternoon at West Rocks Middle School.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

Realignment

Public safety officers added for jail; Tehama County reacts to state law
By Janet O'Neill, Record-Searchlight-- The Tehama County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday added eight new public safety jobs to help ease the strain of Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment program.

Santa Cruz 'Smart on Crime' Panel Looks at Pros and Cons of Adding State Convicts to County Jails By Ryan Boysen, Santa Cruz Patch-- Top officials in the Santa Cruz criminal justice system held a public conference on Monday to discuss, in the words of Sheriff Phil Wowack, “one of the largest changes I have ever seen in my 30 years of Law Enforcement" and one that he said needed many aspirins to sort out.

VINE

Crime victims to receive electronic notification
Sacramento Today-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services (OVSRS) recently announced that victims of crime will be able to receive automated electronic notification of an offender's release or scheduled parole board hearing.

California Institutions

Correctional Training Facility in Soledad to donate beds to Salinas homeless shelter
The Bakersfield Californian-- A Salinas homeless shelter is getting help with its recent bed bugs infestation problem.

California Parole

Woman pleads to keep mom's killer in prison
By Michael Mello, The Orange County Register-- Sixteen years.The daughter of a murder victim says that's not a long enough sentence for the man convicted of bludgeoning Debbie Moreau with a pipe, then strangling her with a necktie.

CDCR Related

Jail time for Jackson’s doctor could be affected by prison realignment plan in California
By Greg Risling, The Associated Press-- Michael Jackson’s doctor is guaranteed to spend the next three weeks in jail awaiting sentencing for the pop star’s death.

Victim Ordered to Pay Attacker Spousal Support
By Christina Caron, ABC News-- She was forced to have sex with him, and now she's being forced to pay his bills.

First Sexually Assaulted, Now Forced to Pay Alimony To Ex
By Robin Marty, Care2-- Virginia Republican Dick Black says he doesn’t see how anyone can prosecute a husband who sexually assaults his wife.

Rape victim forced to pay abusive ex-husband $1,000 a month in SPOUSAL SUPPORT
The Daily Mail-- A woman who suffered sex attacks in her violent marriage says she has been 'victimized all over again' after being forced to pay her abusive ex-husband spousal support.

Richmond to ease hiring of ex-criminals
By Hannah Dreier, Mercury News-- When Jeff Rutland was released from San Quentin last year, he became a job search expert.

Restorative Justice: Transforming Corrections
By Daniel Patrick Downen M.S. AJ/S, Corrections.com-- As a component of public safety the Departments of Corrections have for years held to the notion that “tough on crime” involves an effective system of incarceration and that this alone would address any and all issues we have with societal crime.

OPINION

Life without parole for young criminals -- it's too cruel
Los Angeles Times-- The Supreme Court will whether it is inherently cruel and unusual to lock up someone forever for a crime committed when the perpetrator hasn't developed an adult capacity to grasp the consequences of his or her actions.

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-11-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

NEWS:

"I believe we can achieve the over-arching goal of reducing recidivism while maintaining public safety. This is only the beginning." Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak.
Santa Cruz Sentinel, Stephen Baxter, November 7, 2011

Realignment

County Jail system in flux with new state rules
By Stephen Baxter, Santa Cruz Sentinel-- Sheriff Phil Wowak and other county leaders said the first month of the state's prison-system overhaul has run relatively smoothly in Santa Cruz County as more offenders have been sentenced to County Jail rather than to state prisons.

AB 900

California Report: Jail Construction Funding Update
By Nick Warner, Correctional News-- The State of California, having now enacted historic criminal justice realignment, continues to pursue AB 900 projects for local jail construction as part of the ongoing efforts and commitment to increasing local jail capacity. On October 7th the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) released the AB 900 Phase II Request for Applications.

Secretary Cate

Talking with Calif. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary, Matt Cate
By Carol McKinley, Corrections One-- This month CorrectionsOne interviewed a corrections administrator whose feet are always to the fire. In just the last six months, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matt Cate has dealt with two hunger strikes, a walloping cellphone epidemic, and a court-ordered realignment of more than 30,000 prisoners.

Parole

Governor revokes parole for prom night killer
By Larry Welborn, The Orange County Register-- Gov. Jerry Brown has reversed a state board's decision last year granting parole to a La Crescenta man who shot and killed a 17-year girl in 1991 as she celebrated her prom night in Anaheim.

CDCR Related

California Three Strikes Law Reform Is A Ballot Initiative For 2012
By Ryan Gabrielson, Huffington Post-- A pair of Stanford University law professors spent months this year writing ballot language to narrow, ever so slightly, California’s three strikes sentencing law.

Supreme Court to weigh juveniles' life sentences without parole
By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau-- The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider putting a new national limit on life sentences for juveniles who are age 14 or younger.

Jackson doctor sentencing options range from probation to 4 years in prison
Associated Press-- If convicted, Dr. Conrad Murray faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison in the death of Michael Jackson. Some of the factors related to sentencing:

Lawyer: Dr. Conrad Murray's 'confident' about appeal
By Alan Duke, CNN-- Dr. Conrad Murray, found guilty Monday of causing Michael Jackson's death, begins his new life as an inmate in a section of the Los Angeles County jail where high-profile prisoners are kept, a jail official said.

Phelan 24-year-old gets life without parole for murder
Victorville Daily Press-- A jury on Monday found a 24-year-old Phelan man guilty of murder for helping a friend dump a Victorville man’s body in the California Aqueduct four years ago.

OPINION

Viewpoints: State should renew commitment to programs to stem gang violence
By Eddie Caraveo and Les Simmons, The Sacramento Bee-- As pastors of congregations in communities that have been hit hardest by budget cuts and shrinking pathways to opportunity, we have spent too many hours presiding over funerals and ministering to families who have lost children to violence.