By Harry C. Goodall Jr. There are 24 million children in America, and one out of three lives without their biological father in the home, the U.S. Census Bureau calculated. When the father is absent it can lead to the following: behavioral problems, abuse and neglect, infant mortality, substance abuse, dropping out of high school, […]
Read More
By Harry C. Goodall Jr. Since 1989, Folsom State Prison’s Braille program has been transforming lives by transcribing books into Braille for the blind through the California Prison Industry Authority. It started when the Folsom Lions Club was creating audio books on tape. Select prisoners would read the books for blind people like Amelia Diaz. […]
Read MoreTehachapi State Prison inmates may soon find themselves under new security cameras, according to a Tehachapi News article. “By knowing they (inmates) are on camera, they will generally be less likely to do something inappropriate” stated Lt. Brian Parriott. Due to an inspection of the prison, a Kern County Grand Jury recommended that California Correctional […]
Read MoreBy Harry C. Goodall Jr. Inmates at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) near Tracy handle every aspect of milk production from feeding cows, pasteurization and running the machines in the dairy. The dairy was built in 1953 on 60 acres of dairy land adjacent to 540 acres of farmland at 23500 Kasson Road. It is still […]
Read MoreBy Harry C. Goodall Jr. Prisoners at Deuel Vocational Institution (DVI) made sure 45 kids got bikes for Christmas. DVI inmates rebuilt the bikes for the Boys & Girls Club of Tracy, reported the Tracy Press. The bike-refurbishing program has been going for five years now, and has grown steadily each year. About 20 inmates […]
Read MoreBy Harry Goodall Jr. Children with incarcerated parents find it hard to fight off the stigma. There are an estimated 10 million children whose parents have been incarcerated at some point in their life, according to “Collateral Costs,” a Pew Charitable Trusts (PCT) report. One in nine Black children, one in 28 Latino children, and […]
Read MoreBy Harry Goodall Jr. “People say it’s like bacon, hot greasy bacon touching your skin” said nurse Chris Bendinelli. He was describing the pain of tattoo removal. Dozens of people stood in line for a free tattoo removal program at El Concilio clinic a few months ago. The program is sponsored by the San Joaquin […]
Read MoreBy Harry C. Goodall Jr. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to permanently ban solitary confinement for juveniles. According to a report on KPCC radio, the assessment was based upon the psychological damage that can result from solitary confinement, which is a trigger for high recidivism. After hearing the testimony of a […]
Read More
By Harry C. Goodall Jr. Journalism Guild Writer In the gymnasium of California State Prison-Solano, inmates donned costumes and recited lines of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in April. The presentation was produced by Lesley Currier, managing director of Marin Shakespeare Company, a company that also arranges productions of Shakespeare at San Quentin prison once […]
Read MoreStudents at San Diego State University performed a play, “I’M GOOD,” written by inmates at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD). “In my career, this is some of the best writing I’ve been involved with,” said James Pillar, a teaching artist with the Playwrights Project, reported San Diego Union- Tribune. Experience in theater isn’t new to […]
Read More