San Quentin State Prison

Ultra runner see parallels between cancer and prison

June 11, 2018 by Rahsaan Thomas

1000 mile Coach Kevin Rumon joking with runner Michael Keeyes

1000 Mile ClubCoach Kevin Rumon joking with runner Michael Keeyes

Members of San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club ran as many miles as they could in one hour in preparation for a marathon in November. As the usual cast of characters took first, second and third place, Coach Kevin Rumon shared his thoughts on how running helped him overcome throat cancer.

“Although I wasn’t able to run during treatment and only a bit during recovery, running provided the greatest source of personal strength to gut out the cancer battle,” Rumon said. “My 100-mile races are a series of individual steps that I have no control over. If I perform each of those small steps without thinking about the 100-mile scariness, then I am likely to finish the race.”

Rumon is an ultra-runner and member of the Tamalpais Running Club. He comes into San Quentin Prison to coach runners in the 1000 Mile Club. Often he runs alongside incarcerated people during training sessions or keeps track of laps during races. Normally, he is at every club meeting and race.

In 2016, throat cancer limited his ability to participate in track meets. Now in recovery, he’s back on the sidelines at almost every event, but cancer gave him a new perspective that makes him relate to the people he coaches even more.

“Cancer has been the worst thing that has happened to me and one of the best and most productive,” Rumon said. “I am grateful beyond words for the insight and clarity that the journey has provided me. One of the biggest lessons that all of us learn is that we aren’t here very long.”

He began to look on the bright side of his affliction.

“My loss of taste for chocolate and sugar resulted in an improved diet,” Rumon said.

Besides running, Rumon also used music and books, which are also popular with incarcerated people, to get through his ordeal.

“Nowhere else are the truths of the world so generously revealed than in books,” Rumon said. “I read every day now, and music reaches the soul in ways that no other art form can.”

Like most rehabilitated people in prison, Rumon wishes “I could have gained the wisdom that cancer provided me without having my throat radiated 33 times and spending 170 days tethered to a feeding tube, but I suppose I was too much of a blockhead to figure it out before cancer shook me.”

Rumon sees adversity as a chance for self-improvement.

“It is a tragedy of epic propositions to be locked in prison, but the worse outcome is not using the opportunity to do the hard work to discover the better nature of your true self,” Rumon said.

For new 1000 Mile Clubmember Jason Meisner, bettering himself is exactly why he joined.

“I started in December to get in shape. I’m here to be part of the team. It’s super motivating.”

The top 10 finishers of the April 20 race were: 1. Markelle “The Gazelle” Taylor (9-31/32 miles), 2. Eddie Herena (9-1/8), 3. Chris Scull (8-13/16), 4. Steve Reitz (8-9/16), 5. Vincente Gomez (8-1/2), 6. Steve Brooks (8-1/16), 7. Tommy Wickerd (7-31/32), 8. John Levin (7-7/8), 9. Larry Ford (7-5/8 ) and 10. Bruce Wells (7-17/32).

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/

1000-Mile Club members endure three-hour run

Counting 52 laps at 1000 mile club race

San Quentin baseball as Elliot Smith retires

June 11, 2018 by Marcus Henderson

Elliot Smith coaching Christopher Smith on opening day

San Quentin opened its 2018 baseball season with both joy and sadness. San Quentin’s A’s defeated the visiting San Francisco Mission 11-8. But the retirement of long-time sponsor Elliot Smith was bittersweet for the free and incarcerated ballplayers.

“Elliot carried this program for a long time,” said A’s sponsor, Steve Reichardt. “It’s tough seeing him walking off this field for the last time.”

ICE reported “24,476 of the 185,507 inmates in the federal Bureau of Prisons system were not citizens…” THE NEW YORK TIMES Dec. 22, 2017

Smith, 75, started volunteering in San Quentin in 1995 and all the memories of those past seasons rushed through his mind as he threw out the opening pitch.

“As I look back I have a lot of accomplishments,” said Smith. “Many players have passed through here, and I hope I have brought them some light in their darkest place known as the cell blocks.

“I hope I have helped them learn how to deal with adversity,” added Smith.

Trevor Bird presents Smith with his plaque

For 23 years, Smith was San Quentin’s Baseball Program ambassador. He would prep numerous visiting teams on the prison rules, before walking them down the long winding road that leads to the prison’s Lower Yard and baseball field.

“I feel like I have influenced the outsiders who came in,” said Smith. “By exposing them to the people inside and showing they are human beings. The visitors would go back out and share their experience with family and friends.

“I believe that helped people to be more tolerant and not treat people inside as animals in a zoo”

“I believe that helped people to be more tolerant and not treat people inside as animals in a zoo,” continued Smith.

As Smith’s chapter came to an end, the A’s still had a game to play. A’s veteran and utility player Anthony “T-Tone” Denard showcased skills of a MVP as he went 3-for-4 at bat with 2 RBIs (runs batted in). Denard even took the mound in a series to shut down the Mission who staged a rally in the eighth inning, when the team was down 9-5 to close the lead 9-7 with the bases loaded. Denard walked in a run but fanned the next batter to save the lead 9-8.

“I want to thank Elliot for putting his blood, sweat and tears into this program,” said Denard. “He gave me a chance to play a game I love. I was one who took the game from me on the streets. But through Elliot I relived my dream again.”

Denard played in the minor leagues and had a chance to go to the majors, before being incarcerated.

“Coming here you have a sense of community,” said Mission’s Mike Nadolny. “I know it gives the guys a sense of normalcy. With baseball it teaches you how to work through your anxieties and helps you to dig deep into yourself and not to panic when things are not going your way.

“I think this is what the guys can learn from this program,” added Nadolny.

The Mission comeback ended in the bottom of the eighth. Mission’s relief pitcher threw a wild pitch that shot past the catcher, allowing a run. A’s Manuel Murillo smacked a line drive single past the second base gap to score another run for the 11-8 lead.

In the ninth, the Mission went down swinging. The A’s tightened their defense, and with one final pop-fly to center field, they sealed the win.

“It all starts with teamwork,” said Max Hickson, A’s first-year player. “We have a good group of guys and that makes me want to play hard.”

With the retirement of Smith the San Quentin’s Giants’ season is on hold, making the A’s roster balloon to 20 players. The team’s mixture of veterans and solid first-year players could prove to be a recipe for success.

As the game wrapped up, the A’s teams formed a circle, placing their hands on top of each other and in unison yelled “Elliot” (Smith) on three. The 75-year-old will be remembered for always wearing the San Quentin’s baseball jersey along with his beloved Chicago Cubs cap. The two teams were his two baseball passions.

“No matter how old you are, you still have life ahead of you, so do what you have to do to get out,” said Smith, encouraging those in prison.

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/

California’s next governor faces executions

June 11, 2018 by San Quentin News Contributer

Electric chair

California’s next governor could be forced to make a life-or-death decision that the state’s top executive hasn’t faced in over a decade; whether to spare an inmate facing execution.

There are nearly 750 people on death row at San Quentin State Prison, more than any other state, and decisions made by the next governor will help set the pace of executions going forward. Five of the top six top candidates oppose the death penalty. But few say they’d use the office’s commutation power to broadly move inmates from death row to life in prison.

“Unless Jerry Brown steps in or one of these candidates for governor steps in, I think there’s going to be executions in California,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of UC Berkeley Law School. “It seems like it’s a matter of time.”

California hasn’t executed an inmate since Clarence Ray Allen on Jan. 17, 2006. And more than half of the inmates on California death row have waited more than 20 years since their convictions, according to state data. In 2016, Golden State voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative to speed up the death penalty, Proposition 66, and several legal barriers to execution have fallen since then.

It’s too soon to say for sure when – or whether – executions will restart. Prop 66 was upheld by the state Supreme Court last year, and the state correction department put forward a new single–drug execution procedure in January. In March, a state judge in Marin County lifted one of several injunctions against carrying out executions.

More than a third of millennial say that if a man compliments a woman’s looks it is harassment, according to a recent survey by The Economist/YouGov reports The New York Times 1-17-18.

Still, other legal barriers remain, including a long standing federal court case in San Francisco questioning the legality of lethal injections. The judge handling the case, Richard Seeborg, has issued stays on the execution of roughly 20 California death row inmates who have exhausted the appeals. Any decision to lift those stays could be further appealed, although U.S. Supreme Court precedent makes it difficult to challenge lethal injection procedures.

Commutations

A California governor hasn’t commuted the sentence of a death row inmate since Ronald Reagan spared convicted murderer Calvin Thomas in 1967. But several anti-death penalty governors around the country, including Martin O’Malley in Maryland and Pat Quinn in Illinois, have issued blanket commutations removing inmates from death row in recent years.

With 343 homicides in 2017, Baltimore “had the highest murder rate in its history, and by far the highest among the nation’s 30 largest cities,” according to The New York Times 1-17-18

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the frontrunner in the race, said he wasn’t planning to follow in their footsteps. Instead, he wants to put the issue of the death penalty “back on the ballot” even though California’s have rejected a repeal measure twice in the last six years.

Newsom thinks he could change that by running a stronger anti-capital punishment campaign.

“We need to have a more sustainable conversation with the public, and I would like to lead that,” he said. “We haven’t had a governor, with respect, that’s led this conversation. There’s been a lot of timidity on the death penalty.”

Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, said he would be willing to commute the death sentences of individual inmates “where the record shows that that would be appropriate.” However, “the next governor’s going to have to enforce the law, and the death penalty’s the law of the land,” Villaraigosa stressed.

Pro-death penalty

State Treasurer John Chiang, a Democrat, and San Diego County businessman, John Cox, a Republican, have both cited their Catholic faith for their opposition to capital punishment. But both said they would respect the pro-death penalty decision in the last ballot initiative.

“I am personally opposed to the death penalty and voted for Proposition 62, but as governor, I would enforce the will of the voters,” Chiang said.

Intimate partner violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime. One in three women and one in four men in the United States has experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. Husbands are five times more likely to kill wives than vice versa. A third of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate male partner or ex-partner, according to FBI reports. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf

Former state schools chief Delaine Eastin, who has trailed in the polls, sounded the most willing to make use of commutation. If elected, she said she would want to use the governor’s clemency power to commute the death sentence of inmates “who’ve shown some sense of remorse or some sense of contribution to society.”

“I actually think some of them would be better served if they had to live with the consequences of what they did, rather than spending a fortune to put them to death,” she said.

The only candidate who personally supports the death penalty is Assemblyman Travis Allen, an Orange County Republican who vowed in an interview to “clean out this death row in California.”

“Why should California allow these people the luxury of life when they have taken it so cruelly from so many others?” he asked.

“Every single day that these people are alive is another insult to the families of their victims.”

Many hurdles

Unlike most states, the executive clemency power is limited in California – the state constitution says governors can’t commute the sentence of an inmate who has two felony convictions unless four of the seven State Supreme Court justice concur. About half of California death inmates have two or more felonies on the record, experts estimate.

But the high court justices issued an order in March suggesting that they would give governors more latitude on the issue and only intervene if they believed a use a clemency would “represent an abuse of that power.” That’s a switch from past courts, which have rejected clemency grants based on justices’ determinations about the merits of individual cases.

2017’s low executions only 23

Prison reform could free 30,000 inmates says CSJ

https://sanquentinnews.com/us-supreme-court-hear-death-row-case-hidalgo-v-arizona-challenges-new-arizona-death-penalty-law/

Hermanos Unidos wins, 8-0, over SQ soccer team

June 11, 2018 by Eddie Herena

San Quentin’s B-Team opened its season with an 8-0 loss in a friendly match against U.C. Berkeley’s Hermanos Unidos (United Brothers).

Both A and B teams — formally the OGs and Youngsters — have lost five consecutive matches dating back to last season.

The match drew an audience of prisoners like Percy Paul, a new arrival at the institution. “Just watching these guys got me real excited,” said Paul. “I definitely want to get on the team,” he added.

The new wave of prisoners may bring talent that San Quentin teams can use.

Although B-Team goalkeeper Jesús “Chuy” Perez had eight saves, the Hermanos averaged a goal about every 11 minutes against a defense that was non-existent.

“We needed more effort and structure,” said B-Team goalkeeper Pérez. He added, “It’s a great start and lets us know where we need our forces.”

The April 22 match was an introduction for 19-year-old first-timer Freddy Cruz who said, “I didn’t know what to expect, but you guys are cool.”

Chris Gomez, also unfamiliar with incarcerated sports said, “The wall is up but that don’t stop family.”

The Hermanos were short-handed so Juan Carlos Meza, Tare “Cancun” Beltranchuc, Alexi Ruiz, Míguel Gutiérrez, and Marco Villa (as goalie) helped fill the outside squad.

The first goal came in the fifth-minute from Hermanos’ Manuel Esqueda. Meza, playing the middle scored in the 15th minute. Beltranchuc, playing as a forward, followed in the 39th minute.

The score was 3-0, Hermanos, at the half.

During the halftime both teams huddled mid-field, to exchange pleasantries and to give thanks for 40 brand-new black Nike cleats donated from anonymously.

“It’s real exciting to see you guys with cleats,” said Andrew Crawford, San Quentin’s soccer program sponsor. He emphasized that the cleats were the beginning of the program’s long awaited support.

The goals picked up in the second half off the feet of Gutiérrez who scored in minutes 50 and 60.

Christian Cervantes matched his teammate with goals scored in minutes 65 and 85. He joked after the match about being humbled for not completing his usual hat trick.

Ruiz, an incarcerated player, capped off the day for the Hermanos with his 89th-minute goal.

“It don’t matter,” said B-Team defender, Julio Martinez, referring to losing the match, “I had fun.”

San Quentin News Launches Wall City Magazine

June 5, 2018 by Wayne Boatwright

San Quentin, California – May 21, 2018 – The premiere issue of Wall City, a magazine that reflects the curiosity, intellect, dedication and professionalism of the men working as journalists inside San Quentin, will be released on May 29, the editors of San Quentin News announced.

Copies of Wall City will be distributed to the libraries and administrators of every California prison. Members of the public can access a free digital version or order print copies via MagCloud . A link will be published at sanquentinnews.com for easy access. Distribution of subsequent issues will be determined after an evaluation of the response to the first issue.

The quarterly 32-page magazine will give the audience, both inside and outside the walls of prison, direct access to issues that shape the experience of incarcerated individuals and impact what happens when they return to their communities.

Wall City’s first cover story profiles five men who were released from the secure housing unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay into the general population at San Quentin. It gives readers a glimpse into the effects of long-term isolation, as these men experienced.

“According to a RAND analysis, every $1 invested in such [inmate] education generates at least $4 in economic return,” reports Fast Company.

“The state typically spends $71,000 a year to house an inmate. It costs about $5,000 total to help put one [incarcerated] student through community college”, reports Fast Company.

“I felt Pelican Bay SHU was the last stop, I felt there was no return to civilized life,” says Guss “Lumumba” Edwards, in the article. “Now I know there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.”

Other articles include reports on innovative anti-violence and environmental programs at San Quentin, legal and health updates, and a financial literacy column by San Quentin inmate and financial educator Curtis Carroll, better known by his nickname, “Wall Street.” The magazine also includes selected poetry, a crossword puzzle and photography.

“We want to put a human face on returning citizens to help eliminate the prejudice they typically encounter,” says Juan Haines, senior editor of San Quentin News and Wall City. “We want the magazine to help inform the public that being receptive to rehabilitated returning citizens serves their community’s interests.”

The human interest stories are designed to inspire incarcerated men and women and to inform people outside the walls about the avenues for change, with the hope that more incarcerated people will seek similar opportunities, adds Haines.

“The long-awaited and highly anticipated Wall City magazine is yet another example of the amazing work coming out of San Quentin State Prison,” said Nigel Poor, co-creator, co-producer and co-host of the award-winning podcast, Ear Hustle. “It’s essential reading for anyone who cares about getting a well-rounded education on life behind bars. And, of course, like the San Quentin News, the stories are brought to you by those who live it. This is your opportunity to learn more about the rehabilitative efforts and unique perspectives as well as the creativity that happens inside California’s oldest prison.”

The quarterly magazine will focus on criminal justice policies, public safety, and prison reform, featuring stories related to incarceration, rehabilitation, and reentry. “It is this direct access to the truth about whom we as a society have incarcerated, and who they have become behind the walls, that will enable people to recognize and support positive engagement with the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated as we consider effective sentencing and parole policies, for the public good,” said Nancy Mullane, co-founder of the podcast, Life of the Law and a co-sponsor of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter at San Quentin.

When someone leaves prison and returns to the community, he or she encounters a negative social climate. Wall City puts a human face on returning citizens and demonstrates that being receptive to these men and women serves the community’s interests.

“The public rarely gets a glimpse inside a prison, and the magazine gives them a stereotype-shattering peek behind the walls. There are thousands of stories that need to be told, and incarcerated journalists are the only ones who can properly tell those stories,” said Michael Bott, co-sponsor of the San Quentin SPJ chapter.

More information about the magazine can be found at sanquentinnews.com.

Wall City – from the editors of San Quentin News

Produced by inmate-journalists at San Quentin State Prison in California, Wall City magazine provides people, both inside and outside the walls direct access to the curiosity, intellect, dedication, and professionalism of the men inside. Wall City will focus on criminal justice policies, public…

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/

ROOTS Solidarity Run helps spirits of the community

May 24, 2018 by lloyd payne

ROOTS’ members at the finish line at the Oakland Run Festival

While community volunteers ran in the Oakland Run Festival to raise money for an ethnic studies program at San Quentin State Prison, 33 incarcerated men ran in solidarity with them.

The Asian Prisoner’s Support Community (APSC) ran to raise funds for the Restoring Our Original True Selves (ROOTS) program on March 24 and 25.

“Our community and volunteers, in their free time, ran to raise money for us,” Kevin “K” Neang, the ROOTS incarcerated chairman, said. “Let us show solidarity and run with them.”

The 33 incarcerated participants completed a combined 141.5 miles. The group included men who weren’t athletes but who ran in support. Even men like Thanh Tran, who never attended a ROOTS class, ran 53 laps, the equivalent of a half-marathon.

“if y’all think I did it…just give me a lawyer, dawg, ‘cause this is not what’s up.” Warren Demesme said during police questioning. The Louisiana Supreme Court held that this reference was too ambiguous to count as a request for counsel. REASON Magazine, January 2018

This marked the second year APSC and ROOTS ran to honor incarcerated family members or friends in prison, naming their running teams after their incarcerated loved ones and raising funds in support. This year’s goal was to raise $15,000 for ROOTS. It took a week and half, but they reached their goal, according to Tracy Nguyen.

Nguyen, a volunteer for both ROOTS and APSC, ran in a relay portion of the Oakland Run Festival. There was also a 5K race and a half-marathon.

Last year, Nguyen ran for Team Free Lee, in honor of a San Quentin inmate who has since been released. This year, Lee ran with Nguyen and Nighiep Ke Lam for Team “Free Tran,” in honor of Sa “Mega-Tran” Tran, whom immigration officers arrested after he paroled from San Quentin. (Tran is fighting the deportation.)

Nguyen, said her team used a basketball tournament to train for the run. It didn’t help.

Team Tran came in last, partly because the next runner arrived to the relay point late.

Besides meeting its fundraising goal, the race succeeded in achieving its larger agenda of strengthening ties in the Asian community.

“We came in last but Tran was first in our hearts,” Nguyen said.

San Quentin News & Wall City Merchandise

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/

Coming back to prison to help bridge the digital divide

May 23, 2018 by Wayne Boatwright

Tulio Cardozo with Jon Gripshover

Behind San Quentin’s walls, there is a pair of programs dedicated to closing the digital divide, Code.7370 and TLMWORKS. Tulio K. Cardozo, a former San Quentin inmate, runs one of them. These programs are sponsored by The Last Mile.

Cardozo is in charge of TLMWORKS, a coding development joint venture. It pays a whopping wage of $16.49 an hour to inmates.

“I’ve got to make four client calls this afternoon,” said Cardozo as he guided me to the TLMWORKS offices. “Why don’t you speak with a few of our team members first?”

The men of TLMWORKS are completely quiet as they write code for clients ranging from private companies and municipal governments to nonprofits and our own San Quentin News.

The coding rooms have numerous customer logos framed and hanging like trophies on the walls. Each one represents a successful client project.

Anouthinh Pangthong chimed in when asked about what sets Cardozo apart, “Tulio believes in us. Everything that I’ve done here is identified ‘PROUDLY DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED AT TLM WORKS.’ He makes us shine.”

Cardozo appreciates the importance of respect. He was a San Quentin H-Unit dormitory yard inmate for more than three years.

“From 23-30 years of age I was incarcerated; this is my chance to give back to society,” said Cardozo about one of his main his reasons for returning to San Quentin.

As the on-site manager, Cardozo’s chief role is keeping each project on task and time.

“The way I learned this stuff is by trial and error. Just like you are now but you have the benefit of my experience,” Cardozo told a teammate, Jason Jones, who was working to optimize a client’s website.

Around us, tech-jargon was flying hot and heavy: “Debugging Node from JavaScript” and “Have you used Chrome DevTool to allow you to decompile more efficiently?” asked Cardozo of Jones.

The work vocabulary is necessary to facilitate precise communication of what the team needs to do on a given client-project. A key procedure for Cardozo, is to explain a specific skill then find a way to convey it to all the other inmate-employees of TLMWORKS.

“These men learn cutting-edge technology through Code.7370, and then we keep their skills up to date [at TLMWORKS],” said Cardozo.

The consistent opinion heard from the TLMWORKS team is that Cardozo demands the best of them and does all he can to provide them with the tools and skill sets needed to succeed.

“He walked the same path as we do. The fact he came back here as a success tells me that I can also have a career in coding,” said Jones.

“I’ve been involved with The Last Mile since 2013,” said Harry Hemphill. “Working for TLMWORKS for almost two years already. My salary is $16.50 an hour for an average of 30 hours a week.

“He was an inmate and was in H-Unit where I live. He taught himself to code, left prison and started his own web-design shop.

“My passion is to start my own dev-shop,” Hemphill continued. “He is guiding me to be able to have all the skills necessary to become my own boss. It is not his job; what most impresses me about Cardozo is that he is compassionate and really wants each of us to succeed at TLMWORKS and on the outside.”

When asked about the most difficult aspect of working at San Quentin, Cardozo said, “The process of how to work without direct connection to the net always adds complexity to an already complex process.”

Authorized to have internet access, Cardozo must walk inmate-workers through the information that will help them do their job. Tutorial videos verified by Cardozo as appropriate and authorized for release was played to the team.

“This is first and foremost a business. All our employees know that both the company and they are accountable to our clients,” he said.

All of the TLMWORKS inmate employees were graduates of CODE.7370 training program also offered at San Quentin.

If an inmate can complete at least two of the six-month CODE.7370 training cycles, he can apply to work at TLMWORKS. All the current employees have completed all three cycles offered by CODE.7370.

“There is real opportunity here,” Cardozo emphasizes, “If you really connect in this space, if it excites you and you want to come back to class and challenge yourself, we have the tools to allow that.”

When asked about the key to successes at both CODE.7370 and TLMWORKS, Cardozo said, “You can believe in yourself. This is the best opportunity to practice here and learn what it is like to work on a team at both a professional and individual level. There is no better time to build professional habits than right now.”

TLMWORKS is growing. “I now have six people on my roster and looking to hire more when the next batch graduates [from CODE.7370].

“We operationally can handle about three projects at one time right now. We have a well-developed pipeline of potential clients. Like many development shops on the outside, we don’t have a shortage of projects, rather of talented people. We will hire as many as can come through the CODE.7370 program,” said Cardozo. “If you are qualified and able, I will consider you as a serious candidate to become part of our team.”

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/
https://sanquentinnews.com/game-theory/
Boatwright

The passion of running stretches beyond the prison walls

May 15, 2018 by Rahsaan Thomas

From the yard inside San Quentin State Prison, Chris Schuhmacher used to look up over the walls at Mt. Tam, thinking one day I’m going to get there. Now on parole, he’s arrived and he continues using the two things that got him through his bid—running and computer coding.

“Chris exemplifies the spirit, drive and determination of someone who wants to succeed and set an example for others,” Beverly Parenti, co-founder of the Code.7370 coding program at San Quentin, said.

Day of Peace guest Herman Yee, Chris Schumacher and Clarence Long soaking up some sun rays

Schuhmacher works as a software engineer for Fandom, a company that is like a Wikipedia for media, entertainment, music and video game content.

His journey to become a software engineer started in prison with exercise and an entrepreneurship program called The Last Mile.

While in The Last Mile program founded by Chris Redlitz and Parenti, Schuhmacher came up with an app concept that would help people use exercise to overcome their addiction to drugs and alcohol. He named it Fitness Monkey.

“Exercise produces the same hormones and endorphins in the brain that drugs and alcohol do,” Schuhmacher said. “So it was really logical for me to develop an app around providing people with exercise and workout programs as an alternative to drugs and alcohol.”

The app is designed to track how long a person stays sober down to the minutes and seconds. It will also act as a fitness tracker and a social media support system for a community of recovering addicts, said Schuhmacher.

The concept for Fitness Monkey came from Schuhmacher’s own life.

He struggled with addiction in society and ended up incarcerated over a drug-related crime for 17 years.

In prison, he cleaned up, took yoga and played tennis. To become a better tennis player, he started running with the 1000 Mile Club.

“It was through the 1000 Mile Club that I found I had a love for running and not just hitting a tennis ball around,” Schuhmacher said. “I ran my first marathon in 2011.”

He ran on Monday nights with the club sponsored by members of the Tamalpais Runners Club including the former president Frank Ruona, along with Kevin Rumon and Diana Fitzpatrick.

He could see Mt. Tam by looking over the walls on the yard while running with fellow club members.

Chris Schuhmacher passing another runner at the Mt. Tamalpais in the Dipsea Race

The 1000 Mile Club gave him a sense of camaraderie. He ran with John Levin and Tommy Wickerd on Saturdays.

“As close as we were in confined quarters and really getting to know people on a human level, I don’t think I’ll ever have that kind of solidarity amongst other people,” Schuhmacher said.

Schuhmacher remembered his Fitness Monkey concept when The Last Mile program evolved into the coding program Code.7370. There he learned how to build his app.

He also met the Fandom team when they came to the Code.7370 graduations.

“When I got out, I reached out to them, and they set me up for an interview,” Schuhmacher said. “They started me with an internship that turned into a full-time job in January.”

Schuhmacher said he’s also working with developers at Santa Clara University’s furlough innovation hub to build the Fitness Monkey app.

Schuhmacher said he talked Fitness Monkey with Lance Armstrong on Armstrong’s new podcast called Forward.

They also talked about taking accountability.

“I think we all fall down sometimes, and we all make mistakes and sometimes we don’t deal with it in the best of ways,” Schuhmacher said. “It’s really about trying to take ownership of it, be responsible, make amends. And I don’t think it’s so much about forgiveness, but it’s about moving forward and just trying to be better than you were the day before.”

Schuhmacher continues to run in solidarity with the 1000 Mile Club.

“The 1000 Mile Club and all the volunteers’ support and encouragement didn’t end at the gate,” Schuhmacher said. “They signed me up for a Dipsea Race in Marin.”

The annual Dipsea Race takes place on a course running through the woods and up and down hills of Mt. Tam. Schuhmacher ran the race last year.

Coach Fitzpatrick has won the race twice.

“They talked about that race for years while we were on the inside,” Schuhmacher said.

Through an email list, Schuhmacher gets updates on all the 1000 Mile races in San Quentin.

“When I hear about those events, I do my own event on the outside,” Schuhmacher said. “When they were doing the New Year’s Day half-marathon, I got a couple of buddies and we did a half-marathon in solidarity with the guys at San Quentin. I tell everyone I can about the positive stuff that those guys are doing. It’s really important to me. I never want to lose that connection.”

Queeny King performs at SQ

May 15, 2018 by Kevin Sawyer

By Eddie Herena Queeny performing on stage

At age 8, singer-song writer Queeny King sang in a Soviet Union prison. In March, she performed at San Quentin State Prison.

Dressed in black bell-bottom pants with buttons along the side and wearing a black blazer with a shiny brown blouse, King put on a look that, on its face, could have been interpreted as belonging to rock, goth, punk or the pop genre of music. It became obvious none of that was her once the music played and she started singing.

King’s song Run for the Hills opened the early evening performance with DJ Kraig (Frank Tyler) working his digital magic from a table on the side of the stage. He’s also called the “Liquid Giraffe.”

When King sang Angel of Paris, the sounds and drum beats roared from the Catholic chapel’s sound system, taking the music back to the familiar sounds of MTV 1980s fresh, innovative European artists such as the Human League, and Nena. The song “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes comes to mind hearing Angel.

“It’s not at all what I expected,” said DJ Kraig, who used a laptop computer, multi-channel mixer, dual-deck CD player and drum machine to mix and arrange music and rhythmic beats for King.

This was his first time inside San Quentin. Coming in, he said he had no expectations because he came in “to provide a gift,” adding that he felt “fortunate” to come in and perform.

King said singer-actress Cher told her to say “hi” to the men at San Quentin. Cher is her mother-in-law. King is married to Cher’s son Elijah Almond, whose father is the late musician Greg Allman.

The audience of more than 120 inmates and outside guests related to King’s song “Perfect Day.” She said this is a true story about going along with your day when “s**t hits the fan.” It too brings about ’80s nostalgia.

King writes her own music. “I play a little guitar,” she said, but she uses synths and pads to create all of her music. “I try not to write bubblegum pop,” she said. Someone in the audience asked, “What’s bubblegum pop?” King responded, saying, “Taylor Swift. That’s bubblegum pop.”

“I grew up in a cult,” King said. The name of the cult was Children of God. “They had nothing to do with God.”

King said she grew up in the Soviet Union, “restricted” and not allowed to hear music. When she was a teenager, she decided to turn on the radio. The rest, as it is said, is history.

“Queeny is the name of my grandmother,” King said. Marie Angela is the name that she says appears on her passport. “Nobody calls me that.” King is her last name.

“Living a Lie” was another of King’s songs she performed. If readers remember hearing the ’80s song 99 Luftballoons by the group Nena, then this is that kind of music. King’s song introduced subtle guitar lines in the background mixed in by DJ Kraig.

Kraig said he’s been a DJ since he was a kid. “It was another way to make money.” He started mixing on old-school vinyl records and still knows how to use the pitch wheel on a turntable. He said in high school he bought a Roland 808 drum machine for its sound. These days, like many DJs, Kraig relies on digital technology.

“It’s a freak show, anything goes…It’s how the girls get down and how the boys romance.” The crowd really enjoyed the song “Freak Show” for its sound and lyrics. They clapped to the beat. King said the song is about a club she walked into in London. The scene she described was wild. One inmate asked for the name of the club.

“It’s really hard for me to sing this song,” King said during an interlude between songs. She said it was her father’s favorite song as she directed the crowd to sing along: “Carry me home, home, home…” The music had a low bass drone sound with strings in the background. King sang: “Standing at a crossroad, I want to find my way…Standing at a crossroad, I don’t want to be alone…”.

Following that arrangement, DJ Kraig manipulated King’s vocals on another song to sound like a chorus was behind her as he scratched turntable sounds. His choice of string rhythms was also reminiscent of music from the ’80s.

By Eddie Herena DJ Kraig mixing his beatsexploitation

The crowd gave Queeny King and the Liquid Giraffe, DJ Kraig, a standing ovation. Kraig then sampled some of his other sounds for the audience during a question-and-answer discussion.

King said she decided to showcase her songs at San Quentin first—before presenting them to any record label. “I’m looking for someone to rap on a few tracks,” she said.

“I was thinking about the first place to sing after a hiatus,” King said. The inspiration for the duo to come to San Quentin, she said, was that “I had so much fun singing in prisons before.” She said these are some of the moments she used to share with her father, who passed away a short time ago.

One inmate who introduced himself as Robert thanked King for coming in to perform and sharing part of her life with the audience.

Inmate W. “Rico” Rogers, who plays keyboard in the prison’s R&B band, asked King if she could bring Cher to the prison. “I’m going to definitely try,” King said.

Another inmate shouted, “We believe in life after love,” referring to “Believe,” one of Cher’s songs from the ’90s.

“This is great,” said music producer Tom Lapinski, one of the outside guests. He used to bring musicians in to perform at San Quentin from 1977 to 1999. “I want to come in and do concerts again,” he said. “There hasn’t been a (big) concert since Metallica.” He also worked with the organization Bread & Roses from June 1977 to December 1980.

After some urging, encores of “Perfect Day” and “Freak Show” were performed. The men loved it as they sang “It’s a perfect day” in the chorus. DJ Kraig mixed it up using his desktop technology as the crowd sang “freak show, anything goes.” The familiarity of both songs made them come off stronger the second time around as a few inmates got up and danced in front of the stage.

When the performance finally ended, many of the men gathered around King for a chance to shake her hand, speak, pose for pictures and get her autograph on pieces of paper. For one evening in prison, it was a Perfect Day because nothing hit the fan in another Freak Show where sometimes anything goes.

NY’s Metropolitan Museum of Art comes to SQ

Last RISE inmate graduation for Dante Callegari

Singer/songwriter Neda Boin brings inspiration to SQ

San Francisco offers safe injection sites

May 8, 2018 by Rahsaan Thomas

If you can’t stop using heroin, San Francisco is willing to violate state and federal law so you can do it safely. In July, the city plans to open two sites that will allow shooting up under secure conditions.

San Francisco + Golden Gate Bridge

“I’m fully supportive of the city moving forward, just like we did with needle exchange before it was technically legal,” state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) said in a San Francisco Chronicle column. “We need to do everything in our power to keep people healthy, to get people off the streets so they’re injecting in a safe space indoors instead of on people’s doorsteps or in public parks and to make sure we can intervene quickly if they overdose.”

Intravenous drug use is against both state and federal law, but Wiener has a bill that, if passed into law, would protect anyone associated with safe injection sites from facing state charges. The Assembly passed the bill last year, but it is two votes short in the Senate and would still need Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval.

“We consider the use of clean needles as a public health issue”

Still, San Francisco isn’t waiting on the state law or worrying about Pres.Donald Trump targeting them.

“I’m more worried about people dying in our streets,” Barbara Garcia, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said in the Chronicle article.

The total drug-overdose deaths was 64,070 in the 12 months through January 2017.” The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 27, 2017 wsj.com/usnews

“Opioids, such as fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone and hydrocodone, killed more than 34,500 people in 2016.” The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 27, 2017 wsj.com/usnews

An estimated 22,000 drug users openly shoot up in public areas, often scattering dirty needles on San Francisco sidewalks. Public Health officials expect 85 percent of San Francisco’s intravenous drug users to use the safe sites, keeping dirty needles off the streets and saving the city $3.5 million a year in medical costs. Medical and social services will also be available at the safe sites.

With 343 homicides in 2017, Baltimore “had the highest murder rate in its history, and by far the highest among the nation’s 30 largest cities,” according to The New York Times 1-17-18

The concept isn’t new. Canada, Australia and Europe provide safe injection sites. Also, cities like Seattle, Baltimore and Philadelphia are considering opening their own.

The public supports safe injection sites. A survey conducted in January by David Binder Research surveyed 500 registered city voters in English and Cantonese. They found that 67 percent of respondents back the idea while 27 percent opposed.

At San Quentin State Prison, state certified drug counselors, who once used drugs, support safe injection sites.

“Ideally we opt for total sobriety; however, we recognize that harm reduction is beneficial in the initial stages of recovery,” said Martin Walters, 50, incarcerated. He’s a California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE) counselor. “We consider the use of clean needles as a public health issue, like preventing AIDS, rather than addressing addiction. But, it’s a great start.”

Quinton Walker, 60, agrees. In the past he used heroin and nobody could tell him anything or do anything to get him to quit until he had a realization that the drug was going to kill him. Thereafter, he sought help and beat his addiction. Now he’s a CAADE counselor.

“I don’t think people are going to start using drugs because the needles are free,” Walker said. “I think the sites will keep people alive until they reach the point in their lives where they find hope and are ready to seek help quitting.”