San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

Archives for September 2012

Actors Relate Personal Stories in Famed Hamlet Play

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The Hebrew prayer sung by Julian Glenn Padgett rang through the auditorium just inside San Quentin State Prison’s gates. It opened Padgett’s performance that included songs such as “My Girl” by The Temptations, sung to a swaying crowd, and a performance in which he told his childhood memories to a tearful audience.
At age 5, Padgett’s mother enrolled him in ballet. At 7, he shot a gun at his stepfather after watching him beat his mother unconscious. At 41, Padgett sang to his dying mother by telephone from within prison walls after she informed him of his sister’s sudden death.
Padgett, 48, is serving 32 years to life at San Quentin State Prison on charges of arson, burglary, car theft and first-degree murder.
He was among 10 San Quentin inmates who brought some 200 people — fellow inmates and audience members from outside the prison — to laughter and tears Sept. 7 when they performed stories about their past in “Parallel Play: Original Theater Inspired by Hamlet.” Themes included love, betrayal, revenge and abandonment, feelings that resonated with the prisoners and audience members alike.
“In prison you have to wear a mask,” said Padgett, who goes by the name of Luke in prison. “I told myself that it’s OK to be open. It’s OK to bring these memories up and ride the dragon, as my sister would say. I was able to ride the dragon and it was rough.”
Produced by the Marin Shakespeare Company, the performance was directed by Suraya Susana Keating with assistance from Lesley Currier, founding managing director of Marin Shakespeare.
“They are so intelligent and have so much depth of feeling,” Keating said. “They are brave, they are honest and they are entertaining.”
In addition to beckoning cheers from fellow inmates, the performance embodied themes that reflected human emotions that moved visiting audience members and prisoners alike.
“When I’m sad or depressed, I can feel very alone,” Novato resident Henry Frummer, 61, told the performers. “Your stories penetrated that. I’ll never feel alone again.”
Frummer, a host of a zen group at San Quentin, said the vulnerability of the performance evoked his emotional response.
“This play literally changed my life,” he said. “I can’t look at my tragedies the same ever again.”
Prisoners in the audience expressed appreciation for the performance, sharing similar experiences of difficult childhoods and life experiences.
Samuel Hearnes, 34, serving a sentence of 25 to life for second-degree murder, watched the performance to support his friends and find connections between “Hamlet,” the prisoners’ stories and audience members.
“I’m hoping that people will understand the experiences that led us to get here,” Hearnes said. “I hope people see the humanity that still exists within us.”
–This copyrighted story is reprinted with the permission of the Marin Independent Journal.

Here are some quotes from the actors and audience:

LESLIE CURRIER, assistant managing director of Marin County Shakespeare Co.—“All of the men acted in Hamlet earlier this year. The parallel play is autobiographical stories written by the actors in Hamlet, which is part of the S.Q. Shakespeare Project. All these men have depth of character. They can relate to their characters in their own lives. The guys selected these stories because there’s a need for them to come out. The themes they chose from Hamlet are love, abandonment, imprisonment of the mind, and others.”

JOHN NEBLITT—“We’ve been rehearsing seriously for the past three months. I also have an appearance in the introduction and in Angelo’s piece. My personal piece is about life circumstances of my crime, also regarding mixed feelings of ‘mother love,’ which was inspired by my character King Claudius, Hamlet’s stepfather. It’s about love and repentance.”

LAURIE BROOKS, from the William James Association, primary supporter of the Arts in Corrections program. — “We have a wonderful, thriving program here at S.Q.” A.I.C. program was started in 1977 with the William James Foundation. The pilot program started at CMF until the state took over the program about 1981. “I’ve been with the program for the last two years.”

KIMINI RANDALL—“This play (Forgiveness) is based on the first time I felt betrayed by my mother.”

JONATHAN WILSON—The Search for Love—“This is a story about my feelings of betrayal. All I know is that I’ve always felt alone as a little boy. Even surrounded by 1,200 men, I still feel alone all the time. How could someone who always had everything else have nothing that he really needed? Why did they (my mother and father) both have to lie to me? If I have learned anything, I’ve learned that loving someone who may hurt you is trusting that they won’t.”

JOHN NEBLETT—Rain Enough—Acted out his part in a song about empathy.

TRISTEN JONES—Because I Said So—About being raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. Had the entire audience laughing. “It left me so unprepared for life that I wasn’t able to handle it when I was out on my own. I asked myself, ‘How did I get here?’ The answer was, ‘I’m an idiot.’”

ANGELO FALCONE—Betrayal—His story was a short, Hamlet-style play about betrayal by his wife.

–Kevin Valvardi

Study: Police Should Help Ex-Cons

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Police should help former prisoners reenter their communities, but too often are reluctant to be involved, a Harvard study says.
“Police should embrace the reality of people returning to their communities as a public safety challenge and promote a problem-solving strategy for reducing the re-arrest rates of people coming home from prison,” the study concludes.
The study says early police intervention in the reentry process could reduce crime and recidivism.
There are complications to collaboration between community-based rehabilitation programs and police, the report notes: Communities with high crime rates view police “as agents of an unjust system deeply rooted in a history of racial oppression” and police view those communities “as tolerant of criminal behavior and resistant to police intervention.”
The relationship is further complicated because police often view themselves as strictly enforcers of the law and consider additional responsibilities of engaging in the reentry process as contrary to their mission and a waste of limited resources, the study reports.
Early research shows combining police community-based programs in the reentry process have been successful “when intensive supervision was coupled with treatment-oriented programs,” according to the study.
After years of increasing prison populations, policymakers, elected officials and criminal justice practitioners are belatedly focusing on the consequences.
The Chicago Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative has shown a 37 percent decrease in the homicide rate and the Boston Reentry Initiative showed a 30 percent reduction.
The Harvard study cautions that police should not become an extension of the supervision mission of parole and probation nor should those agencies simply adopt a law enforcement stance. It also notes the subject is still “largely uncharted territory and…still being debated.”
The report, Exploring the Role of the Police in Prisoner Reentry, can be found at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/criminaljustice/executive_sessions/policy.htm

Private Prisons Seek Tough Laws for Immigrants

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Private prison companies are spending millions of dollars lobbying congressional lawmakers to pass legislation that increases immigrant custody, according to the Associated Press.
“It’s a millionaire’s business, and they are living off profits from each one of the people who go through there every single night,” said Pedro Guzman, a former detainee in a Corrections Corporation of America facility.
This year alone, U.S. taxpayers will pay private companies more than $2 billion to detain 400,000 immigrants, according to the AP.
In the last decade, CCA, the GEO Group, and Management and Training Corporation spent roughly $45 million on campaign donations and lobbyists at the state and federal level, according to the AP.
Top recipients were the Republican and Democratic parties, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Republican House Speaker John Boehner, Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.:
Brain Evans, the chief financial officer for the GEO Group, told investors: “Another factor driving growth…for the private sector is in the area of immigration and illegal immigration specifically,” the AP reported.
A decade ago, the Federal Bureau of Prisons signed two 10-year contracts to pay CCA $760 million to house more than 3,300 criminal immigrants. The FBP is now under 13 different contracts with private prison companies, housing more than 23,000 criminal immigrants. The taxpayer cost of the contracts is $5.1 billion.
 

US prison commissary giants are set to merge

Securus Technologies absorbs more competition

ACLU Calls for Immigration Investigation

Bay Area Women Support Veterans

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The academic futures of some deserving students are looking a little brighter after two Bay Area women donated $2,000 to a scholarship award program operated by the Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin.
Marcy Orosco and Marlynn Murphy donated the money. Since 2009, they have annually contributed to the vets’ scholarship fund.
This year, Orosco presented their check to an appreciative group of vets.
The Veteran’s group award annual scholarships to children of military families. Since their first award of $1,000 in 1990, they have provided nearly $45,000 to 35 students. Their donations totaled nearly $90,000 to a variety of charitable causes.
Orosco is director of Harbor House, a program that assists veterans and their families. She said she also works with the Veterans Administration to help find housing and specialized programs for veterans in more than 10 counties.
“She has been monumental in helping vets find housing and jobs upon discharge from prison,” commented Ron Self, then chairman of the veterans’ group. He lauded her “unwavering loyalty to vets.”
Orosco said her VA connections bolstered her ability to assist veterans. “I’m the only person in the Bay Area that will house a vet in 24 hours,” she said.
Expressing sentiments of the group, one member said, “Recognizing the charity she has given us is long overdue.”
The incarcerated vets also give toys to needy children at Christmas time, provide care packages for deployed service members, recycle used soda tabs for money to support disadvantaged families of hospitalized children, and collect used stamps for use in the physical rehabilitation of injured veterans.
The Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin web site is http://vvgsq.tripod.com

Visits to Prisoners Make a Difference

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Reinstating a free bus visitation program in New York prisons could save money, lessen prison violence, reduce its recidivism rate, and even put a smile on a young child’s face, according to a report by the Vera Institute.
From 1973 until early 2011, the state’s free bus visitation program helped families stay connected, the report says. However, budget restraints ended the program.
The goal of the service is to “preserve, enhance, and strengthen relationships between incarcerated individuals and their family and friends,” the report says. In addition, the program provides “transportation to those who could not otherwise afford to make the expensive and often lengthy trips on their own.”
Incarcerated people who received regular visits from family members are six times less likely to be involved in prison rules violations, according to a study by the Washington State Department of Corrections. Furthermore, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said inmates who receive visits from relatives and clergy are 13 percent less likely to recidivate.
New York prison officials say the reduction in recidivism saves the state (in prison cost) $60,076 annually per person.
The report says that New York’s free visitation buses “promotes public safety and a safer correctional environment, but also the well-being of New York’s children and families.”
“By reinstating the bus program and increasing its usage, New York can make better use of public resources while affirming its commitment to successful prisoner reentry and long-term public safety,” the report concludes.

S.F. Launches Neighborhood Courts

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San Francisco’s Neighborhood Courts were created by the District Attorney’s Office as a means to use restorative justice to reduce recidivism and increase community input into low-level crimes in the city. Neighborhood Courts began adjudicating its first cases in June 2011.
It allows those directly affected by low-level crimes to have a say in their community and decide how they can use this experience to help the participant not re-offend by creating ties with the community and addressing their needs in a more effective way than incarceration and punishment.
A Neighborhood Court usually includes three panelists to meet with a participant.
Panelists are community volunteers who are trained in restorative justice, cultural competency and facilitating community panels for misdemeanors and infractions.
Neighborhood Courts are not meant to be punishment, but to be reparative.
Offenders become participants, the judges are community panelists, and participants are not convicted, but are given directives.
Courts meet in neighborhood’s community centers throughout San Francisco.
The community and the participant discuss the incident, the impact and harm upon the community, and what the person thinks they should do to make things right with the community.
The panelists then decide a creative and non-punitive directive for the participant. The panelists can even dismiss a case if they believe there was no harm or the person has already made substantial effort to repair the harm.
Participants are often directed to do community service, attend anger management or harm reduction classes in lieu of court dates, fines, or jail time. This avoids possibly becoming involved in the criminal justice system.
The participant has one month to complete their directive. If they do not re-offend within a year, the violation will disappear from their criminal record.
–Mehera Reiter is a volunteer Neighborhood Court panelist in San Francisco. She has been a panelist for about a year. Reiter says, “It is a great thing for the community.”

Parents in Prison Can Still Help Their Children

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Incarcerated parents have the power to make positive differences in their children’s lives.
As a teacher in alternative education, my children often have incarcerated parents.
I remember one male freshmen student in particular on whom I would not give up. He often reflected on fine memories with his father, showing the utmost respect.
He was spending shared time with his grandmother and mother. The grandmother had taken over custody until his father’s release. I, his mother and grandmother became frustrated with his lack of motivation and achievement.
Just like the dinos in Jurassic Park tested for weak spots in the fence, I too searched for some positive avenue to reach my disconnected students. Because my student admired and looked up to his father, I asked mom if we could include his father in the son’s communication circle. Mother eagerly agreed, but referred me to the grandmother, who agreed too. I gathered grades, teacher comments, and homework records and sent them to the grandmother.
After the next visit to see his father, the student was suddenly accountable and amazingly began achieving success with class assignments.
My student and his father shared a valuable moment where the parent realized his worth in the son’s eyes, and in turn the son worked to earn the respect of his father.
Simply because parents are not in the home doesn’t mean children’s needs and wants are less due to incarceration. Children long to have connections with parents. Incarcerated parents have incredible power to touch their children’s lives forever.
Parents: Don’t miss significant opportunities. You have incredible power.
— Karen Wright is a high school teacher and counselor who lives in Riverside, Calif.

Massachusetts Aims for Harsher Drug and Three Strikes Penalties

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Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has signed into law a bill that revises the state’s mandatory drug laws and enacts a Three Strikes rule, making an offender convicted of three violent crimes ineligible for parole, according to Reuters.
Crimes that will be counted as strikes include murder, rape, armed robbery, manslaughter, incest, assault with serious bodily injury, assault with intent to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, inducing a minor into prostitution, and child pornography, according to the article.
“The bill will put more people in prison and keep them longer at a price tag of nearly $50,000 per prisoner each year,” said Carole Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts in an interview with the Telegram & Gazette. “We need to repeal mandatory sentencing, not expand it,” she added.
Mandatory sentences will be given to first, second and additional offenses for distribution or possession with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs, according to the report.
The area of school zones for drug sales would be reduced from the current 1,000 feet to 300 feet and the bill eliminates application of sentences for such crimes in school zones between midnight and 5 a.m., according to the report.
The bill also contains a retroactive provision allowing some inmates currently serving mandatory drug sentences to apply for re-sentencing, which Patrick said would allow nearly 600 prisoners to be paroled, according to Reuters.

Stunted Economy

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Michigan’s economic growth is in jeopardy because of fewer college graduates and disproportionate spending on prisons, instead of universities, says a new report.
“Our public universities are a major driver of Michigan’s economy yet we are spending more on a prisoner in one year than we are to help a Michigan student go to college for four years,” said Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM). “This investment strategy is upside down if we want to attract business investment and good-paying jobs.”

UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD

By 2018, 62 percent of jobs in Michigan will require a post-secondary education, according to a BLM turnaround plan. “The best-paying jobs will move away or never be created. This is due to Michigan state law giving preference to prison budget cuts over university budgets, making it an uneven playing field which results in universities suffering deeper cuts to their budgets.”
The report says special interest groups like prison guard unions and private prison corporations lobby for lengthy sentencing laws and strict parole policies. The study shows Michigan imprisons 51 percent more of its residents than its neighboring states and spends more money per prisoner per year to keep prisoners incarcerated.

TOUGH LAWS

Moreover, other studies have shown those states with large and influential guard unions have large prison populations, according to Zimring, Franklin E. Gorden J. Hawkins, and Sam Kamin. 2001. Punishment and Democracy: Three Strikes and You’re Out in California. New York: Oxford University Press.

EDUCATION SPENDING

The study concludes by making a comparison to states that benefit from investment spending on education. For example, North Carolina whose economy is similar to Michigan’s receives nearly four times as much state support per student as Michigan by spending relatively less on prisons. As a result, a four-year degree costs $18,887 in North Carolina, and $38,215 in Michigan.
According to the study, 30 to 40 years ago North Carolina lagged behind Michigan in economic performance, but today is even.
 

Phyllis Diller: The Queen of Comedy

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1917-2012

She was a regular in night clubs and on television, and once graced the inner walls of San Quentin with her comedy act. She was Phyllis Diller, known for her big laughs and sharp wit, who died last month in her Los Angeles home.
A TV regular in the 1950s, Diller took time to entertain the men in blue with her trademark standup routine. She performed as part of “Le Cage,” the prisons one-time drama workshop, which on occasion also featured other notable entertainers such as Lee Marvin and Eartha Kitt.
“She died peacefully in her sleep, and with a smile on her face,” said Milton Sachin, her manager, according to The Associated Press. He didn’t disclose the cause of death.
Diller left two adult children, four grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
She was 95.

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