Archives for September 2014

TRUST Holds Its 11th Annual Health Fair Event

September 29, 2014 by Kevin Sawyer

San Quentin’s annual Health Fair has entered its second decade with the completion of the 11th event, held in August. The popular event is sponsored by TRUST (Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training)

Nurse doing a blood pressure check for one inmate

“It’s one of the most anticipated events in the prison for the entire population,” said Kelly Mitchell, Chief Deputy Warden.
The Health Fair is in a perpetual state of development and planning to make each year better than the previous year.
“It’s always exciting to come here,” said Dr. Arnold Perkins. “I think it’s important for the men on the inside to have contact with the community outside.”

Dental assistance explains the importance of brushing

Some see the Health Fair as a one-day event to promote good health, but its preparation is a yearlong process. The support of the warden’s office, staff, outside volunteers and inmates makes it possible.
“I was the Public Health Director when we started with Gary Mendez,” Perkins said. “Then we decided … we wanted to make sure the men in prison had health resources. We felt that having a healthy mind, body and spirit was really important to the rehabilitation of the men.”

Volunteers doing a hearing test for
inmates in the Arc Trailer

Perkins said former Warden Robert Ayers was the person who set this in place. He said Ayers wanted them to come in and work with the men. “He wanted us to instill in the men that they deserve to be healthy, and they deserve to be informed on how to maintain their healthy state,” Perkins said.
The day before the Health Fair, TRUST held an orientation to provide instruction on what must be done to make the event successful.

Chiropractor Fred Githler working diligently

On the day of the Health Fair, more than 100 volunteers from the medical community filed into the prison’s Protestant Chapel, where they were greeted by staff and inmates with coffee and pastries.
“You are all part of history in the making,” said Angelo Falcone-Alvarez, TRUST secretary. “You are all hope dealers.”

Mildred Crear working
in the ARC bulding

For some medical volunteers, the Health Fair was their first time they had visited San Quentin or the inside of any prison.
At 10 a.m. it was show time, and all of the volunteers worked tirelessly to provide inmates with healthcare services and information.
“I’m excited. These fairs are beneficial. They have my support,” said Associate Warden Steve Albritton. He was curious to know if inmates discovered something about themselves that they did not know previously, such as if they have high blood pressure.

Alameda County Hospice Volunteers
Marilyn Ababio and Notary Safia Quinn

Inmates waited in several lines on the Lower Yard to receive services. Inmates received acupressure and chiropractic services in the prison’s gymnasium, as well as yoga lessons. There were also University of California San Francisco (UCSF) resident physicians who answered questions.
“I am so fortunate every time I come to San Quentin,” said Sachi Doctor, a volunteer who also works with The Last Mile program. “The opportunity and time to practice yoga (with prisoners) given the conditions justifies their desire to grow and transform. There are so many forms of exercise, but I love the personal transformation I find in yoga. I wanted to take transformation to next level.”

One inmate is concentrating on his finger after being pricked by a needle

“It’s an inspiration to come through and see how nervous prisoners are until they try it,” said Gibron McDonald, a volunteer yoga instructor. “Sometimes we think we are not worthy of medicine. Yoga is medicine. It’s a blessing; there’s healing that takes place here.”

Inmates lined up to get health information from Centerforce volunteers

Dr. Triveni Defries, a UCSF resident physician, said she has been to San Quentin before, but never to a Health Fair. “It seems to be very well-organized. We’re here to answer any medical questions” on subjects such as breathing problems, skin infections, heart attacks, strokes, Hepatitis C, depression and diabetes. “We’re willing to talk about whatever anyone wants to talk about,” she said.
Dr. Emily Wistar, another UCSF resident physician, said she is in a program in San Francisco to provide primary care to underserved communities. “I think it’s a good resource for us to work with you guys,” Wistar said.

Centerforce volunteers
Ashley Malone and Daniel Perez

“I thought it would be much more boring,” said Dr. Asa Clemenzi of UCSF. “I thought it was nice to just answer people’s questions about health. It’s an opportunity to pass on some knowledge.”
“Trust me, you’ll be fine,” said Dr. Fred Githler, who has been a chiropractor for more than 20 years. He has his own private practice and attended the Health Fair for the fourth time. He said he heard about it through Life West Chiropractic College. “Each year it gets bigger. Any volunteer work is enlightening.”

Almeda County Public Health
Volunteer Janetta M.

Dirk Schlueter, who works in acupressure for the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) in San Francisco, demonstrated the manipulation of vaccaria seeds on different points of the ear. When pressing the seed on the ear, it stimulates an acupressure point.
“This is the first time we are here, so we are pretty excited,” said Schlueter. “We try to find certain combinations that are right for you guys,” said Schlueter.
Erin Reilly works with parolees from San Quentin and Pelican Bay State Prisons at Options Detox in Berkeley. “It’s still early,” Reilly said. “We’re looking forward to helping people.”
“Overall it’s very positive, very progressive,” said Shaka Muhammad, who is an IDAP (Inmate Disability Assistant Program) worker. “It gives guys insight on health. They should probably have information on the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).”

Chris Deragon getting his blood
pressure checked by a volunteer

Safia Quinn volunteered her services as a notary to certify the medical forms the men signed for advance directives. This was her first San Quentin Health Fair. She said she has volunteered at similar events in Oakland and Hayward. “I think it’s very beneficial. It’s definitely a treat,” she said.
“This is my third one,” said inmate Douglass Manns. “It’s a larger crowd from when I first started. He said the general population has grown over the years at the prison because of the addition of inmates to West Block.
Redwood Dental Hygienists Society (RDHS), a component of the California Dental Hygienists Association, attended the Health Fair to give inmates demonstrations on how to properly brush and floss their teeth. They also answered questions on oral hygiene.
“It seems like they’re improving on the whole way they’ve stepped up,” said Laura Birchett, a hygienist with RDHS who participated at the fair last year. “I think it’s wonderful that they bring this to San Quentin and that the inmates are so involved in putting this together.”
Jessica Wong, a hygienist with RDHS, said, “I’m thoroughly enjoying my time. I enjoy getting to know you guys.”
“They were open to receiving our pamphlets,” said Ashley Malone of Center Force. “A lot of people were interested in our peer health class.”
Inside the ARC (Addiction Recovery Center) trailer, volunteers offered readings for blood pressure, glucose levels, cholesterol levels, vision and hearing testing.
Inmate Todd Jones was getting his blood pressure checked in the ARC trailer. “Last year I only went to the gym. I didn’t come in here.” Jones said he visited the acupressure area earlier. “I’ve never done it before. It’s interesting. I think it’s better than medication. It’s natural.”
“It moved a lot quicker than it did last year. I think it’s great,” said inmate John Ray Ervin. “It’s a different experience, something I never experienced on the street. It teaches you a lot about your body. He said he learned ‘our bodies are beat up.’ ”
Dr. Bill Bolinger, an independent chiropractor and health fair volunteer, said it was his first health fair at San Quentin. “I think we should be here every month. It’s great that they do this at least once a year.”
“I get more from what I do,” said Bolinger, who has done mission work in Vietnam and Mexico and planned to do the same at a Native American reservation in New Mexico a week later.
“This year was run a lot smoother,” said Nick Grant, a Health Fair volunteer with Chiropractic Outreach. He said this was his third visit to San Quentin for the event. “There wasn’t that congestion” as in previous years.
Grant said his organization volunteers around the world to treat people in Mexico, Laos and Fiji. He discussed a Harvard University study on joints. He said the study reported that joints that do not move degenerate within two weeks. “We want to keep those joints moving because a moving body is a healthy body.”
Dr. Tammi Clark, a volunteer chiropractor, said the spine and nervous system work together, and that sometimes restricted joints become painful. “Often you see benefits when restrictions are released. We restore mobility so they (joints) can move better.”
“It’s about optimizing health,” said Clark. “The spine is made up of so many bones that when they’re off, other parts of the body compensate. If they spent as much time with flexibility (stretching) as building bulky muscles, they’d be in better shape.”
“Today is going smoother than any other Health Fair,” said Tyrone “T-Bone” Allen, an inmate and founding member of TRUST.
According to Allen, in 2003 Jerry Brown, who was then mayor of Oakland, commented on how Oakland had become a dumping ground for San Quentin. It was at that time San Quentin Warden Jeanne Woodford decided she would help to make changes. She created programs with the help of Dr. Gary Mendez and Lt. Vernell Crittendon.
Allen said Woodford helped to form TRUST. Its goal was to Teach Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training (TRUST).
Allen said TRUST “started working with these guys to build bridges back to the community,” and bring homicide rates down in the Bay Area by educating black men about who they are.
Allen said the first Health Fair was about dealing with issues that African-Americans face, such as sickle cell anemia, high blood pressure, alcoholism, substance abuse, STDs and HIV.
According to Allen, Perkins and Chavez joined with TRUST to organize the Health Fair during Black History Month in 2003. “Today, this project has evolved into an all-inclusive health fair for all groups, not just African-[American]s,” said Allen.
Phoeun You, Emile DeWeaver, Richard “Bonaru” Richardson and JulianGlenn Padgett contributed to this story.

Push to Speed Up State Executions Fails to Make Ballot

September 29, 2014 by N. T. NOBLE BUTLER

A ballot measure meant to speed up the review process for prisoners sentenced to death did not qualify for the November election, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The proposed initiative would have limited appeals by death row inmates, eased the qualifying standards for death penalty defense lawyers and done away with public hearings on lethal injection procedures.
The initiative, backed by supporters of the death penalty, including former California governors George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis, had only collected a couple hundred thousand signatures before the campaign was suspended in May of this year. Chris Orrock, spokesman for the ballot measure, told Bob Egelko, a reporter for the Chronicle, that suspending the campaign will allow supporters more time to raise money and gather signatures. They now hope to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot. The initiative required 807,615 valid signatures to qualify.
In his interview with Egelko, Orrock stated that the proposed changes would speed up the execution process and save money without taking away fairness and due process.
“We’ll use the next year or so to continue to educate the public about the changes to the criminal justice system that this initiative makes,” he said.
At the same time, supporters of Proposition 34 – the 2012 measure that would have abolished the death penalty in the state – are also planning to get their initiative on the November 2016 ballot. Proposition 34 was supported by former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and former San Quentin State Prison Warden Jeanne Woodford who was also director of Corrections for the California prisons. Prop. 34 lost, picking up 48 percent of the vote.
In a statement by Garcetti, death penalty opponents called the death penalty “broken beyond repair” and say that the proposed ballot measure to shorten the wait time for executions would only serve to make the system more secretive and expensive.
Egelko reported that the proposed initiative would place a five-year limit on death row appeals in state court, put time limits on state judges to make rulings, eliminate public hearings on execution procedures and allow the state to obtain lethal injection drugs from sources other than licensed pharmacies. Opponents of the measure say this will lead to secret policies and the use of untested drug combinations from secret sources. They point to the drawn-out April 29 execution of a convict in Oklahoma, where the man ultimately died of a heart attack.
California has the nation’s largest number of inmates on death row, with approximately 750 condemned to death. However, the state has executed only 13 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated by ballot initiative in 1978, and none since February 2006 when a federal judge ruled that lethal injection procedures were flawed and could lead to undue suffering for the inmate.

Federal Judge Rules California’s Death Penalty Unconstitutional

September 29, 2014 by Charles David Henry

California’s death penalty is unconstitutional because of extraordinary delays and its uncertainty, a federal judge has ruled.
“Typically, the lapse of time between sentence and execution is 25 years, twice the national average, and is growing wider each year,” said U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
California voters adopted the current death penalty system in 1978. Since then, more than 900 people have been sentenced to die. However, only 13 have been executed.
“For the rest, the dysfunctional administration of California’s death penalty system has resulted, and will continue to result, in an inordinate and unpredictable period of delay preceding their actual execution.” the judge said.
“Indeed, for most, systemic delay has made their execution so unlikely that the death sentence carefully and deliberately imposed by the jury has been quietly transformed into one no rational jury or legislature could ever impose: life in prison, with the remote possibility of death.
“As for the random few for whom execution does become a reality, they will have languished for so long on Death Row that their execution will serve no retributive or deterrent purpose and will be arbitrary.”
The ruling came in the case of Death Row inmate Ernest DeWayne Jones, reported the Chronicle. Carney ruled the state’s death sentence law “violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Typically, the lapse of time between sentence and execution is 25 years”
On April 7, 1995, Jones was condemned for killing and raping his girlfriend’s mother, Julia Miller, 10 months after being paroled for a previous rape.
“Nearly two decades later, Mr. Jones remains on California’s Death Row, awaiting his execution, but with complete uncertainty as to when, or even whether, it will ever come,” said Carney.
Explaining why the California death penalty system is so dysfunctional, Carney said, “Those sentenced to death in California proceed through a post-conviction review process that begins with a mandatory automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court. If that appeal is denied, an inmate may seek collateral review of the death sentence, again from the California Supreme Court. If state habeas relief is denied, an inmate may then pursue collateral review of the death sentence from the federal courts. If relief is denied at each of these levels, then the inmate may be executed.”
“Allowing this system to continue to threaten Mr. Jones with the slight possibility of death, almost a generation after he was first sentenced, violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment,” the judge wrote.
“The California Supreme Court generally hears between 20 and 25 death penalty appeals per year, and so another two to three years will likely pass before arguments are scheduled and the case is subsequently decided,” the judge said.
According to the Chronicle, years will have elapsed, with inmates spending much of that time waiting for counsel to be appointed and for an oral argument to be scheduled. It takes between 11.7 and 13.7 years from the sentence of death before the California Supreme Court disposes of the automatic direct appeal.
Carney said, the delays “have created a system in which arbitrary factors, rather than legitimate ones like the nature of the crime or the date of the death sentence, determine whether an individual will actually be executed,” Los Angeles Times reported.
“For those whose challenge to the state’s death sentence is ultimately denied at each level of review, the process will likely take 25 years or more,” Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen wrote in his book Death Penalty Appeals and Habeas Proceeding: The California Experience.
Uelmen told the Los Angeles Times that it is conceivable that the U.S. Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit could say California’s system is so dysfunctional that it cannot be sustained.
A spokesperson for state Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said her office was reviewing the decision.

San Quentin Celebrates Annual Day of Peace

September 29, 2014 by Juan Haines

Eight years ago, a race riot on the Lower Yard of San Quentin State Prison prompted a multiracial group of men, most serving life sentences, to form the Day of Peace committee.
The men said the Day of Peace was established to show inmates that there are ways to reject violence and support peace.

Natalie Tovar and Josh Walkenhorst holding a
plaque presented to them by the men in blue

“Open dialogue, violence prevention workshops and the annual Day of Peace celebration serve as alternatives to violence and thus stem the tide of violence by saturating prisons as well as society with peace,” according to committee chairman Chris Schumacher.
The committee members say they support “voices of reason in times of crisis and helping others find their voice through a commitment to peace.”
Aug. 2 served as the seventh annual Day of Peace.
“Even though this event has been postponed several times, we couldn’t have picked a better day,” said Associate Warden Kelly Mitchell. “I’m glad so many of you have come out in support of the Day of Peace.”
More than 500 inmates along with nearly 150 Bay Area community members, San Quentin prison volunteers and prison staffers mingled while discussing ways to improve rehabilitative services and violence prevention programs at San Quentin.

The Day of Peace 1st place chalk
drawing winner, Miguel Saldana

“Peace is unsustainable if there are no institutions that promote and support nonviolence,” said Sergeant-at-Arms Edgar Salazar.
The Richmond Project is one of the many violence prevention programs. It is a group of men from different areas working collectively to improve the very communities that they took part in destroying, according to its mission statement. It encourages members to understand that they have a stake in their communities and their communities have a stake in them.
“I visited the Richmond Project just two weeks ago. It is so good to see the men transforming themselves and learning from each other,” Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin told the Day of Peace participants. “In our society, so many people have been alienated from their core values. So when I go and see men participating in the Richmond Project, I am so inspired. Things that are happening in this prison have so much value.”
Walkenhorst’s, a California prison vendor, donated 2,500 snack bags to the Day of Peace participants.
Josh Walkenhorst, son of the owner, said that last year the company sponsored a program that on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day brings together children with their incarcerated parents. After that experience he said, “I want to do more to support families. We are a family-own business. This event has a family atmosphere.”
Natalie Tovar, customer relationship manager for Walkenhorst’s, talked to inmates about how to improve services to inmates who buy their products.
“I personally read every comment card,” Tovar told the men. “I can’t respond to each one, but I read all of them.”
More than 35 artists, including Bay Area community members and volunteers, participated in a sidewalk-painting contest sponsored by Arts-in-Corrections and directed by inmate Christopher Christensen.
“Last year we didn’t know how much interest we had in the contest, so we only made six boxes for artists to draw,” Christensen said. “But, so many people showed up last year that we ended up with 36 boxes. We left the art on the ground and it lasted about a week before it washed away,” He added, “I love art and I love just seeing the people interacting with the people from the streets.”
Pat Mahoney appraised each sidewalk artist’s work and selected the best depictions of peace.
“I chose these pieces because they say something about the subject matter; they’re creative and well-rendered,” Mahoney said.

The Heiwa Taiko drummers, Annie Ong, Peter Yung, Virginia Ong, Kasi Chakravartula and Vera Leo

“Peace is like a love cloud. It’s when you feel something from the air, the sun and the water. The colors say everything is good. That’s where I paint from,” said first place artist Miguel Saldana, 47.
Second place went to Reginald Azbill, 31, third place winner was Omid Mokri, 50, and an honorable mention went to Chung Kao, 53.
Several bands entertained the audience, including a Hawaiian drumming group called Heiwa Taiko. “Heiwa Taiko means peace drums in Japanese,” said the lead drummer.
She said last year one of their drummers traveled to Japan, was hit by car and died. “He composed the piece we played,” she said. “The song has a lot of energy. He had quite a reputation with us.”
Lemar “Maverick” Harrison and Antwan “Banks” Williams entertained the audience with hip-hop and rap. The Jo Jo Diamond Band performed classic rock and the blues. The Native Hawaiian Dance Group performed a traditional dance. The inmate band, Contagious, performed two hip-hop songs to close the show.
Inmate Self-help Groups at Day of Peace:
Kid Cat: Creating Awareness Together The program aims to inspire humanity through education, mentorship and restorative practices. The group believes all youth are guided through nurturing, compassion and educational opportunities to grow and flourish into caring and productive members of their communities.

Niola Bucci showing off his artwork

Veterans Healing Veterans From The Inside Out The program aims to bring incarcerated and free veterans together for mutual support and healing from PTSD and moral injury. Members follow a curriculum of peer-to-peer group support based on principles of narration therapy, trauma-sensitive yoga and meditation and facilitator training. These practices foster the self-awareness and behavioral change that allow returning veterans — whether from combat or prison — to make successful transitions back into society.
California Reentry Program The program brings career advice, employment, education, housing, substance abuse treatment, child support and other help particularly needed by offenders returning to their communities.
Native Hawaiian Religious Group The group aims to build and maintain community and make its brothers’ problems their problems in order to solve them together. The group also aims to develop its community in order to restore its people to greatness through traditional song, dance, story telling and oral history.
The Last Mile The program is a model for in-prison education, preparing incarcerated individuals for professional life through a six-month program that blends entrepreneurship education with personal and professional development.
Hope for Strikers The program consists of inmates serving a minimum of 25 years to life and teaches its curriculum based on the 12-step program so that the person can gain an understanding into the individual trauma, damage and lifestyle choices that may have affected the individual in their development as a young person. Hope for Strikers aims to search out and give support to the healing of those emotionally and physically harmed people who turned to self-medication as a means to solve problems.
Freeman Capital The program aims to teach inmates financial literacy by creating a mock investment portfolio.
Christian Creative Writing Group This group produces short stories while using Biblical references.
ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) This program’s goal is to help the API (Asian Pacific Islander) and other minorities connect with their cultural roots. Connecting minorities to their roots will help them become leaders of their society whether inside or out.

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

TRUST (Teaching Responsibility Using Sociological Training) This program teaches inmates ways to change anti-social behavior and become socially responsible citizens.
Other self-help groups at the Day of Peace: San Quentin CARES, No More Tears, San Quentin Restorative Justice, Project LA and Criminals and Gangmembers Anonymous.

California Strikes Unconstitutional

September 29, 2014 by Juan Haines

California’s Supreme Court ruled a portion of the Three Strikes Law unconstitutional. It ruled that there are limits on awarding multiple strikes arising out of a single criminal act.
The facts of the case are as follows:
Darlene Vargas and Oscar Velasquez committed a home invasion robbery against Lynn Burrows and William Alves. Later that night, Vargas and Velasquez were caught prowling near another home in the same neighborhood. A witness later identified Velasquez and Vargas as the man and woman who were walking near the victims’ home. They were in possession of burglary tools and items taken from the Burrows/Alves home.
Vargas was charged and convicted of burglary, grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft.
At sentencing, the court ruled that a 1999 carjacking and robbery counted as two strikes against her, even though they happened during a single criminal act.
The court on July 10 ruled that when the Three Strikes Law passed in 1994, voters understood that a person would have three chances before the harshest penalty could be imposed and that no one can receive two strikes on one act.
The court clarified multiple strikes out of a single prior conviction. In the 1998 case People v. Benson, the court ruled that a person who commits additional violence in the course of a serious felony, e.g., shooting or pistol-whipping a victim during a robbery or assaulting a victim during a burglary, should be given multiple strikes as opposed to an individual who committed the same initial felony but did not commit additional violence.
“But where, as here, an offender committed but a single act, we disagree she poses a greater risk to society merely because the Legislature has chosen to criminalize the act in different ways. The Legislature is free to criminalize an act in multiple ways, but that it has done so does not of itself make an offender more blameworthy, or more dangerous, within the meaning of the Three Strikes law,” the court ruled.
The court found that since Vargas’ priors were multiple criminal convictions stemming from the same set of facts during the commission of a single act, they count as one strike.

USSC rules bail hearings undocumented immigrants

New technology aids police oversight

Oprah Winfrey visits Pelican Bay State Prison

A Spiritual Leader’s Message of Change

September 27, 2014 by Ted Swain

Renowned spiritual leader Sita Lozoff told a San Quentin audience that people can change their lives and be free, no matter where they are.
Sita visited San Quentin 10 years ago with her husband, the late Bo Lozoff. Many men in attendance remembered meeting them. She returned July 31, when the Catholic Chapel was alive with chanting, meditation and spiritual harmony as Lozoff inspired the men to change their lives.
Bo Lozoff’s book entitled, We’re All Doing Time, published in 1985, is often referred to as the prisoner’s bible.
Bo Lozoff died in 2012. However, Sita said she has been carrying on the work of their organization, Human Kindness Foundation. Sita has been having what she calls “conversations” with inmates since Bo’s passing. Sita said that she felt Bo was speaking to the men through her.
Catholic Chaplain Father George Williams introduced Sita. Williams first met Bo and Sita many years ago in Boston. Williams said he was studying for the priesthood at a time when the church was going through trials and tribulations of its own. He said that he had begun to question whether the priesthood was really his path.

Bo was able to cut through the meaningless and get to the only thing that mattered, said Williams.
“Don’t be a priest for the church,” Lozoff said, “be a priest for God.”
In the chapel, Sita described the spiritual journey that she and her husband traveled.
In the heyday of the hippie movement, Sita and Bo were in the middle of LSD experimentation, protests and social movements. She said she remembers when she and Bo were “sitting in the middle of hundreds of black people, and we were the only white people in the crowd.”
Sita commented that it was “a little unsettling when the speakers started preaching to ‘Kill whitie.’”
The chapel crowd laughed when she said, “I was a little concerned.”
After she and Bo were married in 1966, Bo founded the Prison-Ashram Project. They began going to prisons and auditoriums and engaging in conversations about inner peace. They wrote letters of advice, compassion and instruction to hundreds of inmates around the United States.
Juan Haines, managing editor of the San Quentin News, said when he was in Soledad State Prison he heard Bo interviewed on KPFA. “His explanation of spirituality and inner peace made sense,” Haines said.
At the close of the radio interview, Bo offered to send the book to any inmate who was listening. Haines wrote to him in North Carolina and received the book two weeks later.
“It was plainly written, easy to understand and it wasn’t religious,” Haines said. The book incorporates elements of all the great world religions and ties them together.
As the title indicates, Lozoff’s message is that we are all imprisoned—whether physically in prison or not—by unhappiness, mortality and limitations on our love and understanding. It is like a guidebook on how to live life, according to Haines, on how to meet challenges and understand adversity.
“I’ve read that book one time and still here it is 30 years later, it still resonates with me the same way,” Haines said.
The prison project founded by Lozoff has become the Human Kindness Foundation. It’s a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to encourage more kindness in the world. The project encourages inmates to use prison time to focus and develop their spiritual growth.
Although Bo wrote several books, more than 400,000 copies of We’re All Doing Time have been printed, and many present and former inmates revere it. The book has been hailed around the world for its street-wise presentation of spiritual truths from all traditions.
The Village Voice reported “We’re All Doing Time is one of the 10 books everyone in the world should read…”
We’re All Doing Time is scheduled to be reviewed in an upcoming issue of San Quentin News.

Heart Disease, Suicide Leading Causes of Jail Deaths in 2011

September 27, 2014 by Salvador Solorio

Heart disease and suicide continue to be the two leading causes of death in local jails, accounting for 61 percent of all jail deaths in 2011, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
Over the 12-year-period 2000-2011, suicide accounted for between 34 and 48 deaths per 100,000 inmates, the bureau reported.
Males accounted for nearly nine in 10 deaths in local jails. Whites accounted for more than 59 percent of local deaths in the year 2011. Also in 2011, jail residents 55 and older died at a rate that was three times the rate for younger inmates (650 per 100,000).
Also in 2011, more than a third (39 percent) of deaths occurred within the first week of admission to a jail facility. About half of suicides (48 percent) and a third (32 percent) of heart disease deaths occurred during the first week of admission. Between 2000 and 2011, male jail inmates were 1.6 times more likely to commit suicide than were female inmates. From 2000 to 2010, the suicide rate for white inmates was three times higher than the rate of other races.
Cancer and heart disease were the two leading causes of death in state prisons in 2011, accounting for 56 percent of deaths. The mortality rate for heart disease was 65 deaths per 100,000 prisoners during 2000-2011.
In state prisons, the illness-related mortality rate increased 4 percent from 2010 to 2011. Cancer was the most common cause of death in 2011, followed by heart disease, liver disease, respiratory disease and AIDS-related deaths.
In 2011, male prisoners accounted for more than 96 percent of prison deaths. White prisoners accounted for half of prison deaths between 2001 and 2010, black inmates accounted about one-third of prison deaths between 2001 and 2011. In 2011, male mortality rate was 1.6 times higher than female rates.
Between 2001 and 2011, black state prisoners committed suicide at one-third of the rate of white state prisoners.
Prisoners 55 and older died at rates five times higher than for any other age group for cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease.
Between 2002 and 2010, the cancer mortality rate increased 22 percent for males and 79 percent for females. The cancer rate for whites increased 33 percent and blacks increased 24 percent during this same period. (BJS website is www.bjs.gov.)

Report: Contra Costa County Called Model Jail

September 27, 2014 by Kevin Sawyer

Contra Costa County jails operate as a model for other counties that continue to struggle with the consequences and reality of prison realignment, a nonprofit research report concludes.
“While many counties have struggled to manage the new influx of inmate population, Contra Costa County appears to be exceeding expectations with the newfound responsibility,” the JFA Institute reported.

Key Justice

The study said Contra Costa’s success can be attributed to practices such as cooperation between the “key justice agencies,” including the sheriff, district attorney, public defender, courts and probation department.
According to JFA Institute’s study, early meetings between these agencies reached a consensus to maximize “split sentencing.”
The study describes split sentences as a provision under Public Safety Realignment (AB 109) for “non-violent, non-serious, non-sex felonies,” whereby courts impose jail as punishment and supervision by probation departments. “Split sentencing permits, in addition to jail time, additional correctional measures.”
“This historic culture within the Contra Costa County criminal justice community was already producing extremely low rates of correctional populations prior to the implementation of AB 109,” JFA Institute reported. “…If other counties replicated Contra Costa’s model, the state could experience reduced prison, jail and probation rates.”
The county’s crime rate and arrests run parallel to the state’s 57 other counties, but prior to realignment, it sent only 13 percent of people convicted of a felony to prison, in contrast to the state’s average of 20 percent, according to a January study done by the JFA Institute.
The JFA Institute study reported that not long after AB 109 passed, various county agencies convened to critique what the best approaches would be to manage post-realignment jail populations, based on evidence.
One requisite of AB 109 was for each county to create a Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) to submit spending plans to the state, indicating how AB 109 funding would be used. According to the JFA Institute, “such a committee existed previously” in Contra Costa County.
Sixty percent of Contra Costa’s realignment funding is allocated for programs and services that are designed to assist individuals convicted of crimes, JFA Institute reported.
“The Probation Department exhibits a solid level of professionalism in providing supervision and services to people placed on probation,” the study reported. This level of confidence in probation supervision is evidenced in a low prison disposition rate, a high rate of split sentencing and short probation terms, it was reported.
“In assessing the impact of AB 109 legislation on the jail population, Contra Costa County’s jail population has remained constant when compared to the overall state rate, which increased by 11 percent,” the study reported.

L.A. County Jail

The Los Angeles County jail system grew by 4,000 inmates since AB 109’s implementation, with more than 6,000 AB 109 inmates, and “one of the lowest rates of split sentencing in the state (6 percent), while Contra Costa has one of the highest rates (about 90 percent),” the study noted.
Contra Costa County’s jails hold fewer than 100 inmates who are AB 109 commitments, or who are on a parole hold, the study said.
“Of the people who are re-arrested, the new arrest charges are mostly for non-violent and drug crimes,” JFA Institute reported. “…Probationers with the shorter terms have lower recidivism rates.”
Contra Costa has a “relatively high probation termination rate,” which reflects the number of those on probation who complete the terms of their probation, not having them revoked, the study reported.
“The final indicator of the county’s low correctional footprint is its low jail incarceration rate,” JFA Institute reported.
Contra Costa ranked among the top 10 of California’s 58 counties with the lowest rate of incarceration per 100,000 people, according to a 2010 report.
The JFA Institute policy implementation study said other counties could adopt the same practices as Contra Costa County, including:

shorter probation terms
greater reliance on contracted services for mental health, medical, substance abuse, employment and housing services, and defense counsel representation
risk assessment
increased use of split sentencing for AB 109 inmates.

“Perhaps the most striking attribute of Contra Costa County is the ability of key criminal justice agencies to work together in a very productive manner,” the study concluded.

Matthew Cate States Shifting Low Level Offenders ‘Works Better Than Expected’

September 27, 2014 by Chung Kao

The former head of California’s prison system says shifting responsibility for certain low-level prisoners from state to county custody “has overall worked even better than expected.”
“When I talk to people about how realignment is going, I like to remind folks that it’s not fair to compare realignment with what was. You have to also compare it to what would have been without it,” said Matthew Cate, former secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Cate made the comments in an interview reported in the April issue of Comstock’s magazine.
Cate headed California’s prison system through the state’s historic budget cuts and implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial 2011 realignment (AB 109) plan. The plan shifted tens of thousands of felony offenders to local jails and parole supervision.
“It’s not fair to compare realignment with what was”
“The prisons were at one point crowded to almost 200 percent of their design capacity, with recidivism rates at 65 to 70 percent. We were spending $10 billion a year on prisons, and we had a court order that required a reduction in the prison population,” Cate explained. “We would certainly have been facing massive prisoner release orders from the federal courts, along with massive increases in the percentage of the state budget that prisons were going to take up.”
Cate is now the Executive Director of the California State Association of Counties.
Violent crime rates in the state have not changed since realignment, Cate pointed out, although he acknowledged that there was a spike in auto thefts statewide that might be attributable to realignment. According to Cate, property crime rates went up after realignment at about the same rate as the rest of the country.
Cate also agreed with some criticism that the counties have not been spending the money that the state allocated to them on rehabilitative programs and instead have been spending it on law enforcement.
“I think we’ll see it shift starting this year. You’ll see less money going toward law enforcement and more and more going to rehabilitative programs,” Cate said.

Brown Signs Law Allowing County Jail Inmate Transfers

September 27, 2014 by Charles David Henry

In an effort to avoid early releases and reduce overcrowding, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law allowing counties to transfer jail inmates to other counties, the Associated Press reports.
“The measure also gives counties additional time to build jails and adapt to the state realignment plan,” said Mark Stone, sponsor of the measure, AB 1512. “It’s important that counties have the tools to manage jail overcrowding caused by statewide prison realignment so they can better serve inmate populations and their families.”
In 2006, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson ordered federal oversight over the California prison system because an average of one inmate was dying every week “as a result of medical malpractice or neglect.”
A three-judge panel has granted two additional years to reduce the prison population, extending the deadline to Feb. 28, 2016. The judges said no additional delays will be granted, the AP reported.
“The state will not be allowed to increase the number of California inmates housed in out-of-state correctional facilities,” the AP story said.
Over the next two years, California representatives will reduce the overcrowding by “making about 350 nonviolent second offenders eligible for parole after half of their sentence is served,” it was reported.
“Releasing nearly 1,600 inmates who meet certain criteria, such as having medical problems or being at least 60 years old and having served 25 years or more of their sentence,” would also reduce the prison population, the AP said.
Inmates are never transferred from state prison to county jails.
The state will also accelerate good time credits for nonviolent offenders to address the proposed reduction in the next two years.