San Quentin News

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Archives for December 2017

Youth offender mix tape captures generational trauma of incarceration

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Daniel Gutierrez with his daughter Kaitlynn

Daniel Gutierrez with his daughter Kaitlynn

Daniel Gutierrez, 21, says with regret that prison has been the norm in his family. “Everyone has been to jail except my mom.

“When I got to San Quentin, I ended up three cells down from where my grandfather was once housed. In the county jail I was in the same dorm my father was once in. I was even on the same (prison) yard with my uncle,” said Gutierrez.

A musician, Gutierrez said he shares a parallel life with his grandfather, Jose Moreno, who has been out of prison two decades. He even reflected on that relationship in a rap song, “The Same Prison as My Grandfather,” on a San Quentin Youth Offender mix-tape project. Gutierrez uses the song for therapeutic relief and guidance for his future.

One in 10 children who have an incarcerated parent will be incarcerated themselves before the age of 18, according to San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (SFCIPP). Latino youth are 65 percent more likely to be jailed than their White peers, according to data from the Department of Justice collected in October 2015.

Jose Moreno, Gutierrez’s grandfather, was incarcerated in San Quentin in the late ’80s and early ’90s on drug trafficking charges. Moreno left his daughter Beatriz, 13, to deal with life without a father. Although only 13, Beatriz would become a teen mother when she bore Daniel.

“To tell the truth,” said Moreno, “when I was in San Quentin, I thought I was strong, but sometimes I would cry because my daughter had to see me in jail. Family is the most important thing you have in your life. So I know how he (Gutierrez) is feeling about his daughter.”

Now Gutierrez finds himself with his own daughter Kaitlynn growing up with her father in prison. Gutierrez became a father at the age of 14, continuing the cycle of children becoming parents.

“Having a daughter young, I felt I had to grow up quick,” said Gutierrez. “Growing up with the negative influences around me, doing crime was all that I knew.”

Gutierrez said he was convicted for armed robbery. He had been in and out of juvenile hall, boot camp and the county jail before the age of 18.

“Growing up with the negative influences around me, doing crime was all that I knew”

“I remember the time my grandfather visited me in juvenile hall. I could tell he was hurt,” said Gutierrez. “He tried to tell me no matter how much money you make, having a record makes things more difficult.” 

Gutierrez admitted to still being hard-headed and thought he knew it all. He says now he is dealing with the circumstances.

“I feel bad for Daniel,” said Moreno. “I know sometimes you make mistakes, I understand everything. It’s hard to change someone else’s mind.”

Moreno credited attending AA meetings and working as a cook in San Quentin to his transformation. He has been off parole for more than 20 years. He is working with a brother at their family restaurant in Santa Cruz and attending AA meetings.

“You got to be out of the bottle. That’s what helps me,” said Moreno. “When I get off of work I want to rest, but I still go to the AA programs. When you are in jail, it’s hard. I hope Daniel is getting into programs while he’s there. It’s a good place to change.”

Gutierrez reflected on the decisions he made that led him to San Quentin.

“When my parents separated my world kind of fell apart,” said Gutierrez. “My grandmother passed away, and a friend of mine got murdered. It was so much pain that I didn’t want to care anymore.”

This led to Gutierrez getting expelled from school, running from the police and carrying guns.

“There wasn’t really any teacher I could connect with. There were more distractions outside of school. I was just going there to make my mom happy,” said Gutierrez.

“I was really interested in music then. I think schools should be a little more hands-on and create more alternative programs that will keep kids’ attention,” continued Gutierrez.

“I know (Daniel’s mom) is suffering because her son is in prison. Beatriz is my oldest daughter. She’s really smart, and she tried to do the best she could with Daniel,” Moreno said.

The grandfather said he understands the pain that his grandson is feeling due to his own time spent in prison and wanting to see his own daughter.

“I always try to see my daughters whenever I get a chance, and sometimes she needs help, things get a little hard sometimes, and I try to be there the best I can,” Moreno continued.

Gutierrez is working on getting into parenting classes. He credits working with inmate producer David Jassy on the Youth Offender mix-tape for changing his outlook on life.

“Jassy transformed my way of thinking and my vocabulary,” said Gutierrez. “You couldn’t cuss on the tape, so he challenged you to come up with a better way to express yourself.

“(Jassy) gave me hope with the music. At first I didn’t care if I got more time or not. Now I’m determined to do better for my daughter and the music,” added Gutierrez.

Monica Moreno, Gutierrez’s aunt, said her dad has a lot of influence on her nephew.

“He (Jose Moreno) did his time. When he got out he switched his whole life around. My dad is a totally different person. I hope my nephew will do the same,” said Monica. “I encourage my nephew to continue rapping. That is his passion. He was doing that before he was in prison.”

Ahna Straube, Berkeley student, contributed to this story

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San Quentin’s big transition as non-designated facility

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Tough choice of taking a plea deal to be with his family

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Guy Miles and family

Guy Miles and family

After 19 years of claiming his innocence, Guy Miles finally got his 75-years-to life robbery conviction overturned. Miles accepted a plea deal instead of going back to trial, so he can be immediately released and be with his ailing parents.

“It was an impossible decision to make,” said attorney Alissa Bjerkhoel, the litigation coordinator for the California Innocence Project, who fought to bring Miles home. “He’s been fighting for his innocence for almost 20 years. You have to weigh that against how much time you have left with family. At the end of the day, family won out.”

The California State Appellate Court overturned Miles’ conviction on Jan. 23. However, he remained incarcerated, although new evidence supports his actual innocence.

Three men confessed to being the ones who actually committed the robbery, and there were significant problems with the eyewitness identifications made through suggestive photographic lineups and improper prosecutorial tactics, wrote Appellate Court Justice J. Moore in a separate opinion.

“The majority opinion does not find Miles to be ‘factually innocent.’ But there is a strong likelihood that an innocent man has spent almost 19 years in custody for a crime he did not commit,” Moore concluded.

“…an innocent man has spent almost 19 years in custody for a crime he did not commit”

Miles thought he was going home when the attorney general declined to seek review of the appellate decision and only asked the California Supreme Court to de-publish the Appellate Court’s decision. De-publishing keeps the decision out of law books and from being used as a legally binding precedent.

The California Supreme Court gave themselves until May 19 to decide whether to de-publish the case or review it on their own motion.

“He can’t get out of prison until the whole appellate process is complete,” Bjerkhoel said.

“The ironic thing is, when you win in Superior Court, you go home right away,” Bjerkhoel said. “When you win in Appellate court, more can happen. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

Even when the appeal process was completed on May 10, a mishap kept Miles in prison. The California Supreme Court granted the request to keep the case out of law books and decided not to review the decision. However, their court order for Miles’ release from state custody arrived at the wrong prison. It was reissued, but didn’t arrive at San Quentin until May 22, keeping Miles in prison weeks past the appeal process.

“I feel disrespected,” Miles said. “This process needs to be revisited.”

Miles stayed in prison until June 6, awaiting transportation back to Orange County jail for a June 9 court date.

“Out of 25 cases the Southern California Innocence Project has gotten reversed, I think the prosecution has apologized in one case. It’s pretty clear Guy didn’t do it,” Bjerkhoel said.

On the June 9 court date, his bail was set at $1,000,000. Miles couldn’t make the bail.

The prosecution took the stance that they would retry Miles.

“It feels like I have to prove it all over again, starting trial all over again,” Miles said. “It’s not a good feeling. I’m sleepless. Anxiety level is so high sometimes I can’t eat, think. I’ve been through a lot of dangerous things on the streets, but nothing compares to the feeling of going to trial for something that I didn’t do.”

The prosecution offered Miles a deal that allowed him to get out of jail without pleading guilty. Miles suspected that his parents had health issues that they were hiding from the family. He took the deal and came home on June 20, in time for his birthday party on July 9.

“64% of California’s jail population is awaiting trial or sentencing as of December 2016.” Most remain in pretrial custody because they cannot afford bail.  Jail Profile Survey, http://www.bscc.ca.gov/

“He took a deal under People versus West,” Bjerkhoel said. “It allows you to benefit from a plea deal without admitting guilt.”

Miles said, “They (the prosecution) were ready to take me back to trial. I had to get back to my mother and father.”

Now out, Miles enjoys babysitting his grandkids and spending time with his family, but he still worries that his newfound freedom is all a dream.

“Man, being home is a dream come true,” Miles said. “Locked up you have so many dreams of being free and wake and find out you’re still in prison. That what I think is gonna happen now — I’ll wake up and find myself back in prison.”

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Tower of Power rocker died a free man

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For many musicians, fame comes served with a side of trouble. That was certainly the case for Rick Stevens, the former lead singer for Tower of Power, who recently died, having spent 36 of his 77 years on earth in various California prisons.

Stevens’ real name was Don Charles Stevenson, but he later got the nickname “The Junkie” due to his illustrious drug habit.  Stevens had some hits with Tower of Power, including “Sparkling in the Sand” and “You’re Still a Young Man,” but his heroin use eventually got him kicked out of the band.

In 1976 Stevens was convicted of double first-degree murder and of manslaughter in a separate case. The singer narrowly escaped the death penalty, according to Scott Herhold of the Mercury News, who wrote that the California Supreme Court ruled that such a sentence “did not allow for consideration of mitigating circumstances.”

“Stevens was very charming and talented person” stated the prosecutor in the case, former DA George Kennedy, remembering the courtroom drama that involved a shocking testimony about sexual relations between Stevens’ attorney and a key witness to the prosecution. “I continue to view it as a fascinating drama because of the legal issues, witnesses, defense lawyers, victims, era and judge.”

Superior Court Judge John McInerny stayed in touch with Stevens after the case ended. According to the judge, Stevens told him that he never appealed his sentence because he felt he got a fair trial.

“When they say he found God in prison, he really did find God in prison” stated McInerny on his views of Stevens’ rehabilitation

Two years ago, when Stevens was asked in a TV interview about his path to redemption, he spoke of his spiritual awakening. “One does a lot of praying. One does a lot of self-realization, of realizing drugs are not the way to go.”

SQ Shakespeare troupe performs 18 plays

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Marin volunteer actors on stage

Marin volunteer actors on stage

The warm humor of inmate Eric Durr began a Shakespeare-inspired explosion of 18 original performances using a full assortment of stage-craft — from pantomime to prose — to release a range of emotions, especially the experience of loss and letting it go.

An audience of more than 300 outside guests plus inmates filled the Protestant Chapel for two performances by an ensemble of prisoners and Marin Shakespeare Company members as they performed 18 one-act skits in “Parallel Play: Original Theater Inspired by Shakespeare.”

“The men today are acting like men. It takes tremendous courage to stand up here,” producer Lesley Currier said of the performers.

Earlier at San Quentin, Currier had produced and Suraya Keating directed the productions Measure For Measure on May 12 and Richard II on May 19.

Keating summarized the two original plays by Shakespeare, saying “The key themes of power – its application from power over, power within and ultimately power that we share with others.”

The original skits used the theme of power found in the men’s memories and imaginations as a means of inspiration and therapy.

The audiences responded to the multitude of acts with expressions of laughter, cries, sighs, gasps of amazement and applause. This attention and acknowledgement boosted the performers to heights of showmanship with costumes, props, music, voice, drum and dance all on display.

In one of the 18 skits, Angel Falcone used a conversation with God to time-travel, admit past mistakes and show what he had learned. As a serenade for his wife, he sang “Starting Over,” a tribute of a husband to his wife about “What could have been” instead of the betrayal that was.

Eddy DeWeaver expressed how freeing his mind and the power of words helped him share his feelings on the Freedomline Bus. He described a new way to share the emotions and the pain that so many cannot articulate.

Jesse James Smith’s play “Dear Mr. President”

Jesse James Smith’s play “Dear Mr. President”

In one creative skit, Ray Ray used a single phrase “I LOVE YOU” – “I LOVE YOU TOO” over and over. The seemly never-ending variety of ways this phrase was used and its range of meanings thrilled the audience.

“The men today are acting like men. It takes tremendous courage to    stand up here”

Then LeMar “Maverick” Harrison explained the raw force of a simple blindfold – “do you see me? What you see as tragedy, we see as reality.” Harrison’s prose, styled after Shakespeare, expressed the fears and the traps of the “misleading macho male mind.”

The tragedy of the street life was explored and the ever-present burden of death—of babies, brothers, mothers and grandmothers, by drive-by, neglect and simply worn out by age.

The skits sought to unleash raw emotions for the audience. The actors inhabiting another character allowed them and everyone watching to explore different facets of our emotional range—from a Black man’s hilarious parody of a White cracker to that of a mother’s pain: “My baby’s dead because of you!”

Ronell “Rauch” Draper exemplified the source of Shakespeare’s enduring legacy “Our faults give us the best pathway to transformation. The only way to change the world is together.”

“Don’t let anyone take away your rhythm,” Robert “Belize”  Villafranco shouted as he used drum and dance contrasted with silence and stillness and showed how reggae and true roots allowed him to realize “I’m not a gangster as I got my drum and rhythm back.”

The loudest ovation was for the opportunity to challenge authority in Dear Mr. President, which asked, “What would you say to Trump if you spoke with him?”

The most educational was “How I Got Cast in Marin Shakespeare”, a skit that demonstrated the process of performance. It takes both fear and courage to perform, from rehearsing, memorization and accepting support from the cast and crew. This proud new actor demonstrated the ability to share feelings with action and come out of his shell and be an actor.

Eddie DeWeaver in his play “Bully Breakdown”

Eddie DeWeaver in his play “Bully Breakdown”

Darwin “Tall” Billingsley said he gained “confidence in my ability to take on the role of acting.”

The identification of the cast as “my other family” by numerous performers was a reminder of the power of live theater to create community.

In the Q&A that followed the performances, one guest visiting from New Zealand asked about the interaction between the inmates in a time of racial tension and the relevance of Shakespeare. The responses consistently affirmed that we face the same issues today as were faced in Shakespeare’s time and how the performances added another layer of humanity beyond teamwork by sharing the stage with a live audience.

The professionals of the Marin Shakespeare Company, which has sponsored Shakespeare at San Quentin since 2003, coordinated the performances. This organization has taken its San Quentin-learned process on the road and currently has programs launched or planned at eight California prisons.

If you’d like to participate or donate to this program, contact lesley@marinshakespeare.org or Marin Shakespeare Company; P.O. Box 4053; San Rafael, CA 94913.

Thanks in part to the California Arts Council; individuals can see videos of past SQ performances at www.marinshakespeare.org

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

Salinas Valley level 4 prisoners rehabilitating with Ruff Start program

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Prisoners rehabilitating with Ruff Start program

Prisoners rehabilitating with Ruff Start program

Maximum security prisoners are benefiting from a rare opportunity to rehabilitate themselves by learning to care for, train and live with rescued shelter dogs.

In the Ruff Start program at Salinas Valley State Prison, prisoners work in pairs with an assigned dog 24/7 for eight weeks, according to The Monterey Herald.

There are some prerequisites that inmates must meet in order to be accepted into the program, including being disciplinary-free for at least one year.

Lt. David Lopez, Ruff Start’s liaison officer, reported the program noticeably affects the prison environment because inmates intentionally avoid trouble in order to earn their chance to care for one of the dogs.

“They’re pretty much model inmates,” Lopez said. “What this equates to is staff safety and rehabilitation for the inmates, who will be returning to our communities at some point.”

inmates giving dog commands

inmates giving dog commands

The program’s most recent cycle involved eight dogs and may include as many as 10 dogs next session.

“This is one of the best rehabilitative programs that we have in our prisons,” Lopez said. “This is my third prison, so I’ve seen quite a few other programs, but I think this one really goes a long way.”

“For some, it’s the first time they actually cared for another being,” Lopez continued. “For a lot of them, they feel like they’re giving back to society. … This is one program that allows them to give back.”

Ruff Start is also rehabilitative for the shelter dogs, which get housebroken and learn how to walk on a leash as well as how to interact with humans and other dogs. Because of their own rough history, many of the dogs have various behavioral issues, and some are overly shy.“Where they would be timid and moving away from everybody, we’d start to see them build their confidence and be able to go up to strangers and interact and be able to be adopted,” said Amanda Mouisset of the Monterey County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which co-sponsors the program. 

All of the dogs who went through Ruff Start’s training have successfully been adopted, Mouisset said.

Scott Delucchi, the SPCA’s executive director, said he knew what the impact would be on the dogs, but he was blown away by the profound positive effect it’s had on the inmates.

“One (inmate) had made the comment that it makes them feel human again, and I said, ‘Well think about how it’s essentially done the same thing for the dogs,’” Delucchi said. “Some of them hadn’t been around people who made them feel like loved companions, loved family members, and some of them are feeling that for the first time.”

Inmate firefighter dies in the line of duty from fallen tree

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A prison firefighter died in the line of duty May 24 after a 3,000-pound, 105-year-old tree fell and struck him in the head while he was clearing brush in the Hoopa Valley area in Northern California.

Matthew Beck, a 26-year-old prisoner serving a six-year term for burglary, was operating a chainsaw at the time and did not hear his Cal Fire captain shout, according to articles by KQED and the Los Angeles Times.

When the 120-foot Douglas fir tree fell, the captain rushed over and asked one of the other firefighters to get Beck out from under the tree, according to KQED. That prisoner sawed off a section of the tree, put Beck on a board and moved him out of harm’s way, but he died from major head, neck and back injuries before a helicopter could get to him. Another inmate was also hit by the tree and knocked off balance but was not injured.

According to KQED, the supervisor had trouble contacting the agency’s Emergency Command Center in Humboldt County because his hand-held radio did not work due to the remote location. That captain had to run to his vehicle and drive for a quarter-mile before he was able to use the mobile radio.

“…it is a tragic event when we lose one of them”

A Cal Fire preliminary report cited by KQED found that fire officials had noticed the tree before it fell. “The hazard tree was identified prior to the road work being started and estimated to be outside the work area,” it reported.

State workplace regulators are investigating CDCR in connection to Beck’s death, said the KQED report.

California uses about 3,900 state inmates, who fight fires and work on infrastructure projects. Inmates get paid $2 a day, and $1 an hour while fighting an active fire, allowing the state to save about $90 million a year.

Beck was the fourth inmate firefighter killed in the history of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) conservation camp program. Last year, a female inmate was struck in the head by a falling boulder while fighting a fire in Malibu.

Following the incident, the CDCR issued a statement. “The inmates who year after year help protect our communities from the devastation of fires perform a valuable public service, and it is a tragic event when we lose one of them,” said Scott Kernan, state corrections secretary.

According to Reuters, Beck was expected to be parole this October.

Former public defender turned venture capitalist visits Code.7370

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David Hornik talking to the students of Code.7370

David Hornik talking to the students of Code.7370

Venture Capitalist (“VC”) David Hornik recently visited a coding class at San Quentin State Prison and shared how he went from being a public defender to one of the top venture capitalists in the country and why he loves it.

“It’s a crazy job, a really fun job,” he said.

Hornik has been honored as one of the top 100 VCs, according to Forbes Magazine. In 2013, he was VC of the year, according to financial firm Deloitte.

He was invited to San Quentin by fellow Venture Capitalist Chris Redlitz who, with his wife, Beverly Parenti, founded the coding class, Code.7370. The couple also started The Last Mile, a program that teaches incarcerated people how to become entrepreneurs using technology for a social cause. (One of the assumptions Hornik clarified: you don’t have to be rich to be a venture capitalist.)

Hornik entered the classroom on Oct. 25 with the flair of a charming, self-deprecating comedian. When Redlitz asked him to stand on a platform to address the students, Hornik, who is 5-foot-4, joked that he thought they built the elevated platform just for him.

The VC described growing up in New Hampshire as the dyslexic son of a computer scientist. His older sister and little brother were sent to smart kid programs, he wasn’t.

Despite dyslexia, Hornik racked up degrees from prestigious colleges while searching for a career. He received an undergraduate degree in computer music from Stanford, a master’s degree in criminology from Cambridge University and a law degree from Harvard. After passing the bar exam, Hornik became a public defender.

“I was really good at this job and really bad at this job,” Hornik said. “I settled all the cases but one by saying, ‘let’s figure out how to make this go away in a way that makes everybody happy.’ I got all these great deals.”

Except under the “great deals” his clients weren’t happy. They were the ones who had to serve the time for the cases he settled. He didn’t like having unhappy clients so he decided to “sell out” and move on to a big corporate New York law firm. After working three years representing firms like Ticketmaster, his wife noticed he wasn’t happy. She recommended getting a new job.

“…how do you establish credibility when you don’t yet know anything? Honesty”

“I do whatever Pamela tells me to do because that’s the safer path,” Hornik said.

Hornik moved to California to work as an attorney representing startups. He said startups “blew his mind. They have an idea of how to make the world a better place and they do.”

Sitting in on board startup meetings, Hornik began to express opinions beyond his role as the attorney. During one meeting, Hornik contradicted the board member who had put up the money for the company. The board member had Hornik fired.

After losing that job, he spent four months learning about being a VC at a friend’s company and was eventually hired.

Being a successful VC doesn’t require money, it requires making good decisions. Hornik’s job is to decide which startups his company should invest in.

One of his successes was Pay Cycle, which Intuit bought for $100 million, netting Hornik and August Capital a big return.

He brokered a deal for August Capital that turned an investment of $9 million into $600 million with Splunk, a company that created a search engine that tracks error files, now worth $10 billion. Hornik also curates for tech TED conferences, blogs for VentureBlog (the first venture capital blog), and does VentureCast (the first venture capital podcast). August Capital, to which he is a general partner, has $450 million to invest in startups. They have funded companies like PayCycle, eBates, Bill.com, Rocket Lawyer, and Wepay.

One of the errors a VC can make is failing to invest in a company that excels. He said he passed on Facebook, LinkedIn and Uber.

Despite the staggering amounts of money Hornik deals with, it’s not making the most money that he regards as his best deals. It’s backing great people.

“I reach out to amazing people working on amazing ideas,” Hornik said. “If I think it’s really interesting, I check them out to see if it’s an idea people will need, then I give them $10 million of someone else’s money.”

Hornik’s advice for those wanting to get a startup funded seems like good general advice in life: don’t exaggerate, lie or talk with certainty about things you don’t know.

But how do you establish credibility when you don’t yet know anything? “Honesty,” Hornik said. “The right answer is to say…‘I don’t know the answer to that, but I know these things, so I think the answer is this.’”

One student asked him if companies should engage in philanthropy.

Hornik answered: “Startups are so hard you shouldn’t be doing anything that isn’t helping your business. Go make your business extremely successful, then take the money and give back. If it turns out giving people a second chance is good for your business, then give people a second chance. The best employee can be a former convict. He’s the best because he’s so grateful we gave him a second chance that he is astonishingly loyal to the company. I think there are lots of opportunities to make choices that are good for a company and good for society.”

Student Harash Patang asked, “What’s the next big thing?”

Hornik answered, “I wish I knew. VCs don’t know – we have thoughts; we have guesses. If we knew, we wouldn’t ever fund bad stuff.”

He talked about going to California State Prison-Solano to help out Defy Ventures, an entrepreneur program for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. “Those entrepreneurs knew something 20-year-olds out of Stanford don’t. They have aging parents – a lot of their ideas were about the aging community and how to take care of them. I promise you a billion-dollar business will come out of that. I look to you because every great business is about solving a problem.”

Hornik said he was inspired by the incarcerated coders he met. “They’re a bunch of folks trying to build great stuff – focused on creating, not on the past.”

Building lives through health and wellness TRUST

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Former prisoner honored for his achievements


 
http://sanquentinnews.com/game-theory/
 

Folsom Women’s Prison stages Shakespeare play

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Actors performing on stage “Taming of the Shrew”

Actors performing on stage “Taming of the Shrew”


 
 

Folsom Women’s Facility has recently become the first women’s prison in California to put on a stage production of a Shakespeare play, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The performance, which took place in May, was sponsored by Marin Shakespeare Company, which first began working with male prisoners at San Quentin in 2003, according to the article.

Thirty guests — including men, women, children and fellow inmates — gathered to watch the 16 incarcerated women and two male volunteers take to the stage and perform “Taming of the Shrew,” one of Shakespeare’s best known plays.

Director Lynn Baker-Nauman, who has been conducting weekly rehearsals and therapy workshops at the facility for more than a year, said, “(The women’s) confidence has grown, and you can see how much they have gained in their own self-worth,” says the report.

Folsom Women’s Facility is 25 miles east of Sacramento. The re-entry hub houses female inmates who have no more than five years left on their sentences.

The Marin Shakespeare Company now works with prisoners at seven California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) institutions: Folsom Women’s Facility, San Quentin, California State Prison- Solano, High Desert State Prison, Deuel Vocational Institution, California Medical Facility and California Health Care Facility.

The discipline required to perform Shakespeare serves as a rehabilitative and therapeutic exercise that seems to have a positive impact on the women.

Actors performing on stage

Actors performing on stage

“It’s definitely taught me that I’m able to come out of my shell a lot more,” said Tamsyn Jones, who played the lead role in the production. “It’s taught me what I have inside of me that I never knew was there,” she said, according to ABC News 10.

Many people believe that the work of Shakespeare is timeless. “Shakespeare has a certain universal relevance,” Scott Jackson of Notre Dame University commented, as mentioned by the Bee report. “And the themes that are found in his works are still very much in play today. Whether it’s jealousy, greed, murder or infidelity, they are still with us,” Jackson adds.

Most important, preparing for a successful performance calls on the actors to support one another, which contributes to the development of important qualities such as teamwork and nonviolent communication.

“They learn skills to present themselves to be able to get jobs and learn about relationships and be back in society,” said Baker-Nauman, according to ABC News 10.

Monies obtained through grants from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, facility by the California Arts Council, help cover the cost of maintaining the prisoner Shakespeare program, making it possible, added Ananda Rochita of ABC News 10.

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https://sanquentinnews.com/folsoms-insight-garden-project-helps-women-connect-back-nature/

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San Quentin’s Christmas caroling revives special memories

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Inmates and volunteers singing in West Block

Inmates and volunteers singing in West Block

Nostalgic feelings dampen many inmates’ lives during the holiday season, but Christmas caroling in San Quentin State Prison revives happy memories of home and lightens everyone’s mood.

A few weeks before Christmas, prison volunteers, the Protestant Church choir and other inmates parade from building to building sharing the joy of the holidays.

“We’re so happy to get into San Quentin. Some of our neighbors think we’re crazy because we tell them we love coming into the prison,” said Kim Lam, a Christian volunteer from Open Arms Church “I love to volunteer because I get to see men’s lives transformed by the love of God.”

Christmas caroling in San Quentin State Prison started under former Protestant Chaplain Morris Curry more than a decade ago.

“We love sharing the love of Christ with the men in the buildings,” said inmate Trent Capell “It’s an amazing feeling just being able to share the joy of Christmas and its real meaning with people—the love of God toward the outcast.”

Protestant chaplain Mardi Ralph Jackson continues to encourage and participate in this seasonal tradition.

The first tier of the cargo ship-sized buildings becomes a stage for the carolers. The upper tier railings fill with inmates that have become accustomed to caroling as a familiar tradition away from home.

“It was amazing going from building to building,” said Lam “I felt the presence of the Lord when we were all singing together.”

Some years there have been almost 100 volunteers from Tiburon Baptist Church, Open Arms Church, and other Christian church organizations that gather to spread the good tidings through festive songs.

“The first time I saw the carolers, I thought ‘what the heck is this?’ I had never seen anything like it in any prison before,” said inmate Jose from West Block’s second tier, “But now I look forward to it every year.”

According to a Time article, the 19th century tradition of caroling from door-to-door started in England by groups of choristers hoping to be awarded with a gift.

“The singing of Christmas carols at a stranger’s door assumes a similarity of culture among carolers and audience,” said Chris Brunelle, an assistant professor of classics at St. Olaf College in the Time article.

“When the angels first proclaimed the gospel it was to the shepherds that were Israel’s lowliest, outcast citizens,” said inmate Capell. “We are society’s outcasts. So, it’s nice to share in the singing tradition of the angels that announced the good news.”

Caroling this year will be on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 16.

“Our church members can’t wait to come and see the men’s faces light up,” said Lam “I love to see lives change.”

Decorated Iraqi vet turned journalist visits SQNews

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Author and Iraqi veteran Will Bardenwerper in the SQ newsroom

Author and Iraqi veteran Will Bardenwerper in the SQ newsroom

A decorated Iraqi war veteran-turned-journalist and author came to San Quentin on Sept. 1 to talk about his book, which portrays what it was like to guard Saddam Hussein in the months prior to his execution.

Will Bardenwerper said the American guards, self-dubbed “Super Twelve,” told him that Hussein was not the person depicted by mainstream media.

“It’s evil what you did, not who you are,” Bardenwerper said he learned from the soldiers. “The guards struggled reconciling this peaceful man to the same person attached to so many terrible things.”

One of the medics who treated Hussein had to go back to the United States on emergency leave. The doctor’s brother was wrestling with drug addiction, alcoholism and committing petty crime. However, the medic displayed genuine concern about Hussein’s well-being while he was away. The medic told Hussein about his brother’s dilemma. Hussein stood up and hugged him, and said, “I will be your brother.” The exchange between doctor and patient was an example of humanitarianism in spite of circumstance.

Bardenwerper also talked about what it took to investigate and research the book.

Hussein’s childhood was violent and traumatic. He came from one of the most violent parts of Iraq. His father had been killed, his older brother died when he was young and from his earliest days, he had to stand up for himself.

“His environment affected him,” Bardenwerper said. “But, there were many people who grew up like him and were not as violent.”

Pulitzer Prize–winner David Finkel described The Prisoner in his Palace as “a timeless story about duty, honor, cruelty, and most of all, compassion.”

The Super Twelve were young kids, some right out of basic training, Bardenwerper said. “They were very close to him, protected him at all costs and really got to know him.”  He added, “The question: to what extent is this manipulation or a genuine human connection or a little of each, is undetermined in the book. I don’t try to connect every dot. It’s up to the reader to choose which of the three scenarios is true.”

As a contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post, Bardenwerper said journalistic neutrality kept him from taking sides on whether the sympathy Hussein gained from his American guards came from sincere or fake displays of emotions.

In San Quentin, the subject shifted to the relationship between officers and inmates in California prisons.

Bardenwerper said he’s just begun educating himself about American prisons, “but generally speaking, putting a human face on people gets better outcomes than viewing people as just numbers.”

Bardenwerper said he’s always been against the death penalty, but didn’t write the book to make an argument against it.

The Prisoner in His Palace will be reviewed in the next edition of San Quentin News.

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