San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

Reform policies have cut down on overcrowding

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Prison construction and overcrowding is down due to the State of California implementing smart and effective prison reform policies, reports Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ).

“The long overdue task of replacing ineffective over-incarceration with smart justice in the nation’s most populous state is finally underway,” CSJ reports.

Data collected from the study show a 10 percent drop in California county jail populations, a 64 percent reduction in the number of people on state parole, and a 22 percent decrease in felony filings.

Currently, 1.5 million Californians are eligible to have their nonviolent felony convictions expunged from their old convictions, removing barriers to new opportunities. Additionally, rehabilitation programs are being instituted in the justice system to help reduce recidivism, and trauma centers are being established to help those impacted by crime.

Finally, money saved from prison spending is being allocated to community treatment and crime prevention programs, according to the 2017 report.

Despite these historic reductions and improvements, the report found prison populations are still too high, resulting in prison spending that costs California taxpayers $11 billion a year.

“There are over 4,800 legal restrictions facing people with convictions  after sentence completion…73% of these legal barriers are permanent.” “SAFE AND SOUND: …” by Californians For Safety and Justice Nov. 2017 

The report suggests further reforms that could potentially reduce California prison terms by 20 percent and the prison population by 30,000, resulting in the closure of prisons and savings of more than a billion dollars.

“Nearly 7 in 10 support clearing the records of people who complete their entire sentence if they remain crime free for seven years,” according to “SAFE AND SOUND:”by Californians For Safety and Justice Nov. 2017

“Reducing state imprisonment by 30,000 people would allow California to close five prisons and save—conservatively­­—about $1.5 billion in state prison spending,” the report says.

According to the report, 55 percent of Californians who responded to a 2017 CSJ survey supported closing state prisons and using the savings to fund mental health and substance abuse treatment at the local level.

“SNY [Sensitive Needs Yard] …comprises roughly half the California prison system,” according to Lody Lewn in the Prison University Project Spring 2018 Newsletter Volume 13, No.1

The report recommends spending that $1.5 billion on improving California communities in the following three ways:

First, the report suggests expanding mental health services to address serious mental illness, increase drug abuse treatment for those suffering from addiction, and add to diversion and housing programs to address homeless people who commit crime.

“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/

Second, the report advocates creating a process for victims of crime to recover from the trauma inflicted on them, get back on their feet, avoid re-victimization, and regain some stability.

Finally, the report advocates ensuring that released inmates have a strong support base when released from custody. This, the reports says, can be accomplished by providing access to employment, housing, social programs, and help with reconnecting with family.

According to the report, implementing these reforms will make California a better place to live for both the formerly incarcerated and the general population of the state.

Aging cons fear parole after incarceration

Fewer re-entry resources for poor and people of color

Transgenders get new items

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Jarvis Juvan “Lady Jae” Clark and Crystal Gary at San Quentin State Prison

A federal judge has ordered California prisons to provide certain transgender inmates special female items for free, reports the Christian Post.

Currently, female transgender inmates in men’s prisons are allowed to have sandals, T-shirts and walking shoes, and to purchase specialty undergarments. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar’s order extended that list to include nightgowns and scarves. The order also requires the state to provide the items free for prisoners who can’t afford them.

“It’s comforting to have a judge in such a high position to have an open mind and courage to make such a controversial ruling,” said San Quentin prisoner C.J. Smith said. “A person who has made the decision to have a sex change is entitled to that right and should not be judged for it.”

25 percent of millennial-age American men think asking a woman who is not a romantic partner to go for a drink is harassment, according to a recent survey by The Economist/YouGov reports The New York Times 1-17-18.

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

Because of his ruling, prison officials must provide specific items such as bracelets, earrings, nightgowns and scarves. Tigar dismissed the department’s argument that providing those items could be escape paraphernalia.

“It’s the height of absurdity,” Kaeley Triller Haver said of Tigar’s ruling. “We needn’t worry about the inmates taking over the asylum if we’re going to stand by and willingly hand them the keys.” Haver is communications director for the Just Want Privacy Campaign.

Tigar is the same judge who ruled in an earlier lawsuit that “led California to become the first state to provide taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgery to an inmate,” reports the Post.

The subject of that gender reassignment lawsuit is Shiloh Quine, 57, who reportedly had male-to-female surgery performed in January and has since been moved from a men’s prison to a women’s prison. Quine is serving a life sentence for the 1980 robbery, kidnapping and murder of Shahid Ali Baig.   

Haver also said, “No one wants to talk about how, as a California resident, Shahid’s daughter’s hard-earned money was used to help finance the gender reassignment surgery of her father’s narcissistic killer or how it will now also be used to make sure he has access to underwear to feed his fetish or accessories to match his outfits.

“A violent man devastated the lives of an entire family who were forced to grow up without a father, and we are sitting here wasting taxpayer dollars to make sure he feels comfortable in his new digs.”

Linda Wojciechowski, a volunteer chaplain in Pierce County, Wash., told the Post that from her experience, inmates become transgender as a strategy to survive and “just another option to buy time or another identity they can try and manipulate.”

“Most inmates have survived by bobbing and weaving and avoiding the truth. They are already confused and lost and most times the individual will take any alternate option they can mentally or physically, than paying the price for their actions,” Wojciechowski said.

“Eventually, everyone will have to take off the costumes and deal with that person in the mirror, because your DNA and how God made you individually never changes,” she concluded.

But transgender inmate Smith disagrees.

“Being transgender is not abnormal; it’s a way of life. I believe you are born this way. No one wakes up in the morning and decides to be transgender. It’s the most discriminating, loneliest existence you can imagine.”

PPI’s “Correctional Control: Incarceration and Supervision by State” is the first report to aggregate data on all types of correctional control nationwide.

Female correctional officers win lawsuit for hostile work environment

Court aids sex offenders seeking early parole

Girls of color overlooked in the school to prison pipeline

New Sex Offender Registry limits

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Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that allows low-level sex registrants to be removed from a lifetime law enforcement registry. The new law will keep violent offenders on the list, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Under the new law, 90 percent of the state’s sex registrants will no longer be required to register as sex offenders for life. The measure is Senate Bill 384 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco.

“With this reform, our law enforcement agencies will be able to better protect people from violent sex offenders rather than wasting resources tracking low-level offenders who pose little or no risk of repeat offense,” Wiener said in a statement.

“Our sex offender registry is a tool used to prevent and investigate crimes, and these changes will make it a better and more effective tool for keeping our communities safe,” Wiener added.

Beginning in 2021, sex offenders can petition the government to be deleted from both public and police registries 10 to 20 years after their release from prison, as long as they haven’t committed a serious, violent or sexually based crime, said the article.

25 percent of millennial-age American men think asking a woman who is not a romantic partner to go for a drink is harassment, according to a recent survey by The Economist/YouGov reports The New York Times 1-17-18.

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

The state’s registry contains some 100,000 sex offenders. That’s one in 400 Californians registered. The law categorizes the registry into three tiers and allows these offenders to petition the government to be removed from the registry.

Tier one includes 65,000 offenders convicted of sexual battery, misdemeanor possession of child pornography and indecent exposure. They can petition 10 years after their release from prison.

Tier two has 24,000 offenders convicted of such crimes as lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, oral copulation with a minor under 14 years old, and non-forced sodomy with a minor under 14 years old. They can also petition 10 years after release from prison.

The third tier includes 8,200 offenders convicted of crimes like rape, sex crimes against children 10 years old and younger, repeat sex offenders, and sex trafficking of minors. It requires them to be on the registry for life.

Equality California supported the bill because it protects LGBTQ persons from law enforcement officials who target them, for example, for having consensual sex in parks.

“Gov. Brown’s signature will restore livelihoods and help restore the registry as a tool for investigating those who pose a real danger to society,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California.

The newspaper reported 650 sex offenders were convicted in the 1940s and 1950s, according to the Sex Offender Management Board. An additional 3,000 were last convicted in the 1960s and 1970s.

Law enforcement officials documented that they spend two-thirds of their budget on monitoring low-risk sex-offenders, the story reported.

Law enforcement’s efforts should be on higher-risk individuals, according to Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’ Malley.

Deportation Crimes Explained


https://sanquentinnews.com/states-sex-offender-registry-low-recidivism-rate/

Norco program provides more than just an education

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Prisoners at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco are getting a higher education and earning time off their sentences through the Norco College program, reports the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

The new prison program started in February 2017. Norco’s original plan was to start the program in the fall of 2018, but that was not soon enough for prison officials.

“They said, ‘We want it now,’” said Jason Parks, Norco College’s interim dean of instruction.

Bryan Reece, Norco College president, added, “It’s right in our backyard and it’s in our core mission. We are trying to educate historically under-served populations. These folks just happen to be in prison.”

“Not everyone in prison is the same people when we’re released from prison,” Norman Jordan, 55, a participant in program said to the Daily Bulletin.

“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/

Courses in English, communications and counseling were offered at the beginning of the program. For the fall semester there were 105 students enrolled. All the prisoners have less than 10 years to serve on their sentences.

“Because we’re wearing blue doesn’t mean that we’re not human,” said Osmar Castro, 39, referring to his blue prison clothing. He has four years and three months to serve on a 12-year sentence, according to the article.

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

Inmates can earn time off their sentences by participating in and completing educational and vocational programs.

The faculty is equally enthusiastic about this new program. “They’re knocking on the door,” said Parks. “They’re saying, ‘Please, pick my major.’”

A Daily Bulletin reporter sat in on a presentation by students of a Communications Storytelling class.

“My presentation is on how Robin Hood became an outlaw,” prisoner Robert Beebe told the class.

The 41-year-old Beebe dropped out of the ninth grade then joined a gang. He did two two-year prison terms prior to being arrested for attempted murder in the mid-‘90s.

“This is like getting a whole new life, getting this education”

“When you don’t come out with a clear mind, you go right back to what you know. And I went right back to the area, the people,” Beebe said. “I never really looked for a job and just chose to commit crimes.”

Beebe has been incarcerated for 19 years on a 20-year sentence, and completed his GED while in segregated housing.

“I’ve been going positive since then,” he said. “I’ve dropped out of the gangs. I’ve changed where I’m living at, my whole mindset, everything’s changing.”

Beebe continued with his story of Robin Hood. How he committed a crime (killing a deer in the king’s forest) that carried a death penalty and fled into the far woods to join a group of other outcasts.

“That day was the last day of his life without enemies,” said Beebe.

Prior to enrolling in this program, Beebe earned an associate’s degree in theological studies that awarded him a six-month deduction off his sentence and will allow him to parole in a few months.

Beebe said getting a college education has changed his life.

“When I came in here, I didn’t have college on my mind. I didn’t think I’d ever make it out of prison,” he said. “I started with one course and now I do five, six at a time. It benefits me; it keeps me away from the negative out there. I am in here every day. If I’m not at work, I’m in here.”

If paroled, he plans to pursue a higher education.

“This is like getting a whole new life, getting this education,” he told the reporter.

A 2013 Rand Corp. study revealed inmates who participate in educational programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison. They are also 13 percent more likely to become employed after released. The study suggested that every $1 invested in prison education saves taxpayers $4 to $5 after a prisoner released.

https://www.dailybullentin.com/2017/12/26/exams-behind-bars-norco-community-college-prison-unite-to-educate-and-rehabilitate-prisoners/

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

UC Davis combats prison stigmas with Beyond the Stats

Transgender suing Massachusetts challenging placement all-male prison

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A transgender woman is suing the Massachusetts Department of Correction for requiring her to serve her sentence in an all-male prison. In the lawsuit, the 52-year-old inmate alleges she was groped and taunted by inmates and correctional officers, reports Jezebel.

According to the Boston Globe, the suit states that the inmate—identified only as Jane Doe—“has been subjected to constant humiliation.” The document describes alleged mistreatment during a strip search. “Male guards forced her to stand, cuffed and naked, for 30 minutes, in front of the open door to her cell, exposing her body to at least a dozen male prisoners who gawked and made crude sexual remarks about her breasts.”

The suit also says male correction officers have referred to her and other trans prisoners as “wannabe women.”

Court papers revealed that “Jane Doe” is requesting the right to be transferred to a women’s prison. If the suit is granted by the court, she’ll be the first transgender woman in the state of Massachusetts to be housed in a women’s prison without undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Prison officials informed the transgender inmate that she is not eligible for transfer until she has the surgery, despite the fact that she has lived openly as a woman and received hormone therapy for 40 years, the lawsuit says.

“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/

Jennifer L. Levi, director of the Transgender Rights Project at LGBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, told the Boston Globe:

“In 2017, it is a total shame that this state—with so much broader policy recognizing the humanity of trans people—doesn’t recognize that humanity in our correction system. They’re serving time for underlying offenses, but they’re not supposed to be punished for being transgender. That’s wrong.”

Federal guidelines dictate that trans inmates cannot be placed based solely on their anatomy. According to Jezebel, federal prison officials are mandated to give “serious consideration” to where those inmates would feel the most comfortable. Advocates for transgender inmates say the majority of state prisons have failed to adopt this rule.

Massachusetts is not the only state to have adopted confusing rules for transgender inmates. In 2015, The New York Times told the story of transgender inmate “Passion Star,” who says she was raped and beaten for over a decade during her incarceration at a men’s prison in Texas. Star told Jezebel in 2015 that although policy was important, enforcement also played a critical role in protecting transgender inmates.

“Texas says it has good policies” when it comes to trans inmates, Star said. “But those policies aren’t followed or respected by people in positions of power.”

The Women of San Quentin: Soul Murder of Transgender Women in Male Prisons by Kristin Schreier Lyseggen

Arizona provides inmates feminine-hygiene products

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The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) is changing its policy concerning the supply of free feminine-hygiene products for woman prisoners, after overwhelming support from formerly incarcerated women and the outside community, reports The Republic.

“I want to thank all of the women and men from all around Arizona and all over the world who spoke up, who bravely testified and shared their stories, and those who contacted lawmakers directly,” said Rep. Athena Salman (D-Tempe.) “Your voices made the difference.”

The change in policy will affect the close to 4,000 women at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville, the only state prison for women.

“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/

ADC said it would change its policy from supplying the women prisoners 12 pads per month to 36. The policy update prompted Rep. T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) to remove a bill that would have made such changes a law.

“When I first became aware of this issue, I reached out to ADC and urged them to explore changing the policy, as an administrative change can be implemented much quicker than a change in statute. I thank ADC for their responsiveness.”

After his bill was withdrawn, Shope started to receive tampons and pads in the mail. Women posted photos of their mail on social media with the hashtag #LetItFlow. The protest was meant to urge Shope to call a second hearing on the bill, according to The Republic.

Former Perryville prisoners testified that they had to wear multiple pads to prevent bleeding, because the quality of the pads was so poor. One woman said she made “makeshift” tampons by taking them apart and using them to be more comfortable at her yard crew job.

The women prisoners had to asked an officer if they need more than the 12 generic-brand pads allotted, a request the officer could deny. The women were allowed to possess up to two dozen free pads at a time. If they prefer tampons, the women must purchase them.

At the prison store, a 20-count box of Playtex tampons costs $3.99. Since the prisoners’ pay starts at only 15 cents per hour, they would have to work 27 hours to buy one box.

Salman had introduced House Bill 2222 to authorize the ADC to provide an unlimited number of menstrual products to female inmates free of charge.

Salman would like to expand the policy to include tampons. She said she has “a commitment from the governor’s office” to explore the idea.

The ADC said in a statement that it appreciated and values the comments and feedback it has received regarding the sanitary napkin products issue. 

After a department review of current policy, an inmate now may request and, without charge, receive additional pads, if necessary. Additional product options will continue to be available through the inmate store.

“We believe this change addresses and resolves, in an appropriate and timely fashion, the concerns raised,” said ADC statement.

Advocates for the women still believe more can be done.

“It’s unfortunate that the department is so unresponsive to the needs of people in its prisons that a nationwide conversation was required in order to get the department to take action on this,” said Will Gaona, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. “Certainly this is an improvement on the department’s previous policy, but not a perfect one.”

A look inside the bustling San Quentin prison library

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Senior librarian Douglas Jeffrey and Gabriel Loiederman

Senior librarian Douglas Jeffrey and Gabriel Loiederman

Every day, the San Quentin State prison library is bustling with activity. Inmates might be ordering books from the clerks at the counter. Other inmates might be sitting at tables, reading books and talking among themselves.

The windows in the librarians’ offices provide a glimpse of San Francisco Bay as well as the mountains.

In the legal section, inmates pore over law books, which they can order from a slot through a window. They can also sit at a computer to research legal statutes or write briefs at one of the tables.

The library might look like many others outside of the walls, but it serves a particularly important function at San Quentin, where it is considered a space to help educate and rehabilitate prisoners.

The prison is well known for its programs such as Prison University Project (PUP) and Restorative Justice, but they are often full and have long waiting lists.

In such cases, the library allows the men to study independently. “The library begins where the classroom ends,” said Senior Librarian Douglas Jeffrey, who is a member of the prison staff.

The idea of using the library as an educational and rehabilitative tool began nearly three decades ago with San Quentin librarian, Herman Spector, who used reading and writing to reform inmates through a program called “Bibliotherapy.”

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

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

“Books for Spector were the deathless weapons of progress by which prisoners could be paroled into the custody of their better selves,” wrote Eric Cummings, author of The Rise and Fall of California’s Radical Prison Movement.

One of the most popular sections has always been the law library. Glen Mason, the lead law clerk, said patrons become so knowledgeable that some are able to get their cases overturned through their research findings.

“There have been many inmates that have used the law library to research issues regarding their cases,” said George “Mesro” Coles-El, a recreational clerk, who has worked at the library for five years. 

One of those users is Ronald Chatters, who frequented the law library for two and a half years and is working on a brief to argue for a parole hearing under Proposition 57, which can give him an early parole consideration.

“The two years that I have been researching law has made me literate enough to help others with their cases,” Chatters said.

Coles-El, who works as the lead circulation clerk, said even recreational books can be a valuable educational tool.

“Reading affects your thinking,” he said. “When you read, your thinking changes, which affects your behavior.”

Coles-El himself has been changed by reading. “Before I spent time in the library, all I did was walk around and think negative thoughts, thinking about how I could get over on people,” he said. “But then I read a book entitled ‘Loving What Is’ by Byron Katie. Reading her book helped me to discover that most of the stress in our lives comes from being jealous of what others have.

Patrons working and looking up legal cases on the computer

Patrons working and looking up legal cases on the computer

“Her book influenced me to better thinking, which changed my behavior,” Coles-El added.

Joseph Krauter, lead administrative library clerk, was also changed by a book. “Four years ago, I was an emotional wreck and going down in flames,” he said, adding that he was on the verge of giving up on himself, his program and getting out of prison.

That’s when his grandmother sent him a book called “Neuro-Tribe,” by Steve Silverman, about the history of autism.

“The book showed me through pain and suffering that I can succeed and make something good of my life,” Krauter said. “It helped me to focus and to immerse myself in programs that helped me better myself. Because of this book, I found hope.”

Krauter described the library as a place where inmates can change their perspectives and thinking, and find books full of wisdom to help them do so.

Another librarian and prison staff, Gabriel Loiederman, said the library provides a space for forming positive relationships, which is an important component of rehabilitation

“Whether it’s two legal researchers discussing the merits of a case, or two students helping each other with algebra, the library is there to provide a free environment that can foster these kinds of constructive interactions that contribute to rehabilitation,” he said.

SQ’s Law Libraries Serve All

Birdman nurses the wildlife on the Lower Yard

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Every day, the yard at San Quentin State Prison is bustling with wildlife activity. While inmates run the track and play tennis and basketball, a grass field attracts birds, geese, seagulls, pigeons, and blackbirds. Sometimes hawks fly over the yard looking for prey.

In the corner of the yard by a fence, an inmate sits on the ground, surrounded by birds. That inmate is Dean Thomas, who answers to the nickname “Birdman.”

“They call me Birdman, because I’m always interacting with the birds. I have a relationship with them,” he said. “They are my friends; they like to flock to me.”

“No person should have to fear being violently attacked because of who they are, what they believe or how they worship,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions  in The New York Times Oct, 16, 2017.

Thomas has been caring for the birds over the past seven years on the Lower Yard since he arrived at the prison. He said he has taken care of European starlings, redwing blackbirds, Brewer’s blackbirds, and sparrows. When they are injured, he gets them help.

“Sometimes the birds get entangled in strings around their body or around their foot. I’ll then untangle them and free them. For some reason, the sick and hurt birds, especially the pigeons and the little birds, find their way to me,” Thomas said, adding that if the injury is serious, he asks the yard officer to call the fire department or animal control officer.

“Half of the state’s foster-care population is made up of children with opioid-addicted parents,” reports Bloomberg according to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican.  BUSINESSWEEK.com Oct. 9, 2017

Thomas, who was convicted in 2001 for first-degree burglary, said he liked birds even as a young boy. He said it was a way for him to connect with nature and learn more about them.

“I’ve learned their habits, ways of breeding and how they migrate,” said Thomas, who has been incarcerated for 16 years. “Sitting with the birds has been educational and therapeutic in so many ways.” He added that he has also discovered that birds have memories, thoughts and personalities. He said each bird is different in its own way be it looks, mannerisms or markings.

Thomas said that he uses his Mindful Meditation class on Fridays to meditate with the songbirds.

“This has helped me to listen to everything around me,” he said. “This connection to nature is what is missing in much of society. …For me, nature and animals are necessary for my healing.”

“…evidence has linked loneliness…to a host of psychological and physiological ills (including) depression, cognitive decline, hearing problems and stroke.”  Scientific American “The Toxic Well of Loneliness” January 2018

He added that the people are not very different from songbirds.

Thomas said he grew up in a family with divorced parents, and caring for the birds helps him emotionally and psychologically as he deals with life challenges.

“It’s therapeutic for me. It makes me feel loved and accepted [which was] something I was deprived of growing up,” he said. “These animals make me feel like I have a purpose and connection.”

As long as he is here at San Quentin, the birds will always have a friend to take care of them, Thomas said.

Message of Hope for Mental Wellness Week at SQ


https://sanquentinnews.com/the-100th-edition-san-quentin-news/

8th Day of Peace celebration held on SQ’s Lower Yard

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Time in San Quentin Remains Frozen

SQ Journalism Guild promotes next class of writers

US Supreme Court Death Row case Hidalgo v. Arizona Arizona death penalty law

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In the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take up a challenge to the death penalty in Arizona. If the justices agree to hear the case, the court’s decision could also affect the California death penalty law. 

And that could spare the lives of 746 prisoners on California’s death row, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The pending case, Hidalgo v. Arizona, challenges the new Arizona death penalty law, which makes virtually every first-degree murder subject to potential capital charges.

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

Lawyers for Abel Hidalgo argue that the Arizona law violates Supreme Court precedent dating back to the 1970s that limits capital punishment to specific categories of crime, including especially heinous killers often described as the “worst of the worst.”

Much like Arizona, California has also expanded its definition of capital crimes, which, according to retired Arizona prosecutor and judge Rudolph Gerber, “made the vast majority of murders eligible for the death penalty.”

Even though the California law is not before the Supreme Court, the pending Hidalgo case might reshape California law—a situation that mirrors another legal decision in 1972.

That year, the Supreme Court overturned Georgia’s death penalty law because the state failed to set meaningful standards separating especially heinous crimes from other serious felonies and limiting the discretion of prosecutors and jurors.

That 1972 ruling extended to California and other states, resulting in California resentencing their condemned inmates to life in prison from the previous death sentence.

The Arizona case is comparable to the 1972 Georgia case, “a substantive decision that was applied retroactively to everyone on Death Row across the country,” said Robert Dunham, the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

But if the Supreme Court does not take up the case, many prisoners will remain eligible for the death penalty.

Hidalgo’s lawyers said research indicates that over an 11-year period in Arizona’s most populous county, Maricopa, 99 percent of all first-degree murderers could have been prosecuted as a capital crime.

“Arizona’s death penalty statute, once narrowly drawn, now provides prosecutors and jurors with unfettered discretion,” Hidalgo’s lawyers argued in their appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. California, Colorado and Missouri, the lawyers said, have similar laws.

Research conducted at the University of Iowa on California crimes from 1978 to 2002 found that 95 percent of first-degree convictions could have been charged under the current law as capital crimes, punishable by the death penalty or life without parole.

The Supreme Court must now decide if it will take up the case. As of February 28, 2018, the Court had not made a decision to accept or reject the appeal. Until then, the Arizona State Supreme Court decision upholding the law will remain intact.

If the Supreme Court takes up the case, oral arguments and a ruling will take place during the 2018-19 term, which is scheduled to begin in October.

https://sanquentinnews.com/pope-calls-teachings-capital-punishment-inadmissible/
https://sanquentinnews.com/tennessee-schedules-three-executions-nearly-decadethere-60-inmates-tennessees-death-row-awaiting-execution/

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Art Prison Program

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California prisoners are learning art behind prison walls and it’s transforming their lives, reports the New York Times.

They are creating artistic scenes with bright color and light on murals at prisons like Salinas Valley and San Quentin state prisons.

“I don’t have much of a legacy,” said Jeffrey Sutton, who is serving 41 years for armed robbery. “This is something positive that helps me focus on getting out.”

The mural program is part of a new initiative by the state of California that offers prisoners classes such as Native American beadwork, improvisational theater, graphic novels and songwriting in each of its 35 prisons, reports the Times.

Federal art programs are being shut down, but California has awarded between $1 million and $6 million annually for the Arts in Corrections program. It increased to $8 million this year.

Republican State Assemblyman Tom Lackey recently visited a theater program inside a prison in his district. He had this to say about the funding of that program: “Six million is no joke. It was, ‘OK, I’m going to watch this incredible waste of money.’”

But he was surprised by his reaction. “I could tell it was building morale and self-respect among inmates, which is hard to do. How do you measure the value of a person in dollars? This is an investment that yields a return.”

The Arts in Corrections program is also supported by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“The arts, through creative expression and discipline, help prepare inmates for their eventual return to society,” Brown said. “It’s a real opportunity for them to gain greater insight into their lives and their relationships.”

The state is collaborating with the California Arts Council and employing respected artists like Guillermo Aranda, a Chicano muralist who instructs at Salinas Valley four days a week.

At San Quentin State Prison, Scott McKinstry, 47, who was sentenced to 51-years-to-life for second-degree murder and firearm possession, has been designing a mural of urban life over the past seven years.

His mural brings life to walls of the chow hall; it abounds with mansard roofs, neon signs, Victorian houses and other fanciful details inspired by Japanese-born painter Hiro Yamagata.

This project and anger management classes have helped him discover “why things bug me and why I ended up here,” McKinstry said.

“A lot of guys in prison don’t have a sense of self-worth,” he continued. “It helps you grow as a human being to say, ‘hey, I can do something.’ ”

When a victim of crime was asked her opinion about the arts programs, she said:

“These classes shouldn’t be solely for enjoyment purposes,” said Dionne Wilson, the widow of Nels Daniel Niemi, a law enforcement officer who was shot and killed 12 years ago in San Leandro, east of San Francisco. “I’d like to see them coupled with a deeper discussion about acknowledging the harm they caused,” said Wilson, who is also a member of a national organization called Alliance for Safety and Justice.   

The California initiative is part of prison reforms that have taken place since 2011, due to a United States Supreme Court order mandating the state to reduce its prison population.

“When inmates are triple-bunked in a gym, the last thing you’re thinking about is a Shakespeare program or a mural class,” said Kristina Khokhobashvili, a corrections spokeswoman.

Voters have supported financing rehabilitation programs by approving $396 million of the state’s $11.3 billion corrections budget for programming, The New York Times reported.

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