Most inmates arriving at San Quentin are amazed by the programs, recreation and work opportunities offered.
There is Prison University Project and Prison Industry Authority (P.I.A.) for close-B inmates, plus library access and self-help groups. However, lately programs of recreation and jobs are diminishing. Historically when California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation eliminates a program, it is gone forever.
P.I.A. has officially cut the work week down to three days. Wednesday night library is gone due to unavailable staff. In addition, to Thursday’s implementation of ‘no yard second or third Watch, inmates housed in North Block and H-Unit are losing their morning yard on weekends, and on several days per week.
Due to the state’s budget deficit, state correctional staff has been forced to accept another 5 percent pay cut. Yet, inmates are still expected to program and to perform their duties regardless of loss of program.
According to CDCR’s Title 15 §3044(8)(c) Privileges; “Privileges for each working/training incentive group shall be those privileges that are earned by the inmate. Inmate privileges are administratively authorized activities and benefits required by statute, case law, governmental regulations, or executive order.”
Rescinding an inmate’s earned privilege is an adverse action more applicable to be served on a troublesome inmate. Fact is, when an inmate violates rules and regulations, correctional staff are quick to mete out some form of punishment. Yet, many believe a form of punishment is being unfairly sanctioned on inmates who have earned their privilege to all activities authorized by CDCR.
This is not a safety issue because CDCR has chosen specific days to withdraw privileges and therefore are in the process of implementing a new policy within the prison. Inmates have earned the right and the privilege to enjoy their time off from work assignment or school assignment.
‘Ray Gun’ New Tool At Prisons?
The words “ray gun” usually brings to mind an imaginary future technology associated with science fiction movies such as The Terminator, Star Wars, and Star Trek; Part of science fiction has become fact.
In January 2007, The Associated Press reported that Moody Air force Base was testing a new form of weapon called Ray Gun. The weapon isn’t shaped in the form of a gun or rifle; it’s an octagonal disk that’s attached to a military Humvee. An operator inside the vehicle uses a joystick to zero in on a target. Once the target has been acquired, the operator fires a 100,000-watt beam at the speed of light. This beam can be discharged from more than 500 yards.
This beam emits a flash of white-hot energy – an electromagnetic beam made up of very high frequency radio waves that you can’t see or hear. This beam only penetrates 1/64 of an inch of skin, (which is equivalent to three sheets of ordinary paper), yet participants of experiment claimed that while the demonstration was not painful, it was intense enough to make them believe their clothing was about to catch fire.
The CBS-TV show 60 Minutes reported on the device in March 2008.
On Aug. 23, 2010, Debra Dupre, staff member with the Human Rights Examiner posted a story on the internet with a caption reading, “Military Ray Gun to be tested on inmates.” She said one test was performed at the Sheriff’s Detention Center located in Castaic, California.
Commander Bob Osborne, who is head of the Technology Exploration Branch of the Sheriff’s Department of Homeland Security Division, was quoted as saying, “The Assault Intervention System (AIS) developed by Raytheon Co. could give the Sheriff’s Department another tool to quell disturbances at a 65-inmate dormitory at the Pitchess Detention Center North County Correctional Facility.”
The new weapon is listed as a non-lethal device. It has been tested on humans more than an estimated 11,000 times over 10 years, CBS reported.
First U.S. Woman Executed in 5 Years
She was the first woman executed in the United States in five years – the first executed in Virginia in 98 years.
Teresa Lewis, 41, who plotted with her young lover to kill her husband and stepson in 2002 for insurance money, was killed by lethal injection on Sept. 23, 2010. The two men who actually committed the double murder were sentenced to life in prison.
The most recent previous execution of a woman in the U.S. came in Texas in 2005. More than 1,200 people were executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Lewis became the 12th woman among them.
Numerous pleas were presented urging clemency for Lewis, including those which pointed out she was borderline retarded with an IQ of 72.
Evidence was also presented that one of the killers wrote a letter claiming that he, not Lewis, was the mastermind of the plot.
California has more than 700 people on Death Row, including 18 women. Due to court challenges, executions are on hold in the state. A new execution chamber for lethal injections has been constructed in San Quentin, replacing the historic apple-green gas chamber.
Federal Bonding Program Aids Ex-Felons
As an ex-felon, it can be extremely difficult obtaining gainful employment. One of the main reasons is due to ex-felons being considered as “at-risk” job applicants, which can deter a potential employer from hiring you.
However, the Federal Bonding Program ensures the employer that, if the felon steals, hurts someone or destroys equipment, the employer can be reimbursed for their losses. The program is a great hiring incentive for most employers, because the bonding insurance fees do not come out of employer pockets.
The bond is issued at no cost to the employer and is only good for six months. At the end of the six-month period, the bond can be rescinded by the employer, or the bond can be maintained by the employer at a substantial cost to employer.
Self-employed personnel do not qualify for bond packages. Qualifications consist of being the (states) legal age for working, (if you’re old enough to go to prison, you’re old enough to work). The job position has to be at least 30 hours per week, and taxes must be automatically deducted from wages paid.
S.Q. Murals…The Good and the Bad
San Quentin State Prison is widely known for its size, the notorious criminals who’ve passed through, its valuable location by the bay, and the formidable walls and gun towers that surround the fortress-like facility, protecting society.
Those who have served time in San Quentin, volunteered their services, or visited the prison with a strange sense of curiosity, have all seen the hidden beauty within the walls.
South Dining Hall
Inside one of S.Q.’s enormous feeding areas, South Dining Hall, are four murals painted by a former inmate named Alfredo Santos. A talented and successful artist, Santos was convicted of heroin distribution and sent to San Quentin in 1951. By the end of Santos’s sentence in 1955, he had completed the sepia-toned murals that depict life in California. From San Francisco Bay to the San Diego/Mexican border, the murals are the artist’s rendition of the shipbuilding and industrial boom during the early 1890s. His depictions include the many cultures of people who contributed to the growth of California.
Another Masterpiece
Santos’s work is not the only creative masterpiece that beautifies the otherwise dreary, cream-colored walls of S.Q. Across from the newly established hospital and in front of the Adjustment Center, there is another graphic work of art with colors so vivid it captivates the eyes and forces an individual to gaze upon lives captured in a moment of time.
The original design was first created in 1982 and painted by several inmates, whose names are listed on the lower left hand corner of the mural. Due to inclement weather, the colors faded quickly and a group of men breathed new life into the images.
Four men are responsible for this generous effort: John Sklut, Scott McKinney, Gabriel Enriquez and Ron Goodman.
Through the Arts and Corrections Program, these talented men refurbished the historical painting under the guidance of Arts and Craft facilitator Lynelle Herrick. Unfortunately, after putting in many hours of dedication, McKinney was transferred; Goodman took up where McKinney left off. Now, two years after completion of the mural, a section of this artwork has been destroyed for the purpose of an ugly, lifeless, metal sliding door,
After speaking with Sklut, McKinney and Enriquez, information regarding other murals was revealed. Murals of artistic merit were painted over, hiding their beauty and the history of the artist.
When Sklut, McKinney and Enriquez were asked about how they felt about the destruction of the mural that took time and dedication out of their lives, Sklut, a mild-mannered man and 30-year veteran of doing time, replied, “It’s sad. With other murals that have been painted over, there is no record of the contributions and efforts of the artists who took time out of their lives to give the prison some life.”
A Different Side
Sklut added with feeling, “These murals show a different side of the person who painted these walls, no matter what the artist was in prison for. Now a lot of that is gone and there is nothing for the new generation to appreciate.”
“It feels bad,” said Enriquez. “But San Quentin does what they want, no matter how you feel.” Enriquez does not consider himself a professional painter, but continues to paint beautiful creations.
McKinney said, “It’s irritating because Lynelle, the woman who was in charge of overseeing the project, died from breast cancer and it’s a blemish to her memory.” Nevertheless, this situation has not deterred this young man’s drive to be who he is, an artist. Asked if he would participate in another mural creation, he replied, “If allowed to paint, I’ll be there with bells on.”