Hugo Machuca did 28 years on a 15-life term. He paroled from the Level 4 Honor Yard in Lancaster in August 2009.
After several board hearings, Hugo looked at their reasons for denial and set out to change it. After 14 boards, he finally got a date. The Governor declined to review, and Hugo went home.
What was it like when you first got out?
The only way I can explain it is like when a beaver makes a dam that backs up the creek, then when it comes apart there’s a big rush of water. The time inside backed up my emotions and it was like a flood of emotions was suddenly let loose. I was an emotional wreck.
I was paranoid for the first few weeks, even afraid to cross the streets. One evening I said “f— this.” I went to the liquor store and bought a pack of cigarettes. I sat at a bus stop and smoked a cigarette for the first time in 30 years and said, “Here I am.” I turned it around by challenging myself to become successful, the same way I challenged myself to become free.
What has impacted you the most since you’ve been home?
I was out about two or three weeks. I was having a hard time, so my nephew said, “Hey Tio, I want to take you to Knotts Berry Farm so you can scream on the rides, and it will be cool.” His nine-year-old son said, “Hey Tio, you’re gonna’ be my riding partner.” That boy gave me total honesty and acceptance. He accepted me as his uncle. He didn’t see me as a convict, or anything else, just his uncle.
Another thing was when I was commuting from Long Beach to Lancaster. I’d get on the road about 5:30 am. I could see the sunrise driving through the mountains, and the sunset on my way home. That was some of my best times because the creator let me see that; it was so beautiful.
Hugo was a founding member of CROP (Convicts Reaching Out to People) while he was on the Honor Yard at Lancaster. They spoke to at-risk youth about gangs, drugs, respect, responsibility, choices, and prison life.
How has CROP affected you on the outside?
Louis Rodriguez, author and community activist, compiled a book of poetry and essays called “Honor Comes Hard.” He used my short essay about CROP in this book. I have gone to book signings promoting the book and signing autographs.
Hugo works as an HIV counselor, educator and tester. He has been on several panel discussions about prison reform, and in think tanks for LA County Youth Reentry Programs. He went to a victim offenders group outside. He met family members of victims, which was really powerful for him. He’s taking the facilitator training and will soon be able to facilitate these groups. During his free time he enjoys riding his bike on the beach and volunteering at Home Boy Industries.
New Advocate Group Targets Parole Board
Joy Richardson covers stories about successful parolees and other prison-related subjects throughout the state.
Gail Brown and Vanessa Nelson have been actively involved in prison reform for over 10 years, and have loved ones inside. Brown’s husband of 14 years is a lifer. Nelson’s nephew and significant other are lifers. Brown and Nelson have been members of the Statewide Inmate Family Council and have vigorously pressed for inmate rights up and down the line.
Brown and Nelson both have full-time jobs in addition to learning as they go how to be lobbyists. They have met with many people at the Sacramento headquarters of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, including CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate, Martin Hoshino, director of the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH), and Debra Herndon, associate director at the headquarters level responsible for statewide visiting.
In the beginning of 2010 Nelson and Brown decided there was a lot of talk and not enough action. They believed that lifers are a forgotten population and decided to do something to make a difference. From that meeting, Life Support Alliance was born.
LSA’s purpose is to find a way to make the Board of Parole Hearings accountable. Nelson and Brown believe there is no oversight or accountability for the BPH, and there should be. Nelson says, “We want to make the legislators and people of California aware of how much the actions of the BPH are costing the taxpayers, just in pure dollars and cents.”
Brown and Nelson meet with legislators and assert that there is something wrong with the parole process – the money the BPH spends is astronomical, it doesn’t buy public safety, and it continues to contribute to overcrowding in prisons.
Nelson says, “We understand the BPH isn’t going to change as long as its members are all ex-law enforcement or victims rights advocates. We’re hoping to change the mix of the parole board. We want the legislature to put in oversight and accountability requirements for the BPH. We want the board to be accountable for the decisions they make, the number of times their decisions are overturned in the courts, and the money they spend. We think many more life term inmates can be released safely. If board members had more oversight they would consider their actions rather than giving out knee jerk ‘no, no, no.’”
Nelson says she can’t stand it when she believes something is not fair. She says, “This state cannot afford vengeance as public policy. It’s all about money in the Capitol dome these days. We don’t expect the lawmakers to respond to us on humanitarian terms, but we do expect them to look at the money.”
Brown and Nelson say they make these key points to legislators: lifers are the safest population to parole, they are the most expensive population to incarcerate, and the reasons BPH gives for denying a vast number of lifers’ parole dates are rooted more in politics than in public safety.
LSA began sending out surveys seven months ago to get the lifers’ stories about their experience with BPH commissioners and psychologists. To date they’ve had some 300 surveys returned from lifers up and down the state. Many surveys offer quotes from transcripts of inappropriate actions and comments by commissioners and psychologists.
Life Support Alliance may be contacted at P.O. Box 3103, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741.
Look Who Made It
Benny Taylor is a real charmer. That down home Southern drawl and straightforward conversation makes a person feel right at home. Benny started out in life as the son of a Georgia moonshiner. By the time he was 31 he’d made some not-so great-choices that landed him in the California Prison System.
Benny walked onto the yard at Folsom in 1975, guitar in hand. He spent lots of time playing, taught some fellow convicts to play, and even managed to teach a few of them to sing.
Here are his comments in a recent interview:
Where did you meet your wife?
Cheryl and I met in Folsom Prison at a wedding. I was the Best Man and Cheryl was the Maid of Honor. We just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.
Does anything in particular stand out in your mind from your time at Folsom?
When Nicholas Cage was researching Con Air, he came to Folsom and asked to talk to an “authentic convict.” Sgt. Huttner asked me if I was an “authentic convict,” and brought Nicholas Cage to meet me. We walked around the yard and talked.
What did you do once you were released?
When I was released in 2004, Cheryl and I bought a ranch in Gridley and joined an equine rescue service. We adopted mares and their foals out of the PMU (pregnant mare’s urine) industry where they were kept in horrid and unsanitary conditions. We adopted eight horses over the course of 18 months. We’d “gentle” the horses, then bring riders together with them for a match. We still have three of the horses with us.
I understand you earned a psychology degree while you were at Folsom. How have you put that to work for you outside?
We recently moved to Coulterville. I was introduced to a grandfather and his 11-year-old granddaughter. He asked if I, along with one of my horses, could work with her regarding self-confidence, self-esteem and poor choices. I thought, “My God! Who better to discuss those issues than me!” The child has already been on my horse, and is in love with her.
What other things do you and Cheryl enjoy doing?
We are members of Clowns International. I am a Clown Magician, Cheryl is Tootsie the Clown. We frequently did gigs with puppets when we lived in Gridley. I also sang and played electric guitar during 4th of July celebrations in Gridley.
Benny and his wife are retired and live in Coulterville on their ranch. Benny is still a musician. Every other Friday night you can find him playing guitar and singing at The Lumberyard in Coulterville. Of course, he plays “cowboy” music, both popular Country Western music and his own creations. Benny invites at-risk kids come to his ranch to ride horses
Look Who Made It
Steve Byron was very up front and real about who he was and who he has become.
After 16 years behind the walls, he walked out of the gates of Folsom Prison on Aug. 28, 2006.
About two years into his term, he was seeing himself in the people around him and didn’t like what he saw. So he got involved with programs like the Inside Circle and Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired (FPVI) and began looking forward to life on the outside.
A short time after Steve paroled, the Lions Club gave him a motor home to live in. It was falling apart, but he was grateful to have a place to live. Steve picked up bags of food at the local Seventh Day Adventist Church to survive, and was having little luck job hunting.
Peggy from FPVI offered him a part-time job at minimum wage. Eventually that job became full-time with higher wages.
Steve’s motor home was becoming worse, so Peggy told him to go find something and she would buy it. Steve paid her back from his work checks.
Here are his comments in a recent interview:
How did you learn to transcribe Braille?
While incarcerated at Folsom Prison, I was introduced to the Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired (FPVI) that was established by the Lions Club in 1989. Although I was initially reluctant to participate, I decided in 2003 to take the opportunity and I joined the project. In a few months I became certified in Literary Braille through the Library of Congress.
What’s going on in your life today?
Today I am married, have my own business, and own two homes. Although I am not a member, I volunteer at the Seventh Day Adventist Church that helped me. I pick up food from a local food bank and the Wal-Mart warehouse and bring it to the church for their food program.
I also volunteer through the Folsom Braille program to transcribe educational books into Braille for kindergarten through college. This is my second year as president of our local Lions Club. I discharged my parole in 2009, two years early.
What goals are you working towards today?
I am working towards a second Braille certification in Nemeth Math. Once I get my Certificate of Rehabilitation, I want to be able to go into the women’s prison in Chowchilla to help get the Braille program started there. I want to make it possible for Women to work out of their home and be with their children. If I can help even one person, I feel like it would go a long way to make up for the wrongs in my past.
Look Who Made It:
I had the pleasure of getting to know a little about Flozelle Woodmore. She served 20 years of a life sentence for killing her abusive partner. After 10 parole hearings, at six of which she was found suitable, she was finally released in August 2007.
Flozelle now works with A New Way of Life Reentry Project in Watts and spends her spare time with her daughter and granddaughters. Flozelle was there when her youngest grandchild was born.
Here are her comments in a recent interview:
What have you been doing since you got out?
I have been working to improve the education of the loved ones of the incarcerated in hopes they can and will assist their loved ones serving life sentences to receive parole grants and release as they should have years ago.
Was finding work difficult?
Not for me, due to the support of Susan Burton, Founder and Executive Director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project.
How is the world different for you now that you are back on the streets?
Many people I knew and loved have passed away, including my mother and oldest brother.
What was the most difficult thing to adjust to when you were first released?
Facing my son’s situation (he got a life sentence as I was being released). Then I learned his case lacked the evidence to uphold the conviction.
What goals have you achieved since you got out?I have achieved some of my goals – obtain work, get my own place, get a car (I have two), and help my family with things that would make life a little easier for them.
What goal do you most look forward to accomplishing?
Getting my son a fair trial and/or getting him out. Also getting approval to go see him. He has not seen me since he was nine years old; he is now 26.
I’m sure your goals and your dreams have changed a lot since you got out, what goals to you have in mind now?
I have quite a few, one being to see the faces of families and friends as they see their loved ones be released, all due to the work they did to make it happen.
What sort of things do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
My spare time is scarce; however, I try to spend time with my grandchildren and my daughter.
Flozelle recently received a Soros Justice Fellowship award for her work with A New Way of Life in Watts.
Would you elaborate on what the Soros Fellowship is about?
The Soros Fellowship is sharing with families of lifers my experiences of incarceration, and the steps that I took to free myself, in hopes it can be utilized to free their loved ones who are well over due for receiving a release date.
Look Who Made It: Wes Stevens
a private citizen interested in lifer success stories
After 25 years, Wes walked out the gates on April 4, 2006. Within the first three weeks he had three job offers and accepted a position as a welder. He has been working at that same job since then.
Wes met his life partner the following October. He says they were a perfect fit from day one. On Valentine’s Day 2008, they signed their domestic partner papers and were married on June 18 of that year. They live in a small town not far from Folsom.
Wes says that one of the things that stood out about being on parole happened about three years ago. He was supposed to attend a parolee outpatient clinic as a condition of parole but his parole officer told him not to worry about it. One day he got a call from a new parole officer who told him that he had violated the terms of his parole and he heeded to turn himself in. They took a look at his file and discovered that he hadn’t refused to go, that he was told not to worry about it. Wes spent about a week in county jail waiting for them to get things straight, then walked out for the last time.
What was the most difficult thing about getting out?
The world was very different. I discovered that you can’t just step right back into society. It takes time. It took me about two years to feel really comfortable out here.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time with my two daughters, aged 24 and 14. I go to as many of my 14 year old’s softball, basketball and volleyball games as possible. I also attend her back to school nights. My partner and I enjoy taking day trips on our motorcycles. We enjoy going on toy runs too.
Does any particular ride stick out in your mind?
Once when we were on a motorcycle run, we rode past a prison. I remember going through a whole range of emotions in the span of a few minutes. There we were, 14 or so bikers riding past the prison and I had tears rolling down my face.
Are there any goals you have that you are looking forward to accomplishing?
Once I am off parole and I can leave California, I would like to visit Hawaii. I would also like to go back to Indiana to say goodbye to family that passed away while I was inside. I was able to accomplish one of those goals recently. My mother passed away while I was in and her ashes had been scattered off Monterey. My partner and I took a trip to Monterey to say goodbye.
Wes has 12 more visits to his parole officer and then he will truly be a free man.
FOCUS ON: Carl McQuillion
Many of you will remember Carl McQuillion from his San Quentin days. Most people remember him best when he was involved in so many self-help programs, helping others, and in his cell, typing away on his typewriter doing “legal work.”
Or, in the early 1990’s, how he would spend many hours creating his amazing oil paintings. When Carl focuses on something, he really focuses. He worked hard and got himself out. Six years later, he is still just as focused.
Carl didn’t turn his back and walk away; he walked out the gates on September 11, 2003 and by October 7, 2003, he had turned right back around to reach out a hand to his fellow lifers. These days he is spending 12 to 16 hours a day working to help other lifers follow in his footsteps, and those amazing oil paintings have places of honor on the walls of his home.
Joy: There was a short time when you had stopped taking new cases. What was going on in your life then?
Carl: In 2007 I was asked to join some friends with a couple of business ventures. One was an investment company, the other was a high end men’s grooming salon with pretty young cosmetologists. In 2008 I decided that I needed to stop taking new cases so that I would have enough time to devote to my current clients and these new ventures. The investment business didn’t work out and the salon isn’t as popular as we anticipated. The economy is the prime cause of their lack of success.
But my goal with them was not to desert ship but to achieve financial independence so I wouldn’t need lifer money to help them. I again have all of my time to devote to getting lifers out of prison through the courts but not the financial independence that would have enabled me to help some of those old ISL lifers who no longer have family resources to fight for their freedom.
Joy: So Carl, when you’re not slaving away in front of your computer, what do you and your wife do with your time?
Carl: Sometimes when I’m not working, my wife and I take brief trips together. Sometimes we end up in the mountains and watch spring arrive. We took a trip to Ione not long ago. The drive is really beautiful from Sacramento over to lone and Jackson. I still think about what the guys are missing when I’m making the drive, and hope they’ll be able to take these drives, too, someday.
Joy: I’m sure your goals and your dreams have changed a lot since you got out, what goals do you have in mind now?
Carl: At 60, I suppose my own future objectives are limited, but I’d always hoped to be able to purchase a plot of countryside and build a house in an area surrounded by trees and little animals fearlessly traversing my lawn. But my original goal to force the parole board to comply with the law hasn’t changed at all. I would just like to be more rounded in my personal life too. Too much work makes it difficult sometimes to enjoy the freedom I fought so hard to achieve.
Joy: Is there any recent experiences you might like to share with us?
Carl: Well, my wife and I drove down to Los Angeles and attended a lifers’ gathering where I got to see a lot of old friends enjoying their freedom. It was held at Don Miller’s home, attended by several media persons and lawyers. It warmed my heart to see these guys, but at the same time reinforced my determination to increase those numbers.
Joy: Thanks for your time. I really appreciate that you could take the time out to talk with us about life after the walls.
Joy Richardson is a private citizen interested in lifer success stories.