One secret to winning parole is to work hard with rehabilitation programs, says James Houston.
In a rare case, he was found suitable for parole at his first board hearing after serving 17 years of an 18 years-to-life term for second-degree murder.
“I was arrested trying to prevent a woman from being robbed at gunpoint by an assailant,” said Houston. “I took the gun from the assailant and shot him.”
After being determined suitable for parole, Houston walked out the gates of San Quentin State Prison a free man on May 29.
Houston, the oldest of three children, was born in Illinois and relocated to Richmond, Calif. He says he was raised in an unstable home where he witnessed his father physically and emotionally abuse his mother.
Growing up he admits to having anger issues and experimented with alcohol to fill the void of a father figure that was missing at home. Houston eventually became a troubled teen and turned to the streets to fill that void. “I sold drugs because I wanted some power and control over my life,” said Houston.
He left a 10-month-old son behind when he entered prison. Reflecting back, he says he’s saddened by not being able to raise his son and fears he is continuing a cycle of fatherless sons. Houston says, “I feel guilt and shame at the thought of my son being raised without a positive male role model.”
After a difficult three years without any contact with his son, his family brought his son to visit him in prison. According to Houston, during the visit he witnessed his son crying. He vowed to do whatever it takes to get back home and reconnect with his son, James Houston Jr.
“I realized his life was a reflection of my life. I understand, now, how important it is for Junior to have me in his life,” said Houston.
“James is a person who is God-fearing, humble, family-orientated, and gives good advice. The only problem is that he’s a Forty-niner fan, and not a Dallas Cowboys fan!” said Troy Phillips, his cellmate for nearly two years.
While incarcerated, Houston developed many life skills. He achieved his AA degree with Patten University, and became a certified Crisis and Substance Abuse Counselor. As a counselor, he often dedicated his time walking the yard counseling others through their problems.
“His presence and leadership in San Quentin will be missed. He has helped me get through hard times and I can’t thank him enough for that,” said inmate and friend who didn’t want his name printed.
Correctional Officer S. Beasley said, “I met him and worked with him in the education building back in 2003. He never seemed to have had a bad day. I admire his patience, humility, and it kept me grounded with his strong opinion and understanding.” she added, “Go Houston!”
For the past nine years, Houston has been involved with SQUIRES, a program that shows at-risk youths the reality of incarceration if they continue their destructive path. “He had a knack of disseminating information to kids in a way that they can understand. He always grasps their attention,” said a fellow member of SQUIRES, Gary Scott.
He also facilitates programs like Victims Offender Education Group (VOEG) a program that helps educate offenders about the impact of their crime, thereby bringing healing to offenders and victims. Houston’s co-facilitator, Nghiep “Ke” Lam, observed his ability to connect with others saying, “He’s so compassionate, genuine, and gifted at what he does that I’ve witnessed a guy that has never opened up to anyone before open up and display his vulnerability.”
Upon his release, he plans to open an after-school program called the Teen Tech Hub, which is supported by venture capitalist and Richmond native Erik Moore. “The Hub is a mentorship program, which teaches life skills to at-risk youth in Richmond,” said Houston.
His advice to other lifers who are struggling towards freedom, “Find your purpose, because no matter where you’re at, we all have one.”
Curbing Aggression Through Boxing and Finding Inner Peace
Boxing training is helping a former gang member in San Quentin release anger, curb aggression and find inner peace.
“Through boxing I can let go of negative thoughts and negative energy,” said Perry “Spike” Simpson, 46. “I am no longer angry and insecure. I am able to think and see clearly without acting out in an aggressive way.”
He trains by jumping rope and pounding a punching bag in the prison’s Lower Yard.
Simpson said growing up in a gang-infested neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles was where he developed his aggressive behavior. “Where I came from, you either go to school, be a square and get bullied, or become a gang member. I chose gangs,” he said.
In a household with an absent father, Simpson said he ran the streets and joined the gang at the age of 11 to fill the void of emptiness. He admitted his criminal lifestyle resulted in constant run-ins with the law. At 13, Simpson was arrested for burglary and is currently serving a life sentence under the Three Strikes Law.
Raised without a father, his grandmother, mother, and older sisters played a big role in his upbringing. “I had to be the man of the house,” said Simpson. He added, “These women in my life was everything to me and they was my biggest supporters.”
Unfortunately, deaths in his family contributed to his deviant behaviors. In 1986, his grandmother passed away from natural cause; in 1987, his older sister was kidnapped, raped and murdered; and in 1988, while waiting for his mother’s visitation in prison, Simpson received notice that she had passed away from consuming the wrong medication. “Their deaths made me anti-social,” said Simpson.
A childhood friend and mentor, “LaLa,” said that before boxing, “Simpson was impressionable, mentally corrupted, based on the influence and image of others. With a better understanding of boxing, he has discovered his own potential and is ready to make a contribution to society under the influence of his true self.”
“I am no longer angry and insecure. I am able to think and see clearly without acting out in an aggressive way”
“I want to thank my mentors and training partners: Emo-Tip, Duck, Mujah, the General, LaLa, and Clay for showing me that boxing is also a mental sport that brings calmness,” said Simpson He adds, “I’ve found the fountain of youth and I plan to continue this (boxing) for the rest of my days…until my body can’t take it no more.”
With the practice of boxing Simpson hopes to make amend to his daughters RoRo, 21, and Ryan, 15, and sister, Fila, for also being an inspiration, which helped him continue to keep on his path towards redemption, said Simpson.
Report: Solitary Confinement Unproductive on Juveniles
Detaining juveniles in solitary confinement for long periods is ineffective, costly, and causes mental and physical anguish, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.
In 2011, there were an estimated 95,000 juveniles incarcerated in prisons and a jail across the United States according to the report, Growing Up Locked Down: Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States.
Researchers interviewed more than 125 juveniles across 19 states. They found some juveniles spend “22 or more hours each day alone, usually in a small cell behind a solid steel door, completely isolated both physically and socially, often for days, weeks, or even months on end,” as punishment for misconduct, protection or medical issues.
“Being in isolation to me felt like I was on an island all alone, dying a slow death from the inside out,” wrote a juvenile offender to a human rights organization.
The report said solitary confinement was extremely harmful on youngsters because it removed family contacts and prevented them from taking part in educational and rehabilitative programs.
“Solitary confinement of youth is itself a serious human rights violation and can constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights law,” according to the report.
The report makes the following recommendations to state and federal governments:
• Prohibit the solitary confi nement of youth under age 18.
• Prohibit the housing of adolescents with adults, or in jails and prisons designed to house adults.
• Strictly limit and regulate all forms of segregation and isolation of young people.
• Monitor and report on the segregation and isolation of adolescents.
• Ratify human rights treaties protecting young people without reservations.
The report was followed by legislative action in California, where on Jan. 8 Sen. Leland Yee (D) introduced SB 61 to strictly regulate solitary confi nement of juveniles
Fewer Kids Are Being Exposed to Violence
Violence against children declined by about six million cases between 1993 to 2010, a recent report concludes.
The National Crime Victimization Survey showed violence against children declined from 12.6 to 3.9 percent.
The decline in violence against children will likely have a broad impact. Children exposed to violence are more likely to exhibit violent behavior as adults. According to the World Report on Violence and Health, “witnessing violence in the home or being physically or sexually abused may condition children or adolescents to regard violence as an acceptable means of resolving problems.”
The report examined violent acts such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.
Even with the decline, approximately 2.8 million children experienced at least one violent or non-fatal violent act in 2010, the fi gures show.
“The decline in the number of children living in a household in which at least one member experienced violent crime corresponds with the decline in overall violent victimization during the same period,” the report said.
Here are some of the report’s fi ndings:
• For children ages 0-11, violence declined from 7.8 percent in 1993 to 2.9 in 2010.
• For ages 12-17, the decline was 16.3 percent to 4.1 for the same period.
• Households with both age groups declined 5.1 percent in 1993 to 1.8 in 2010.
• 6.5 percent of households consisting of one adult with one child reported acts of violence.
• 6.3 percent of single-parent households reported acts of violence against children.
• 4 in 10 households with children experienced at least one violent act inside the home in 2010.
• Households earning less than $15,000 reported higher levels of violence at 7 percen
Three Men Challenge All Interested Hoopsters
A new trio of basketball players has emerged at San Quentin, and is looking for challengers. Comparing themselves to the Miami Heat, lifer inmate Aladdin Pangilinan said, “we are the Asian Heat. I’m LeBron James, my teammate ‘Blue’ is Vong Vue and ‘T-Bone’ is Tom Saevang.”
“Win or lose, we play with passion,” he added.
The Asian Heat is not a league team; they are friends who get together to occupy their time in a productive manner.
“The purpose of the three man team is to have fun and release stress. Prison politics has a way of grabbing people in a negative way, so basketball is an outlet for many of us that don’t want to get caught up in the drama,” said Blue.
The Asian Heat’s average height is 5-foot-6 ½ and they practice every morning in order to stay competitive.
“Win or lose, we play with passion”
“We will play anyone on the yard; there is no one we will not take on,” says T-Bone.
These inmates utilize basketball to strengthen their friendships and bring their Asian community together, one of the team members said.
Prisoners Allege Private Prison Gave Control to Gangs
Eight Idaho inmates have fi led a federal lawsuit, claiming the private prison company Corrections Corporation of America has virtually turned over control of an Idaho prison to gangs.
The suit fi led in November in U.S. District Court cites investigative reports from the Idaho Department of Corrections that suggest gangs took over control of the Idaho Correctional Center from staff members after prison officials began housing members of the same gangs together in some units to reduce violent clashes.
State officials said one result was prison staff had to negotiate the placement of new inmates with gang leaders, according to the department reports. Another claim was that prison guards were afraid to enforce certain rules, such as a ban on covering the small window in cells.
The security footage showed six members of one gang attacking seven members of a rival gang. The attackers hid in a janitor’s closet, then struck as their rivals approached.
Some guards used pepper spray and ordered prisoners to the ground, while other guards tried to separate a prisoner from being repeatedly stabbed by another prisoner.
Prison Unit manager Norma Rodriguez told investigators that gang members control authority over prison cell blocks and dictate who comes and goes.
Rodriguez mentions sex offenders cannot be housed in gang units because of a risk of attack by gang members. Prisoners not affiliated with a gang cannot be housed there because they would be victimized or forced to join a gang.
“The complaint alleges that CCA fosters and develops criminal gangs,” said Wyatt Johnson, one of the attorneys representing the inmates. “Ideally, the lawsuit should force this to come to an end.”
Cultivating Calm
Hundreds of San Quentin prisoners have learned new ways of controlling their mind and body, thanks to Yoga class taught for the past 11 years by James Fox.
They benefited from the Yoga practice, said Fox. Yoga is the “union of the mental emotional and physical aspects of yourself,” explained Fox, a certified instructor with 25 years Yoga experience.
He recently began a yoga class for veterans in the ARC Module on Thursday mornings. He has also facilitated VOEG classes and anger management classes.
Fox said that Yoga adds a dimension to those groups. “Psychological and emotional work is a lifelong process that helps you heal the past so you can live in the present. But healing also needs to be integrated in the body.”
He refers to studies on post traumatic stress examining how returning veterans and others people deal with trauma in their lives. “The body keeps score. If we experience trauma and do not discharge the trauma, it has a way of settling into a hidden place in our hearts and bodies. The trauma creates disharmony in our mind/heart/body systems. These systems cannot be separated,” he explains. Through Yoga, our bodies can release trauma, said Fox.
Fox and Jacques Verduin, director of the Insight Out Project, plus Kathy Harris, facilitator of The Work, led an All-Day Yoga and Meditation retreat in the San Quentin Gym on Dec. 8.
Fox pointed out that the benefits of Yoga included calmness in our minds, flexibility in our bodies and developing a capacity to “interrupt reactive behaviors. Yoga helps time slow down and teaches self-awareness of what happens in each moment so you have a choice,” said Fox.
Stephen Yair Liebb, a participant in the Yoga/Meditation Retreat and a student in Fox’s weekly yoga class, stated, “Yoga is hope. Yoga enables me to see beyond limitations to what is possible in myself and in others. Movements that once seemed impossible are achievable after patient practice. I can face the impossible calmly, breath by breath through Yoga.”
A member of the Thursday morning Yoga Class, Arnulfo T. Garcia said, “When I first started yoga, I thought it was fake, until I was going through the process. I realized eight months later the benefits it brought to my health and focus.”
Fox is the author of “Yoga: A Path for Healing and Recovery,” published by the Prison Yoga Project. He is instrumental in bringing Yoga programs to prisons in the United States and other countries.
—Stephen Yair Liebb contributed to this article.