Opposition has surfaced to transferring most of the prisoners in a popular program at California State Prison at Lancaster.
More than three-quarters of the men who partake in the Honor Program/Progressing Programming Facility at Lancaster are being shipped away to other less well-functioning prisons, according to the report.
The program was created in 2000 by prisoners and non-custody staff with the desire to lower violence, crime, racism, and drug use, according to a report issued in 2007.
Hundreds of friends and family members of the men have launched a campaign to save the program in the only state prison in LA County. A petition opposing the transfers has been sent to Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators, policymakers and top prison administrator Matthew Cate, the report says.
Friends and families are reported as saying these transfers are imposing needless hardships. Furthermore, critics say they waste money. Transfers jeopardize the stability of a program that should be the template for future corrections in California, critics say. The transfers will result in the collapse of the only fully functioning maximum security prison in a dysfunctional prison system, the report said.
To view the documents visit www.prisonhonorprogram.org. Interested persons can send emails to prisonerprogram@hotmail.com.
