Over a hundred San Quentin residents attended a four-day “Connecting the Dots” workshop to gain knowledge about causative factors of crime, the act of making amends, and the process of parole hearings.
Life Support Alliance founders Vanessa and Dave Sloan and LSA representative Jeff Dupree presented information for residents with life sentences.
“These workshops showed me how important it is to ask for help in preparing for the board,” resident Donald Lewis said.
The Sloans opened with casual banter and light-hearted chat, but soon turned the conversation to serious matters.
Vanessa Sloan established her expertise with her backstory, which included learning about law to help her husband, who once served a life sentence.
She told the audience that she could not help just one person without helping others in the same predicament. Her contribution to criminal justice spanned over a quarter of a century and included attending many parole hearings.
Vanessa Sloan opened the workshop by asking for a show of hands of everyone who had gone before the Board of Parole. More than half the audience raised hands. “The essence of a parole hearing is to explain who were you when you committed your crime and who are you now,” she said. “Primary risk factor is what caused you to do what you did and what character defects twisted your thinking. All stuff you can change and fix.”
She reassured the audience by saying the Board process has improved and that parole grant rates in early 2024 have increased.
Resident Louis Light said the event reminded him of the visits by Jennifer Shaffer. “LSA seemed more of a down-to-earth and easy conversation,” Light said. “The greatest tidbit they offered was not overthink things, speak from the heart, keep it simple.”
LSA’s first program discussed self-examination to find understanding of the root causes of old feelings, beliefs, and the contributing aspects to a person’s anti-social belief system.
Vanessa Sloan said the “five dots to connect” start with identifying an adverse childhood event, the feeling or belief the event caused, and then the pattern of behavior that resulted from the event. She said the next steps must connect that behavior to the criminal action, and lastly, must explain what the person has put in place to ensure those habitual actions would not recur.
“For me, the ‘Connecting the Dots’ workshop helped provide insight and understanding,” resident Phillip Hernandez said. “Through the process I could see how I went from a little kid to a person who committed a crime to who I am today.”
Dave Sloan had served 23 years of his life sentence. He said understanding his causative factors required honesty, a chronicling of adverse childhood events, and an examination of how he felt and dealt with each situation.
“Step outside yourself,” Dave Sloan said. “Look at the crime from a different perspective and find an individual to work with on explaining and understanding insight to the crime.”
Day 3 of the workshop covered accountability and accepting responsibility, showing remorse, and making amends.
The Amends Project offered by LSA explained the elements of amends. It described an apology as only one aspect of true amends.” Vanessa Sloan said, “Amends is the process of changing to correct a fault or error.”
According to LSA, the elements of an apology included acknowledgement and acceptance of responsibility for a crime. It also required remorse or shame, a deep regret for the wrong, and vulnerability. Vanessa Sloan said saying sorry made a person vulnerable and returned control to victims and could bring them healing.
Resident Donald Lewis said the Amends Project provided insight and opened his mind to victimization. “The other aspects of amends covered by LSA were restitution, atonement, and changed behavior,” Lewis said. “The packet includes information on the six major areas of crime on victims, an amends letter format, language, and worksheet.”
On the last day of the workshop, LSA described all aspects of a parole hearing. She explained the roles of the persons in the process and the reason for the panels’ questions. She also explained the wait period from suitability to release.
“Reading transcripts helps to understand the process,” Vanessa Sloan said. “Be honest, they want you to put it out there, not pull it out of you.”
LSA detailed the basic outline of a hearing as understanding of comprehensive risk assessments, the decision-making framework for Parole Hearings, and the post-decision process.
“There are five areas of the board’s discussion which the questions asked by the board commissioners,” which Dave Sloan explained as insight, understanding, remorse, change, and parole plans and support.
“The greatest insight for me was knowledge on how to address commissioners and what they will ask about victims. How to be honest and take responsibility,” resident Michael Beaudette said.
“It is difficult to face the person who created the violence that hurt their family member,” Dave Sloan said. The “system does more to help keep them in their hurt and there are not enough healing opportunities for the victims.”
In addition to the courses presented at the workshop, LSA said it offered correspondence courses called Denial Management, a Mental Health Project, and the Power Struggle.
Incarcerated persons or their families can request the correspondence or other self-directed informational pamphlets at www.lifesupportalliance.org. The costs for workbooks and pamphlets cover the expenses to produce, send, and review course materials.
