San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

CDCR Struggles to Stop The Flow of Contraband

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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) continues to struggle in its effort to stop the introduction of contraband inside its 35 prisons.

In a recently released Notice of Change to Regulations (NCR 20-01), the Department’s Regulation and Policy Management Branch stated, “Current strategies have been effective overall,” but CDCR still expects that it will expand its search methods.

“ION scanners and low-dose, full-body x-ray scanners as supplemental inmate search options will increase the Department’s ability to discover illegal drugs and contraband that are being introduced into and throughout the institutions,” the NCR’s Initial Statement of Reasons stated.

The CDCR is proposing to amend the California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Section 3287, which governs inspection of property and inmate body searches. It will include ION scanners as search options, according to the NCR.

The NCR stated that the existence and use of contraband inside the state prison system causes death, damages rehabilitation efforts, and facilitates criminal activity within the institutions and the community.

“Without the use of the many layers of interdiction devices and strategies available, inmates will continue to die from drug overdoses,” the NCR said, adding, “Staff and visitors will continue to be compromised by being pressured by inmates to smuggle illegal drugs and contraband into the institutions.”

To underscore its point about contraband, deaths and prosecutions for these crimes, the CDCR released some of its most recent numbers on its findings below:

Type of Contraband Discovered                 2017                            2018

Cellular Telephones                                       13,195 phones             11,715 Phs

Heroin                                                             28.83 pounds              30. 8 pounds

Marijuana                                                       91.77 pounds              131.9 pounds

Methamphetamines                                      43.55 pounds              44.22 pounds

Tobacco                                                          635.8 pounds              527.9 pounds

Data obtained from CDCR’s Office of Research.

Year    Overdoses Resulting In Death

2016    28

2017    39

2018    61

Total   128

Data obtained from California Correctional Health Care Services, Medical Services Division.

Number of People  Prosecuted for Attempting to Introduce Drugs, Alcohol, or Contraband

Fiscal Year     Staff    Visitors           Non-Visitors  Totals

2014-15           6          211                  51                    268

2015-16           7          224                  51                    282

2016-17           9          221                  32                    262

2017-18           4          269                  57                    330

Totals             26        925                  191                  1142

Data obtained from CDCR’s Office of Research.

The importing, trafficking and use of illegal drugs and contraband pose many problems in an institution setting, including an increase in inmate violence, power struggles within the inmate population, the establishment of an underground economy, staff corruption, and inmate death due to overdose.

What role does society play in the development of felons?

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Entrance to Pasrchman State Penitentiary in Mississippi

Be it California or Mississippi, when news of suicides, murders or riots reaches any prison population the feeling is always the same: “damn”—if it’s spoken or not. Especially if you’ve been through it or witnessed these things.

Society might think “there goes those violent monsters acting up again.” What is rarely discussed is that we are a product of the society. Most of us incarcerated and are Americans, and America is filled with double standards (we’ll get to that later) and most of the time breeds intolerance.

Black people and others are still suffering under racism, and we don’t have to go back to slavery to see this. Black people can’t BBQ, sell water or lose cigarettes without the police being called. A Black man was even arrested for eating a sandwich at a San Francisco BART transit station platform. We can’t even sit in our own homes without being shot and killed.

Have we ever talked about collective trauma? It’s not just individuals who suffer. It’s whole communities. Our immigrant community is being detained, and kids are/have been separated from their parents—OK, more trauma. Our President even ordered the assassination of a Iranian general using violence in the name of stopping violence.

Have we been raised to be intolerant against any and everyone who is not like us (on both sides)? Has violence been shown as a way to solve our problems? Is this learned behavior?

We witnessed our President say that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight and not get charged. Damn! That’s a criminal threat, or what we incarcerated call a “terrorist threat,” and people in here are doing three to five years, if not a life sentence, for a statement such as that.

During President Trump’s House impeachment trial started by the Democrats—more separation—Trump was alleged to have attempted to strong arm, bribe or leverage—or whatever a good word choice would be (quid pro quo)—to get the Ukrainian president to investigate his rival, excuse me, his possible political opponent, for his own advantage.

Once again, there are hundreds of thousands of people serving long sentences for attempting to do a crime. But what really was most interesting to those incarcerated was how the Republicans, Trump’s “homies” (supporters), kept touting that all the evidence against him was just hearsay. Wait, wait, wait—how many people are sitting in U.S. prisons and jails convicted on hearsay evidence? And I haven’t yet mentioned the venomous call to reveal the name of the whistleblower. Trump’s supporters came just short of calling the confidential informant a “snitch.”

When the smoke cleared Trump was impeached in the House (by his rivals) on “Abuse of Power” and “Obstruction of Justice.”

But, he was acquitted by the majority Republican Senate. Imagine that! a jury of one’s peers. I think most people incarcerated would have loved to have their friends, supporters or homies on their juries. It wouldn’t be hard to guess the outcome.

Now let’s talk about prison violence and reform. When people are sentenced to 800 plus years, what is expected? They have officially written their lives off and wonder what they have to live for or if they will ever see the streets again. Add to that, they are incarcerated in harsh and questionable conditions.

Facebook and CDCR join to stop criminal activity

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CA-DOCR Badge Patch

Facebook has policies in place to thwart inmates who use their system to harass, threaten or make unwanted sexual advances.

“Access to social media allows inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and continue to engage in criminal activity,” said former Secretary of Corrections Matthew Cate. “This new cooperation between law enforcement and Facebook will help protect the community and potentially avoid future victims.”

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), said that previously it was made aware that a convicted child molester had sent mail to his 17-year-old victim. This mail included current sketches of the girl although the offender had been in prison for seven years, according to an article by CNET News.

“Details of the victim, such as how she wore her hair and the brand of clothes she wore were accurate,” said CDCR.

CDCR’s investigation found that the inmate had a cell phone that he had used view the girl on Myspace and Facebook web pages. The offender then used this access to draw his pictures

As a result of this crime, Facebook’s security team is working with CDCR to prevent inmates from using their “user accounts” to threaten or harrass.

An inmate can have or

possess an account that was created prior to their incarceration. However, Facebook user policy prohibits users from sharing their password so that others can create posts on that account.

“If a state has decided that prisoners have forfeited their right to use the Internet, the most effective way to prevent access is to ensure prisons have the resources to keep smart phones and other devices out,” said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes. “We will disable accounts reported to us that are violating relevant U.S. laws or regulations or inmate accounts that are updated by someone on the outside. We will also take appropriate actions against anyone who misuses Facebook to threaten or harass.”

California has made major changes to comply with court orders

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Flag of California
Flag of California

California has made major changes to comply with court orders to reduce overcrowd- ing and improve medical care in the 35 state prisons, an update report says.

Changes in rules and regulations have resulted in the state’s prison population measured at 134.8% of design capacity as of Nov. 13, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported.

This is the 68th report since a judge ordered the prison reduction to 137.5% of design capacity.

CDCR reported it has been in full compliance with the reduction order for four years, according to the report issued Dec. 16.

Changes include:

1. In the wake of Proposition 57, passed by voters in November 2016, expanded credit earning opportunities were adopted for incarcerated persons.

2. Credit earning opportunities were expanded for prisoners who achieve a high school diploma or its equivalent and /or who complete 52 hours of programming under the Rehabilitative Achievement Credit program. It went into effect on Jan. 9.

3. The office of Administrative Law approved emergency regulations for the non-violent offender parole process to distinguish between determinately sentenced offenders and implement a parole consideration process for indeterminately sentenced, non-violent of- fenders. It became policy on Jan. 1, 2019.

4. A court decision on July 9, changed CDCR policy so that the previously mandated public safety screening pro- cess to be eligible, no longer applies. All are eligible both determinately and indeterminately sentenced. Both groups will be referred to the Board of Parole Hearings for considerations, regardless of their in-prison behavior.

5. CDCR continues to implement other measures to maintain compliance, contracting for additional in-state capacity in county jails, community correctional facilities, private prisons and eliminate of out-of-state beds.

6. A parole process was adopted for medically incapacitated persons, and an elderly parole program for prisoners age 60 or older, who have served at least 25 years of incarceration.

7. Contracts are in place with the counties of San Di- ego, Los Angeles, Butte and Kern to place eligible incarcerated persons in re-entry programs.

8. California has expanded alternative custody programs for females that provide prisoners with a wide range of rehabilitative services to assist with alcohol and drug recovery, employment and social support, education and family re-unification.

Custody to Community Transitional Reentry Pro- grams (CCTRP) are housed at facilities located in San Diego, Santa Fe Springs, Bakersfield, Stockton and Sacramento, noted the report.

As of Nov. 13, 340 female prisoners are participating in the CCTRP programs. The 2019-2020 budget allocates $7.5 million for reentry facilities and will fund two new facilities in Los Angeles for 60 females prisoners.

Gavin Newsom will introduce a broader criminal justice reform

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California’s Governor Gavin Newson
California’s Governor Gavin Newson

Gov. Gavin Newsom will introduce a broader criminal justice reform package as part of his 2020 prison budget plan.

His plans include step down facilities that focus on rehabilitation and reentry options for people being released from custody. He ultimately wants to shut down one of the state’s 35 prisons, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee.

Governor Newsom’s plans are to give the state more power to oversee local sheriffs and lock up facilities. This is possibly due to California’s surge in homicides in some of its largest jails. He has sighted that inmates are held in inhumane suicide watch conditions monitored by lo- cal sheriffs, who rebuff state inspectors, according to the article.

“I’m generally not satisfied with oversight, period. Across the board,” Newsom said on the state’s supervision of the 70,000 inmates housed in county jails. “There’s not a lot of accountability and over- sight in terms of these issues and county jails.”

Governor Newsom’s ad- ministration is studying what changes could be made, but offered no specifics as to what changes will be made as of yet. Governor Newsom’s spokes- person said the governor will announce what changes will be made in January when he reveals his state budget.

There was a yearlong investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica, which exposed that county jails have struggled with the influx of inmates serving longer sentences after the 2011 series of reforms that included a measure that shifted inmates from the state prison system to serving their sentences in local county jails. This was due to the state declaring that California prisons are unconstitutionally over-crowded, according to the article.

“I’m generally not satisfied with oversight, period. Across the board,”

California lawmakers created the California Board of State and Community Corrections to oversee the burden of realignment. Their role was to increase funding for facility construction. The news agencies found the committee “toothless,” according to the article. Some of the reasoning was that the committee did not monitor jail deaths.

“State corrections officials do not have the authority to make county leaders change, and they generally see them- selves as partners, not regulators,” said Allison Ganter, deputy director overseeing the inspection team,

When the homicide rate soared in these facilities, the committee could not force counties to construct new or safer facilities. This was even after billions of dollars had been awarded in state financing to replace decrepit facilities.

Fresno County jail has experienced 47 deaths since the realignment program was instituted. This is twice the number of people who had died in the several years prior to realignment.

A bill has been introduced by Assembly member Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento. This bill would allow counties to create oversight groups with the power to subpoena county sheriffs but was shelved after opposition from local law enforcement. McCarty has vowed to re-submit another version of the bill next year.

The state corrections board cited Kern County’s jail due to suicidal inmates being locked in closet-sized rooms with nothing but a grate in the floor. These inmates were given a rip resistant yoga mat to sleep on. After incidents the jail switched to giving the suicide watch inmates blankets, according to the Sacramento Bee article.

McCarty said this is yet another example of mental health abuses, negligence and lack of proper oversight by a county sheriff’s department.

“This type of lax oversight results in lawsuits and settlements where taxpayers continue to foot the bill and pay for the misconduct of our sheriff’s departments across California.”

Oversight report assessed CDCR’s prison reform

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The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) produced its 10th independent oversight report after it evaluated prison reforms proposed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). State law mandates that the OIG periodically assess the state’s prison reforms.

The inspector general’s 55- page Blueprint Monitoring, Tenth Report, scrutinizes re- forms identified by the CDCR in its report titled “The Future of California Corrections.” Some of its many goals are to improve the state’s prison system, save taxpayers billions of dollars and end oversight by the federal court.

“The OIG sent staff to each of the department’s 35 adult institutions,” IG report said. “During which time they reviewed and reconciled departmental documents, inter- viewed staff, and observed departmental programs in operation.”

Matched with its July 2018 report, “the OIG’s review of rehabilitative programming found 92% of the academic education and 82% of the career technical education programs operating during our on-site visits,” IG reported. “This was a 2% point in- crease in academic education courses that were in operation.”

It was reported that there was no change in career technical education programs in operation.

In addition, the report noted, “The department is slowly transitioning its lower- level housing facilities (I and II) into Non-Designated Programming Facilities (NDPF), as inmates in these facilities are deemed “programming” inmates,” the IG reported. “The focus of the NDPF is to offer an environment that provides greater rehabilitative opportunities for in- mates demonstrating positive programming efforts.” The NDPF’s do not identify prisoners in them as being on a sensitive needs yard or general population yard.

The CDCR continues to develop its plan to create two options for housing its prison- ers as either “programming and non-programming sensitive needs yards (SNYs),” it was reported. It also continues to focus on the expansion of its NDPFs which are now at 33 of the 35 adult prisons.

The OIG noted that the CDCR continues to make changes to its population in sensitive needs yards (SNYs). It noted that SNYs are the fastest growing population in the prison system, with roughly 41,000 prisoners.

“These facilities (NDPFs) are designed to provide rehabilitative environments for offenders who have demonstrated positive programming efforts and a desire to refrain from violent behaviors,” the OIG reported.

Also, in fiscal year 2018-19, there was a “slight decrease” throughout the CDCR rehabilitative programming model in areas allocated for substance use disorder treatment. During this same period, however, there was an increase in the spaces for pre- employment transitions and cognitive-behavioral treatment.

In its summary, the OIG said the CDCR did not meet its goal of having 70% of prisoners in its population receive rehabilitative programming “consistent with their criminogenic needs prior to their release.”

“The department demonstrated that only 52% of of- fenders in its target population met this objective during fiscal year 2015–16, the last fiscal year the department tracked this benchmark,” the report said.

The inspector general concluded in its field work that 526 of the 572 academic positions in the CDCR were completely operational. That’s a 92% rate of compliance which reflected 2% growth in academic programs, which included 35 added positions since the 2018 review of the Blueprint.

“Our review identified that the California Institution for Men had the highest number of vacant academic education positions…”, the OIG reported.

“Our review of vacancy rates for academic education positions shows 23 of 35 prisons (66%) had a vacancy rate at 10% or below,” the OIG re- ported. “Three prisons, California Institution for Men, High Desert State Prison, and California State Prison, Solano, had vacancy rates be- tween 21 to 30%.”

In its career technical edu- cation, the CDCR recognized 304 career technical educa- tion positions that it budgeted for fiscal year 2018–19.

“Upon completion of field- work, the report “found 249 of the 304 positions were filled and fully operational,” An 82% rate of compliance. “Our review identified that California State Prison, Corcoran, had the highest percentage of career technical education programs not operational.”

“The review of vacancy rates statewide for career technical education showed that 22 of 35 prisons (63%) had a vacancy rate over 10%,” the OIG reported. “Two prisons had a vacancy rate exceeding 40%, California State Prison, Corcoran, and Valley State Prison.”

The OIG report said the CDCR describes pre-employment programs as a means to provide prisoners with employment skills to prepare them for successful reentry and transition back to society. Its staff reviewed the CDCR records and conducted visits to facilities to evaluate the status of pre-employment programs.

“The OIG found that 1,479 of the planned 2,536 daily slots were fully operational,” the report said, adding that it was a 58% rate of compliance. This was an increase of 8% in compliance since its 2018 Blueprint report.

The Blueprint also re- ported “4,669 of the planned 5,376 daily slots fully operational.” This was an 87% rate of compliance which reflected a “4% increase in the ratio of occupied to available daily program slots since (its) 2018 report…”

The inspector general found the CDCR had expanded its long-term offender program (LTOP) to 30 of its 35 prisons. LTOP is voluntary and provides treatment to prisoners who’ve been sentenced to a life term in prison, with the possibility of parole. These prisoners must appear before the Board of Parole Hearings to be found suitable for release.

The OIG noted the CDCR was under a court order to reduce overcrowding by reducing its prison population to 137.5% of design capacity, and that the department had met the court-ordered bench-mark.

“The department’s up- date noted that the court reaffirmed that the department would remain under the jurisdiction of the court for as long as necessary to continue compliance with this benchmark,” the OIG reported.

The OIG also continues to monitor the CDCR’s implementation of Proposition 57, the class action lawsuit Ashker v. Brown, the Step Down Program, Security Threat Groups and other legal actions.

The inspector general report concluded, in part, that the CDCR “has shown recent improvements in meeting the Blueprint goals regarding filling academic education positions, resulting in a vacancy rate of 8%.” The report did say, however, that “standardized staffing for career technical education positions remains problematic, with a relatively high vacancy rate of 18%.”

The Office of the Inspector General recommended the CDCR take the following steps to meet its staffing level goals for rehabilitative programming:

• Promptly advertise and recruit for all statewide vacant academic and career technical education teacher positions

• Prioritize its recruitment and filling of both the longest running (over one year, over six months, etc.) and the highest number of teacher vacancies.

• Establish an experienced worker program to identify a pool of experienced former teachers, who would be willing to come back to work as retired annuitants.

• Require monthly updates from each supervisor of correctional education programs (principal) of courses that are not operational for which a teacher is assigned, but unable to provide instruction.

“As of May 8, 2019, departmental figures show an in-state prison population of 114,471 inmates housed in the state’s 34 adult institutions,16 with a design capacity of 85,083, equaling 134.5% of design capacity,” the OIG reported.

Court finds support for re-sentencing un-persuasive

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A sentencing court denied the head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s recommendation that it reduce Juan Felipe Melendez’ 16-year sentence due to good behavior.

“I felt terrible because my mom was there,” Melendez said. “The time has been harder on her than me. Every time I talk to her, she’s crying.”

California Penal Code 1170(d) 1 gives CDCR, District Attorneys, the Board of Parole Hearings and County Correctional Administrators the power to recommend that a court re-sentence an incarcerated person to lesser time for reasons like exceptionally good conduct, retroactive changes in sentencing laws and for unauthorized sentences. However, the court does not have to heed the recommendations and in many cases, have not.

CDCR numbers show that as of Feb. 26, 2019 about 52% of its recommendations received a lesser sentence. The department has only issued 34 letters of recommendation for exceptional conduct.

Melendez went before Santa Rita County Judge David A. Cena, with more than 50 letters of support. He says the first letter he received was from the head of CDCR, Secretary Ralph Diaz.

“I was thrilled,” Melendez said. “I was doing all these things because it was the right thing to do. I never expected to get any recognition from CDCR, but the fact that some- one was paying attention made a big impact on me.”

Other supporters, aside from family members, who sent in letters or came to testify on Melendez’s behalf included 26 formerly and currently incarcerated people.

“I can speak personally to the transformation that I saw firsthand and the impact that he had on me as a person,” testified Marlin Jeffreys, who served time at Solano with Melendez. “For two semesters, Juan Felipe continually took time out of his day to help me study and learn algebra.”

Besides tutoring, Melendez said he took every group available at Solano Correctional Facility, including Victim Awareness, Anger Management, Personal Transformation, Alterative to Violence, CDCR Psychology department Cognitive Behavior class, Prisoner’s Outreach Program (helping at risk youth), and Peer Health. Additionally, he said he’s a thesis away from getting a Master’s Degree in Humanities and another in Political Science from California State University at Dominguez.

With everything going for Melendez, he believed he was going home and gave away his TV, hotpot and radio. Plus his 74-year old mom, Maria Christina Navarrete, who is a history professor and author, flew in from Columbia for the hearing.

“She was really hoping and certain that with so much sup- port, he (the judge) was going to let me go,” Melendez said. “She came on the very last day because she wanted to be there when I got out.”

The judge who held Melendez 1170(d)1 hearing was the same judge that presided over the armed robbery charges from 2006. Also at the hear- ing was the man who Melendez robbed of an expensive watch with a .22 Cal gun. No one was physically hurt and the watch was never recovered.

Melendez, who then worked at Applied Materials where he was an employee of the month, was arrested for the crime three years later. Police found the .22 inside Melendez’s home with several parts missing from inside, which made it inoperable.

The sentencing court originally gave Melendez a total of 16 years, which included a 10 year enhancement for using a gun in a crime, for his first arrest and conviction.

More than 20 people showed up in court at the 1170(d)1 hearing to speak on behalf of the 42-year-old Melendez.

“We were just hoping he’d take one of the enhancements off,” Melendez said.

The victim spoke against Melendez’s early release.

“I was devastated,” Me- lendez said. “When I had to speak, I was kind of torn, but I said I would like to address the victim. It’s horrible that the burden that I imposed on him is still weighing down on him.”

The sentencing court denied Melendez’s re-sentencing request due to “The planning and sophistication in pretend- ing to buy a watch, then taking the watch.”

Golden opportunities arise from California’s recent changes in sentencing

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Craig “Qadree” Birch, 53, was serving a term of 40-years-to-life under California’s Three Strikes Law before his sentence was recalled by the sentencing court for his “exceptional conduct.” Under the newly passed Assembly Bill 2942, he was re-sentenced to 27 years and paroled from San Quentin in May.

Birch was arrested in September 1994 in Sacramento County and convicted in March 1995. He served 24 years and eight months for a first-degree burglary with enhancements for prior prison commitments.

“It’s a learning experience on how I was able to go into the court system with no thought of what I was facing.” He said he didn’t think he’d serve that much time under the Three Strikes Law, but admitted, he wasn’t fully aware of the law when it passed.

“At the time, even though they had the law, I didn’t care because I was going to continue on the path of committing crimes,” said Birch. He was 28 back then and was think- ing and acting as a person who was in favor of crime. He never considered the consequences. “I was in that mode (don’t care about self, law and order, rules and regulations) and I wanted to stay there.”

While serving time in another prison, he said it was an older inmate who convinced him to take a look at his life and asked him if he wanted to be a hardened criminal, or change the way he thinks, “into a positive, a constructive individual.”

“I was introduced to one of my first programs in Lancaster State Prison called Self-esteem,” said Birch. “It built up my confidence level because I had low self-esteem about myself. From that point, I went into the substance abuse program to learn about my past addictive behavior, to get knowledge about why I was committing crimes.”

Along the way, Birch said he took the course Office Ser- vices and Related Technology, and then a computer technical course at Lancaster. He said he kept going to prison libraries to read and research the law, and he became a practicing Muslim to follow the tenets of Islam.

“Those played a major role in my transformation,” said Birch, who wasn’t a follower of Islam before he came to prison. His Islamic name, Qadree, means “One who can achieve.”

Birch continued to focus on self-development. “At Folsom [State Prison], I continued on the path with motivational development, and Tai Chi. I took peer education, healthy living, and I started my first college course.” He said the prison had an Employment Development Department course that taught him how to write “winning resumes,” and how to communicate in interviews with potential employers.

“It continued on when I came to San Quentin,” said Birch. “I’ve participated in the ARC program, Making Good, Anger Management, CGA, and Restorative Justice.” He also took a class in investment planning.

“I stayed working in different assignments to keep me busy,” said Birch. At 3:00 a.m., he got up to work in the prison’s kitchen, but it was his education that consumed his time.

Through Lassen Community College, Birch completed Sociology I & II; Psychology I, II and IV; Philosophy/World Religion; Anthropology; Humanities I & II; Pharmacology; U.S. History (before and after the Civil War); three English courses; three Math courses; Food & Nutrition; and a Health class.

“If you don’t have your high school education, get it and choose a career other than prison.”

Coastline Community College offered Birch courses on Introduction to Business, Personal Finances, Management, and Organization Skills.

“I’m going to continue to work and continue on with my college education,” said Birch. He’s one class short of earning his Associate of Arts degree. “I still have plans to run a small business that deals with retail and clothing. I’m just a little nervous.”

Initially, Birch said he filed for recall of his sentence directly to the district attorney’s office in Sacramento County where he was convicted. “I didn’t receive a response from the DA,” he said.

Believing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the court that sentenced him would recognize his effort to rehabilitate himself, Birch said he wrote to the CDCR Secretary to ask what the procedures were to file for a recall of sentence under Penal Code 1170(d).

“The secretary of CDCR, without my knowledge, filed an 1170(d) about me being re- sentenced,” said Birch. “My counselor advised me of it by calling me in to advise me of it in the month of February.”

Before going back to court, Birch said two correctional officers wrote him letters of support, and four CDCR staff members wrote him letters. This, he said, was because they’d viewed his behavior and conduct over the years and got to know the man and not his crimes.

Birch was a young man when that OG [slang in prison vernacular for “original gangster”] convinced him to redirect his path on a positive course. Now he’s following the old mantra “each one, teach one.” His advice to the younger inmates: “If you’re in society, either go to college, learn a technical skill. If you don’t have your high school education, get it and choose a career other than prison.”

California’s out-state prisoners brought back

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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that it has ended the practice of housing prisoners in out-of-state facilities.

But San Quentin inmates who have served time in private lockups say those prisons are much better than California institutions, even though they dislike the separation from their families.

“I was pissed off when I found out I was coming back to the state. Prison out there was much better,” said inmate Michael “Kofy” Taylor. “The overall feeling was better out there. The living quarters were much more comfortable,” Taylor said, in agreement with the general sentiment among the several other San Quentin inmates interviewed, “Those facilities weren’t overcrowded like the ones in state. The cells were so big there. They were actually comfortable for two men to live in.”

The last California inmates housed out of state recently returned from La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, AZ—a private prison facility run by CoreCivic. CDCR said it will not renew its contract with the private prison corporation.

“This is a historic day for CDCR, as the department has ended its reliance on out-of-state facilities, thus ending an era that began 13 years ago at the height of California’s prison overcrowding crisis,” said CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz in a press release.

California’s out-of-state prison population peaked in 2010 with more than 10,400 inmates housed in private facilities located in states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona, Oklahoma and Michigan. The practice originally began in order to help alleviate the overcrowded state prison system—which was operating at more than 200 percent of its design capacity.

“The use of out-of-state facilities was always meant to be a temporary solution to the significant prison overcrowding we experienced in the mid-2000’s, and due to meaningful prison reforms, we have been able to bring our inmates back to California and closer to their families,” Diaz said.

This is a major step toward fulfilling Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise to reduce the Golden State’s reliance on out-of-state and private prisons.

California’s historic change comes as the private prison industry is under nationwide scrutiny, accused of placing profits, rather than public safety, as its main goal. But some SQ prisoners who were housed at these facilities disagree.

“Out-of-state prisons are a well-oiled machine. They are pro inmate,” said Patrick Ryan, H-unit Men’s Advisory Council Chairman. He was housed out of state for two years at La Palma Correctional Facility in Arizona and North Fork Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, both owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America, now known as CoreCivic.

“Out-of-state prisons were amazing. The cells were huge, we got three hot meals a day delivered to your cell, canteen delivered to your building, ice machines, microwaves, three 65-inch TV’s in the our experiences, thoughts, emotions and feelings into words.”

“Getting a visit wasn’t more difficult for me,” said Ryan , “I’m originally from Florida, but I also have a house in Southern California. In both instances, Oklahoma and Arizona, it was closer for my family to visit me than it is now that I’m at San Quentin. But for most guys, it was further for their family to come visit out of state.”

“Medical was very slow there,” Ryan said. He was asked about any drawbacks to being incarcerated out of state in a private facility: “The 602 (inmate appeal) process was horrendous; it was slow because we had to mail them back to California. They weren’t done in-house.”

San Quentin resident Taylor said that it feels great to be back closer to his family, but he preferred the living conditions in the out-of-state facilities. He was housed out of state at Florence Correctional Facility in Arizona, Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi, and La Palma Correctional Facility in Arizona before being transferred to San Quentin four years ago.

“I did get a visit from my parents while I was out of state. My parents were coming to Mississippi for a family reunion so they happened to stop by and visit me,” said Taylor, ” “I’m from San Francisco, so it should be pretty self-explanatory that it’s a lot easier for my family to visit me here.”

CoreCivic’s founder, Terrel Don Hutto, according to TIME Magazine, ran a cotton plantation the size of Manhattan in the 1960’s, which operated mainly off of unpaid, Black convict labor. He then went on to found Corrections Corporation of America, now known as CoreCivic, one of the largest private prison operators in the nation.

Other states, such as New York, have taken measures against private prison corporations, according to an article in Forbes. The state of New York is prohibiting private prisons from operating within the state and divesting its state pension funds from CoreCivic and GEO Group (another large private prison operator). Latest legislative efforts are attempting to prohibit banks chartered in the state of New York from “investing in and providing financing to private prisons.”

Inmate Taylor shrugs off such financial issues. “They’re making money off of us right now, so knowing that they’re making money off of us through the private prison operators is no different. At least we were comfortable out there,” Taylor said. “The only thing better about being back in a prison in Cali is that I don’t have to put my family through the hassle of traveling half-way around the country just to hug me.”

State auditor reports CDCR has been unsuccessful in rehabilitation needs

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State Auditor Elaine Howle
State Auditor Elaine Howle

A new study by California’s state auditor reported that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has failed to meet the rehabilitative needs for more than half of inmates released.

The study indicated that the CDCR has been unsuccessful in its efforts to place inmates in proper rehabilitation programs. This situation leads to many inmates paroling from prison without needs being met that contribute to high recidivism—reintegration being the most problematic.

“Corrections has neither consistently placed inmates on waiting lists for needed rehabilitation programs nor prioritized those with the highest need correctly,” State Auditor Elaine Howle reported. “Although the number of inmates housed in state prisons has decreased in recent years, recidivism rates for inmates in California have remained stubbornly high, averaging around 50 percent over the past decade.”

The report found that in fiscal year 2017–18, Corrections failed to meet the rehabilitative needs of 62 percent of the inmates who’d been assessed at risk to recidivate.

California defines recidivism as conviction of a new crime within the three year period after individuals are released from custody.

“Because the Legislature provided Corrections with a significant budget increase so that it could expand rehabilitation programs to all prisons in the state, it is vital that Corrections demonstrate that the additional investment was worthwhile,” Howle said in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers.

The state’s rehabilitation budget went from $64 million in 2013 to about $300 million in 2018, according to Courthouse News Service (CNS).

“We take the state auditor’s findings seriously and have already implemented, or are in the process of implement- ing, most of the recommendations,” stated CDCR press secretary Vicky Waters in an email to CNS. Waters’ email also noted the data used in the audit predates the department’s expansion of rehabilitation programming and new methods used to assess the success of those programs.

The 71-page audit, published in January 2019, stated that the CDCR’s “poor administrative practices have hindered reductions in recidivism and denied inmates access to in-prison rehabilitation programs.”

According to the report, inmates may not be receiving needed rehabilitation pro- grams because the CDCR is having difficulty fully staffing the programs at all of its prisons.

The audit asserted that the department needs to collect additional data and take steps to ensure it delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programs to inmates in all of its prisons. But the report also concluded that inmates who completed these in-prison programs “recidivated at about the same rate as inmates who did not complete the programs.”

“The audit only analyzed one type of rehabilitation program known as cognitive behavioral therapy and did not analyze any restorative justice programs or victim awareness programs,” wrote Adnan Khan in CALmatters. He paroled from San Quentin earlier this year after spending more than 15 years locked up.

Khan wrote that his rehabilitation benefits came from San Quentin’s college program and the self-help groups he attended. He said these programs were not funded, nor run by, the CDCR. “Rather, they were provided by nonprofit grassroots organizations and volunteers who would come in (to the prison) weekly to support us.”

Unlike many CDCR prisons, Khan wrote, “San Quentin had a rehabilitative culture.” But he also pointed out that a culture of power and control hovered “like dark clouds.” Contributing to this culture are random searches, pat downs, abusive control- ling language and verbal disrespect which “reminded us constantly that we were incarcerated, a separate class that, in the view of some, is not fully human.”

In response, Michele Hanisee, the president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, said, “If we are releasing more people from prisons and jails and the recidivism rate is the same, as the audit shows, the effort is a disaster.”

Upon arrival at a state prison reception center, incarcerated individuals have their rehabilitative needs assessed and the information is used to place them in necessary classes.

San Quentin resident Emerald “Nunu” Kemp-Aikens is involved in the substance abuse disorder treatment program, but he does not believe that he needs to be enrolled. “On the street, I don’t do drugs except weed,” he said. “They assigned me ’cause I told them I smoke weed in that packet in reception. In the class there’s a bunch of guys talkin’ ’bout crystal, heroin—stuff I don’t do.”

The first tool, the California Static Risk Assessment (CSRA) score, is derived from a person’s prior criminal history. The second, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS), mea- sures an incarcerated per- son’s need for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and vocational education. Finally, Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE), measures an inmate’s need for academic education programs.

Although the TABE test was validated by an outside agency in 2017, COMPAS has not undergone review since 2010 and CSRA had not been reviewed since 2013.

“One potential reason why our overall analysis did not find that CBT rehabilitation programs are related to reductions in recidivism is that Corrections has not revalidated the accuracy of the tools it uses to assess inmates’ rehabilitative needs since recent statutory changes caused a major shift in the State’s prison population,” the report stated.

Underutilization of enrollment capacity is another factor identified in the report, with a three-prison review re- vealing that, on average, only 76 percent of the seats in CBT classes are occupied.

Despite the criticism and low enrollment rates, the CDCR has expanded CBT, academic, and vocational programs to all 36 state prisons. The CBT programs introduced consist of four classes: Substance abuse dis- order treatment, anger management, criminal thinking and family relationships.

In 2011, federal courts ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of prison design capacity. Since then, changes in the law such as AB 109 “Re-alignment,” Propositions 36, 47 and 57 have afforded many inmates the opportunity for early release.

“The prospect of early release of dangerous prisoners who haven’t undergone any meaningful rehabilitation is positively unnerving,” said Hanisee.

The audit made recommendations “to ensure that inmates with the highest risks and needs are wait-listed, prioritized, and assigned appropriately.” It said the CDCR should do the following:

• Require correctional counselors to place inmates onto waiting lists once they have five years or less on their sentences.

• Update its waiting list system to prioritize inmates with rehabilitative needs and risks in its target population.

• Assign inmates to reha- bilitation programs in accor- dance with its policies.

In a statement, CDCR press secretary Vicky Waters said rehabilitation will continue to be a top priority to make sure inmates get the skills and education they need to transition back to their communities, CNS reported.

Ronald Joseph Lum Jr., a participant in San Quentin’s substance abuse disorder treatment and anger man- agement classes, offered his observation that since his teacher Ms. Rivera left the program, the instructors have been inconsistent.

Lum said, There has been a revolving door of fill-in teachers who are not familiar with the curriculum, so the flow of the curriculum has been disrupted. Because of that, some students in the class are helping to guide the class forward.

“The group never knows where we’re going to start or continue in the curriculum day to day,” Lum explained, “[So] the people who are taking the group seriously take control of the group and continue with the curriculum.”

Although the state of rehabilitative programs in California state prisons could use improvement, some incarcerated people say they undeniably benefit from CBT programs.

“I feel that these classes will keep me from coming back to prison,” Lum says. What he’s learned in these programs has taught him why he came to prison in the first place. “I’m greatly and highly honored and privileged to have these classes.”

Aron Roy Contributed to this story

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