I’m sending this letter to you today to inquire about the curriculum. I know generally speaking, your program is available for lifers, and not Death Row inmates. There are many of us who were sentenced to death as youths. Myself included. I just turned 20 when I received my sentence. My question is this: Could we begin now to start taking classes that your program offers to youth offenders? We already have a group of individuals who would start taking classes now if you were to make that available to us. The only thing we would need is a … [Read more...] about Dear Kid CAT by Joseph Montes
San Quentin’s Death Row
Letter to the Editor by John A. Riccardi
Dear Mr. Richardson, Editor in Chief, I entered Death Row in East Block (San Quentin State Prison) on September 29, 1996. I received a reversal on the death penalty on July 16, 2012. On July 14, 2016, I was moved from San Quentin to D.V.I. at Tracy, Calif. As of today, I have been here in the reception center for 165 days. I was told I would only be here no more than a few weeks, no more than two months. I would then be moved to another facility where I would be on the mainline, able to once again use the phone, receive all my property, TV, … [Read more...] about Letter to the Editor by John A. Riccardi
Death Row inmate freed after serving more than 25 years
A man who spent 27 years on Death Row walked out the prison gates on April 17, 2018. “He appeared amazed to be on the other side of the wall,” Public Information Officer Lt. Sam Robinson said. About eight people, including family members and his attorney, awaited Vicente Benavides as he exited the prison as a free man. Decades earlier, a Kern County courthouse convicted Benavides in the 1991of first-degree murder and rape of his girlfriend’s daughter, 21-month old Consuelo Verdugo. Benavides was sentenced to be executed and sent to San … [Read more...] about Death Row inmate freed after serving more than 25 years
Prosecution theories unacceptable
A federal judge has overturned a California death penalty case because of flawed theories by a prosecutor, The New Yorker reports. One federal court judge said, “Such actions reduce criminal trials to mere gamesmanship and rob them of their supposed purpose of search for truth.” Another circuit court of appeals said, “Inconsistent theories render convictions unreliable,” and if these arguments are accepted, they lead to deceitful results. With 343 homicides in 2017, Baltimore “had the highest murder rate in its history, and by far the highest … [Read more...] about Prosecution theories unacceptable