The
program features phone calls from mothers and children, brothers and
grandparents, sharing the intimate power of families speaking directly to
their incarcerated loved ones.
Discussing the circumstances of the
crime at every parole hearing could very likely be abused by future
panels, being able to express insight is just as important as having it,
institutional life seldom encourages self-empowerment, and the CA
Inspector General audits parole board's psych evaluation process.
JPI, alongside the Maryland
Restorative Justice Initiative, created "Blocking the Exit" to
better understand the profound impact that requiring Governor approval of
parole for lifers has had in Maryland. The documentary features victims,
current and former legislatures, formerly incarcerated people, former
corrections officials, and family of those currently affected by this
broken system. VIDEO
(15 Mins)
A Message From Melvin Macomber,
Ph. D.
Private Psychological Evaluation For Lifers
Banking on Bondage: Private Prisons 11/2011
A
2010 Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison
company, stated: "The demand for our facilities and services could be
adversely affected by . . . leniency in conviction or parole standards and
sentencing practices . . . ."
MORE
MORE
L I F E I N L I M B O : 9/2011An
Examination of Parole Release for Prisoners Serving Life Sentences with
the Possibility of Parole in California
MORE
KALW's
Nancy Mullane, June 16, 2011 has been following the parole process for
lifers in California prisons for the past four years. She spoke with
KALWs Holly Kernan to share the data
released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Long Shot - In California, Maryland and
Oklahoma, the governors can over-rule parole boards' decisions to free
prisoners serving life sentences. In all three states this has evolved to
the point where very few prisoners get released. For years Nancy Mullane
followed the case of Don Cronk in San Quentin Prison, to see what would
happen as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reviewed his case. Though Cronk
knew the odds were against him, he found it hard to stop himself from
believing he'd get out.
Nancy Mullane
is writing a book called Life After Murder and putting
together a two hour documentary on other lifers in Don's situation. (27
minutes)
You should remember that when the judge sentenced these
people, the state promised them a chance at release. Not certain release.
But a fair chance.
MORE
Carl McQuillion, May 29, 2011 former lifer and
freelance paralegal for lifer parole litigation, is Peter B. Collins'
guest expert. This KGO AM Radio San Francisco broadcast reaches all
prisons in California, and some nationwide. Families of Lifers are urged
to listen to this program. (KGO
Newstalk 810)
A court order issued by the 3 judge federal court,
recently affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Effective immediately, reduce
population (Click
for printable copy)
A Message From McQuillion
Legal Research & Consulting
Experienced
California Lifer Parole Litigation Specialist
Psychopathy Checklist-Revised -May 26, 2011
After 26 years in prison, he was due for a parole
hearing. In California, before a "lifer" like Dixon appears before the
parole board, a state psychologist must first evaluate whether he poses a
risk of further violence if released. (NPR
News)
Unprecedented Release of Another Lifer After 20 Years
May, 2011 In an extraordinary case, Gov. Jerry Brown
has ordered the immediate release of an inmate who had been granted a
parole date for August 12, 2023. (San
Quentin News)
Democracy Now! May 24, 2011the Supreme Court has ordered
California to reduce its prison population by nearly 40,000 prisoners due
to inhumane conditions. In a five-to-four ruling, the court said
conditions in California’s prison system are "incompatible with the
concept of human dignity," causing "needless suffering and death." (Democracy
Now!)
California parole system often dictated by political
aspirations Aug 9,
2010 For inmates in the state of California, life without the
possibility of parole is often the same sentence as life with the
possibility of parole. Even once they are deemed suitable for parole by
the California Parole Board, the majority of these inmates end up getting
those decisions reversed by California's governor, including women acting
in self-defense from abusive partners. Some experts say the reason has to
do with the governor's political aspirations.
Kathleen Dunn June 1, 2011 The U.S. Supreme
Court has ruled that overcrowded prisons in California violate a
Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Kathleen Dunn and her
guest look at problems in America’s prison system.
Guest: Michelle Alexander, Associate Professor, Moritz College of Law and
Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Ohio State
University. Author, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness.” (WPR)
California Organizations
Outline Smart, Safe, Prison Population Reduction Strategies
Oakland CA — In response to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on California
prison overcrowding, a statewide alliance of over 40 organizations known
as Californians United for a Responsible Budget is pushing the State to
take up a number of strategies that would make substantial reductions in
the prison population while potentially freeing up billions of dollars for
programs and services devastated by California’s budget crisis.
MORE
Why a lack of empathy is the root of all
evil
Science is beginning to unravel the mystery of why
some people have less empathy than others and the implications are
potentially far reaching, not least for the criminal justice system. "The
hallmark of a compassionate and civilised society is that we try to
understand other people's actions, we don't try to simply condemn them,"
says Baron-Cohen.
"There is even a question about whether a person that
commits an awful crime should be in a prison as opposed to a hospital."
MORE
Donald Miller May 3, 2009
talks about his experiences and the term-to-life parole situation.
Prison World Radio.
Beyond Bars: Community Resistance to Prison
Expansion In the U.S., more than 2 million people live behind
prison bars. Dr. Ruth Gilmore, a professor and long-time prison activist,
extracts lessons from over two decades of community organizing against
what’s been termed the "biggest prison building project in the history of
the world."(KPFA
Radio)
The Recession Behind Bars
By KENNETH E. HARTMAN
Published: September 5, 2009
The first inkling of financial
difficulties in here surfaced in the chow hall. All of a sudden prison
officials became concerned about our overeating.
MORE also
Schadenfreude
Washington, DC - 03/02/2009 - Explosive growth in the number of people on
probation or parole has propelled the population of the American
corrections system to more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults,
according to a report released today by the Pew Center on the States.
Prison stocks also are valued on a “per
bed” basis — which is based on the number of beds provided and the profit
per bed. “Per bed” is really a euphemism for people who are sentenced to
be housed in their prison.
For example, in 1996, when Cornell went public, based on the financial
information provided in the offering document provided to investors, its
stock was valued at $24,241 per bed. This means that for every contract
Cornell got to house one prisoner, at that time, their stock went up in
value by an average of $24,261. According to prevailing business school
philosophy, this is the stock market’s current present value of the future
flow of profit flows generated through the management of each prisoner.
This, for example, is why longer mandatory sentences are worth so much to
private prison stocks. A prisoner in jail for twenty years has a
twenty-year cash flow associated with his incarceration, as opposed to one
with a shorter sentence or one eligible for an early parole.
This means that we have created a significant number of private interests
— investment firms, banks, attorneys, auditors, architects, construction
firms, real estate developers, bankers, academics, investors among them—
who have a vested interest in increasing the prison population and keeping
people behind bars as long as possible.
MORE
California inmates receive wages
between 30 cents to 95 cents per hour, before deductions.
It can be hard for inmates
to keep up family relationships, but many experts say it's important that
they do. Today, we continue our prison series with a look at the
challenges families and the prison system face. Experts weigh in and
you'll hear first-hand accounts from those impacted personally.
Rights In Question
Congress in 1867 enacted
a habeas corpus statute that authorized the writ whenever any person is
restrained or deprived of liberty in
violation of any federal right, that is, any right guaranteed by the
Constitution, acts of Congress, or treaties. The
Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth
Amendment has been construed to secure the right to a fair hearing, thus
providing a very broad ground for granting the writ. A state prisoner is
not eligible to apply to a federal judge for habeas corpus until first
exhausting all remedies available under
state law. Similarly, a member of the armed forces may not sue for the
writ in a federal court until the remedies provided for in the military
court system have been exhausted (see
Exhaustion of Remedies).
The secure housing,
minimal support, minimal medical care and feeding of 2.2 million people is
a costly endeavor consuming billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer's
money every year in America. Corporations are lined up to receive a
portion of the public funds used to support the self-perpetuating
incarceration industry. States such as California spend more public funds,
tax dollars, your money, my money, on prisons than for education and
schools.
KALW's
Nancy Mullane, June 16, 2011 has been following the parole process for
lifers in California prisons for the past four years. She spoke with
