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Bill to Amend California's Three Strikes Law Passes Appropriations Committee January 23, 2011 Bill to Amend | ||
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Healthcare in Prisons Likely to Worsen Looks like the Federal Health receivership will be coming to an end. Even though it hasn't helped that much I can't imagine things will get better for health care in the prisons once the Receiver is gone! Six years. What has really changed? AP News Break: Judge to end Calif. prison receiver Associated Press Published Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A federal judge on Tuesday ordered California officials to prepare for the end of a six-year, court-ordered overs ight of the prison system that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars and helped force a shift of lower-level criminals from state prisons to county jails. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson cited improving conditions in the prison system in a three-page order that says "the end of the Receivership appears to be in sight." The ruling marks an important milestone in a process that began nearly six years ago when the judge appointed a receiver to run California's prison medical system after finding that an average of one inmate a week was dying of neglect or malpractice. He cited inmate overcrowding as the leading cause, but said in Tuesday's order that conditions have improved. He praised the better conditions throughout the system, particularly noted during inspections of medical facilities by the prison system's independent inspector general. "Significant progress has been made," Henderson wrote, citing the receiver's own report to the federal court last week. "While some critical work remains outstanding - most notably on construction issues - it is clear that many of the goals of the Receivership have been accomplished." Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement praising the decision, saying the state has been "working very hard to clean up the mess in the prisons and I appreciate the judicial recognition of our efforts." J. Clark Kelso, who took over as receiver in January 2008, looks forward to participating in the talks with state officials but declined further comment, said his spokeswoman, Nancy Kinca id. Henderson ordered Kelso, state officials and attorneys representing inmates to report by April 30 on when the receivership should end and whether it should continue some oversight role. Problems with inmate medical care helped prompt federal judges to require the state to ease prison crowding. That led to a shift that began last year that is sending lower-level inmates from state prisons to county jails. In a ruling last May, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court's authority in ordering California to reduce inmate crowding as a way to improve medical conditions. The federal courts had ordered the state's 33 adult prisons to reduce their total population by 33,000 inmates over a two-year period. The prison system had an all-time high of 162,268 inmates in 2006. The receiver's office also was given authority to greatly expand the prison sy stem's medical staff and increase pay significantly. Henderson said he expects the receiver will continue in a general oversight role, even if the state takes back the authority to run the medical system. That will ensure that care is not diminished in the future. The judge asked parties for advice on when the receivership should end, how long an oversight period might last and when the underlying case on the quality of medical care should end. Jeffrey Callison, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the department "is ready and eager" to begin planning for the end of federal oversight of prison medical care. Under the receivership, the state has built new medical facilities at several prisons, including San Quentin, where Death Row is located. It currently is building a medical complex in Stockton. The state doubled the amount of money it spent on inmate health care over five years, to more than $15,000 per inmate annually. Spending controlled by the receiver increased from $948 million before the receiver was appointed to nearly $2.3 billion by 2008, according to the state Department of Finance. Spending on medical care, pharmaceuticals and transporting and guarding inmates declined to $1.8 billion for the current fiscal year. | ||
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Gang Injunctions are Spreading, Communities are Reacting On Friday, January 6th, Inglewood's First District Councilman, Mike Stevens visited Chuco’s Justice Center. We asked him about rumors we had heard that Mayor Butts and Police Chief Seabrooks were considering the development of Inglewood’s first gang injunction. Councilman Stevens said that it was on the agenda for the following City Council meeting. On Tuesday, January 10th, when we arrived at the City Council, we were told by the police officer (who is on duty at each meeting) that the matter was voted on in an earlier closed session to authorize $10,000 in spending to have the injunction written. Although the matter had been decided prior to public comment, YJC members testified anyway to voice our opposition. Brandy Brown illustrated how injunctions in Los Angeles had impacted their families’ abilities to stay connected. Said Brandy, “My cousins couldn’t even go to my brother’s funeral because they were arrested at his candlelight vigil for ‘associating with gang members’ even though that was their family.” Henry Sandoval described injunctions as “keeping youth from being able to take advantage of education, jobs and housing. This really discourages us from being positive. How do you expect us to leave the street life behind?” Tanisha Denard questioned why $10,000 was needed when plenty of cities have injunctions that can be used to cut and paste. She said, “This city is hurting for money, and Inglewood School District is about to declare bankruptcy, but we have $10,000 to write an injunction?” Treva Ellison emphasized that “good public policy is written in consultation with the community, not in secret meetings.” Kim McGill explained that injunctions have historically been used as tools for gentrification and have not stabilized, but displaced families and communities of color. She added, “We are very concerned that this decision was made without a public hearing, and urge the City Council to schedule a time for those youth and families who will be most impacted to speak to you.” The Mayor promised to have Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks contact us. On Friday, January 13th, Chief Seabrooks did call and answered several of our questions: 1. The budget to pay for the writing of an injunction was approved at a City Council meeting in October. 2. The $10,000 budget allocation made at last Tuesday's meeting was only a partial payment. The total allocation authorized for the writing of the injunction is $160,000. 3. The Chief would not indicate what neighborhoods would be targeted for the injunction, but did say that several would be enjoined. 4. She agreed to meet with us regarding our concerns, and will schedule a meeting with us this week. The YJC will work to challenge the injunction as this process moves forward. To get involved, contact us at 323-235-4243 or by e-mail – freelanow@yahoo.com. Look out for future action updates for a community forum on this matter. | ||
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Stop LA Jail Expansion: Pack the Board of Supervisors Jan 24th! On January 24th, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors will discuss whether or not to approve Sheriff Baca's latest plan to rob LA: a new jail that will cost $2.66 billion dollars ($1.4 billion to build and $1.26 billion in interest to bankers). Let's send the Supervisors a simple and clear message: Vote No on Jail Expansion in LA. LA county needs more education, health care, jobs, and housing, not cages! What can you do to stop the expansion? Come to the Supervisor meeting: Join residents from across LA on the 24th to send a strong message that we don't want more jail cells. We will be sending out more information as we get it. Call your Supervisor: and urge them to VOTE NO on the jail expansion. Click here to find your Supervisor Forward the petition: urging LA Supervisors to vote NO on the jail expansion. Send the link to as many people as you can. Get involved! A coalition of residents and community-based groups meets every Sunday at 5 pm at Chuco's Justice Center. Come join the fight. Email LA Critical Resistance organizer Mary Sutton for more information. LA doesn't want, doesn't need and can't afford more jail cells! What do LA residents have to say about Baca's plan? Watch Carmen Vega from the Los Angeles Poverty Department speak out against LA's jail expansion plans more jails in LA. With the resources Sheriff Baca already has, he has created an international disgrace in LA County jails, where the torture of inadequate medical and mental healthcare and pervasive brutal beatings are routine. It's time to stop using LA jails as mental health hospitals and homeless shelters. The only sustainable solution to overcrowding is to send less people to jail. LA does not have $2.66 billion dollars to waste on harmful jails. 14.5% of LA residents are unemployed; 40% live without health insurance; and at least 51,000 people are homeless. For more information: visit www.curbprisonspending.org, follow CURB on twitter! @CURB_Prisons and join the CURB Action Email list! | ||
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How incarceration affects families: Interview with Lateefah Simon By Rina Palta Lateefah Simon is the director of the California Futures Initiative at the Rosenberg Foundation in San Francisco. Listen Nationally, women are the fastest growing prison population. And one of the highest female prison populations in the world is here in California. That's slated to change under the state's new realignment program. The number of women in prison is supposed to shrink drastically, by as much as half, over the next few years. Anticipating that change, California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation officials announced they're converting one of the state's three women's prisons to a men's facility. Lateefah Simon, director of the California Futures Initiative at the Rosenberg Foundation in San Francisco, says this will be the first time the state has emptied a prison. KALW's criminal justice editor, Rina Palta, sat down with Simon to talk about what's happening in California, and what sorts of alternatives are on their way. She started by asking Simon what the new California Futures Initiative is about. RINA PALTA: What's unique to the experience of women in prison versus traditional male experience in prison? LATEEFAH SIMON: The question about the uniqueness of women who are incarcerated in California is an interesting one. What we know is that prior to many of these policy changes that are happening right now as we speak in California, California has been a mass incarcerator of women. We would incarcerate 9,000 women per year in our state's prisons. We also know that 67% of women who are locked-up in our state prison system are mothers, many of them are single mothers. We also know for women who are incarcerated, amongst those 67%, we have to think about where their children are. PALTA: So, talk a little bit how realignment is impacting this population in California and what's going on so far. SIMON: Advocates and folks like the Rosenberg Foundation who are involved in philanthropy and supporting groups who are working for change... Some would say it's too early to say how realignment would work out for women. But what we do know is that the CDCR's proposal to close and convert Valley State Prison... Literally the first time in a generation that I know that we've talked about emptying the prison and figuring out ways to send women home. That is a very clear indicator that realignment will be one of the most important reforms, critical reforms and efforts. When women come home, non-violent women come home, children connected back with their mothers... The statistics say they are all over the place, and they are clear when women are reunited with their cildren they are less likely to go back to prison, they are less likely to commit crimes. So, as a women's advocate for my whole career, I am really excited. And of course no policy is perfect and that's why we have to keep our ears to the ground and we have to keep supporting advocates who are pushing the lines and creating opportunities for women. It's extremely exciting! PALTA: What do we know about how incarceration impacts families? And what happens to kids when their mothers are incarcerated? Do they usually end up with other relatives? Are they put in the foster system? How is this impacting the larger community? SIMON: There are some great advocates who have been working on the issue of incarcerated parents. And I don't believe that there is a blanket statement on what happens to kids when their mothers enter the criminal justice system. There are number of things that actually happen. One of the things that we are really clear about and also focusing on is the issue of child trauma. Some of the most profound advocates on this issue say that when a child is separated from their parents, 100% of them experience post-traumatic stress. One hundred percent! Many of the women who I'm talking to who are right now housed in the California state prison system for non-violent crimes – their parents are struggling, their mothers are struggling with addiction. They're caught on non-violent felony charges, they are taken away to prison. There is a number of things that can happen depending on the circumstances of the arrest and conviction. What we hope is – but we also know it's not necessarily true across the board – is that a family member can take these children in and work with them and love them until the day their mother gets out of prison. Anyone who has grown up without their parents suffer. It's difficult. But when your mother is behind the bars three to four hours away from you, and you are not able to see your parent, you are not able to take part in what some would call a normal childhood. It's extremely difficult. And we know that there is trauma associated with that; there is trauma associated with poverty, there is trauma associated with law enforcement. There are so many things that these young people must hold on their shoulders. We got to get out act together as a state. PALTA: That's a good question actually. What does that mean? What does that look like? Everyone always calls in after these stories asking, “What can I do?" That's a good question – as a community, how can you embrace this population that's coming home and what can you do to help? SIMON: There are so many ways that folks can get involved. If you want to write letters to your legislator about making sure that supportive housing and alternative citizen programs are well-funded within the next year. Because again, successful reentry, I should say, can only happen when people come home and there are opportunities for them to heal and transform. Of course, helping on a policy level and representing your county on the state level so they know how you feel. But I always say give to your local food bank; give clothes to the local women's shelter, the domestic violence shelter; make sure that the children in community schools have lunch and breakfast. I mean, what we are talking about is family reunification. What we are talking about is making sure that the counties do it right. What we are talking about is making sure that the state no longer would waste $50,000 times 9,000 women per year, many of those non-violent offenders who simply want to care for their children and get rehabilitation. I just feel that there are so many ways that folks can help out on a very micro-level. But also it's the voices within our congregations, the voices within our temples, the voices within our masses, the voices at Occupy, the voices around the state – we have to make sure that the voices of women who are coming home are amplified. Because in fact – I know this so well – in communities that are most impacted by poverty, by crime, it is women who are holding-up those communities. It is the grandmothers. It is the mothers. You go into any community whether it is Echo Park or Hunter's Point, and you knock on any door, and it's the mother with children who is going to answer that door. Until we figure out how to really mend our families we have to step up and support women and families. http://kalw.org/post/how-incarceration-affects-families-interview-lateefah-simon | ||
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Murder Victim Family Members Speak out Against Juvenile LWOP January 13, 2012 Help us change California’s law: young people should never be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Please watch this quick YouTube video featuring murder victim family members saying why they support SB 9, a bill that would give second chances to youth. By viewing it, you’ll be letting legislators who look at it next week know that many people think this issue is important. Pass it on!If you like it, click “like.” Put it up on your Facebook page, and send it to friends and family. | ||
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Please Sign Petition for Amber Riley, Sentenced as a Teen, Doing Life Click here: Criminal Justice Petition: Teenager Deserves New trial | Change.org | ||
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