Thursday, February 11, 2010
CDCR STAR - Corrections Clips
NEWS STORIES:

Budget:

Correctional officers union racks up $4 million tab with state
By Jon Ortiz, Sacramento Bee -- Four. Million. Dollars. That's how much the union representing California's correctional officers owes the state for something called "union paid leave." The tab goes back to 2005. Several state worker unions, including CCPOA, have contracts that let employees leave their jobs to do union work. The state – in this case, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and to a lesser degree, the Department of Mental Health – pays their wages and benefits like always. Then departments invoice the unions for those costs.

Furlough suits clog courts in budget fight
Capitol Weekly -- Here is a listing of some of the lawsuits filed against the state over the administration’s furlough practices. The list includes those who filed the suit, the date it was filed, the legal issue involved and the result, if any. Some cases were combined, some have not yet been scheduled for hearings, and appeals have been filed in others. The list will be updated on merits.

Policy:

Sacramento County sheriff halts early jail releases
By Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee -- The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday that it has stopped allowing inmates to get out of jail early for good behavior. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said the decision came in response to a judge's finding earlier Wednesday that a government code section on the books since 1976 that allows local jurisdictions to grants the "good-time" credits "does not apply to County Jail inmates."

More than 1,500 California jail inmates are released early
By Andrew Blankenstein and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times -- More than 1,500 inmates have been released from county jails around California in response to legislation designed to cut the state prison population, prompting an outcry from some law enforcement officials. More than 300 inmates have been released in Orange County in the last few weeks and about 200 in Sacramento County, including a man who allegedly assaulted a woman hours after getting early release from jail. A Sacramento County judge Wednesday ordered a temporary halt in that county's early releases, saying the legislation applies only to state prisons and not to county jails.

Inmate freed by state plan re-arrested
By Ashley Archibald, Union Democrat -- Tuolumne County saw its first re-offender under the non-supervised parole program last week, opening questions about how the state’s new classification of some offenders protects public safety. On Feb. 2, Jimmy Lloyd Lindsey, of Sonora, was arrested by Sonora police officers on suspicion of driving under the influence. It was his fifth offense in five years, but he’d been released on non-revocable parole after Senate Bill X3 18 took effect Jan. 25. Officers booked Lindsey for driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license, but he won’t be sent back to prison for violating his parole. That’s because the new law states that certain offenders can get released early from prison on non-revocable parole — NRP — assuming they did not commit a violent crime, a sex crime or a “serious” crime, as defined by the penal code.

Death Row:

Dead man waiting
By Patrick S. Pemberton, San Luis Obispo Tribune -- In the summer of 2001, a sheriff's deputy dropped Rex Krebs off at San Quentin State Prison with a sardonic message."Hey, Rex," he said just before leaving. "Have a nice day." The statement was ironic in a couple of ways: A fleeing Krebs had said the same thing to a woman he'd just raped in 1987. Also, San Quentin is home to California's death row. Since he was arrested in San Luis Obispo 10 years ago on suspicion of killing college students Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford -- and later found guilty of the murders--Krebs has repeatedly denied Tribune requests for an interview. However, those who know him offered a glimpse of what his life is like now.

A killer in our midst
By Patrick S. Pemberton, San Luis Obispo Tribune -- Ten years ago, many San Luis Obispo residents were terrified that a serial killer was on the loose. Yet, as investigators from multiple agencies interviewed 82 sex offenders and responded to 500 tips, their search for suspects hadn't expanded beyond San Luis Obispo. As a result, they hadn't spoken to Krebs, a convicted rapist whose sexual fantasies led him to abduct and kill two 20-year-old college students--Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford.

His own father says Rex Krebs is a 'demon seed'
By Patrick S. Pemberton, San Luis Obispo Tribune -- In the weeks after Rachel Newhouse disappeared, Allan Krebs says he remembers seeing missing-person fliers featuring her photo. During a visit to San Luis Obispo County, Allan Krebs said his son, Rex, even asked him about the fliers. Allan Krebs didn't know it at the time, but his son had abducted and murdered Newhouse, a 20-year-old Cal Poly student, in November 1998.

CDCR Related and Miscellaneous:

Trial begins in 2007 bakery stabbing
Bay City News -- The trial of a parolee accused of stabbing a 14-year-old girl at a San Francisco bakery in 2007 gets under way Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court. Scott Thomas, now 29, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated mayhem and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

FBI Informant Details Mexican Mafia's Control Over Prisons
10 News -- Authorities are calling Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in the South Bay a profit center for organized crime, and an informant for the FBI told 10News how the Mexican Mafia controls local street gangs from inside local prisons. "Andrea" was called the facilitator for the godfathers of the Mexican Mafia.

Fire Hits Former CYA Complex
KCRA -- A two-alarm fire broke out Wednesday at an old California Youth Authority complex in Sacramento. The blaze, which was reported at about 10 a.m., occurred at 3264 Ramona Ave. The structure was empty.

Federal appeals court rules inmate strip searches constitutional
By Jay Carmella, Jurist -- The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that strip searching all incoming inmates does not violate the Fourth Amendment and is necessary to prevent illegal substances from entering prisons. San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey had enacted the policy to strip search new inmates in response the rising amount of drugs and weapons being brought into jails. The court found the policy to be reasonable, considering the nature of US prison system and the documented evidence of illegal materials entering prisons.

Condemned man who used cell phone gets death date
By Michael Graczyk, Associated Press -- A condemned killer whose use of a smuggled cell phone prompted a lockdown of the entire Texas prison system has received an execution date. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials say they've received legal paperwork that sets May 20 as the date for the lethal injection of 31-year-old Richard Tabler.

OPINION:

With the community’s help, we fight crime better
By Manny Solano, Watsonville Police Chief, Register Pajaronian -- Recent arrests for serious crimes, including murder, have been made possible by a very skilled and dedicated group of local law enforcement professionals and with the cooperation of a trusting community. As more and more people join us in taking a stand against the scourge of gangs and violence, we will turn the table on those who seek to bring harm to others. But rough seas lie ahead.
at 8:56 AM
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
CDCR Star - Corrections Clips
CDCR NEWS:

Families Are Invited! Take a Video Tour of all DJJ's Fire Camps and Facilities
CDCR's Division of Juvenile Justice offers a video tour of its five facilities and two fire camps, highlighting the rehabilitative environment and treatment programs that give youthful offenders the tools they need to live constructive lives when they return to the community. The tour also emphasizes the extensive access to the facilities provided to families and the importance of family involvement in the rehabilitation of youthful offenders. (Video: Media Player)

NEWS STORIES:

Policy:

North State Continues to Release Inmates Early
By Audrey Asistio, CBS 12 -- Prisons and Jails across California continue to release inmates early, under a new law that took affect, January 25th. The new law requires state prisons and county jails to use a new formula to calculate credits inmates receive for good behavior, getting inmates out earlier. The new law does not apply to inmates who have committed sex and violent crimes.

Convicted criminals to hit the streets early
By Julie R. Johnson, Corning Observer -- Changes in a state jail sentencing law means more convicted criminals will be on the streets sooner in the Sacramento Valley, including some in Tehama County - eventually. The legislation calling for the early releases, passed by the Legislature last year, gave some prisoners enhanced credit for good behavior or work-time while behind bars. It barred eligibility for some kinds of prisoners, such as violent or sex offenders. Gordon Hinkle, press secretary for the state Department of Corrections, said the law and another component of it affecting paroles will, in the long run, actually help public safety.

County to share burden of monitoring state parolees
Los Angeles Wave -- A sheriff's commander said Tuesday that the department plans to use its own resources to track parolees released from state prisons, raising concerns about county costs and law enforcement priorities. About 7,700 parolees living in Los Angeles County will be put on "non- revocable parole'' under a prison reform law that took effect in January."Non-revocable parolees'' will no longer be supervised by state probation officers, but they will be subject to warrantless searches by law enforcement officers. The new state law is intended to lower the caseload of parole agents to allow them to focus supervision on the most serious and violent parolees, according to a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections.

Sex Offenders:

Sex offenders barred from Halloween
By Eugene W. Fields, OC Register -- A law prohibiting registered sex offenders in Orange from answering their doors to trick-or-treating children on Halloween was approved by the City Council Tuesday night. Councilman Jon Dumitru said the new law is a companion piece to one the Orange council passed in 2008. City Attorney David DeBerry said there are other cities across the country, as well as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, that have similar laws regarding Halloween and registered sex offenders. The Department of Corrections law affects parolees in the state.

CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:

Officials suspend work on Lode jail
By Dana M. Nichols, Stockton Record -- Calaveras County supervisors Tuesday suspended for a month further design work on a $58 million jail and criminal justice complex, saying they need answers on how the state government will dole out its $26 million share of the project - and even whether California will be able to sell the promised jail construction bonds at all. Supervisors Tryon, Tofanelli and Steve Wilenskly formed a majority to oppose spending more local funds until after a meeting with state officials on Feb. 25 and a meeting of the California Corrections Standards Authority Board on March 11. Financing answers are expected at those meetings.
at 9:08 AM
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
CDCR STAR - Corrections Clips
NEWS STORIES:


Policy:

Fate of early-release inmates goes before judge
By Cornell Bernard, News 10 -- A judge could grant a temporary restraining order Tuesday, stopping Sacramento County from releasing non-violent prisoners early. Last Friday, the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association filed a lawsuit to stop Sacramento and other counties from releasing non-violent prisoners early under a new state law. Some contend the law applies only to inmates in state prisons.

City officials plan job-training programs for former prisoners
By Andrew Edwards, San Bernardino Sun -- The city's high-risk parolees may soon be subject to additional oversight and receive job training and other assistance intended to prevent them from returning to prison. The new programs, however, would probably not be offered to inmates now being set free early under legislation intended to ease pressure on California's strained budgets. "The low-end offenders are being cut loose," said Kent Paxton, an aide to San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris. The Morris administration, working with Cal State San Bernardino personnel and California prison officials, have sought during the past few years to create new programs focused on preventing ex-convicts from re-offending.

Early jail releases creating confusion
By Salvador Hernandez, OC Register -- A law that took effect last month that was intended to reduce inmate overcrowding by allowing early releases at state prisons and county jails is sowing confusion. Two Republican lawmakers who had opposed the law - Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach and Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills - issued statements calling for a halt in the early releases from county jails.

Justice Kennedy laments the state of prisons in California, U.S.
By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy criticized California sentencing policies and crowded prisons Wednesday night, calling the influence that unionized prison guards had in passing the three-strikes law "sick." In an otherwise courtly and humorous address to the Los Angeles legal community, Kennedy expressed obvious dismay over the state of corrections and rehabilitation in the country. He said U.S. sentences are eight times longer than those issued by European courts.

Early Inmate Release Sparking Safe Sales
CBS 13 -- A company is capitalizing on the recent early releases of California prison inmates, running radio ads that advertise their safes as a "solution" to the problem. Dan Engstrom, the owner of a local Liberty Safe store, bought time on the radio all week long, advertising safes as a way of keeping valuables away from criminals. "Our solution to the prisoner release problem is now at Liberty Safes of Sacramento," the radio advertisement says. The ads are already paying off, Engstrom said. "Certainly, it [the prisoner release] is not good news but people are phoning and legitimately concerned," he said.

Health Care:

Valley fever cases increase at Coalinga prison
By Chris Collins, Fresno Bee -- The number of inmates at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga who have been infected by Valley fever has increased in the last year, contrary to a recent Fresno County grand jury report. The state prison system's health-care services have been under the control of a court-ordered federal receiver since February 2006. Luis Patino, a spokesman for the receiver, said inmates with poor immune systems are not sent to Pleasant Valley State Prison. He also said that the receiver is trying to make sure inmates and staff members are more aware of how to combat Valley fever.

Death Row:

Judge sentences convicted East Palo Alto cop killer to death
By Jessica Bernstein-Wax, Daily News -- A San Mateo County Superior Court judge on Monday sentenced a 26-year-old man to death for murdering East Palo Alto police officer Richard May in 2006. Judge Craig Parsons' sentencing of Alberto Alvarez was largely a formality after a jury recommended the death penalty in December — however, he had the power to reduce the sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole but chose not to do so.

CDCR Related and Miscellaneous:

Fresno cops hound Bulldogs gang, hope to loosen its foothold in city
By Tracie Cone, Associated Press -- This is Bulldog Country, or so the bumper stickers say. But whether that identifies the home of scrappy Fresno State athletics or the deadly turf of a criminal enterprise labeled the most entrenched gang in America depends on the success of a police surge now entering its fourth year. Its goal: To take away the Bulldog gang's homefield advantage in California's agricultural heartland, to break its embrace of a new generation. For most of their 20-year existence, the Bulldogs escaped serious law enforcement scrutiny, even as they taunted cops with barks and howls. Police looked upon them mainly as wayward youth. But the gang that grew out of fights at San Quentin prison over respect eventually showed itself to be a deadly criminal enterprise. The 2006 shooting of a cop became a tipping point.

Taft Inmate Walks Away from Taft Correctional Institution Minimum Security Satellite Camp
Taft Independent -- On February 7, 2010, at 10:00 PM, while conducting the official count, staff at the Taft Correctional Institution discovered one inmate was missing from the Institution's Satellite Camp facility. The Satellite Camp is a minimum-security facility that houses approximately 550 federal inmates. There is no security fence around the facility, which is common for a minimum-security facility within the federal prison system. Minimum security is the lowest security level in the federal prison system.

Attack Victim: Justice System Failed Me
KCRA -- Beaten and nearly killed by her fiance, a Sacramento woman said she's being victimized a second time -- not by her attacker, but by the system that's suppose to protect her. Cathy Macy said she spoke out to KCRA 3 to get help with her fight to stay alive. She said she was attacked June 8, 2008, at the hands of former fiancé Richard Pendergrass. "He just started hitting me with a closed fist to my face, asking me repeatedly, 'Do you want to live or do you want to die,'" Macy said. Pendergrass was arrested, pleaded no contest to two felony counts and was sentenced to three years in state prison. Macy thought that was the end of it, until she opened her e-mail and saw a message from someone claiming to be Rick Pendergrass. "How do you get on a computer to send me a Yahoo personal?" Macy wondered. "It was shocking to me that in San Quentin -- a state prison, surrounded by rocks -- that you can have access to the general public," she said. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is investigating whether Pendergrass or someone else sent that message to her.

County tackles jail construction uncertainties
By Michael Kay, Union Democrat -- Calaveras County’s long-planned jail and Sheriff’s Department quarters will be the topic of a Board of Supervisor’s study session Tuesday. Groundbreaking for the estimated $43.9 million project is slated as early as October, but it faces a number of uncertainties going forward, according to a staff report. A key question is how swiftly the state will reimburse the county for money it fronts to pay for construction, which likely will be about $1.3 million a month. Documentation from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation indicates the turnaround is typically three weeks. But some are concerned it will take longer.

Susanville prison guard under investigation for allegedly filing false crime reports
Record Search Light -- A corrections officer from High Desert State Prison in Susanville is under investigation for allegedly filing two false crime reports. Todd Posch, a sergeant with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), called 911 on Wednesday, saying he was the victim of an early morning hit-and-run in front of his Greenville home, Plumas County sheriff's Sgt. Steve Peay said in a news release Thursday. Posch said he was hit by the vehicle, but an investigation by the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol and CDCR said Posch's story turned out to be "false and fabricated," Peay said.

OPINION:

Our View: Feeling safe about prisoners' early release
San Gabriel Valley Tribune -- It's not just Californians - or even Californians with a weather eye on our state's budget mess - who are bothered by the fact that we spend too much to lock up too many in our prisons. And it's not just progressives who worry about the side-effects of locking up hundreds of thousands with very little effort made to "rehabilitate" them. It's no less a personage than Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. While he's sometimes seen as aligned with a moderate wing on the high court, it was Kennedy, after all, who wrote the recent ruling allowing big business to go back to contributing cash in big ways to political campaigns. So he's no Tom Hayden. In a speech last week at Pepperdine Law School, Kennedy laid into California prison policies that, he said, keep "185,000 people in prison at $32,500 a year" each.

ONLINE COMMENTARY:

9th Circuit Wants California to Pay for Latest Appeal in Prisons Dispute
Law.com -- A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has slapped the state of California with sanctions after the attorney general filed a fifth meritless appeal in ongoing prison conditions litigation. In a short, one-page decision issued last month, Judges Barry Silverman, Richard Paez and Carlos Bea dismissed the state's appeal of an August 2009 district court order requiring the two sides in Plata v. Schwarzenegger to meet and confer over how much the prevailing plaintiffs lawyers are owed in fees and costs.
at 8:22 AM
Monday, February 8, 2010
CDCR STAR - Correction Clips
CDCR NEWS:

This Week:
“Operation Promise” Yields 50 Arrests by CDCR Parole, Others in Major Gang Sweep, CDCR Launches New Rehabilitation Model and Streamlines HQ Operation

NEWS STORIES:

Institutions:

Chowchilla inmates aim to help victims
By Chris Collins, Fresno Bee--They've robbed. They've stolen. They've murdered. But despite their past crimes, nearly 100 women gathered in a prison gym Wednesday to hear how they can help victims of serious crimes. Some wanted to know how they could help the very people they hurt.

Policy:

Early release confusion: New custody credits not retroactive in Humboldt County
By Chris Durant, The Times-Standard--Since Jan. 25, counties around California have struggled with how to handle a new law that will dramatically reduce sentences for many inmates in county jail The issue appears to be whether the law is retroactive for inmates that were sentenced before Jan. 25, when the law took effect. Humboldt County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Brenda Godsey said, at the direction of County Counsel Wendy Chaitin, that inmates in the Humboldt County jail will not have the credits applied retroactively.

Early release for less than 100 inmates
By Ben van der Meer, Appeal-Democrat--Changes in a state jail sentencing law means more convicted criminals will be on the streets sooner in the Mid-Valley. Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker said the changes will mean as many as 50 prisoners will be released early from his jail in the next month.Yuba County Jail will release less than 30 during the next few months, Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes said Thursday, out of a population of about 400. Colusa County will have to release four.

Assault, prostitution among early jail releases
By Greg Hardesty, Jon Cassidy, Brian Joseph and Salvador Hernandez, The Orange County Register--A new state law allowing for the early release of inmates includes those who have been convicted of crimes ranging from misdemeanor spousal abuse, vehicle theft, and felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily harm.Inmates doing time for misdemeanor assault and battery, prostitution or embezzlement also stand to benefit under the new law – in addition to lower-level drug and DUI offenders.

Sex Offenders:

29 sex offenders arrested in East Bay
By Robert Salonga, Contra Costa Times--Jeffrey Tice, a 29-year-old registered sex offender, had porn links on his computer and beer in the fridge, both violations of his parole, authorities said.He lay on his sofa arguing with a team of sheriff's deputies and state parole agents in his apartment about why he shouldn't be arrested.But the officers weren't there to entertain his thoughts. They handcuffed him and led him outside to a van headed for County Jail.

High Profile Case:

Garridos, Dugard 'acted as a family,' new court documents claim
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee--Jaycee Lee Dugard and the couple accused of kidnapping her as a child eventually became a family, taking vacations together, spending time at the library, raising pets and running a family business, court documents filed late Thursday claim.The documents, made available this morning, were filed by Phillip Garrido's defense attorneys and claim that sexual activity involving Dugard ended after she gave birth to her second child by Garrido.

Death Row:

Death Row Inmate Found Dead In Cell
Reno News--San Quentin State Prison authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy on death row inmate Joseph Musselwhite, who was found dead Tuesday night in his cell, according to a correctional lieutenant. Musselwhite, 47, was found unresponsive in his cell at 7:21 p.m. Tuesday and was pronounced dead shortly afterward. An autopsy was performed by the Marin County coroner's office Thursday, according to Lt. Sam Robinson.

Justin Helzer back in prison after suicide try
Mercury News--Death row inmate Justin Helzer is back in prison, nearly two weeks after he reportedly tried to kill himself by jabbing pens into his eyes. Helzer returned to San Quentin Prison on Wednesday and is being housed in the prison's in-custody care unit that deals with inmates needing psychiatric or medical care, prison spokseman Lt. Sam Robinson said.

Immigration:

Cason Point: State must think outside the cell
Ventura County Star--Now comes the governor’s plan to outsource undocumented immigrants in California prisons to Mexico. We California taxpayers, he said, would pay to build these crossbar hotels across the border. An estimated 19,000 of the state’s 171,000 prisoners were convicted of crimes while committing another one — being in this country illegally. California spends about $800 million a year to house them.

CDCR Related & Miscellaneous:

One man's short, difficult life
By Andrew Galvin, The Orange County Register--The final night of John Richard Krall's brief life is a matter of public record.The events of the six previous months are murky.Krall, 18, became homeless in the summer of 2009 when his aunt and uncle, with whom he lived, were evicted from their apartment in Brea.

Ex-Convicts From U.S. Said to Join Yemen Radicals
By Scott Shane, New York Times--Some American former convicts who converted to Islam in prison have moved to Yemen and a few may have joined extremist groups there, according to a new Senate report. The report, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says that as many as 36 American Muslims who were prisoners have moved to Yemen in recent months, ostensibly to study Arabic, and that several of them have “dropped off the radar” and may have connected to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

OPINION:

Our View: Feeling safe about prisoners' early release
San Gabriel Valley Times--It's not just Californians - or even Californians with a weather eye on our state's budget mess - who are bothered by the fact that we spend too much to lock up too many in our prisons. And it's not just progressives who worry about the side-effects of locking up hundreds of thousands with very little effort made to "rehabilitate" them.

Don't let hype kill options to prison
Sacramento Bee--Here's a dirty little secret: Most inmates in California state prisons and county jails eventually get out and return to communities. Here's another dirty little secret: For years, overcrowded county jails have been releasing 9,100 pretrial inmates a month. They've also been releasing 9,300 sentenced inmates per month before they complete their sentences.

Prison sanity
The Press-Enterprise--The parole changes that took effect this week are far less a threat to the public than maintaining the deeply flawed status quo. The new policies can save taxpayers money, provide better public safety and curb abuses of the parole system. The changes are part of a plan approved last year by the Legislature, with the goal of cutting the inmate population and curbing corrections costs. The plan exempts low-risk inmates from parole supervision upon release, which will reduce their chances of returning to prison for a minor parole violation. The plan will also let overloaded parole officers focus their attention on the most dangerous parolees. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates the new approach will save $100 million over the next year.

ONLINE COMMENTARY:

Journal California State Association of Counties- January and February 2010
The past, present, and future of CDCR, Matthew Cate, Secretary
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Hagman Calls For Freeze of Prisoner Releases
Chino Hills--Last week, the state began implementing the worst law in 2009 that aims to cut the state's prison population by about 6,500 inmates over the next year. This law was part of the 2009 budget package that I strongly opposed, yet it passed through with a Democratic majority and was unfortunately approved by the governor. The stated goal of this plan was to reduce overcrowding and save money in the Corrections budget.
at 9:03 AM
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
CDCR STAR - Corrections Clips
NEWS STORIES:

High Profile Cases:

Records: Garrido parole monitors found just one violation
By Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh, Sacramento Bee -- Over the course of eight years, as Jaycee Lee Dugard was allegedly held captive in Phillip Garrido's Antioch-area back yard, federal parole officials continued to debate whether he should be returned to prison, newly released documents indicate. But from the time he was paroled in 1988 after serving time for kidnapping and rape, he was considered in violation only once, on a minor drug possession offense, and placed on electronic monitoring for about four months, according to the records released to The Bee under the Freedom of Information Act.

Ex-parole agent expresses remorse over Dugard
Associated Press -- A retired federal parole agent said Tuesday he is sorry neither he nor any of his colleagues discovered Jaycee Dugard was living in her alleged captor's backyard during the years Phillip Garrido was under their supervision in Northern California. Houston Antwine told Sacramento television station KCRA that he couldn't recall visiting the Antioch home where Garrido lived after he was paroled from federal prison in 1988 until his arrest in August or even having the convicted kidnapper as part of his caseload.

Programs:

State cuts hurt programs that educate inmates
By Garth Stapley, Modesto Bee -- Staggering under historic budget problems, state leaders are slashing $1.2 billion in yearly prison spending, including two-thirds of inmate education, vocation and substance abuse programs, the very things most likely to turn ex-cons away from crime when they get out. Inmates no longer will make award-winning furniture for state offices. "It's a shame this one's going down," said Lt. Kevin Wise, Sierra spokesman.

Policy:

Sacramento County starts early release of inmates
By C. Johnson, Nick Monacelli, and Suzanne Phan, News 10 -- Approximately 500 jail inmates in Sacramento County are being released early due to changes in time credits allowed for good behavior and work, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department confirmed Tuesday afternoon. The changes come after a penal code was re-written as a cost-saving measure, said Gordon Hinkle with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Bill forces early inmate release from Sacramento jail
By Robert Lewis and Andy Furillo, Sacramento Bee -- Last year's emergency bill to cut California's prison and jail populations has kicked into effect, with hundreds of locally incarcerated inmates walking free this week up to two months earlier than they had expected. Sacramento authorities said they let about 200 lower-level offenders out of jail Tuesday, compared to an average daily release count of somewhere between 100 and 150. The releases apply to offenders such as drug dealers, car thieves, drunken drivers, spousal abusers and the like. Sex criminals and serious and violent offenders have specifically been exempted.

Sheriff: Growing Number Of Inmates Released
KCRA -- A growing number of Sacramento County inmates are being released in compliance with an emergency statute signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness. The plan is part of California's new early-release program in an effort to save cash. The sheriff said Tuesday via text that the statute allows inmates to credit 50 percent of their time for good behavior effective Jan. 25. The old formula was to credit inmates one-third of their time for good behavior.

Stanton against inmate releases
By Kimberly K. Fu, Vacaville Reporter -- An inmate early-release law that went into effect on Jan. 25 may ease California's budget woes, but at the cost of public safety, Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton said Tuesday. Around the state this week, county jails began enforcing the new law by releasing inmates -- who were neither sex offenders nor violent -- in accordance with the mandate. Solano will be required to follow suit, Stanton said, but the courts will be involved in the matter.

Segerstrom On Release
By Bill Johnson, My Mother Lode -- Tuolumne County District Attorney Donald Segerstrom admits changes are in the wind with the current state prison release program. Attending the California District Attorney's Association convention at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland last week county prosecutors were told in no uncertain terms by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that a number of release programs are cost and not public safety driven.

CDCR Related and Miscellaneous:

Youth prison system under pressure
By Martha T. Moore, USA Today -- Three years after a 15-year-old boy died in restraints, the youth prison where he was pinned to the floor is set to be closed. The shuttering of Tryon Boys Residential Center is due to budget gaps that plague states across the USA — but also is a sign of the intense pressure on New York to improve its deeply troubled juvenile detention system. In August, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that the state uses excessive force on youths in custody; the federal department says it will sue the state if changes are not made. In December, a state-appointed task force said use of force and lack of mental health care are acute problems for the 1,600 children held in New York's juvenile facilities each year.

New report aimed at keeping violent criminals in prison
By Harve Jacobs, Live 5 News, South Carolina -- A report released Tuesday on South Carolina's criminal justice system focuses on stopping the revolving door to prison, offering fair sentencing and keeping violent offenders behind bars. It's been a constant problem in South Carolina's prisons. The state's Sentencing Reform Commission, made up of lawmakers, judges and the Department of Corrections director have been studying prison reform the past year.

David Cameron throws weight behind prison ships
By Francis Elliot, Times Online -- David Cameron has said that he had “always believed” in using prison ships amid reports of an internal row over the party’s plans to rapidly increase jail capacity. The Tory leader confirmed that the party was preparing to explain how it would increase the number of places so that it could scrap the controversial early release scheme. He said an incoming Conservative administration would need to find extra jail places quickly to meet its pledge. “One of the fastest ways would be prison ships,” he said.

Prison ship policy shock splits Tories
By Andy Coulson, Guardian UK --A Tory proposal to reintroduce prison ships that would ease Britain's overcrowded jails has sparked a furious row at the highest levels of the Conservative party. Floating jails are being considered as a means to fulfil David Cameron's pledge to end the government's prisoner early-release scheme, a party spokesman said this weekend.

OPINION:

Don't panic over release of prisoners
By Larry Phipps, Chico Enterprise-Record -- Here they go again with their fearmongering hysteria regarding the early release of inmates from California prisons due to extreme overcrowding. Once again, let me say that only the low-level, nonviolent offenders who are in their last year of confinement and have been well behaved will even be considered for this program. This is not a massive release of murderers nor rapists nor any other violent offender. It will be phased in over a period of two years, allowing for a gradual release, not a mass exodus, as some law enforcement people would have us believe.

Phony brave unmasked
By Tommy Russel, Bakersfield Californian -- In the local law enforcement community, former detention deputy Daniel Lindini is considered a cross between John Wayne, the dead actor, and Elmer Fudd, of cartoon fame. He successfully portrays himself as a bigger than life tough guy, and his cowardly act of beating a shackled man to death must have fed his Elmer Fudd ego ("Detention officers get prison time for their role in jail beating death," Jan. 20). Within about 72 hours of his sentencing, inmate Lindini arrived at a California Department of Corrections facility and his ability to make decisions on his own, unsupervised, was suddenly limited to that of a 3-year-old.

ONLINE COMMENTARY:

California Gets Federal Aid to Help Pay Prison Costs of Illegal Immigrants
By Christopher A Guzman, California Independent Voter Network -- According to the Los Angeles Times, President Obama's recently released budget plan will allocate more than $1 billion to California. Besides going toward healthcare for needy families, funds will also be apportioned to jailing for illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. Specifically, funding would go toward the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a program created by way of the Immigrant and Neutrality Act of 1990. The goal of the program is to have funds available for when illegal immigrants are incarcerated in the U.S. prison system.

Governor Schwarzenegger: Mexico/Prison Reform/Higher Education budget
By Peggy Reskin, San Francisco Examiner -- Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal reported in the San Francisco Chronicle last week is not as out of this world as it has been perceived by some. Saving a billion dollars on the prison costs that are breaking California's back financially with overcrowded prisons which cost the taxpayer $102,730 for each prisoner incarcerated is a serious problem. His plan: we pay Mexico to build the prisons for undocumented prisoners currently being paid for by the state of California, which represents 1/2 the cost of installing a new facility in California, and then once operational in Mexico, it costs 1/2 the amount to run the prison. Tittering and knee slaps were heard when this was first reported, but looking at it more seriously, there are good reasons to investigate this proposal.
at 8:39 AM
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