California Prison Hunger Strike Leader Is Convicted Murderer With Alleged Aryan Brotherhood Ties

A convicted murderer with alleged Aryan Brotherhood ties who has been kept in solitary confinement for more than a quarter of a century is driving the hunger strike that has been going on for nearly a month in California's prison system.

Todd Ashker, 50, who earned a paralegal degree while in prison, has been one of the most vocal inmates in the fight against the state's security housing units (SHUs), where more than 3,000 California inmates are housed, according to the Prison Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, a group of grassroots organizations and community activists dedicated to making sure inmates' voices are heard during the protest.

The focus of the hunger strike, which began on July 8, is a demand to end indefinite solitary confinement, which inmates say is tantamount to torture and has deprived them of basic rights, such as human interaction and sunlight.

It was determined in 1988 that Ashker had ties to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang, something he denies, according to a complaint filed last year in U.S. District for the Northern District of California by Ashker and nine other prisoners seeking an end to indefinite incarceration in SHUs on the basis that it is cruel and unusual punishment and there is no due process.

A hearing on whether the suit can be given class action status is scheduled for Aug. 8.

Perceived gang membership is one of the reasons many of the plaintiffs, including Ashker, were placed in SHUs, according to the complaint.

The Sting of Juvenile Detention

The Crime Report — When young people held in San Diego County’s juvenile hall are disciplined with pepper spray, guards at the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility ask afterwards if they want a shower.

The best response, says former youth offender Ian Arellano, is “no.”

Water reactivates the sting—which then washes down your body, he explains. Instead of affecting just your arms or face, suddenly every pore burns.

“It hurts really bad,” says Arellano, who was in and out of juvenile facilities in Southern California at least 10 times between 2007 and 2010. “They say it lasts for an hour, but it lasts all day.”

The San Diego County Probation Department operates five detention facilities, with a total average daily population of 800 youths.

Arellano, now 22 and living in Southeast San Diego, says friends currently in juvenile hall tell him nothing has changed—despite assurances last year that the practice would be re-evaluated.

Records obtained by San Diego CityBeat through the California Public Records (CPRA) Act back him up.

They suggest that pepper spray—called “OC” (short for “Oleoresin Capsicum”)— is deployed daily, sometimes multiple times a day, in the county’s juvenile facilities.The records show a total of 414 incidents during 2012.

While that represents slightly more than a 10 percent decrease since the 2011, it’s not clear that county justice officials are willing to address the problem seriously. continue reading...

Inmate shoots officer at Boston hospital

PoliceOne — Police say an inmate being taken for treatment at a specialty hospital in Boston has shot a deputy sheriff after a struggle over the officer's gun. Another office then fired at the prisoner, critically wounding him.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says two deputy sheriffs from Middlesex County had taken the inmate to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary on Wednesday. Davis says as the officers removed the inmate's handcuffs, he began to struggle with them and snatched a gun from one officer.

Davis says the inmate shot one deputy sheriff in the leg. The other deputy sheriff fired his weapon, striking the inmate in the chest.

The deputy is in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

The hospital focuses on the disorders of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck.

Day in the Life of a CDCR Transportation Officer

Inside CDCR — Every day dozens of CDCR buses carry inmates along California’s freeways and

roadways. Many pass by without notice as they transport hundreds of inmates to and from institutions across the state.

It’s the job of CDCR Sgt. Christina Shephard in the Transportation Unit, a 22-year veteran of the department, to make sure the inmates get where they are scheduled to go.

Sgt. Shephard starts her Tuesday morning at CDCR’s transportation hub for Northern California at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy. Transportation officers move inmates of all levels – from reception center to maximum-security Level IV – to every institution across the state, from Pelican Bay to Centinela.

The schedule is made by staff in the Transportation Unit at CDCR headquarters in Sacramento.

“It’s very busy,” Sgt. Shephard said. “It’s madness, but it’s a controlled madness.”

The officers in transportation have different schedules and some of the buses may run three- or four-day trips across the state. At the northern hub at DVI, there’s usually at least six scheduled bus runs per week. In addition to the long-haul movements there are also daily van movements to local institutions. continue reading...

Police fear missing California girl with 'armed and dangerous' sex offender

Foxnews — A 15-year-old California girl missing for more than a week may be with an "armed and
dangerous" sex offender who disabled his ankle monitor and cannot be found, authorities told FoxNews.com.

Patsy Lopez, of Bakersfield, was last seen July 20 at 11 p.m. Police suspect the child, who is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds, is in the company of John Gonzales, a 37-year-old registered sex offender who is currently at large.

It's not known whether Lopez is with Gonzales or whether she was the victim of an abduction. Sgt. Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department said Lopez is currently classified as a "runaway" because police determined she left her home willingly.

Lopez is considered at-risk because of her age and an unknown medical condition.

"There are additional concerns with this because of the possibility that she's with this man," Grubbs told FoxNews.com on Tuesday. continue reading...

Corrections Dept. gets bad report about health care at Corcoran Prison (updated)

KPCC — As California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation deals with an ongoing hunger strike and having to move more then 2,500 inmates this week from two prisons plagued by Valley Fever, the department received another bit of bad news Monday: Independent court investigators have found medical care at Corcoran State Prison to be sorely lacking.

In a report filed in Federal Court, three independent investigators found an array of problems that they say threaten the health and safety of inmates at the Central Valley prison:

“Clinical supervision of providers and oversight of medical care at Corcoran is grossly inadequate and threatens the safety of patients.”

Among the findings:

--Medical staff were observed repeatedly failing to wash their hands before treating patients.

--Medical supplies and equipment were stored in non-sanitary conditions.

--Medical leadership failed to conduct oversight and review of clinicians. continue reading...

Celebrities join prison hunger strikers in protesting isolation

LA Times — Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson, Bonnie Raitt and Jay Leno have joined prison hunger strikers

in calling for an end to California's use of solitary confinement to control prison gang violence.

The civil rights crusaders, singer and late-night comedian are among those who signed a letter sent Monday to Gov. Jerry Brown. The letter calls isolation units "extensions of the same inhumanity practiced at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay."

The letter to Brown, to be followed by a demonstration Tuesday at the Capitol, was arranged by the National Religion Campaign Against Torture and local supporters of the prison protesters.

The organization, based in Washington, is pushing to close solitary confinement units at prisons in 13 states, viewing such isolation as torture, said Executive Director Rev. Richard Killmer.

Brown's spokesman referred a request for comment to the corrections department.

Isolation units "serve a vital role in state prisons, keeping staff and other inmates safe from the same violent gangs leading the hunger strike and terrorizing communities across California," corrections spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman said.

Other notables who signed the letter to Brown include political critic Noam Chomsky, Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and actor Peter Coyote. continue reading...

Prison system plagued by frivolous lawsuits

San Diego Union-Tribune — Michael Witkin will be an inmate at Solano state prison at least until 2026, yet he has filed a lawsuit against a Sacramento-area car-repair-shop owner asking for $15,000 in damages for the lost use of his transmission.

It will be a long time before Witkin can drive any vehicle again, but this minor civil case illustrates a major issue: the way inmates can tie up the court system with cases that would strike most anyone as frivolous. Their court fees are typically paid for by California taxpayers.

“It’s been very frustrating and costly,” said Bruce Toelle Jr., owner of PTS Extreme Transmissions (a neighbor of mine), who has been dealing with the lawsuit since January 2012. He said Witkin dropped off his transmission for repair at least three years ago, then never came to pick it up. Toelle viewed the transmission as abandoned property.

Witkin’s lawsuit alleges that “Defendant Toelle took possession of petitioner’s transmission … and refusing on numerous occasions to return the unit.” Toelle said it’s a simple statute-of-limitations issue and can’t understand why this case has dragged through the courts for 18 months, running up his legal expenses.

A judge even granted Witkin extra time and the right to testify via telephone. As of July 22, Sacramento County Superior Court noted that “The court has heard nothing from Mr. Witkin.” The court asked both parties to file their final briefs by mid-August, so the central issue should soon be resolved. But who can restore the wasted time? continue reading...

10 officers involved in deadly Salinas shootout

KCRA 3 — Salinas police say 10 officers have been placed on administrative leave while officials investigate their roles in a deadly shootout with an armed parolee.

Cmdr. Vince Maiorana said Monday that the officers included eight from the Salinas Police Department, a California Highway Patrol officer and one Monterey County sheriff's deputy.

The firefight occurred Friday evening when officers from the county's gang task force tried to stop 30-year-old Juan Luis Acuna on a Salinas street and he ran away. During the short chase, officers in marked and unmarked cars exchanged gunfire with Acuna. He was struck several times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Salinas Californian reports that Acuna, a parolee with a criminal record dating back to 1999, has been linked to several shootings in the area.

Newark teens charged with robbery after shootout with corrections officer

NJ.com — A pair of Newark teenagers were charged with robbery today, hours after they were injured during a shootout with an off-duty corrections officer in the city, authorities said.

Kyle Cross, 19, and an unidentified 16-year-old boy were shot near Bergen Street and Pomona Avenue around 2:30 a.m. after the masked teens attempted to rob an unidentified off-duty Essex County Corrections officer, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray.

Both suspects were armed, according to Anthony Ambrose, the prosecutor's chief of detectives. Cross and the other suspect both shot at the officer, who then returned fire and struck both teens, Ambrose said.

At least 17 rounds were fired during the entire exchange, according to Ambrose, who said it was not clear if the officer had time to identify himself as a law enforcement officer. The officer was dropping a friend in the neighborhood when the shooting occurred, according to Ambrose.

The officer, hired by Essex County in 2008, was treated for trauma and released from the hospital, Murray said. continue reading...

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Corcoran inmate dies during prison protest

LA Times — A state prison inmate who had participated in the statewide hunger strike has died, apparently by hanging himself in his isolation cell, state corrections officials said Saturday.

The death of the 32-year-old man occurred Monday in the segregation unit at California State Prison near Corcoran, but was not confirmed by state corrections officials until after The Times learned of it from inmate advocacy groups. Conditions in those isolation units are the core focus of a hunger strike that began July 8 and is now in its 20th day with 601 inmates continuing to refuse meals.

State officials refused Saturday to name the prisoner because they said they could not verify that his family members had been contacted. Spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the man was found unresponsive in his cell, and pronounced dead in the prison's hospital. She said he was serving a double-life sentence from Solano County for attempted first-degree murder and was pending trial for the murder of his cellmate in 2007, also at Corcoran.

The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, representing a number of inmate advocacy organizations, identified the inmate as Billy "Guero" Sell.

A spokeswoman for the court-appointed agency that runs prison healthcare services, Joyce Hayhoe, said the man "may have been originally on the hunger strike and then went off."

No mention of the death was included in medical reports the receiver's office has provided during the strike. Hayhoe said it did not appear the inmate remained part of the hunger strike protest at that time.

The death also was not reported to advocates for protesting prisoners who met with top corrections officials Tuesday, the lead mediator for that group said. Laura Magnani, with American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, said other prisoners said the inmate had unsuccessfully sought medical attention before his death. continue reading...

More than 1,000 inmates escape Libyan prison

Fox News — More than 1,000 detainees escaped from a prison near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in a massive jailbreak Saturday, as protesters stormed the offices of political parties in Libya's main cities.

It wasn't immediately clear if the jailbreak at the Koyfiya prison came as part of the protests or if inmates received outside help. Protesters had massed across the country angry over the killing of an activist critical of the country's Muslim Brotherhood group.

Those who escaped either face or were convicted of serious charges, a security official at Koyfiya prison said, confirming the jailbreak. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.

There also was confusion initially about how many prisoners broke out, with numbers of escapees ranging as high as 1,200, Benghazi's security situation is among the most precarious in post-revolution Libya. Last year, the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack there.

Meanwhile Saturday, hundreds gathered in the capital Tripoli after dawn prayers, denouncing the Friday shooting death of Abdul-Salam Al-Musmari. They set fire to tires in the street and demanded the dissolution of Islamist parties. continue reading...

Looks about right?

Growing trend allows some inmates to pay for nicer jail cells, when to serve sentence

News 10 — Some inmates are paying for jail and are being allowed to buy an upgrade to a nicer jail cell.

Some of these programs charge the same rates as 3-star hotels, but inmates shouldn't expect the same accommodations. In fact, supporters said the real winners are taxpayers, and one program has been operating successfully in Roseville for more than five years.

Roseville began their program back in 2007. Inmates pay $60 for each 12 hours they serve. The money off-sets jail operation costs. A judge can let a nonviolent criminal to serve up to 90 days in the Roseville jail, and they don't have to serve it all at once. They can take up to three times the amount of their sentence. For example, someone who has to serve 30 days can take up to 90 days spacing their sentence out over weekends and other days.

"It helps people to stay employed," Roseville Jail Commander Lt. Merv Screeton said. "They're able to come and serve their sentence at a time that allows them to keep their job, so they stay employed and can make their house payment, take care of their financial responsibilities, and also a lot of the people will sometimes be single parents."

One Roseville inmate who's serving time for DUI said he chose the program in order to work around his child custody schedule. The days he doesn't have his child, he spends in jail, where he's allowed to listen to music or watch movies on his iPod. However, he said he tries to eat before he gets there because he doesn't like the jail food. continue reading...

California's crime rates inch up in 2012

Sacbee — The number of violent crimes and property crimes in California inched up between 2011 and 2012, according to a new analysis of crime data released by the Attorney General's office on Friday.

A press release from the office stressed that crime rates are down drastically from their levels 20 years ago. Californians endured 160,629 violent crimes in 2012, far below a 20-year peak of 345,508 in 1992. That reduction comes despite California's population growing by more than six million people since 1992.

Nevertheless, the findings will likely serve as ammunition to critics of Gov. Jerry Brown's criminal justice policies. In an effort to reduce prison overcrowding known as realignment, Brown has presided over a push to send low-level offenders to county jails, in some cases spurring early releases.

Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a Republican poised to challenge Brown for the governorship in 2014, has signaled that realignment will likely form a centerpiece of his campaign. continue reading...

Veteran Albuquerque Officer, Union Official Fired

Albuquerque Journal — A longtime Albuquerque police officer who also served as secretary of the police union has been fired, officials said.

Deputy City Attorney Kathy Levy, who serves primarily as APD's lawyer, confirmed in a telephone interview that officer Dawne Roberto had been under investigation since March after a citizen filed a complaint against her, but she would not say specifically what Roberto was fired for.

The president of the police union, however, said in an interview Wednesday that it was her understanding that allegations Roberto violated the department's social media policy were among the reasons. The union has appealed the firing.

The Journal earlier this year obtained a copy of the citizen's complaint through the state Inspection of Public Records Act. The complainant's name was redacted, but the body of the complaint indicates that it was filed by the wife of an APD sergeant.

Among the allegations in the complaint was that Roberto had "for years" been involved with a website called "The Eye On Albuquerque," whose anonymous bloggers are hyper-critical of the city and police administrations, the Albuquerque Journal and others.

The complaint alleged that Roberto "has been running this blog for years and gets much of the information for their stories from work," according to the complaint, which states that Roberto was a personal friend of the sergeant's family. "She is and has been abusing her official capacity as a police officer to disseminate police information on a public blog site. I have seen her approve comments while logged onto the page with my very own eyes." continue reading...

North Kern State Prison search reveals contraband problem

KERO 23 — A recent search of a North Kern State Prison has revealed a contraband problem.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation searched one facility on Wednesday and found a number of banned items.

The contraband discovered include cell phones, chargers, marijuana, and a hacksaw blade.

Prison officials say contraband cell phones are a growing problem at the facility and hinder the monitoring process in prisons along with helping inmates create new crimes.

Prisoners caught with phones lose 90 days of good credit time and staff or visitors caught sneaking one in can receive up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Mental health center at California Men's Colony to open in August

The Tribune — A $23 million mental health facility at the California Men’s Colony is expected to open in August to fulfill a federal mandate calling for improved care of the incarcerated mentally ill.

The licensed 50-bed correctional treatment center will provide temporary care for inmates suffering a mental health crisis.

Inmates from throughout the state who are suicidal or a threat to others will be transferred and cared for in the new facility by a team of nurses, psychiatric technicians and doctors. Correctional officers will maintain the security of the building.

“When an inmate is deemed to be in crisis, they are a danger to everyone, including themselves,” said Lt. Frank Perez, CMC spokesman.

The two-story 45,000-square-foot building, located at the south end of the prison’s East facility, includes intake holding rooms, medical evaluation offices, two cell blocks, a pharmacy, outdoor recreation cells and administrative offices. Two hundred new employees will be needed to staff the 24-hour facility.

Special features include a padded room used for inmates deemed a danger to themselves and two pressurized rooms for inmates with contagious airborne illnesses such as tuberculosis. continue reading...

Prison protesters who drink Koolaid aren't counted in tallies

LA Times — California's prison hunger strike entered its 17th day Wednesday with 707 inmates continuing to refuse meals, and inmate advocates complaining those who turn down food but drink electrolytes or Koolaid are not being included in the state's protest count.

"Some inmates said they were on a solid food-only hunger strike," said Carol Strickman, an attorney with the inmate support group Prisoners with Children. "If they want to drink tea, electrolytes, we feel they should be allowed to do that."

An official with the court-appointed medical receiver's office, which runs prison medical programs in California, confirmed that those refusing food but accepting liquids are not included in the protest tally. However, said Joyce Hayhoe, those inmates are receiving medical attention as necessary.

The receiver's office reported eight inmates at three prisons required medical checks, and one at Corcoran State Prison was moved to an outside hospital for testing and observation. A 10th inmate, at Pelican Bay State Prison, was given intravanous fluids and sent back to his cell, she said.

Medical care is important at this point in the protest, as some inmates resume eating after refusing food for more than two weeks, Hayhoe said. "We're worried about refeeding syndrome," she said, referring to a potentially fatal shift in electrolytes if someone eats too much food immediately after fasting.

Hayhoe said most physical issues raised by inmates participating in the hunger strike over prison conditions currently include complaints of light-headedness, dizziness and dehydration.

When the protest began, more than 30,000 prisoners refused meals.

New mental health facility dedicated at Corcoran prison

Fresno Bee — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation dedicated a new mental health facility Wednesday at Corcoran State Prison, spokesman Bill Sessa said.

The 14,000-square-foot building is the latest addition to the department's $2 billion expansion of medical and mental health facilities to meet court-ordered improvements in the quality of care provided to inmates.

The two-story facility will house rooms for group and individual counseling sessions, recreational therapy and treatment, and offices for clinical professional staff.

About 34,000 prison inmates, or about 25% of California's total prison population, require some form of mental health treatment, Sessa said.

Valley Police Beat: Two people arrested, charged with throwing bag into prison

Imperial Valley Press — Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated to arrest two people charged with throwing a bag over a Calipatria State Prison wall Tuesday.

Around 9:40 p.m., prison staff saw a man approach the minimum-security housing area’s barbed-wire fence and throw a bag into the area, said Lt. Everardo Silva, Calipatria State Prison Administrative Assistant Public Information Officer.

The man, Rogelio Marquez of Lancaster, started running into a nearby field west of the area when he was apprehended through a joint effort of the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, Calipatria Police Department and members of the Calipatria State Prison Specialized Team.

A second suspect, Diana Castelo Lugo of Lancaster, was apprehended in a vehicle west of the area on Wiest Road.

Five grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia was found in the vehicle she was driving.

The bag thrown into the prison contained six cell phones and two more cell phones were found in the prison with assistance of a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit.

Silva said phones are sold within the prison for $500 to $1,200 each.

Marquez and Lugo were booked into Imperial County jail and face felony charges.

State parole agent to get new jury trial on reverse-discrimination claim

A white parole agent who sued the state claiming he lost a promotion to a less qualified African-American parole agent because of race should have a second chance to prove his case, a state appeals court ruled.

The case was filed by agent Philip Andrew Mounts, who is white, against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The corrections department promoted Ronnie Sims, a black parole agent, as the supervisor for the high-risk sex-offender unit in 2008, the position Mounts wanted.

Mounts claimed that he was the more experienced candidate, having spent many years as a sex-crime detective and his previous assignment to a parole unit that supervised high-risk sex offenders. Mounts argued that Sims lacked his knowledge and was chosen because of his race.

Corrections administrators said that Mounts was not the right fit and that race was not considered when Sims was hired.

A Fresno County Superior Court jury in 2011 rejected Mounts' reverse-discrimination claim.

But a three-justice panel from the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno reversed the jury's decision and sent the case back for retrial.

The appellate panel noted that the jury found race was a factor in the promotion decision, but that jurors concluded the state had other reasons to promote Sims instead of Mounts.

The justices found the jury likely was misled by a special verdict form put forward by the state's attorneys, and might have reached a different conclusion if it had received more thorough jury instructions.

Hunger strike over at Tracy prison

Tracy Press — A hunger strike by the inmates at Deuel Vocational Institution ended on Saturday, July 20, according to DVI spokesman Lt. Arnel Bona.

“Not exactly sure what prompted them (to stop),” said Bona, on Monday, July 22. “One day they are not eating and another they are.”

When the hunger strike began on July 8 at the state’s 33 prisons, 738 DVI inmates stopped eating state-issued meals. However, that number shrank to 448 by July 11, according to Bona.

DVI housed around 2,775 inmates during the hunger strike, Bona said,

“Everybody is all happy,” he said. “They’re happy and we’re happy.”

Jeffrey Callison, press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, declined to comment Monday on current activities at DVI.

Callison did confirm that as of Sunday, July 21, there were 1,081 inmates at 11 institutions still participating in the hunger strike and 42 inmates had refused to work.

About 30,000 inmates statewide were involved in the hunger strike on the first day and nearly 29,000 inmates refused meals on Tuesday, July 9 and Wednesday, July 10, according to the CDCR. continue reading...

California prison officials to meet with advocates of striking inmates

LA Times — California prison officials have agreed to meet with advocates for inmates who are now in their third week of a statewide hunger strike. The discussions are to take place Tuesday in Sacramento.

Though state Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard said California has had "ongoing conversations" with leaders of the prison protest over solitary confinement conditions, Tuesday's meeting will mark the first time the state has sat down with outside advocates for those inmates since before the protests began July 8.

The discussion will include a top state prison administrator but not Beard himself. "We hope he will eventually talk to us himself," said Laura Magnani, one of the inmate advocates, from the San Francisco office of the American Friends Service Committee.

Magnani said she was encouraged the state is now willing to resume discussions with those representing the protesting inmates. As of Sunday, the number of hunger strikers had fallen to 1,081, down from more than 30,000 inmates who joined the protest its first day.

[Updated, 4:40 p.m. July 22: On Monday afternoon, the corrections department said the number of hunger strikers had dropped to 986 prisoners in 11 prisons, and 42 who continued to refuse to go to their prison jobs. The medical receiver's office said two inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison required hydration, and one at North Kern State Prison refused medical attention.] continue reading...

First patient inmates arrive in Stockton

Stockton Record — Six men, three from a state prison in Lancaster and three from a state prison in Salinas, arrived Monday at the California Health Care Facility.

The inmates were transferred in restraints, wearing either blue or orange jumpsuits and carefully guarded. They were headed for brightly lit, modern mental health housing units. And, just like that, California’s massive prison health care facility southeast of Stockton went from construction site to a functioning hospital.

By Friday, the inaugural six will be joined by 24 additional inmate patients, and a five-month “activation schedule” will be under way.

By mid-December, there will be 1,722 adult physically and mentally ill prisoners, all men, at the facility.

California finds too few inmates for early release

AP — Gov. Jerry Brown's administration says in a court filing that the state is falling far short of meeting a demand from federal judges to find thousands of inmates who could be released from prison early without endangering the public.

The judges are requiring the state to free nearly 10,000 inmates by the end of the year to ease prison crowding as the best way to improve treatment for sick and mentally ill inmates. If other methods fail, they ordered the state to reach that level by releasing offenders who are deemed unlikely to commit new crimes.

However, the state said late Thursday that it has identified only about 1,200 inmates who could be safely released.

Last week, Brown asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the inmate releases while it considers an appeal by the state. Inmates' attorneys filed a 73-page challenge Friday asking the high court to reject that request.

The justices should refuse to reconsider the decision they made in 2011, when they upheld the authority of the lower court to order that inmates be released to improve prison conditions, the attorneys said. Moreover, the attorneys said inmates can be released without harming public safety. continue reading...

Four inmates on hunger strike require medical attention

LA Times — California prison medical officials said Thursday that four inmates participating in a statewide hunger strike have required medical care and a fifth has been referred to a physician.

Three of those protesters at the state prison in Calipatria in Southern California were moved to an outpatient housing facility within prison grounds for care, said Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the court-appointed medical receiver's office in charge of prison healthcare.

The fourth inmate, at Pelican Bay State Prison, was not moved but given fluids through an IV, while another protester at that prison was sent to a physician, Gransee said.

Friday marks the 12th day of a protest that began July 8 with 30,000 inmates refusing their state-issued meals. As of Thursday, the number of protesters had dropped to 2,300.

[Updated at 3:50 p.m.: California corrections officials on Thursday afternoon updated the number of active hunger strike participants to 1,457 inmates housed in 15 prisons.]

Inmates participating in the disturbance are calling for limits on the state's use of solitary confinement to control prison gangs, as well as changes in how inmates are identified by race for discipline after gang-related violence in prisons. continue reading...

EDITORIAL: End costly auto-pilot raises in government

The Press-Enterprise — Government should not set salary decisions on autopilot. State and local elected officials should avoid employee contract provisions that link pay with what other agencies offer. That practice mindlessly ratchets up pay with no regard for available resources, need or any other practical consideration.

The state announced last week that California Highway Patrol officers are getting a 5.9 percent pay raise this year. Four percent of the increase goes directly to higher salaries, while the remaining 1.9 percent goes to prefund health benefits for workers when they retire. The state estimates the pay hike will cost taxpayers $44.4 million this fiscal year for rank and file union members.

But the raise does not stem from any review of performance, pay scales, living expenses, inflation or any other factor. Instead, Highway Patrol officers will collect more money just because police elsewhere in California recently got raises. The CHP’s state contract ties officers’ salary levels to what police take home in Los Angeles County and the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego. Pay at those agencies has climbed, so Highway Patrol officers will receive more, too.

Basing state pay on unrelated local government decisions sets a bizarre benchmark. Why should the state, with vastly different resources, responsibilities and priorities than local government, link its employees’ pay to whatever cities and counties agree to offer? Such an approach takes responsibility for state spending decisions out of legislators’ hands, and gives it to local governments — who are focused on their own considerations and not the state’s labor contracts. Abdicating control of spending to outside bodies hardly constitutes careful fiscal management.

And Highway Patrol pay is already generous. The Sacramento Bee reports that the average regular pay for a full-time officer in 2012 was more than $86,600. But overtime and a range of other special pay categories can quickly inflate basic salary, and about 70 percent of the CHP union — more than 4,700 officers — posted six figure-incomes in 2012. Is an automatic increase to already big salaries the wisest use of taxpayer funds given the state’s other pressing needs? continue reading...

Hunger Strike

Atascadero prison guard dies in high-speed chase in San Benito County

The Tribune — A prison guard from Atascadero died last week during a high-speed chase while fleeing from police in San Benito County.

The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the man was David John Calmere, age 41.

He worked at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed.

CHP officers first attempted to pull over Calmere at 12:34 a.m. July 12 when they spotted him speeding through a construction zone in the Prunedale Improvement Project area of Highway 101, CHP Officer Robert Lehman said.

But Calmere fled and continued northbound on Highway 101 in his Toyota Tundra.

The six-mile chase was over in about four minutes, when Calmere lost control of his truck and it struck both the right and left guard rails before rolling over. He was ejected and died at the scene, Lehman said.

The accident took place on Highway 101 south of Cannon Road, which is north of Salinas and south of Gilroy.

Northbound lanes of Highway 101 were not fully reopened until 6 a.m. Friday.

2,500 inmates still on hunger strike, Lancaster on lockdown

LA Times — The number of California inmates continuing a statewide hunger strike hovered at 2,500 on Tuesday, as prison medical workers worked to finish the first round of health checks.

Corrections officials Tuesday confirmed parts of the California State Prison near Lancaster had been on at least partial lockdown since Saturday. Movement was restricted within the prison following a riot in the dining hall that department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said was “unrelated to the mass hunger strike."

No significant health issues were reported as some inmates went their ninth day without food, said Liz Gransee, spokeswoman for the medical receiver's office appointed by federal courts to run California's prison healthcare system. Full medical checks are not scheduled to begin until protesters go two weeks without eating.

Family members of some of those refusing meals are uneasy with the wait.

"They are already getting sick," said Elaine Gurule, who visited her two sons at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi over the weekend. Gurule said her sons, participating in the hunger strike that began July 8, were weak and dizzy. She expressed surprise that prison officials had not weighed the inmates, but instead handed them "do not resuscitate" forms to fill out in case they collapse. California's hunger strike protocol does not include force feeding.

"They're trying to make it hard on them," Gurule said.

Prison medical workers by Wednesday should complete an initial assessment of all inmates who are refusing food, Gransee said. The checks include blood pressure and respiration rate readings, but inmates will not be weighed unless staff deem it medically necessary, she said. Medical emergency forms are part of the packets being distributed that also include warnings of the long-term effects of fasting, Gransee said. continue reading...

Convention Update #1

The following updates from the convention are via CCPOA San Quentin and TheRevolution IsHere :

--Wave 4 of layoffs has been postponed due to staff shortages... They (CDCR) are hiring Parole Agents back because they didn't GUESS the number of inmates and parolees correctly.
More to follow ... No news on POFF YET

--Lateral transfers on hold as of now. The transfers have to do with the amount of vacancies in the institution
There's over 1,000 vacancies throughout the state. They are looking to hire about 2,720 c/os, so maybe when that happens they will open up transfers.

--Donning and Doffing update: August 13, 2013, will start the 1st phase of trial.

--CDCR is looking to transfer another 150 Officers to the CHFC in August. We are not sure if the old transfer packet will be used.
It's our position new packets be submitted!

Inmate escapes from minimum support unit at Pelican Bay Prison

LA Times — An inmate from Los Angeles County walked out of a minimum-support facility Monday afternoon at Pelican Bay State Prison, correctional authorities said.

Tore Digirolamo, 44, arrived at Pelican Bay in 2011 from Los Angeles County with a four-year sentence for second-degree burglary, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was found missing from his bunk.

The minimum-support facility at Pelican Bay is a 400-bed unit that houses nonviolent inmates outside the secure perimeter of the main prison.

Authorities described Digirolamo as white with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 6 and weighs 193 pounds.

Located in Crescent City, Pelican Bay is designed to hold the state's most serious criminal offenders, a number of them members and leaders of prison gangs.

Anyone with information regarding Digirolamo is asked to call (707) 465-1280.

CDCR Updates Information on Mass Hunger Strike Disturbance

CDCR Today — As of today, 2,572 inmates in 17 state prisons are on a mass hunger strike disturbance, down from 12,421 inmates on July 11, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). An inmate is considered to be on a hunger strike after he has missed nine consecutive meals.

Today, 258 inmates refused to participate in their work assignments or attend educational classes.

On Saturday, July 13, 6,370 inmates were on a mass hunger strike and 714 had refused to go to work.

On Sunday, July 14, 4,487 inmates were on a mass hunger strike; 731 had refused to go to work.

CDCR is not identifying how many inmates are or are not participating in specific prisons. The mass hunger strike is organized by prison gangs and publicizing participation levels at specific prisons could put inmates who are not participating in extreme danger.

There have been no reports of violence or unrest related to this mass disturbance.

Why California won't build prisons to ease inmate overcrowding

Modesto Bee — In his final effort to forestall a federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison population by nearly 10,000 inmates, Gov. Jerry Brown last week counted the ways prison conditions have improved since the court first winced at overcrowding years ago.

Since 2008, Brown's administration said in a U.S. Supreme Court filing, California has diverted thousands of offenders from the prison system to counties and has spent more than $1 billion on new employees and facilities to improve mental health and medical care for inmates.

Despite pressure to relieve overcrowding, however, there is one thing the state has not done: build more prisons.

Following a construction binge in which the state opened about 20 prisons in the 1980s and 1990s, California has built only one traditional prison since 1997, in Delano in 2005.

The lack of construction reflects a dearth of public support for prison spending, as well as recession-era budget constraints.

"Look, everybody wants to send people to prison. Nobody wants to pay for it," Brown said in January, when he declared at a news conference that California had solved its prison crowding problem. continue reading...

Inmate escapes from Ironwood State Prison, captured by CHP

Palo Verde Valley Times — An inmate who somehow escaped from Ironwood State Prison (ISP) within the last 24 hours is already in custody after being detained by California Highway Patrol officers on either Friday night or Saturday morning.

Details on how the inmate escaped from ISP and ended up in CHP custody are unknown. ISP officials did stress that the inmate was classified as a minimum level inmate and therefore was housed outside the secure perimeter that is reserved for the medium to higher level inmates. ISP's minimum level inmates are housed in a dormitory setting surrounded by just a chainlink fence. The minimum support facility is outside and adjacent to the minimum and high level secured facility.

Preliminary reports from an ISP official said that escaped inmate, Eric Edleman, 43, is from Tulare County. Edleman was serving a sentence stemming from charges of a controlled substance. The third term inmate entered California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in November 2012 and was transferred to ISP on March 24, 2013. He was set for release on Nov. 16, 2015 but will now face new charges as a result of the escape.

The facility went on lockdown on Saturday as a result of the incident, suspending visitation. The lockdown has since been lifted and visitation will resume on Sunday. For more information on visitation call the hotline at 1-800-374-8474.

More details regarding this incident will be available as CDCR officials continue an investigation at which time Warden David Long will release a full statement.

Correctional officer falls from tower at El Dorado Prison

KWCH — (EL DORADO, Kan.) — Butler County dispatchers say a correctional officer fell from a tower at the El Dorado Correctional Facility Friday morning.

It happened at around 11:20 a.m.

The correctional officer was taken to a Wichita hospital in good condition. Prison officials say he was responsive.

The prison sent an emergency response team to check on him, when he didn't respond to calls. That team found him on a walkway, about halfway up the tower. Investigators believe he fell from the top walkway through an entry hatch.

Tonight he's in good condition, and will be going home soon.

California Blames Hunger Strikes on Gangs, Vows Crackdown

ABC News — On Thursday the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced prisoners participating in the hunger strike will face consequences, including being punished with the very thing they’re protesting: solitary confinement.

CDCR called the prisoners' action a “mass hunger strike disturbance” that is being “organized by prison gangs.”

Close to 30,000 prisoners across 24 California prisons began a hunger strike on Monday to call attention to a number of conditions they say are inhumane. The prisoners are demanding changes to policies that allow prisons to hold inmates in solitary confinement for an indefinite period of time.

As of Thursday afternoon, 12,421 inmates in 24 state prisons and four out-of-state contract facilities have missed nine consecutive meals since July 8th, according to a statement released by the department.

Those participating in the hunger strike may be subject to solitary confinement, according to the statement:

"Inmates identified as leading and perpetuating the disturbance will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the California Code of Regulations, Title 15 Section 3315(a)(2)(L) and may be removed from the general population and be placed in an Administrative Segregation Unit pursuant to CDCR’s hunger strike policy." continue reading...

2 Inmates Escape From NorCal Minimum Security Prison

AP — State corrections officials say two inmates have escaped from a minimum security facility in Northern California.

Officials say 20-year-old Dennis Rene Welch and 30-year-old Glen Martin Whiteside walked away from the Eel River Conservation Camp near Redway early Saturday.

Both men were wearing orange prison uniforms. They were last seen about 12:20 a.m.

Welch was serving time for first-degree burglary and was scheduled to be paroled in January. Whiteside was serving time for second-degree robbery and was scheduled to be paroled in December 2014.

Officials say anyone with information about them should call 911.

Judge orders investigation of Salinas Valley State Prison psychiatric unit

Monterey Herald — Saying California officials "divorced themselves from reality" when they recently claimed prison mental health care is up to par, a Sacramento judge has ordered the immediate investigation of staffing levels and patient intake practices at Salinas Valley State Prison's psychiatric unit.

Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled Thursday that due to the "urgency of the issues at hand," a federal Special Master is ordered to investigate allegations that numbers of psychiatrists and other mental health staff are at dangerously low levels in the unit, which is operated by the Department of State Hospitals.

He also ordered the Special Master to look into the prison's practice of keeping new patients on "cuff status" of shackles and isolation for up to 10 days before they can take part in regular treatment activities.

Department of State Hospitals officials told the judge during a four-day hearing last month that their agency has never been found by the court to have provided inadequate care to inmate patients — a contention that Karlton said "misses the mark."

He noted that the hospitals department has for years been part of the decades-long mental health lawsuit that brought sweeping overhauls to the California prison system, and in 2006 the court found that the department was "failing to address specific court-ordered remedies" to improve prisoners' psychiatric care.

Deuel Vocational Institution adds guard post

Tracy Press — Visitors to Deuel Vocational Institution will now be stopped and searched when

entering and exiting the rural Tracy prison, following the opening of a guard shack on Monday, July 8.

The small, prefabricated building is positioned at the side of the entrance road to the prison.

It’s only temporary, until a permanent building is constructed in the middle of the roadway with security crossing arms to stop vehicles going in and out, according to DVI spokesman Lt. Arnel Bona.

He said he was unsure how much the permanent structure would cost, but he said a funding request is expected to be submitted soon to officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation headquarters in Sacramento.

Although the building is fabricated, three DVI inmates spent Tuesday morning painting the building and applying drywall to the interior walls.

About a year ago, the CDCR — which operates DVI — authorized the prison to station correctional officers at its entrance.

“We had the position and funding, and the new fiscal year allowed us to erect this shack,” said Bona, who spoke near the prison entrance on Tuesday, July 9. continue reading...

More than 12,000 Calif. inmates on hunger strike

AP — California corrections officials say more than 12,400 prison inmates have skipped at least nine consecutive meals, meaning they are considered to be on an extended hunger strike.

That's down from the more than 30,000 inmates who started refusing meals this week. They are protesting conditions for gang members who are held in confinement at Pelican Bay State Prison near Eureka.

Additionally, more than 1,300 inmates are refusing to go to work or classes, down from about 2,300 on Monday.

The department said Thursday that those who participate in the protest could face disciplinary action. Corrections officials also threatened to confiscate food items that some inmates have stockpiled in their cells.

Two separate prison hunger strikes in 2011 involved between 4,000 and 6,500 inmates.

ANATOMY OF A "SET-UP" (A must read for all Correctional Staff)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6NzL6P3EiFZMGVoYmRBVF9MbVU/edit?usp=sharing

CIM Officer Assaulted in the TTA

CimRiders — Tonight just before shift change (3/W) a inmate was brought into the D Facility Treatment and Triage area for treatment. The inmate was brought in in full restraints (Chains and leg irons) Unsure if the inmate was brought in on a transport, or just a treatment and return.

The TTA Officer was bringing the inmate in and with out reason the inmate Assaulted the Officer, the Officer was head butted. The Officer went down immediately causing a laceration to the Officers head area. Staff quickly subdued the attacker and gained compliance.

The Officer was taken out to an outside hospital for treatment of his injuries. It is being reported that he is still in the hospital as of this writing.

Sending Prayers your way Officer "S".......

CCA Awarded Three-Year Contract Renewal With California

Market Watch — CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) , America's largest owner of partnership correctional and detention facilities, announced today that it has renewed its contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for an additional three years.

The contract renewal, which is effective July 1, 2013, includes the following provisions:

1. Up to 8,244 beds are made available to CDCR for the next three years at the following three facilities which currently house approximately 7,450 California inmates:

-- La Palma Correctional Center: 3,160 beds
-- North Fork Correctional Facility: 2,400 beds
-- Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility: 2,684 beds

2. Allows CCA and CDCR to transition California inmates currently housed at our 1,596-bed Red Rock Correctional Center to other CCA facilities as necessary, upon mutual agreement. Red Rock currently houses approximately 1,550 California inmates.

As previously disclosed, CCA is working with California to develop a transition plan to remove all of its inmates from our Red Rock Correctional Center before the end of the year, in order to make room for inmates under our new contract with the State of Arizona effective January 1, 2014. While the transition plan may result in the loss of some or all of the inmates currently housed at the Red Rock facility, the transition plan could include retention and transfer of inmates to other CCA facilities.

Damon Hininger, president and CEO, stated, "We appreciate the opportunity to continue our relationship with the state of California. This partnership exemplifies the flexibility that CCA is able to provide CDCR to safely and securely manage its populations." continue reading...

Deputies search for missing inmate from North Kern State Prison

KERO 23 — Local law enforcement is searching for an inmate who escaped from North Kern State Prison in Delano.

Hatem Hassoun, 42, was discovered missing at 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning from the prison's Minimum Support Facility. Prison officials are working with local authorities to apprehend him.

Hassoun is 5'7'' and 142 lbs. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Hassoun is serving a two year sentence for possession of a controlled substance with a firearm.

CalPERS to post pensioners' data online

AP — The nation's largest public pension fund says it will post nearly half a million pensioners' data online in an effort to be transparent while providing retirees with better protection.

California Public Employees' Retirement System spokeswoman Amy Norris said Monday that the fund will launch a searchable pension database with information that is deemed public, such as a retiree's name, monthly gross pension payment and some employment history.

Norris says the database is expected to go live next week.

CalPERS recently sent a notice to retiree organizations saying that member data "will remain better protected on our own website rather than on external databases kept by news or other organizations."

The $260-billion pension system plans to only post retiree data, not beneficiaries or survivors who receive a monthly allowance.

Medical staff keep tabs on some California inmates who refuse food

LA Times — Ten inmates who began refusing meals July 1 are under medical observation, prison officials said Tuesday.

The inmates are incarcerated at High Desert State Prison near the Nevada border in northeast California.

J. Clark Kelso, the federal receiver who oversees prison healthcare, said the inmates would be referred to a physician if they go 17 days without food or show signs of distress.

The 10 inmates stopped eating their regularly scheduled meals one week before the protest spread throughout the prison system Monday.

Officials said 30,000 inmates in two-thirds of the state's prisons and four out-of-state facilities have refused meals. Hunger strikes are not recognized until inmates refuse nine consecutive meals, officials said.

Inmates at High Desert issued a hand-written letter spelling out their demands for improved prison conditions. They're seeking cleaner facilities, better food and more access to the prison library.

More demands have been issued at Pelican Bay State Prison near the Oregon border and one of four prisons with a secure housing unit. Inmates want a five-year limit on solitary confinement and better conditions.

California prison officials say 30,000 inmates refuse meals

LA Times — California officials Monday said 30,000 inmates refused meals at the start of what could be the largest prison protest in state history.

Inmates in two-thirds of the state's 33 prisons, and at all four out-of-state private prisons, refused both breakfast and lunch on Monday, said corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton. In addition, 2,300 prisoners failed to go to work or attend their prison classes, either refusing or in some cases saying they were sick.

The corrections department will not acknowledge a hunger strike until inmates have missed nine consecutive meals. Even so, Thornton said, Monday's numbers are far larger than those California saw two years earlier during a series of hunger strikes that drew international attention.

Despite the widespread work stoppages and meal refusals, Thornton said state prisons operated as usual through the day. "Everything has been running smoothly," she said. "It was normal. There were no incidents."

The protest, announced for months, is organized by a small group of inmates held in segregation at Pelican Bay State Prison near the Oregon border. Their list of demands, reiterated Monday, center on state policies that allow inmates to be held in isolation indefinitely, in some cases for decades, for ties to prison gangs.

Though prison officials contend those gang ties are validated, the state last year began releasing inmates from segregation who had no evidence of gang-related behavior. Nearly half of those reviewed have been returned to the general population. continue reading...

Chino officials say prison no longer candidate for facility expansion

Daily Bulletin — City officials have recently learned the California Institution for Men is not being considered for the placement of additional housing facilities for prisoners.

CIM was one of five locations being reviewed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for construction of up to three, 792-bed Level II Correctional Housing Facilities and related support buildings, according to a news release from Chino.

Based on notification received from the CDCR, the decision was made to eliminate CIM as a possible location based on the level of engineering analysis needed to complete the project within the time frame allowed, the news release reads.

"Although CIM has been a part of our growing community for many years, the council and I cannot support the placement of new facilities that would house additional prisoners at CIM until the population and on-going and deferred maintenance issues have been properly addressed," said Mayor Dennis Yates in a news release.

"We are pleased to have received this news and thankful for our many community partners, who supported our position on this project."

Correctional Officer’s Closing Thoughts

Corrections.com — Being a correctional officer is stressful all by itself. Making things more complicated than they already are makes it a tough job to do. Dealing with the negative impulses or impacts that surround them while on the job and giving them little peace of mind off the job. Thus they carry it with them 24 /7 without much relief or satisfaction resulting in early retirement, resignations or corruptive thinking. Corruption becomes a dirty word. It is everywhere you look whether you are inside of prison or outside. The politics related to these kind of corruptible behaviors trickles down from the top to the bottom and often results in working with assholes as supervisors or managers. It’s just the reality of the abusive environment but keeping it in the proper context is the most important decision you can make. It doesn’t have to be that way and you can change your own environment by not buying into the concept and staying on course to do your job.

Officers exposed to this negativity never feel comfortable and take up a defensive position that is often called paranoia. Every day is a challenge not to let the environment poison them. It doesn’t suit many hence the high turnover in this particular criminal justice field. It’s just a reality that prison work is not for everybody and some should think about getting out before it is too late and something bad happens to them. Those that can deal with negativity and stress will overcome these barriers and become good officers.

Learning the ropes at the Academy can be very frustrating. There are often two different messages told to you while learning the basics of corrections. There are instructors that tell you how to handle this job by the book and there are supervisors coming in to guest lecture and tell you to forget the book and do it another way. This mixed signal often created confusion and distorts the truth of how to really do your job as a correctional officer. The truth is when you graduate, the only skill you picked up at the Academy was to document and cover your ass [CYA] yourself as you will fear being criticized or ostracized for expressing or performing tasks contrary to expectations of supervisors and managers set on doing the job their way or the highway.

The moment you hit the line you find out that teamwork is just a word. The reality strikes you like a lock in a sock to the head and makes you realize that officers don’t stick together like it was preached at the Academy. Getting help is rare and being ridiculed is another way to crush your spirit as you focus on doing your job right but are hampered by those wanting you to do it their way. Some will say “get over it” and adjust your coping skills to get the job done. continue reading...

DVI on alert for inmate hunger strike

Tracy Press — Officials at Deuel Vocational Institution were on alert Monday, July 8, for a possible

hunger strike among inmates, according to prison spokesman Lt. Arnel Bona.

The strike was reportedly initiated by inmates at Pelican Bay in Crescent City, and is expected to spread this week to other prisons managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Bona said.

Details about DVI’s possible inmate involvement are only being released by CDCR officials, which operates DVI.

Bona, who spoke outside of DVI just after noon, said CDCR officials “didn’t want individual prisons commenting” about the situation.

An interview request with CDCR officials was being emailed to them by Bona on Monday afternoon. No response had come as of 5:15 p.m.

As part of the strike, inmates are not supposed to eat or work, according to Bona, who also noted that he saw some inmates going to their jobs.

Bona said DVI officials are in contact with CDCR headquarters.

“We’re getting an assessment of how many (inmates) will possibly participate,” he said. “It’s in the initial stages.”

A website, www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com , states the demands of inmates at Pelican Bay. continue reading...

Prison protests begin with list of demands

LA Times — Inmate leaders at California's supermax prison near Oregon on Monday launched what they said is a statewide protest of policies that hold prisoners in isolation indefinitely, a continuance of the same grievances behind statewide hunger strikes two years ago.

"California officials have refused to meaningfully negotiate with us over our reasonable demands," the four inmates said in a statement provided to The Times on Monday by their lawyers. The document includes a list of eight "demands," starting with a five-year limit on the time prisoners can be held in isolation in Segregated Housing Units, and a 90-day limit on the time inmates can be kept in the more temporary Administrative Segregation cells.

There are 4,527 inmates being held in "segregation" cells at four state prisons, including 1,180 at Pelican Bay State Prison, where the protest leaders are based. Inmates can be held indefinitely in the isolation units and are required to spend almost all of their time within the Spartan cells, with reduced privileges, access to outside food, visits or rehabilitation programs.

For months, the Pelican Bay inmate leaders have called for a hunger strike and work stoppage to begin Monday. Corrections officials by midday released no information on the number of inmates refusing meals or refusing to report to their work assignments within the state prison system. The state, by policy, won't recognize a mass protest until participants have missed at least nine consecutive meals.

A week ahead of the planned statewide protest, 13 inmates on Monday began their eighth day without meals at the High Desert State Prison. They are protesting conditions in their own administrative segregation unit. According to their own list of demands, obtained by The Times, they seek more and better food, cleaner clothing and bedding, hats and gloves in the winter, law library materials and weekly rounds by prison officials to address inmate complaints. continue reading...

To cut STD rate, Calif considers condoms in prison

KCRA 3 — California prisoners have unprotected sexual contact, forced or consensual, even if both are illegal, and this reality often leads to the spread of HIV and other diseases in prisons and in communities where felons are paroled.

Setting up a difficult conversation, one state lawmaker says it's time to give inmates a way to practice safe sex behind bars to reduce an infection rate that experts say is much higher than that of the general population.

The proposal from Oakland Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta comes despite a law prohibiting any sex between inmates, which creates a conflict that concerns both supporters and opponents of the legislation.

"It's a felony for prisoners to have sex while they're in prison, so I don't think it's good government for the state to encourage inmates to break the law," said Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue of Marysville.

Bonta's proposal would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make condoms available in five prisons by 2015 and expand the program to each of the state's 33 adult prisons no later than 2020.

The bill, AB999, passed the Assembly and is awaiting consideration in the state Senate. If it becomes law, California would be the second state behind Vermont, which has a fraction of the inmate population, to provide condoms to all prisoners. Canada, most of the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa already take that step, according to legislative researchers.

Currently, condoms are contraband in California prisons, though the state has tried a distribution program before but on a temporary and limited basis. continue reading...

Female inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval

VSP Inmates

Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals, the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.

At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years – and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s, according to state documents and interviews.

From 1997 to 2010, the state paid doctors $147,460 to perform the procedure, according to a database of contracted medical services for state prisoners.

The women were signed up for the surgery while they were pregnant and housed at either the California Institution for Women in Corona or Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, which is now a men's prison.

Former inmates and prisoner advocates maintain that prison medical staff coerced the women, targeting those deemed likely to return to prison in the future.

Crystal Nguyen, a former Valley State Prison inmate who worked in the prison's infirmary during 2007, said she often overheard medical staff asking inmates who had served multiple prison terms to agree to be sterilized.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, that's not right,' " said Nguyen, 28. "Do they think they're animals, and they don't want them to breed anymore?"

California Highway Patrol to receive immediate 5.9 percent raise

Sacbee — California Highway Patrol officers and cadets are receiving a nearly 6 percent raise this

week, a reflection of average pay increases that have gone to five other law enforcement agencies in the state.

The change, posted on the website of the California Department of Human Resources late Friday, is based on a law that requires the state to survey compensation packages provided to other law enforcement officers each fiscal year and adjust CHP wages accordingly.

The 5.9 percent raise for rank-and-file CHP officers was calculated using the average total compensation of five law enforcement agencies: the San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland police departments, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.

The first 4 percent will be a direct salary increase, and the rest will be allocated to pre-fund the union's health care benefits.

Prison company wants dismissal of riot lawsuit

AP — A prison company wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by relatives of a guard who was killed during a prison riot in Mississippi.

Correction officer Catlin Carithers was beaten to death during the May 20, 2012, riot at the privately run Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Natchez against Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the prison.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says CCA "created a dangerous atmosphere for the correction officers by depriving inmates of basic needs and treating them inhumanely."

A motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed Wednesday says, among other things, that CCA is immune from the claims in the lawsuit because they are barred "by the exclusive remedy provision in the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act."

The argument is that workplace injuries should be compensated by workers' compensation, not through litigation.

"Carithers's death was caused by the willful conduct of a third party (inmates) because of his employment status as a correctional officer at ACCF and while working on the job. Therefore, his death is compensable under the Act," the motion said.

The lawsuit says prison officials were told by an informant in the days before the riot that the situation was becoming volatile and that the officials failed to warn Carithers that he and other guards were on an inmate "hit list." continue reading...