Posts Tagged: inmates
News
The state auditor says the California prison system’s programs to reduce recidivism aren’t working, noting that inmates who complete the programs wind up back behind bars at roughly the same rates as those who don’t. “These results are serious enough to highlight an urgent need for Corrections to take a more active and meaningful role in ensuring that these programs are effective,” California State Auditor Elaine Howle reported.
Analysis
On any given day, thousands of jailed people are awaiting trial, sentencing or hearings in any of California’s 58 counties. Many are in custody because they cannot afford to post bail. Legislation to allow people to be free while their case is in the Legislature and its fate will be decided by midnight Aug. 31 when lawmakers adjourn.
News
Two California counties profit from a loophole in the “sanctuary state” law, while most others have canceled their ICE contracts under public pressure or let them expire. When California’s sanctuary state law, Senate Bill 54, was approved, the public assumed that local law enforcement would be prevented from cooperating with ICE agents except when dealing with people “convicted of a serious or violent felony,” such as murder, rape, child abuse or battery.
Opinion
OPINION: The stated mission of this bill is to drastically reduce the number of individuals detained during pretrial. SB 10, written by Sen. Hertzberg, threatens the safety of victims by allowing the elimination of the private bail sector. The bail system in the state is no longer the determining factor. Instead, a computer program that makes a risk assessment of each arrested individual replaces the current system
News
Californians who thought Tuesday’s election would mark a dramatic change in the state’s culture and social fabric were right – half right. Anti-death penalty forces believed Election Day would be a game-changer. Nope. Marijuana advocates thought the same. Yep.
Analysis
On the day Turner was released, opponents of a California ballot measure to reduce prison crowding seized on the notorious case to make a questionable claim. “Brock Turner’s early release will be a regular occurrence if Prop. 57 passes,” claims the headline of a news release on the Stop57.com campaign website.
News
Will November mark the death of the death penalty? This fall, Californians will be asked yet again whether they would like to abolish capital punishment. Voters last faced the issue in 2012, a presidential election year, and rejected the idea.
News
The Marshall Project: Two years ago, a Belgian Malinois named Drako earned a flurry of press attention when his proud owners at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced he had found his thousandth contraband cell phone in the state’s prisons. He’d once found thirty stashed in a microwave, and one hidden in a jar of peanut butter.
Analysis
ANALYSIS: What if, instead of building prisons in remote locations, we put them near cities, accessible to family members and to the resources — educational, vocational, therapeutic, recreational, cultural — that are scarce in most prison towns?
News
Federal officials warned for years of “poor supervision” at a Southern California jail where three inmates — all charged with violent felonies — recently escaped, documents obtained by The Marshall Project show. The men’s elaborate route to freedom seemed made for the movies: They cut through layers of metal and navigated plumbing tunnels to reach the roof. They then rappelled down four stories with makeshift ropes, perhaps strung together from bedsheets or jail clothing.
Folsom State Prison east of Sacramento. (Photo: Wikipedia)
