CDCR Today

Inmate Death at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran Being Investigated as a Homicide

2012-02-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

CORCORAN-- Officials at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran (CSATF/SP) are investigating an inmate death as a homicide.

Michael Benjamin Burch, 67, was found unresponsive in his cell Tuesday, January 31. He was pronounced deceased by prison medical officials and transported to the King’s County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy. The Coroner’s Office ruled the death a homicide Tuesday evening.

Officials from the prison and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office have named Burch’s cellmate, inmate Robert Vargas Salas, 54, as the suspect in the case. Inmate Salas has been placed in the administrative segregation unit while the investigation continues.

Burch was received from Los Angeles County on February 3, 2011, and was serving a 675-year sentence for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, oral copulation with a child under 14, and rape with force/violence.

Salas was received on August 10, 1977, from Ventura County. He is serving a life-term for first-degree murder.

CSATF/SP is a multi-mission institution that houses 5,981 inmates and employs more than 1,800 people. Opened in 1997, the institution houses minimum-, medium-, and maximum-security male inmates and provides substance-abuse treatment programs, academic and vocational education, and re-entry and self-help programs to prepare inmates for their reintegration into society.

For more information about CSATF/SP, visit CDCR’s website at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2012

Contact: Lupe Cartagena

(559) 992-7154

Hollywood Executive Produces More than Comedies

2012-01-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Producer Scott Budnick changes the lives of hundreds of troubled youth
By Dana Toyama, Information Officer I

In 1996, Scott Budnick was an intern in Los Angeles whose passion for troubled youth was about to get a big push in an altruistic direction. After reading a Rolling Stones article about the murder of a Los Angeles Police Department officer’s son, and the resulting trial of six teenagers, Budnick grew interested in the criminal justice system and its treatment of juveniles.

For the past 10 years Scott Budnick, now a Hollywood producer, has volunteered his time to give opportunity and choice to hundreds of troubled youth. Many of these youth have traded a seemingly hopeless path of crime that landed them in the criminal justice system for a path of opportunity.

In 2002 Budnick was introduced to a program called InsideOUT Writers, which conducts weekly writing classes within the Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall System. The classes -- taught by writers, poets, screenwriters, journalists and educators -- give students the opportunity to tell their stories, reflect on the past, and decide how they will write the next chapter in their lives.

From InsideOUT, to outside in

After volunteering with the InsideOUT program for several years, Budnick turned his attention to young adults in the state prison system. He noticed that young adults moving from the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to one of the 33 adult institutions were not classified any differently than hardened career criminals. In 2008, Budnick approached CDCR Undersecretary Scott Kernan with the argument that the system was turning kids into worse criminals and it was time to try something new.

Budnick, along with Undersecretary Kernan and Tanya Rothchild of the Classification Services Unit, developed a pilot for the Youth Offender Classification Program at California Institution for Men (CIM) in Chino. The program created a system that classified youth entering the adult prison system based on behavior, wants and needs rather than by age and offense.

The program was a success, with hundreds of young adults enrolled in college courses at several CDCR adult institutions in Southern California. The programs included mentoring and a college-dormitory environment more conducive to learning than a typical prison environment.

Due to CDCR’s inmate population reduction, CIM’s East Facility was converted from a reception yard to a Level III Sensitive Needs Yard (SNY) that includes inmates who have denounced gang affiliation and want to turn their lives around. Budnick and CDCR officials envisioned the conversion as the perfect spot for a special program in which all of the inmates are enrolled in college courses. Within a month of the conversion and the program start-up, there were 225 inmates enrolled in college courses.

To enhance the program further, Budnick contacted Professor Renford Reese of the political science department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Reese engaged students at Cal Poly Pomona campus and now has about 80 students coming into the CIM yard on a weekly basis for tutoring, mentoring, life-skills presentations, presentations about their majors and inter-disciplinary studies.

Dealing with a different kind of inmate, a better kind of inmate

Budnick’s innovative and unique ideas, along with his nose-to-the-grindstone tenacity, helped initiate a new approach within CDCR. He helped create relationships with local resources and even helped change the dynamic between CDCR and its own inmates. His ideas and commitment have helped create a different kind of inmate by offering a better path for young adults who may have felt were destined for lives shuttling in and out of prison.

Budnick’s dedication has changed the lives of hundreds of young adults with some attending Loyola Marymount University, Morehouse College in Atlanta, and University California, Los Angeles, after their incarceration. He’s even taken a few with him on his movie sets for “The Hangover,” “Due Date,” and “The Hangover II.”

Asked what he envisions for the future of rehabilitation, Budnick said:

“Cal Poly Pomona has already offered to put cameras in some of their classrooms and let the lectures stream live into CIM, with prisoners watching the lecture in real-time. This is where we need to go, and it will take someone being very innovative to get us there.”

CDCR’s Youngest Inmates Go to College

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Step toward rehab taken on their first day

By Bill Sessa, Information Officer I

For 26 of the state’s youngest inmates, the trip to Ironwood State Prison (ISP) represented more than a bus ride toward their first day in an adult facility. It also was a bus ride to college.

The 18-year-old inmates, each convicted as an adult, were the most recent to enroll in college classes offered at the prison by the Youthful Offender Program administered by the CDCR.

Although CDCR offers college courses in many of its 33 facilities, Ironwood and the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in San Bernardino County have created a unique learning environment specifically for some of its youngest inmates. It offers them an opportunity to make a constructive change in their lives beginning their first day in prison.

“An adult prison can be a harsh place for an 18-year-old,” noted CDCR Secretary Mathew Cate. “With this program, we have created an environment where our youngest inmates can focus on their education without some of the distractions that prison offers, so they have a better chance at a constructive life when they are released.”

The program is open to young inmates being transferred from CDCR’s Division of Juvenile Justice or from juvenile detention in Los Angeles County. Inmates approved for the program are screened through CDCR’s reception center in Chino and must show a true commitment to education during a personal interview with a committee chaired by the warden at the California Institute for Men (CIM).

At Ironwood and CRC, the young inmates join older inmates in a dormitory set aside exclusively for those enrolled in college. With photos and murals of Albert Einstein and astronaut Neil Armstrong for inspiration, it is a setting that puts the focus on studying.

“It’s an environment that gives these inmates a chance to shift their identities,” said Scott Budnick, a Los Angeles film producer whose volunteer efforts helped create the Youthful Offender Program.

“When they were in high school, these guys identified themselves as a criminal or a gang member,” said Budnick. “When they are in this program, they can identify themselves as college students.”

The inmates can earn a two-year associate degree in arts or business management through online classes offered by Coastline College and Palo Verde Community College. Inmates, or their families, pay the same fees and tuition as students attending classes on campus. Only those inmates who meet the same financial criteria as on-campus students receive a fee waiver.

“Some individuals might question why we invest so much effort into educating an inmate, but the reality is that most inmates eventually are released into our communities,” said CDCR Undersecretary Terri McDonald.

“The better educated and better prepared they are, the better chance they have of being successful and staying away from crime after release. That is an overall benefit to the public since success upon parole reduces victims in our communities and reduces costs associated with recidivism.”

In addition to the young inmates who enroll the day they arrive at an adult prison, approximately 600 CDCR inmates under the age of 35 and within seven years of parole are taking college courses at Ironwood, CRC in Norco and CIM in Chino. Financed by federal funds, the CDCR college courses are heavily supported by volunteers from local community colleges.

Counselors from Palo Verde Community College in Blythe voluntarily travel to Norco to test inmate aptitude in math and English to help inmates enroll in the appropriate courses at CRC. About 50 students from nearby California State Polytechnic University Pomona visit CIM nearly every day, volunteering to proctor exams, mentor or tutor inmates or to give inmates a broader appreciation for college by talking about their majors and daily life on campus.

What They're Saying About Realignment

2012-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Public officials and advocates talk about the 2011 Public Safety Realignment, here's what they're saying...

"If California took the resources made available for prison expansion or realignment, and invested them in re-entry services, affordable housing and jobs and all of the programs that are being cut ... that's going to have much more impact on public safety than building law enforcement.”

Emily Harris, Statewide Coordinator for Californians United for a Responsible Budget

Daily Breeze, Christina Villacorte, January 25, 2012

“We’re going to make some adjustments, and sometimes they will be some fairly large adjustments. With sufficient resources, I do believe counties can and do already perform some of these services.”

Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli

Elk Grove Citizen, Brian M. Gold, January 25, 2012

“As for prison realignment, we are just at the beginning. The cooperation of sheriffs, police chiefs, probation officers, district attorneys and local officials has been remarkable. But we have much to do to protect public safety and reduce recidivism.”

California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. 2012 State of the State Address

January 18, 2012

“Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment already is having a positive impact on the statewide prison system.”

Merced Sun Star and Sacramento Bee Editorial Boards

Sacramento Bee, January 20, 2012

Merced Sun Star, January 23, 2012

"What it's doing is giving us control of the offenders who are committing crimes and living in our community. If we manage it correctly, manage it in the right way, it gives us a chance to do it better. It's in our power now. We are looking at it as an opportunity."

Shasta County Chief Probation Officer Wesley Forman

Redding Record-Searchlight, Ryan Sabalow, January 21, 2012

“It is hard enough to manage a prison population that, at one point, had ballooned to more than 160,000 inmates at 33 prisons. It is harder still when a federal judge and a court-appointed receiver are looking over your shoulder, and enjoy the support of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to back them up. It's next to impossible to do all this in a state that is billions in the hole. Somehow California managed, and that accomplishment should not be overlooked or dismissed.”

Stockton Record Editorial Board

Stockton Record, January 20, 2012

“This is leveraging positive partnerships in keeping the county safe.”

(speaking on Placer County’s AB 109 plan) Rocklin Police Chief Ron Lawrence

Auburn Journal, Gus Thomson, January 11, 2012

“Realignment is an opportunity to re-examine how the justice system treats non-serious offenders. It goes beyond a desire to protect the public, the idea that we have to punish by keeping people in a cage for these low-level offenses is ... an expensive indulgence we can no longer afford."

Allen Hopper, Criminal Justice and Drug Policy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union in California,

North County Times, Brandon Lowrey, December 17, 2011

"This is a huge opportunity to take advantage of the many services and organizations in Alameda County"

(speaking on the county’s plan to use AB 109 funds to coordinate services for inmates)

Sumayyah Waheed, of the Ella Baker Center

San Jose Mercury News, Angela Woodall, December 11, 2011

“The local realignment plan – spearheaded by Chief San Joaquin County Probation Officer Patty Mazzilli – is something that will adequately deal with the supervision of released offenders, and covers all of the other needs to make sure that the county will be able to properly address the needs as they arise.”

(Speaking on the county’s AB 109 plan) San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore

Manteca Bulletin, Jason Campbell, December 1, 2011

"We are going to be doing business differently, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. The reality is that if you look at the way we have incarcerated people and the recidivism rate, we haven't been doing a very good job."

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon

Associated Press, Don Thompson, November 30, 2011

“We as a county can actually manage these programs very well (but) funding is a major issue that has to be dealt with.”

Riverside County Chief Probation Officer Alan M. Crogan

Temecula Patch, Angela Davis, November 29, 2011

"I believe we can achieve the over-arching goal of reducing recidivism while maintaining public safety. This is only the beginning."

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak
Santa Cruz Sentinel, Stephen Baxter, November 7, 2011

“The hope is that instead of staying in prison, people will be released sooner and put on an alternative program that will give them treatment options that will be better for them in the long run. If Sonoma County is committed to getting people rehabilitated, this is an excellent opportunity to do that.”

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Mike Toby.
Rohnert Park Patch, Angela Hart, September 28, 2011

"Up and down the state…there’s a lot of planning going on and a lot of discussion with sheriffs, and courts and community-based organizations, and (Realignment is) coming — we will take care of it. And come Oct. 1 we’ll be ready to go."

Stanislaus County Chief Probation Officer, Jerry Powers.
KPCC, Julie Small, September 22, 2011

"We embraced the concept of realignment in January, and (Governor Brown) made good on his promise to ensure funding for this fiscal year. But there's still anxiety over the revenue stream without a state constitutional amendment to protect those funds, we need those protections and the governor has recommitted to ensuring the funding process will be there in perpetuity." Merced County Sheriff and President of the California State Sheriffs’ Association Mark Pazin.
Sacramento Bee, David Siders, September 22, 2011

“Realignment will be a tall order…but ultimately the counties are up to the task. We believe it can be done better at the local level. Not to be critical or adversarial with our state counterparts, but that’s just the way it is.” Merced County Sheriff and President of the California State Sheriffs’ Association Mark Pazin.
Healthycal.org, Daniel Weintraub, September 21, 2011

"Provided adequate funding, (The counties) have the potential, I believe, to do much good."

Riverside County Supervisor and President of the California State Association of Counties John Tavaglione
California State Association of Counties Convention, September 21, 2011.

Regarding county concerns over funding for Realignment- "I'm not leaving Sacramento until we get a constitutional guarantee (for funding). There are a lot of groups working on it, it'll come together, but we've got a few months before we have to nail it down."

California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

California State Association of Counties Convention, September 21, 2011.

“(Solano County is) ready for the changes that this governor and this legislature are ready to put into place and to fund."

California State Senator Lois Wolk- Solano
The Reporter, Catherine Bowen, September 16, 2011.

"Corrections realignment does not ask counties to do more of what they had been doing. It asks that we do things differently. It's really bringing the right response, (and) the right program to the right problem, rather than a cookie-cutter approach that views each prisoner the same way.”

Jeanne Woodford, former San Quentin Warden and keynote speaker at Solano County Reentry Council meeting.
The Reporter, Catherine Bowen, September 16, 2011.

“The population of offenders from Merced County is not going to grow. It’s not like this new population from another county or another jurisdiction are going to be in the county’s lap, these are people that are going to live in this county anyway. The increase in ex-inmates will be fairly small.”

Scott Ball, Merced County Chief Probation Officer.
HealthyCal.org, Minerva Perez, September 14th, 2011 .

"This isn't a brand new group of offenders coming to L.A. They've been coming here for years, so the fact that they're shipping to (the Probation Department) is not much change other than we hope for a better outcome."

Donald Blevins, chief probation officer for Los Angeles County.
CorrectionsOne.com, Neil Nisperos, August 31, 2011

“I think we're going to have effective programs when (inmates are) in the jails, we're going to give them the treatment they need to change their behavior."

Donald Blevins, chief probation officer for Los Angeles County.
CorrectionsOne.com, Neil Nisperos, August 31, 2011

"For too long, the state’s prison system has been a revolving door for lower-level offenders and parole violators who are released within months—often before they are even transferred out of a reception center. Cycling these offenders through state prisons wastes money, aggravates crowded conditions, thwarts rehabilitation, and impedes local law enforcement supervision.”

California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Press conference, April 2011

"There aren’t many people who go to prison and come out a better person, so to have fewer go and instead have incentive based programming, we will, unquestioningly, have better outcomes."

Sonoma County Deputy Chief Probation Officer Sheralynn Freitas.
Rohnert Park Patch, Karina Ioffee, August 4, 2011

“These people are from Del Norte (referring to low-level offenders who will now go to county jail instead of state prison). This could be an advantage since the county already has information on them…our goal is to work on alternative sanctions without skipping accountability.”

Del Norte County Chief Probation Officer Thomas Crowell.
Daily Triplicate, Megan Hansen, July 27, 2011

“I think we can do a better job at the county level…keeping these individuals closer to the community, keeping them closer to their families, and connecting them with community-based resources that they're going to need to be successful when they get out, because they are going to get out.”

San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks.
PBS Newshour with Spencer Michaels, July 15, 2011

"…from a criminal justice and from a public safety perspective, I can absolutely say it is a very good state policy to do this shift."

San Francisco County Chief Probation Officer Wendy Still
San Francisco Chronicle, Rachel Gordon, July 24, 2011

"We feel that we can do a better job at the local level keeping people from going to prison."

Los Angeles County Chief Probation Officer Donald Blevins.
Wall Street Journal, Bobby White and Vauhini Vara, August 10, 2011

"Quite frankly, I think the sheriff and probation chief will do a much better job with programming than the state does."

Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson
Modesto Bee, Garth Stapley, July 25, 2011

"I really don't believe this population is all that different than those we already supervise."

San Joaquin County Chief Probation Officer Patty Mazzilli
Stockton Record, Dana Nichols, August 2, 2011

"In October, our justice system will change dramatically. I am confident we will be ready, because the county and its partners already are hard at work developing a comprehensive plan to address the impacts of realignment."

Placer County Chief Probation Officer Marshall Hopper
Public CEO.com, August 1, 2011

”I like challenges. It's forcing everyone to look at what they are doing and to do those things better. It's an opportunity to refine what we're doing and choose what we focus on. We actually get to make decisions for Humboldt that make sense for Humboldt.”

Humboldt County Chief Probation Officer Bill Damiano
Contra Costa Times, Matt Drange, July 23, 2011

Inmate Death at SATF in Corcoran Being Investigated As A Homicide

2012-01-23T15:29:00.001-08:00

CORCORAN-- Officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) are investigating an inmate death as a homicide.

Jeffrey Lynn Goodwin, 43, was found on the institution’s recreation yard with an apparent head injury Thursday, January 19. Goodwin succumbed to his injuries at approximately 12:40 p.m. Sunday, January 22.

Officials from the prison and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office have named inmates Fabian Chevalier Mills, 47, and Charles Morris, 41, as suspects in the case. Both inmates have been placed in administrative segregation while the investigation continues.

Goodwin was received by CDCR on October 1, 2003, from Orange County and was serving a 14-year, eight-month sentence for first-degree robbery.

Mills was received by CDCR on December 26, 2000, from Solano County. He is serving a 70-year term for first-degree burglary and penetration with a foreign object with force/violence.

Morris was received by CDCR on February 8, 1993, from Los Angeles County and is serving a life-sentence for second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, possession of a firearm by an ex-felon, and second-degree robbery.

CSATF/SP is a multi-mission institution that houses 5,981 inmates and employs more than 1,800 people. Opened in 1997, the institution houses minimum-, medium-, and maximum-security male inmates and provides substance-abuse treatment programs, academic and vocational education, and re-entry and self-help programs to prepare inmates for their reintegration into society.

For more information about SATF, visit CDCR’s website at www.cdcr.ca.gov.

NOTE: Includes correction to fifth paragraph.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2012
Contact: Lupe Cartagena
(559) 992-7154

CDCR to Save $750,000 Per Year with Energy Efficiency Program

2012-01-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

New computer management reduces unneeded energy usage

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will save approximately $750,000 per year with a new energy-saving program that shuts down the department’s approximately 34,000 networked personal computers (PC) after a period of inactivity.

As the largest state agency in California, CDCR sought ways to reduce power costs and energy by at least 20 percent as part of the statewide Green Initiative.

To measure its energy use, CDCR hired Verdiem, an Information Technology (IT) energy management and efficiency software company. Verdiem’s Surveyor software determined the department’s baseline annual energy cost at $2.65 million.

CDCR used Surveyor to establish power management policies that would determine when to shift PCs into lower power states. Under the new policy, workstations go to sleep after 7 a.m. following two hours of inactivity. At 5 p.m., workstations go to sleep if inactive for 30 minutes. After 10 p.m., the workstations wake for software patches and a virus scan, and then go to sleep until 7 a.m.

CDCR employees were previously encouraged to shut down computers at night to save energy, but using the Surveyor software to automatically shift PCs into sleep mode, the department was able to achieve and sustain an additional 28 percent reduction in energy use.

In addition to the cost savings, the savings in carbon emissions helped CDCR reduce its carbon footprint and reach its compliance goal with California’s Green Initiative for public agencies.

“Green IT remains a key strategic priority for CDCR,” Director of the Division of Enterprise Information Services for CDCR Joe Panora said. “We will continue to explore IT solutions to reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions and power consumption.”

For more information regarding CDCR’s actions to reduce energy consumption and California’s Green Initiative visit the Department of General Service’s Green California website: http://www.green.ca.gov/default.htm.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 20, 2012

Contact: Dana Toyama

(916) 445-4950

Judge Henderson Says “End of Receivership … In Sight”

2012-01-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

Cites Progress in Overhaul of Medical Care in California Prisons

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is ready to start planning for the end of federal oversight of prison medical care, said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate today.

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson has ordered the parties to meet as soon as possible. They should report back by April 30, 2012, with recommendations on how the Receivership currently supervising medical care should end, and what monitoring might continue.

Based on the most recent report from the Receiver, Judge Henderson noted that significant progress has been made toward ensuring that medical care in each prison meets Constitutional standards.

Judge Henderson issued his order on January 17, 2012.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 17, 2012

Contact: Jeffrey Callison (916) 445-4950

Parolee Loren Herzog’s death investigated as possible suicide

2012-01-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

SUSANVILLE – Parolee Loren Herzog, 46, was found dead at his trailer on state property outside the perimeter of High Desert State Prison (HDSP) on January 16, 2012, at approximately 11 p.m.

Herzog’s parole agent had been alerted by the GPS system that Herzog’s monitoring ankle bracelet was indicating a low battery. The agent notified the institution after he attempted to contact Herzog but was unable to make phone contact. HDSP staff responded to the residence and discovered Herzog unresponsive. The scene was secured and the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office was called in to investigate the scene. The death is being investigated as a possible suicide. The exact cause of death is unknown, pending a complete autopsy.

The death is now under review by the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Investigative Services Unit at HDSP. The Office of Inspector General, Bureau of Independent Review, was notified.

Herzog was on parole after serving a 14-year determinate sentence for voluntary manslaughter, three counts of being an accessory to a felony, and one count for transportation of a controlled substance. Herzog and Wesley Shermantine were originally convicted of numerous first-degree murder charges, including the 1998 rape and murder of Cyndi Vanderheiden. Herzog had been sentenced to 78-years-to-life (three consecutive 25-to-life terms plus three years for being an accessory to a felony). In 2004, a state appellate court threw out the three murder convictions and much of the evidence against Herzog. It led to a plea bargain and Herzog pleaded guilty to the voluntary manslaughter charge. Shermantine remains on death row.

Herzog, has been living in a trailer outside HDSP since September 2010, when he was administratively paroled to Lassen County due to victims’ requests. Upon his parole for time served, Herzog was required to follow several strict conditions of parole. Among those was active monitoring by parole agents using a Global Positioning System monitor. He was also required to maintain strict curfews and abide by a strict no-contact list.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 17, 2012
CONTACT: LUIS PATINO (916) 445-4950

Setting the Record Straight on Realignment

2012-01-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

FACTS About Realignment:

Realignment is NOT an “early release program.” NO state prison inmates have been or will be released early.
There have been NO inmate transfers from state prison to county jails.
CDCR does NOT decide which are “serious” or “violent” crimes; those are defined by the California Penal Code. See Penal Code 667.5(c)and Penal Code 1192.7(c)
CDCR has dedicated staff at EACH institution to act as a “county liaison” to assist in sending (or transferring) inmate information to the counties.

CDCR sends mental health and treatment information to the counties at least 90 days before an inmate’s scheduled release. (Remember: all inmates continue to serve the legally required amount of time in state prison with NO early releases).
By law, prison inmates are returned to the county where they lived before incarceration after their sentences are completed. They would be in these communities normally. Realignment does not influence that.
Many of these offenders needed and obtained county social services before implementation of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment. Funding has been allocated by the State to the counties to alleviate any increase in demand for services by former inmates.

The State HAS provided funding to the counties to help meet any increased expenses under Realignment -- $400 million in 2011, rising to more than $850 million in 2012, and more than $1 billion in 2013-2014.

What IS Realignment?

Realignment is a big change for everyone. California is legally required by a federal Three-Judge Panel (a decision affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court) to reduce prison overcrowding, and Realignment is the safest, most effective way for avoiding the wholesale early release of 33,000 inmates. Along with reducing overcrowding, Realignment will help reduce recidivism among low-level offenders who will remain closer to local support networks.

Offenders convicted AFTER October 1, 2011, of a non-serious, non-violent (Remember: this is defined by the California Penal Code, not CDCR) or non-sex offense will stay in county jail to serve their court-ordered sentences. After serving their legally required sentences, based on each inmate’s current commitment offense, inmates will report to either county probation or state parole. If the offender’s current commitment offense is for a non-serious, non-violent, or non-sex offense, the offender must report to county probation. All others will continue to report to state parole.

INMATE RIOT AT KERN VALLEY STATE PRISON

2012-01-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Delano – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that approximately 300 inmates began rioting at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP). The inmates started the riot at approximately 1:45 p.m. on the Facility A recreation yard, a level IV general population facility. Correctional officers responded and utilized less lethal rounds, chemical agents, and two warning shots fired from rifles to quell the disturbance. Several inmates received stab, puncture, and slashing type wounds, none of which were life threatening and no staff members were injured.

An investigation will be opened to determine the reason for the riot as the cause is unknown at this time.

Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005 and houses approximately 4,800 minimum, medium-, maximum- and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,800 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2012
CONTACT: Lt. Jeff Smith
(661) 721-6314

Riot at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran Contained

2012-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

CORCORAN – A riot involving approximately 60 inmates at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran (CSATF/SP) was contained shortly after it broke out just after 12 p.m. today on a maximum-security yard. Correctional custody staff used pepper spray and less-than-lethal weapons to quell the disturbance.

Numerous inmates suffered cuts and abrasions and were treated at the prison. Five inmates were transported to area hospitals for treatment of stab wounds. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

There were no injuries to staff.

Numerous inmate-made weapons were recovered.

The facility has been placed on a modified program pending further investigation into this matter. The Investigative Services Unit at the prison is conducting an investigation.

CSATF/SP is a multi-mission institution that houses 5,981 inmates and employs more than 1,800 people. Opened in 1997, the institution houses minimum-, medium- and maximum-security male inmates and provides substance abuse treatment programs, academic and vocational education, and re-entry and self-help programs to prepare inmates for their reintegration into society.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 10, 2012

CONTACT: Lupe Cartagena
(559) 992-7154

CDCR Meets First Court Benchmark to Reduce Prison Overcrowding

2012-01-06T15:58:00.000-08:00

Inmate population drops to less than 133,000

SACRAMENTO – As a result of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s historic Realignment program, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced that they have cut prison overcrowding by more than 11,000 inmates over the last six months. This reduction was announced in a monthly status report filed today with the federal Three-Judge Court. The report demonstrates that CDCR is achieving compliance with the population reduction order affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reduce overcrowding by 34,000 inmates over two years.

“Meeting the Three-Judge Court’s six-month benchmark to reduce prison overcrowding was our top priority,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “Reducing overcrowding enhances safety and security for staff, inmates and the public. It also increases inmates’ access to medical and mental health care, and gives us more space to provide rehabilitative programs.”

The reduction of the number of state prisoners was largely accomplished by the passage of Assembly Bill 109, 2011 Public Safety Realignment, historic legislation designed to enable California to close the revolving door of low-level offenders cycling in and out of state prisons.

Implemented October 1, 2011, Realignment shifts responsibilities and funding for non-serious, non-violent, non-sex offenders from the State to the counties, which can more effectively sanction and rehabilitate offenders. It also enables the State to safely reduce the prison population without resorting to a wholesale release of inmates from prison.

On December 28, 2011, the population of California’s 33 prisons was 132,887, or 166.8 percent of design capacity. Under the Three-Judge Court’s prisoner-reduction order, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2011, the inmate population in California’s 33 prisons must be no more than:

• 167 percent of design capacity by December 27, 2011, (133,016 inmates)

• 155 percent by June 27, 2012,

• 147 percent by December 27, 2012, and

• 137.5 percent by June 27, 2013.

Design capacity is the number of inmates a prison can house based on one inmate per cell, single-level bunks in dormitories, and no beds in places not designed for housing. Current design capacity in CDCR’s 33 institutions is 79,650.

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Copies of monthly status reports (including the documents filed for the six-month benchmark), a graph tracking the prison population and other information are on CDCR’s Three-Judge Court webpage: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2012
Contact: Jeffrey Callison
(916) 445-4950

CPAT Agent Shot in Lakewood Terrace Recovering from Surgery

2012-01-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

Agent remains in stable condition and a full recovery is expected

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agent, who was shot in an apparent gunfight with a parolee at large in the Lakewood Terrace area of Los Angeles on January 4, is recovering from surgery and remains in stable condition.

CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate says,“everyone at CDCR is relieved to hear that our agent should be able to recover fully. Watching video and pictures of this agent sitting up and giving information to his brother law enforcement officers, even after he had been shot in the face, reminded us all of the valor and determination that our agents exhibit out in the field everyday as they work to keep Californians safe. My family and I continue to pray for his speedy recovery and the safety of all our men and women in law enforcement. “

The California Parole Apprehension Team member’s name is being with held pursuant to state law. The wounded agent is 40 years old. He was first hired by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2002. He is currently assigned as a Parole Agent I to Region III (Los Angeles Area) of the California Parole Apprehension Team (CPAT.)

Department of Adult Parole Operations Director, Robert Ambroselli was by the agent’s side this morning. “I visited our parole agent and am happy to say he is recovering, resting comfortably, and in good spirits. We'll continue to look closely at our processes to ensure the safety of our agents and the public remains our top priority.”

Pursuant to state law and departmental policy, all deadly force incidents are subject to administrative review. CDCR has sent a deadly force investigation team to conduct an administrative investigation into the use of force by the parole agents. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office is handling the criminal investigation of the incident.

The CPAT was created as part of parole reforms launched by CDCR in January 2009 to direct more intense focus on parolees who pose the most risk to public safety. CPAT agents receive extensive training in fugitive apprehension, database searches, social networking, field tactics and firearms training. For more information on California parole, visit CDCR’s homepage at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 5, 2012

CONTACT: Luis Patino

(916) 445-4950

Inmate Firefighter Dies of Presumed Natural Causes

2012-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

SAN LUIS OBISPO – A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate firefighter assigned to Cuesta Fire Camp at the California Men’s Colony died of presumed natural causes Wednesday afternoon during a training exercise with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE).

The inmate, Crisanto Leo Lionell, 54, was participating in a training exercise at the California National Guard’s Camp San Luis when he lost consciousness. Emergency personnel transported him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Lionell was received by CDCR on February 10, 2010, to serve an 11-year sentence for transportation and possession for sale of controlled substances in Tulare County.

CDCR and CAL FIRE will conduct a review of the incident.

CDCR currently operates 44 adult and two Division of Juvenile Justice Conservation Camps in California. CDCR jointly manages 39 adult and juvenile camps with CAL FIRE and five adult camps with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Nearly 4,000 offenders participate in the Conservation Camp Program (CCP), which has approximately 200 fire crews.

Since 1946, the CCP has provided the State’s cooperative agencies with an able-bodied, trained workforce for fire suppression and other emergencies, such as floods and earthquakes. Fire crews also work on conservation projects on public lands and provide labor for local community service projects. Only minimum-custody inmates may participate in the CCP.

For more information about CDCR’s Conservation Camps visit CDCR’s webpage: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Conservation_Camps/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 5, 2012

Contact: Lt. Jack Spears
(805) 547-7900 ext. 7948

ESCAPEE FROM THE RICHARD J. DONOVAN CORRECTIONAL FACILITY APPREHENDED

2012-01-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

San Diego, CA – San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with assistance from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility’s (RJDCF) – Investigative Services Unit and Crisis Response Team and Special Agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) – Office of Correctional Safety (OCS), apprehended Inmate Thomas Francis Kelley on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at approximately 9:30 a.m. at a location in Lemon Grove, California. Inmate Kelley had escaped from the RJDCF on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Kelley was taken into custody without incident and transported back to the RJDCF.

On Sunday, January 1, 2012, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Inmate Kelley was confirmed as escaping from the RJDCF by stealing a Fire Engine from the RJDCF’s Fire Department, driving it to the Spring Valley, California area, and then fleeing on foot. The RJDCF immediately implemented its escape procedures, notifying local law enforcement and the OCS. A search was initiated, which continued until Kelley’s capture on Tuesday.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2012
Contact: Lt. Patrick Logan
(619) 661-7802

Daily Corrections Clips

2011-12-29T10:33:00.000-08:00

CDCR NEWS:

Fugitive Juvenile Offender Captured in Sacramento
Taken into Custody Less Than 24 Hours After Escape. Sacramento – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) took into custody early Wednesday morning a juvenile offender less than 24 hours after he escaped from a Pine Grove Conservation Camp work crew in Amador County late Tuesday morning.

Division of Juvenile Justice Fire Camp Closing in Ventura
Juvenile fire crews to be consolidated in Northern California. SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), today announced that they will close the juvenile offender fire camp in Ventura County on December 30, 2011.

NEWS:

DJJ

Monterey County teen escapee caught
The Salinas Californian-- A Monterey County juvenile offender who escaped custody Tuesday while he was part of a roadside cleanup crew has been recaptured, an official with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Monterey County Teen Fugitive Arrested
By Jasmine Viel, KION-- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) arrested a Monterey County teenager Wednesday morning in Sacramento less than 24 hours after he escaped from a Conservation Camp in Amador County.

Inmate who escaped in Sutter Creek back in jail
Stockton Record-- A 19-year-old man who escaped from a correctional community service project late Tuesday morning in Sutter Creek is back in custody, according to the United States Marshal's Office.

Juvenile offender fire camp closing
By John Scheibe, Ventura County Star-- A Camarillo camp where juvenile offenders have been trained to fight fires will close Friday, leaving only one similar camp open in California, authorities said Wednesday.

State Workers

Psychologist who allegedly faked robbery, rape fired from state prison system
By Kim Minugh, Sacramento Bee-- A psychologist suspected of faking being sexually assaulted and robbed and falsely reporting the crimes to Sacramento police has been fired from the prison system, according to a spokeswoman.

Realignment

Letter: Safety a priority, realignment a must
Chico Enterprise-Record-- In Friday's editorial, "Realignment fails early test," a connection was made between the shooting death of a former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate during the commission of a home invasion and the 2011 public safety realignment.

Does the city now need a parole officer?
By Jon Brines, Placer Herald-- State’s new prison realignment creates challenges for county, city. Regional law enforcement officials are warning of potential funding challenges and crime rate increases as the county faces the new state prison realignment law.

AB 109 - Big picture in Tehama County
By ANDREA WAGNER, Red Bluff Daily News-- Looking at the big picture of realignment, Community Corrections Partnership members include representatives from several public health and social service agencies who say they can help in reducing crime.

First deadline arrives for CDCR to reduce prison inmate populations
By Jimena Martinez, Ksby News-- The first deadline has arrived for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin reducing the inmate population at all of its thirty-three adult prisons in the state.

Division of Juvenile Justice Fire Camp Closing in Ventura

2011-12-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

Juvenile fire crews to be consolidated in Northern California

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), today announced that they will close the juvenile offender fire camp in Ventura County on December 30, 2011.

As a result, most youth housed at the S. Carraway Public Service and Fire Center in Camarillo have been moved to the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp in Amador County, consolidating CDCR’s juvenile fire crews in one location.

CAL FIRE will continue to provide fire protection in the Ventura area with staffing from the California Conservation Corps. "The community will continue to have the benefit of state fire crew resources stationed just a half mile away from the original DJJ location ," said CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott. "We constantly monitor fire conditions and have the ability to move CAL FIRE equipment into different areas of the State as conditions warrant."

The number of youth committed to the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has been significantly reduced since the Ventura firefighting facility began operation in 1990. In the mid-1990s, the state began providing support for counties to retain their juvenile offenders to house them closer to family. Subsequently, legislation adopted in 2007 restricted DJJ’s population to juveniles committed only for serious and violent felonies and sex offenses, crimes which make some youth ineligible for firefighting duty.

These changes reduced DJJ’s statewide population from approximately 10,000 in 1996 to 1,100. As a result, DJJ had too few youth to uphold a working agreement with CAL FIRE to maintain four fire crews in Ventura, each composed of 13 to 17 firefighters.

With the consolidation, approximately 90 juvenile offenders will be housed in Pine Grove, about 40 miles east of Sacramento in the Sierra foothills, and available for community service projects and fighting wild land fires.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 28, 2011
CONTACT: Bill Sessa
(916) 445-4950

Fugitive Juvenile Offender Captured in Sacramento

2011-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Taken into Custody Less Than 24 Hours After Escape

Sacramento – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) took into custody early Wednesday morning a juvenile offender less than 24 hours after he escaped from a Pine Grove Conservation Camp work crew in Amador County late Tuesday morning.

A CDCR Fugitive Apprehension Team, with aid from the Sacramento Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Service, tracked Angel Iniquez to the 2400 block of Connie Drive in Sacramento, where he was arrested at 2:30 am without incident. He was subsequently booked into the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton and will face additional charges of escape.

At approximately 10:55 am, on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, Angel Iniquez was driven away from a roadside cleanup project on old Highway 49 in Sutter Creek by two accomplices while CDCR officers were distracted by another crew member who needed medical attention after cutting his leg with a chainsaw.

Following the incident, the remaining 13 members of the crew were returned to the Pine Grove Conservation Camp and all law enforcement agencies were alerted to Iniquez’ disappearance.

Iniquez, from Monterey County, was the first juvenile in seven years to attempt an escape from the Pine Grove Conservation Camp, despite the fact that the youth conduct 15-20 community service projects a week in Amador County and the surrounding region, in addition to supporting wild land fire crews throughout the state.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 28, 2011
Contact: BILL SESSA
(916) 445-4950

CDCR Searching for Fugitive Juvenile Offender

2011-12-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

First In Seven Years to Escape from Amador County Camp

Sacramento – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is searching for a juvenile offender who was driven away by accomplices from a roadside community service project in Sutter Creek, Amador County.

At approximately 10:55 am, on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, Angel Iniquez was driven away from a roadside cleanup project by two Hispanic males in a white, compact car as CDCR officers were distracted by another crew member who needed medical attention after cutting his leg with a chainsaw.

Following the incident, the remaining 13 members of the crew were returned to the Pine Grove Conservation
Camp and all law enforcement agencies were alerted to Iniquez’ disappearance. CDCR also has dispatched fugitive apprehension teams from its Office of Correctional Safety to bring him back into custody.

Iniquez, 19 years old, is 5’ 9” tall, weighs 166 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. He was committed to CDCR’s Division of Juvenile Justice from Monterey County on March 16, 2011 and had been assigned to the Pine Grove Conservation Camp since May 3, 2011.

It has been approximately seven years since a juvenile has attempted to escape from the Pine Grove Conservation Camp, despite the fact that the youth conduct 15-20 community service projects a week in Amador County and the surrounding region, in addition to supporting wild land fire crews throughout the state.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Harry Linden, Assistant Superintendent, Pine Grove Conservation Camp, at (209) 296-7581.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 27, 2011

CONTACT: Bill Sessa

(916) 445-4950

Inmate Death of Kern Valley State Prison Under Investigation as a Homicide

2011-12-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

Delano – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today that Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) investigators are working with the Kern County Coroner and District Attorney’s Office to investigate the Christmas Day death of an inmate, which has been classified as a homicide.

On December 25, 2011 at approximately 3:05 a.m. staff found inmate Scott McInnis dead in his cell, the apparent victim of a beating by his cellmate, Steven Lovely, who is considered the suspect in the case. After removing Lovely from the cell, staff attempted life-saving measures on McInnis but were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at 4:56 a.m.

The incident occurred in Facility A, Housing Unit #6 and the cell was secured and processed as a crime scene.

McInnis was a multiple term inmate serving a forty five (45) year sentence from Los Angeles County for three counts of robbery in the 2nd degree. He had been housed at KVSP since January 17, 2008.

Steven Lovely is a 26-year-old inmate serving a 2 year 8 month sentence from Los Angeles County for disregard for safety. He has been housed at KVSP since May, 7, 2010 and was scheduled for release on January 18, 2012.

KVSP opened in 2005 and houses approximately 4,800 minimum, medium, maximum and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,800 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: December 27, 2011
CONTACT: Lt. Jeff Smith
(661) 721-6314

CDCR Preparing January Filing To Three-Judge Court

2011-12-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is preparing to update the Three-Judge Court on its progress towards meeting the court's directive to reduce inmate population to 167 percent design capacity, or 133,000 inmates.

Today is the first benchmark date set by the court, but CDCR has until January 10, 2012 to calculate and file an updated population report.

In May 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Three-Judge Court order requiring California to reduce the number of inmates in its 33 adult prisons by approximately 33,000 and reach established benchmarks at six-month intervals.

Under the Three-Judge Court’s prisoner-reduction order, the inmate population in California’s 33 prisons must not be no more than:

• 167 percent of design capacity by December 27, 2011,
• 155 percent by June 27, 2012,
• 147 percent by December 27, 2012, and
• 137.5 percent by June 27, 2013

Design capacity is the number of inmates a prison can house based on one inmate per cell, single-level bunks in dormitories, and no beds in places not designed for housing. Current design capacity in CDCR’s 33 institutions is 79,858.

As of December 14, the state’s 33 prisons held 134,804 inmates and were at 169.2 percent design capacity. Since October 1, the state prison inmate population has been dropping by an average of 933 inmates per week without the early release of any state prison inmates.

Copies of monthly status reports and other information are on CDCR’s Three-Judge Court Update webpage: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html. CDCR also has created a graph on the website tracking the inmate population.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 27, 2011
Contact: Jeffrey Callison
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Who Walked Away from Conservation Camp Apprehended

2011-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

SUSANVILLE– The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) have apprehended a minimum-security inmate who walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek yesterday. The inmate was apprehended on December 20 at approximately 7:30 pm by CDCR officials and local law enforcement.

Inmate Arthur Turner, a minimum-security inmate was committed to CDCR on February 28, 2003 from Stanislaus County for second-degree robbery. He was scheduled to be paroled in April 2014.

The inmate was booked into the Tehama County Jail and the case will be referred to the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Of all offenders who have escaped from an adult institution, camp or community-based program since 1977, 99.1 percent have been apprehended.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2011
Contact: Margaret Pieper
530-257-2181 ext. 4110

Fewer Inmates Returning to Prison After Release

2011-12-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

The “2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report” shows inmate recidivism rate declines

SACRAMENTO – California’s recidivism rate fell to 65 percent this year, according to the 2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). This significant reduction of 2.4 percentage points in one year equates to 2,766 fewer offenders returning to prison and an approximate saving to California taxpayers of $30 million.

“A major goal for CDCR and for other public safety officials is to prevent offenders from victimizing again after their release from incarceration,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “Even a slight drop in the overall percentage can equate to thousands of inmates who have not returned to prison and likely prevented the victimization of countless citizens. Reducing recidivism has been a primary goal for our agency, and this report shows that progress is being made.”

Key findings in the report include:

• 45 percent of the released felons returned to prison for parole violations;

• Female offenders recidivate at a lower rate than males—11.2 percentage points lower, after three years;

• Recidivating sex registrants are most often returned to prison for a new non-sex crime than for a new sex crime. Of the sex offenders who recidivate, 84.4 percent return to prison for a parole violation;

• Overall, inmates with a developmental disability recidivated at a higher rate than those without a developmental disability designation – nearly 13 percentage points higher than inmates without developmental disabilities;

• 99 percent of convicted murderers who paroled since 1995 did not return to prison;

• The combination of in-prison substance-abuse treatment programs with after-care results in the best outcome: a recidivism rate that is much lower than those who did not participate in an in-prison substance-abuse program (with or without after-care); and

• Inmates who were assigned to a Security Housing Unit recidivate at a higher rate than those who were not.

The 2011 report focuses on offenders who were released in fiscal year 2006-07. All offenders were tracked for a full three-year follow-up period, even if they were discharged from parole, to determine if they recidivated. New this year are analyses focusing on recidivism rates for persons with developmental disabilities, murderers, offenders who have received substance-abuse treatment, and those who have paroled from a Security Housing Unit (SHU).

The in-depth report also includes analyses of demographics, including gender, age, offense, length of stay, risk category, mental health status and behavior while under CDCR custody and supervision. Furthermore, the report includes an extended analysis of sex offenders, as well as the types of offenses committed by parole violators that resulted in their return to prison.

CDCR has tracked return-to-prison rates for first-time felons released from prison since 1977. Last year’s 2010 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report expanded this recidivism measure to include re-released felons and felons who have been discharged from parole. CDCR measures recidivism using arrests, convictions, and returns to prison at one-, two- and three-year intervals dating back to offenders released in fiscal year 2002-03. Return to prison is used as the primary measure due to its reliability and common usage by correctional stakeholders. This return measure includes first releases from prison and re-releases of parole violators.

CAPTION: Parole violations are the primary reason that released felons are returned to prison.

The 2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report is published by the CDCR Office of Research, which provides research, data analysis, and evaluation to implement evidence-based programs and practices, strengthen policy, inform management decisions, and ensure accountability.

View report:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Research_Branch/Research_Documents/ARB_FY_0607_Recidivism_Report_(11-23-11).pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Walks Away from Conservation Camp in Tehama County

2011-12-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

SUSANVILLE—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are looking for a state prison inmate who walked away from the Ishi Conservation Camp in Paynes Creek, located in Tehama County, today at approximately 9:45 am.

The inmate is 31-year old Arthur Turner, African American male, 6” tall and 185 pounds. Turner has black eyes and black hair cut short. Turner was committed to CDCR on February 28, 2003 from Stanislaus County for second degree robbery.

The California Conservation Center (CCC), located in Susanville, has sent a Crisis Response Team and Investigative Services Unit to the area. The California Highway Patrol has been contacted for assistance.

If anyone has information about, or knowledge of, the location of this individual immediately contact 911 or the CCC Watch Commander at (530) 257-2181 ext. 4173.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2011
Contact: Margaret Peiper
530-257-2181 x4110

Inmate Death at California State Prison-Sacramento is Being Investigated as a Homicide

2011-12-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

REPRESA - Officials from California State Prison-Sacramento's Investigative Services Unit are investigating the early morning death of an inmate discovered in his cell at 3:10 a.m. in the prison's maximum-security housing. The inmate, who has been identified as Anthony Steadham, 38, was transported to an outside hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m.

Steadham was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on Sept. 19, 1997, from San Mateo County, and was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and robbery.

Steadham's cellmate, inmate Maurice Woodson, 43, has been identified as the suspect. Woodson was received by CDCR on April 3, 2001, from San Bernardino County, serving a sentence of 46 years, 4 months for second-degree murder, discharge of a firearm and assault with a firearm. Woodson also served prior stints in prison from San Bernardino County. In 1986, he served a 13-year voluntary manslaughter sentence and in1994 and 1998, he served sentences for possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

Visiting has not been impacted.

CSP-Sacramento is a multi-mission institution that houses approximately 2,800 inmates and employs more than 1,700 staff. Opened in 1986, the institution primarily houses maximum-security inmates serving long sentences and those who have proved to be management problems at other institutions.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 10, 2011
(CORRECTED)
CONTACT:
LeVance Quinn (916) 985-8610, ext. 3012

CDCR Announces Plan to Convert Female Facility to House Low-Level Male Inmates

2011-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Conversion will reduce inmate overcrowding and keep jobs in region

SACRAMENTO- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the decision to convert Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) in Chowchilla to a facility that will house low- to medium-security adult male inmates. The conversion will help alleviate the adult male inmate overcrowding problem and avoid staff layoffs at the institution.

The conversion will happen in phases and is anticipated to be completed by July 2013. The facility currently houses 3,171 female inmates. The level of male inmates and staff is expected to be similar once the conversion is complete.

With the implementation of 2011 Public Safety Realignment, the department expects a significant decline in the female population. The conversion at Chowchilla will allow CDCR to create additional space for male inmates by using an existing facility and maintaining a viable workforce in the Central Valley region.

The Department is mandated by a federal court order affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court to reduce its statewide inmate population in its 33 prisons to 137.5 percent of design capacity by June 27, 2013. Realignment – the cornerstone of the state’s plan to reduce inmate overcrowding without releasing any inmate prior to completion of his or her sentence – began October 1, 2011. Since that date all individuals newly convicted of non-serious, non-violent, non-sex offenses serve their sentences in county jails instead of state prison.

As a substantial portion of female offenders fall under the definition of non-serious, non-violent, and non sex-offenders, the female inmate population at CDCR has dropped. On June 6, 2007 the female population hit an all-time high of 11,891. On September 28, 2011, CDCR had 9,404 females housed in its three female prisons, VSPW, Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, and California Institution for Women in Corona. As of November 30, 2011, the female population dropped to 8,468. Projections indicate the female population will drop to 5,767 by June 30, 2013.

VSPW’s female inmate population hit an all-time high of 4,327 on July 22, 2007. On September 28, 2011 VSPW had 3,489 female inmates housed at the institution. As of November 30, VSPW’s population was 3,138.

Conversion of the facility will conform to CDCR’s operational policies and standards for a male Level II prison.

CDCR met with the Chowchilla community in August to listen to any concerns. After careful evaluation and consideration, VSPW was selected for conversion in lieu of closure. CDCR will divide the remaining inmate population between the other two female institutions.

The State’s environmental review process was completed Monday, December 5 with the filing of a Notice of Exemption (NOE), making the conversion decision final. The NOE was filed as required with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, State Clearinghouse after being signed by CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. CDCR had met with Chowchilla city officials a number of times in the last several months to discuss this potential conversion and advised them of the decision prior to its filing.

A copy of the NOE can be found here at http://www.opr.ca.gov/m_stateclearinghouse.php.

A letter to District Assembly member Kristin Olson from CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate can be found here:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/docs/VSPW-Conversion0001.pdf

For more information about 2011 Public Safety Realignment visit CDCR’s Realignment website here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/index.html

For more information about the Three-Judge Court order visit CDCR’s website here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 9, 2011

Contact: Dana Toyama (916) 445-4950

Update on Riot at California State Prison-Sacramento

2011-12-08T12:04:00.000-08:00

More than 150 inmates involved

REPRESA – Officials from California State Prison-Sacramento’s Investigative Services Unit are investigating the cause of the December 7 riot that involved more than 150 maximum-security inmates. As required by Departmental policies, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Office of Internal Affairs Deadly Force Investigations Team is investigating the use of lethal rounds in halting the disturbance.

Correctional peace officers used pepper spray and rubber projectiles, and fired seven lethal rounds to quell the riot that broke out about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday. No inmates were critically injured in the riot.

Eleven inmates were transported to Sacramento-area hospitals. Nine were treated for minor injuries and released, but two inmates remain hospitalized Thursday morning. One is being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg and the other for facial injuries and a possible broken shoulder not related to gunshots. Each is in stable condition.

More than 400 staff members at CSP-Sacramento responded to the incident, including custody and medical personnel. No staff member was injured; previously reported staff injuries were not related to the riot.

Correctional officers recovered five inmate-manufactured weapons after the incident.

The prison’s C-Facility, where maximum-security inmates are housed, was placed on a modified program pending further investigation into this matter.

The Office of the Inspector General's Bureau of Independent Review was notified.

CSP-Sacramento is a multi-mission institution that houses approximately 2,800 inmates and employs more than 1,700 staff. Opened in 1986, the institution primarily houses maximum-security inmates serving long sentences and those who have proved to be management problems at other institutions.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 8, 2011

CONTACT:

DANA TOYAMA (916) 445-4950

LEVANCE QUINN (916) 294-3012

Riot at California State Prison-Sacramento Contained

2011-12-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Inmate injuries include stab wounds; gunshot wounds

REPRESA – A riot involving approximately 50 inmates in the maximum-security yard at California State Prison-Sacramento was contained shortly after it broke out at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Prison staff used pepper spray and rubber projectiles and fired shots to quell the incident.

At this time, at least nine inmates have been transported to Sacramento-area hospitals for treatment of stab wounds, gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

There are preliminary reports of minor injuries to some officers who responded to the incident.

The Folsom-area prison has been placed on a modified program pending further investigation into this matter.

CSP-Sacramento is a multi-mission institution that houses approximately 2,800 inmates and employs more than 1,700 staff. Opened in 1986, the institution primarily houses maximum-security inmates serving long sentences and those who have proved to be management problems at other institutions.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 7, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON, (916) 445-4950
LEVANCE QUINN, (916) 294-3012

Remaining CDCR Contracts with Community Correctional Facilities Expire

2011-12-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that the eight remaining contracts with Community Correctional Facilities (CCF) statewide expired last week as the state reduces the number of offenders eligible to be housed in CCFs.

CDCR ended the use of the remaining CCF beds as a result of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment and other actions the department has taken to reduce its inmate population, as ordered by the Three-Judge Court and affirmed in May by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the past, the department has used CCFs to house minimum- and medium-custody inmates, virtually the same population that under Realignment will be housed in local jails. State prisons will be responsible for housing only violent, serious or sexual offenders, who cannot be safely housed in a CCF’s dormitory-style environment. CCF contractors also provided education and vocational programs for the low-level inmates.

The CCFs whose contracts expired November 30 are:

Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility in San Bernardino County
Shafter Community Correctional Facility in Kern County
Taft Community Correctional Facility in Kern County

CDCR will maintain its contract with Golden State Modified Community Correctional Facility (GSMCCF) in Kern County. The facility houses 600 Level I/II (Level IV being the highest security level) adult male inmates.

At its peak in 2008, CDCR contracted with 13 public and private CCFs to house up to 5,913 inmates. The state paid an average daily rate of $55.68 per contracted bed.

The CDCR’s Community Correctional Facilities Administration was deactivated effective December 1, 2011. Oversight of the remaining community correctional facility, GSMCCF, will be maintained under CDCR’s Contract Bed Unit, which oversees California’s out-of-state correctional facilities contracts.

With the expiration of the CDCR contracts, there are currently 2,321 public and 2,903 private CCF beds available in Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Lassen, San Bernardino, and Sutter Counties.

To see the list of potential bed space available by county, please visit CDCR’s website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/docs/CCF%20Potential%20Bed%20Space.pdf

For more information about CDCR’s actions to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed order to reduce its inmate population, visit CDCR’s website at: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 7, 2011

Contact: Dana Toyama

(916) 445-4950

Inmate Juan V. Corona Denied Parole

2011-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

CORCORAN-- The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today to inmate Juan V. Corona. Corona, 77, has been serving 25 concurrent terms of 25-years-to-life for 25 counts of first-degree murder.

The board determined at the inmate’s 6th subsequent parole consideration hearing today at Corcoran State Prison, that Corona’s parole could reasonably pose a threat to public safety. He is not eligible for another hearing for five years.

Corona moved to Yuba City in Sutter County in the early 1950s as a migrant farm worker and established himself as a labor contractor. On May 19, 1971, a farmer who had hired Corona to arrange labor for his farm found a grave-shaped hole between two trees. When he checked the next day, the hole was filled. The farmer then called police.

Authorities dug the body of first victim, Kenneth Whitacre, from the earth. His throat and head had been hacked viciously, and his upper body had been stabbed repeatedly.

A search by authorities turned up more graves in peach orchards along the Feather River near Marysville. By early June 1971, the number totaled 25. All the victims were men who had been seen with Corona or gotten their jobs through Corona’s labor contracting business. They were either migrant farm workers or transients who were not missed by anyone. The number of murders set a record in the United States at the time.

Corona was tried in Colusa County and was found guilty of first-degree murder in January 1973 and received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Feb. 17, 1973. His conviction was overturned on appeal in 1978, and he won a new trial.

In 1982, Corona was again convicted of all 25 murders and sentenced to 25 life sentences. He was received on this commitment from Alameda County on Dec. 23, 1982.

The board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 5, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Death at California State Prison – Los Angeles County Being Investigated as a Homicide

2011-12-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

44-year-old cellmate identified as suspect in the case

LANCASTER – Officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California State Prison-Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC) are investigating the December 4, 2011, death of a 46-year-old inmate as a homicide.

The inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, was received from Los Angeles County on Jan. 11, 2010, and was serving an eight-year sentence for second-degree robbery. The inmate had served prison terms from Los Angeles County for possession of a controlled substance in 1990, arson in 1993 and assault with a deadly weapon in 1997.

The deceased inmate’s 44-year-old cellmate has been identified as a suspect in the case. The inmate was received from Los Angeles County on August 13, 1997, with a 30-year sentence for assault with the intent to commit a specific sex offense. In 1989, he served half of a 12-year sentence from Los Angeles County for second-degree murder and second-degree robbery.

The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review has been notified.

CSP-LAC provides secure, long-term housing and services for minimum-, high-medium and maximum-security male inmates. The prison, which opened in 1993, also provides academic and vocational educational programming designed to encourage productivity, inmate responsibility and self-improvement. The prison houses approximately 4,000 inmates and employs 1,622 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 5, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON, (916) 445-4950
LT. JACKIE GALAPON, (661) 729-6912

CDCR Institutions, Camps, Parole Offices Schedule Holiday Events that Give Back to Communities in Need

2011-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff, along with the inmates, youth and the parolees they supervise, have a long history of charitable contributions, fundraising, food donation and delivery of clothing and gifts for those less fortunate in their communities. Below is a schedule of upcoming and ongoing events taking place this holiday season.

Dec. 2-3, 2011: Chuckawalla Valley and Ironwood state prisons – The prisons will host their annual Breakfast with Santa for area foster children, as well as children and grandchildren of prison employees, on December 2 and 3. For more information, contact Lt. Maria C. Mireles at (760) 922-9710.

Dec. 2-3, 2011: The California Correctional Center, in conjunction with Lassen Family Services, will participate in the 22^nd annual Victims of Crimes Hobby Craft Sale and Auction. The craft sale will take place 5-9 p.m. December 2 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. December 3 at the Lassen County Fairgrounds. The auction starts at 3 p.m. December 3. Proceeds will benefit Victims of Crime in Lassen County. For more information, contact Correctional Counselor Margaret Pieper at (530) 257-2181 ext. 4110.

Dec. 3-4, 2011: Family and friends visiting youth at O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility will be able to purchase a Christmas present for the youth. Youth who don’t receive a visit during the two days can send a flier home describing how the program works. The Christmas gift contains a white T-shirt, two pair of white socks, shampoo, body wash, and a variety of food items – Rice Crispy treats, trail mix andcookies, for example. Family members can send $20 for the present by the December 11 deadline. Proceeds from the gifts will be added to money from other fund-raisers for the Adopt-a-Family program. O.H. Close YCF has adopted a family from the Stockton Area Homeless Shelter. The youths will wrap presents for the family members, and one youth will go to the shelter to deliver the presents and get an up-close view of the meaning of giving back to the community. For more information, contact Parole Agent Katie Henne at (209) 944-6400 ext. 6673.

Dec. 7, 2011: Kern Valley State Prison staff will present baby blankets to students in Valley High School’s Parents and Children Together (PACT) Program. The PACT Program provides a flexible school schedule for student-parents to continue their education. For more information, contact Lt. Jeffrey Smith at (661) 721-6300 ext. 5514.

Dec 7, 2011: Avenal State Prison has a Christmas gifting tree through December 7 near the snack bar in the Administration Building. Each ornament represents a child who is in need of a gift. Staff members who are too busy to purchase a gift will have the option of using the Community Resource Office, which will provide a courtesy shopper to handle cash donations. For more information, contact Lt. Edward Borla at (559) 386-0674 ext. 5028.

Dec. 10, 2011: Uniformed staff at Centinela State Prison are volunteering for the “Shop With a Cop” program for children in Imperial County. The officers and children will start at Southwest High School on their shopping spree, which lasts from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Lt. Jesse Jackson at (760) 337-7900 ext. 7601.

Dec. 16, 2011: Kern Valley State Prison – Raffle tickets are on sale for $5 to raise money for Pond School outside Delano. The grand prize is a 47-inch LCD TV with a BlueRay player and surround-sound system donated by Acting Chief Deputy Warden Ed Blanco. The winner will be selected December 16. For more information, contact Lt. Jeffrey Smith at (661) 721-6300 ext. 5514.

Dec. 16, 2011: Kern Valley State Prison selected Delano Head Start Pre-School for its annual “Adopt a School” Program. Staff will stage a Christmas event with tree-decorating, a sing-a-long, story time, and a visit from Santa. Each student will receive a warm coat, shoes, and a toy purchased by KVSP staff. For more information, contact Lt. Jeffrey Smith at (661) 721-6300 ext. 5514.

Dec. 17, 2011: The Chuckawalla Valley State Prison and Ironwood State Prison Employees Association, in conjunction with the Citizens Advisory Committee, has established a program similar to “Shop with a Cop” – “Civil Servants for Santa” -- in which uniformed personnel, such as police, firefighters, nurses, correctional officers, etc., take underprivileged children on a one-day shopping extravaganza at a local retail store. The first group will begin at 9 a.m., boarding a Christmas trolley and escorted by emergency vehicles to K-Mart. For more information, contact Lt. Maria Mireles, (831) 678-5952 or Lt. Willie Hawkins, (760) 921-4382.

Dec. 17, 2011: California Correctional Center and High Desert State Prison – Collection boxes for Lassen County Toys for Tots are at the institutions’ front entrances. Toys will be distributed 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. December 17 at the Lassen County Fairgrounds. For more information, contact Correctional Counselor Margaret Pieper at (530) 257-2181 ext. 4110.

December: Valley State Prison for Women is teaming up with the United Way. Prison staff will provide gifts for children through the Wishes for Wee Little Ones program. Staff can come by the Administration Building to pick up an ornament, then bring an unwrapped gift for the child in need. For more information, contact Lt. Gregory Bergersen at (559) 665-6100 ext. 5509.

December: N. A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility – NACYCF will adopt 10 families. The goal is to raise $2,500 through fundraisers. Youth will participate in shopping excursions to purchase Christmas presents for the families. For more information, contact Parole Agent Katie Henne at (209) 944-6400 ext. 6673.

December: The California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility received donations of nearly 500 bicycles that were donated to local law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations to be given to children through the Vocational Wheel Chair and Bicycle Refurbishing Program. Staff will take part in an annual toy drive for underprivileged children of Corcoran. CSATF/SP is committed to donating gifts for approximately 500 children. Additionally, 120 bicycles were refurbished for the event. For more information, contact Community Partnership Manager Florence Coté at (559) 992-7294.

December: The California Institution for Women is working with the Salvation Army to provide Christmas gifts to 30 families. For more information, contact Lt. Felix Figueroa at (909) 597-1771 ext. 4921.

December: The California Medical Facility Bicycle Refurbishing Project has provided bicycles to needy children since 1988. Bicycle paint and tires are purchased by funds collected by recycling aluminum cans from the institution. CMF also has a Giving Tree to find local donors of age-specific gifts. For more information, contact Lt. Roger Benton at (707) 448-6841 ext. 6509.

December: The California Institution for Women is adopting 30 families in conjunction with the Salvation Army in Ontario; presenting 20 refurbished bicycles to the Chino Police Department for distribution; and providing refurbished bicycles to programs in San Bernardino and Azusa. For more information, contact Lt. Felix Figueroa at (909) 597-1771 ext. 4921.

CDCR Agents Instrumental in Capture of New Jersey Man Suspected of Murdering of His Daughter

2011-11-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sacramento -- Members of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Fugitive Apprehension Team were instrumental in the November 29 capture in San Diego of a 27-year-old man who was on the run from New Jersey police for allegedly killing his 2-year-old daughter.

CDCR agents, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, spotted Arthur Morgan III on an apartment balcony Tuesday in San Diego and alerted other task force members. Moments later, the team took Morgan into custody without incident.

Morgan had been the subject of a nation-wide manhunt in the November 21 murder of Teirra Morgan-Glover, whose body was found strapped in car seat partially submerged in a creek in Wall Township, NJ. The toddler had been on a New Jersey court-approved visit with her father at the time of her death. Morgan had been featured on the America’s Most Wanted TV show.

The Fugitive Task Force received information from New Jersey authorities that Morgan might be hiding in an apartment in the San Diego area. Morgan was booked into the San Diego County jail where he awaits extradition proceedings.

CDCR’s Fugitive Apprehension Team is one of six specialized units within the department’s Office of Correctional Safety that handle fugitive and escapee apprehension, gang-management issues, critical incident responses and criminal investigations.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Contact: Luis Patino
(916) 445-4950

Inmates Captured After Walking Away from Minimum Support Facility at Salinas Valley State Prison

2011-11-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

SALINAS– The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the apprehension of two inmates who walked away from the Minimum Support Facility at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) on November 19, 2011.

Inmate Omar Ramirez, 32, was captured late Tuesday night in Compton, California and transported to California Institution for Men in Chino, California. Ramirez was committed to CDCR on December 30, 2009 from Los Angeles County and serving a one-year, four-month sentence for possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

Inmate Yovanni Peralta Diaz, 22, was captured after a brief chase Wednesday morning in Madera, California and was transported back to SVSP. Diaz was committed to CDCR on September 14, 2011 from Orange County and is serving a three-year sentence for transportation and solicitation of controlled substances.

Both inmates were captured by CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety and Special Service Unit.

The two inmates were last seen walking laps together on the facility’s track at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 19. The two were noticed missing at approximately 9:15 p.m. during an institutional inmate count.

SVSP provides long-term housing and services for designated Level I and Level IV inmates. Level I inmates are housed in one of two dorms on the Minimum Support Facility (MSF), and the Level IV inmates are housed in one of four other facilities at the institution. SVSP provides Correctional Clinical Case Management System (CCCMS), Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP) and Mental Health Crisis Bed (MHCB) services. For more information on SVSP, visit CDCR's website at www.cdcr.ca.gov/Facilities_Locator/SVSP.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 30, 2011

Contact: Dana Toyama

(916) 445-4950

Condemned Inmate David Murtishaw Dies of Natural Causes

2011-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

SAN QUENTIN – Condemned inmate David Leslie Murtishaw, 54, who was on death row for the murder of three University of Southern California film students in 1978, was found unresponsive in his cell last night at San Quentin State Prison. Murtishaw was pronounced dead of natural causes at 10:36 p.m. He was single-celled.

Murtishaw was sentenced to death by a Kern County jury for the April 9, 1978, for the murders of James Lee Henderson, Martha Bernice Soto and Ingrid M. Etayo, who were making a student film in the Mojave Desert.

Murtishaw was received onto California’s death row at San Quentin on May 1, 1979.

Since California reinstated capital punishment in 1978, 55 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 19 have committed suicide, 13 were executed in California, one was executed in Missouri and six died from other causes. As of November 23, 2011, there are 718 offenders on California’s death row.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 2011
Contact: Lt. Sam Robinson
(415) 454-1460 ext. 5008 or
Dana Toyama (916) 445-4950

WASCO Staff Conduct Annual Food Drive to Help Feed Hungry in Their Community

2011-11-22T11:50:00.001-08:00

For more than 10 years now, the staff at Wasco State Prison’s Reception Center has hosted a local food drive to help needy families in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Last week, Wasco staff distributed 57 food boxes, each containing the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal for a family of six.

The food drive was topped off with a Thanksgiving feast at Allensworth Elementary School. WSP-RC has been providing a Thanksgiving luncheon for students at Allensworth Elementary since 1998.

Acting Warden J. N. Katavich and the prison’s Reception Center staff served a Thanksgiving lunch with all the trimmings to students and other members of the community.

Helping serve the lunch were AssemblymanDavid G. Valadao, R-30th District, and Dameane Douglas, a representative from the office of state Sen. Michael J. Rubio, D-16th District.

Inmates Walk Away from Minimum Support Facility of Salinas Valley State Prison

2011-11-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

SALINAS—The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced that on November 19, 2011, two minimum security inmates escaped from the Minimum Support Facility of Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) which is located in South Monterey County, just north of the city of Soledad, CA.

The first escape is 32-year old Omar Ramirez, Hispanic male, 5’ 8” tall and 210 pounds. Ramirez has brown eyes and black hair however, it is shaved at the time. Ramirez was committed to CDCR on December 30, 2009 from Los Angeles County for being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

The second escapee is 22-year old Yovanni Peralta Diaz, Hispanic male, 5’ 5” tall and 173 pounds. Diaz has brown eyes and black hair however; it is trimmed very short at this time. Diaz was committed to CDCR on September 14, 2011 from Orange County for transportation and selling controlled substances.

Both inmates were last seen at approximately 7:30 pm on November 19, 2011.

SVSP has activated the institution’s Incident Command Post and Escape Pursuit Plan.

Anyone have information about, or knowledge of, the location of either of these two escapees should immediately contact 911 or the SVSP Watch Commander at (831) 678-5542.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2011
Contact: Lt. Michael Nilsson
(916) 445-4950

Condemned Inmate Brandon Wilson Dies of Suicide

2011-11-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

SAN QUENTIN – Condemned inmate Brandon Wilson, 33, who was on death row for the murder of a 9-year-old boy, was found hanging in his cell this morning at San Quentin State Prison. Wilson was pronounced dead at 6:47 a.m. He was single-celled.

Wilson was sentenced to death by a San Diego County jury on November 4, 1999, for the November 14, 1998, murder of Matthew Cecchi in an Oceanside park restroom.

Wilson was received onto California’s death row on November 9, 1999, with a death sentence for first-degree murder with special circumstances. On February 22, 2000, Wilson also began serving a life sentence from Los Angeles County for attempted first-degree murder.

Since 1978 when California reinstated capital punishment, 54 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 19 committed suicide, 13 were executed in California, one was executed in Missouri and six died from other causes. As of November 17, 2011, there are 719 offenders on California’s death row.

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Contact:
Terry Thornton, (916) 445-4950

Sgt. Gabe Walters, (415) 455-5008

Inmate Charles Watson Denied Parole

2011-11-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

IONE – The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today to inmate Charles Denton Watson at a parole suitability hearing at Mule Creek State Prison. Inmate Watson, 65, has been serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 1969 Manson Family murders.

It was Watson’s 16th appearance before a BPH panel. Inmate Watson will be considered for another parole review in five years.

On August 9, 1969, Charles “Tex” Watson and his crime partners Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Linda Kasabian murdered Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent, Sharon Tate Polanski who was eight months pregnant, and Thomas Jay Sebring. Folger, Polanski and Sebring died from multiple stab wounds. Frykowski was shot, received multiple blunt force trauma to his head, and was stabbed. He died from the gunshot wound. Parent died from multiple gunshot wounds.

On August 10, 1969, Watson, Atkins, Charles Manson, Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten murdered Leno and Rosemary La Bianca. They died from multiple stab wounds.

On October 21, 1971, Watson was sentenced to death by a Los Angeles County jury and received onto California’s death row on November 17, 1971 for seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. On December 13, 1972, the Superior Court of California in the County of Los Angeles vacated and set aside the death penalty pursuant to People v. Anderson (1972). The Anderson decision caused all capital sentences in the State of California to be commuted to life in prison. The decision was retroactive. Watson’s death sentence was vacated on March 20, 1973 and he was resentenced to a life term. He has been housed at Mule Creek State Prison since 1993.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

Medical parolee returned to custody pending hearing

2011-11-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

The Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) has ordered a medical examination for Peter Post, who was released to medical parole on November 3, to determine whether his condition has improved to the extent that he no longer qualifies for medical parole. The Board conducted Post’s medical parole hearing on October 21.

On November 8, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole agents advised BPH of possible improvement of Post’s condition after the parolee allegedly made indecent gestures to female nurses at a San Diego area long-term care facility.

On November 10, parole agents transferred Post from his long-term care facility to a secure medical facility in San Diego County.

Pursuant to the California Code of Regulations and a special condition of medical parole requiring Post to undergo an examination to assess his condition, the Board has ordered an examination by a physician to assess his current medical condition. The BPH will use the report to determine if Post’s medical condition has improved to the extent that he no longer qualifies for medical parole. A hearing will be scheduled after the report is received by BPH.

Post, 56, began serving a 31-year sentence for first-degree burglary from Sacramento County on November 21, 2002. He has prior burglary commitments from 1992 and 2000.

Senate Bill 1399, signed into law in September 2010 and became effective January 1, 2011, allows CDCR to medically parole certain state prison inmates with physical incapacitating conditions. Under the law, BPH may approve medical parole if it determines that the conditions of release would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

To be eligible for medical parole consideration, an inmate must be medically incapacitated with a condition that renders him or her permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily living and results in the inmate requiring 24-hour care. The medical parolee would remain under the supervision of CDCR parole agents under specified terms and conditions. Because medical parole results in the inmate’s status to be changed from inmate to medical parole, California taxpayers save costs related to custody.

Under the law, medical parolees could be returned to prison for violating the terms and conditions of medical parole or in the event their medical condition improves to the extent they are no longer eligible.

As of November 9, 2011, the Board of Parole Hearings has heard 27 requests for medical parole since the medical parole law took effect January 1, 2011. Of those heard, 24 requests were granted medical parole, and three have been denied.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 15, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

Inmates walk away from Delta Conservation Camp/Suisun City California

2011-11-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

Two minimum-security inmates walked from Delta Conservation Camp near Suisun City, California.

The first inmate is 29-years-old Eduardo Hernandez, described as a Hispanic male, 5-feet-4, 125 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and medium complexion. He was last seen wearing orange-blaze-colored jeans, and shirt with C.D.C.R. prisoner written on the back. He was committed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on July 21, 2005, from Los Angeles County for carjacking. He was scheduled to be paroled in June 2016.

The second inmate is 32-year-old Jose Padilla, described as a Hispanic male, 5-feet-10, 160 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and medium complexion. He was last seen wearing orange-blaze-colored jeans, and shirt with C.D.C.R. prisoner written on the back. He was committed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on April 15, 2011, from Los Angeles County for terrorist threats, corporal injury to spouse and stalking.. He was scheduled to be paroled in December 2015.

Both inmates were last seen about 4:30 this morning.

Apprehension efforts are continuing. Anyone seeing him should contact 9-1-1 or law enforcement authorities immediately.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2011
Contact: Anyone having information about or knowledge of the location of Eduardo Hernandez or Jose Padilla should contact the CCC Watch Commander at 530-257-2181x4173. All media inquiries should be directed to Margaret Pieper, Public Information Officer, at the California Correctional Center at (530) 257-2181 extension 4110.

CDCR’s Checks on 2,100 Sex-Offenders During Operation Boo

2011-11-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sweep results in 118 arrests statewide; weapons, guns, drugs and child porn confiscated

SACRAMENTO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole agents arrested 118 of the 2,095 sex-offender parolees who were contacted during compliance checks or searches as part of the 18th annual Operation Boo Child Safety Project on Halloween night 2011. New charges were filed against six of the sex-offender parolees contacted.

“The 118 arrests among sex-offender parolees – for possession of weapons, narcotics, child pornography and other parole violations – prove that our statewide efforts with Operation Boo on Halloween night are not only well-founded but also necessary,” said Robert Ambroselli, Director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations. “Our educational efforts this year are also proving effective in the large numbers of parents who visited our website for our online parent’s guide.”

In addition to the traditional compliance checks, this year Operation Boo added two features:

Parent Empowerment: CDCR provided a free downloadable brochure with helpful information about ways to talk to children about dangerous behavior in adults, and Internet links for parents to check for sex-offenders in their area. The number of page views on CDCR’s website climbed by more than 50,000 this Halloween when compared to last year.

Transient Sex-Offender Curfew Centers: Since a significant number of sex-offenders are homeless, transient sex-offenders in most regions were ordered to report to a center to spend the curfew under supervision. Statewide, 12 special transient sex-offender curfew centers were operated Halloween night.

For more information about Operation Boo please visit: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2011
Contact: Luis Patino or Terry Thornton
(916) 445-4950

Corrections Standards Authority Invites 25 Counties to Apply for Phase II Jail Construction Funding

2011-11-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Almost $603 million available from state for counties to expand jail-bed space

SACRAMENTO – The Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) announced today that it has invited 25 counties to submit applications for Phase II funding for construction or expansion of county jails. The counties were selected based on criteria in the request for applications.

"We are pleased with the response we have received from county officials interested in Phase II funding,” said California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate who is also the Chair of the CSA. "While 25 counties were invited to apply, any interested county will be allowed to submit an application up until January 11, 2012."

Following the approval by the CSA Board for the request for applications on October 6, 35 counties contacted CSA expressing interest in applying for a total of $602,881,000 to construct jail facilities.

The following is a list of counties by size and rank:

Large counties (more than 700,000 residents) invited to apply were Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, Kern, Sacramento, Santa Clara and Fresno.

Medium counties invited to apply were San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Yolo, Sonoma and Placer.

Small counties (less than 200,000 residents) invited to apply were Kings, Shasta, Sutter, Madera, Imperial, Napa, Amador, San Benito, Siskiyou and Tuolumne.

Factors used to select the 25 counties included each county’s standing within the legislated preferences of: 1) counties that committed the largest percentage of inmates to state custody in 2010; and 2) counties that chose to relinquish their Phase I award and reapply in Phase II (for a lower matching requirement).

Final awards will be announced by March 2012.

The funding will be provided through lease revenue bonds approved by Assembly Bill 900, also known as the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007.

CSA has already awarded $617 million to 11 counties under Phase I to add more than 5,000 county jail beds statewide. Projects under construction include Calaveras County’s 240-bed project; a 1,368 jail bed expansion in San Bernardino County; and 144 jail beds in Madera County. Projects in other counties are in the planning stages.

AB 900 provides $7.7 billion to add up to 53,000 prison and jail beds. The legislation provides funding for treatment and rehabilitation beds and for the reduction of prison overcrowding. Of that $7.7 billion, AB 900 provides $1.2 billion to add jail beds to reduce overcrowding in county jails. Each county is required to provide a percentage of matching funds.

Corrections Standards Authority Jail Financing Website (and Phase II RFA links): http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/AB900_Program.html

List of Counties Invited to Apply for Phase II Awards:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/Docs/Counties-Status-in-AB-900-Phase-II-RFA-Process-10-26-11.pdf

Corrections Standard Authority Phase I Conditional Awards: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/Docs/AB_900_Phase_I_Funding_111909.pdf

Corrections Standard Authority:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 3, 2011

Contact: Paul Verke

(916) 445-4950

CDCR Expands “Operation Boo” Halloween Children Safety Project

2011-10-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

Online empowerment brochure launched to spur discussion about dangerous adults

Sacramento – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Division of Adult Parole Operations – aided by the Attorney General’s Office, SAFE Officers and law enforcement partners statewide – is expanding the Halloween children safety project “Operation Boo.”

This year, the project includes the October 24, online launch of a parent empowerment brochure. The media is being invited to partner with CDCR in spreading the word to help keep kids safe. Visits to transient sex-offender round-up centers also will be added to the traditional sex-offender compliance checks on Halloween night. Additional information at: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Parole/operation-boo-public-component.html

The Tradition

CDCR has been conducting and gradually expanding the Operation Boo Project since 1994. Now, in its 18th year, Operation Boo is conducted in each of the four California regions on Halloween night. State supervised sex-offenders* are monitored closely to ensure that they don’t attempt to attract children to their homes. Among the special conditions of parole imposed on sex offenders for Halloween night are:

• A 5 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew during which parolees must remain indoors;

• No exterior lights on at their homes, so that it looks as if no one is home and children are discouraged from approaching;

• No offering of Halloween candy and no Halloween decorations;

• During the curfew, sex-offender parolees can open the door only to respond to law enforcement, such as parole agents who are checking compliance.

What’s New with BOO 2011

In addition to the traditional compliance checks, this year Operation Boo will promote two new features:

• Parent Empowerment: Since only 11 percent of sex-offenders are under CDCR supervision, parental empowerment is the key to further protecting California children from sexual predators, not just during Halloween, but all year. That’s why on October 24, CDCR launched a free downloadable brochure with helpful information and links on the Internet for parents:

o Share a fun and non-threatening Halloween activity with their children to allow discussion of dangerous behavior in adults.

o Choose from among several tips by well-known organizations and experts for discussing personal safety for children.

o Use easy Internet links to survey the community and learn where sex-offenders may live in the area so they can steer clear and report any illegal activity observed.

o Create Operation Boo Parent Patrol badges for the parents to wear Halloween night to send a message to predators that they’re being watched, and to let everyone on the trick-or-treat trail know that parent awareness is key to keeping children safe on Halloween night and anytime.

The Operation Boo Information Guide for Parents is available here:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Parole/_pdf/Operation-Boo-Parents-Guide.pdf

• Transient Sex Offender Monitoring: Since a significant number of sex-offenders are homeless, special centers will be set up in most parole regions on Halloween night. Transient sex-offenders will be ordered to report to a center to spend the curfew under supervision. The centers will be part of the Halloween night media tours. (The deadline for media registration is October 24, for more info click here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/operation-boo-media-component.html)

*(There are almost 92,000 sex-offenders in California. CDCR is responsible for supervising about 11 percent of them. For more information, please visit: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Parole/Sex Offender_Facts/index.html )

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 24, 2011, 2011

CONTACT: LUIS PATINO
(916) 445-4950

CDCR Announces Statewide Electronic Notification for Crime Victims

2011-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO– The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services (OVSRS) today announced that victims of crime will be able to receive automated electronic notification of an offender’s release or scheduled parole board hearing.

Senate Bill 852, passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in September 2011, amended the victim’s notification law to allow for electronic notification. Previously, the law required such notices to be sent by mail. The Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) service will allow victims, family members of victims, or witnesses who have testified against an offender to register for notification by phone or e-mail.

As part of the enhancement of the system, counties and the state will now be offering access and services to Spanish-speaking victims. The system will soon also send electronic notifications of an offender’s escape, death, or scheduled execution.

“This new, automated system brings victim notification in line with modern technology and with how most people receive their information,” CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate said. “It’s essential that victims are kept informed of their rights and, if they choose, aware of their offender’s custody status on a real-time basis.”

Currently, OVSRS delivers more than 20,000 paper-based notifications annually to victims of CDCR inmates. CDCR has approximately 143,000 inmates in its 33 institutions and another 16,000 inmates in its out-of-state correctional facilities, community correctional facilities and conservation camps.

The statewide automated 24-hour VINE service will send a 90-day advance notice of release to victims for offenders sentenced under the Determinate Sentencing Law. For offenders sentenced under the Indeterminate Sentencing Law who have a parole consideration hearing with the Board of Parole Hearings, a 90-day advance notice will be sent, followed by a 14-day confirmation notice of the hearing.

The system also will notify victims of the escape, scheduled execution, or death of the offender, if applicable.

VINE also provides access to information about inmates in county correctional facilities through the California State Sheriff’s Association (CSSA). After receiving a Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant for $500,000 in July 2009, CDCR and CSSA jointly developed a cohesive tool to assist victims from the trial/conviction phase at the county level, to the incarceration phase – whether county jail or state prison -- and then to the final re-entry phase of parole or probation.

“The VINE system is cost-effective and provides easy access for victims who have been through enough adversity already,” said Jean Scott, Acting Chief of the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services. “This automated system will allow victims to obtain access to information 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, thereby expanding CDCR’s outreach to crime victims.”

If you are a victim of an offender who is serving time in a CDCR facility, you can contact the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services at (877) 256-6877 for assistance in registering for VINE service.

The VINE service operator is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to assist and can be reached at (877) 411-5588; TTY: (866) 847-1298.

VINE service is also available online at http://www.vinelink.com/.

For all other non-victim-related services, you can contact CDCR Inmate Locator at (916) 445-6713 or access the online service at: http://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/

For more information about CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services, visit CDCR’s website here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Victim_Services/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday October 24, 2011
CONTACT: Dana Toyama
(916) 445-4950

CDCR, SunEdison Begin Construction of Solar Power Plants at Four Prisons

2011-10-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Projects will offset nearly 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide over 20 years

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced that construction has begun on four solar power plants on prison grounds.

SunEdison construction crews have begun installing solar power panels at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison and Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, North Kern State Prison in Delano, and California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi. All four projects are expected to be completed and generating clean solar power by late December. A fifth site, at California State Prison, Los Angeles County is scheduled to be completed next summer, along with a second phase construction project at Tehachapi.

“This expansion of CDCR’s renewable energy portfolio reduces our reliance on the utility companies and demonstrates the department’s ongoing commitment in meeting Governor Brown’s renewable energy goals,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate.

The new projects will add more than 83,000 solar panels on the grounds of the prisons —providing 25 megawatts of clean solar energy annually. The projects are anticipated to save taxpayers more than $57 million over the 20-year life of the contracts. Additionally, the environmental attributes of the systems will offset nearly 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide. That is the equivalent of taking nearly 90,000 vehicles off the road for a year.

Construction and maintenance will be arranged and paid for by SunEdison, using no state General Fund tax dollars. The costs of the projects are further reduced by incentive dollars from California Investor Owned Utilities, through the California Solar Initiative Program administered by the California Public Utilities Commission.

“With our agreement, we are able to lock in a low electricity rate for the next 20 years and avoid paying utility demand charges during peak demand hours in the summer,” said Chris Meyer, Director of CDCR’s Facility Planning, Construction and Management Division. “These projects not only help the state save money during these lean economic times but will help stimulate the economy with new construction.”

Chuckawalla Valley State Prison and Ironwood State Prison near Blythe were the first CDCR facilities to receive solar photovoltaic systems, with each currently operating a 1-megawatt array with a total of approximately 6,400 solar panels. The systems were constructed in 2006 and 2008 respectively and, when brought on line, were the largest solar installations at any prison system in the United States, providing nearly 25 percent of the prisons’ total electrical demand.

The new projects under construction at North Kern, Ironwood, Chuckawalla and the first phase at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi are expected to be operational by December 31, 2011, and will total more than 56,000 solar panels on the grounds of the prisons, providing 15.5 megawatts of clean solar energy. The phase II expansion at California Correctional Institution and a new plant at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster are scheduled to be operational in 2012, providing an additional 26,000 solar panels and 7.5 megawatts of renewable energy.

These projects are managed by CDCR’s Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure Section, part of the Facility Planning, Construction and Management Division.

Link to photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37381942@N04/6261070035/

CDCR Solar Power: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CDCR_Going_Green/Solar_Power.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2011
CONTACT: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Death in High Desert State Prison Is Under Investigation

2011-10-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

SUSANVILLE – High Desert State Prison (HDSP) officials are investigating the death of inmate Ivan Mejia, who died at 6:10 p.m. October 18, 2011, as a homicide.

Mejia, 26, was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from Los Angeles County on January 16, 2009, and was serving a 60-years-to-life sentence for first-degree murder. He arrived at HDSP on March 9, 2009.

His cellmate, Angel Gomez, 27, is the main suspect and has been placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit pending investigation. Gomez was received by CDCR from Los Angeles County on November 9, 2006, and is serving a 120-years-to-life sentence for attempted first-degree murder. He arrived at HDSP on November 18, 2009.

The case is under investigation by the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, and the CDCR Investigative Services Unit at HDSP. The Office of Inspector General, Bureau of Independent Review, was notified.

HDSP houses 4,600 minimum-, medium- and maximum-custody inmates. Opened in 1995, the Lassen County institution provides numerous inmates services, including academic classes and vocational instruction. The facility employs more than 1,500 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 19, 2011

CONTACT: Lt. C. Hahn

(530) 251-5100 ext. 5501

State Corrections Officials Join Stanislaus County in Breaking Ground for Juvenile Detention Facility

2011-10-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Expands capacity by 60 beds as county houses, treats more juvenile offenders

SACRAMENTO -- Officials of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) joined Stanislaus County officials in a ground-breaking ceremony Tuesday for the first local facility in California to house juvenile offenders who previously would have been in state custody.

Stanislaus County was awarded more than $16 million of the $22.7 million total construction costs for the 60-bed, medium-security facility from the Local Youthful Offender Rehabilitation Facility Construction Program of 2007 (Senate Bill 81). The legislation was part of a major policy change that made counties, rather than the state Division of Juvenile Justice, responsible for housing and rehabilitating all but the most serious juvenile offenders.

“Research shows that most juvenile offenders are more successful in their rehabilitation when they remain in their local communities where they have more contact with their families and local social services,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “Over the last five years, we have shifted responsibility for most juvenile offenders to the counties. Construction of this facility, and others that will follow, ensures that counties have the space they need to address the problems of these youth in a safe and secure environment.”

The Stanislaus County Juvenile Justice Commitment Facility, which took 10 years to plan and design, will add to the county’s existing 158 beds and will provide separate housing for those juveniles who are serving longer sentences because of the severity of their crimes.

As a result of changing policy and financial incentives for counties, the number of juvenile offenders housed by the state Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), formerly known as the California Youth Authority, has been dramatically reduced from a peak of 10,000 in 1996 to approximately 1,100. In addition to providing funding for county juvenile detention facilities, SB 81 also more narrowly defined the crimes for which a youth is committed to DJJ, limiting those commitments to youth adjudicated for sex offenses or serious and violent felonies as defined by the Penal Code.

That realignment of responsibility between the state and counties over the last 15 years, similar to the policy realignment recently enacted for adult inmates, has resulted in less than 2 percent of all juvenile offenders remaining in state custody and treatment programs.

For more information, including a schedule of awards to local jurisdictions for future construction projects, visit the Corrections Standard Authority’s website at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/Docs/SB81_Project_Status_Update.pdf

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 18, 2011

CONTACT: BILL SESSA

(916) 445-4950

All Inmates Have Resumed Eating Following October 13 Conclusion of Mass Hunger Strike Disturbance

2011-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO – All California inmates have resumed eating meals following the conclusion of the inmate-initiated hunger strike that ended October 13, 2011, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said today.

The hunger strike ended after inmates and their representatives agreed that the Department’s review and changes to its policies regarding housing criteria in its Security Housing Units (SHU) would take several months to finalize. The Department maintained the commitment to review the policies that it had begun in May 2011 and discussed with inmates during a 19-day hunger strike in July 2011.

This most recent hunger strike began September 26, and after three days, 4,252 inmates in eight state prisons had missed nine consecutive meals – the point at which CDCR considers an inmate to be on a hunger strike. By October 13, the number of inmates participating had dropped to 580 in three state prisons. Although most inmates, including all of those who identified themselves as leaders of the strike, resumed eating on October 13, all remaining inmates had resumed eating by Sunday, October 16.

CDCR is continuing its investigation into allegations of threats or retaliation that inmates made against other inmates for not participating in the hunger strike.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 18, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

INMATE DEATH AT CORCORAN STATE PRISON UNDER INVESTIGATION

2011-10-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

CORCORAN – A Los Angeles County inmate was pronounced dead about 5:10 a.m. Sunday, October 16, 2011, in Corcoran State Prison’s (CSP-C) John D. Klarich Memorial Hospital.

The 59-year-old inmate was serving a 25-years-to-life term for petty theft with a third-strike enhancement. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on May 7, 1996, and had been housed at CSP-C since August 3, 2011. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The cause of death has not yet been determined, but it is being investigated as a homicide by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. The prison’s Investigative Services Unit is cooperating with the investigation, and the Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review has been notified.

A 38-year-old inmate serving a sentence of life without possibility of parole from Los Angeles County for first-degree murder has been named as a suspect. His name is being withheld pending investigation.

CSP-Corcoran opened in 1988. The prison, five miles south of Corcoran, houses nearly 5,000 minimum-, medium-, maximum- and high-security inmates. The Kings County prison offers academic classes and vocational programs. It employs approximately 2,325 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2011

Contact: M. Theresa Cisneros

(559) 992-6104

CDCR Announces End to Mass Hunger Strike Disturbance: Inmates agree to discontinue their hunger strike initiated September 26

2011-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO – The mass inmate-initiated hunger strike is over, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced today.

CDCR officials in Sacramento were contacted by inmates by letter on October 11. It was the first such contact by inmates or their representatives during the inmate-led action.

Officials agreed to meet with inmate representatives to discuss its ongoing review of and revisions to its Security Housing Unit (SHU) policies that began in May 2011. Similar to its discussions with inmates during a July hunger strike, all agreed the changes to policies would take several months to finalize. The department agreed to continue on its same course.

Inmates initiated a second hunger strike on September 26, and after three days, 4,252 inmates in eight state prisons had missed nine consecutive meals – the point at which CDCR considers an inmate to be on a hunger strike. By October 13, the number of inmates participating had dropped to 580 inmates in three state prisons. There are approximately 160,355 inmates in the state’s 33 prisons, 42 conservation camps, community-based correctional facilities and three out-of-state contract facilities.

CDCR is continuing its investigation into allegations of threats or retaliation against inmates for not participating in the hunger strike.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 13, 2011

CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

CDCR Sends Investigators, Responders to Oklahoma Facility

2011-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) sent a team of special agents and investigators from its California Out-of-State Correctional Facilities and its Office of Correctional Safety to the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Oklahoma, in response to an incident in which hundreds of CDCR inmates engaged in assaultive behavior.

On October 11 at approximately 11:45 a.m. CDT, several fights among inmates in various locations within the facility broke out. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) staff responded to the disturbances and secured the facility. Forty-six inmates suffered injuries; 30 were treated locally and 16 were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Eight inmates are still hospitalized; three are in critical condition.

There were no staff injuries, no escapes and no fatalities.

The facility is still on lockdown and inmates are confined to their housing units.

The incident is under investigation. CDCR’s team will support CCA staff in its investigation and review, help identify inmates who participated in the incident, conduct threat assessments and interviews, and evaluate housing placement.

To relieve prison overcrowding, California’s Legislature adopted AB 900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007. Among its provisions is approval to house up to 9,588 inmates in private correctional facilities outside California.

California's 9,458 out-of-state inmates are housed in Arizona, Mississippi, and Oklahoma in facilities operated by CCA, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The North Fork Correctional Facility is a 2,500-bed medium-security prison owned and operated by CCA and houses 2,381 CDCR inmates.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCTOBER 12, 2011

CONTACT: RALPH JACKSON

(916) 445-4950

Inmate Death at Wasco State Prison – Reception Center Under Investigation

2011-10-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

WASCO – Officials from Wasco State Prison-Reception Center (WSP-RC) and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide. The inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, was found dead in his cell about 5:50 p.m. October 10, 2011.

The 50-year-old inmate was received at WSP-RC from San Luis Obispo County on June 23, 2011, as a parole violator with a new term for failure to register as a sex offender. He received a 2-year sentence.

Joseph Son, 40, has been identified as a suspect in the case. Son was received at WSP-RC from Orange County on September 16, 2011, on a life sentence with the possibility of parole for torture.

The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review was notified.

WSP-RC’s primary mission is to provide short-term housing while new inmates are processed to classify and evaluate new inmates, physically and mentally, and to determine their security level, program requirements and appropriate institutional placement. WSP-RC, which was opened in February 1991, houses approximately 5,800 inmates and employs approximately 1,700 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 11, 2011

CONTACT: H. Cervantez

(661) 758-8400 ext 5046

Corrections Standards Authority Accepting Requests for Phase II Jail Construction Funding

2011-10-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Almost $603 million available from state for counties to expand jail-bed space

SACRAMENTO – In a special session held on October 6, the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) Board approved release of the AB 900 – Phase II Request for Applications for the Construction or Expansion of County Jails.

California counties now can apply to the state for a total of $602,881,000 to construct new jail facilities. The funding was approved through Assembly Bill 900, also known as the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007. Funding is provided through lease revenue bonds.

CSA held a special session to expedite the application process for these funds in response to the October 1 implementation of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment reforms that shifts responsibility for housing and supervising lower-level offenders and adult parolees from the state to local jurisdictions.

“Making funds available for counties builds on the successes we started with Phase I,” CSA Chair and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate said. “Increased bed space will assist local jails in implementing much needed reforms called for in the 2011 Public Safety Realignment law.”

By March 2012, CSA expects to announce which counties will be awarded construction funding.

CSA has already awarded $617 million to 11 counties during Phase 1 to add more than 5,000 county jail beds statewide.

Projects currently under construction include Calaveras County’s 240-bed project; 1,368 jail bed expansion in San Bernardino County; and 144 jail beds in Madera County. Projects in other counties are in the final planning stages.

AB 900, which was enacted in 2007, provides $7.7 billion to add up to 53,000 prison and jail beds. The legislation provides funding for treatment and rehabilitation beds and for reduction of prison overcrowding. Of that $7.7 billion, AB 900 provides $1.2 billion to add local jail beds to reduce overcrowding in jails. Each county is required to provide a percentage of matching funds.

For more information, visit the following CDCR web pages:

Corrections Standards Authority Jail Financing Website (and Phase II RFA links): http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/AB900_Program.html

Corrections Standard Authority Phase I Conditional Awards: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/CFC/Docs/AB_900_Phase_I_Funding_111909.pdf

Corrections Standard Authority:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/CSA/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 7, 2011

CONTACT: PAUL VERKE
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Dies After Being Stabbed at California State Prison-Sacramento

2011-10-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

REPRESA — Officials at California State Prison-Sacramento (CSP-Sac) are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide after he was attacked during regularly scheduled recreation time Friday.

The inmate, whose name is not being released pending notification of next of kin, was housed in the Security Housing Unit. He was participating in regularly scheduled recreation time when he was assaulted about 7:45 a.m. Friday, October 7. Medical personnel responded and pronounced the inmate dead about 8 a.m. from multiple stab wounds.

The deceased inmate was received by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on December 22, 1994, and was serving an 18-year sentence for second-degree murder in San Bernardino County.

Prison officials recovered two weapons and have identified two suspects in the homicide. Their names are being withheld at this time.

The case is under investigation by the institution’s Investigative Services Unit. Additionally, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has been notified.

CSP-Sac opened in 1986 and employs more than 1,700 people. The Sacramento County facility near Folsom houses maximum-security inmates serving long sentences or those that have proved to be management problems at other institutions. The institution also serves as a CDCR medical hub for Northern California with a Psychiatric Services Unit (PSU), Enhanced Outpatient (EOP) and EOP Administrative Segregation levels of health care.

For more information about CSP-Sac, visit CDCR’s website at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 7, 2011
CONTACT: LT. LEVANCE QUINN

(916) 985-8610 ext. 3012

CDCR Updates Information About Inmate-Initiated Hunger Strike

2011-10-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

3,441 inmates discontinue their hunger strike since September 29

SACRAMENTO – As of today, 811 inmates in five state prisons are on an inmate initiated hunger strike, down from 4,252 inmates on September 29, 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.

Following are the number of inmates still participating at each institution:

• Calipatria State Prison (59)
• California State Prison-Corcoran (361)
• Ironwood State Prison (7)
• Pelican Bay State Prison (141)
• Salinas Valley State Prison (243)

At Pelican Bay State Prison, four of the 11 self-identified hunger strike leaders have resumed eating. A total of 578 inmates at the prison have discontinued their hunger strike this past week and resumed eating.

CDCR is conducting several investigations regarding inmates being threatened or retaliated against by other inmates for not participating in the hunger strike. A preliminary investigation of a riot at Ironwood State Prison on October 4 indicates an inmate was allegedly attacked, in part, for his lack of participation in the hunger strike. The inmate was treated at an outside hospital.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Terry Thornton (916) 445-4950

CDCR Releases Information on Inmate Initiated Hunger Strike

2011-09-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hunger strikers could face disciplinary action under state law

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is responding to a hunger strike disturbance by thousands of inmates in several correctional facilities. As of today, 4,252 inmates in eight state prisons have missed nine consecutive meals since Monday, September 26, 2011.

The following facilities have reported inmate participation:

• Calipatria State Prison

• Centinela State Prison

• California State Prison-Corcoran

• Ironwood State Prison

• Pelican Bay State Prison

• California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran

• San Quentin State Prison

• Salinas Valley State Prison

On September 28, CDCR informed hunger strike participants that the department will not condone organized inmate disturbances. Participation in mass hunger strikes and other disturbances will result in CDCR taking the following action:

• Participation in a mass disturbance is a violation of state law, and any participating inmates will receive disciplinary action in accordance with the California Code of Regulations; and

• Inmates identified as leading the disturbance will be subject to removal from the general population and be placed in an Administrative Segregation Unit.

CDCR may need to take additional measures to effectively monitor and manage hunger strikers and their nutritional intake. This could include the possible removal of canteen items from the cells of participating inmates. CDCR is continuing to offer state-issued meals to all inmates.

CDCR will take every effort to maintain normal program operations for non-participating inmates; however, a large-scale disturbance has the potential to impact programs, operations, staffing, safety and security. If normal programming is affected, CDCR will notify inmates and their families.

In May 2011, CDCR began conducting a thorough evaluation of its gang validation and Security Housing Unit (SHU) confinement policies and procedures. CDCR has already received input from other state correctional departments, the federal correctional system, consultants, experts, and internal and external stakeholders. A draft policy is under review and includes behavior-based components, increased privileges for SHU inmates who remain disciplinary free, a step-down process for SHU inmates, and a better defined validation process.

In addition, CDCR has authorized offering watch caps, sweat pants, hobby craft items and wall calendars for purchase; provided exercise equipment in SHU yards; authorized annual photographs for disciplinary-free SHU inmates; approved use of proctors for college examinations; and audited food-service operations at Pelican Bay State Prison.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

CORCORAN – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) on September 23, 2011 granted medical parole to inmate Kenneth Bryan Holcomb. Inmate Holcomb was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing Friday at California State Prison, Corcoran, that the conditions under which inmate Holcomb would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Holcomb is serving a 22-years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder, with an 8-year sentence for a firearm enhancement. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on September 25, 1992 from San Mateo County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Holcomb’s medical condition. The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 26, 2011
CONTACT: PAUL VERKE
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

SAN QUENTIN– The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) granted medical parole today to inmate Nestor Gallegos Zepeda. Inmate Zepeda was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing today at San Quentin State Prison that the conditions under which inmate Zepeda would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Zepeda is serving a 13-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, a 2-year 8-month sentence for failure to register a specific sex offense, and an 8-year sentence for two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on June 19, 2008 from Los Angeles County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Zepeda’s medical condition. The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2011

CONTACT: Paul Verke

(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

CORCORAN – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) granted medical parole today to inmate Robert William Kimble. Inmate Kimble was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing today at California State Prison, Corcoran, that the conditions under which inmate Kimble would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Kimble is serving a 37-years-to-life sentence for first-degree murder with the use of a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with great bodily harm, assault and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the use of a firearm. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on February 7, 1983 from Los Angeles County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Kimble’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
CONTACT: PAUL VERKE
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) yesterday granted medical parole to inmate Michael Joseph Tungate. Inmate Tungate was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing at California Medical Facility in Vacaville that the conditions under which inmate Tungate would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Tungate is serving a 20-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at an inhabited dwelling. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on March 27, 2003 from Siskiyou County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Tungate’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 16, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) on September 15, 2011 granted medical parole to inmate Alex Navarro. Inmate Navarro was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing at California Medical Facility in Vacaville that the conditions under which inmate Navarro would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Navarro is serving an 11-years, 8-month sentence for two counts of first-degree burglary. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on June 19, 2006 from San Diego County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Navarro’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 16, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) today granted medical parole to inmate Ramon Llanez Garcia. Inmate Garcia was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined today at a hearing at California Medical Facility in Vacaville that the conditions under which inmate Garcia would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.
Inmate Garcia is serving a 17-years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on February 23, 1988 from Kings County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Garcia’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Denied Medical Parole

2011-09-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE -- The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied medical parole today to inmate Arnold Kenneth Brown. Inmate Brown was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined at a hearing today at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, that the conditions under which inmate Brown would be released on medical parole could reasonably pose a threat to public safety.
Inmate Brown is serving a 30-years-to-life sentence for first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on October 27,1981from San Francisco County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Brown’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care to be released to community medical care if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates sentenced to “life in prison without the possibility of parole” or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

For more information, please refer to the Board of Parole Hearings website:
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-13T17:00:00.001-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) today granted medical parole to inmate Charles Oliver Platt. Inmate Platt was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined today at a hearing at California Medical Facility in Vacaville that the conditions under which inmate Platt would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.
Inmate Platt is serving a 22-years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on August 7, 1995 from Alameda County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Platt’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-09-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) today granted medical parole to inmate Roney Rogers Nunez. Inmate Nunez was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550. The Board determined today at a hearing at California Medical Facility in Vacaville that the conditions under which inmate Nunez would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Nunez is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence for petty theft with a prior. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on November 17, 1995 from Santa Clara County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Nunez’s medical condition.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

PC Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the medical parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Contact: Paul Verke
(916) 445-4950

CDCR Announces Community-Based Program for Eligible Inmates

2011-09-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Alternative Custody Program aims to reunite inmates with their families

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the implementation of the Alternative Custody Program (ACP), aimed at reuniting low-level offenders with their families and providing inmates with rehabilitative services within the community.

In September 2010, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1266 into law, creating ACP to address the high number of inmates with dependent children in the state’s prisons. The program allows non-serious, non-violent offenders, as defined by Penal Code (PC) 1192.7(c) and 667.5(c), and non-sex offenders to serve the remainder of their sentences in the community in lieu of state prison.

“Approximately two-thirds of CDCR’s female inmates are mothers whose children are either with relatives or are in foster care,” Secretary Matthew Cate said. “ACP is a step in breaking the intergenerational cycle of incarceration, as family involvement is one of the biggest indicators of an inmate’s rehabilitation.”

Initially, the program will be offered to qualifying female inmates. Participation may be offered at a later date to male inmates, at the discretion of the Secretary of CDCR.

Effective September 12, an inmate who qualifies will be permitted to serve the remainder of their sentence in a residential home, a residential substance-abuse treatment program, or a transitional-care facility that offers individualized services based on their needs.

The program permits eligible inmates to seek and retain employment in the community, attend psychological counseling sessions, educational or vocational training classes, participate in life-skills or parenting training, and utilize substance-abuse treatment services.

Approximately 45 percent of CDCR’s female inmates are potentially eligible for ACP, but approval for participation in the program is dependent on a review of individual history and case factors.

The following eligibility criteria must be met for participation:

· Female inmate, or
· Pregnant inmate, or
· Inmate who, immediately prior to incarceration, was the primary caregiver of a dependent child.
· Have 24 months or less to serve in state prison.

The following exclusionary criteria preclude an inmate from participating:

· Current or prior serious or violent felony, as defined by the Penal Code
· Current or prior sex-offense conviction or PC 290 registration requirement
· An escape in the last 10 years
· Specific in-prison misconduct or custody levels
· Active restraining order
· Specific in-prison misconduct or custody levels
· Gang membership/affiliation
· Felony, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold

In addition, a case-by-case eligibility determination will be made regarding:

· Current or prior sexual convictions not requiring PC 290 registration
· Current or prior child-abuse arrests or convictions in which the offense was related to abuse or neglect of a child
· Current or prior convictions for stalking

Supervision and case management will be provided by an assigned parole agent. The ACP participant will continue to serve their full sentence and will be electronically monitored for the duration of the time they are in the program. An inmate’s participation in the program may be revoked at any time and for any reason.

An ACP participant will receive sentence-reduction credits that would have been received had they served their sentence in state prison. In addition, they are eligible to receive day-for-day earned release credits if they complete an approved rehabilitative program while participating in ACP.

CDCR will notify both local law enforcement and victims, if any, of an inmate’s participation in ACP.

SB 1266 did not appropriate funding for ACP. Since the state will not be responsible for transportation, food, or housing costs for ACP participants, CDCR anticipates a cost-savings to the state of approximately $6 million next year.

When ACP was enacted into law, several non-profit and community organizations offered their programs free of charge to ACP participants. Under ACP, participants may live in approved residences, but the state is not responsible for their housing costs.

For more information on CDCR’s female inmate population, visit the Female Offender Programs and Services page here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Operations/FOPS/index.html.

For more information on ACP, visit CDCR’s website here: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Operations/FOPS/docs/ACP-Fact-Sheet-Final.pdf

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 12, 2011
Contact: Dana Toyama
(916) 445-4950

Avenal State Prison Donates 515 Cell Phones to Soldiers

2011-09-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Donation made in honor of ten-year September 11^th anniversary

AVENAL, CA. -- In recognition of the ten-year anniversary of September 11th, Avenal State Prison (ASP) donated 515 cell phones to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program.

“The job of our troops is never-ending.” ASP Warden James Hartley said. “They remain in foreign lands as peacekeepers, guarding those who wish to realize the liberties of freedom. Our servicemen continue to be removed from their family units and limited in their abilities to maintain their family ties. As such, Avenal State Prison wants to support the troops by giving them the opportunity to hear that precious and familiar voice when they call home.”

The phones collected came from staff donations as well as those recovered during contraband searches. Approximately 450 of the donated cell phones were recovered either in drops outside the prison that were intended for inmates, or in the inmate housing units where no suspects could be tied to the cell phones.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has seen a rise in the use of contraband cell phones. Cell phone use by inmates poses a security risk as it circumvents the monitoring process and compromises security in prisons. So far this year, 9,935 contraband cell phones have been discovered in CDCR’s prisons and Conservation Camps.

Cell Phones for Soldiers collects cell phones, recycles them and uses the profits to purchase pre-paid calling cards for the soldiers in far away areas so that they may call home to their parents, children or spouses. The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.

Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has, to date, collected 7.5 million cell phones, which they have turned into 90 million prepaid calling card minutes distributed to soldiers serving overseas.

ASP opened in January 1987, the facility covers 640 acres and is designated as a low-medium security institution to provide housing for approximately 5,700 general population inmates. The prison employs 1,629 people and provides academic classes, vocational instruction, a substance abuse program and work programs to include a Prison Industries Authority plant.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPTEMBER 11 2011
CONTACT: ED BORLA

(559) 386-0674 EXT. 5028

Governor Brown Joins CDCR to Honor Employees at 27th Annual Medal of Valor Ceremony

2011-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Forty-eight employees recognized for heroism, outstanding service

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today honored 48 employees during the department’s annual Medal of Valor Ceremony. Employees were recognized for extraordinary bravery and conduct above and beyond the call of duty, often in lifesaving incidents where public safety was at risk.

Governor Brown had praise for the award winners and their tireless dedication to public safety.

“These men and women exemplify what it means to serve the people of California,” said Governor Brown. “On behalf of all Californians, we honor their courage, commitment and resolve.”

Awards were presented by CDCR Secretary Matthew L. Cate and senior department executives at the 27th annual ceremony, which was sponsored by the California Correctional Supervisors Organization.

“CDCR employees statewide are truly committed to protecting public safety,” said Secretary Cate. “That commitment is embodied by the employees honored today for acts of true heroism. These brave employees gave of themselves, and some even placed their own lives in jeopardy to save another.”

The awards presented ranged from the Distinguished Service Award to the prestigious Medal of Valor.

In many instances, the recipients saved the life of other employees, inmates or private citizens as they responded to emergencies. Among the actions recognized by the awards were an unselfish kidney donation that spared the life of a stranger; a quick response that saved the life of three children involved in a car accident and; decisive action by parole agents in subduing an attacker, preventing harm to juvenile offenders attending a rehabilitation classroom exercise.

Correctional Lt. Jesus S. Coronado of Calipatria State Prison was awarded the department’s Medal of Valor, the department’s highest award, bestowed upon an employee who displays “great courage in the face of immediate life-threatening peril, and with full knowledge of the risk involved.”

While driving home from work, Coronado witnessed a vehicle plunge into a canal. As the car and occupants floated toward a dangerous drop off point, Coronado entered the swift-moving water and pulled three small children and their mother from the vehicle.

The responding California Highway Patrol Officer said that had it not been for his heroic actions, the lives of the children and their mother would have been lost. Coronado placed his own personal safety at risk, exemplifying selfless service, bravery and courage, meeting the criteria for the Medal of Valor.

A complete list of 2011 award winners follows:

MEDAL OF VALOR

The Medal of Valor is CDCR’s highest award, earned by employees distinguishing themselves by conspicuous bravery or heroism above and beyond the normal demands of correctional service. The employee shall display great courage in the face of immediate life-threatening peril and with full knowledge of the risk involved. The act should show professional judgment and not jeopardize operations or the lives of others.

Correctional Officer Jesus S. Coronado, Calipatria State Prison

GOLD STAR MEDAL

The Corrections Star (Gold) medal is the department’s second-highest award for heroic deeds under extraordinary circumstances. The employee shall display courage in the face of immediate peril in acting to save the life of another person.

Correctional Officer Jose F. Marron, Correctional Training Facility

Parole Agent Margarita R. Montoya-Ortiz, Bakersfield Juvenile Parole Office

SILVER STAR MEDAL

The Corrections Star (Silver) medal is the department’s third-highest award for acts of bravery under extraordinary or unusual circumstances. The employee shall display courage in the face of potential peril while saving or attempting to save the life of another person or distinguish themselves by performing in stressful situations with exceptional tactics or judgment.

Assistant Supervising Parole Agent Lisa Aceves, Bakersfield Juvenile Parole Office

Correctional Lieutenant Jeremy W. Austin, Mule Creek State Prison

Special Agent Michael L. Brodie, Office of Correctional Safety

Correctional Officer Jason De La Torre, California State Prison, Los Angeles County

Correctional Officer Julian V. Garcia, Calipatria State Prison

Clinical Psychologist Scott Johnson, North Kern State Prison

Correctional Officer Danny A. Ramirez, California Medical Facility

Parole Agent Robert D. Story, Parole Region I

Instructor Danny Trout, Bakersfield Juvenile Parole Office

Correctional Officer Britt L. Watts, California Medical Facility

Correctional Officer Mark S. Yates, California Institution for Men

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

The Corrections Star (Bronze) is the department’s award for saving a life without placing oneself in peril. The employee shall have used proper training and tactics in a professional manner to save, or clearly contribute to saving, the life of another person

Licensed Vocational Nurse Anthony Andreola, California Correctional Institution

Correctional Officer Mannie N. Christensen, Folsom State Prison

Correctional Sergeant Wade D. Davey, Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

Correctional Officer Thomas R. Davies, California Correctional Institution

Correctional Officer German J. Jimenez, Centinela State Prison

Correctional Lieutenant Denise M. Laguna, California Out-of-State Facilities

Correctional Sergeant Caesar V. Padua, Central California Women’s Facility

Correctional Officer Rebecca Rutledge, Sierra Conservation Center

Correctional Lieutenant Joseph Stewart, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Counselor I Crystal M. Wood, California Correctional Institution

Correctional Sergeant David G. Villegas, Central California Women’s Facility

Correctional Lieutenant Michael C. Villegas, Central California Women’s Facility

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL

The Distinguished Service Medal is for an employee’s exemplary work conduct with the department for a period of months or years, or involvement in a specific assignment of unusual benefit to the Department.

Parole Agent I Milton J. Chew, Parole Region III

Statewide K-9 Coordinator Wayne W. Conrad, California State Prison, Solano

Parole Agent I Martin V. Figueroa, Parole Region II

Correctional Officer Joseph E. Hartl, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Raphael Heredia, California State Prison, Sacramento

Parole Agent III George S. Horiuchi, Division of Adult Parole Operations

Automotive Technician Gary M. Martinez, California Institution for Women

Correctional Officer Myisha R. Milsap, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Susanne R. Neely, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Arti D. Parmar, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Thomas M. Quezada, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Sergeant Le’Vance A. Quinn, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Simon A. Ramirez, California State Prison, Sacramento

Chief Deputy Regional Administrator Maritza J. Rodriguez, Region IV

Parole Agent I Charlotte A. Sullivan, Parole Region II

Correctional Officer Develyn J. Till, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Carlos E. Villasenor, California State Prison, Sacramento

Correctional Officer Eric L. Walker, California State Prison, Sacramento

Parole Agent III Ken H. Wong, Parole Region II

Correctional Officer Chris B. Wuest, California State Prison, Sacramento

CORRECTIONAL SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR

Lieutenant Michael Patrick West, North Kern State Prison

CORRECTIONAL PEACE OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Correctional Officer Christine Boyd, High Desert State Prison

DIRECTOR’S SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

Correctional Officer Luis Hernandez, Calipatria State Prison

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
CONTACT: Terry Thornton (916) 445-4950

New Web Page Available For CDCR Employees

2011-08-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Site is dedicated to providing timely information about layoffs to department employees

Sacramento -- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has launched a new page on its website to provide its employees with critical information as the department goes through the largest staff reduction in its history.

The “Layoff Resources” page, accessible from CDCR’s website at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/, provides current information about personnel policies, civil service rules and the layoff process, seniority scores, and other personnel-related issues. The page also provides links to programs that can help employees cope with the stress of change.

The multiple rounds of staff reductions at CDCR stem from the Governor’s order reducing 400 positions from headquarters office; the closing of some Division Juvenile Justice facilities; and the implementation of Assembly Bill 109, which realigns the responsibilities between state prisons and county jails for lower-level offenders.

The “Layoff Resources” page will include links to pages about AB 109, as well as the Three-Judge Court’s order to reduce the inmate population by 34,000 over the next two years.

For more information on CDCR or to visit the web pages mentioned above, visit the department’s website at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/.

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole

2011-08-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

VACAVILLE – The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) on Tuesday granted medical parole to inmate Curtis D. Beauvais, the 6th inmate to be granted medical parole since the law took effect earlier this year.

The Board determined yesterday at a hearing at California Medical Facility, Vacaville, that the conditions under which Beauvais would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Beauvais is serving a sentence of 7 years and 4 months for the sale of a controlled substance with consecutive factors for petty theft with a prior and forgery. He was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on February 18, 2009, from Tuolumne County.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot release information related to Beauvais’ medical condition. Additionally, because there was no authorization for release of medical information, the board discussed the inmate’s medical condition in closed session.

The Board hearing transcript, which will serve as the official record, will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript, which is expected to be ready in approximately 30 days.

The medical parole law, which became effective January 1, 2011, allows inmates who are permanently, medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care to be released to community medical care if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to “life in prison without the possibility of parole,” or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The BPH reviews cases referred by prison medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

BPH has granted medical parole to six incapacitated inmates with one denial since the law became effective.

CONTACT: PAUL VERKE (916) 445-4950

CDCR Inmate Captured in Salida 36 Years After Walking Away from Fire Camp

2011-08-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

Inmate returns to CDCR custody to find escapes are rare and captures are immediate

Jamestown, CA– William Walter Asher III is back in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) custody after 36 years on the run. FBI agents and task force officers assigned to the Sacramento FBI Safe Streets Violent Crime Task Force arrested him without incident Friday morning at his residence in Salida, California. The arrest team was composed of a CDCR parole agent, FBI agents and Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies.

Asher is now imprisoned at the Special Housing Unit of the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown. He fled from Growlersburg Conservation Camp #33 in 1975 while serving a 7-years-to-life conviction for robbing, shooting and fatally beating a bartender in a San Francisco bar in 1966.

Today, inmates with Asher’s serious and violent criminal background are not allowed placement in any of CDCR’s fire camp. In addition, nearly every inmate who walks away from a camp housing assignment is almost always caught within 48 hours.

Since the mid-1980s, CDCR has strengthened criteria for the types of inmates who are allowed to work in an inmate fire camps. Inmates convicted of sex offenses or arson, or certain levels of gang affiliation also are automatically ineligible for camp placement. Camp inmates must also have less than 10 years to serve and must not have a poor disciplinary record in prison.

CDCR’s success rate is high in apprehending inmates who walk away from a fire camp or escape from an institution. Of all offenders who have escaped from an adult institution, adult camp, or adult community-based program since 1977, 99.1 percent have been apprehended.

The success rate is due in large part to the creation of specialized units, such as the Office of Correctional Safety’s (OCS) Special Service Unit and the Division of Adult Parole Operation’s California Parolee-at-Large Apprehension Team (CPAT), which investigates and apprehends CDCR escapees or parolees-at-large.

OCS has a success rate of 95 percent in capturing escapees within 48 hours. OCS is an elite force of Special Investigators and Parole Agents who conduct complex investigations and surveillances involving escapees, inmates, and parolees suspected of major crime and/or gang activity.

CPAT has demonstrated similar success with direct involvement in clearing approximately 2,280 parolee-at-large cases since its inception in January 2010.

For photos of Inmate Asher, then and now, please contact Luis Patino.

Please contact steven.dupre@ic.fbi.gov for the FBI press release about the capture.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday 22, 2011
Contact: Luis Patino
(916) 445-4950

CDCR Launches Website on 2011 Public Safety Realignment

2011-08-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

New website provides public with up-to-date information about new law

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced it has launched a website dedicated to providing information and updates to the public, local officials, and CDCR employees about the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 109 and AB 117.

CDCR’s Realignment website is designed to provide the public with easy access to information and news regarding the new law and implementation status statewide.

Implementation of the 2011 Realignment will begin October 1, 2011. As of that date all individuals sentenced to non-serious, non-violent or non-sex offenses will serve their sentences in county jails instead of state prison. No inmates currently in state prison will be transferred to county jails or released early.

Information available on the website includes key provisions of the 2011 Realignment such as funding, the local planning process, post-release community supervision, parole revocations, and related legislation affecting California’s prison population.

In an effort to provide support to CDCR staff, the website also will include information about related staff reductions, including support services for affected staff, detailed information about the progress of layoffs and frequently asked questions.

CDCR has also developed a website on news and information regarding the Three-Judge Court’s order to reduce inmate population over the next two years. The site has court filings and reports on population projections related to the court’s ongoing population benchmarks.

To find CDCR’s Realignment page, visit the department’s web site at www.cdcr.ca.gov.

CDCR Seeks Clues In Santa Clara Cold Case

2011-08-12T11:31:00.001-07:00

Sacramento…..The Santa Clara Police Department is asking for CDCR’s help in solving a 17-year-old murder.

Matthew Flores, then 26, was shot about 8:15 a.m. March 24, 1994, in the parking lot of Applied Materials in Santa Clara.

According to the Santa Clara Police Department, Flores had driven to work in a rented white Chevrolet Corsica. He was shot once in the back of his head, just outside the driver’s door, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The murder took place outside the range surveillance camera’s range, but there is fuzzy surveillance footage of an early 1990s Ford Explorer pulling into the parking lot before the shooting and leaving seconds after Flores was shot. The two-door Ford Explorer Sport is light in color with distinctive black trim on the lower panels.

Applied Materials is offering a $100,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the murderer. Anyone with any information concerning this case should call any of the following contacts. Flores, a new father, had just been discharged from the U.S. Army after serving with honors during Operation Desert Storm.

“We’re confident that someone out there knows something, either directly or indirectly,” said Santa Clara Police Chief Kevin Kyle, “and we would very much like for them to come forward.”

Contact Information:

Santa Clara Police Department Flores tip line: (408) 615-4817

Investigator, Sgt. Steve Hoesing: (408) 615-4814

PIO, Lt. Matt Hogan (408) 615-4865

CDCR Returns to Custody Two Juvenile Offenders Who Walked-Away From Fire Camp Program

2011-08-10T12:43:00.001-07:00

Sacramento –The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced the apprehension of two juvenile offenders who walked away from a fire crew that was clearing brush near Studio City last Friday. The apprehension culminates a five day, around the clock effort to locate them.

The two juvenile offenders were captured late Tuesday evening at a private residence in Jurupa, Riverside County by CDCR’s Fugitive Apprehension Team and the U.S. Marshall Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, which includes deputized officers from the Glendale and Pasadena police departments.

The juvenile offenders – identified as Pablo Ladislow Ontaneda, 18, and Christopher Ochoa, 19 – were part of a fire crew from the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility in Camarillo. They were apprehended after a brief chase, and were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries. They were booked into the Riverside County jail.

The two youths were noted as missing at approximately 2:35 p.m. on Friday, August 5, by CalFire officials who were supervising the crew near Mulholland Drive and Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Studio City, Los Angeles County.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 10, 2011

CONTACT:
BILL SESSA (916) 205-9193, (916) 445-4950

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against California Board of Parole Hearings

2011-08-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Board reduces “backlog” of Lifer parole cases from 3,200 to 25 in 7 years

Sacramento – A long-standing legal case alleging that the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) failed to hold timely parole hearings was dismissed this week by a Marin County Superior Court Judge who described BPH progress of reducing its backlog of cases as “extremely impressive.”

The court’s action followed BPH’s overhaul of the state’s system for tracking and scheduling parole hearings, reducing its backlog of cases from 3,200 to just 25.

“The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of Parole Hearings has undertaken extraordinary efforts over the past seven years to dramatically improve its systems and procedures for life parole eligibility hearings,” said Jennifer Shaffer, BPH’s executive officer . “The court’s decision to terminate this lawsuit means the Board has substantially complied with the court’s orders to improve the timeliness of these hearings. I am proud of the hard work by CDCR and BPH staff that made these critical reforms possible.”

Petitioner Jerry Rutherford filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus on May 26, 2004, alleging the BPH had violated the petitioners’ due process rights by failing to conduct lifer parole hearings in a timely manner.

A year ago, August 20, 2010, the court denied, without prejudice, BPH's motion to terminate the Rutherford class action, and it set the next status hearing for July 15, 2011. The court indicated that before it dismissed this case, it wanted to see a sustained reduction of the backlog over a longer period of time.

In the order to dismiss the case, Judge Verna Adams wrote: “During the intervening seven plus years, a great deal of work has been done. The backlog, as of May 2011, has been reduced to 25 – an impressive accomplishment.”

For more on the Board of Parole Hearings, visit www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html.

Click to view a PDF file of the court order document.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2011

CONTACT: Oscar Hidalgo (916) 445-4950
Paul Verke (916) 445-4950

CDCR Will Report Prohibited Inmate Accounts to Facebook

2011-08-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

Facebook agrees to remove accounts managed by or on behalf of state inmates

Link to photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37381942@N04/

SACRAMENTO- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced it has begun reporting Facebook accounts set up and monitored by prison inmates to the Facebook Security Department.

Facebook accounts set up and/or monitored on behalf of an inmate will be removed, as it is a violation of Facebook’s user policies.

“Access to social media allows inmates to circumvent our monitoring process and continue to engage in criminal activity,” CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate said. “This new cooperation between law enforcement and Facebook will help protect the community and potentially avoid future victims.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons National Gang Intelligence Center has reported increasing instances of inmates with active Facebook accounts. These active accounts are either maintained illegally by inmates or are administered by an outside person on behalf of the inmate.

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure public safety both inside and outside the state’s prisons, CDCR has been actively monitoring Facebook for accounts administered by inmates or on behalf of an inmate. The department has seen numerous instances in which inmates, using their Facebook accounts, have delivered threats to victims or have made unwanted sexual advances.

Last year, CDCR received a call from a mother of a victim of a child molester. The family had just returned from vacation to find several pieces of mail from the offender who was in state prison. The mail contained accurate drawings of the woman’s 17-year old daughter, even though it had been at least seven years since the offender had been convicted and sent to prison. Details of the victim, such as how she wore her hair and the brand of clothes she wore were accurate. An investigation revealed the inmate had used a cell phone to find and view the MySpace and Facebook web pages of the victim. With access to the pages, the offender was able to obtain current photos, which he used to draw his pictures.

Inmates are allowed to have Facebook profiles created prior to incarceration. If any evidence shows the account has been used while in the facility, Facebook Security will disable the account.

Over the past few years CDCR has seen a massive influx in the number of cell phones being used by prisoners. In 2006, correctional officers confiscated 261 devices, while in the first six months of this year, more than 7,284 were confiscated.

To report a Facebook account that you suspect is being administered by an inmate, or an outside party on behalf of the inmate, please contact CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights & Services, call toll free 1-877-256-OVSS (6877) or e-mail victimservices@cdcr.ca.gov

Law enforcement representatives and members of the public can notify Facebook security of accounts administered by registered sex offenders. To report a registered sex offender’s Facebook account visit: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=15160#!/help/contact.php?show_form=wos_sex_offender

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 8, 2011
CONTACT: Dana Toyama (916) 445-4950

CDCR Searching LA County for Juveniles Who Walked-Away From Fire Camp Program

2011-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sacramento -- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are searching Los Angeles County for two juvenile offenders who walked away from brush clearing project near Studio City.

The pair were part of a crew from the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility that was clearing brush as a fire prevention project.

The two youth are identified as:

• Pablo Ladislow Ontaneda, 18, a Hispanic male, approximately 187 pounds, 6 ft. tall. He was committed from Los Angeles County in June, 2010 for Second Degree Robbery;

• Christopher Ochoa, 19, Hispanic male, approximately 126 pounds, 5’ 4 “ tall. He was committed from Los Angeles County in July, 2008, for Second Degree Robbery and personal use of a firearm.

The two youths were noted as missing at approximately 2:35 pm on Friday, August 5, by CalFire officials who were supervising the crew near Moholland Drive and Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Studio City, Los Angeles County.

Both were wearing dark blue trousers and plain white shirts, standard apparel in Division of Juvenile Justice facilities.

As of 5 pm, CDCR had dispatched five crews of correctional officers to search the area and were being assisted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUST 5, 2011

CONTACT: Bill Sessa (916) 445-4950

CDCR Parole Agents Use GPS Technology to Prevent Sex-Offender Parolees from Attending the California State Fair

2011-07-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Three At-Large Parolees and Three Sex Offenders Kept Out of 2011 Event

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) is again using its Global Positioning Satellite technology to increase security efforts at the California State Fair.

This multi-agency operation is a collaboration among the California Exposition and State Fair Police, the DAPO, the Sacramento Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol to ensure that sex-offender parolees, and GPS-monitored gang members comply with their terms of parole.

“For the third year in a row we have successfully kept prohibited sex-offender parolees out of the State Fair,” DAPO Director Robert Ambroselli said. “Our agents are out there to keep the public safe, and this operation is helping us accomplish that mission.”

Using state-of-the-art technology, DAPO established an electronic exclusion zone to alert on-site parole agents if a GPS-monitored sex offender parolee breaches the perimeter to enter the State Fair grounds. Approximately 20 DAPO agents are involved in the operation to help patrol the grounds during the fair’s 18-day run.

“The highest priority for the California Exposition & State Fair is to provide a safe and fun environment for our State Fair guests,” Police Chief Robert L. Craft said. “This law enforcement teamwork helps discourage the presence of criminal elements that may come to the State Fair only to prey on the public.”

To date, during the 2011 California State Fair operation, surveillance activities have resulted in one GPS sex offender arrest, two additional GPS sex-offender parolee contacts escorted from the fair, and three at-large parolees arrested after citizen contacts with parole agents. Parole agents have worked in concert with the California State Fair Police to assist in gang GPS surveillance, non-parolee arrests, and in providing aid to fair patrons.

In 2010, there were a total of four arrests during the fair’s run. One of the arrests occurred when a Sacramento County sex offender was too close to the State Fair perimeter and triggered an alert. The other arrests were of out-of-county parolees restricted from accessing the fairgrounds.

During the 2009 operation, five sex offenders were arrested for non-compliance after trying to enter the fair. Approximately 35 sex offenders on parole were arrested during compliance checks at six fairs throughout California.

California’s Parole Division utilizes GPS technology daily to track and monitor sex offenders on parole. CDCR’s use of technology and its partnerships with local law enforcement helps to improve public safety throughout the state.

Currently, there are approximately 1,750 GPS-monitored sex offenders in the DAPO’s Region I, which stretches from Siskiyou County to Kern County. Region I also includes approximately 80 GPS-monitored gang members.

For more information about CDCR Parole and the GPS program, please visit this link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Parole/index.html

For more information about the California State Fair, please visit http://www.bigfun.org/

Find a map of the fairgrounds here: http://www.calexpo.com/PDFs/BldgsGrounds/grounds%20map_fnl.pdf

CDCR Parole Agents Use GPS Technology to Prevent Sex-Offender Parolees from Attending the California State Fair

2011-07-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Three At-Large Parolees and Three Sex Offenders Kept Out of 2011 Event

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) is again using its Global Positioning Satellite technology to increase security efforts at the California State Fair.

This multi-agency operation is a collaboration among the California Exposition and State Fair Police, the DAPO, the Sacramento Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol to ensure that sex-offender parolees, and GPS-monitored gang members comply with their terms of parole.

“For the third year in a row we have successfully kept prohibited sex-offender parolees out of the State Fair,” DAPO Director Robert Ambroselli said. “Our agents are out there to keep the public safe, and this operation is helping us accomplish that mission.”

Using state-of-the-art technology, DAPO established an electronic exclusion zone to alert on-site parole agents if a GPS-monitored sex offender parolee breaches the perimeter to enter the State Fair grounds. Approximately 20 DAPO agents are involved in the operation to help patrol the grounds during the fair’s 18-day run.

“The highest priority for the California Exposition & State Fair is to provide a safe and fun environment for our State Fair guests,” Police Chief Robert L. Craft said. “This law enforcement teamwork helps discourage the presence of criminal elements that may come to the State Fair only to prey on the public.”

To date, during the 2011 California State Fair operation, surveillance activities have resulted in one GPS sex offender arrest, two additional GPS sex-offender parolee contacts escorted from the fair, and three at-large parolees arrested after citizen contacts with parole agents. Parole agents have worked in concert with the California State Fair Police to assist in gang GPS surveillance, non-parolee arrests, and in providing aid to fair patrons.

In 2010, there were a total of four arrests during the fair’s run. One of the arrests occurred when a Sacramento County sex offender was too close to the State Fair perimeter and triggered an alert. The other arrests were of out-of-county parolees restricted from accessing the fairgrounds.

During the 2009 operation, five sex offenders were arrested for non-compliance after trying to enter the fair. Approximately 35 sex offenders on parole were arrested during compliance checks at six fairs throughout California.

California’s Parole Division utilizes GPS technology daily to track and monitor sex offenders on parole. CDCR’s use of technology and its partnerships with local law enforcement helps to improve public safety throughout the state.

Currently, there are approximately 1,750 GPS-monitored sex offenders in the DAPO’s Region I, which stretches from Siskiyou County to Kern County. Region I also includes approximately 80 GPS-monitored gang members.

For more information about CDCR Parole and the GPS program, please visit this link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Parole/index.html.

For more information about the California State Fair, please visit www.bigfun.org.

Find a map of the fairgrounds here: http://www.calexpo.com/PDFs/BldgsGrounds/grounds%20map_fnl.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dana Toyama
(916) 445-4950

Inmate Death in High Desert State Prison Is Under Investigation

2011-07-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

SUSANVILLE – High Desert State Prison (HDSP) officials are investigating the death of inmate Jesse Walden, who was pronounced dead about 3 a.m. July 25, 2011.

The circumstances of the death are suspicious, and his cellmate has been placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit pending investigation.

Walden, 25, was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from Santa Clara County on October 28, 2010, and was serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for first-degree murder. He arrived at HDSP on May 5, 2011.

His cellmate, Charles Shifflett Jr., is the main suspect in the homicide. Shifflett was received by CDCR from Siskiyou County on June 10, 2010, and is serving a 21-year, eight-month sentence for assault with force causing great bodily injury and first-degree burglary with enhancements for criminal gang activity. Shifflett, 27, arrived at HDSP on June 10, 2011.

The case is under investigation by the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office, the Susanville Police Department, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office and the CDCR Investigative Services Unit at HDSP. The Office of Inspector General, Bureau of Independent Review, was notified.

HDSP houses 4,600 minimum-, medium- and maximum-custody inmates. Opened in 1995, the Lassen County institution provides academic classes and vocational instruction. It employs more than 1,400 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 25, 2011
CONTACT: LT. C. HAHN
(530) 251-5100 EXT 5501

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole Under New Law

2011-07-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

DELANO -- Today, the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) granted medical parole to inmate Michael Barnes, the fourth inmate to be granted medical parole this year.

Inmate Barnes was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code Section 3550, subdivision (a). The Board determined today at a hearing at Kern Valley State Prison that the conditions under which inmate Barnes would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Barnes is serving a 24-year sentence from Santa Cruz County for two counts of rape with force.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Barnes’ medical condition. Additionally, because there was no authorization for release of medical information, the Board discussed inmate Barnes’ medical condition in private.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

Penal Code Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the Medical Parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to “life in prison without the possibility of parole,” or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 22, 2011
CONTACT: PAUL VERKE (916) 445-4950
NIKKI POLIN (916) 324-0187

Incapacitated Inmate Granted Medical Parole Under New Law

2011-07-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

DELANO -- Today, the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) granted medical parole to inmate Edward Rister, the fifth inmate to be granted medical parole this year.
Inmate Rister was referred to the Board because he met the criteria of Penal Code (PC) Section 3550, subdivision (a). The Board determined today at a hearing at Kern Valley State Prison that the conditions under which inmate Rister would be released on medical parole would not reasonably pose a threat to public safety.

Inmate Rister is serving a 12-year sentence from Sutter County at North Kern State Prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.

Due to privacy laws regarding medical information, CDCR cannot comment on inmate Rister’s medical condition. Additionally, because there was no authorization for release of medical information, the Board discussed inmate Rister’s medical condition in private.

The Board hearing transcript will serve as the official record and it will not include a discussion of his medical condition by BPH panel members. Discussion of his medical condition by other principals at the hearing, however, may be included in the transcript. The transcript is expected to be transcribed and ready in approximately 30 days.

Penal Code Section 3550, Medical Parole, became effective on January 1, 2011. The intent of the Medical Parole program is to allow inmates, who are permanently medically incapacitated and require 24-hour care, to be released to community medical care, if they do not require custody supervision or pose a risk to public safety. The law prohibits inmates convicted to “life in prison without the possibility of parole,” or those condemned to death from eligibility for medical parole. The Board of Parole Hearings reviews cases referred by institution medical staff and determines who is suitable for release.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 22, 2011
CONTACT: PAUL VERKE (916) 445-4950

NIKKI POLIN (916) 324-0187

Statement by CDCR on Inmate Hunger Strike

2011-07-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO – Today, Matthew Cate, Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), announced that inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison have ended their hunger strike.

“Hunger strikes are a dangerous and ineffective way for prisoners to attempt to negotiate,” Secretary Cate said. “This strike was ordered by prison gang leaders, individuals responsible for terrible crimes against Californians, and so it was with significant and appropriate caution that CDCR worked to end the strike. We will now seek to stabilize operations for all inmates and continue our work to improve the safety and security of our prison system statewide.”

Inmates at Pelican Bay’s Security Housing Unit (SHU) initiated the hunger strike on July 1, 2011. They stopped the strike on July 20 after they better understood CDCR’s plans, developed since January, to review and change some policies regarding SHU housing and gang management. These changes, to date, include providing cold-weather caps, wall calendars and some educational opportunities for SHU inmates.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 21, 2011
CONTACT: TERRY THORNTON
(916) 445-4950

INMATE DEATH AT WASCO STATE PRISON – RECEPTION CENTER UNDER INVESTIGATION AS POSSIBLE HOMICIDE

2011-07-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

WASCO – Wasco State Prison-Reception Center (WSP-RC) officials and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office announced a homicide investigation into an inmate death. The victim, Lorenzo C. Paynes, was found on June 19, at approximately 7:05 p.m., unresponsive in his assigned cell. Inmate Paynes was transported to an outside hospital for treatment. He was pronounced dead on July 16 at approximately 9:00 p.m. The Kern County Coroner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.

Paynes, 48, was received at WSP-RC from Kern County on May 27, 2011, as a parole violator returned to custody to serve a four-year sentence for battery on a non-prisoner. The victim also had a non-controlling offense of assault with a deadly weapon.

The suspect in this case is identified as a 26-year old inmate who was received at WSP-RC from Kern County in April 2011, with a four-year sentence for battery on a non-prisoner. The suspect also has a non-controlling offense for possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.

The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review was notified.

WSP-RC’s primary mission is to provide short-term housing necessary to process, classify, and evaluate new inmates physically and mentally, and determine their security level, program requirements and appropriate institutional placement. WSP-RC was opened February 1991, houses approximately 5,800 inmates and employs approximately 1,700 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 20, 2011

Contact: Lt. R. Mazuka
(661) 758-8400 ext. 5013

California Institution for Women Announces First Graduating Class from Successful Behavioral Program

2011-07-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

(Corona, CA) – The California Institution for Women (CIW) announced its first graduating class from an ongoing behavioral improvement program that has demonstrated a zero recidivism rate for those participating since its inception in November 2007. The Choice Theory® Connection Program began as a pilot with Loyola Marymount University and the William Glasser Institute to teach female offenders about self-reflection, tolerance, and relationships.

“This is a successful program at CIW, that helps inmates improve their daily decisions and choices,” Chief Deputy Warden Cynthia Y. Tampkins said. “Inmates who have participated in the program since 2007 have shown the ability to better acclimate to society and lead a crime-free life.”

The Choice Theory® Connection Program was founded by psychiatrist, author, and creator of Choice Theory® and Reality Therapy, Dr. William Glasser. The program takes over a year to complete, consisting of five phases with over 100 hours of classroom instruction. So far, 95 female inmates have paroled from CIW after participating in the program and none have returned to state prison.

CIW’s Choice Theory® Connection Program’s first graduation ceremony held Friday evening included 38 female inmates and special recognition of 19 inmates who received certificates in Choice Theory ® and Addiction Coaching. This certifies the individual understands the program and can assist their peers in making effective choices to eradicate negative addictions and improve their lives.

The program is the first of its kind to be offered at a female institution. It is a non-contracted program with CIW staff trained in Choice Theory® and certified to deliver the instruction.

CIW opened in 1952 in Southern California and houses primarily low-level female offenders and functions as a reception/processing center for incoming inmates. The institution is the selection and physical fitness training center for female firefighters selected for conservation camp placement. Specialized programs include academic and vocational programs, pre-release and substance abuse programming, an arts in corrections program and a wide variety of inmate self-help groups and community betterment projects.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 18, 2011

Contact: Lt. Felix Figueroa

909-606-4921

CDCR Helps Strike Serious Blow Against Prison Gangs Operating Organized Crime Rackets in Orange County

2011-07-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Intel from Security Housing Units (SHU) crucial in charging 99 with Mexican Mafia ties

Santa Ana – The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Special Services Unit was instrumental in the recent arrests, new state charges, or federal indictments of 99 members or associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, or EME, during “Operation Black Flag.”

“One of the crucial elements of this operation was the intelligence that we received from the Secured Housing Units within California’s prisons,” said Senior Special Agent Dan Evanilla.

“That information led to known gang members who continue to operate from within prison by ordering their members on the outside to commit dangerous and often violent crimes in our communities. We are proud of our agents for taking part in the Santa Ana Gang Task Force and helping to disrupt the criminal activities of the Mexican Mafia (EME) prison gang.”

The 99 face various state felony charges and federal indictments, including murder, assault, extortion, racketeering, narcotics-trafficking and firearms charges. Some of the defendants were operating within Secured Housing Units (SHU) in California state prisons.

More than 500 law enforcement officers and agents executed arrest and search warrants during “Operation Black Flag” in the culmination of the multi-year investigation by the Santa Ana Gang Task Force.

“Working with our partners at the state and local level, we will bring gangsters to justice, whether they commit their crimes on our streets or in our prisons,” said U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven Martinez praised the efforts of CDCR and the other partners. “The Santa Ana Gang Task Force put years of effort into this complex investigation to find those responsible for the gang violence plaguing Orange County communities, including two major criminal enterprises calling shots on the streets and from inside prison walls,” he said.

The Santa Ana Gang Task Force includes the CDCR Special Services Unit, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa Police departments, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 14, 2011
CONTACT: Luis Patiño

(916) 445-4950

Nurse Assaulted in Folsom State Prison

2011-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO – Folsom State Prison confirmed today that a nurse was assaulted on the prison premises at approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, by an unknown assailant. The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment and evaluation.

The prison’s Investigative Services Unit, with the assistance of the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, is conducting an investigation of battery and sexual assault. The prison is on lockdown for the duration of the inquiry.

A post-trauma team responded to the prison and provided counseling for the staff in the unit. Prison officials said the incident has had an emotional impact on all the staff at the facility.

Additional details of the incident are being withheld pending completion of the investigation.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Lt. Paul Baker (916) 985-2561 Ext. 3016

INMATE DEATH AT WASCO STATE PRISON – RECEPTION CENTER UNDER INVESTIGATION

2011-07-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

WASCO – Wasco State Prison – Reception Center (WSP-RC) officials and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide. The inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his next-of-kin, was found on July 8 at approximately 10:30 p.m deceased in his assigned cell.

The deceased inmate, age 54, was received at WSP-RC from Los Angeles County on May 17, 2011, as a parole violator returned to custody for the commitment offense of possession of alcohol and assault with a deadly weapon. He was currently pending a hearing before the Board of Parole Hearings prior to this incident regarding his release date. He also received a 16 month sentence from Los Angeles County in April 2010, for resisting a peace officer with force and violence, assault with a deadly weapon and petty theft with priors.

The suspect in this case is identified as a 31-year old inmate who was received from Orange County on May 12, with an 11-year sentence for carjacking. The suspect also has non-controlling offenses for carjacking and vehicle theft.

The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review was notified.

WSP-RC’s primary mission is to provide short-term housing necessary to process, classify and evaluate new inmates, physically and mentally, and determine their security level, program requirements and appropriate institutional placement. WSP-RC was opened in February 1991, houses approximately 5,800 inmates and employs approximately 1,700 people.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2011
Contact: Lt. R. Mazuka
(661) 758-8400 ext 5013

CDCR and Madera County Officials Break Ground On $34 million, 144-bed Expansion of Jail

2011-07-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Project to Receive $28 Million from Corrections Standards Authority

MADERA – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials joined Madera County officials and community members on Wednesday to break ground on a $34 million jail expansion that will add 144 beds to the county’s 419- bed facility. It is the tenth project funded, in part, with Assembly Bill 900 (AB 900) funds to break ground. The expansion will occupy portions of the grounds immediately surrounding the existing jail facility.

“I commend the Madera community and County officials for their hard work in making this jail expansion a reality,” said CDCR Secretary, Matthew Cate. “The partnership between Madera County and the State will continue to grow as we move toward realignment and achieving the mutual goal of ensuring community public safety. This project takes us one step further toward reducing overcrowding in California jails.”

The Corrections Standards Authority originally allocated $30 million for the project, but because bids came in lower than predicted, the state’s contribution will be $28 million. Completion is expected to be in summer 2013. The project will provide new beds to serve a growing jail population.

AB 900, also known as the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, provides $7.7 billion to add up to 53,000 prison and jail beds. The legislation provides funding for treatment and rehabilitation beds and to reduce prison overcrowding. Conditional funding was awarded to 11 counties to add 5,489 local jail beds.

Two of the ten AB 900 jail projects are already underway. In December 2010, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a maximum-security 1,368-bed expansion of the Adelanto Detention Center in San Bernardino County, and a 160-bed Calaveras County Adult Detention Facility in San Andreas.

Other AB 900 projects include:

a 64-bed intermediate-care mental health facility at California Medical Facility in Vacaville (CMF) (June 2010);
a 45-bed acute/intermediate-care mental health facility for female inmates at California Institution for Women in Chino (June 2010);
treatment and office space to serve 192 inmates requiring mental health services at California State Prison – Sacramento, Enhanced Outpatient Program (Oct. 2010);
the California Health Care Facility (Stockton), a 1,722-bed inmate medical facility (Nov. 2010, with California Prison Health Care Services);
a 50-bed mental health crisis unit at California Men’s Colony (Jan. 2011);
treatment and office space to serve 150 inmates requiring mental health services at California State Prison, Los Angeles County (Feb. 2011); and
a 44,000 square foot building at CMF for additional treatment space for mental health patients, and offices (Mar. 2011).

Click here and here for more information on AB 900 financing and awards through the Corrections Standards Authority.

Click here for photographs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37381942@N04/sets/72157627134235754/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 7, 2011

CONTACT: Paul Verke (916) 445-4950

Three Correctional Officers Assaulted at CSP-LAC

2011-06-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Six Inmates Placed in Administrative Segregation

SACRAMENTO -- Three correctional officers were treated and released after being attacked Tuesday during the morning meal by inmates at California State Prison-Los Angeles County in Lancaster.

Six inmates, so far, have been identified as being involved and have been placed in Administrative Segregation, pending investigation.

The most seriously injured in the attack, a female correctional officer, sustained bruising and swelling of the face, shoulder and neck area. Injuries to two male correctional officers were described as burns to the left thigh and left wrist of one and a deep laceration of the forehead and bruising around both eyes of the other. The prognosis for each is good.

Staff used force to end the assault and to ensure compliance by other inmates during the incident. The force consisted of the use of pepper spray, physical force and one baton round from a 40mm launcher.

The assault occurred about 7:45 a.m., June 28, in the dining hall of the Reception Center. As the inmates were being seated, two of them initiated the attack. Two other inmates did not immediately comply with orders to get down, but did so after force was used. Another two inmates were later found to have minor injuries consistent with being involved in the assault. No weapons were used by the inmates.

The inmates involved in the assault incurred minor injuries.

The Reception Center is operating under restrictions, but the remainder of the institution has returned to normal operation.

The Investigative Services Unit will conduct an investigation, and the Facility Captain will complete a threat assessment.

CSP-LAC in Lancaster serves as a Reception Center for short-term housing and classification of adult male offenders, and provides long-term housing for male inmates classified as minimum- , medium- and maximum-security. CSP-LAC opened in 1993, houses more than 4,600 inmates and employs more than 1,800 people.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Stratman (661) 729-6912

Longest-Serving Volunteer for CDCR Retires After 50 Years

2011-06-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

Prison Industry Board member Leonard Greenstone retired at a special meeting of the Prison Industry Board in the State Capitol on June 17.

Secretary Cate, who serves as the chairman of the Prison Industry Board said, “We note that Presidents Nixon and Clinton have commended Mr. Greenstone, as well as Governors Reagan, Brown, Deukmejian, Wilson, Davis, Schwarzenegger, and Brown again. All recognized that inmate lives were changed through your contributions. I want to personally thank you for the work you’ve done on this board.”

Greenstone founded the Leonard Greenstone Marine Technology Training Institute at the Chino Institution for Men in 1970, and personally donated equipment to get the program running. Today, graduates of that diving and welding program have a recidivism rate of only 3 percent.

In 1961, Greenstone started investing his time and resources in developing work programs for rehabilitating inmates as a volunteer with the Increased Correctional Effectiveness Program (ICE) at San Quentin State Prison. The programs he went on to establish are now emulated across the nation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTQ3l3op1Hw

Giovanni Ramirez at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

2011-06-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is to confirm that Giovanni Ramirez arrived at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California on 6/24/11 @ approx. 1235 hours.

Ramirez is expected to serve 10 months at RJ Donovan and is ineligible for reduction of that time.

The parole revocation hearing for Giovanni Ramirez was held on June 20, 2011 at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. At that hearing, Board of Parole Hearings Deputy Commissioner Ali Zarrinnam amended the proposed violation from 'possession of a firearm by a felon' to 'access to a weapon by a felon.' The commissioner found good cause on the amended violation.

Media note only: Some media members have requested the new prison photo of Inmate Ramirez. Please note that in compliance with a request from the LAPD investigators working on the ongoing investigation into the Brian Stow beating case, CDCR will not release the photo. LAPD is concerned that the release of the photo could be detrimental to their investigation or taint potential witnesses or a potential jury pool.