The following articles were published in
local California Newspapers:
Eight prison guards acquitted of setting up inmate
gladiator fights
Former Pelican Bay
guard's conviction upheld
Treatment
becomes another punishment
The Criminal’s families
are victims too
No remedy for inmates who
are raped
Overcrowding Increases
Tensions in State Prisons
Maximum-Security
inmates still managed outside murders
EDITORIAL
Prison system needs corrections
The SF Chronicle
July 27, 2003
THE CALIFORNIA Department of Corrections needs to be subjected to much higher
levels of accountability.
A prime illustration of the lack of strong oversight over the system is the
floundering investigation into charges that guards at the California
Institution for Men at Chino severely beat a group of inmates last year has
underscored the problem. The assaults reportedly occurred when five inmates --
with their hands and ankles bound -- were slammed to the ground, kicked and
beaten. As many as 20 guards allegedly either actively participated or watched.
With the aid of an informant, CDC internal affairs agents concluded they had
cause to make arrests. But they were stymied by a demand by California
Correctional Peace Officers Association, the guards' union, that the guards be
given the evidence that had been collected against them.
Fearing potential harm to both the investigation and the witness, the agents
refused to hand over their files.
The agents' files eventually were given to state Attorney General Bill Lockyer,
who passed them off to the San Bernardino County district attorney's office,
which declined to file charges. Now, at the request of Sen. Jackie Speier,
D-Hillsborough, who chairs the Senate government oversight committee, the state
inspector general's office is looking into the matter.
"The more you learn about it, the more of quagmire it becomes," said
Speier.
"It will be a mockery of the system (if the guards are not held
accountable.) Who, in their right mind, would agree to give evidence to the
suspected perpetrator?"
Speier and Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, chair of the prisons committee,
have suggested removing the internal affairs unit from CDC's control. Such talk
has caused CDC Director Edward S. Alameida and Youth and Adult Correctional
Agency chief Robert Presley to promise better accountability.
"We're shining a bright spotlight to get the CDC to do the right
thing," said Romero. "Chino shows us there's a serious problem."
She's right. Prison officials should initiate real change soon -- or lawmakers
should craft legislation to bring the system back in line.
1.5 Million U.S. Kids Have Parent in Prison
Almost 1.5 million minor children (17 years old and
youn-ger), an
estimated 2 percent of America's kids, had a mother or father
in
federal or state prison in 1999, the Justice Department's
Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. That figure has
grown in
step with the swelling of the nation's prison population,
with an
increase of more than 500,000 children since 1991. A majority
of the
children with imprisoned parents (58 percent) were younger
than 10
years old - the average was eight years old. According to the
BJS
report, imprisoned parents were overwhelmingly male (93
percent), as
is the general prison population, and predominately held in
state
prisons, rather than federal facilities (89 percent compared
to 11
percent). The number of minor children with an imprisoned
father
(1,372,700) rose 58 percent from 1991 through 1999, compared
to a 98
percent increase during the same period in the number of
minors with
an imprisoned mother (126,100).
Half of the parents in state prisons were black, about a
quarter
were white and a fifth were Hispanic. In 1999 an estimated
767,200 black
children, 384,500 white children and 301,600 Hispanic
children had a
parent in prison. The percentage of black children in the
U.S.
resident population with an imprisoned parent (7.0 percent)
was
nearly nine times higher than that of white children (0.8
percent).
Hispanic children were three times as likely as white
children to
have a parent in prison (2.6 percent).
State prisoners who were parents were less likely to be
violent
offenders (44 percent) than inmates without children (51
percent),
the report said. Three-quarters of state prisoners who were
parents
had a prior conviction, and a majority (56 percent) had
previously
been incarcerated. On average, the imprisoned parents
expected to
serve more than six-and-a-half years in state prison and
eight-and-a-
half years in federal prison.
More than 80 percent of all parents in prison reported that
their
minor children lived with the other parent, but these answers
differed sharply by gender. About 90 percent of fathers in
state
prisons said at least one of their minor children were now
living
with their mother, while 28 percent of mothers in prison said
their
child's father was the current care giver. M others most
often said
their children's grandparents were the care givers (53
percent),
compared to 13 percent of the fathers who said their children
were
with grandparents.
Forty-six percent of all parents in state and federal prisons
said
they were living with their children just prior to their
admission
to prison. Among parents in state prisons, 44 percent of the
fathers
lived with their children prior to their admission, compared
to 64
percent of the mothers. As of December 31, 1999, an estimated
336,300 U.S. households with minor children had a resident
parent in prison.
Forty percent of the imprisoned fathers and 60 percent of the
mothers reported weekly contact with their children by phone,
mail or visit.
However, a majority of both fathers (57 percent) and mothers
(54
percent) reported never having had a personal visit with
their
children since their admission to state prison. More than 60
percent
of the parents in state prisons reported being held more than
100
miles from their last place of residence.
The study also found that almost 60 percent of the parents in
state
prisons reported having used drugs in the month before their
offense, and 25 percent reported a history of alcohol
dependence. More than a
third of the parents in state prisons committed their offense
while
under the influence of alcohol.
About 14 percent reported a mental illness, and 70 percent
did not
have a high school diploma. At the time of their most recent
arrest,
27 percent of the fathers and 50 percent of the mothers in
state
prisons were unemployed. In the month prior to their arrest,
46
percent of the parents said they had incomes of at least
$1,000 a
month, and 27 percent said their income derived from illegal
activities. Mothers in state prisons were twice as likely as
fathers
to say they had been homeless the year before their arrests,
18
percent compared to 8 percent.
About half of the parents in state prison were never married
and a
quarter were currently married. In the month before their
arrest, 20
percent had been living with their children in two-parent households,
18 percent were living with their children as single parents
and 62
percent lived apart from their children.
The data are based on personal interviews in state and
federal
correctional facilities during which the inmates described
various
aspects of their lives both before and during incarceration.
The
special report, "Incarcerated Parents and Their
Children" (NCJ-
182335), was written by BJS policy analyst Christopher J.
Mumola.
The report may be obtained from the BJS Internet site at:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iptc.htm
Interesting history of
CA State prison’s names:
http://www.cdc.state.ca.us/CommunicationsOffice/CDCToday/Summer02/place_names.asp
11/2/2003