Pending Restorative Justice Legislation >>
March 16, 2008
Federal judge at the center of California prison controversy
will stay and fight
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson maintains that
judicial pressure is needed to persuade officials to respect inmates’
constitutional rights. “Correctional defendants are particularly
resistant to courts ordering change,” he said at a conference
on penal reform at the University of San Francisco. “Prison personnel
can be experts at the waiting game. I'm not going away. I'm here for
the long haul.” At the same time, the veteran jurist said he'd
rather work with state officials on solutions to prison overcrowding
and inadequate health care than impose his own remedies. Henderson ruled
in 2006 that the $1.1 billion medical care system in California's 33
prisons was “broken beyond repair.”
Read
the story >>
March 12, 2008
Senate passes Second Chance Act
WASHINGTON, DC: The U.S. Senate passed the Second Chance Act, sponsored
by Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Illinois) with 92 cosponsors. It is now waiting
for the President’s signature. If signed, the Act will provide
a way to reduce recidivism and increase public safety. It will provide
essential resources for prisoner reentry giving offenders a better chance
to rebuild their lives and families and help stop the revolving door
that sends 95% of California inmates back to prison. The Second Chance
Act would authorize $362 million to improve the way our prisons prepare
inmates to reenter society. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
submitted letters of support and testimony for the Second Chance Act
saying that “it is a significant first step toward creating a
more just criminal justice system.” According to a new report
from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) entitled ”Offender
Reentry: Correctional Statistics, Reintegration into the Community,
and Recidivism,” the United States incarcerates more of its citizens
than any other nation in the world. The report also indicates that of
the 2.2 million people currently incarcerated, over 95% of offenders
currently serving prison sentences will return to the community at some
point.
Read
the complete text of the Act >>
Read the Bishops’
letter of support >>
Read the CRS report
on reentry >>
March 10, 2008
Chowchilla Family Express keeps running
LOS ANGELES, CA: Every weekend the Chowchilla Family Express provides
free transportation for families to visit loved ones at Valley State
Prison for Women and the Central California Women’s Facility.
Women and Criminal Justice, the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation and the Gender Responsive Commission partner to make
this program happen.
Visit
their web site >>
View
the bus schedule >>
March 9, 2008
60 Minutes show features story of innocent man in prison
In this CBS broadcast, the famous 60 Minute team covers Alton Logan’s
story, who has spent 26 years in prison trying to understand why he
was convicted of a crime he didn't commit. His lawyers tell why they
were legally bound to keep a secret that prevented his release. Logan,
still in jail, speaks to 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon in his first
interview for a report that also includes the lawyers which will be
broadcast this Sunday, March 9, at 7pm ET/PT.
Learn
more about the story >>
February 28, 2008
One in 100 are behind bars in America 2008
A new report by Pew Center on the State's Public Safety Performance
Project details how, for the first time in history, more than one in
every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that
significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return
on public safety. In addition to detailing state and regional prison
growth rates, the report identifies how corrections spending compares
to other state investments, why it has increased, and what some states
are doing to limit growth in both prison populations and costs while
maintaining public safety. Spending is up, and the national recidivism
rate remains virtually unchanged, with about half of released inmates
returning to jail or prison within three years. Adam Gelb, director
of the Public Safety Performance Project, says, “More and more
states are beginning to rethink their reliance on prisons for lower-level
offenders and finding strategies that are tough on crime without being
so tough on taxpayers.”
Download
the report >>
View
MSNBC coverage of this story >>
February 20, 2008
Many district attorneys refuse to answer survey on death-penalty
reasoning
LOS ANGELES, CA: Three-quarters of California’s elected district
attorneys refused to disclose how they choose defendants to face the
death penalty, according to a report slated for presentation at a public
hearing in Los Angeles. In a report to the California Commission on
the Fair Administration of Justice, which is examining how the death
penalty is applied in California, Pepperdine law school professors Harry
M. Caldwell, Carol Chase and Christine Goodman said only 14 of the state’s
58 counties agreed to provide detailed answers to questions about the
selection process. District attorneys in many large counties that frequently
seek the death penalty submitted no answers, despite repeated entreaties
by the professors and their research assistants, according to the report.
Read
more >>
February 18, 2008
Juvenile prison system needs reform, lawyers say
SACRAMENTO, CA: Three years after state officials promised to fix California’s
troubled juvenile prisons, advocates for incarcerated youths are urging
a judge to appoint a receiver to take over a system they say remains
tragically broken.
Read
article >>
Death penalty panel looks at reasons for reversals
LOS ANGELES, CA: The California Supreme Court last year overturned convicted
killer James Hardy's 1984 death sentence because a defense lawyer’s
“meager” effort representing him undermined the chance of
a fair trial. And just a few weeks ago, a federal appeals court gave
a reprieve to Earl Lloyd Jackson, one of the state’s longest-serving
death row inmates, because of a prosecutor’s blunders during his
1979 trial. Shoddy representation and prosecutorial miscues are two
of the most common reasons that death row inmates have had a better
chance of getting their death sentences reversed than of being executed.
A state commission examining California’s death penalty system
will focus on those issues in its second round of hearings on the subject.
Read
the story >>
February 16, 2008
California prisons examined in online documentary series
California Prisons Under Pressure is a series of thirty-minute documentaries
examining the complex issues surrounding the state’s prison system
from the outside in. This four episode series explores the overcrowding
issue, the controversy behind a Sentencing Commission, recidivism and
rehabilitation, as well as how early release will impact local law enforcement
and communities.
Watch
the series >>
February 5, 2008
Justice program linked with drop in juvenile crime
RICE LAKE, WI: A drop in the juvenile crime rate in Barron County appears
to be linked to the county’s Restorative Justice programs. A study
conducted by Eric Kasper, assistant professor of political science at
UW-Barron County, seems to show a strong correlation in the number of
juvenile crimes and the start-up of the Restorative Justice program.
Read
the article >>
Working to shut down the
school-to-prison pipeline
NEW ORLEANS, LA: Across America, countless school children—particularly
impoverished children of color—are being pushed out of schools
and into juvenile lock-ups for minor misconduct that in an earlier era
would have warranted counseling or a trip to the principal's office
rather than a court appearance. Southern Poverty Law Center has launched
a multi-faceted new initiative, called the School-to-Prison Reform Project.
Based in New Orleans, the project is seeking systemic reforms through
legal action, community activism and lobbying to ensure these students
get the services—both in school and in the juvenile justice system—that
can make the difference between incarceration and graduation.
Read
about the project >>
January 27, 2008
Students brainstorm new paths to justice
OAKLAND, CA: Residents from around the city concerned about dealing
with conflict brought their visions of justice to a "talking circle"
Saturday at Cole Middle School. The community talk session organized
by Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth included guest speakers Howard
Zehr, a sociology and restorative justice professor at Eastern Mennonite
University, and Don Johnson, a district attorney in the juvenile prosecution
division of his Minnesota county. Together, the group imagined what
it would be like to revolutionize the U.S. criminal justice system and
create a new model.
Read
the story >>
January 24, 2008
State prison healthcare czar is fired
SACRAMENTO, CA: A federal judge cited Robert Sillen’s clashes
with officials and the slow pace of change as reasons for his ouster.
Sillen had been given broad powers to run prison healthcare and order
additional spending in the state's overcrowded, understaffed medical
wards. His appointment came as part of a case in which the same judge
had ruled that medical conditions violated prisoners' constitutional
rights and had excoriated state officials for failing to fix a medical
system so broken that an average of one inmate was dying every six or
seven days because of poor care.
Read
the story >>
January 7, 2008
Per capita, U.S. has highest prison rate
The United States puts more people in prison – both in absolute
numbers and per capita – than any other country in the world,
according to the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College,
London.
Read
more >>
Learn
about International Centre for Prison Studies >>
January 5, 2008
Supreme Court to hear arguments on the how, not why, of the
death penalty
WASHINGTON, DC: On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments
about whether lethal injections used by states to execute condemned
inmates are legal under the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel
and unusual punishment. It's quite the moral dilemma for human rights
activists - how do you argue in favor of a 'humane' method of capital
punishment, when your stated goal is to abolish state executions altogether?
Read
story >>
January
3, 2008
The story of Mario Rocha is released on DVD
LOS ANGELES, CA: In 1998, Mario Rocha, a young Latino from East LA,
was convicted of murder and attempted murder on the basis of questionable
identification and no physical evidence. He was sixteen years old at
the time of his arrest, but tried as an adult and sentenced to spend
the rest of his life in prison. This film interweaves Mario’s
story as an inmate in one of California’s toughest maximum-security
prisons with the efforts of an unlikely group of people who have come
together to win his freedom. Filmed over the course of seven years,
the documentary provides a rare “behind the scenes” look
at the efforts of the legal team as they pursue a new trial for Mario.
The filmmakers were given unprecedented access to film inside Calipatria
State Prison in Imperial County, California. While the film raises serious
questions about our criminal justice system, it is also a hopeful and
inspiring story of the allies who come together to overturn injustice.
Mario’s own personal growth in prison reveals how even under the
worst conditions, the human spirit can rise and reach out to others.
Learn more about
the film >>
January 2, 2008
Time for prison reform
VACAVILLE, CA: A showdown is in the air, and it appears that 2008 will
be the year California's dysfunctional prison system is reformed, says
The Reporter newspaper in Vacaville. While the governor did manage to
put through a $7.9 billion bond that would create 53,000 new prison
and jail beds, and even set aside some money for rehabilitation, it
appears that Assembly Bill 900, approved in April 2007, was too little,
too late. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's efforts to reduce prison population
by sending inmates to facilities out of state were also stymied at every
turn. As a result, facilities that should house no more than 100,000
now hold an excess of 172,000, forcing the system's 33 institutions
to double and triple bunk inmates and use every possible available bit
of space, from gymnasiums to day rooms.
Read
the article >>
January 1, 2008
World Day of Peace Message issued by the Holy Father
VATICAN CITY: Pope Paul VI first established the World Day of Peace
in 1968. Since then, each the Holy Father marks this day with a special
peace
message. This year Pope Benedict XVI calls on all people to “live
by a common moral law that that ensures the protection of the weak from
oppression by the strong and promotes a just distribution of wealth.”
Read the full
statement for 2008 (pdf) >>
Prayers, activities
and resources for parishes (pdf) >>
December 27, 2007
Early release of prisoners has to be considered
SACRAMENTO, CA: Prison costs are a big part of fiscal crisis; controlling
them is part of the solution. With California facing a $3.3 billion
deficit in the current fiscal year and a $14 billion deficit the year
after, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be looking at all possible
options for bringing spending in line with revenues, and visa versa.
Read
editorial >>
December 17, 2007
New Jersey abolishes death penalty
TRENTON, NJ: New Jersey has become the first state to legislatively
abolish the death penalty since the Supreme Court restored it in the
mid-1970s. The Bishop of Trenton, John M. Smith, said the legislators
showed “a great deal of courage” to take what is an unpopular
position against the death penalty. Bishop Smith told the Catholic News
Service he hoped the state's decision to repeal the death penalty and
replace it with life in prison would encourage other states to pass
similar measures.
Read
news coverage >>
Read
Catholic News Service story >>
December 13, 2007
Gov. Scharzenegger call for 2008 Victim Advocacy Award nominations
SACRAMENTO, CA: The work of restorative justice from the victims’
perspective is the most challenging aspect of our mission. Here is an
opportunity to honor individuals who are meeting this challenge in our
parishes and dioceses. Nomination forms must be received in the Governor’s
office by January 31, 2008.
Nomination instructions
(pdf) >>
Nomination form (word doc)
>>
Time for Change Foundation seeking full-time fund development
director
SAN BERNADINO, CA: Time for Change Foundation’s mission is to
help women and children in need with housing and supportive services.
Qualifications for a full-time fund development director include:
demonstrated history of successful fundraising
highly skilled in multiple software programs
superior communication skills, both written and oral
strong research and analytical skills
understanding simple budget and financial information
demonstrated project management skills
Responsibilities include: grant development, donor cultivation and event
planning and coordination. Salary to commensurate with experience. Please
send a writing sample, resume and cover letter to: Time for Change Foundation,
PO Box 5753, San Bernardino, CA 92412.
New Jersey set to repeal the state’s death penalty
TRENTON, NJ: New Jersey is set to become the first state to legislatively
abolish the death penalty since the Supreme Court restored it in the
mid-1970s. Today New Jersey's General Assembly is expected to follow
the state Senate's vote on Monday to repeal the death penalty and replace
it with life in prison without parole. Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat
and a death penalty opponent, has said he would sign the legislation.
Read
more >>
December 10, 2007
Battle shaping up on court-issued
freedom for life-term prisoners
SACRAMENTO, CA: Frustrated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his parole
board, more California life-term prisoners are turning to the courts
for another shot at freedom—and winning enough cases to put the
state on edge.
Watch
video interview of life-term prisoners >>
December 8, 2007
Rape in US prisons underreported
NEW ORLEANS, LA: There is a serious problem with rape in the US prison
system, experts said Thursday. While it is difficult to get a true picture
of how often inmates suffer assaults from their fellow prisoners and
by prison staff members, anecdotal evidence shows that the rape is an
all-too common experience in the growing US prison complex.
Read
story >>
December 7, 2007
San Francisco Collaborative Justice Center launches
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: To bring swifter justice for quality of life victims
and mandated help for offenders, San Francisco is opening the Collaborative
Justice Center in January 2008. CJC will focus on lower-level criminal
behavior and services to address associated root issues such as substance
abuse, mental illness or lack of shelter. Collaborative justice courts,
also known as “problem-solving” courts, have emerged as
an effective strategy to improve outcomes for victims, communities and
defendants. Their new blog, Moving Justict Forward, is dedicated to
discussing ideas and sharing local and national information about collaborative
justice.
Read
more >
Moving
Justice Forward blog >>
December 5, 2007
Family visits are key for prisoners
ENGLAND: The recidivism rate for convicts could be cut if the government
did more to support the children and families of those in jail, reports
a newly formed coalition.
Read
the article >>