Pending Restorative Justice Legislation >>
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Nov. 2009
Nov. 20, 2009
"Voices of Restorative Justice: Why it works"
'It brought me a sense of peace, not just peace but it really let me hone in and take responsibility as well as accountability for my actions and how my actions created all this collateral damage.'
By R. W. DELLINGER
Read Article
Nov. 6, 2009
Redefining Justice
"An independent study published on Thursday by Victims’ Champion Sara Payne calls on the government to "redefine" justice to give greater priority to victims of crime."
Read full article
Sept. 2009
Sept. 16, 2009
Another Botched Execution in Ohio:
Ohioans to Stop Executions issued a press release yesterday in the wake of the botched execution of Romell Broom:
Ohio's death penalty fails again; third botched execution in three years This morning Ohio was scheduled to execute Romell Broom at 10:00 AM. After a three hour stay of the execution, the protocol began again at approximately 12:30 PM. Romell Broom was brought into the execution chamber at approximately 1:50 PM. The execution team experienced significant difficulty finding a vein and finally stopped searching at approximately 4:30 PM. The witnesses left the death house, the hearse left the prison grounds and Romell Broom remains, under unimaginable duress and anguish, at Lucasville.
Today, Ohioans to Stop Executions calls on Governor Strickland to continue to take executions seriously by halting executions pending a complete investigation and thorough review of Ohio's capital punishment system.
Read More
August 2009
August 27, 2009
California is Failing the Prison Test
"The California Legislature has failed several times to change
backward sentencing and parole policies that keep the state’s prisons
dangerously overcrowded with too many minor offenders sent to jail
for too long. These failures, which have driven up corrections costs
by about 50 percent in less than a decade, came home to roost earlier
this month, when a federal court ordered the state to cut the prison
population significantly. Days later, an ominous riot broke out in
the men’s prison in Chino."
Read full article
August 26, 2009
"The Hanging of Ryan Jenkins: Has Revenge Become Way too Sweet?"
First a hideous murder. Then a dramatic suicide. Finally, a police lieutenant's comment: "The sadness of this all is that Mr. Jenkins will not stand before an Orange County jury for his crime."
The greater sadaness of this all is that revenge has become sweeter than attempting to understand and heal what went wrong in the first place. The sadness of this all is that revenge is what went wrong in the first place - a revenge allegedly driven by Mr. Jenkins' jealousy of his ex-wife.
Read full article
August 6, 2009
International Art Contest for Prisoners
Forty six inmates from California prisons entered the ICCPPC Second International Art Contest for Prisoners…….and we have three winners!
The theme of the competition was Signs of Life.
1st Prize: Gracie Cristina Silva, Brazil
David from the CTF in CA, USA has been awarded third prize.
Manuel, also from CTF in CA, USA won in the 4th-70th prize category.
Ronald from Avenal State prison in CA received special recognition of the jury.
Congratulations to the winners and to Chaplains Christine McNamara at CTF and Rodney Ornellas at Avenal.
See the Art of the winners
See the entries from California
July 2009
July 20, 2009
The Criminal's Search for God: three book series
by David Lukenbill
1) The Criminal’s Search for God: Criminal Transformation, Catholic Social Teaching, Deep Knowledge Leadership, and Communal Reentry (2006)
2) Carceral World, Communal City (2007)
3) The Criminal, The Cross & The Church: The Interior Journey (2008)
70% of the 650,000 criminals released from prison every year return to crime and prison. 30% don’t. I eventually learned how to remain one of the 30%. This book is written for the many other criminals who seek transformation and in the realizing of their redemption, are able to help others transform their lives.
It Takes a Reformed Criminal to Reform Criminals
This book proposes that transformed redeemed criminals, through their personal conversion and community reconciliation, graduate education, knowledge of Catholic social teaching, and training in developing and managing a grassroots transformative organization, can help other criminals transform their lives.
I was a criminal—thief and robber—for 20 years, serving 12 of those years in federal and state maximum security prisons. I transformed my life through education—Associate of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco—many years consulting with grassroots community organizations, and deep personal spiritual work.
In 2003 I founded The Lampstand Foundation, as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation, dedicated to providing inspiration and tools for other transformed criminals to begin to
change lives.
David H. Lukenbill, President
The LampStand Foundation
Post Office Box 254794
Sacramento, CA 95865-4794
Phone: 916-486-3856
Email: Dlukenbill@msn.com
Website: http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
Weblog: http://catholiceye.blogspot.com/
July 18, 2009
"After the TRC Final Report: Expanding Our Conception of Justice"
in Liberian Journal
Commentary about the Truth and Reconciliation Report in Liberia.
by Dr. Emmanual Dolo
Read commentary
July 15, 2009
"We'd Rather Have a Tour Than a New Prison" in St. Louis Today
A commentary about how in the midst of tightening state budgets, restorative justice programs are one way to cut costs and increase community safety.
Read commentary (scroll down to second entry)
July 13, 2009
"Prison Nursery Programs a Growing Trend in Women's Prisons"
by Women's Prison Association
Read article
July 11, 2009
"Eau Claire County Program Works to Keep Families Together"
Article about restorative justice, youth, and families.
Read article
June 2009
June 21, 2009
"Ride the Current: Learning to Hear God's Call" by Helen Prejean
Published Apr. 2009 in America Magazine
Read the article
June 9, 2009
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Juvenile Justice
On June 9, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on the "Juvenile Justice and Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009" (H.R. 2289). The bill, introduced in May by Representative Robert Scott (D-VA), seeks to "establish meaningful opportunity for parole or similar release for child offenders sentenced to life in prison..."
The hearing included testimony from Professor Mark Osler, Dr. Linda White, Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, Anita Colin and James Fox. Proponents of the bill quoted Micah 6:8 "You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God," explaining the need for rehabilitation and second chances for juvenile offenders.
Opponents to the bill testified of the effects of parole hearings on family and friends of victims, the retroactivity of this bill. Jim Fox, representing the National District Attorney's Association, testified that the federal government was overstepping and that juvenile justice and sentencing is a state issue.
Catholic Charities USA promotes policies to rehabilitate juvenile offenders to prevent recidivism. Click here for Catholic Charities USA's position.
For more information, please visit here or contact Ryan Smith, Policy Analyst at rsmith@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
May 2009
May 20, 2009
Gardens Within Prison Walls: How to Escape Bad Prison Food
Students from Scripps College and inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California, plant an organic garden.
Read full article>>
May 20, 2009
Ex-Gang Members Unite
Homeboy Industries started in 1988 to help ease tensions among gangs.
A new program funded by Homeboy trains ex-gang members on green jobs.
Read full article>>
May 13, 2009
Connecticut Death Penalty Bill: Passes in House
The Connecticut House voted 90-56 in favor of ending the death penalty. The bill now moves on to the Senate.
Several abolition bills are still active in other states, including New Hampshire, Illinois, Washington, and also in the U.S. Senate.
May. 7, 2009
Mothers and Criminal Justice
This article highlights the pivotal role mothers play in the families of the incarcerated. "Whether it is as caretaker for the children of an adult who is incarcerated, as the 'breadwinner' who helps support children while their parent is on the inside, or as a loving presence and shoulder to cry on during prison visits, mothers play a vital role in holding families together during incarceration." Author is Pat Nolan, Vice President of Prison Fellowship.
Read full article>>
Organization's Website>>
May 6, 2009
BAD NEWS OUT OF COLORADO
Colorado death penalty survives (Denver Post article)
One by one, senators at last revealed their views Wednesday on the complicated and controversial topic of the death penalty with simple ayes and nays during a roll-call vote in the waning hours of the legislative session.
Read full article>>
February 2009
February 1, 2009
Chowchilla Family Express announces its 2009 schedule of prison visits
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 >>
Insider tackles prison system, recidivism
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Sunny Schwartz is trying to fix the prison system from the inside. Former administrator for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, she created the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP), which won an Innovations in Government Award from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 2004. "Sunny is an instigator and an agitator," said Sheriff Mike Hennessey.
Read her interview with the SF Chronicle >>
January 2009
January 29, 2009
Call for ouster of J. Clark Kelso, the California prison czar
SACRAMENTO, CA: The state brought a new dimension to the legal struggle over prison health care reform with a motion to get rid of the court-appointed receiver and his proposed $8 billion construction plan. At a Capitol news conference, officials announced that J. Clark Kelso has done a lot of good things but is no longer needed.
Read story >>
January 28, 2009
2009 Criminal & Juvenile Justice Solutions Guide now available
TEXAS: The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition has released its new guide with recommendations that will save taxpayers money while increasing public safety.
Learn more >>
Nov. 20, 2009
"Voices of Restorative Justice: Why it works"
'It brought me a sense of peace, not just peace but it really let me hone in and take responsibility as well as accountability for my actions and how my actions created all this collateral damage.'
By R. W. DELLINGER
Read Article
Nov. 6, 2009
Redefining Justice
"An independent study published on Thursday by Victims’ Champion Sara Payne calls on the government to "redefine" justice to give greater priority to victims of crime."
Read full article
Sept. 2009
Sept. 16, 2009
Another Botched Execution in Ohio:
Ohioans to Stop Executions issued a press release yesterday in the wake of the botched execution of Romell Broom:
Ohio's death penalty fails again; third botched execution in three years This morning Ohio was scheduled to execute Romell Broom at 10:00 AM. After a three hour stay of the execution, the protocol began again at approximately 12:30 PM. Romell Broom was brought into the execution chamber at approximately 1:50 PM. The execution team experienced significant difficulty finding a vein and finally stopped searching at approximately 4:30 PM. The witnesses left the death house, the hearse left the prison grounds and Romell Broom remains, under unimaginable duress and anguish, at Lucasville.
Today, Ohioans to Stop Executions calls on Governor Strickland to continue to take executions seriously by halting executions pending a complete investigation and thorough review of Ohio's capital punishment system.
Read More
August 2009
August 27, 2009
California is Failing the Prison Test
"The California Legislature has failed several times to change
backward sentencing and parole policies that keep the state’s prisons
dangerously overcrowded with too many minor offenders sent to jail
for too long. These failures, which have driven up corrections costs
by about 50 percent in less than a decade, came home to roost earlier
this month, when a federal court ordered the state to cut the prison
population significantly. Days later, an ominous riot broke out in
the men’s prison in Chino."
Read full article
August 26, 2009
"The Hanging of Ryan Jenkins: Has Revenge Become Way too Sweet?"
First a hideous murder. Then a dramatic suicide. Finally, a police lieutenant's comment: "The sadness of this all is that Mr. Jenkins will not stand before an Orange County jury for his crime."
The greater sadaness of this all is that revenge has become sweeter than attempting to understand and heal what went wrong in the first place. The sadness of this all is that revenge is what went wrong in the first place - a revenge allegedly driven by Mr. Jenkins' jealousy of his ex-wife.
Read full article
August 6, 2009
International Art Contest for Prisoners
Forty six inmates from California prisons entered the ICCPPC Second International Art Contest for Prisoners…….and we have three winners!
The theme of the competition was Signs of Life.
1st Prize: Gracie Cristina Silva, Brazil
David from the CTF in CA, USA has been awarded third prize.
Manuel, also from CTF in CA, USA won in the 4th-70th prize category.
Ronald from Avenal State prison in CA received special recognition of the jury.
Congratulations to the winners and to Chaplains Christine McNamara at CTF and Rodney Ornellas at Avenal.
See the Art of the winners
See the entries from California
July 2009
July 20, 2009
The Criminal's Search for God: three book series
by David Lukenbill
1) The Criminal’s Search for God: Criminal Transformation, Catholic Social Teaching, Deep Knowledge Leadership, and Communal Reentry (2006)
2) Carceral World, Communal City (2007)
3) The Criminal, The Cross & The Church: The Interior Journey (2008)
70% of the 650,000 criminals released from prison every year return to crime and prison. 30% don’t. I eventually learned how to remain one of the 30%. This book is written for the many other criminals who seek transformation and in the realizing of their redemption, are able to help others transform their lives.
It Takes a Reformed Criminal to Reform Criminals
This book proposes that transformed redeemed criminals, through their personal conversion and community reconciliation, graduate education, knowledge of Catholic social teaching, and training in developing and managing a grassroots transformative organization, can help other criminals transform their lives.
I was a criminal—thief and robber—for 20 years, serving 12 of those years in federal and state maximum security prisons. I transformed my life through education—Associate of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco—many years consulting with grassroots community organizations, and deep personal spiritual work.
In 2003 I founded The Lampstand Foundation, as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation, dedicated to providing inspiration and tools for other transformed criminals to begin to
change lives.
David H. Lukenbill, President
The LampStand Foundation
Post Office Box 254794
Sacramento, CA 95865-4794
Phone: 916-486-3856
Email: Dlukenbill@msn.com
Website: http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
Weblog: http://catholiceye.blogspot.com/
July 18, 2009
"After the TRC Final Report: Expanding Our Conception of Justice"
in Liberian Journal
Commentary about the Truth and Reconciliation Report in Liberia.
by Dr. Emmanual Dolo
Read commentary
July 15, 2009
"We'd Rather Have a Tour Than a New Prison" in St. Louis Today
A commentary about how in the midst of tightening state budgets, restorative justice programs are one way to cut costs and increase community safety.
Read commentary (scroll down to second entry)
July 13, 2009
"Prison Nursery Programs a Growing Trend in Women's Prisons"
by Women's Prison Association
Read article
July 11, 2009
"Eau Claire County Program Works to Keep Families Together"
Article about restorative justice, youth, and families.
Read article
June 2009
June 21, 2009
"Ride the Current: Learning to Hear God's Call" by Helen Prejean
Published Apr. 2009 in America Magazine
Read the article
June 9, 2009
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Juvenile Justice
On June 9, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on the "Juvenile Justice and Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009" (H.R. 2289). The bill, introduced in May by Representative Robert Scott (D-VA), seeks to "establish meaningful opportunity for parole or similar release for child offenders sentenced to life in prison..."
The hearing included testimony from Professor Mark Osler, Dr. Linda White, Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, Anita Colin and James Fox. Proponents of the bill quoted Micah 6:8 "You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God," explaining the need for rehabilitation and second chances for juvenile offenders.
Opponents to the bill testified of the effects of parole hearings on family and friends of victims, the retroactivity of this bill. Jim Fox, representing the National District Attorney's Association, testified that the federal government was overstepping and that juvenile justice and sentencing is a state issue.
Catholic Charities USA promotes policies to rehabilitate juvenile offenders to prevent recidivism. Click here for Catholic Charities USA's position.
For more information, please visit here or contact Ryan Smith, Policy Analyst at rsmith@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
May 2009
May 20, 2009
Gardens Within Prison Walls: How to Escape Bad Prison Food
Students from Scripps College and inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California, plant an organic garden.
Read full article>>
May 20, 2009
Ex-Gang Members Unite
Homeboy Industries started in 1988 to help ease tensions among gangs.
A new program funded by Homeboy trains ex-gang members on green jobs.
Read full article>>
May 13, 2009
Connecticut Death Penalty Bill: Passes in House
The Connecticut House voted 90-56 in favor of ending the death penalty. The bill now moves on to the Senate.
Several abolition bills are still active in other states, including New Hampshire, Illinois, Washington, and also in the U.S. Senate.
May. 7, 2009
Mothers and Criminal Justice
This article highlights the pivotal role mothers play in the families of the incarcerated. "Whether it is as caretaker for the children of an adult who is incarcerated, as the 'breadwinner' who helps support children while their parent is on the inside, or as a loving presence and shoulder to cry on during prison visits, mothers play a vital role in holding families together during incarceration." Author is Pat Nolan, Vice President of Prison Fellowship.
Read full article>>
Organization's Website>>
May 6, 2009
BAD NEWS OUT OF COLORADO
Colorado death penalty survives (Denver Post article)
One by one, senators at last revealed their views Wednesday on the complicated and controversial topic of the death penalty with simple ayes and nays during a roll-call vote in the waning hours of the legislative session.
Read full article>>
February 2009
February 1, 2009
Chowchilla Family Express announces its 2009 schedule of prison visits
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 >>
Insider tackles prison system, recidivism
SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Sunny Schwartz is trying to fix the prison system from the inside. Former administrator for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, she created the Resolve to Stop the Violence Project (RSVP), which won an Innovations in Government Award from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 2004. "Sunny is an instigator and an agitator," said Sheriff Mike Hennessey.
Read her interview with the SF Chronicle >>
January 2009
January 29, 2009
Call for ouster of J. Clark Kelso, the California prison czar
SACRAMENTO, CA: The state brought a new dimension to the legal struggle over prison health care reform with a motion to get rid of the court-appointed receiver and his proposed $8 billion construction plan. At a Capitol news conference, officials announced that J. Clark Kelso has done a lot of good things but is no longer needed.
Read story >>
January 28, 2009
2009 Criminal & Juvenile Justice Solutions Guide now available
TEXAS: The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition has released its new guide with recommendations that will save taxpayers money while increasing public safety.
Learn more >>