Veritas5509

BROKE PRISONS/BROKEN STATE 9/27/10

2010-09-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

As the State of California fiddles with the budget, the state agencies burn. The prison system, which I'm familiar with, is in the worst shape in its 150 plus year history. Inmates are being denied critical medical care and medications-all in the name of cutting costs. Wake up Sacramento! The prison system is in ruins! I've written time after time and no one hears (or reads) but the time is now to do what the federal judges have directed the state to do-get the inmate population to 110,000. That's a no brainer cost cutter. It would save billions of dollars. Why won't the Sac pols do this??? As I said it's the Willie Horton effect. No politico can be or appear to be soft on crime, so the prisons bulge, while free people can't get child care or mental health care. The list goes on and on. The poor always suffer. Hell, most of the people in prison come from poor economic backgrounds. As long as it's the poor and disenfranchised who take the brunt of the budget cuts, hey, that's OK-most don't or can't vote anyway. The politicos use a Nazi-like calculus when cutting a state program. And the poor disproportionately lose out. Is it the way humans have always acted? I think it is and it's this type of backward thinking that will cause the poor to turn on the haves. The rich well-to-do are not stupid, but they historically seem blind to the reality of what is taking place around them. The reality is clear the state is broke and the moneyed don't seem to care. Oh, it's a small inconvenience at the DMV, but nothing else. Well, maybe a fee hike here and there. But schools; child care; food; shelter-not a problem. The disconnect is real and the suffering caused by it is real. I had a long discussion with my cellie about ego. Ego and pride actually. I say they blind a person or group to reality and cause a normally reasonable person to remain in a lost and unreasonable position. This is what is going on in Sacramento with regard to almost all things political. The result is gridlock, but they don't care. The Pols still get paid. And the have not's suffer. Wake Up! Cut the prison population! Restart the various prison rehabilitation programs! Fully fund child day care; mental health clinics; housing options for homeless families and people who are Vets, mentally or physically ill. This would help, as a start, both the inmates and the free poor. Please, something needs to be done before it's too late. As a Vet, I hate what my country is turning into. Let the pride go and do your jobs-all you Pols in Sacramento! Get To It! With love and respect, Veritas

Blog 9/1/10

2010-09-05T16:22:00.001-07:00

Well, I've not blogged in a while. My Mom's medical condition has put me in a deep funk. I seem to be coming out of it, but the separation from her and my Dad is the hardest part of this. Yes, it's all part of the circle of likfe, but honestly no one, who loves their parents, wants them to pass. It will mark a point where now I'm also subject to death. Oh, I know at some level I was not going to live forever. But it was not thrust into my conscious thoughts. Now it is and I know someday I too will pass. Being in prison will make for a lonely death. I watched two other inmates just waste away in here to the point that they were takne away to a medical facility where they passed. Both alone, both wanting to be almost anywhere else. Being in prison is bullshit enough; now add outside problems. It becomes a place that Dante would not put in his hell as it is just too cruel. Most of the suffering is self induced. If I was a sociopath, if I lacked the ability to care about others, it would be a blessing: Yet I'm NOT! And my pain and frustration burns holes in my soul. I did get myself into this-coming to prison. And most of my pain I feel is the pain my parents feel not being able to see me; hold me and talk to me and see my face. I miss then both with all my heart, and I'm so sorry I'm not there. I wish them peace as I can't find any. All for now, will blog soon...Andrew

Can't Focus

2010-07-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've not been able to focus due to my mom's stoke. Its part of not being in prison. As I made other people suffer; so must I and my family suffer. A lot of fellow con's in here go on about "Being Strong", ya well, I'm the one who did the crime yet my family suffers. It's part of the justice system that never is mentioned - in polite circles. My family's suffering is by far the worse, for me, about doing time. I get so frustrated about not being able to help. Other than writing supportive letters. But when my mom has a stroke and her mind is effected. Then what do I do? What do I do if she doesn't remember me? What does that do to me - in my heart. I try to be strong but the thoughts of my mom being pushed around in a wheelchair and not being able to remember me. It crushes me. Yes, the tough on crime people are getting their money's worth with regard to my stay on the state. Maybe someone could help with my mom's suffering. I hope everyone who reads this is well and never ends up where I am. All for now. Andrew

Veritas5509 Update

2010-05-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

Have not had much to say as I've been dealing with my Mom, she had a stroke and I'm really having a hard time dealing with how much she has changed. The stroke affected her memory-new memories. She is like a different person and I'm angry and frustrated and sad all at the same time because I can't help her, I'm locked up in prison. Yes, I deserve to be here and I regret my actions that got me here every single day. I just have a chance to repay my Mom, by helping her, for all the Love and Kindness she has shown me my whole life. But I can't so I wallow in self pity and wish things were different. But reality bites when life sucks so my Mom is hurt still by my actions from 13 years ago. I would do or give anything just to see her one more time, but I never will. They can't travel. So we write and I call, whenever I can. I Love my Mom and I wish I was home. Andrew

Still Here!

2009-12-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

I'm still here, I suppose any readers I had have moved on. Sorry, I've been busy with some college stuff, and of course Fantasy Football. As for things going on in here - its worse. D yard is locked down most every day now. But the other yards, C yard, are having program. We are always told some bullshit story i.e. short of staff or a truck on the yard or we have to mow the grass. It's all just lies so the staff at $60k - $100k, can just sit and do nothing. In one of my first blogs I wrote about how this correctional officer was just sitting at a desk reading a magazine. It's just crazy. If I worked for a business and sat around with my feet up reading a magazine - I wouldn't be there long. But here it is acceptable behavior. Why? I think it is because of the out of sight out of mind mentality. At the prison that I'm at no CO would dare to tell another CO not to do something. They have some fucked - up code of silence called the Green wall here. It's green because that's the color of their uniforms. Anyway once one CO (correctional officer) makes a decision. Then all the other CO's just back him or her up and go along with it. No matter how crazy. As a result the rules here change week to week on a whim of a CO. This is exactly what hell must be like. I just want to scream. Well needless to say it gets kinda crazy here. I'm sure a poorly run business is like this. With the rules and procedures becoming the most important and the goal of the business forgotten. The goals of rehabilitation are mostly forgotten. I'm told that half the Vocation and education classes on this yard will be canceled on Jan 18th 2010. I've written before about how the only thing proven to stop recidivism is education. Now most of that will be gone. Thus ensuring more crime and more victims. There is a 19 yr old on this yard I know, I'll call him "K". He thinks he's a gangster and everything out there is for the taking. He has very little formal education and just goes along with what the "homies" say. He goes home in just under one month. "K" has not been sent to school, in here, or any type of anger management; drug counseling; communication skills; job skills; or pre release. The circle is about to be repeated because he will come right back to prison. The truth is no one gives a shit about any of us in here. The beds are filled for political expediency to calm the public. But nothing is done to help the men and women put in here. In my past blogs I've written about what tax payers are getting for all this imprisonment. With a recidivism rate of around 70% who can feel that the California dept. of corrections is helping in anyway except to defer crime. I feel all as is I'm just yelling in an empty wilderness. No One is listening. As long as a majority of people are not directly affected by the criminal justice system. The status quo will continue. I just see how even small cost effective changes can be made that might be able to keep one young man from re offending. BUT change takes mass. Mass from lots of people pushing to make change. Mass to say enough to warehousing humans like cattle and to start rehabilitating the inmates. However, there is no incentive on behalf of the prison bureaucracy - the more crime the more over time. With that I'm going to sign off for now. I hope everyone, everywhere and no matter what condition you or your loved ones are in - I wish all of you Peace, Love, and Joy. It's my wish that the family of the man I hurt can find peace and forgiveness. I'm so very sorry. I wish it was me. I'm just so humbly sorry I hope everyone out there can forgive just one other person for a past or current wrong. Because hate is a poison that seeps into our most inner being and destroys our capacity for love and friendship. Under the circumstances I find myself in; words like peace, love, and forgiveness are not very abundant. So it took a lot, a whole lot, or crying and soul searching to find those words and their meanings If I can do it - you can do it. So please forgive someone for the holidays. Make it last and maybe you will find a greater joy than you have ever known. Peace and Happy New Year! Veritas

California Prisons Continue

2009-09-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

California Prisons Continue to defy federal judges and play with prisoners lives by having inadequate health care. I live in a California State prison and I can, as I have, tell you that the level of health care is less then I would get in a 3rd world country. The federal courts have rightly pointed to over-crowding of prisoners as the main cause. And for ten plus years the courts and the state have gone back and forth over the issue of health care and mental health care. The bottom line is men and women are dyeing while the states politicians refuse to act. They are so worried about being made to look soft on crime that they are willing to allow inmates to needlessly die. The blame also goes to the Federal judges for allowing this problem to linger and not forcing the California prisons to actually do something. All that comes out of the federal courts over seeing this issue is talk, talk, talk, and the Schwarzenegger administration just talks and files appeals. In the mean time one inmate dies a completely preventable death every week due to this failure by both sides to act. Right now I’m more insearced at the federal courts. You three old men die being played by the California politicos like violins. You old men sit there an act like Moses handing down order after order from on high. While the California politicos are dancing around a golden California and thumbing their collective noses at you. At this point you judges look like fools! And I say stop! Stop allowing the State of California to continue thumbing their noses at you! The three Judge Panel needs to get on with it and issue a final order detailing the process for parole with a date for the order to be implemented. That’s what I have to say on that – for now. I also want to address the various published reports of 40,000 inmates to be released, that’s only part true. The real number to look at is the cap of 110,000 inmates to be housed in the California state prisons. That means at any one time only 110,000 inmates will be housed in state prisons so first the 40,000 will be released; then the county jails will dump all their convicted felons into the prisons system. As a result the state prisons system must parole more people – to stay at or under the cap, so as I said it not just 40,000 to be paroled it’s the 110,000 cap. Lastly a few blogs ago I wrote about cutbacks to prison rehabilitation programs. Mainly vocational training and education. It’s now becoming a reality. The pink slips are going out to the teachers. See, now that is the way the state cuts the fat. It gets rid of the two programs that have been proven to cut future crime and recidivism. This sends a very clear message the state doesn’t care about your safety. With a 70% recidivism rate in the state of California they are all but ensuring that new crimes – thus new victims – will happen. By cutting two proven rehab programs the state of California is simply throwing its citizens to the wolves. If I were governor and I knew that the feds are going to release 40,000 – 100,000 paroles in the next year (about the regular 90,000 that parole every year anyways) I would mandate re-entry classes for every inmate that might possibly be paroled. I would organize countries and cities to begin halfway houses. In short I would do everything in my power to help all the men and women who are about to be paroled. Because it’s the right thing to do and I would have a sworn duty to protect California’s citizens. Because if the state does as I expect, which is nothing, there is going to be a very messy release, when it comes. So Judges and Lawmakers wake –up this is going to happen – plan for it! To the reader: Thank you for reading this. Please try to do something to help all the new paroles. With Respect, VERITAS

Veritas and Football

2009-09-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the football (pro & college) season is upon us. And in prison, at least in my experience, that’s a big thing. I have run a paper and pencil fantasy football league for two years now. I really enjoy it—and so do the other players. There are five buildings on this yard and each one seems to have a league. Each league has between 8-12 teams. My league has 8 teams. Last year we had two leagues in this building. This year I had a hard time just getting 8. That’s due to a lot of transfers to Soledad State Prison. I am told the North yards of that prison is being turned over to SNY. And the yard I’m on here is being turned into a mental health yard. Good luck with that. The mental health care here, at PVAP, is so lacking as to be non-existent. I mean there is a “Mental Health” office on the yard. It is not staffed. Has a few odd bits of furniture in it. The whole thing is like a store front film prop—looks good from the outside, but nothing behind the door. All that is for another time. Besides we get more use of practical social skills by playing fantasy football. A person has to be responsible and put in a team roster every week. A person (owner of a team) has to interact with other men to do player trades and drops/pick-ups. Also, it gives the guys who are playing something to talk about other than prison stuff or trying to think of things to stop the boredom. Right now we spend more than half our normal program time locked down. Most of the time it’s due to staff shortages—so we are told. As a result, all of us in cells spend lots of time reading, as I do; watching TV, as a lot of guys do. Some work out in the tiny cells. I figured out a way to do crunches off the edge of my bed. They kill my abs! The key to cell/prison living is to stay active. I have a very bad back from a car accident. So if the pain pills I take don’t knock some of the pain out—I just want to lie in bed. That’s what I used to do. Now I force myself to do crunches and squats and of course push-ups. I have found that the prison Medical doesn’t give a shit if I or any other man in here is in pain or dies. So it’s up to each individual con to push medical for what they need. And those poor uneducated cons just suffer because either they don’t know how or aren’t able to file a medical appeal to get proper care. I try to help those guys, there are just so many. It gets so damn depressing. I just have to get my mind off it. So like I said, I read, work out and now a new season of fantasy football. Just anything to keep my mind off the suffering and bullshit that goes on in here. Because I know some men that just won’t leave their cells—except to eat and shower. They each have their own reasons or reason. I know one fellow who says he just can’t stand to be around all the assholes outside his cell. Yep, there are a lot of jerks and assholes in prison, but this is where we are so I say learn to cope with it, because there are assholes outside the prison walls, too—how are you going to deal with them??? Well, at least I talked him into playing fantasy football. Maybe I’ll be a social worker if I get out. I don’t know, I just don’t like to see others suffer. Maybe it’s my way of atoning for the fucked up shit I did to other people. Because I did some bad things and they never leave me. I feel like Marley’s ghost in Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. The business partner who had to wear a bunch of chains and weights around him for eternity. I already wear the mental burdens of my misdeeds. I’ve tried to atone and help others but there’s only so much a person can do in a small cell. That’s one big reason I write this blog. Yes, most of what I write about is how screwed up the prison system is. But, it seems to me that just because a man or woman is in prison it does not mean that the guards can just do what they want. That’s why I also write because there is so much wrong in here it starts to be viewed as right. And it must be told. To the reader, please give me some feedback. I want to know what you think. All for now, With Respect, Veritas

40,000 Inmates Released

2009-08-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’ve not blogged in a few weeks I’ve been under the weather, so to speak. But I’m back and the three judge panel, who is deciding the fate of California prisons, has finally issued its ruling. I only have an article by Howard Mintz (hmintz@mercurynews.com). However, according to the article approximately 40,000 inmates will have to be released. The main thrust of the ruling is putting a cap of 110,000 total inmates in the adult male prison system. What that means is: The aprox 40,000 inmates that have to be cut free must be permanent. This is not a onetime thing. So that means that not only does the prison system have to cut 40,000 inmates it has to continue to do it even with daily intake from all the various county jails and the 70% recidivism rate. From where I sit, and it’s a very small cell, I like the judges, have no faith that the California politicians will come together and solve the prison situation themselves. It will require real reform of parole and parole revocation policies. It will require the Dept of Corrections and Rehabilitation to actually rehabilitate. As of now the CDCR just cut aprox 43% of the educational vocation budget. And it will require a real commitment to restructure California’s sentencing laws. I just don’t see any of the above happening. I have very little faith in the group of politicians who aren’t balance the state budget on time every year! The only thing the state wants to do is appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. So I ask – then what? What will the state do if the appeal fails? Well I suppose that if the states appeal fails then the state will be forced to do what it has been fighting against since 1990. However, in a perverse way the panels cap will help the state with its budget. Here’s how: The stat had already agreed to release 27,000 inmates. Mostly love level offenders and non-violent – they say. The reason for doing this is to cut $1.3 billion from the states corrections budget. Now, the panel wants 40,000 plus inmates released and a cap at 110,000 men in the state prisons. Well according to my very rough accounting the cap will save the state $2.3 -$2.7 billion a year. The state can use that number as a direct state budget savings thus the actual savings will be aprox 4 billion towards the state deficit. Funny how accounting gimmicks make money grow. When money is actually taken away from a budget – Say corrections, and put into the general fund but not spent the actual budget savings is more. It’s like going from -3 to 3, the amount between them is 6 not 3. That’s how a direct general fund cut from an existing budget expense is greater. Why is the state fighting a $5 billion savings? There is only one thing greater than money: That’s power. In this case political power. Since the 1960’s and Nixon’s war on drugs. Prisons populations have steadily risen. The U.S. now has one (1) person out of (32) thirty-two on parole, probation, in jail or in Prison. And has over two (2) million people in its various jails and prisons. Both of those last states are the highest in the world. The politicians, as they have done for thousands of years, played on the peoples fear to get re-elected. Each would be the politician trying to appear toughest on Drugs and crimes then his or her opponent. Over the years this has led to all the draconian laws and sentences that are causing our prisons and jails to now hold more than any other country on earth. And the political handlers, who advise the politicians, always remind them to never be or even appear to be soft on crime. As a result California is willing to make massive cuts to children’s education, and thus ensuring more uneducated or undereducated people who will come to jails and prisons; but Fought for 19 years not to reform the state’s prisons. So they don’t look soft on crime. Even now the mantra “Don’t look soft on crime,” is so pervasive in political circles that the California state politicians are willing to flush the state’s future in order to keep the prisons and jails full. The three judge panel just gave them a free out and a way that they, the politicians, can blame the “Liberal Federal Judges!” Why continue to fight when it’s a win/win for the states politicians. The only reason I can come up with is the states politicians can only hold on to their power by the continuation of selling the “Fear”. Long gone are days when an elected official went to office to serve the peop.es interest and to come up with new solutions to the problem that continue to plague the state. Now a new politician comes to the capital and is told by the others “This is how it’s done, if you want to get re-elected, you have to sell the Fear.” The politicians now know no other way to operate. Fear has worked so well, for so long, it’s hard to change. But if the leaders of the state of California do not take this as a positive opportunity to remake the state prison system and at the same time make strides to balance the budget. Then they are all fools. And the voters who would re-elect fools are bigger fools. Size this moment to restore funding to the children’s schools. Reinvent a prison system whose goal is to produce productive educated men and women. Who will have a chance to make it on parole through a network of half – way houses and a chance to get a job through a state incentive program to hire parolees; also an overhaul of the States sentencing laws and parole revocation policies. These things must be done. California must take the steps away from fear based power to leadership based power. Remember 1 in 32 in the U.S. is on parole, probation, in jail or in prisons. Let’s turn this around- and start in California right now. Until Next Time, Respectfully, VERITAS

US Executions

2009-08-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

A new week a new blog. That’s what I try to do anyway. What’s new: Out of USA Today 7-16-09; in the front page there’s a little graph that shows the USA is 4th in the most executions in 2008—executions of people. It ranks China as 1st with 1,718; Iran 2nd with 346; Saudi Arabia 3rd with 102; USA 4th with 37; and Pakistan 5th with an, oh so close 36—better luck next year Pakistan. Yes, living in a free county like the USA is great! We aren’t anything like those commie Chinese or Evil Iranians. Nope, we put people to death after a fair trial—guilty or not. Here in America we try to only execute the innocent, but if a mistake is made; well, we just sweep it under the rug. No sense the voters getting worked up over a little thin like that. Besides it doesn’t affect them anyway. The guy was guilty of something? Right??? Several blogs ago I wrote about how a man in Texas was executed and then it was proven he was innocent. I only ever saw—read—one article about that. Why is that? Where the hell is the free press. The so called fourth estate. Maybe it’s because my life is so free from the constant barrage of the media. That I’m able to see things clearly. From where I sit there is something wrong with the use of the death penalty in America. But I’m more surprised by the silence coming from the media on this. And that worries me more. In Irving L. Janis 1982 work Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Janis points out symptoms of Groupthink. I believe that the media in America has fallen into several of the groupthink consequences. Self-censorship. With this consequence self criticism is muted in the group (newsroom). Because of norms of consensus as it is impolitic to alienate colleagues. The days of Lou Grant are over in other words. Now it’s the going along to get along; where dissidents and miscreants tend to suppress their disagreements with the dominant view. In big corporate media it’s no longer about the “Big Scoop”, it’s about the bottom line. So almost all news outlets report the same homogenized stories. Some knowingly or not get into bed with the various government agencies—police, fire, military and form groupthink bonds with them and actually begin to spew propaganda on behalf of the agency that is supposed to be covered impartially. That is another groupthink consequence—belief in the inherent morality of the group. If a reporter is embedded with a military unit at war, and that unit does something wrong (real war crime) there is going to be a lot of psychological pressure on and within the reporter not to report the wrongdoing. The reporter will see the unit as his or her group so both the self-censorship and inherent morality of the group will exert overwhelming force on the mind of the reporter. That persons whole world view is tied up with our side being the good guys. And another consequence of groupthink is stereotypes of out groups. We—the USA or the police are the good guys—are right! The others—terrorists, gangs, commies or whatever are wrong. Corporate media doesn’t want the folks back home to think the we, (our group), maybe are wrong. So they too apply pressure on the reporter. So that truth probably will never come out. I see it all over the news. Reporters reading a police press release as if its real news. Where are you truth when we need you the most? So, Texas put an innocent man to death—so what ? The media is too interested in where the first dog des his doo-doo or what the first lady’s new shoes look like. Not news; not real news. Corporate news made to perpetuate the illusion of a free America and a us—them paradigm. So a man in Texas was put to death—so what? Did you see the latest movie by so and so? Please if you are reading this WAKE UP! It might be you next. With Respect, Veritas5509 Thank you to the Independent Review and Charlotta Stein and D.B. Klein

Calif Budget

2009-07-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Calif Budget – It’s finally done! Well sort of anyway. As a prisoner in a California state prison the yearly state budget “crisis” is of some importance, this year the prisons took a direct hit, $1.3 billion and the supposed release of 20,000 – 27,000 low level non-violent offenders – early. Too bad it’s just another illusion. Here’s how it will play out. 20,000 men and women prisoners will be released early. That will save about $1 billion. However; very shortly after getting rid of those prisoners (about 70% of which will be returned doe to parole violations) the various county jails will begin sending the convicted Felons, they have been holding, to the state prison receptions centers. The reception centers, in turn, will send inmates to other state prisons that now have room (due to the aprox 20,000 just released prisoners) – Thus in reality no money will be saved, except for the short time it takes the county jails to dump their felons on the state. It’s all an illusion. The only way to cut costs is to cut the amount of time a person spends in state prison. The easiest way is to cut sentence time from 85% to 50%. Other ways involve going in and changing the actual sentencing guidelines. The state of California is so far from any reasonable sentencing. I know a man who is doing 575 years – ya, that’s his actual sentence. That’s crazy! Come on, the state needs to be much more realistic in how its men and women are sentenced. This state needs leadership not petty politics. But that’s what we got. Politicians who get elected by selling the fear. Not all politicians do this but most stir up the electorate with tails of gangs running wild and a child molester behind every bush. They just sell the fear. That then translates into real laws that end up giving a person 575 years in prison. Train the prisoners in technical areas that will enable them to find meaningful employment upon release. What areas I’m talking about are – Green jobs – wind, solar, geo – thermal. Also Power lines and transmition grid education. Allow inmates to have computers so they are familiar with how to operate them. I know a few men in here who have been down over 30 years and have never operated a computer. How are they going to integrate into society? There also needs to be a real reform with the parole system. As I wrote before about 70% of all the early releases will be back in state prison within 3 years. Most will be back not because they committed a crime; no, most will be back for some violations of parole. Here are just a few examples of some common parole conditions. The violation of which will land a parolee back in state prison. The vast majority of parole officers have a “0” (zero) tolerance policy. Some examples are: 1) Any contact with law enforcement (this could be as simple as calling them and having them come over if your house gets burglarized) 2) Having any knife over 2” in length – you can have the knife in the kitchen if it is over 2” but not on the coffee table or garage etc. .. 3) Leaving the country you are paroled to. 4) Missing an appointment with a psychologist. 5) Not getting a job. 6) Not having a place to live. (this means a legal residence – such as a house or apt) 7) Moving from your legal residence and not telling the parole officer, And the list goes on… So how is a convicted felon with $200.00 gate money and no rehabilitative training supposed to get a job – in this economy – and get a place to live - $200 won’t cover 1st & last month’s rent. So as I said it’s just a political budgetary illusion. The early release of un-prepared men and women from the various state prisons will do nothing to save money. The whole thing shows a complete lack of leadership from the elected officials who when running for office say that they are going to “clean things up” and “stop the grid-lock”. I call on the elected “Leaders” of the state of California to do right by all the citizens of this wonderful state and stop the one time gimmicks – like the early release of 20,000 to 27,000 inmates who are sure to be back because the prison system is not doing anything to train or prepare these people for the world beyond the walls. Over the last several months I’ve written my blogs and I talk all the time about education and training. It must seem like I’m a broken record. Well maybe this is what it will take for the taxpayers in the state of California to wake up and realize – you are not getting any return on you considerable yearly investment. With a 70% return rate my god why aren’t the tax payers marching on Sacramento. Things can be done much better; all it takes it’s the will to change. With Respect, VERITAS

Prison Health Care

2009-07-09T14:29:00.001-07:00

Prisons- This blog is going to cover some things I wrote about last time---the RAND Corp. report on prison parolees. Also, I’m going to comment on the ongoing three judge panel and the pending federal takeover of the California State Prisons. First, the Rand Corp report. I was reading the Oakland Tribune on 6-30-09, in the Op-Ed section was a letter to the editor by Keith Barton of Oakland. He was commenting on the problems that parolees face with regard to health care when they are out there. His idea is to bring community based care directly into the jails. That would increase the likelihood of former inmates to keep follow-up appointments upon release. That is a great idea for the County Jails, but what about the State prisons? With high rates of Hep-C and TB the average parolee needs medical care urgently upon release. And it falls to the tax payers to pick up the tab. So it makes sense to have as much preventative medicine inside the prison walls as possible. That way there are less parolees who will need urgent medical care in higher cost settings. Let’s face it, the state has done as little as possible with regard to the health care (physical and mental) of prisoners. And that is missing an opportunity to treat serious medical and mental health conditions in a controlled setting and at a fixed cost. If done correctly the health care costs should be lower per capita of similar groups treated in non-controlled settings by various private, county and state health care providers. Yet, the State of California thinks it’s cheaper to not treat prisoners in prison and release them to get more expensive care outside. Paid for by the same people—The California Tax Payer. It is as I wrote last time, the whole prison system is an illusion. I say it is an illusion because as with not rehabilitating (Education and job training) prisoners. The State, by not providing proper health care simply shifts the cost burden from the Dept. of Corrections and (HaHa) Rehabilitation to the City, County and Federal health care budgets. So it’s still the tax payer who is on the hook. Just it now costs more. For example, a prisoner has Hepatitis C and the prison Health Care knows about it but does nothing to treat it. It is still in the prisoners system when he or she paroles. Now, you have added the cost of treating the Hep-C in a community setting and the danger of new transmission. The whole disease could have been reduced if it was correctly treated by prison medical staff. But this is not happening. So the cost just gets shifted to the city or county health program but the net result is it’s the tax payer who pays. The point is—it is easier to treat a prisoner in prison then it is after they are paroled. The danger of new transmission will be less and costs can be managed more effectively. However, that’s why the federal courts have and to come in to the State of California Dept. of Corrections and …take over health care, mental health care and treatment of disabled prisoners (Blind, wheelchair bound, hearing impaired…) The Dept. just did not want to treat anyone who was behind the walls. After ten years of wrangling, the state is now saying, “sorry, but we’re broke so we can’t do any improvements to health care, etc…” The only recourse the three judge panel has is to reduce the prison population. So into the perfect storm comes the uneducated untrained, un-medically treated parolees. What choice has the state left to the judges? The State and the Dept. of Corrections have fought each and every attempt to correct problems with the various prison medical and mental health systems. I have watched men die due to lack of medical care. I just watched a man go deaf in one ear due to a simple infection in a back tooth that went untreated. The panel has no other recourse but to cut inmate time and do a slow but accelerated inmate release; and a complete shutdown of the parole system except for sex offenders and active gang members. This is, in my view the only fix available to the panel in times with limited money in the state treasury and an unwillingness by state officials to make the needed changes. The three judge panel needs to act sooner rather than later. I’m just sick of watching men suffer both mentally and physically for now reason other than the state and the Dept. of Corrections complete indifference to the medical and mental health needs of prisoners in their care. I hope my message is filtering out. Please remember the failure of the State of California prison system to care for and rehabilitate the men and women on the whole of society. What happens in these walls will also happen outside these walls. Please push for reform and a quick end to the prison health care problem. With Respect, Veritas

Education for Prisoners

2009-07-02T14:43:00.001-07:00

I came across an interesting article in the Oakland paper. On 6-11-09, in an article by Josh Richman, he cites a RAND corp study that tracked parolees and what kinds of services they get when they are paroled. The RAND report (which was done for the California Dept. of Corrections and (HaHa) Rehabilitation) found: Approx. 2/3ds of California inmates reported having a drug abuse or drug dependence problem, yet only 22 % reported that they received any treatment while in prison. Also, about 50% reported having a mental health problem, yet only about half of them received any care while in prison. To add to all this, our esteemed leader Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to cut all in prison substance abuse treatment. No amount of projected savings was mentioned but I really don’t think it will be a drop toward filling the $24 Billion sink hole this state is in, with regard to its budget. It’s bad in here already. I’ve watched men parole from prison just to come right back. Revolving door is true: Because there is absolutely NO effort to help any prisoner not to come back. The whole system is a JOKE. Unfortunately, the Joke is on the California Tax Payer. YOU—the tax payer are getting no return on your investment when it comes to state prisons. Don’t we all want men and women not to commit more crimes when they get out of state prison? Of course we all want that so why isn’t it? It’s because the prison system is not designed to help our fellow citizens: It’s designed to ensure they keep coming back. Think about that. The state of California is willing to parole completely unprepared men and women knowing full well that about 70% will return to prison. The state is knowingly putting you, the reader, and your friends and your family at risk because they, the state and prison system, fail to even attempt to rehabilitate a captive group of people who want nothing more than to never come back to prison. I’ve read about various European prison systems and the crime rates and how those countries deal with their prisoners. The differences are stark. Which I put a lot of thought into why our prisons cannot achieve the levels of success that the other western democracies achieve. I think we, as Americans, are not being educated at the same level as the other countries are. We are allowing a government to educate our youth and when the government does a crappy job, as too often happens in poor and minority neighborhoods, the kids or failed adults are simply locked up in jails and prisons. The whole cycle of bad education and worse treatment in prison of course is going to produce a person who is prone to crime as a way to survive. The difference between the US and Europe is when a youth or adult is sent to prison-Generally—that person is given serious attention to whatever problems that person may have. The goal is to return a youth or person back to society that can function. The education plus job skills learned will give that person an excellent chance to rejoin society. In California I’ve not seen a serious attempt to rehabilitate a prisoner in the 12 years I’ve been in various prisons. One example: A person got his GED (high school equivalency). He was so proud. Then about a week later he came to me to help him figure out how much he had spent on the months canteen purchase—I had to add up the items for him! And he just got a GED! What’s wrong with this picture? Do you, the reader, believe that the person I just wrote about is going to succeed when he is paroled? I don’t and I like the young man, but he has very little chance of NOT coming back. All of this is a rip off on the tax payer. NO ONE is safer. It’s a great big illusion. You, the tax payer are told, “Lock ‘Em Up” and “Tough On Crime” And yeah, that’s great but now what? There are about 170,000 men in California State Prisons and about 95% are going to get out. Yes, out on the streets and just think, the majority have no marketable job skills; about 75% have drug problems. About half have a mental health problem—That’s the man or woman sitting next to you at the intersection. Do we Californians want this to keep going? I don’t. I want real education reform not just in the prisons but at the local school level. That might keep a few poor and minority men and women from ever coming to prison. What is also needed are half-way houses. Right now there is no way to slowly and under controlled conditions get a prisoner used to free society. Think about it: A man has been in prison for 20 years, that’s before cell phones, how well will his adjustment go? It will be like stepping in a time machine and going twenty years in the future. We in this state need a way to slowly introduce men and women back into society. The Federal Prison System does it-Why aren’t we? These few ideas in this blog are just the tip of a huge political and bureaucratic organization with all the turf wars, egos and agendas that make change a near impossible task. However, change has to take place simply because the cost of the California Prison System is unsustainable—currently $10 billion plus budget and the recidivism rate twice what the next state is. This clearly shows a need for improved, in prison rehabilitation programs. The Tax Payer should Demand it! Long sentences are NOT the solution. I know my suffering will never leave me, in prison or out. All that is being done is spending $40,000 a year to torture me. You don’t need to torture me I do a good enough job on myself, Please turn to education and rehabilitation. I believe they are the keys to saving the lives of millions of men and women, and, it will stop turning petty criminals into big time gangsters. Until Next Time, Peace. Veritas

Prisons and the California Budget

2009-06-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Prisons and the California Budget…. For weeks I’ve danced around the white elephant in the room; namely California’s Budget. I really should say lack of budget. No one issue or problem has brought this budget to the point of collapse. The budget problems are many and tangled. I’m only going to focus on the prisons and how they relate to the budget. Currently there are 34 men’s prisons in the state; several women’s prisons and I don’t know how many youth authority facilities. The budget for 2009 was approx $10 Billion. The average cost for a male inmate per year is $48,000 per year. The prison where I’m housed is supposed to house about 2100 male inmates. It averages over 5000. This same prisons budget for fiscal year 08-09 was approximately $200 million so the cost to house me is around $40,000 for fiscal year 08-09. (the figures for the $200 million and amount of inmates at PVSP came out of the Fresno County Grand Jury’s 08-09 PVSP report). The cost (actually) per inmate varies due to the type of housing, e.g.: cell or dormitory, dormitory being presumably less expensive. Also, age, medical needs, mental health needs and other special problems an inmate may have. This prison produces almost nothing to offset its costs. What I mean is: There is no farm or factory, etc. For the most part the inmates just go to school or vocational training-if both aren’t taken. (read my last blog). The rest of us deal with the overcrowding and cell time as each in his own way can, or cannot as is the case so many times. So, as the reader can see, the California tax payer is getting no “bang” for their buck. Sure, some men who committed crimes are locked up, who otherwise would be out there committing more crime. But, as I keep writing, 95% of all men and women sent to prison get out-then what? I say prisons should only be the last resort not the dumping grounds they have become. In the 5/28/09 USA Today, in an article by Donna Leinwand, she states: Half of all men arrested test positive for drugs. HALF! Why aren’t there more drug programs? I think for $40,000 a year, per person, it would be a very lucrative business to run. The state prisons have almost no drug programs. And why send a person to prison to get treatment. I’m quite sure a lockdown rehab would cost less than $40,000 per year. No return on the investment that is the problem. A man coming into prison does 2 or 3 years, gets out with minimal drug treatment or any real opportunity to receive some job training or education. The taxpayers aren’t any safer. The guy who just paroled with $200 from the state in his pocket, with no place to go because he lost everything when he was arrested- what do you think he is going to do to live? What jobs are there available to a felon-in this economy? No, the answer is not to keep the guy until things are better. The answer is not to send the man to prison in the first place. Yes, it sounds crazy but a sentence of 1-4 years is a waste. This is my opinion after observing and interacting with men in prison for almost 12 years. I believe the tax payer would be better served by sending drug users to lock-down rehab. Send people with mental health issues to facilities (lock down) to deal with whatever issues each may have. If we can divert the low level drug users and those with mental health problems from coming into the prison system I believe we will save billions of dollars and make our state safer. The money would be saved by not having to spend $40,000 a year to have a young man sit in a cell and get hardened at society. I’ve seen too many young men just change for the worse. I know when they get out they are going to commit more crimes. But, if society can try to correct the problem before it grows, maybe we can save some money and save some lives. Lastly I want to say that the voters of California got what they deserve. NO leadership out of the governor’s office or the legislature. Schwarzenegger is all about doing nothing. He’s more willing to cut health care to children than to let one inmate out one day early. He’s so afraid of the “Willie Horton” effect (that’s if someone gets out and reoffends in a horrific newsworthy way) that he, and for that matter the state house and senate, would cut anything else other than prisons. So, it’s up to the federal judges, on the 3 judge panel, to release California inmates. (This is so medical and mental health care comply with an agreement the state made in 2002) So, if an early release inmate makes the mews you can rest assured there will be Arnold blaming the “Liberal Activist Judges” and running on a tough on crime platform for US Senate. The only leadership in America in the last 30 years-if not 50 years- has come from the federal bench. Maybe we should just let the federal judges run the country. The politicians had their chance and look where we are. I just hope prison goes back to what it once was-the last resort. We as a people should spend on Education, Health Care and Care for our Elderly- NOT money pit prisons. With Respect, Veritas

CA Prisoners Need Education

2009-06-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, the CA Dept. Of Corrections is up to the old fear tactics; or should I say the Governor is. The rumor is that the State of California, in order to save money, is going to do away with vocational training and all pre-GED education at all the state’s prisons. I don’t know how much this will allegedly save the State, but I’m reasonably sure that the savings will be offset by increased parole violations and more crime in general. For those who have never been to, or in a prison in California; all that is available are make work jobs (sweeping, cleaning) and vocational and educational training. Some prisons do provide jobs in sewing and other manufacturing, BUT, every study I’ve ever read on offender recidivism shows a direct link to education. The more education/vocational training an inmate receives, the less likely he or she is to reoffend or violate parole. So why would the California Government take the one thing proven to reduce crime? I think it’s all about politics and re-election. The California politicians are willing to subject the free people of the state to increased crime rates simply for their own political reasons. I’ve written in several past blogs about how important education is in the rehabilitation process. However, if education is taken from state prisons it will be a de facto termination of any attempt at rehabilitation in California State prisons. All that leaves for a reason to have prisons is punishment. So I ask, punishment, to what end? What’s the good outcome of spending $10 billion plus, just to get a pound of flesh? I know of no modern society that calls itself a free republic that only locks its citizens up to “punish“ them. Can I then ask-what will that person be able to do when he/she is paroled? After spending 7,8 or more years subjected to mind numbing punishment. What will that person be like? Would you want that person living next door to you and your family? The answer is “NO”. Then why is the state going to allow this to happen??? A friend of mine, in here, got his GED while in prison and was (is) so proud of himself. They had a cap and gown graduation and everything. It’s a big deal to the 10,000 plus prisoners who go every day to stark sterile rooms and teach themselves what they need to know. I don’t want to get into the quality level of the teachers but as with the medical staff and staff in general-only a desperate or marginal person would want to work in a prison. Enough said on that (for now). Even with the low quality of staff and the by rote (like a child) learning, 1,000’s of men and women get their GED’s in state prisons. I can tell you their self esteem goes up. They feel so much better. I’ve noticed they act better. What I mean is the chip on the shoulder goes away. It seems to be replaced with a respect for others that comes from a sense of accomplishment. I have family outside that I dearly love and I’ve seen some of the jokers that parole and I say a prayer that nothing bad happens to my family. I just can imagine letting prisoners out with no attempt at rehabilitation. It’s just going to make it worse in here-all the idle inmates- and make it worse out there, like increased crime rates. If you read this and agree please contact the Governor’s office and the other members of the state legislature and tell them to keep the GED and vocational classes in state prison. In closing, there must be a discussion on what is the purpose of our state prison system. With 95% of all men and women who get sent to prison eventually getting out, there needs to be more thought put into the treatment of the men and women in our state prisons. Please comment…I’d like to get your feedback. With Respect, Veritas

2009-05-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Politics-Tomorrow is Memorial Day, in the USA. As an honorably discharged Veteran I look back at my time riding subs in the Navy with Pride. I really do love what this country stands for: Freedom, Liberty; and if you work hard you will be rewarded. That’s why I gave up over six months of my life to protect it. It’s been over 20 years since I was in the Navy and things have changed-I’ve changed. The core values of American thought have not changed. What has happened is simply that what I might define as freedom, is not what Bush or Chaney would say is freedom. Words like Freedom; Liberty, free to own a gun- those are spoken and each listener hears it and self-defines its meaning. It’s only when we discuss what “Freedom” means, do we find a wide array of different opinions. I believe that we Americans need to tell our elected leaders what we believe “Freedom” to be and not to have them dictate to us what our freedom will be. I don’t think that it is legitimate for our elected leaders to go on and on about how free we Americans are when our country has the highest incarceration rate and more prisoners than any other country in the world. This stat comes from www.pewcenteroneestates.org. How can anyone call mass imprisonment of our children; Mom’s, Dad’s, Veterans, Freedom? How can we call ourselves a free society when we have to lock up such a large part of our population? When western European Countries have the same level of freedom as we in America do, yet the amount of prisoners per set group of population is 10th what it is in America. Why? The rate of imprisonment in the US is 738 per 100,000 residents. Compare that to Frances 88 per 100,000 residents; or Japan’s 62 per 100,000—It’s an outrage to say that America is the land of the free. This is not what I fought to protect when I was not in the U.S. Navy. [this above information can be found at www.crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf] I don’t fault the average American. Hell, when I was “free” I really couldn’t give a damn who or how many were in prison. I figured “well, if a person’s in prison they must have done something”. Maybe that was 100% or 90% true at one time. But with DNA being used to prove over 300 people innocent—and that’s just death row cases with usable DNA. I see the injustice being handed out for the sake of expedience. The politics of the “war on crime” and the “war on drugs”, have become a means to manage and contain our poor and mentally ill. With the police using more and more paramilitary tactics and becoming more hostile toward the target classes—poor, Latino, homeless, mentally ill, drug users and blacks. America is truly becoming a country of haves and locked-ups. Social Darwinism at it’s best. Or should I say at its most perverted. As this and every other day passes and you-the person reading this-are free, count yourself blessed. I was, I was blessed, but I got caught up in drugs and was running from a mental illness. Things got bad and there was nowhere to turn to get help. All the beds were full at the inn—so to speak. And as happens much too often in America, I ended up in the criminal justice system—they always have a bed. So maybe while counting your blessings, reflect on why there are so few mental health facilities and so few drug rehab beds. Why Americans are being turned away from that type of help, where as the jail and prison always have a bed. I believe that we need, as a society, to move away from mass incarceration and move to a public health response to drug abuse and mental illness. Please, I’m asking you the reader to look further into this and form your own conclusion. If you think I’m wrong—let me know. Let me know specifically. In closing I want to express my solidarity with all the men and women in the US Armed forces. Whatever your faith or non-faith, I’m with you in my thoughts. Be safe and come back. With Respect, Veritas I wish to let the reader know that some of the information in this blog came from a paper by Jason Mallory. State University of New York at Binghamton. Thank you Mr. Mallory.

2009-05-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Prisons: Well according to USA Today, April 30, 2009, the California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation wasted $580,000 it never used in San Diego. I’m not surprised at all; I watch the Dept. of C7R in this prison waste money every single day. Hell, I watch staff steal the good state supplied ice cream we sometimes get for dessert. Because of that, some of the last to get fed that night just get jello. But $580,000 for wasted unused office space. Think of all the re-entry and substance abuse programs that money could have been used for. Better yet, that money could have been used as an incentive to pay inmates money-upon parole- to get their GED or VOC training. That money could have been used to pay for college books for inmates who wish to go to college…I could go on but what’s the point? The CDCR is only a warehouse for the drug addicted, mentally ill and poor. So in the eyes of the CDCR, wasting the money on unused office space is just as good as wasting it on the prisoners who don’t deserve anything. Prisons: I read a part of the US Justice Department Interrogation techniques approved in 2002. I noted that one of the techniques is the “Attention Grasp”. It says: Grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion.” Well, I don’t know about controlled, but if this is now torture, hell, this has been going on in California State Prisons since I’ve been in the system since 2000. Getting grabbed by the shirt by staff is common. So is the “Facial Grasp”; “Insult Slap”; “Cramped Confinement”; and “Sleep Deprivation”. For Example: I was taken to an outside medical clinic for a test. I was handcuffed. Then a plastic black box was secured between my wrists and locked to another chain that went around my waist. My ankles were also secured with a cuff on each and a chain between them. This is a new way they transport. The effect of the black box is to completely restrict any hand and arm motion. We, there were several of us, were then put in a 6’ long X 4 ‘ high sealed steel cage inside a normal van. Due to my inability to move my hands and arms, I could not put my seat belt on. The cage was shut and double locked. Then the back doors of the van were shut and locked. There are two bench seats to sit on. WOW, now I did eight ballistic missile patrols on board U.S. submarines (1980-1986 SSBN 630 Gold, SSBN 627 Gold) so I’m okay in close spaces-but what the hell, I almost lost it. This was a (8) hour round trip. The correctional officers who drove stopped for half an hour to eat breakfast, and on the way back they stopped for 40 minutes to eat lunch. The whole time I simply got freaked out because I could not move my hands. I had to ask one of the other inmates to itch my nose! And every turn we took I went tumbling and there was nothing to hold on to. I knew if we got in a crash I was done for, there were no air bags or cushioning in that cage to stop my impact. A fire would have been “all she wrote”. There is no way that if that van caught on fire, that those “brave” correctional officers could unlock three locks, get the doors open and get me and the other inmates out. No, I had to keep the fiery crash scenario out of my mind. My swelling wrists and the small amount of blood now coming from where the cuff, on my tight wrist, was cutting into my now quickly swelling flesh was keeping my mind occupied. But having my hands pinned and so immobile was rapidly causing me to freak OUT! I took several deep breaths and started talking to the others about anything and everything just to keep my mind off the situation I was in. Of course I, we, made it back to the prison- an 8 hour round trip of torture. As I read the interrogation techniques from the justice dept. I noted in the section detailing “Cramped Confinement” “…lasts for no more than two hours.” Well, mister CIA or NSA or whatever agency who wishes to interrogate someone… Just bring them to any California State Prison and have them taken out for “medical” to an outside clinic”. I think that your suspect will sing like a bird when the c/o’s bring him/her back. Because I’ll tell you something-I had a Top Secret Clearance in the U.S. Navy and I would have told them everything—Now that is TORTURE! And we allow it every single day to be done to our fellow Americans. What kind of people are we? Please Wake UP! With Respect, Veritas

Prisons and Politics 5-7-09

2009-05-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Prisons and Politics 5-7-09 “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will continue ‘till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” ---Fredrick Douglass Aug. 3, 1857--- I open with Mr. Douglass’ quote because I see that this “…quietly submit…” is happening here in the U.S. We are allowing the budgets for education systems across America to be cut and slashed to the bone. While the States and Federal government increase prison budgets. Shouldn’t this be the other way around? I was just reading in the paper how violent crime was falling across the U.S. Since it’s always the “violent” offenders that “society” wants locked up and violent crime is going down, why are prison budgets going up? It costs the taxpayers of the State of California over $10 billion a year to run its prison system. That’s more than all the state funded higher education in California combined! How long will we quietyly submit while our government condems another generation of poor uneducated men and women to a life in jails and prisons. Come on, WAKE UP! We can’t be a free society with the most per capita incarceration rate of any other democratic country. Is this what we, Americans, want? I don’t think we do, I know I don’t; but then I can be accused of having an agenda. This is our kids we are flushing down the no education sewer. How long are we going to keep doing this? It seems as Herbert Spencer’s famous “Survival of the Fittest” has become the mantra of America. The only problem with that is not a level field and it can be sustained. We can’t keep cranking out educational failures-it’s just not moral. We the People need to hold our political officials accountable for each and every child that can’t read or can’t write. How are we going to build things in this country when our labor force can’t read a blue print? The focus of our state should be: 1) Violent Criminals in prison-with rehabilitation; 2) non-violent criminals in mental health treatment, drug treatment, vocational training or whatever is needed to keep them out of prison; 3) But above all do not sacrifice the children for the sins of their parents. Educate the Children. Please Support Education NOT Incarceration, With Respect, Veritas5509

Prison/Criminal Justice

2009-05-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Prisons: I have several rants for this blog. I’ll start with some prison related items. First, I would like to applaud the Colorado state house for passing a bill, last week, to abolish the use of the death penalty in that state. The bill only passed by one vote-but one is enough. Now it, the bill, will go to the state senate. I hope they pass the bill as well, and then the Colorado Governor signs it into law. It has been a “Crime” how the death penalty has been used in the United States. Since 1989 there have been 235 post-conviction DNA exoneration's-most from death rows. That means a jury found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the man or woman committed the charged crime. Then went on and found again in another hearing that the convicted person should be put to death. How broken can we be? To have a system that can make such a grievous mistake to put an innocent person on death row. Again I ask, where is the outrage! Oh, I get it; people only get outraged if it affects them directly. Well people, it does. Because if so many people are found to be innocent-post conviction, and these are just the DNA cases that is, cases where DNA was left at the crime scene. And the jury system convicted them- then I ask how many other innocent men and women are rotting away in our prisons and jails? I would like to see real reform done with regard to the criminal justice system, before the next innocent person charged with a crime is you. Criminal Justice: Reforming the system. Here are a few ideas I have. First, do away with plea bargaining. I know firsthand that most criminal cases are disposed with through the use of plea bargaining. I also know that lot’s of the pleas are made by scared innocent people. Yes, I hear you, “But Veritas, why would an innocent person say they are guilty?” The reasons agree as countless as the stars in the sky. Most of my direct experience is that the person is just worn down by the system or scared that they might actually get more time, if they go to trial, because of a past record. I spent years in county jail and talked to countless men who just wanted the “thing” to be over with. They knew if they just plead guilty then they could go home-time served, or get on to state prison. You see as bad as state prison is-county jail is worse. That brings me to my next idea for reforming the criminal justice system: Set reasonable bail. I know that’s what’s supposed to happen. But that’s not what goes on. The county jails are bursting at the seams because of pre-trial detainees. The pre-trial people are not convicted of any crime, not at that point. They just simply can’t make bail, or in some cases are held on No Bail. No bail is for people with parole holds or accused of very serious crimes. But our constitution gives us, Americans, and those arrested on our soil the right to reasonable bail. Over the years that’s been watered down. The reason for it being put in the constitution was the British and Ol’ King George had a nasty habit of just arresting people and holding them for as long as the British wanted without a trial and never set a bail. Gee, that sounds like another George??? Anyway, the issue of bail should be revisited. It sucks to be poor or lower middle class and get charged with a crime in America. You will just wait and wait because you or your family can’t afford bail or the 7-10% for the bondsman. So, as I wrote earlier, you break down and take the plea just to get home so you don’t lose your house or job or both. Jail ain’t no fun and a lot of people will do just about anything to get out. So, another innocent person takes a plea. Our criminal justice system is broken, it’s so obvious. With 235 Post conviction DNA exoneration's. And these people went to trial. Pleas wake up! It could be you next. Thank you for reading this blog. With respect, Veritas5509

Prisons

2009-04-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Prisons: I read the California Gov’s wife is trying to follow the First Lady’s example and plant a garden at the state capital. That’s good and I applaud both efforts. I would submit that allowing prisoners to have gardens or even a tomato plant in their cell would also be a step forward. Contrary to what the movies show and what people may think, prisons in California rarely grow their own food. Oh, other is one dairy and a chicken farm, but that’s only two prisons out of 34! Most of the time we spend locked up in our tiny cells. Do you know that inmates don’t even cut the grass on the prison yard? Yup, a big rider mower comes in and does it. That’s crazy! Here is all this “Free” labor just sitting, or laying, around and it’s not being used. The problem is the staff is so conditioned to having us locked down that they don’t ever want us to be out. I watched a CO (correctional officer) sit at the buildings central podium, while we were locked down, and read a magazine-for over an hour. And that CO is making about $60-$80K per year! Look, it’s just all too common for California inmates to be locked down for even the slightest reason. And due to the 180% overcrowding there are very few jobs. So most inmates just do nothing. That’s why simply letting some inmates out of their cells to tend gardens would be a very positive thing. Yes, this is my opinion and it has not been empirically tested but the way I see it, learning how to live when free can’t be learned living in a cage. That cage needs to be opened so the prisoners can learn how to build things and to develop socially. It’s just so easy to sit in my cell and start hating. After a very short time of only having my cellie to talk to, I can get very hate filled. But I try to channel those thoughts into positive and productive things. Can you picture a 20 year old gang member with little or no education being locked up with nothing to do. Can people really believe that young man or woman will be better off when he/she paroles? Common sense would tell any rational person that NO! of course that young person is going to be much more fucked up. That’s why there are so many parole violations-well, that’s one of the reasons. I’ll go into parole later. Give the prisoner a chance to self-rehabilitate. Allow gardens and more books. One very positive thing is the joint college program going on. An inmate can earn an AA degree, but they have to buy all the books. It’s a step in the right direction. So to Gov. Schwarzenegger and his wife, I say: Why don’t you come and plant some gardens in the prisons. You never know how those seeds will grow and maybe, just maybe, some very positive things may sprout. Politics- As most of America has, I just sat back stunned at the losses in the banks and brokerages. I’m not an economist so I had no idea what happened or what was the right course for the fed gov’t to take. As we all have now learned, TARP was and is a fucking disaster. With no real oversight it was a free for all at taxpayer expense. And as far as I can see, nothing happened. Toxic assets removed and credit would not budge. Now with the new bailout, the market seems to like it and there appears to be more credit. So my question is, did the market self correct or has the TARP and stimulus plan corrected the markets? Did TARP & President Obama’s stimulus quicken the correction? I don’t know. And I have a feeling that no one else really knows. Just a thought. Veritas 5509

2009-04-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Prisons-I was reading in the 4-6-09 USA Today in the section with blurbs on each state and I was reading about Vermont and how their corrections dept. has come up with a new rules on the use of “Nutraloaf” for misbehaving prisoners. What Nutraloaf is, is a tasteless blob. In LA county jail, it’s known as a Juteball. It’s a bunch of vegetables, grains and other stuff all blended together, then pressed together to form a food blob-that I wouldn’t give to a dog. I knew that this goes on in various jails and prisons but what shocked me is-it’s Vermont. Yes, the same Vermont hat made same sex marriage law. The same Vermont that has a socialist for a US Senator. I have always looked to Vermont for good progressive values and governance. How shocked I am to know that Vermont allows its corrections dept. to use food as a punishment. If prisoners are “misbehaving”, there are a whole range of sanctions that prison staff can use. I would first ask: Why is the prisoner acting out? Is it a mental health issue? What has made the inmate change his/her behavior? In my experience when an inmate is to the point where prison staff need to mess with the food, the inmate is already in a segregated housing. That means that the inmate more than likely is spending 24 hours a day in a small cell, with very little in there. I’ve been in segregated housing and it’s hard to even get a book. It took a week to get a stamped envelope. It’s a prison within a prison. So, in Vermont they put a man or woman in a cell with nothing. Then to their surprise, that person acts out. Are you kidding me! It would be abnormal not to freak out. Does the corrections staff in Vermont believe that treating a human being like an animal is a legitimate use of the states power? Come on, what happened to that progressive spirit? I call on the political leaders in Vermont to do away with the use of Nutraloaf. Criminal Justice- Also in USA Today on 4-6-09, there was a pro/con op ed piece about crime labs. The jist is maybe, just maybe the State of Texas executed an innocent man. This was due to faulty crime lab evidence. Well that’s just not good enough. My god and innocent man was put to death. I’m outraged. Although I’m not surprised. I’m surprised that the state of Texas hive a half admission to the possibility that an innocent man was put to death. So why isn’t there a bigger out cry about this? Where’s the news networks. I’ll tell you why, I believe, no one wants to admit that the criminal justice system is broken. Not even the media. Hell, that’s where their best stories come from. A rational person would also question the actions of the federal prosecutors in the former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens case. The new AG (Attorney General) threw the case out due to the corruption on the feds side. Where is the outrage? An innocent man was killed in the name of justice-in our name. The Peoples. We are all guilty. The government is just doing what it wants and saying “It’s the will of the people”. Bullshit! Killing innocent people and cheating in federal legal proceedings. That’s not America. We need to demand a complete overhaul of the way the American Criminal Justice System does business. Because that’s what it has become, just a business. The blind justice and compassion is gone for the sake of expedience. I’ve seen firsthand how the “justice” system can destroy lives. When I was a kid I remember uncle of mine telling me that “Better 100 guilty men go free than one innocent man be punished”. I don’t know where he got it, but it’s a known saying- and it’s true by my understanding of how a justice system works: Better 100 innocent men gt punished, less one guilty man go free. Please demand better of the judges; Prosecutors; defense lawyers, lawmakers. OR, you may end up in a situation where you are innocent but the whole weight of the state is out to prove you guilty. Like something out of a Kafka story. Wake up. With Respect, Veritas 5509

2009-04-22T13:42:00.001-07:00

Prison- I’ve been watching and reading about all the print newspapers going into bankruptcy (The Tribune Corp) and newspapers that are just shutting down. Rocky Mountain News, Seattle Post-Int, et al. As a prisoner we get the bulk of our news via the printed media. In California we get local channels on the TV, so there is some news from there. We do not get cable or any internet. My point is what would happen if a few more big newspapers-SF Chronicle is operating at a $50 million loss and the NY Times won’t pay a dividend again this quarter-shut down? How would we, prisoners, get out news and information? I submit that technology has advanced enough to put in the proper filters and safeguards that we , prisoners, should be allowed selected internet access. This may come as a shock, but approximately 95% of all people who are sent to prison get out. Yes, they parole, and they parole all over the state. I further believe that the prison system has an obligation to do its best to reform a prisoner and get a prisoner ready to return to free society. Everyone has watched a movie where a person is sent 20 years into the future and how much that person stumbles around trying to fit in. Well, there are 1000’s of prisoners who parole after 20 or 30 years and are just lost. There’s a guy a few cells down who has never used or seen a real cell phone. He doesn’t know what the internet is! And yes, he’s going to parole. One way to better prepare a prisoner for release is to get him/her more familiar with what’s going on in the world. Today everyone, it seems, is plugged into the net. People get their news, talk to friends, and do business on the internet. And with print media going the way of horse drawn carriage, it is time to take a serious look at allowing prisoners limited access to the internet. My basic idea is this: 1) Each inmate would have n email address. The information coming in and going out could be screened by a program that could look for key words, codes, anything the prison wished to collect. Since almost everyone can find time to email (It seems letter writing is almost a lost art) this would keep the prisoner connected to the outside. Upon a prisoner’s parole hearing, positive connections with people on the outside greatly increase the odds of not returning to prison. 2) Each inmate can go to pre-approved news sites, blogs, or other sites that provide education or news. For example: If I wished to take college courses, I would get on the internet, log on at the college and do my course work (of course college courses are at a prisoners expense). 3) All social networking sites would not be accessible via the prison internet service. All email would notify a person receiving that email originated from a state prison. This is just the most basic framework. I’m trying to get the conversation started. Technology is quickly changing how news and information are delivered. If people want prisoners to be successful upon parole, changes need to be made in how prisoners can receive their news and how a prisoner is prepared for release. Being on parole is hard enough. Maybe society can help that ex-prisoner fit in better. It costs $48,000 a year to house an inmate in a California prison. Please try to do everything to ensure a person who is paroled does not return. I believe that controlled internet access is a step in the right direction. With Respect, Veritas 5509

2009-04-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Prisons- As a prisoner I’m subjected to all types of extra legal punishments. Things like being talked down to; called “fucking asshole” a lot; being threatened; and all this is done by the prison staff. People who have never been in prison think, “Hey, you get what you deserve.” But that’s not true. I can be walking across the yard and just get singled out. Why? Because they (the staff) can. The Staff become abusive because of the closed nature of a prison. Most prisons are very insular and the staff work long-Boring-hours. So to spice things up they like to mess with the inmates. Let’s say an inmate is out of toilet paper and he asks a staff member for more. The common response is, “Oh, well. Cut a sheet up and use that.” For more fun, some correctional officers will make the inmate do “Naked Donkey Kicks.” Yup, an inmate must pull his pants down, get on the floor in a push up position and kick his legs back like a donkey kick—the whole time braying like a donkey. That’s how one might get some TP. Then people wonder why these men get out and reoffend. They have been treated like animals, not people. And they were, for the most part, on the margins of society with regard to economic status & education—what do you expect? The key should be education during incarceration. The State, California, may say they do “try” to offer GED and vocational programs. And to a degree they do work. But, gibing a man an education in Auto Detailing—car washing—is that really an honest effort by the state to ensure a person can get a job upon release? Hell, why doesn’t the state just vice every parolee a squeegee? That’s just as good! Right now the focus should be on jobs that will be in demand. Green jobs. Such as solar, wind, geo-thermal. I think that teaching inmates the maintenance and installation of alt-energy devices would bring huge benefits. First) Greenvision. These men and women can get out and get jobs in one of the fastest growing sector of our (USA’s) economy. Second) While still in prison—solar and wind can be installed on prison grounds to power the prison and provide practical training for the inmates. Third) Over time the amount of green energy produced at each prison can exceed what’s needed for just the prison’s needs, thus making each prison a net energy producer. This can work. Not every prison is suited for wind; but solar panels can be put on almost every prison roof to provide energy and hot water. Lots of California prisons are in isolated areas and would be ideal for wind production. I would suggest studies to be done to figure out the most viable prisons for wind. Off the top of my head, I think High Desert State Prison and Susanville in Lassen County would be fantastic. The wind seems to always blow and the prisons are isolated. My hope is that prisons become places of hope and education and don’t remain places where a person has to do naked donkey kicks anymore. Let’s send positive , productive men and women out, not bitter, ignorant people that are destined to reoffend. With Respect, Veritas 5509

2009-03-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers and every person who is reading this. I’m writing this from a state prison in the USA. Yes, I’m a convicted felon but I’m not alone as there are millions of other men, women and children around the world with me. Anyone is liable to end up in a prison or jail at any time. As governments change laws turning what was okay to do yesterday into a felony today. My saying is “Everyone is a felon, the government just hasn’t passed the laws to make it official yet.”

Governments have their place, but only with democratic consent. I think what’s been going on in the USA is that the Government has usurped the power of the people through a failed education system; massive secrecy; mass incarceration and just as the Romans did-the use of the entertainment spectacle.

In my life before prison I served in the US Navy. I had a Top Secret clearance; was honorably discharged. I believed, and still do, in an America where the good people will always win and the truth will prevail.

I found out that life is none of those things, yet all of those things. My dreams came to an end and so did those of another person. What followed has been the biggest transformation-I think-that a person can go through.

But I want to say I did do what I’m here for. Not to the degree I was found guilty of, but nevertheless, I did do it, and I’m profoundly sorry. I wish it had not happened, but it did; now I’m here; and I hope my unique views will help-The World; The Nation, or just one other person.

For however long I can do this, I will always try to be honest and attempt to wake others up from the slumber I was in before I came to prison.

Welcome to my blog.

With respect, Veritas5509