California borrows from budget to build new death row

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sacramento, Calif. (AP) --

Despite California's $19 billion budget deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration said Wednesday it will borrow nearly $65 million from the state's cash-strapped general fund to begin building a new 1,152-bed death row at San Quentin State Prison.

Borrowing now will save money in the long run by reducing interest payments and taking advantage of the favorable construction climate, said Department of Finance spokesman H. D. Palmer.

Legislators and social services organizations have stalled the bonds that would usually pay for construction by suing Schwarzenegger over several of his budget vetoes last year. Palmer said the administration is confident the governor's veto authority will be upheld by the California Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments Sept. 8.

Legal debate aside, opponents of the death row expansion said it is foolish to take money from the general fund, which pays for ongoing state operations, when the state hasn't decided how to deal with its budget deficit.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, called it "stunningly hypocritical" that the governor is borrowing from the general fund at the same time he is attempting to furlough state employees three days each month to avoid a looming cash crisis. The state could soon again begin issuing IOUs because it is out of money, Huffman said in a statement.

He and Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, also criticized the projected cost overruns for a project that originally was expected to cost $220 million.

The administration put the total price tag at $356 million for 768 new cells, a 24-bed medical treatment center and other support buildings. The new cells will contain 1,152 beds, because many of the inmates will be housed two to a cell.

The $64.7 million borrowed from the general fund will go to pay first-year costs, Palmer said. The money could be repaid from bonds issued as early as next spring, after Schwarzenegger has left office, assuming the state's high court rules in the administration's favor this fall.

"We're extremely confident that we're going to prevail," he said. Palmer noted the project was originally approved by lawmakers in 2003 but has been stalled ever since.

Bids are going out Thursday, with construction set to start in November. The entire complex is scheduled to be finished in February 2013.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/08/11/state/n165642D49.DTL

Gang "Validation" and Permanent Isolation in California Prisons including an essay from Joseph Aragon

From: Solitary Watch - Voices from Solitary
Jean Casella and James Ridgeway | August 7, 2010
URL: http://wp.me/pKbGK-wR (from Solitary Watch)
To read more of Joseph Aragon's work including some of his poetry go to: http://www.realcostofprisons.org/writing/

In prisons throughout the country, perceived gang membership is one of the leading reasons for placement in solitary confinement. In California alone, hundreds of prisoners are in Security Housing Units (SHUs) because they have been "validated" as gang members. The validation procedure used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) employs such criteria as tattoos, reading materials, and associations with other prisoners (which can amount to as little as a greeting) to identify gang members.

It is a system clearly open to abuses. California Prison Focus, the prisoners' rights organization based in Oakland, often documents these abuses in its newsletter, and even publishes a Prisoner Self-Help Manual to Challenge Gang Validation. The report on the Corcoran SHU in CPF's Summer 2010 newsletter included the following:

Many prisoners report that they are validated as gang members with evidence that is clearly false or using procedures that do not follow the Castillo settlement... CPF has received hundreds of requests for its legal manual on how to challenge a prison gang validation, even though we ask for a $20 donation to cover costs. Prisoners generally report that the SHU cells are overflowing and Administrative Segregation Units are now being filled with prisoners with indeterminate SHU sentences. CDCR officials use the torturous conditions of SHU confinement against the prisoner in order to find out more about prison gangs. CDCR officials pressure prisoners to “debrief” (that is, implicate others who are involved in gang activities) so that they can get out of SHU and sent to a special needs yard.

Prisoner K reported several pieces of fabricated material used against him (details omitted in order not to identify the prisoner). He suggests that CSP-COR officials are trying to “break” mainline prisoners by plucking out those with any sort of “structure” (meaning psychological balance, ability to think for oneself and stand up for one’s rights) and trying to “break” them (psychologically) by keeping them in solitary confinement SHU cells.

Prisoner L reported that he was offered release from the SHU. When he arrived at general population housing, he was asked to sign a prepared statement that implicated another prisoner of being a member of a known prison gang. He refused to sign and was re-validated using over-six-year-old evidence from a prison where he was previously housed.

Prisoners and advocates say that in addition to making what CPF calls "false validations," the CDCR keeps some prisoners in solitary indefinitely based on gang validations that are a decade or more old. This despite a federal court decision that was supposed to end such practices. The following essay is by Joseph Aragon, a 52-year-old prisoner who renounced his gang membership 13 years ago, but remains in Corcoran's SHU--as he describes it, "in mindless limbo on indeterminate segregation status."

(Thanks to Lois Ahrens of the Real Cost of Prisons Project for forwarding this essay to us, and for maintaining her powerful collection of writings by prisoners.)

My name is Joseph Aragon a.k.a. Tlaoyotl and I am a California SHU inmate. I am a validated prison gang member and have been since 1994. California leads the nation in legalized and publicly condoned torture and isolation of its prison inmates. It hosts not one, but three segregated housing units--Corcoran State Prison-SHU, Tehatchipi Max State-SHU, and Pelican Bay Prison-Supermax SHU. They hold thousands of inmates in mindless limbo on indeterminate segregation status. I’ve spent many years in administrative segregation units throughout the state including the SHU’s of Pelican Bay and Corcoran State Prison where I currently reside.

The madness continues for once a prisoner is branded as a gang member, it’s a done deal. Don’t misunderstand me…I don’t claim innocence or pretend that I didn’t do things that brought me to the SHU. I was, in fact, a member of a brutal prison gang and prior to my indeterminate SHU. I had a position of authority and status within that infrastructure. I did things that brought about my validation as I was involved in a criminal conspiracy against other inmates and society in general. I deserved to be segregated. However in 1997, I defected from the organization and renounced my gang association and withdrew from all gang activity.

Yet here I sit 13 years later, still in segregation, although CDCR knows that I am a drop-out. I am designated as an inactive member of a prison gang I belonged to by the very bureaucracy that holds me on indeterminate status citing “continued association with a criminal conspiracy against other inmates,” even though I am ostracized by the very gang the administration claims that I continue to associate with. Because of my decision to defect I have actually become an enemy of the prison gang. Yet this administration claims that I am involved in an on-going criminal conspiracy, even though they have documents support my defection and that I am on a “hit list.” From my perspective, I see an endless maze of bureaucracy bent on keeping prisoners within these SHU units. They gotta keep the beds filled so they don’t risk having to close the SHU. units.

I have been trying to get out of my validation for many years without success. It’s a slow and frustrating process with twists and turns and roadblocks. I am 52 years old and continue to the suffer punitive isolation I was first introduced to at 35 within the walls of California’s SHU units. Furthermore, CDCR just passed a new law in January (1-25-10) SBX-18 that takes all good time credit earning ability from validated gang members, but no one else in the SHU. This is total discrimination of an entire class without due process and adds from months to years to the lengths of sentences. Additionally, CDCR has adopted a new policy for giving indeterminate SHU sentences to inmates by deeming them as “program failures” (usually, 3 successive rules violation reports of the same offense) and then slamming them in the SHU. This is in response to the mass drop-outs from all of California’s prison gangs---gotta fill them beds! Otherwise, CDCR cannot justify all the money spent on staffing.

But let’s talk about the SHU’s where prisoner’s rights are close to non-existent and services provided to prisoners under the Constitution and CDCR’s own regulations are at a bare minimum if at all. Many are the days that we go without a shower or without yard or exercise. 24 hour periods locked in a cell, more often than not for consecutive days. The administration will use any little excuse they can to keep us locked in our cells. We lose showers, yard and medical on a regular basis.

I spent the better part of 2008 and part of 2009 in a cell without any glass in a 2 foot by 4 foot window frame. I had to use the blanket I was issued as a window covering. I slept with all my clothes on a bare mattress so I could have two sheets to cover myself with. I also lived with huge cockroaches and mice and had to secure my food items by hanging them in a t-shirt from the ceiling vent to keep bugs and rodents out. I’ve had to drink water with toxic levels of arsenic and selenium well above federal standards. If this is not torture, I don’t know what is.

I have seen many fall victim to isolation and sensory deprivation of the SHU. environment. The indifference is mind boggling. The prevailing attitude by co’s is that “we’re garbage and so what if you don’t get treated humanely, who cares?” I actually heard a guard say, “We used to be able to beat the crap out of them, but they cried to the courts, so now we get in trouble if we touch them.” That attitude is prevalent within the CDCR system of justice. I survive by keeping my mind outside of the madness and focusing on me, through my studies (both Christian and secular), focusing on my outside contacts including family, friends and professional associations and focusing on my health and fitness. I feel I have come through somewhat unscathed. But not completely. I think once I hit the streets some deep-seated issues will eventually come into focus that I will have to deal with. The good thing is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have an outdate of 1-9-2012 and a probable SHU release date of 1-30-2011. Although I am not holding my breath on that one, I have had too many false hopes to even go there.

Due to Federal Court litigation, in the Steven Castillo lawsuit, CDCR adopted a policy that requires them to consider an inmate for release from the SHU after 6 years of inactive gang status. At the time of my D.R. B. (Departmental Review Board), I had 12 years as an inactive gang member, and was validated as such. I had 10 points which makes me a low level one custody inmate. I had not had a rule violation report since 1994 (the one that initially put me in the SHU), yet I was denied release based on the fact that the Director felt I still had undue influence with the prison gangs I was formerly part of. In other words, in spite of the Castillo settlement, the hearing was a sham.

However they do release active gang members after 6 years of inactivity. They do so because they know that active gang members will go out to the mainline and resume gang activity, thus supplying more bodies for validation. It’s a known fact that almost all active gang members released come back and bring new bodies with them. When I went to D.R.B. there 17 active gang members released and the 3 drop-outs denied. A drop-out by definition is not going to resume gang activity, so there is no reason to release him. Instead, he is left with the choice of staying in the SHU or going to the debriefing program so that they can squeeze out every ounce of information they can. That process is a nightmare in itself.

California prison officials perpetuate torture through on-going and never-ending solitary confinement approach to corrections. We need to stop the madness. Thank you.

In solidarity, Joseph Aragon
G-08220, P.O. Box 3476 4A3L47R, Corcoran, CA 93212

The Public Eye: Due process for prisoner proceedings allegedly violated

Sacramento Bee
By Charles Piller
Published: Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 - 9:30 am

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/01/2928417/rights-of-prisoners-under-siege.html#ixzz0vTXCk4aK

The prison official assured his warden in an e-mail that everything was set: A group of 77 inmates accused of interfering with officers would be found guilty, no matter what.

Disciplinary hearings – required proceedings where inmates can defend themselves with witnesses and evidence – had not yet taken place at North Kern State Prison.

Yet, in the April e-mail obtained by The Bee, acting Associate Warden Steven Ojeda promised to provide the hearing officers – lieutenants he supervised – "with direction prior to the hearings and ensure they understand to hold all of these inmates accountable."

Leaving nothing to chance, Ojeda prescribed punishments, too: loss of good-behavior credit and visiting privileges, threat of a term in one of the prison system's security housing units – called "the hole" by prisoners – and other serious penalties.

By acting as judge and jury, Ojeda fit a pattern, a Bee investigation has found, that suggests widespread suppression of inmates' rights to contest allegations by guards or pursue claims of mistreatment.

Current and retired officers, prisoners and parolees allege that correctional officers and their superiors routinely file bogus or misleading reports, destroy or falsify documentation of abuses, and intimidate colleagues or inmates who push back.

Sources with firsthand knowledge called the problem pervasive, offering dozens of examples. Even if the allegations are valid for a fraction of cases, thousands of prison terms could have been extended improperly at vast cost to taxpayers.

One North Kern employee familiar with the Ojeda situation spoke to The Bee anonymously for fear of retaliation. He said officers given the orders were "shocked" that Ojeda would formalize an abrogation of due process.

Neither acting Warden Maurice Junious nor Ojeda returned calls or e-mails seeking comment.

A corrections spokesman said that 33 North Kern inmates did not have good-behavior credits removed, and four of the 77 prisoners received penalties less severe than 90 days forfeiture of good-behavior credits, proving that inmates were not prejudged.

But in the 33 cases noted, all inmates were found guilty and were spared a loss of good-behavior credits only because their paperwork was filed late. The North Kern source said internal records confirmed the remaining cases as pending.

Scott Kernan, corrections undersecretary for operations, last week called Ojeda's e-mail "inappropriate" and "improper," and said it might signal a need for training. But he said it could have been intended to ensure an even-handed approach.

Kernan said he would look into the incident but defended prison due process as having "served the state well (as) a fair and appropriate system, and time-tested."

Told of Ojeda's e-mail, Michael Gennaco, who monitors the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for officer misconduct and helped design a similar system for California prisons, said it seemed to violate inmate rights.

Basic fairness depends on "providing inmates with a level of due process," he said, "which isn't much."

Daniel Johnson, a recently retired state prison research analyst, was assigned in 2008 and 2009 to record information into a database from about 10,000 employee-misconduct appeals filed by prisoners over more than five years. He told The Bee that virtually every complaint filed against a correctional officer was rejected by officials, including hundreds of appeals alleging physical abuse "even when medical records supported the complaint."

Of course, prisoners lie about mistreatment; Johnson said many complaints he reviewed appeared unwarranted. But there were many "clear instances," he said, of manipulation by officials "in what I would say is a criminal manner."

Kernan, however, said that "typically, research analysts would not have enough information while inputting data to make such a conclusion." He called corrections "the most investigative law enforcement organization in the state" and one that is continually "rooting out misconduct as diligently as we possibly can."

Blood pooled near his head

Kenneth Hernandez's fate was sealed by a guard's grunt.

That small utterance took on larger significance at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, 200 miles northeast of Sacramento, where Hernandez was imprisoned on drug and weapons charges. He was housed in a gym filled with bunk beds and lockers – typical in the state's crowded prisons.

On May 26, 2004, Hernandez, then 21, had the misfortune of crossing paths with Officer David Sharpe between rows of beds. Sharpe said Hernandez struck the guard's chest with his elbow. Another guard said he heard Sharpe grunt. Hernandez denies any such attack.

In sworn statements, witnesses said that Sharpe, who stands 6 feet tall and weighed about 300 pounds, bear-hugged Hernandez – 5 feet 9 and 140 pounds – from behind. He threw Hernandez head-first into a metal locker. Hernandez fell to the floor, with Sharpe on top of him, then twitched and jerked violently. Blood pooled near his head.

In a subsequent court proceeding, Sharpe confirmed those events but faulted the confined area and said he did not intentionally injure Hernandez.

"He's having a seizure!" some of the prisoners said they shouted in alarm. Sharpe kneeled on the back of the convulsing prisoner.

"Shut the f--- up!" Sharpe yelled, pressing his forearm against the nape of Hernandez's neck, according to inmate witness statements in the prison investigation report.

Hernandez was airlifted to Reno for emergency surgery, his skull fractured.

Back in his cell weeks later, Hernandez suffered from facial paralysis, seizures and vomiting, according to medical records. He also had to defend himself against the serious charge of assaulting an officer.

Hernandez told The Bee he didn't get a fair hearing because key evidence was barred. The prison investigator disallowed photographs of the scene, a complaint by other inmates alleging criminal misconduct by Sharpe, and statements from FBI examiners, according to his report.

Also rejected by the investigator was Hernandez's "stress voice analysis" – a lie-detection method – conducted by High Desert internal affairs, which the inmate claimed proved his innocence.

The investigator did include in his report accounts of inmates, who said they saw Sharpe attack Hernandez without provocation. None said Hernandez attacked the officer and no guards witnessed the event.

But the hearing officer, Lt. J.L. Bishop, said the inmates' testimony "lacks credibility," because they fear revenge from other prisoners for supporting a guard.

Guards said that inmates moved to the floor reluctantly when ordered to during the altercation, Bishop wrote. That reticence, he said, "strongly colors this incident in staff-assaultive tones."

The linchpin was the officer's recollection of the grunt.

Sharpe's grunt, "prior to commanding the inmates to 'get down' strongly indicates that he was struck with force," Bishop wrote, "and without warning."

Bishop found Hernandez guilty and sentenced him to five months' loss of good-behavior credit, a year without family visits and a possible term in the hole.

Six years later, Hernandez is out on parole. He still has trouble with balance, and said in cold weather the clip that secures his skull makes his head ache. As of 2009, Sharpe still worked at High Desert.

'I'll answer to God'
.......

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Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/01/2928417/rights-of-prisoners-under-siege.html#ixzz0vTVgen9g