The newest issue of Los Angeles Magazine includes a feature on California prisons by my friend, Joe Domanick. In this piece—which reads like a terrifically written, anecdote-rich essay—Joe gives readers a short course in state correctional policy through the lens of a single prison, specifically the facility known as LAC—California State Prison, Los Angeles County, located in Lancaster.
Like me, Joe is captivated by issues of criminal justice. But whereas I tend to gravitate to on-the-ground tales that feature specific individuals, Joe becomes more and more expert with each passing week on the policy side of law enforcement and corrections policy. Yet he imparts his knowledge in a manner that combines the skills of a natural storyteller with those of your favorite college professor who makes consequential information actually pleasurable to receive.
The whole article should be read as a complete tapestry, so I excerpt it below with that warning.
(Also, the photo above by the terrific Ted Soqui, is but a small taste of the compelling images that accompany the article.)
Here are some clips:
ON THE PRISON GYM, WHICH HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A RIDICULOUSLY OVERCROWDED DORM
Inmates walk in and out of the dank, dirty bathroom, where only about 5 of the 15 toilets appear to be working.
The current lockdown, Lewis tells me, is the 22nd in Lancaster during the past six months. “We had a situation between blacks and Hispanics,” says White. “It’s hard for them staying in here, lying on their bunks all the time. If we have a full-scale riot, everybody’s life could be in danger. We’ve got rival gang members living together in here.” The slightest provocation—a vato loco stepping on a Blood’s foot—could set off an explosion. In fact, riots, many of them race related, have become endemic in the state’s overcapacity prisons, with 315 in 2005 alone.NOTE: Lockdowns mean no phone calls home, no visits, little or no yard time, basically no nothing, except eating, sleeping and whatever showers are necessary.
ON FEDERAL JUDGE THELTON HENDERSON
The son of a janitor, Henderson grew up on the streets of South Los Angeles before being named the first black assistant U.S. attorney in the Jim Crow South during the days of the civil rights movement. Now 75, Henderson would come to take a dim view of the operations of the entire corrections system.The people in charge of the prisons have a “no-can-do attitude,” [Henderson] told me. “I tried working collaboratively with them for over a year before realizing we weren’t making any progress because they were so caught up in why something couldn’t be done.”….
…..”I’ve seen the increase in incarceration in California rise from 24,000 in 1980 to [168,000 in 2009],” Henderson told me before the first of my three trips to the facility. “I’ve seen increased sentencing with no abatement as the prisons fill with my boyhood friends—old black men and Latinos. There are now more black men in prison than college. This is all a huge issue for the minority community.”
ABOUT THE PRISON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
In one of the two isolation rooms, a rail-thin man diagnosed with “seizures and possible TB” wears a helmet and reclines on—if the look on his face is any indication—what could be his deathbed.
For decades federal courts have ruled that under the U.S. Constitution, states must provide adequate medical care to prisoners. But by 2006, California’s prison health care system was contributing to at least one preventable death a week through sheer neglect. Prisons were operating primitive, filthy infirmaries—some with no running water—that shackled pregnant inmates to beds as they delivered their babies, routinely misdiagnosed symptoms, and dispensed the wrong medications. At Solano State Prison an inmate had a wisdom tooth removed, only to have his jaw and neck later swell so grotesquely that it became impossible for him to breathe or swallow. He went without eating for six days before he was finally taken to a hospital, where he died two hours after being admitted.
“I would tell politicians all the time,” Henderson recalls, “?‘Don’t you understand there are people dying in prison every day because of diseases like asthma that are easily treatable?’ And they’d say that they understood but they had to be careful, because they couldn’t be seen ‘to hug a thug.’?”
ABOUT THE VIOLENCE-REDUCING “HONOR YARDS” THAT THE CCPOA—THE CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS’ UNION—OPPOSED
Prisoners assigned to the program have to agree to abide by a strict set of rules and have to submit to random drug testing. In exchange, they have more freedom—to take a shower or go to the canteen when they want, to attend shop and educational classes, or to sign up for substance-abuse treatment. They have a bit more control over their lives—and therefore a bit more self-respect….
…When the Honor Yard was initiated in 2000,[38-year-old Cole] Bienek was one of the 600 or so inmates from around the state who applied to join. “Some amazing things went on,” he recalls. “We’re level four—maximum security—yet there were no fights, no stabbings, no drugs or racial tensions. The focus was rehabilitative.”…
…The effect on inmates has been profound. Within three years of the Honor Yard’s inception, violence and threats had decreased by 85 percent, weapons violations by 88 percent, and drug violations by more than 40 percent.
But the program is in jeopardy. ….
….When state senator Gloria Romero sponsored legislation that would have authorized Honor Yards throughout the system, the correctional officers’ union and most wardens opposed it. Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.
“Clearly for the union and a lot of the bureaucracy, the Honor Yard was intolerable because it gave the inmates some control over their surroundings,” says a staff member who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. “Their attitude is ‘you’re not going to tell us how to make you behave and conform—we’re going to tell you.’ It’s a power thing in a business which, as currently constituted, is about nothing but power and control.”
And then tell me what you think.
Photo by Ted Soqui
“which the CCPOA”
Is that who I think it is ?
Do you have to sign an oath to do everything in your power to maximize the prison population – including encouraging recidivism – to get one of those jobs ???
Ooops. Sorry for the unexplained acronym. It’s the correctional guards’ union. I stuck that in after seeing your comment.
And in answer to your question, while I don’t think it’s actually on the job ap, I’m beginning to think it is a really large part of the official initiation ritual.
Why does everyone concentrate on meaningless statistics – like more of one race in prison than in college, of 20,000 prisoners in 1980 and 160,000 today.
What’s your point? Are you trying to say that these people are wrongly incarcerated? Face it, If these people didn’t commit crime, they wouldn’t be there.
The fact is crime in the Black and Latino communities is much more a way of life than in the Asian, Jewish or White communities and nobody wants to say why?
The gym dorm looks like a place no normal person would ever want to live in, yet as soon as 70% of these people get out, they’re gang-banging, thieving, and/or slinging dope again, and headed straight back to prison.
What’s wrong with these people is that they’ve got no education, no morals, and no self-discipline. When they get out of prison they are incapable of adjusting to normal life, and they’re plagued by the things they do in prison to survive. Gang members, particularly, have a hard time dealing with women on the outside, because of their homosexual conduct in prison. The movie ‘American Me’ dealt with this issue, and death threats and a couple of murders made sure that no other filmmaker went there again.
Those are the facts. Until we do something to change the facts, nothing will change. Rocky Delgadillo is the only person I have spoke to who has some idea of what to do with these people when they get out. He wants to give them all ‘micro loans,’ money to start their own businesses so that they can better themselves and also employ other ex-felons who cannot get work in lawful businesses.
I think it’s a great idea. If it costs $48,000 a year to keep them in prison, then give them a loan of that amount, and they’ll start a business with it, instead of lying in bed 23 hours a day. Give them the money and see what they do, you can always send them back to prison.
As for gang members, we as a society, should be more tolerant of their homosexuality and help them to come out of the closet. Much of their repressed anger would be dissipated if they could live more open lives with their partners on the outside.
Joe Domanick writes……
“More than 30 percent of California’s prisoners come from L.A.”
****************
Is it just a coincidence that L.A. is a sanctuary city??
So is SF.
Anybody who doesn’t believe that our corrections system has an unwritten policy of keeping people coming back to prisons and building more prisons at this point is in so much denial that they’re borderline retards. I just can’t think of anything nicer to say about people so stupid.
And, Celeste, good point on SF being a sanctuary city just like LA. WTF was trying to pass off the notion that it’s illegal immigrants doing all of the crime. Yet SF doesn’t send as many people to prison per capita as LA, illegals or otherwise. WTF is a racist who forms his arguments to blame Mexicans for everything. And, he just got caught lying. Good eye, Celeste.
Also San Diego, which might be a bit more relevant in size and locale.
Last time I was in San Franciso (two months ago), it did not have any where near the illegal alien population or percentage of illegal aliens as Los Angeles. Much of Los Angeles looks like Tijuana, and has the crime to match.
The two cities are nothing alike, a better comparison would be a city like Cudahy and Los Angeles. And last I time I checked, Cudahy has not been an “American City” award winner.
Is Malibu a sanctuary city, I sure Malibu has a lower crime rate than Los Angeles.
LA County’s total population is about 10 million. The total population of California is about 36 million. LA has 1/3 of the prison population because they have apprx. 1/3 of the of the total population of the state. It has nothing to do with illegal immigrants.
And your point about Malibu is too silly to respond to.
WTF, how do you know what the “illegal population” of SF is, or any city for that matter? Did you run your own immigration check on every Latino living in SF? And, there is no part of LA that looks like Tijuana, not even the poorest parts of LA, considered “barrios”. LA’s violent crime rate does not match that of Tijuana’s, either.
Cudahy didn’t win an “american city” award. Wow. That hurts… I mean, to think, living in a city that hasn’t won an American City award. I don’t think Sacramento has won one, either. I certainly don’t see those catchy little signs next to the city limit signs. I feel deprived. We don’t need to beat the Lakers. We just need to win that american city award, and it will be just as sweet. America, fuck yeh!
Rob,
You are right the racist prison guards union does everything in it’s power to lock up as many latinos and blacks as possible. Just look at how many latinos and blacks are in California prisons we all know about the xenophobes like WTF and the other minutemen in California. I’m sure the majority of latinos and blacks in prison are innocent, and are are being victimized by cops and prison guards and prosecutors. It’s obvious that the prison industrial complex is a tool of the elitist to control and punish the minorities.
It’s a well know fact that Oliver North, brought crack cocaine into the L.A. ghettos as part of this scheme, but we will not be fooled anymore. The old divide and conquer and tea-parties are being exposed for what they really are.
Another thing. If the crime rate is effected by illegal immigration, why has the crime rate on Los Angeles dropped while illegal immigration has skyrocketed in the last 15 years?
From the website of the Western Rural Development Center
Between 1980 and 2006, the
California population increased by 12.8
million people, an increase of 54 percent. The
increase in the number of inhabitants from
1980 to 2006 was far greater in California
than in any other state in the U.S. The
percentage increase in California made it
the 11th fastest growing state in the nation.
So let me see, 148,000 more prisoners now than in 1980. The population has grown by almost 13 million and people are more apt to report crime now than then resulting in more arrests and this is somehow off kilter? I truly don’t get it. Stronger sentencing laws that have been shown to reduce crime over the past 15 years are somehow wrong but over all we’re a safer society, if you believe the stats, and that’s something some of you don’t like?
Isn’t this kind of telling…”Henderson told me before the first of my three trips to the facility. “I’ve seen increased sentencing with no abatement as the prisons fill with my boyhood friends—old black men and Latinos. There are now more black men in prison than college. This is all a huge issue for the minority community.â€
I think crime is a bigger issue in those communities and the attempted genocide going on in the gang arena. It’s all about race with this ass, nothing more nothing less and it’s a damn shame idiots like this are on the bench.
That must have been some group he hung out with on the block.
Hey Dumb Ass El Chavo, when was the last time you saw a prison guard go out on the street and arrest one of your pals?
Get back to your weed your 40 and your oldies on the radio chavala. The insanity here is hitting a new high.
Rob Thomas, terminal tard, thank Kamala Harris the best friend felons ever had in S.F. Illegal felon kills 3 members of the same family and she says “no” to the death penalty. As stupid a DA that ever held the job.
You can’t really argue percentages until you look at arrests, dispos (pleas) and case rejection stats. The DA’s office in SF is run by a liberal idiot that has shown more than once she’s not capable of managing that office in a fair way that considers the public safety as something that counts.
Look it up.
Surefire – you’re one of the dumbest motherfuckers on the planet. Felony convictions have increased in SF under Kamala Harris. She’s convicted more gun offenders. No she’s not a neanderthal like you and doesn’t support the death penalty. She’s also created some very effective anti-recidivism programs. She’s a great DA. A brilliant woman. I’m going to send some $$ to her campaign to become Attorney General just because of your stupdass, know-nothing comment. I hope she becomes Governor before the oatmeal is encrusted on your chin and you can’t make heads or tails of a headline, just to ramp up your inchoate rage even more and send what’s left of your mind spinning.
Of course, the question is always hanging over every one of your comments – what would a raging burn-out such as yourself know about effective law enforcement ?
What part of checking arrests along with dispos and rejections of cases presented didn’t you understand dumb ass? You know the part of my post you didn’t adress shit for brains?
While you’re taking it in the ass like most of her supporters do I’ll be having a party when she gets rejected as A.G. tard.
By the way Old Asswipe Reg, you don’t count, you’re just a senile old dick. I’ll check stats myself you lame turd, nothing you say ever has the truth attached to it.
Kamala harris is a fraud and liar no different than Reg. However I’m sure Reg would agree with her here as big a fraud as he is.
Any honorable prosecutor would refuse to work under her. Consider the following lies presented by her, and her office on the recent triple murder that made headlines in San Francisco.
1) Friday in court, prosecutor Harry Dorfman made this surprise announcement. The District Attorney has decided to seek the special circumstances penalty of life without parole; we will not seek the death penalty in this case,†he said.
What surprise, she’s never asked for the death penalty?
2) She’s claiming the facts of the case don’t the circumsatnces needed for asking for the death penalty.
HUH????? Why does she have to lie about it. Even an absolute moron like Reg can see that the facts of the case fit the death penalty so why does she have to resort to a big fat lie? Why not just say the truth ” I’m a far far far far left Obama ass kissing liberal and will never seek the death penalty and I don’t give a damn what the people in my jrisdiction think about it”.
No decision was based on any legal review, it was based on her own personal agenda, just another lying cowardly leftist piece of trash.
BY VIC LEE
ABC 7 KGO
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said Thursday she will not ask for the death penalty in the murder of a man and his two sons, more than a year ago.
A suspected gang member is charged with the killings and critics are asking whether Harris can get elected attorney general, when she is opposed to capital punishment.
Harris opposes the death penalty but she says when these cases come before her, she picks a committee of senior prosecutors to review the facts and they recommend whether or not to ask for it. But in each case, she makes the ultimate decision.
Edwin Ramos, 22, is charged with murdering Tony Bologna and his sons Michael and Matthew in June of last year. Police say he pulled alongside Bologna’s car in the Excelsior District and fired repeatedly, killing three of the occupants. Another of Bologna’s sons was in the car but survived the shooting.
Friday in court, prosecutor Harry Dorfman made this surprise announcement.
The District Attorney has decided to seek the special circumstances penalty of life without parole; we will not seek the death penalty in this case,†he said.
Since Ramos was charged with multiple murders and two other special circumstance offenses, Harris could have asked for the death penalty. But Harris is an opponent of capital punishment and she told reporters her decision fits the crime.
“We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and laws in this case and arrived at a decision based on that review,†Harris said.
Harris was asked if there would ever be a time when she might ask for the death penalty.
“We take each case on a case by case basis…and I’ll make decisions on each case as they arise,†she said.
Marc Klass, whose daughter Polly was killed in 1993, is a victims’ rights advocate and death penalty supporter.
“I believe that if somebody cold-bloodedly drives by and slaughters a man and his two young children, if that’s not a case that’s deserving of the death penalty, I would ask what case is,†Klaas said.
So far, Harris has not asked for the death penalty in any murder case.
She is now running for state attorney general.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, right
Political consultant Don Solem says her unwavering position on the issue will haunt her but says he cannot remember any politician who has won or lost a race based on the death penalty alone.
“Kamala’s position is high on integrity, personal integrity of hers, she believes in something and follows it but it seems contrary to the expressed will of the public,†Solem said.
Danielle Bologna, the widow of Tony and the mother of their two sons who were also killed, says she asked Harris for the death penalty. Bologna said in a statement she is disappointed and devastated by Harris’ decision and feels the city has let her and her family down.
Just like Reg, Harris is just a mouthy leftist bitch who cares only about certain types of crime and championing the supposed under privlidged at the expense of law abiding citizens.
If this idiot can’t even run this program correctly, one that she developed, how can we expect her to “honestly” run the A.G.’s office?
D.A. Kamala Harris Comes Under Fire
A bumpy road lies ahead for D.A. Kamala Harris, who just kicked off her bid for State Attorney General. It seems the focal point of her campaign, a rehabilitaion program for low-level narcotics offenders confidently titled Back on Track, is coming under fire. According to a recent LA Times report, the District Attorney’s program “trained illegal immigrants for jobs they couldn’t legally hold.” One grim example, the LA Times points out, was an illegal immigrant / cocaine dealer who attacked, mugged, and fractured the skull of onetime resident Amanda Kiefer. After getting arrested, the culprit, Alexander Izaguirre, “avoided prison when he was picked for a jobs program run by San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris …In effect, Harris’ office had been allowing Izaguirre and other illegal immigrants to stay out of prison by training them for jobs they cannot legally hold.”
Illegal immigrants, more or less, cannot legally be employed. So, as soon as Harris “realized that illegal immigrants were enrolled, she allowed those who were following the rules to finish the program and have their criminal records cleared. It is not the duty of local law enforcement, she said, to enforce federal immigration laws.”
Harris went on to tell the Times, “I believe we fixed it … So moving forward, it is about making sure that no one enters Back on Track if they cannot hold legal employment.” She went on to say, “the immigration issue, as it relates to the Izaguirre case, obviously is a huge kind of pimple on the face of this program,” later regretting the remark, adding, “I don’t mean to trivialize it, nor do I mean to cover it up.”
Like I said there’s more to it than what you “pick and choose” to post Reg you senile old fraud. Even the conviction rate for her office looks low to me compared to other big cities but I’ll look stats up before saying I’m sure without any doubt like your pathetic ass does when posting brain dead half facts like they’re the whole story.
SAN FRANCISCO— Nearly three-quarters of those charged with felonies in The City last year were found guilty — San Francisco’s highest conviction rate in 14 years.
The rise in convictions for felonies — which include theft of more than $400 and murder — is the result of hard work during the past six years, according to District Attorney Kamala Harris.
“I think what we’re seeing now is the rewards of the groundwork we laid in the beginning, with more training programs in the office, making decisions based on merit and professionalism, and bringing resources and structure to the office,†said Harris, who is also running for state attorney general.
Harris, who is in her sixth year in office, has increased the conviction rate for felonies 20 percent from that of her predecessor, Terrence Hallinan.
The number of cases brought by police that result in prosecutions has also risen to 67 percent, the highest since 2001, according to California Department of Justice statistics.
Much of the improvement can be attributed to a focus on violent crime and its frequent catalyst, drug and gun violations, Harris said.
“There was some misperception that narcotics crime is victimless crime,†she said. “But if you talk to the people who live in the neighborhoods affected by it, they’ll tell you differently.â€
Harris also points to state Justice Department statistics that nearly twice as many people were sentenced in 2008 to prison when compared to 2003.
However, statistics can be misleading, Public Defender Jeff Adachi said. For the past two years, the justice system has been dealing with a record number of homicide suspects since The City’s murder rate has hovered around a 10-year high.
“We’re dealing with much heavier cases now, so that’s going to increase the number of people going to state prison,†Adachi said.
He also pointed out that while convictions have risen, so have acquittals, though only a small percentage of prosecutions make it to jury trial.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who sits on the board’s Public Safety Committee, commended the District Attorney’s Office for improving its standards, but pointed out that attaining a successful conviction rate sometimes means choosing to drop charges in more complicated or lower-profile cases.
“There has to be some analysis on methodology on the cases they decide to prosecute compared to those not charged,†Mirkarimi said. “Many of the cases not charged represent a substantial number that are dismissed from the statistic.â€
Harris agreed that there is still work to be done. And it will be tougher, she said, due to budget cuts. Since 2007, her office has lost 43 positions to budget cuts, including 14 attorney positions.
“We’ve done a good job, but there’s always room for improvement. I’d be the first to say that,†Harris said. “Honestly, I’d like to improve the attorney case ratio. My misdemeanor lawyers are handling 400 cases each.â€
Sorry Surefire, but I don’t give enough of a shit about a burned out crank’s ravings to read all of that.
You’re too stupid Reg, people who walk around with their heads buried up their ass are like that.
Good excues, and a nice white flag you’re flying you phony senile old man.
It’s not a white flag, it’s a finger in your face. You’re a puke, and worse, a bore and not worth five minutes of my time. Go to your yoga class with the ladies.
Dumb Ass Mayor plus Dumb Ass DA equals The Real People’s Republic in our state. Don’t forget to donate part of your SSI check to Newsom Reg like you’re doing with Kamala.
Mike Kepka/The Chronicle
Newsom supports DA’s controversial Edwin Ramos decision.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, who used to have at least a couple of press appearances every day, has been curiously absent of late. But we finally caught up with him at a City Hall flag raising today to mark the anniversary of independence for Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Mexico. (It wasn’t on his public calendar for the day, but pretty much nothing is anymore.)
Edwin Ramos won’t face the death penalty
Anyway, we at long last got to ask him about District Attorney Kamala Harris’ controversial decision last week to not seek the death penalty in the trial of Edwin Ramos, the alleged killer of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16.
You’ll recall Ramos, an illegal immigrant, was never turned over to federal authorities after being picked up on other charges as a teenager. That policy has since been reversed by Newsom – and now undocumented youth are turned over when they’re arrested for felonies – but the issue is expected to be a big one in the mayor’s campaign for governor.
Anyway, Newsom is backing Harris’ decision.
“I can sit here on the sidelines and provide punditry, but none of us are privy to the facts of the case so I defer to her judgment,” he said.
Asked whether he expects the Ramos case – and the fact San Francisco isn’t seeking the death penalty – to be problematic for him on the campaign trail, he said, “I don’t look at issues like this as campaign issues. This is about human beings, about real people. It’s not about politics.”
We’ll see about that.
Those narcs in the old days must have really twisted you Reg, probably gave up some friends or family members and hate yourself for it now so you lash out like a mad dog frothing at the mouth in every comment you make.
Too bad.
I heard an interview about this book today on the local radio channel. Do any of you people commenting really know what it is like in a CA State prison?
I hear it first hand from my 26 yr old that violated probation and got 5+2 years. I see it when I go visit him. It is sickening and dehumanizing even to visit.
Don’t get me wrong..he knew what the rules were and he violated them knowing what he would get so he has to suck it up and do the time…but the conditions are horrific- toliets over flowing with feces floating on the floor, inmates in one yard of the prison putting metal shavings in the food of another yard, blistering heat and nothing to keep a persons mind or body going.
My son developed MRSA (a resistant strain of staff) which is rampant in institutions due to over crowding, untreated illensses, open wounds and filthy conditions. He passed out in a cell with 105 temp and was put in a telephone booth sized holding cell for several hours before recieving any medical care- he was then chained to a bed in a hospital for close to a month -no family member was notified of any of this and when I did find out by driving several hrs to visit I was told by a guard at the prison that my son was hospitalized and he was not at liberty to say why – NICE – no communication was allowed with his family for the entire time NICE .. People die from MRSA every day. I wrote letters to the Warden and the Govenour – I recieved a form letter from the Governors office NICE again.
For those that survive this hell and want to change there is no type of training to give them any skills whatsoever to be able to stand on their own two feet when they get do get out as well as there are few companies that will hire a felon…it is a vicious cycle. I am trying to work with the Ventura Sherrifs Association and rally some interest in the WOTC – Work Opportunity Tax Credit – it is a federal program that will pay an employer a tax credit of up to $9000.00 to hire persons in ceratin target groups – an ex-inmate falls into one of the groups. Could be good for the small buisness owner willing to take a chance.
if interested in deatils -www.edd.ca.gov/jobs_and_Training/WOTC_Basic_Facts.htm
It is my understanding that the Prison Gaurd Union is a very strong entity and they do not want change-they are paid to well – I suggest someone start interviewing some of the parolees as they are released- they can’t say much in the position they are in for fear of repercussions from the guards
There are some evil people in prison that should never get out, there are some that just truly were bone heads and made a mistake, there are many non US citizens that should be deported (don’t get me going on this one) – but as long as they are locked up the State should be obligated to maintain reasonable care for them.
I attended Boarding school with prisoner Cole bienek as a teen. I am not amazed, concerned or worried about him or his health. Let him and all the crims sit in there and rot…
I agree with j. Latt seriously how can someone with so many opportunities in life screw it all up. I attended school with Bienek also, and after he was dismissed from school stayed in contact with him, however now that I know he is a killer and a waste I have no use or him or any other crim….