Archive for May, 2006
Corcoran Stabbing Results in Inmate Death
An incident on Tuesday involving three inmates on the maximum security housing unit left one inmate dead after officers were forced to fire upon the attacking inmates in an attempt to break up the fight. Two inmates, Lawrence Alvarado and Jose Garcia, attacked a third inmate Ricardo Acosta with homemade weapons and refused to relent even after being ordered by officers and even being fired upon with foam rounds, according to officials. Alvarado was hit with one of the rifle shots and was promptly taken to the local hospital where he died approximately one hour later.
Alvarado had recently transferred to Corcoran’s Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison from the Orange County system in November 2005 to serve out his 40-to-life sentence for second-degree murder. The other inmate involved in the attack, Garcia, continued stabbing Acosta until officers with batons and pepper spray were finally able to pull him off of the other inmate. Garcia was uninjured and will continue serving his 118-year sentence for five counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The inmate who was attacked, Ricardo Acosta, is reported to be in stable condition at a local hospital and is being treated for multiple stab wounds. Acosta was moved to Corcoran from the Los Angeles County system to serve out a 17-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter.
The correctional officer who ultimately shot Alvarado during the incident is currently on paid administrative leave until the case is closed, as is policy. His name is not being released to the public for his protection, and the staff at Corcoran is currently investigating the incident together with CDC(R) and the Kings County DA’s Office. More information will be released as it becomes available.
HEALTH WARNING: Contagious Disease Hits California Prisons
Over 1100 inmates and 10 staff members have contracted a highly contagious illness in 8 separate institutions throughout California. Prison officials released a statement to the press that the illness, which is a bacterial disease called campylobacteriosis, has led to lockdowns and reduced program at a handful of prisons in recent days.The first outbreak was reported at Deuel Vocational Institution on May 16th, according to a CDC(R) spokesman, where almost 400 inmates got sick. The illness spread to other Central and Northern institutions including Folsom State Prison, Mule Creek Prison and two other women’s institutions.
Symptoms associated with the illness include fever, headaches, diarrhea, cramping, vomiting – and sometimes traces of blood in the stool. According to the definition files at www.webmd.com, campylobacteriosis is a type of food poisoning that affects over 2 million Americans each year. It is generally spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water and is sometimes contracted from person to person. It is usually not spread from person to person, but it can happen by persons who have come in contacted with contaminated foods or with the feces of an infected individual.
The Department reported that several inmates had to be taken to the hospital and the rest have been isolated in their cells and treated. Since Friday no new ill inmates have been reported at Deuel and officials have stated that they believe the worst of the outbreak may be over. Officials are working with county public health officials to determine the cause of the illness and why it spread.
US Prisons and Jails Grow by 55,500 in a Single Year
A report was released this week by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics showing that the number of inmates incarcerated within American prisons and jails grew by 55,500 between June 2004 and June 2005, bringing the total of inmates country-wide to 2,186,230. According to the report, two-thirds of those inmates were in federal or state institutions and the other third were in local or county jails. Overall, the figure shows a steady influx of over 1,000 new prisoners each week.
California was not at the top of the list this time around with states such as Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota showing a six-percent increase and states such as Florida, Texas and North Carolina coming in with more than 40-percent overall state growth. Federal institutions overall saw an increase as well, with a 2.9% jump, bringing their numbers to just under 185,000 inmates throughout their entire system.
This is the largest growth since 1997 and unfortunately most media outlets first look to the corrections departments for answers in situations such as these. Corrections, however, is only the end result – the place where these individuals are “dumped” by the legal system, a legal system that is clearly in need of some work if these numbers are to ever improve. In California, as in other parts of the country, the increased influx of inmates to an already overburdened correctional system increases public risk and risks the lives of correctional officers, other staff and inmates alike. Now is the time for citizens to stand up and be heard within their local and state governments. Clearly, something needs to be done at the local level to prevent another increase such as this one in the future.
This November voters will be casting their ballots for governors, senators and other representatives across the country. Let’s hope that they carefully consider those that they would elect to govern their local governments and that they choose wisely candidates that will work hard to find new ways to be tough on crime that would prevent such an astronomical jump in our country’s prison populations.
Perhaps we need to take a cue from states such as New York, Vermont and Idaho that were among a small few that actually saw their numbers decrease during the time frame of this study. What is it that they are doing that we aren’t doing? How can we improve our systems by looking at theirs? Rather than pointing fingers and placing blame where it doesn’t belong, Americans need to focus and look to lawmakers for ways to improve our current situation.
CDC(R)’s New Prison Nursery Program - Pros & Cons
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a Mother’s Day theme article over the weekend about the new CIW nursery program for expectant mothers that will be opening in January ‘07. Some interesting statistics were shared and a good blend of both positive/negative reactions and feedback from female prisoners.
Work has begun to renovate an unused wing of the California Institution for Women in Corona, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, into a 20-bed unit for expectant and new mothers and their babies. Warden Dawn Davison, who conceived the idea, has challenged supporters to get supply cribs, breast pumps, lullaby mobiles, onesies. By January, qualifying inmates — those set to go on parole in 12 to 18 months and deemed no risk to children — will share a private room with their newborns and participate in parenting classes and rehabilitation before both leave together.
Officials and advocates are hopeful that this new program will help in thier rehabilitation efforts and lower recidivism rates as well as the trickle down offenders’ mentality that usually brings children of incarcerated individuals into the system at a higher rate than usual. However, some with experience warn that this new idea is not a cure-all:
As word spread inside the prison, several inmates offered suggestions for how to make the nursery idea work. One such woman was Oleta Simmons, who is serving her fourth prison sentence and has given birth to six children — three while she was incarcerated. She doesn’t even have newborn pictures of all of them because she didn’t have enough money in her prison account to pay for hospital photos.
Simmons, whose convictions were all for using crack and once for selling it, said that after each parole, “I did what I normally did on the outside because that’s what addicts do. We’re selfish.” So her advice was for prison officials to make supervised care after release mandatory for inmates applying to get into the nursery program.
“The babies aren’t going to get us clean,” she said. “I have six kids and that didn’t cure me. A lot of us are kids ourselves, with a lot of damage inside us. So if our kids have a birthday party, part of us is really happy for them and part of us is sitting there saying “Damn, how come I never had a party like this?” We need a wide support system to get us through parole and life with our kids after parole.
“Bonding with our babies is important — but it ain’t enough.”
You can read the full article online at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/14/INGORIPSMN37.DTL CCPOAIronwood.com welcomes comments for correctional officers working at CIW who would be affected by this new program. Please use our new blog program and quick register with Word Press to make a comment below.
Let Them Go… Just Not in OUR Backyard!
I came across an opinion piece today in The American Thinker and I have to say that the writer summed up the twist that happened at the protest of “Mothers Against Molestors” quite well:
Yesterday saw the ACLU bastion of Marin County turn downright hostile toward a group normally favored by liberals: prisoners, specifically paroled sex offenders. [Full Article Online]
As Californians, we have seen many protests in the Marin County area in favor of inmates’ rights. “Free Tookie” was one of the last big protests seen up there at California’s San Quentin Prison, but it wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last. However, a recent change of feeling was felt due to the recent relocation of a dozen paroled high risk sex offenders to live at housing on San Quentin property.
Now don’t get me wrong - none of us wants to have high risk sex offenders living in their neighborhood. I’m sure we can all agree and sympathise with these citizens in this area that it is a frightening thought. However, many of these protestors who now stand against the relocation of these individuals are the same protestors who came out on behalf of murderers, rapists and other types of sex offenders in the past. “Let them go!” they chanted, as they fought for inmate rights. We didn’t hear anyone add “but don’t let them live in our neighborhoods…” as we are today. Unfortunately for these protestors, reality is now setting in as these people realize that when inmates are released it is the public that then has to deal with them in their neighborhoods, around their families and in their communities. Not every offender returns to the neighborhood of his birth far, far away from the “safe” high-cost residential areas and neighborhoods, such as we see in Marin County. Sometimes low-cost housing options and programs bring them to new communities where they live and work near families and other tax-paying citizens.
To the parents and citizens of Marin County - trust us when we say we understand. Correctional Officers deal with these people on a day-to-day basis. Each day we see the horror that society would rather turn its back on when they lock up these offenders and throw away the key. But then as the people begin to forget what they have done, we also see the absurdity of the liberal protests and fights to “save” these poor “lost souls” and hear chants of “let them go” and “set them free” as we know full well that the community at-large would never want these individuals set free within their own neighborhoods.
The Toughest Beat in the State… we hear that phrase a lot. But it isn’t until the public is able to get a new point of view regarding the release of high risk parolees into their own neighborhoods - or see with their own eyes on national news the threat that these inmates can pose to officers on a daily basis - that they can truly grasp what that means. Correctional Officers dedicate their lives to keeping the public safe, yet they are forced fight not only against a public that fails to grasp the magnitude of the dangers within the system, but an administration that don’t seem to understand what happens behind prison walls - and state politicians who “run the show” but understand even less. Hopefully these protestors will see things in a new light as they experience these individuals first-hand in their neighborhoods. And maybe, just maybe, they will appreciate the job that Correctional Officers do as they risk their lives, health and families while protecting the public from these convicted criminals and high-risk offenders.
New Blog Program and Format at CCPOAIronwood.com
Our new blog program is now in place and there are a few changes. If you were a registered member blogger with the old program and did NOT receive an e-mail with login/access information, please contact ccpoaironwood@mindspring.com.
While all of our posts were moved over from the old program to the new, we unfortunately lost all of our comments posted by other union members and visitors to our site. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone. However, all original blog entries, articles and news pieces that have been posted to CCPOAIronwood.com since it’s launch date have been retained and are archived by the calendar in the left-hand column.
We welcome any/all posts and comments to our blogs. This blog is a great way for union members and concerned citizens to post their thoughts and ask questions about the top issues that surround our local chapter and communities. Please register to post comments - your information can remain anonymous if you wish.
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We hope you enjoy the new blog format - even more bells & whistles will be launched soon!
“Folsom” Incident Update
More news was released today via the Sacramento Bee about Saturday’s incident. It was confirmed that the incident occurred at CSP-Sac (commonly called New Folsom Prison) rather than at Folsom State Prison as was earlier reported by media sources. About the officer in question, Shelia Mitchell, the Bee reported:
…was taken to a Folsom-area hospital for evaluation, and guards throughout the state were overjoyed at the peaceful outcome, said Capt. Fred Schroeder, an official at California State Prison, Sacramento.
Mitchell had been supervising an inmate work crew cleaning up after breakfast at the prison, sometimes called “New Folsom,” when she was attacked by Michael David Watson, a prisoner on the crew, Schroeder said.
Schroeder said Mitchell, 47, handled the situation well after Watson confronted her with a crudely made metal weapon and took her to an office near the dining area.
“I can’t say enough about how she held up for this,” Schroeder said.
Mitchell was treated and released from Mercy Hospital in Folsom, walking out around 6:30 p.m. Saturday surrounded by a half-dozen red-eyed supporters, including her mother and sisters, some carrying bouquets. Officers who accompanied them said neither she nor her family wanted to comment.
Mitchell is a very private person, said Dan Rafferty, president of the New Folsom chapter of the correctional officers union, who had worked with her for about 18 months and was with her at the hospital.
Standing about 5 foot 4, she is “one of the officers who inmates felt really comfortable with, and a lot of them approached her with their problems,” he said.
Watson got close to her by indicating he wanted to keep on talking about an issue he had first broached with her on Friday, and apparently intended to take her, specifically, hostage, Rafferty said.
“Sometimes these guys do things without a logical reason, and that’s what happened today,” he said. “Unfortunately, our institution is saddled with a lot of inmates with psychological issues, a high percentage of them.”
The union officer praised prison officials for handling the crisis “perfectly,” adding, “You can imagine it was a very emotional issue for the staff. … It’s the risk that all of us face every day.”
In a prepared statement, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was proud of Mitchell and the hostage negotiators.
“I applaud the courage of Officer Sheila Mitchell as well as the professionalism and skill of the negotiators and department staff who brought this dangerous situation to a swift and safe conclusion,” he said.
To read the full report with additional information on the inmate, the history of past incidents at CSP-Sac and more details on the assault itself visit: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14252693p-15068742c.html
Folsom Incident News
CCPOAIronwood.com received e-mails and phone calls today regarding the hostage situation that occurred at Folsom State Prison beginning this morning at around 7:10am. A female correctional officer was held hostage by an inmate who was reportedly upset after learning that he had lost his job in culinary. The Associated Press released this information late this evening after the 10-hour situation was finally under control and the officer was released unharmed:
Michael David Watson, 41, released the hostage, Sheila Mitchell, 45, without incident shortly after 5 p.m., according to California State Prison, Sacramento spokeswoman Lt. Joyce McClendon.
Mitchell was supervising a prison work crew cleaning up the dining room after breakfast when Watson, armed with a six-inch metal knife made in the prison, grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby office, said Capt. Fred Schroeder of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It was unclear how many inmates were in the dining room at the time.
The prison was secured and placed on full lockdown, as officials negotiated over the phone with Watson, a maximum-security inmate. Watson had demanded to be moved to another prison and to have his property inventoried, Schroeder told the Sacramento Bee.
Neither Watson nor Mitchell, a correctional officer for nine years, were injured. Mitchell was sent to an outside hospital for evaluation.
The prison remained on lockdown Saturday night as officials continued their investigation, McClendon said.
Watson was serving a 26-year sentence for robbery and false imprisonment after being convicted in San Diego County. He had been scheduled to be released from prison in August 2012.
Subsequently all other institutions within the CDC(R) went on lockdown status and visitation was cancelled due to the incident until it could be determined what the motive was behind the attack. No reports have been released to support a statement made earlier by Sacramento-based news websites that stated that news cameras were due to arrive later Saturday morning to film a report at the institution and whether or not that had anything to do with the inmate’s attack upon the officer.