Source: cdcr.ca.gov 10/28/24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Halloween is fast approaching, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is helping to keep kids and families safe. Throughout the week, CDCR parole agents will be providing safety tips for trick-or-treaters via social media and as part of a comprehensive parents’ guide on our 2024 Operation Boo webpage. (Follow us on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X) THE BIGGER PICTURE: Hundreds of parole agents across the state, in collaboration with local law enforcement partners, will conduct compliance checks on sex offender supervised…
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CA: New CDCR Treatment Regulations Delayed
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reported today a delay of up to 30 days in issuance of new regulations that are expected to clarify how long registrants on parole must undergo treatment. The projected date for issuance of the regulations is no later than October 30, 2024. CDCR previously entered into a settlement agreement regarding this matter several months ago in response to a lawsuit challenging an unwritten CDCR policy that required all registrants on parole to undergo treatment the entire time they are on…
Read MoreCA Survey: Did CDCR spend your parolee $200 release allowance for you?
Source: rootandrebound.org and prisonerswithchildren.org [ACSOL’s comment: CA parolees, ex-parolees, and supporters, please take a few moments to take this survey share your personal experiences with CDCR spending your parolee $200 allowance.] From: Claudia J. Gonzalez, cgonzalez@rootandrebound.org As advocates for justice and fairness, we need your help to address an ongoing issue affecting individuals released or paroled from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) institutions. By law, individuals leaving CDCR facilities are entitled to a $200 release allowance known as ‘Gate Money.’ Unfortunately, there’s a concerning practice within CDCR where…
Read MoreGuilty by association: When parole and probation rules disrupt support systems
Source: prisonpolicy.org 11/8/23 Requiring people on supervision to avoid others with criminal legal system contact can actually hinder their success in the community. We found that it’s common for probation and parole agencies to impose these “association” restrictions, tearing apart critical social networks and threatening to lock people up for harmless — and even helpful — interactions. For the 3.7 million people on parole or probation in the United States, the very people who can best support their success are often unable to help because of supervision conditions that prohibit…
Read MoreNY: Opinion: The case for fixing probation and parole
Source: cityandstateny.com 9/22/23 On Sept. 17, 2021, when I was running the notorious Rikers Island jails, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Less Is More act into law, reducing parole revocations for non-criminal, technical violations. When she did so, she applied the act retroactively to all people incarcerated for 30 days or more for parole violations like drug use, missed appointments and curfew violations. Unfortunately, Isaabdul Karim had only been incarcerated for 29 days, missing his release opportunity by a single day. Two days later, Mr. Karim died of COVID-19 in…
Read MoreFor People Just Leaving Prison, a Novel Kind of Support: Cash
Source: news.yahoo.com 7/9/22 Alwin Jacob Smith became a free man last summer after being locked up for 21 years because of what he calls “my little old rocky past” — most notably, robbery and drug possession. He worked hard while incarcerated, getting an associate degree in ministry, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and substance abuse support groups, and eventually leading those groups as a peer mentor. Smith’s release, which he celebrated with a steak-and-eggs breakfast, came about through a California law that allows prosecutors to reevaluate sentences to determine whether they…
Read MoreCA: Families protest halfway house for sexual offenders in Fairfield
Source: dailyrepublic.com 4/24/22 FAIRFIELD — Parents and residents near B. Gale Wilson Elementary School and K.I. Jones Elementary School are outraged to find a halfway house for sexual offenders is right in the middle of the neighborhood where their children go to school. About 25 parents came out Saturday to B. Gale Wilson to march to the halfway house, protesting all the way. Richard Creighton and his wife Evelyn have two little boys and they were stunned to find out about the halfway house. “We live right across the street…
Read MoreStates Can Shorten Probation and Protect Public Safety
Source: pewtrusts.org 12/3/20 More than 3.5 million, or 1 in 72, adults were on probation in the United States at the end of 2018—the most recent year for which U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data is available—more than triple the number in 1980.1 Nationwide, on any given day, more people are on probation than in prisons and jails and on parole combined. At its best, probation—court-ordered correctional supervision in the community—gives people the opportunity to remain with their families, maintain employment, and access services that can reduce their likelihood…
Read MoreNY: Lawmakers wrestle with parole bills as session deadline nears
[thedailystar.com – 5/31/21] ALBANY — Proposals aimed at giving a second chance to well-behaved prison inmates are gaining traction at the statehouse in the final days of the 2021 legislative session. Perhaps the most controversial bill would require parole consideration for inmates who have served at least 15 years of their sentence and are 55 years or older. … One other criminal justice bill getting attention would seal the criminal records of thousands of offenders once they complete their sentences, provided the individuals are not on probation or parole, or…
Read MoreUnanimous Opposition Repeated During Today’s CDCR Hearing
[ACSOL] For a second time, speakers unanimously stated their opposition today to regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that categorically exclude registrants and those sentenced to life without parole from re-sentencing opportunities. Today’s hearing followed an initial hearing on May 7 during which technical difficulties that lasted for more than 20 minutes resulted in the inability of many people to speak about the regulations. “ACSOL thanks the dozens of people who spoke in opposition to CDCR’s regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “CDCR is…
Read MoreCA: Judge continues hearing on relocating sexually violent predator to Twentynine Palms
[z1077fm.com – 5/22/21] A hearing was held in Orange County Friday afternoon about whether Lawtis _____, a sexually violent predator, should be located to Twentynine Palms, a city where he has no ties at all. Managing editor Tami Roleff has the details from the hearing… The hearing in an Orange County courtroom began with the judge stating that she had not yet analyzed multiple documents that had been submitted to her—some that had been submitted as late as Friday (May 21)—and that she anticipated having a ruling next week Read…
Read MoreRestorative Action Alliance Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court Case
The Restorative Action Alliance filed today an amicus brief in a case, Ortiz v. Breslin, for which a petition has been filed requesting review by the U. S. Supreme Court. The focus of the petition is decisions made by the New York State Department of Corrections not to release registrants on their court mandated release dates but instead to continue to imprison registrants for up to two additional years because they cannot find housing due to the state’s residency restrictions. “The brief filed today by the Restorative Action Alliance should…
Read MoreOH: Lawmakers Re-introduce Reagan Tokes Act at Ohio Statehouse
[10tv.com – 4/15/21] The bill named after murdered Ohio State student Reagan Tokes aims to shore up problems with monitoring ex-prisoners first uncovered by 10 Investigates House lawmakers re-introduced a bill Thursday named after murdered Ohio State student Reagan Tokes that aims to shore up shortfalls with how ex-prisoners re-enter society and are monitored by parole officers once they leave prison. 10 Investigates has exposed example after example of the state’s repeated inability to closely monitor violent ex-offenders in recent years. The results were deadly. Reagan Tokes became one of…
Read MoreWA: HB 1282 Will Allow All People Convicted of a Felony to Earn Up to 33% Off Their Sentence
[Washington Voices – wavoices.org – 2/7/21] Dear Friends, This Thursday, February 11, at 1:30 pm, the House Committee on Public Safety will vote on HB 1282. If this bill becomes law, all people convicted of a felony will have an opportunity to earn up to 33% off of their sentence. Currently, people convicted of a sex offense can earn a maximum of 10% off their sentence. Information about the bill and a video recording of the Feb. 2 committee hearing can be found at the HB 1282 website. Many people…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Decision Overturns CDCR’s Prop. 57 Regulations [UPDATED 1/6/21]
[Updated 1/6/21 with new link] The California Supreme Court today issued a unanimous decision that overturned regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that prohibited all registrants from benefiting from the benefits of Proposition 57. The primary benefit at issue is early consideration for parole. In today’s decision, In re Gadlin (S254599), the Court ruled that CDCR’s current regulations prohibited early parole consideration for all registrants are void because they violate the state constitution. “This is a significant victory for registrants who are currently in custody,”…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Considers Prop. 57 Case
[ACSOL] The California Supreme Court today listened to oral arguments in the first in a series of cases regarding the implementation of Proposition 57 by the California Department of Corrections (CDC). At issue in all of those cases is whether CDC’s regulations could lawfully exclude anyone convicted of a sex offense from its major benefit, that is, early parole consideration. The registrant in today’s case is Gregory Gadlin who is currently in state prison after being convicted of an offense that does not require registration. However, Gadlin is required to…
Read MoreCO: New law closes loophole regarding sex offender treatment
[koaa.com – 8/12/20] SOUTHERN COLORADO — Colorado legislators have closed a loophole in state law that allowed certain sex offenders to get out of prison early and transfer to community corrections before completing required treatment. To fully understand what exactly changed in the law, it’s important to take a step back and learn more about the Colorado Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act (LSA). This allows people convicted of high-level sex offenses to stay in prison or under supervision until they have progressed in their treatment and are no longer considered…
Read More9th Circuit Invalidates Employment Parole Condition
[ACSOL] 9th Circuit Invalidates Employment Parole Condition The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently invalidated a condition of parole which restricted a registrant from “engaging in any occupation, business, volunteer activity or profession” that had “the potential to be alone with children.” In its ruling, the Court agreed with the registrant that the parole condition at issue was overbroad. The Court noted in its decision that the condition “would leave only professions in industries that rigidly prohibit the presence of minors, such as a bar, casino, or adult-entertainment venue. The…
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