Tag Archives: prison reform

Gangs and the SHU

Arrghhh, having one of those days…. I always get torn in two when I hear about my state’s prison Security Housing Units, aka The SHU.

I just wrote a story coming off an afternoon of listening to Sacramento hearings about:

1) the horrifying conditions in the SHU; and

2) how inmates become validated as prison gang members and get sent indefinitely to the SHU.

Don’t get me wrong. As a frequent visitor to California prisons, it doesn’t take much to tick me off at the Department of Corrections.  I mean seriously, prisons could do a few simple, cheap and decent things like provide shade and benches for elderly visitors who stand for hours in their freezing/blistering hot/rain-soaked parking lots just to see a loved one. They could quit setting the clocks forward and shaving 15 minutes off precious visiting time. Grrrr! They could allow a reporter a pencil and paper like the Department Operations Manual says they must.

And those are just the little things. And okay, maybe I’m ticked off I didn’t get invited by CDCR to go on their recent press junket to Pelican Bay. Double grrr!

Despite all this ticked-offness, I understand prison officials’ dilemma.

I lose patience with family members who are in denial about their loved ones’ gang involvement. There was a lot of talk at the Sacramento hearing about inmates being falsely classified as prison gang members. They are not ‘generals,’ one relative said.

Well, some of them are. There really are gang members and gang generals in the SHU. And I know this not because I take some cop’s word for it but because I’ve known more than a few of them personally. There really are people there who stab, strangle, slice, and beat other humans as a regular way of life. Even in the SHU, they find ways to smuggle out orders to kill. Yes, they do. I’ve seen the hit lists.

True, that doesn’t mean your loved one is one of them.

I guess what I’m thinking is that we’re asking the wrong questions. Rather than protest every SHU inmate’s innocence, maybe we should ask: Is long-term isolation in a Security Housing Unit really the best way to deal with the gang members who do beat and stab and slice?

The SHU hasn’t stopped the gangs from spreading. It hasn’t stopped the orders for hits. True, it has probably slowed some of these things, but I have to ask whether allowing SHU inmates to use colored pencils is really going to increase prison violence. Whether allowing inmates a little more fresh air and human contact is going to up the assault rates.

Maybe the problem isn’t who goes to the SHU, it’s the SHU itself.

One big question that did come up at the hearing — and it was a good one — was why prison officials have made it almost impossible to leave the SHU (and one’s gang) without debriefing. (Debriefing is what some would call snitching.)

I liked the answer I heard. They’re going to change that. That’s what I heard, I swear. Finally, prison officials told us they’re looking at ways to help guys step back without informing.

This is HUGE.

As they age, plenty of men grow tired of being in a gang, but still feel crappy about informing. The new approach would allow them to show (through their behavior) that they’re no longer in a gang. Without having to debrief.

I can imagine that prison officials will see a lot more men back off from prison gangs and out of the SHU.

Sure, there a risks. How do you know for sure the guy has really left the gang? Maybe he’s a sleeper. Things like that.

You don’t know. There’s always a risk. Leaving men with nothing on their minds but time in the SHU is also a risk. As one ex-gang general put it, they’ve got nothing to do “but sit and plot.” Hasn’t worked out too well so far, has it?

 

 

Folsom Prison Blues

Good story on NPR this week giving background about California’s Folsom prison, and our state’s prison problems in general: Folsom Embodies California’s Prison Blues | by Laura Sullivan.

I spent a day inside Folsom in 2003, and it’s amazing how much has changed for the worse even since then, when inmates were already doubled up in cells designed for one. Back then, the vocational programs were impressive and the gardens around the old prison were quite beautiful. The inmates took pride in them, but according to this story, they’re gone now, too.

Well, whaddya know? Prison reform

Senators seek overhaul of US prison system

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Calling the US criminal justice system “a national disgrace,” US Senators urged for a top-to-bottom review with an eye on reforms aimed at reducing America’s massive prison population.

Democratic Senator Jim Webb, backed by Republican Senator Arlen Specter, introduced legislation to create a blue-ribbon panel that would conduct an 18-month assessment and offer concrete recommendations for reform.

“America’s criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace,” Webb said, noting that the United States has five percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.

The Virginia lawmaker noted soaring numbers of drug offenders in prison, and charged that four times more mentally ill people are incarcerated than housed in mental health hospitals.

Read the rest of this story here.

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On another note, does the above link mean that Google is PAYING for news content? Hmmm… we must investigate…

stories

Print and online coverage of justice, youth violence, gangs, guns, and the FBI

crowd1
Crowd at Salinas crime scene | photo © Janjaap Dekker

JUSTICE: THE SYSTEM, THE CONCEPT, THE REALITY

From overcrowded prisons to life without parole for juveniles and problematic witness protection — our justice system offers plenty to write about.

The guns of Pacific Grove: Unraveling a police commander’s arms dealings | The Monterey Herald

The silent empire: the state’s largest for-profit jail health care provider | The Monterey Herald (funny how they change headlines on the web for search engine optimization)

Experts slam Monterey County Jail conditions | The Monterey Herald
(yes, they re-named our newspaper)

Series on prison mental health | The Monterey County Herald

Reasonable Doubt in a Cold Case | The Monterey County Herald

The Long Journey: Johnny Angel Martinez’ search for redemption | The Monterey County Herald


Down for Life series
| The Monterey County Herald  Day 1 Day 2Day 3
>>PDFs
Day 1 Day 2Day 3
Down for Life series | KAZU-fm  Part 1 Part 2Part 3

Multimedia: A Long Night’s Wait at Salinas Valley State Prison

Witness Protection Not a Guarantee | The Monterey County Herald
Murder Victims’ Families Find Solace | The Monterey County Herald

GANGS

Since 2002, I’ve reported on the Nuestra Familia and the law enforcement efforts to bring it down.

The NF is one of the nation’s most violent and sophisticated gangs, a drug-dealing mafia that for more than three decades has exerted powerful control over the West’s agricultural towns. In the Salinas Valley, second, third and now fourth generations of children are literally being born into this gang and raised to be criminals. My work chronicles the gang’s power and a community’s struggle to defeat it.

Nuestra Familia, Our Family | The PBS documentary
Our award-winning film about a father, a son, a gang and the FBI.

OPERATION VALLEY STAR STORIES

The FBI’s largest case against Nuestra Familia, with trials still underway.

The Operation Valley Star Archive — all stories

WOMEN, GIRLS AND GANGS

Girlfriends, wives and sisters are an integral — and often expendable — part of gang organizations.

Women Caught up in Gang Life | Monterey County Herald

Prison Gang Tied to Soledad Killings | Monterey County Herald

GANG VIOLENCE – SOLUTIONS

When people ask me how to end gangs, I usually say something useless like “end poverty first.” But there may be more immediate hope for stopping some of the killings. The Boston Ceasefire violence reduction strategy is gaining support and believers. I’m one of them.

Ceasefire: A series on the innovative program to stop gang shootings | Monterey County Herald

Reasons for Hope: Three journalists who report on the drug trade’s violence in the United States and Mexico compare notes during a peaceful pause | Nieman Reports Fall 2011

I also continuously cover solutions to gang and youth violence, as well as prison and reentry issues as my regular beat at The Monterey County Herald.

GUNS

In the world of gunrunning, money drives the engine. What starts with an illegal but booming worldwide arms trade ends with misery around the globe – including teen deaths in Northern California.

South Florida’s Elusive Arms Baron | Frontline/WORLD
The Guns of Opa-Locka | The Nation
Youths, Gangs and Guns | KQED-TV and Oakland Tribune

I also contributed reporting to these investigative projects:
Gun Land | NOW with Bill Moyers
Gun Runners | Frontline/WORLD

Critics: Terrorists Manipulate Loopholes in U.S. Gun Laws | NPR’s All Things Considered [ram audio]

EN ESPAÑOL

Gángster en un campo de lechugas  (Gangster in a Lettuce Field) | El Puercoespîn, Argentina May 2010

La guerra civil en California (The Civil War in California) | La Jornada, México, 3-part series, Dec. 2003–Jan. 2004

AND MORE…


High-flying Investor Goes Into Free Fall
| San Francisco Chronicle

Daniel Ellsberg: Whistleblowers wanted here | The Monterey County Herald

I also contributed reporting to these investigative projects:
Locked Down | American Radio Works
Gangs Thrive In Maximum Security | 60 Minutes