Please scroll down to read the newsletter.
POSTED 11/19/08 - from All Things Harlem
Couldn't get to Family Empowerment Day 4 in NYC? Were there but would like to refresh your memory of it? No reason to fret. Just press start on the screen below, and see it in all its glory. Thanks to Joseph Hayden and Rob Gales at All Things Harlem.
EP9 from RobGales on Vimeo.
POSTED: 11/19/08 - from Prison Action Network and the Justice Committee at FUUSA
Family Empowerment Day 4/Albany
It's happening this Saturday, November 22. The theme is "Health Care Needs of the Incarcerated : An in-depth look at the needs of the physically ill, the mentally ill, and the aging prison population". The Keynote Speaker will be Teresa Wuerdeman, DOCS Asst. Commissioner for Health Services. She will be talking about The Current State of Prison Health Care. Ms. Wuerdeman will be joined by Dr. Timothy Whalen, the NE Regional Director of Health Services. Her talk will be followed by a Question and Answer session with the audience. Later in the day we will share our stories about prison health care experiences and before we leave come up with a plan for taking action. Please join us at 405 Washington Avenue in Albany NY. The event runs from 10-2, with lunch provided. Please RSVP by email or call 518-253-7533.
POSTED 11/13/08 - from All Things Harlem
You'll want to watch this historic movie of an historic moment in our history. All Things Harlem brings you exclusive coverage of election day in Harlem. Follow the filmmakers through the community on election day, see the sights and hear the sounds of the Harlem Community on this historical day. You will find this footage nowhere else on the planet. Share this link with the world. Send your feedback to:
Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, CEO
Still Here, Harlem Productions Inc.
201 West 138th St. Suite 1
New York, NY 10030
Office:212-234-0596
Cell: 917-753-3771
Jhayden512@aol.com
http://www.ovntv.com Channel 335
allthingsharlem.com (coming soon)
POSTED 11/13/08 - from the Coalition for Parole Restoration:
You are invited to attend a workshop on Preparing for
Parole Hearings presented by CPR (Coalition for Parole
Restoration) on November 22 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm., at
the Fortune Society Academy at 630 Riverside Drive (at 140th
Street).
Please contact Mark McPhee at interlock202@yahoo.com to
rsvp.
Those who are unable to attend this workshop will have
another opportunity in December.
POSTED 11/9/08 - from Ronald F. Day:
Redemptive Capital Reentry Project [Messages: Stories of Transformation Beyond the Wall] seeks to debunk myths and stereotypes about formerly incarcerated people by documenting and publicizing success stories. Sharing your story might help people languishing in prison who believe that they are doomed to fail.
Submissions should be no more than 2500 words. To make this project as well-rounded as possible, we are accepting stories, poetry, and illustrations along with selected interviews. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2008.
Please contact Ronald F. Day (“Una”) redemptivecapital@yahoo.com.
Building Bridges November 2008
Dear Reader,
Well, we did it! YOU did it!! We had a FULL HOUSE at Family Empowerment Day 4/NYC! You invited everyone you knew and a lot of them came! More than 400 people! You also paid for it (see list of donors, #3). People were serious about why they were there. There were 19 Action Tables (see list, #3). Nearly half the participants stayed until after 4 pm because they wanted to make sure they voted. In the end the decision was to work on getting parole hearings videotaped. There was video and audio coverage and as soon as they’re available we will announce it in these pages. We saw (an almost final cut of) The Visitors, and when it’s released to the public we’ll let you know about that also. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but the energy and the commitment are there. Together we are moving ahead! Maintain hope, be patient, and never waver. We’ve come a long way, and we’re not quitting while there is still work to be done.
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. Whatever you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."-- Goethe
Please share your copy of Building Bridges. We all need to be on the same page!
In this Issue:
1. Report on FED4/NYC
2. Update on Graziano Vs. Pataki
3. Who paid for FED4
4. Lifers and Longtermers Clearinghouse
5. Parole Report
6. Prison Media
7. What you can do for change
8. Lost at FED
1. IN THIS REPORT ON FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4/ NYC FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEONE WHO IS TOTALLY COMMITTED TO THE PRISONER MOVEMENT, LARRY WHITE FOLLOWS THE THEME “TAKING ACTION TO BRING OUR LOVED ONES HOME” FROM VIEWING ‘THE VISITORS’ TO CHOOSING THE FIRST PAROLE ISSUE TO WORK ON
Like the three prior Family Empowerment Day (FED) events, the fourth FED had a guiding theme that set forth the primary objective of the event. The theme: "Taking Action to Bring Our Loved-Ones Home" is both telling and instructive, for it clearly indicates that the action being taken is of a personal nature, since it involves families, loved-ones, and supporters. It also indicates that those involved in the action are stakeholders who have a social interest in the outcome of action taken against a public agency whose legal mandate is public safety. Thus the theme of the fourth FED was both personal and social, and has implications that affect not merely families, but whole communities.
The theme provides us with a basis for determining whether the event was a success or failure. Let's take a look:
The event started out with a viewing of the film "The Visitors", a documentary about the families who make the long and tiring trip to upstate prisons. It was discussed by a panel composed of family and loved-ones who made the trips, and also formerly incarcerated persons. Although the discussion centered primarily on the trials and tribulations endured , sometimes over very long periods of time in an effort to continue family ties, it was also forcefully brought out that the film was about the social tragedy of broken and disconnected relations that were initiated and enforced by the laws, policies, and practices of the controlling agencies (Dept. of Correctional Services and Division of Parole). That it was now time for those who must ride those buses to take action to change those laws, policies, and practices. Because of the forcefulness of the last statement, which drew applause from the audience, this portion of the event can be deemed a success.
The next presentation of the event was the an update on the Graziano v Pataki lawsuit by attorneys Robert Isseks and Peter Sell. I missed this presentation and you will have to read the report printed elsewhere in this issue of Building Bridges [see #2].
The third presentation on the agenda and the most important segment of the event was the keynote address by George Alexander, Chairman of the N.Y.S. Division of Parole. Billed as a two part presentation consisting of the keynote address entitled "The State of Parole Today" and a question and answer period, the lecture hall at Columbia University law school was filled to capacity with families, loved-ones and supporters who had come to hear and question the "Head of the Parole Board".
And that is how many of the families and loved-ones perceived George Alexander - as the person who was "the head" of a parole board that was unjustly denying release to hundreds, if not thousands, of those they were there to represent.
Not all of the families and loved-ones saw things that way. But there was a prevailing mindset among those that did, that was based upon ignorance of state agency procedures and misinformation provided by the incarcerated individuals they represented, that gave rise to hardened attitudes and ripe anger that was to erupt during the question and answer period.
Despite the prevailing mindset, George Alexander laid it down with such candor and forthrightness that it was startling to many and appreciated by most. He made it quite plain that he was not of the old regime i.e. Pataki school, and had made it clear when he issued the well known memo to the parole board commissioners about violent felony offenders having equal status under the executive laws. He fully explained that under the executive law governing parole, as Chairman he did not have the authority to tell the parole board commissioners how to vote. That the primary changes that people sought in how the parole board functioned was a matter of legislation and that the community must prevail upon their legislative representatives.
All in all the Chairman made it known whose side he was on. I have been following the criminal justice scene for over forty years and I cannot recall any chairman of parole opening the door to community input as widely as Alexander did. He stated publicly that his office was open to all, the formerly incarcerated included. He offered to meet with any advocacy groups or organizations which invited him.
At the question and answer period he stood his ground when family members insisted that he did indeed have the authority to "make the parole commissioners do the right thing!". And it soon became clear that there was a block of people in the audience whose failure to believe what Alexander had said about his limited authority, and who, lacking a basic knowledge of state agency procedure, could not bring themselves to recognize that an offer had been made to followup with discussions of disputed issues. At one point when he was under loud attack, he stated that he was from the community too and would not be shouted down. He then turned and wrote his telephone number and email address on the blackboard for those who wanted to pursue the matter further.
At the end of the question and answer period, a large segment ot the audience left without participating in the final part of the agenda. Their passion, the concern they felt for their loved ones, and the frustrations they were experiencing as no one gave them the answers they were seeking, apparently led them to leave immediately. Unfortunately, all too often, there are no answers. While their emotions were understandable, it left the remaining people feeling a sense of loss. We no longer had input from the entire group when we reached the culmination of the day’s events, the last session. Termed the Action Planning Session, this part of the agenda involved voting for a parole issue the families, loved-ones and supporters would agree to mobilize behind as the first of a number of parole issues to be addressed.
The video recording of parole board hearings was the goal that won out, and a first meeting has been scheduled for November 15. [see *#7, for details]
SOME POINTS MADE AT FED4
27 thousand people coming out of prison every year have a number of family members each. It’s a large block that we can and want to mobilize for change.
We need to learn about and be mindful of the kind of things that happen after we come home, i.e. after 90 days when family starts looking at you funny cause there’s not as much coffee or food in the house now that you are back home.
There’s a lot of services out there but finding out what they are and where they are can be hard, so sign up for all information and list serves so the information comes to you.
The thing to do is change the culture of prison. What we’re doing today is one of the ways to change that culture. We make change with how we vote.
Parole release rates are guided by the governor, the media and our neighbors. Gov Paterson's phone number is 518-474-8390. One of the last things Paterson did as Lt. Governor was introduce an omnibus re-entry bill so he knows these issues. He has more power to move the parole board to do the right thing than Chairman Alexander.
The two senators who flooded the media with information designed to cause parole to retreat: Senator Nozzolio 518-455-2366, Senator Golden 518-455-2730. Yet Sen. Nozzolio has sponsored some favorable legislation.
About 259-J: Prior to Jenna’s law, lifers did get discharged from parole. Two years ago a group came together, wrote a bill, found a Republican sponsor, Senator Volker, lobbied senators, asked what could get it passed, pooled their money and hired a lobbyist to help get it passed.
Tell all your friends to call the governor and their legislative representatives in support of bills that we endorse. Don’t feel powerless, don’t be scared to call. You don’t need to know or understand every part of the state government or the legislative process to make a phone call.
We can look to the media, often looked at as an opponent, but they're just professional writers sitting around looking for good stories, waiting for people to come to them and tell them what to look at. We need to call them and email them and tell them "I have a story for you". The articles you read that are touching you, those are the journalists you want to reach out to with your stories.
The media upstate affects how Albany thinks. When Fischer suggested to close prisons, it was the upstate media who had a lot to say about it.
The language issue is important. They're not inmates, not prisoners, they are people. To try and get people to view our loved ones differently we need to have them viewed as people. It’s not simple, but it’s an important step to change our language, especially when talking to media or legislators.
This event exists by the efforts and desires of the people inside. They want their families, they want you, us here on the outside to get together and organize. This is an urban problem, whether it is Buffalo, Rochester, in the Hudson valley, Albany or NYC. It’s not just the families that suffer but these communities that suffer. When your loved one comes home, who do you think is going to fill that empty cell? Your children, your neighbors, people from your community. So don’t leave us, don’t leave these groups, don’t drop out after your loved one comes home, after you come home.
Among things Chairman Alexander said:
Parole previously was more focused on noncompliant behavior. When you take that approach, all you teach is how to avoid getting caught. We now focus on how to successfully re-enter. How do we expect anyone to reintegrate without our help?
We met with service providers to get them on the same page as us and now we come together before people are released. ID cards, birth certificates, social security cards, employment planning, social services, navigating all these systems before hand. It takes 60-90 days to just get a check. Who can survive without a check? It makes sense to have all these systems in place months before release. We are not advocating dependency on social services, we are working towards short term and long term employment opportunities.
I am the link between the Board of Parole and the Division of Parole. We have asked the Board to stop imposing limitations and requirements that unnecessarily impede the Division of Parole’s efforts to succeed in their reentry goals.
We automatically issue Certificates of Relief upon release from prison, which remove limitations on some employment opportunities, as well as the right to vote. The Board has the discretion to withhold them if they have concerns about doing so. And thanks to some of the people in this room, we now have legislation that gives us the discretion to release people from parole after 3 years.
Orleans, our trial reentry program, is moving along successfully, hoping to expand if budget allows. 60 beds, 90-120 days before release. We participate in discharge planning, therapy, substance abuse programs, with support from Erie County, with service providers, community parole officers, etc.
This monumental change will take time to take root. Our success can only be gauged by the success of the people released into the community.
When you go before a hearing, it’s like going for a job interview. It’s the time to sell yourself. At the hearing, don’t wait for the questions, give them the reasons to release you.
We're working on a risk assessment tool to help us make better release decisions.
Anything sent to us is effective. Especially letters or petitions signed by influential people, not necessarily elected people, but anyone in the community who commands respect. Use any means at your disposal to present positive information on behalf of the person for whom you are advocating.
The best risk for a Parole Officer is the person who has aged out of the system, doesn’t recidivate, in other words, the longtermers. We have to change the way these people are perceived. And by changing the legislation. We need the faith-based communities, as well, to step up and help change the public's perception.
I cannot dictate to any individual commissioner what decision to make. I do not make law. I make sure they follow the law.
We take mental illness and poor institutional records due to mental illness into consideration, we get updated psychological reports done to see what challenges they are facing today and likely to face in the future and take that into consideration.
Everyone who served a life sentence, who has been on parole for more than 3 years, if they haven’t had any revocations or been rearrested, is now automatically considered for early discharge. The law just passed, we just started the process, but it’s happening.
2. UPDATE ON GRAZIANO VS. PATAKI, AS PROVIDED BY ROBERT ISSEKS AND PETER SELL. THEY’RE STILL INVOLVED IN THE DISCOVERY PROCESS, AMASSING EVIDENCE OF THE POLICY AS ALLEGED. DURING THIS TIME DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE IN DISTRICT COURTS IN NY THAT DISAGREE WITH JUDGE BRIEANT’S DECISION, SAYING THAT THE CASE DOES NOT BELONG IN FEDERAL COURT; THAT IT MAY VIOLATE STATE LAW BUT NOT FEDERAL.
Initially the state moved to dismiss our case, arguing it does not belong in federal court, because federal constitutional rights were not violated. Judge Brieant denied the state's motion. There was a change in the administration, the state moved again to dismiss, Brieant denied that motion as well. Since then we’ve been involved in the discovery process. The purpose now is to amass evidence of the policy as we alleged. During this time decisions have been made in district courts in NY that disagree with Brieant’s decision, saying it does not belong in Federal court; that it may violate state law but not federal. Judge Brieant died and Judge Cathy Seibel is our new judge; we go before her the first time on Nov. 6 and the due process decision will be discussed. The case is about how it is that these commissioners, usually 3 of them, make the decisions that they make. We believe that they are made arbitrarily in accordance with a predetermined plan based on the parole commissioner's personal philosophy and not in accordance with statues. If a judge decided on 15 to life as sufficient, how does the board then reach a decision that it's not true or sufficient? If the board says because of the crime you committed you are still a danger, they are supposed to express how you are still a danger and they are not doing that, they are just saying that because the crime was done, there is a danger. We have the evidence that this is what is going on, the question is does that constitute a federal due process violation? That’s what needs to be decided before we can move forward.
The statistics show that the people who committed these violent offenses are the least likely to repeat. Those statistics refute the argument that these people who committed these crimes years ago are still a danger.
3. FED 4/NYC WAS PRESENTED BY THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT OF PRISON ACTION NETWORK, WITH SUPPORT FROM PRISON ORGANIZATIONS, ACTION TABLE ORGANIZATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS, ALL LISTED BELOW. THIS IS A PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT, ENTIRELY SUPPORTED BY US. SO YOU SEE, TOGETHER WE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS!
PRISON ORGANIZATIONS: Auburn Lifers Committee;Auburn Vietnam Veterans Chap 205; Sullivan Latinos Unidos Org.; Woodbourne ILC; Woodbourne Longtermers Org; Joseph Rudd on behalf of GEO at Mid-Orange, Otisville Lifers and Longtermers Org and Arthur Kill Lifers and Longtermers Org.
ACTION TABLE ORGANIZATIONS:
The Campaign for an Independent Public Defense Commission
Postcards to sign asking Governor David Paterson to include funding for an independent public defense commission in his plans for the 2009 budget.
Cheryl Kates, Esq.
Petitions in support of:
a] Clemency application for Tanika Dickson, a former rape victim and young African American woman who stabbed and killed a man who was threatening her.
b] Returning Jalil Anthony Bottom and Herman Bell to NY from California for their parole hearings.
CPR (Coalition for Parole Restoration)
Sign up for their parole workshop to be held on November 22, 2008.
CWP (Coalition for Women Prisoners) of the Correctional Association
Sign a letter supporting A.8465-A, a bill lessening the impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act by giving foster care agencies more discretion to delay filing termination papers if incarceration is a “significant factor” in why the child was placed in foster care.
CJAN (Criminal Justice Action Network)
Sign a petition in support of S.3614, legislation that would allow incarcerated survivors of domestic violence to earn merit time off their sentences.
CURE-NY / Citizens For Restorative Justice
CURE-NY - Form letters and stamped envelopes for your state representatives' district offices supporting Merit Time, Work Release and Higher Education for all incarcerated people not serving life without parole. We will show you how to identify your representative and his/her address.
Citizens For Restorative Justice - sign up to work on passage of the current Merit Time Bill and/or raise money to hire a lobbyist to pursue this action.
Fordham Law Prisoners' Rights Advocates
Sign postcards against anti-attorney visiting policies in New York States prisons. We hope to make inroads and build a foundation to challenge the practices for everyone.
Fortune Society
Urged families, loved-ones and supporters to vote in the upcoming election and provided literature about the importance of doing so.
F.R.E.E. (Families Rallying for Emancipation & Equality)
Visit their table to participate in a videotaped interview about parole and how it affects you personally. Could possibly end up in a Public Service Announcement to educate the public about parole.
ICARE / Trinity Seven Communities Project
Call or write your elected officials to advocate for the closing of prisons. We'll have information and a computer to look up their contact information.
JLM (Jail house Lawyers Manual)
Would you like to see your family member's artwork appear on the cover of A Jail house Lawyer's Manual (JLM)? Stop by the table for flyers publicizing this cover art contest, which we invite you to send to your loved ones.
Justice Works Community
Rockefeller Drug Law/S.N.A.P.; Sign the Drop the Rock petition so we can reach the goal of 35,000 signatures to commemorate 35 years of the RDL
Census; Send a postcard protesting the counting of incarcerated people in the town they are housed in (prison) and demanding that the government count incarcerated people as living in the towns they lived in before incarceration.
Prison Action Network
Sign up for a free email subscription to Building Bridges, the newsletter that keeps you informed about current events and news of interest to criminal justice and prison reform advocates.
Prison Education Initiative
Let us know what kinds of programs, curriculums, topics of study you think would be beneficial for incarcerated people, particularly at Rikers.
Resilience Multimedia Publishing
Send your incarcerated loved one a flyer about the “Think Outside the Cell” writing contest. They could win cash prizes and become published writers, which would be an impressive accomplishment to add to their Parole Packet!!
Riverside Church Prison Ministry
Sign up for first meeting of "Stop the Max Campaign".
VEP (Voters Enfranchisement Project)
1) Sign a Pledge to Vote and to encourage others to vote (with other optional commitments)
2) Write letters in support of extending voting rights to people on parole
Tables 16,17,18: Peoples' Parole Support Petitions
INDIVIDUAL DONORS:
Gonzalo Aguilar, Muhammad Ahmed, P.Andreu, Glenroy Babb, Gerald Balone, Melis Birder, C. Brown, Michael Brown, Wayne Brown, H. Carreras, Walee Comer, Andrew Cooper, Criminon of Maine, Bobbie Curric, Percy D'Amil, Marvin Denis, D. Dexheimer, Dalton Diaz, Katherine Diaz, Mark Ekblom, Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald, Robert Floyd, Kim Fudge, Noel Gaetan, John Glover, Vincent Gomez, Derrick Green, Clifton Hall, R. Hayes, Kathy and Ernest Henry, Edward Hernandez, Prison Policy Initiative, Kenneth Inniss, James Irving, Gary Johnson, Kevin Joyner, Cheryl Kate's, Esq, Ronnie Lawton, Conlan/LeMoine, Karen Lewis, L. Lovell, Arnold Lynn, Damel Marcu, Don Mason, Radames Matos, Charles McCallister, Teria McGhee, James Miceli, George Milligan, Gilbert Molina, Mohammed Moshin, Steven Musgrave, Saddiq Najee, Harold Neithardt, Luis Newbold, Trace Ocampo-Gaskin, Amy James Oliveras, Rajendra Paltoo, Sean Price, Zayd Rashid, A. Razzaq, Louis Rodriguez, Annette Rodriguez, Placido Rosa, Lynn Rudolph, Tyrone Rudolph, Sheila Rule, Edwin Sanchez, Justin Sellers, James Siena, Anthony Singfield, Thomas Smalls, Kevin Smith, Aaron Talley, Dutchess Taylor, Family of John Valverde, Vincent J. Viola, Dorphus Williams, Eddie Williams, Lenore Zeitchick
BY FACILITY:(Total: $1155.)
Arthur Kill, $90.50, 13 individuals
Auburn, $50, 2 organizations
Bare Hill, $ 5, 1 individual
Clinton, $40, 1 individual
Fishkill, $59.50, 8 individuals
Franklin, $10, 1 individual
Green Haven, $16, 2 individuals
Hudson, $75, 1 individual
Mid-Orange, $77, 5 individuals
Mohawk, $ 5, 1 individual
Oneida, $20, 1 individual
Otisville, $81, 15 individuals
Sing Sing, $25, 2 individuals
Sullivan, $108, 1 organization, 2 indiv.
Upstate, $ 5, 1 individual
Wallkill, $ 13, 2 individuals
Woodbourne, $475, 2 organizations, 4 indiv
4. LIFERS AND LONGTERMERS CLEARINGHOUSE: YOU NEED A THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE OPERATIONS AND THE LAWS AND PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE CONTROLLING AGENCIES (DOCS & DIV. OF PAROLE) AND A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE WHICH MAKES THE LAWS UNDER WHICH YOU ARE IMPRISONED
The Family Empowerment Day events originated as an initiative of a prison organization that wanted to organize their families, loved-ones and supporters to join them in the struggle to obtain justice and fairness from the controlling agencies (NYS Dept. of Correctional Services & NYS Division of Parole). This is and has been the goal of the statewide prisoner movement for decades and it has taken the committed efforts of the three distinct arms in this movement: the incarcerated, their families, loved-ones, and supporters, and the community based advocacy organizations.
These arms must work closely together if the movement is to be effective. People in prison must educate themselves about all aspects of the system they are trying to change. That means a thorough knowledge of the operations and the laws and procedures governing the controlling agencies (DOCS & Div. of Parole). The incarcerated must also have a working knowledge of the state legislature which makes the laws under which you are imprisoned.
It is vital to the success of the other two arms that the people inside obtain this basic knowledge, and know it well enough to school their families and loved-ones. Because inadequate information and knowledge of the intricacies of state agencies can slow our progress down.
At FED4 a segment of the audience (composed of families, loved-ones and supporters ) could not determine the candor and forthrightness that was being expressed to them by Chairman Alexander. True, it has been so long that some of us can't remember or know anything about when we last had a truly liberal head of a controlling agency. (The last one was Ed Hammock, a brother from Queens during the Cuomo administration). This group had not been schooled by those they were representing, and so they let their anger and hostility lead them to walk out without engaging in the action planning stage of the event.
The families and loved-ones are the most closely aligned to the incarcerated and should be able to speak for them, as well as themselves with a clear understanding of the system that is victimizing them. But the incarcerated must first educate themselves and then impart their knowledge to their families and loved-ones.
Supporters are generally the leadership of the community-based family advocacy groups that many family and loved-ones are members of. These supporters and the members of their organizations are generally more familiar with the workings of controlling agencies and so recognized the open door policy that Chairman Alexander laid out. It is these supporters that will be relied upon to play a role in the educational process that should take place at the follow-up meeting to FED4.
5. SEPTEMBER 2008 PAROLE BOARD RELEASES – A1 VIOLENT FELONS – unofficial research using parole database
Total Interviews
23 initials 5 released, 18 denied, 22%
90 Reappearances 18 released, 72 denied, 20%
113 Total 23 released, 90 denied, 20%
Initial Releases
Adirondack: 25-Life for Murder 2
Arthurkill: 25-Life for Murder 2
Arthurkill: 25-life for Murder 2
Cayuga: 24-Life for Murder 2
Mid Orange: 18-Life for Murder 2
Reappearances
Arthurkill: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd Board
Arthurkill: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd Board
Arthurkill: 20-Life for Att Mur 1 on 5th Board
Arthurkill: 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Arthurkill: 20-Life for Murder 2 on 6th Board
Attica: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Auburn: 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Bayview(female): 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Cayuga: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Collins: 25-Life for Murder on 6th Board
Gowanda SOP: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 5th Board
Gowanda: 25-Life for Murder on 6th Board
Greenhaven: 20-Life for Murder 2 on 4th Board
Greenhaven: 25-Life for Murder 2 on 6th Board
Marcy: 20-Life for Murder 2 on 4th or 5th
Marcy: 25-Life for Murder on 5th Board
Otisville: 15-Life for Murder 2 on 4th Board
Apology: I am so behind in my work due to organizing Family Empowerment Day that I have not had time to open all my mail, some of which probably contains Sept, maybe even Oct, parole statistics for individual facilities. Hopefully we can catch up next month. There are at least 100 letters like that, and I beg your understanding. I have chosen to put my energy into tasks that could help all of you, at the cost of not responding to individual requests. I hope to soon find a way to do both. The Editor
6. PRISON MEDIA: FANCY BROCCOLI AND ALL THINGS HARLEM
Radio:
“Fancy Broccoli” airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'. Their guest for Nov. 16 is Kevin Bott, who will be teaching a class at NYU on successful re-entry. It is a free, non-credit class, open to any man that has served time in NYS prisons. On Nov 30 Eric "EZ" Waters will be reading his poetry and discussing any and all things relevant to the parole movement today.
Visit archives www.fancybroccoli.org to find lots of other good interviews. Write Fancy Broccoli Show, WVKR, Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0726
TV
"All Things Harlem" can be seen on on Manhattan Neighborhood Network's channel 34 on Thursdays at 7:30pm each week. For those who live outside of Manhattan, there is a WEB SITE where you can view the show. Their program about political prisoners is available at www.vimeo.com/2032210. An episode on The Obama Campaign in Harlem is available at www.vimeo.com/2105527. Your feedback is appreciated.
Producer Joseph "Jazz" Hayden can be reached at 201 West 138th St. Suite 1, New York, NY 10030, Office: 212-234-0596, Cell: 917-753-3771, Jhayden512@aol.com.
7. WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR “CHANGE”: ACTIONS, EDUCATION, NETWORKING
ALBANY:
FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4/ALBANY - Saturday November 22, 2007, 10 am - 2 pm
A discussion of the health care needs of the incarcerated; examining the needs of the physically ill, the mentally ill, and the aging prison population.
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany
405 Washington Ave
Call 518 253 7533 for details.
Please join us to share your experiences or to learn.
Free Lunch
BUFFALO:
Prisoners Are People Too is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm. Each meeting features a documentary film, related to some criminal justice or prison issue, and one or more guest speakers who address that issue.
The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too is scheduled for November 24. The program will focus on Political Prisoners.
PRP2 programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng. For further information, contact Karima Amin at karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org or 716-834-8438.
NYC:
Wednesday, November 12 New York Reentry Roundtable
Community Service Society Reentry Roundtable 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Community Service Society, 105 East 22nd Street, at the corner of Park Avenue South, Conference Room 4A Take the 6 or W/R trains to 23rd St
Contact: Gabriel Torres-Rivera, Community Service Society, grivera@cssny.org, 212 614 5306
Guest Speaker:
Byron Kline, State of New York, Division of Criminal Justice Services
Assistant Director of Reentry Services, Office of Program Development and Funding
Film: 'Strength of a Woman' presented by the Coalition for Women Prisoners’ Violence Against Women Committee, it depicts the stories of three formerly incarcerated survivors of domestic violence who share their life experience as survivors.
Thursday, November 13 Education from the Inside, Out: - at 10 AM at SUNY Old Westbury College.
Sponsored by The Fortune Society, College and Community Fellowship, The Correctional Association and SUNY College at Old Westbury, the conference will focus on public funding for college in prison - why it's worth the investment. Featuring opening remarks by Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, President, SUNY College at Old Westbury and Pastor, Abyssinian Baptist Church.
*Saturday, November 15 Family Empowerment Project’s Campaign to Videotape Parole Hearings
from 11 - 1 at the Fortune Society offices, 29-76 Northern Blvd, 2nd floor, in Long Island City (Queens Plaza stop on R train.) Facilitated by Prison Action Network. Call for details: 518 253 7533l
Tuesday, November 18 Reel Reentry Film Series
Reel Reentry will be held from 5:00-7:30pm and will feature a screening of 'A Hard Straight'. The documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the reentry experiences of a gang member, mother and small-time drug dealer. Directed by Goro Toshima, the film follows these three formerly incarcerated individuals as they negotiate reentry, family reunification and fulfilling post-release supervision requirements. The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Family Justice Founder and President, Carol Shapiro.
Wednesday, November 26 WMD
Poetry writings by prisoners read by Lady Penumbra and Ty Conscious
Theatre Arts Building, 300 43rd St. at 8th Avenue, 5th floor.
Send writing or inquiries to
Triborough Station
PO Box 1784
NY NY 10035
917 346 0969
www.rikerscreative.com
rikerscreative@yahoo.com
8. LOST AT FED4/NYC: by Cheryl Kates, a signed petition against Commissioner Ortloff requesting parole to grant new hearings; by Judith Brink, 3 manilla folders with misc FED4 information, a black steno pad with an Obama sticker, and a dark grey wool large men’s zippered sweater with an angel pin. Please contact PAN if you found any of these items.
Building Bridges is a joint effort of Prison Action Network and the FUUSA Justice Committee. We thank the Community Church of NY, Unitarian Universalist, for their support. Thank you also to Frankie Cruz for help with data entry.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
OCTOBER 2008, SPECIAL FED4 EDITION
CONTINUES AFTER THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS:
POSTED OCTOBER 31, 72 HOURS BEFORE ELECTION DAY:
PLEASE VOTE!
As the barrage of negative ads intensifies, watch this new US election ad from Avaaz members calling for hope, tolerance and change. Watch the Ad now and send it to everyone you know!
POSTED OCTOBER 23 -
Here's a look at the Jerico Movement to Free all Political Prisoners. For those of you who missed the struggles of the 60's and 70's this is your chance to participate in its reemergence. This episode of All Things Harlem covers the African American Day Parade in Harlem as well as the aftermath of the parade. Produced by Joseph 'Jazz' Hayden. Click here to watch it..
Building Bridges, October 2008
Dear Reader,
In less than two weeks it’ll be Family Empowerment Day 4/ NYC. When your next issue arrives, we’ll know what goal was chosen and what steps we’re taking to achieve it. Many of you have sacrificed to support this event. Your sacrifices are seen; they have inspired others to sacrifice, and together we are moving forward with our dream of a new world, where we create the changes we want to see. Look at what you’ve done already! Family Empowerment Day has grown from an idea tossed around by a few men in prison to an annual event attended by hundreds of hopeful people ready to turn their dream of justice into a reality. Humans need hope to stay alive. It’s as vital as food and water. Without it we lose energy and feel depressed all the time. But it’s so hard to maintain. So many times we’ve risen up only to be smashed down again and again. You are so brave to risk hope!! On October 25th let’s bring all that hope into one space and turn it into action! My hope is that I’ll see you there.
If we are to succeed at our ambitious plan, everyone needs to get to Columbia Law School between 9 and 9:30am so we can start on time! We have a full day ahead of us, and every part of it is preparation for the last session of the day, when we make our decision. We don’t want to get to the last session and only have 10 minutes left to pick a goal and plan how to achieve it. That would be a real let-down. So plan to be on time, attend every session, and be prepared to learn everything you can! Bring your goal for us to vote on, and form your question for Chairman Alexander so we can know where he stands with regard to your goal.
At the end of the day, we will have only just begun. In this time of economic insecurity, we are going to need to find time and energy, and yes, money, to do whatever it is we decide is worth doing. It’s time to get serious about putting our lives on the line for justice. We want these changes, and no one else has as much energy and commitment to create them as we do. It’s going to take real commitment on our part. Family Empowerment Day is the beginning. See you there!
Please send your donation in support of Family Empowerment Day 4 to Prison Action Network, at our new address: PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12206. Every dollar counts!
In this Issue
1. Census figures impact NYS economy and politics
2. DOCS budget reductions
3. Governor Paterson's new website
4. Females in prison have it rougher
5. FED4/Albany
6. Lifers and longtermers clearinghouse
7. Parole
8. Prison media
9. Reentry
10. Transportation to prisons
11. Voting while on parole
12. What's happening around New York State
1. CENSUS FIGURES HAVE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL IMPACT ON NYS SENATE DISTRICTS SAYS PETER WAGNER IN AN ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARING IN OPEN SOCIETY NEWS. [Click here to read the whole article.]
In New York State, seven rural state senate districts with large prisons would not meet the U.S. Supreme Court's minimum population requirements without counting the prison population as local residents. Four of those prison-district senators sit on the powerful Codes Committee and oppose reforming the state's draconian Rockefeller drug laws, which boost the state's prison population by mandating harsh penalties. The inflated populations of these senators' districts give them political power and little incentive to consider or pursue policies that might reduce the numbers of people sent to prison and the length of time they spend there. Republican New York State Senator Dale Volker, boasts that he is glad that the almost 9,000 people confined in his district cannot vote because "they would never vote for me."
In New York, the state legislature relied on 2000 census data to update district boundaries and wound up drawing one legislative district in which 7 percent of people were in prison.
2. DOCS BUDGET REDUCTIONS FOCUS PRIMARILY ON DORMITORY CONSOLIDATIONS AND A REDUCTION OF INMATE COMMUNITY CREWS from a DOCS press release: Click here for DOCS website.
NYS DOCS plans to improve the efficiency of its operations without impacting public safety or security. The plan will achieve savings of $81.6 million and was in response to Gov.. Paterson’s call for all state agencies to reduce spending by 3.35% in order to balance the state budget.
The reduction in the number of inmate community work crews is expected to result in a reduction of 48 COs through attrition. Inmate community crews will be reduced at Butler, Camp McGregor, Camp Gabriels, Camp Georgetown, Camp Pharsalia, Mid-State and Groveland Annexes. Crews will be eliminated at Gowanda and Otisville .
Dormitory populations will be consolidated at 17 medium and minimum security prisons and annexes - Adirondack, Collins, Gowanda, Groveland Annex, Hudson, Mid-Orange, Mohawk, Ogdensbury, Oneida, Otisville, Washington Annex, Watertown; and Butler, Camp McGregor, Lakeview, as well as the minimum security portion of Mid-State. Fishkill will vacate one floor of an SHU area. This results in moving approximately 1000 inmates to existing vacant beds, most of them within their current facility, and virtually all affected COs will move to other posts within their current facility. No beds will be affected at maximum security facilities, where the inmate population has not declined.
3. GOV. PATERSON ANNOUNCED ON OCTOBER 7, 2008 HIS INTENTION TO SEEK REELECTION TO THE GOVERNOR'S CHAIR IN 2010.
ON HIS INTERACTIVE WEBSITE: WWW.PATERSONFORNY.COM, HE PROMISES AN ACCOUNTABLE ADMINISTRATION WITH OPEN COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT ISSUES HE’S LOOKING AT OR POSITIONS HE’S TAKING, USING THE SITE AS WELL AS BLOGS, EMAILS, AND LIVE ONLINE TOWN HALLS.
"When I took office less than a year ago, I promised a candid, open and accountable administration, which in my mind requires nothing less than a frank and ongoing conversation with the people of New York. This is particularly true when it comes to conversations regarding the issues I am focusing on or the positions I am taking. To ensure that my administration meets the litmus test of accountability I need to hear from you.
I see this website as a critically important tool in extending and expanding this dialogue. I will use the site along with blogs, emails, and live online Town Halls to engage in a candid conversation about the wide range of issues that confront us today: from economic recovery and job creation to healthcare to the rebuilding of Ground Zero and the restoration of the Upstate economy. In return, I hope, and expect, you will use the site to share your ideas and opinions with me. To facilitate this exchange we’ve created a section called YOUR VOICE to showcase a broad spectrum of views, and I anticipate a lively discussion.
In addition, on the site you will find sections such as: News, The Future, and Getting Involved. These sections highlight what we’ve accomplished thus far in the Paterson administration, what we are looking to do going forward, and how everyday New Yorkers can play a role. Finally, the site offers photographs and videos which provide a snapshot of my biography, travels and interactions across the state, and interviews on relevant events and issues.
The internet offers us an incredible opportunity to get beyond the sound bites and talk at length about the issues facing our state. This is why I plan to be an active and frequent participant in the online community.
We are going through incredibly difficult times as a state and a nation. However, I know that if we work together, if you know where I stand and I know what you need, we can rise and meet ANY, and ALL, challenges head on.
I hope you will be an enthusiastic participant in an ongoing discussion around the future of our state, our communities, and our families. For starters, you can tell me what you think of PatersonforNY.com. Let’s make this an interesting conversation and a real partnership.”
David A. Paterson
Governor of New York
4. FEMALE PRISONERS NOT ONLY FACE WORSE CONDITIONS IN PRISON, BUT THEY SUFFER FROM PUBLIC MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR CRIMES AS WELL. Posted on December 5, 2006 http://www.alternet.org/story/45149/
Women's prisons are understaffed, overcrowded, lack recreation facilities, serve poor quality food, suffer chronic shortages of family planning counselors and services,gynecological specialists, drug treatment, child care facilities, and transportation funds for family visits.
Female prisoners face the added peril of rape, and insensitive treatment during pregnancy. A United Nations report in 1997 found that more than two dozen states permitted pregnant women to be shackled while being transported to hospitals for treatment. A report by the National Corrections Information Center revealed that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that allow men to guard women, often unsupervised. Author Donna Ann-Smith Marshall, who served several years at Central California Women's Facility, California's top maximum security prison, in her new book, Time on the Inside, tells in shocking and graphic detail the callous, often brutal treatment many women are subjected to in women's maximum security jails.
Unfortunately, the tepid public debate over the consequence of locking up so many women is riddled with misconceptions. One is that women commit violent crimes for the same reasons that men do. They don't. Women are less likely than men to assault or murder strangers while committing crimes. Two-thirds of the women jailed assaulted or killed relatives or intimates. Their victims were often spouses, lovers, or boyfriends. In many cases they committed violence defending themselves against sexual or physical abuse. Women's groups and even the more enlightened governors have recognized that women that kill abusive husbands or lovers have acted out of fear and have loosened parole standards. The governors have granted some women earlier release from their sentences.
More women, and especially black women, are behind bars as much because of hard punishment than their actual crimes. One out of three crimes committed by women are drug related. Many state and federal sentencing laws mandate minimum sentences for all drug offenders. This virtually eliminates the option of referring non- violent first time offenders to increasingly scarce, financially strapped drug treatment, counseling and education programs. Stiffer punishment for crack cocaine use also has landed more black women in prison, and for longer sentences than white women (and men).
There is little sign that this will change. The public and policy makers are deeply rapped in the damaging cycle of myths, misconceptions and crime fear hysteria about crime-on-the-loose women. They are loath to ramp up funds and programs for job and skills training, drug treatment, education, childcare and health, and parenting skills. Yet, this is still the best way to keep more women from winding up behind bars.
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet
5. THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT ANNOUNCES ALBANY’S EVENT ON NOV 22
SAVE THE DATE!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008
FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4 - ALBANY
A Round-Table Discussion:
HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE INCARCERATED
Join other families, formerly incarcerated people, health care providers and advocates as we take an in-depth look at the needs of the physically ill, the mentally ill, and the aging prison population.
Contact us if you or someone you know would like to be part of this discussion.
Prison Action Network, PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12208
518 253 7533
prisonactionnetwork@gmail.com
TIME: 10- 2
PLACE: 405 Washington Avenue (near Robin)
Albany NY
6. LIFERS AND LONGTERMERS CLEARINGHOUSE - THE OPOSSUM ON THE RAZOR WIRE, BY DON MASON
An opossum was crawling up a chain-link fence. Each time it took a step higher its feet were completely wrapped around the links. The opossum thought it had everything under control. It continued on up squeezing through the razor wire. The opossum then decided to take a leisurely stroll on top of the fence in the middle of the razor wire - totally oblivious to the danger surrounding it. It had probably been up and over the fence many other times and it became complacent, desensitized to the danger, and overconfident.
But at some point it either lost its footing or miscalculated something, got its tail caught in the razor wire, and fell - suspended in mid-air by the tail. What a wake-up call, but it was too late. It “hung out” for a while before it died.
Soon flies were in its ears and eyes. One afternoon a large buzzard landed on the fence and ate the brain out of the head of the opossum. It was summer and the sun was beating down on it. It started to bloat and smell. Down wind you could smell it all the way across the yard. The walkers and runners down below started to make the turn in that corner of the fence early to avoid the smell, but after a few days the smell became so rank they would avoid that end of the yard.
Do you ever act like the opossum walking through the roll of razor wire, courting danger, or being so self-assured you can’t see danger all around you? Are you still getting high, thinking your tail will never get caught in the razor wire? Are you still planning new crimes, smarter ways to get away with things (have younger hommies do the crime for you this time)?
Or are you already dead, for all intents and purposes? Are your “friends” in your ears deafening you and your eyes blinding you? Are you allowing others to do your thinking for you:? picking your brain apart with negative thinking and blaming others? Are your actions stinking down wind? Take a lesson from the opossum.
7. PAROLE: AUGUST A1V0 PAROLE RELEASE STATISTICS; A1VO RELEASES BY PRISON; REPORTS ON PAROLE BOARD RESULTS FROM MID-ORANGE, WOODBOURNE, WYOMING; MAKEUP OF THE PAROLE BOARD; ITEMS FROM THE SUMMER EDITION OF THE BOARD OF PAROLE’S NEWSLETTER
August A1 Violent Felon Parole Release Summary – unofficial research from parole database
97 interviews of which 13 were initial appearances and 84 were reappearances.
19 people (two females) ) were granted parole, all were reappearances.
The 19 August A1VO parole releases by prison
Beacon (female) - 18-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Bedford Hills - (female) 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th board
Clinton - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 9th board
Fishkill - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Fishkill - 25-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Groveland - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Mid Orange - 26?- Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Mid Orange - 17-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Mid Orange - 22-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Mid Orange - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 8th board
Mid Orange - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th board
Mid Orange -15? - Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Midstate - 25-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Orleans - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Otisville - 21-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Otisville - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd or 4th board
Otisville - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Otisville - 18-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Southport - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Release Reports from Inside:
MID-ORANGE
August - Loomis and Hernandez
4 out of 7 people with Outside Clearance made the board, all were Lifers.
For most it was their 3rd board
September - Loomis, Thompson, Greenan
2 postponements
2 released ( one 18-Life, on first board, one A1VO, with one year til C.R. date)
18 denied.
WOODBOURNE
September - Casey, Ross, &?
14 appearances, 1 granted parole (manslaughter)
5 A-1 VOs; 4 denied, 1 postponed
WYOMING
August - Kevin Ludlow, Chris Ortloff, William Casey
24 saw the board; 2 were granted parole
13 were initial interviews; none were granted parole
5 were reappearances; 1 was granted parole
6 were merit boards; 1 was granted
September - James Ferguson, Henry Lemons, Michael Hagler
35 saw the board; 5 were granted parole
18 were initial interviews; 1 was granted parole
8 were reappearances; 2 were granted parole
9 were merit boards; 2 were granted parole
NYS BOARD OF PAROLE COMPOSITION AND BREAKDOWN
Sources: NYLJ, Building Bridges, and the Deuce Club
Number of positions: 19, Number filled: 18
Pataki Appointees: 11, Spitzer Appointees: 5, Paterson Appointees: 2
Former Law Enforcement (police, sheriffs, investigators): 6
Former Parole or Probation employees: 3
Former Prosecutors: 2
Former Victim Advocates: 2
Former Attorneys: 2
Former Social Worker: 1
Former State Assemblyman: 1
Former Dep’y Commissioner, Liquor Authority: 1
FROM THE BOARD OF PAROLE’S SUMMER EDITION OF THEIR NEWSLETTER
ARTICLES :Parolee Look Up, New Board Members, Parole’s Partners, New Staff, Re-Entry Update, Parole Week 2008 , In The Community, Parole Week Photo Collage. National Trends, Parolee Success
PAROLE MISSION STATEMENT:
Our Mission: To promote public safety by preparing inmates for release and supervising parolees to the successful completion of their sentence.
and from the last article:
ROCHESTER PAROLEE SUCCEEDS
In 1975, John Hemmers was convicted for his role in a Manhattan murder-for-hire slaying of 46-year old George Hodge. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and released to parole supervision in 1994. While in prison, Mr. Hemmers hit the books and earned his GED and bachelor’s degree knowing that if he were ever to leave prison that he would need an education to ease his transition back into civilian life. He also worked hard on helping others, conducting peer counseling sessions. He was recognized as an effective instructor and a role model to other inmates. Additionally, Mr. Hemmers served as a substance abuse program counseling aide and conducted parenting programs for fellow inmates. Hemmers was paroled to Rochester, initially residing in the Corpus Christi Roger’s House halfway house while completing required substance abuse programming. He was also a regular participant in AA. At first, Mr. Hemmers was employed in the house restaurant and eventually began working as a residential counselor at Freedom House, a program for recovering substance abusers. In 1999, Mr. Hemmers moved to the suburb of Penfield with girlfriend and her daughter. The couple married shortly thereafter. They moved to their present home in Fairport in 2002.
John Hemmers is a true success story, meeting all the required directives of parole. He has been granted numerous travel passes in and out of state to attend conferences related to his continuing employment in the substance abuse counseling field and no adverse
police contact has been made during his supervision period. Hemmers remains employed by the Catholic Family Center of Rochester as a therapist and manager. He continues to interact with parolees at his workplace, and is considered to be a valuable employee.
HAVE A STORY TO SHARE?
The Parole Report is always looking for items of interest to people at the Division.
We are interested in innovative re-entry programs, community activities and other special stories. We especially love digital photos. Give us a call or send an email, media relations is happy to hear from you! Office of Media Relations: 518-486-4631, Heather Groll: hgroll@parole.state.ny.us
Carole Weaver: cweaver@parole.state.ny.us
8. PRISON MEDIA: THE MOVIE, A HARD STRAIGHT; RADIO INTERVIEW WITH THE WIFE OF A LAWYER WHO CLAIMS HIS CONVICTION WAS A SETUP; AND JOSEPH “JAZZ” HAYDEN’S NEW WEEKLY TV SERIES.
MOVIES The Reel Reentry Film Series has been rescheduled for Tuesday, November 18 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, when Reel Reentry will feature the documentary, A Hard Straight, directed by Goro Toshima. The film provides a glimpse into the reentry experiences of three formerly incarcerated individuals as they strive to mend familial bonds, fulfill probation requirements, find gainful employment and position themselves to reenter successfully.
RADIO The wife of a lawyer who has just started a sentence which he claims was a set up because of his successes in defending unpopular clients, will be interviewed on the Fancy Broccoli Show on Sunday, October 19. You’ll want to tune in again on November 2 for A SURPRISE guest.
“Fancy Broccoli” airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives www.fancybroccoli.org to find lots of other good interviews.
Write Fancy Broccoli Show, WVKR, Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0726
TV "All Things Harlem" can be seen on on Manhattan Neighborhood Network's channel 34 on Thursdays at 7:30pm each week for the next 13 weeks. The program will be airing coverage of the important issues affecting the Harlem Community, i.e. politics, advocacy, health care, police community relations, and all the other issues that are not being covered by mainstream media. Producer Joseph "Jazz" Hayden can be reached at 201 West 138th St. Suite 1, New York, NY 10030, Office: 212-234-0596, Cell: 917-753-3771, Jhayden512@aol.com
9. REENTRY: IT BENEFITS EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE “CRIMINAL,” IF PEOPLE RETURNING TO OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE THE SKILLS, POST-RELEASE SUPPORT AND EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TO BECOME LAW-ABIDING, TAX-PAYING MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
Society should invest in ‘re-entry’ of parolees, By Gerald T. Balone
A little over a year ago, I walked out of Fishkill Correctional Facility, one of the 17 state prisons where I had been confined for 37 years for my involvement in a robbery in which three people were killed on the East Side of Buffalo.
That crime, in 1973, culminated a criminal career that began when I was 8 years old and ran away from a foster home — one of a series of foster homes, orphanages, detention centers, reform schools and, ultimately, jails and prisons where I spent the prime of my life.
Although I never thought I would see the outside of a prison wall, I took advantage of every educational opportunity afforded — many of which, unfortunately, are no longer available to inmates.
I earned five college degrees, including two master’s degrees, completed several apprenticeship programs and took virtually every counseling and self-help program available.
I came out of prison an entirely different person, with the goal of repaying society for the trust and confidence placed in me by the New York State Board of Parole.
With all the buzz about “re-entry,” or steps taken to transition ex-offenders back into society, I thought this would be an appropriate time to discuss my first year of freedom.
I was initially released to a halfway house operated by Cephas Buffalo, and spent my first 100 days living with other ex-offenders in South Buffalo. That was a godsend because it provided me with a gateway into a culture that, as you might imagine, bore little resemblance to the one I was removed from in 1973.
Unfortunately, my education and training have not yielded the employment prospects I had anticipated.
I recognize the reluctance of some employers to take on someone with my prior — and I stress prior — record, but I hope that in the next year I am able to better utilize the education that the taxpayers so generously provided me with, and the experiences gleaned from my decades behind bars, to help people through motivational speaking and other means.
Meanwhile, I am paying the bills through day-work labor — painting houses, cleaning garages and attics, etc. — and continuing to work on my reentry into civilized society.
Re-entry is, at its most basic level, a public safety measure. I understand the political reality of appearing “soft on crime,” but I would urge our elected representatives to view re-entry as an investment in their community.
Nearly everyone who is now in prison will someday be released. It benefits everyone, not just the “criminal,” if people returning to our communities have the skills, post-release support and employment assistance to become law-abiding, tax-paying members of the public.
Gerald T. Balone lives in Buffalo.
10. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS
From the Capital District:
NEST Prison Shuttle schedule: Trip to Utica (Midstate, Marcy, Mohawk, Oneida) on Sat, Oct 18 leaving Troy at 5 AM. Sullivan trip (Ulster, Eastern, Woodbourne, Sullivan) on Sat, Oct 25 leaving at 6:30 AM ($45 adults, $30 children). Reservations: Linda O'Malley 518- 273-5199.
Door to door, free rides are offered from Albany to prisons within 150 miles by a volunteer of FUUSA’s Justice Committee. Please contact us at 518 253-7533 if you need a ride.
Statewide:
DOCS Free Bus - to find out how to sign up, from NYC area: Deacon Mason on Tues. &
Fri., 212 961 4026 and from Albany: on Wed & Thurs., 518 485 9212; from Buffalo area: Rev. Roberson 716 532 0177, x4805; from Syracuse: Sister Patricia: 315 428 4258
11. VOTING - EVEN IF YOU’RE ON PAROLE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO VOTE.
According to Chairman of Parole George Alexander, it is the current policy of the Parole Board to grant Certificates of Relief from Disabilities to inmates at the time of their release. A certificate of relief from disabilities, among other things, restores the right to vote. So if you have one, we hope you took it to the Board of Elections and registered to vote, because the deadline for registering will be past by the time you read this. However it's not too soon to start preparing for the next election.
When someone is prison receives notice that they’ve been granted parole release, they should check with the Facility Parole Officer to see if the board granted a certificate of relief from disability. While it is policy to issue it at time of release, the Board does reserve the right to defer. Once out, their Field Parole Officer has the responsibility of submitting the application if they were released without a certificate. That process involves a line of approvals, from their PO to his/her supervisor, to the Area Supervisor, then to a Parole Board Commissioner. If the commissioner doesn’t approve the application, it goes to a second commissioner, and if that person also denies it, that’s the end of the line this time around. But if the second commissioner approves the application, making it a tie decision, it then has to go to a third commissioner who breaks the tie, either in favor or against. This is the reason to start now. It's a long process. But in the end there’s a good chance of having the right to vote restored. Note: The certificate is temporary while on Parole and becomes permanent upon final discharge.
The two relevant sections of the law giving the Board such authority are printed below. You can read all of Article 23, sections 700, 701 and 703 here.
from Article 23 - DISCRETIONARY RELIEF FROM FORFEITURES AND DISABILITIES AUTOMATICALLY IMPOSED BY LAW
§ 700. Definitions and rules of construction. 1. As used in this article the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Eligible offender" shall mean a person who has been convicted of a crime or of an offense, but who has not been convicted more than once of a felony.
§ 703. Certificates of relief from disabilities issued by the board of parole. 1. The state board of parole shall have the power to issue a certificate of relief from disabilities to:
(a) any eligible offender who has been committed to an institution under the jurisdiction of the state department of correctional services. Such certificate may be issued by the board at the time the offender is released from such institution under the board's supervision or otherwise or at any time thereafter;
12. WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE
Buffalo:
Prisoners Are People Too is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm. Each meeting features a documentary film, related to some criminal justice or prison issue, and one or more guest speakers who address that issue.
The Projecting Law Project at the University at Buffalo School of Law has undertaken a year-long project that takes a small group of first year law students out to Attica Correctional Facility six times during their first year, to meet with lifers and long-termers. The students, as well as correctional officers, prisoners, prison administrators and civilian staff, are interviewed on videotape about their insights into the “criminal punishment system.” These students are producing a documentary film entitled, “Encountering Attica.” Some raw footage of this work in progress will be screened at the next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too. Guest speakers will include the project leader, Dr. Terri Miller, and several first year law students.
The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too is scheduled for November 24. Film and guest speaker(s) TBA.
PRP2 programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng. For further information, contact Karima Amin at karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org or 716-834-8438.
New York City:
New York Reentry Roundtable
Community Service Society Reentry Roundtable
Wed Oct 15, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Community Service Society, 105 East 22nd Street New York, NY
Contact: Gabriel Torres-Rivera at grivera@cssny.org
Second Annual Citizens Awards
Citizens Against Recidivism, Thu Oct 30, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Schomburg Cultural Center
515 Malcolm X (Lenox Avenue) New York, NY
Contact: Mika'il DeVeaux at mdeveaux@citizensinc.org
WMD: Poetry!
Join Ty Conscious and Lady Penumbra in celebrating the writings of those Behind the Wall: -poetry-essays-art, at WILD WEDNESDAYS, hosted by Viviana, Theatre Arts Building, 300 43rd St @ 8th Ave, heart of Times Square, 5th floor, last Wednesday of every month - upcoming: Oct 29 and Nov 26 6:00 to 9:30 PM
$5 donation requested – no one turned away. Since it is an open mic, you can bring your own writings, music, or other performance work. You will have approx. 5 minutes to do your thing. Your free speech is fiercely protected here!
For more information call 917.346.0969 Lady Penumbra and Ty Conscious, Prison Projects, PO Box 1784, NY NY 10035
Building Bridges is a joint effort of Prison Action Network and the FUUSA Justice Committee
We thank the Community Church of NY, Unitarian Universalist, for their support.
POSTED OCTOBER 31, 72 HOURS BEFORE ELECTION DAY:
PLEASE VOTE!
As the barrage of negative ads intensifies, watch this new US election ad from Avaaz members calling for hope, tolerance and change. Watch the Ad now and send it to everyone you know!
POSTED OCTOBER 23 -
Here's a look at the Jerico Movement to Free all Political Prisoners. For those of you who missed the struggles of the 60's and 70's this is your chance to participate in its reemergence. This episode of All Things Harlem covers the African American Day Parade in Harlem as well as the aftermath of the parade. Produced by Joseph 'Jazz' Hayden. Click here to watch it..
Building Bridges, October 2008
Dear Reader,
In less than two weeks it’ll be Family Empowerment Day 4/ NYC. When your next issue arrives, we’ll know what goal was chosen and what steps we’re taking to achieve it. Many of you have sacrificed to support this event. Your sacrifices are seen; they have inspired others to sacrifice, and together we are moving forward with our dream of a new world, where we create the changes we want to see. Look at what you’ve done already! Family Empowerment Day has grown from an idea tossed around by a few men in prison to an annual event attended by hundreds of hopeful people ready to turn their dream of justice into a reality. Humans need hope to stay alive. It’s as vital as food and water. Without it we lose energy and feel depressed all the time. But it’s so hard to maintain. So many times we’ve risen up only to be smashed down again and again. You are so brave to risk hope!! On October 25th let’s bring all that hope into one space and turn it into action! My hope is that I’ll see you there.
If we are to succeed at our ambitious plan, everyone needs to get to Columbia Law School between 9 and 9:30am so we can start on time! We have a full day ahead of us, and every part of it is preparation for the last session of the day, when we make our decision. We don’t want to get to the last session and only have 10 minutes left to pick a goal and plan how to achieve it. That would be a real let-down. So plan to be on time, attend every session, and be prepared to learn everything you can! Bring your goal for us to vote on, and form your question for Chairman Alexander so we can know where he stands with regard to your goal.
At the end of the day, we will have only just begun. In this time of economic insecurity, we are going to need to find time and energy, and yes, money, to do whatever it is we decide is worth doing. It’s time to get serious about putting our lives on the line for justice. We want these changes, and no one else has as much energy and commitment to create them as we do. It’s going to take real commitment on our part. Family Empowerment Day is the beginning. See you there!
Please send your donation in support of Family Empowerment Day 4 to Prison Action Network, at our new address: PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12206. Every dollar counts!
In this Issue
1. Census figures impact NYS economy and politics
2. DOCS budget reductions
3. Governor Paterson's new website
4. Females in prison have it rougher
5. FED4/Albany
6. Lifers and longtermers clearinghouse
7. Parole
8. Prison media
9. Reentry
10. Transportation to prisons
11. Voting while on parole
12. What's happening around New York State
1. CENSUS FIGURES HAVE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL IMPACT ON NYS SENATE DISTRICTS SAYS PETER WAGNER IN AN ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARING IN OPEN SOCIETY NEWS. [Click here to read the whole article.]
In New York State, seven rural state senate districts with large prisons would not meet the U.S. Supreme Court's minimum population requirements without counting the prison population as local residents. Four of those prison-district senators sit on the powerful Codes Committee and oppose reforming the state's draconian Rockefeller drug laws, which boost the state's prison population by mandating harsh penalties. The inflated populations of these senators' districts give them political power and little incentive to consider or pursue policies that might reduce the numbers of people sent to prison and the length of time they spend there. Republican New York State Senator Dale Volker, boasts that he is glad that the almost 9,000 people confined in his district cannot vote because "they would never vote for me."
In New York, the state legislature relied on 2000 census data to update district boundaries and wound up drawing one legislative district in which 7 percent of people were in prison.
2. DOCS BUDGET REDUCTIONS FOCUS PRIMARILY ON DORMITORY CONSOLIDATIONS AND A REDUCTION OF INMATE COMMUNITY CREWS from a DOCS press release: Click here for DOCS website.
NYS DOCS plans to improve the efficiency of its operations without impacting public safety or security. The plan will achieve savings of $81.6 million and was in response to Gov.. Paterson’s call for all state agencies to reduce spending by 3.35% in order to balance the state budget.
The reduction in the number of inmate community work crews is expected to result in a reduction of 48 COs through attrition. Inmate community crews will be reduced at Butler, Camp McGregor, Camp Gabriels, Camp Georgetown, Camp Pharsalia, Mid-State and Groveland Annexes. Crews will be eliminated at Gowanda and Otisville .
Dormitory populations will be consolidated at 17 medium and minimum security prisons and annexes - Adirondack, Collins, Gowanda, Groveland Annex, Hudson, Mid-Orange, Mohawk, Ogdensbury, Oneida, Otisville, Washington Annex, Watertown; and Butler, Camp McGregor, Lakeview, as well as the minimum security portion of Mid-State. Fishkill will vacate one floor of an SHU area. This results in moving approximately 1000 inmates to existing vacant beds, most of them within their current facility, and virtually all affected COs will move to other posts within their current facility. No beds will be affected at maximum security facilities, where the inmate population has not declined.
3. GOV. PATERSON ANNOUNCED ON OCTOBER 7, 2008 HIS INTENTION TO SEEK REELECTION TO THE GOVERNOR'S CHAIR IN 2010.
ON HIS INTERACTIVE WEBSITE: WWW.PATERSONFORNY.COM, HE PROMISES AN ACCOUNTABLE ADMINISTRATION WITH OPEN COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT ISSUES HE’S LOOKING AT OR POSITIONS HE’S TAKING, USING THE SITE AS WELL AS BLOGS, EMAILS, AND LIVE ONLINE TOWN HALLS.
"When I took office less than a year ago, I promised a candid, open and accountable administration, which in my mind requires nothing less than a frank and ongoing conversation with the people of New York. This is particularly true when it comes to conversations regarding the issues I am focusing on or the positions I am taking. To ensure that my administration meets the litmus test of accountability I need to hear from you.
I see this website as a critically important tool in extending and expanding this dialogue. I will use the site along with blogs, emails, and live online Town Halls to engage in a candid conversation about the wide range of issues that confront us today: from economic recovery and job creation to healthcare to the rebuilding of Ground Zero and the restoration of the Upstate economy. In return, I hope, and expect, you will use the site to share your ideas and opinions with me. To facilitate this exchange we’ve created a section called YOUR VOICE to showcase a broad spectrum of views, and I anticipate a lively discussion.
In addition, on the site you will find sections such as: News, The Future, and Getting Involved. These sections highlight what we’ve accomplished thus far in the Paterson administration, what we are looking to do going forward, and how everyday New Yorkers can play a role. Finally, the site offers photographs and videos which provide a snapshot of my biography, travels and interactions across the state, and interviews on relevant events and issues.
The internet offers us an incredible opportunity to get beyond the sound bites and talk at length about the issues facing our state. This is why I plan to be an active and frequent participant in the online community.
We are going through incredibly difficult times as a state and a nation. However, I know that if we work together, if you know where I stand and I know what you need, we can rise and meet ANY, and ALL, challenges head on.
I hope you will be an enthusiastic participant in an ongoing discussion around the future of our state, our communities, and our families. For starters, you can tell me what you think of PatersonforNY.com. Let’s make this an interesting conversation and a real partnership.”
David A. Paterson
Governor of New York
4. FEMALE PRISONERS NOT ONLY FACE WORSE CONDITIONS IN PRISON, BUT THEY SUFFER FROM PUBLIC MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR CRIMES AS WELL. Posted on December 5, 2006 http://www.alternet.org/story/45149/
Women's prisons are understaffed, overcrowded, lack recreation facilities, serve poor quality food, suffer chronic shortages of family planning counselors and services,gynecological specialists, drug treatment, child care facilities, and transportation funds for family visits.
Female prisoners face the added peril of rape, and insensitive treatment during pregnancy. A United Nations report in 1997 found that more than two dozen states permitted pregnant women to be shackled while being transported to hospitals for treatment. A report by the National Corrections Information Center revealed that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that allow men to guard women, often unsupervised. Author Donna Ann-Smith Marshall, who served several years at Central California Women's Facility, California's top maximum security prison, in her new book, Time on the Inside, tells in shocking and graphic detail the callous, often brutal treatment many women are subjected to in women's maximum security jails.
Unfortunately, the tepid public debate over the consequence of locking up so many women is riddled with misconceptions. One is that women commit violent crimes for the same reasons that men do. They don't. Women are less likely than men to assault or murder strangers while committing crimes. Two-thirds of the women jailed assaulted or killed relatives or intimates. Their victims were often spouses, lovers, or boyfriends. In many cases they committed violence defending themselves against sexual or physical abuse. Women's groups and even the more enlightened governors have recognized that women that kill abusive husbands or lovers have acted out of fear and have loosened parole standards. The governors have granted some women earlier release from their sentences.
More women, and especially black women, are behind bars as much because of hard punishment than their actual crimes. One out of three crimes committed by women are drug related. Many state and federal sentencing laws mandate minimum sentences for all drug offenders. This virtually eliminates the option of referring non- violent first time offenders to increasingly scarce, financially strapped drug treatment, counseling and education programs. Stiffer punishment for crack cocaine use also has landed more black women in prison, and for longer sentences than white women (and men).
There is little sign that this will change. The public and policy makers are deeply rapped in the damaging cycle of myths, misconceptions and crime fear hysteria about crime-on-the-loose women. They are loath to ramp up funds and programs for job and skills training, drug treatment, education, childcare and health, and parenting skills. Yet, this is still the best way to keep more women from winding up behind bars.
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet
5. THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT ANNOUNCES ALBANY’S EVENT ON NOV 22
SAVE THE DATE!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008
FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4 - ALBANY
A Round-Table Discussion:
HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE INCARCERATED
Join other families, formerly incarcerated people, health care providers and advocates as we take an in-depth look at the needs of the physically ill, the mentally ill, and the aging prison population.
Contact us if you or someone you know would like to be part of this discussion.
Prison Action Network, PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12208
518 253 7533
prisonactionnetwork@gmail.com
TIME: 10- 2
PLACE: 405 Washington Avenue (near Robin)
Albany NY
6. LIFERS AND LONGTERMERS CLEARINGHOUSE - THE OPOSSUM ON THE RAZOR WIRE, BY DON MASON
An opossum was crawling up a chain-link fence. Each time it took a step higher its feet were completely wrapped around the links. The opossum thought it had everything under control. It continued on up squeezing through the razor wire. The opossum then decided to take a leisurely stroll on top of the fence in the middle of the razor wire - totally oblivious to the danger surrounding it. It had probably been up and over the fence many other times and it became complacent, desensitized to the danger, and overconfident.
But at some point it either lost its footing or miscalculated something, got its tail caught in the razor wire, and fell - suspended in mid-air by the tail. What a wake-up call, but it was too late. It “hung out” for a while before it died.
Soon flies were in its ears and eyes. One afternoon a large buzzard landed on the fence and ate the brain out of the head of the opossum. It was summer and the sun was beating down on it. It started to bloat and smell. Down wind you could smell it all the way across the yard. The walkers and runners down below started to make the turn in that corner of the fence early to avoid the smell, but after a few days the smell became so rank they would avoid that end of the yard.
Do you ever act like the opossum walking through the roll of razor wire, courting danger, or being so self-assured you can’t see danger all around you? Are you still getting high, thinking your tail will never get caught in the razor wire? Are you still planning new crimes, smarter ways to get away with things (have younger hommies do the crime for you this time)?
Or are you already dead, for all intents and purposes? Are your “friends” in your ears deafening you and your eyes blinding you? Are you allowing others to do your thinking for you:? picking your brain apart with negative thinking and blaming others? Are your actions stinking down wind? Take a lesson from the opossum.
7. PAROLE: AUGUST A1V0 PAROLE RELEASE STATISTICS; A1VO RELEASES BY PRISON; REPORTS ON PAROLE BOARD RESULTS FROM MID-ORANGE, WOODBOURNE, WYOMING; MAKEUP OF THE PAROLE BOARD; ITEMS FROM THE SUMMER EDITION OF THE BOARD OF PAROLE’S NEWSLETTER
August A1 Violent Felon Parole Release Summary – unofficial research from parole database
97 interviews of which 13 were initial appearances and 84 were reappearances.
19 people (two females) ) were granted parole, all were reappearances.
The 19 August A1VO parole releases by prison
Beacon (female) - 18-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Bedford Hills - (female) 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th board
Clinton - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 9th board
Fishkill - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Fishkill - 25-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Groveland - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Mid Orange - 26?- Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Mid Orange - 17-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Mid Orange - 22-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Mid Orange - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 8th board
Mid Orange - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 5th board
Mid Orange -15? - Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Midstate - 25-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Orleans - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 4th board
Otisville - 21-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd board
Otisville - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 3rd or 4th board
Otisville - 15-Life for Murder 2 on 2nd board
Otisville - 18-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Southport - 20-Life for Murder 2 on 6th board
Release Reports from Inside:
MID-ORANGE
August - Loomis and Hernandez
4 out of 7 people with Outside Clearance made the board, all were Lifers.
For most it was their 3rd board
September - Loomis, Thompson, Greenan
2 postponements
2 released ( one 18-Life, on first board, one A1VO, with one year til C.R. date)
18 denied.
WOODBOURNE
September - Casey, Ross, &?
14 appearances, 1 granted parole (manslaughter)
5 A-1 VOs; 4 denied, 1 postponed
WYOMING
August - Kevin Ludlow, Chris Ortloff, William Casey
24 saw the board; 2 were granted parole
13 were initial interviews; none were granted parole
5 were reappearances; 1 was granted parole
6 were merit boards; 1 was granted
September - James Ferguson, Henry Lemons, Michael Hagler
35 saw the board; 5 were granted parole
18 were initial interviews; 1 was granted parole
8 were reappearances; 2 were granted parole
9 were merit boards; 2 were granted parole
NYS BOARD OF PAROLE COMPOSITION AND BREAKDOWN
Sources: NYLJ, Building Bridges, and the Deuce Club
Number of positions: 19, Number filled: 18
Pataki Appointees: 11, Spitzer Appointees: 5, Paterson Appointees: 2
Former Law Enforcement (police, sheriffs, investigators): 6
Former Parole or Probation employees: 3
Former Prosecutors: 2
Former Victim Advocates: 2
Former Attorneys: 2
Former Social Worker: 1
Former State Assemblyman: 1
Former Dep’y Commissioner, Liquor Authority: 1
FROM THE BOARD OF PAROLE’S SUMMER EDITION OF THEIR NEWSLETTER
ARTICLES :Parolee Look Up, New Board Members, Parole’s Partners, New Staff, Re-Entry Update, Parole Week 2008 , In The Community, Parole Week Photo Collage. National Trends, Parolee Success
PAROLE MISSION STATEMENT:
Our Mission: To promote public safety by preparing inmates for release and supervising parolees to the successful completion of their sentence.
and from the last article:
ROCHESTER PAROLEE SUCCEEDS
In 1975, John Hemmers was convicted for his role in a Manhattan murder-for-hire slaying of 46-year old George Hodge. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and released to parole supervision in 1994. While in prison, Mr. Hemmers hit the books and earned his GED and bachelor’s degree knowing that if he were ever to leave prison that he would need an education to ease his transition back into civilian life. He also worked hard on helping others, conducting peer counseling sessions. He was recognized as an effective instructor and a role model to other inmates. Additionally, Mr. Hemmers served as a substance abuse program counseling aide and conducted parenting programs for fellow inmates. Hemmers was paroled to Rochester, initially residing in the Corpus Christi Roger’s House halfway house while completing required substance abuse programming. He was also a regular participant in AA. At first, Mr. Hemmers was employed in the house restaurant and eventually began working as a residential counselor at Freedom House, a program for recovering substance abusers. In 1999, Mr. Hemmers moved to the suburb of Penfield with girlfriend and her daughter. The couple married shortly thereafter. They moved to their present home in Fairport in 2002.
John Hemmers is a true success story, meeting all the required directives of parole. He has been granted numerous travel passes in and out of state to attend conferences related to his continuing employment in the substance abuse counseling field and no adverse
police contact has been made during his supervision period. Hemmers remains employed by the Catholic Family Center of Rochester as a therapist and manager. He continues to interact with parolees at his workplace, and is considered to be a valuable employee.
HAVE A STORY TO SHARE?
The Parole Report is always looking for items of interest to people at the Division.
We are interested in innovative re-entry programs, community activities and other special stories. We especially love digital photos. Give us a call or send an email, media relations is happy to hear from you! Office of Media Relations: 518-486-4631, Heather Groll: hgroll@parole.state.ny.us
Carole Weaver: cweaver@parole.state.ny.us
8. PRISON MEDIA: THE MOVIE, A HARD STRAIGHT; RADIO INTERVIEW WITH THE WIFE OF A LAWYER WHO CLAIMS HIS CONVICTION WAS A SETUP; AND JOSEPH “JAZZ” HAYDEN’S NEW WEEKLY TV SERIES.
MOVIES The Reel Reentry Film Series has been rescheduled for Tuesday, November 18 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, when Reel Reentry will feature the documentary, A Hard Straight, directed by Goro Toshima. The film provides a glimpse into the reentry experiences of three formerly incarcerated individuals as they strive to mend familial bonds, fulfill probation requirements, find gainful employment and position themselves to reenter successfully.
RADIO The wife of a lawyer who has just started a sentence which he claims was a set up because of his successes in defending unpopular clients, will be interviewed on the Fancy Broccoli Show on Sunday, October 19. You’ll want to tune in again on November 2 for A SURPRISE guest.
“Fancy Broccoli” airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives www.fancybroccoli.org to find lots of other good interviews.
Write Fancy Broccoli Show, WVKR, Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0726
TV "All Things Harlem" can be seen on on Manhattan Neighborhood Network's channel 34 on Thursdays at 7:30pm each week for the next 13 weeks. The program will be airing coverage of the important issues affecting the Harlem Community, i.e. politics, advocacy, health care, police community relations, and all the other issues that are not being covered by mainstream media. Producer Joseph "Jazz" Hayden can be reached at 201 West 138th St. Suite 1, New York, NY 10030, Office: 212-234-0596, Cell: 917-753-3771, Jhayden512@aol.com
9. REENTRY: IT BENEFITS EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE “CRIMINAL,” IF PEOPLE RETURNING TO OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE THE SKILLS, POST-RELEASE SUPPORT AND EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TO BECOME LAW-ABIDING, TAX-PAYING MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
Society should invest in ‘re-entry’ of parolees, By Gerald T. Balone
A little over a year ago, I walked out of Fishkill Correctional Facility, one of the 17 state prisons where I had been confined for 37 years for my involvement in a robbery in which three people were killed on the East Side of Buffalo.
That crime, in 1973, culminated a criminal career that began when I was 8 years old and ran away from a foster home — one of a series of foster homes, orphanages, detention centers, reform schools and, ultimately, jails and prisons where I spent the prime of my life.
Although I never thought I would see the outside of a prison wall, I took advantage of every educational opportunity afforded — many of which, unfortunately, are no longer available to inmates.
I earned five college degrees, including two master’s degrees, completed several apprenticeship programs and took virtually every counseling and self-help program available.
I came out of prison an entirely different person, with the goal of repaying society for the trust and confidence placed in me by the New York State Board of Parole.
With all the buzz about “re-entry,” or steps taken to transition ex-offenders back into society, I thought this would be an appropriate time to discuss my first year of freedom.
I was initially released to a halfway house operated by Cephas Buffalo, and spent my first 100 days living with other ex-offenders in South Buffalo. That was a godsend because it provided me with a gateway into a culture that, as you might imagine, bore little resemblance to the one I was removed from in 1973.
Unfortunately, my education and training have not yielded the employment prospects I had anticipated.
I recognize the reluctance of some employers to take on someone with my prior — and I stress prior — record, but I hope that in the next year I am able to better utilize the education that the taxpayers so generously provided me with, and the experiences gleaned from my decades behind bars, to help people through motivational speaking and other means.
Meanwhile, I am paying the bills through day-work labor — painting houses, cleaning garages and attics, etc. — and continuing to work on my reentry into civilized society.
Re-entry is, at its most basic level, a public safety measure. I understand the political reality of appearing “soft on crime,” but I would urge our elected representatives to view re-entry as an investment in their community.
Nearly everyone who is now in prison will someday be released. It benefits everyone, not just the “criminal,” if people returning to our communities have the skills, post-release support and employment assistance to become law-abiding, tax-paying members of the public.
Gerald T. Balone lives in Buffalo.
10. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS
From the Capital District:
NEST Prison Shuttle schedule: Trip to Utica (Midstate, Marcy, Mohawk, Oneida) on Sat, Oct 18 leaving Troy at 5 AM. Sullivan trip (Ulster, Eastern, Woodbourne, Sullivan) on Sat, Oct 25 leaving at 6:30 AM ($45 adults, $30 children). Reservations: Linda O'Malley 518- 273-5199.
Door to door, free rides are offered from Albany to prisons within 150 miles by a volunteer of FUUSA’s Justice Committee. Please contact us at 518 253-7533 if you need a ride.
Statewide:
DOCS Free Bus - to find out how to sign up, from NYC area: Deacon Mason on Tues. &
Fri., 212 961 4026 and from Albany: on Wed & Thurs., 518 485 9212; from Buffalo area: Rev. Roberson 716 532 0177, x4805; from Syracuse: Sister Patricia: 315 428 4258
11. VOTING - EVEN IF YOU’RE ON PAROLE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO VOTE.
According to Chairman of Parole George Alexander, it is the current policy of the Parole Board to grant Certificates of Relief from Disabilities to inmates at the time of their release. A certificate of relief from disabilities, among other things, restores the right to vote. So if you have one, we hope you took it to the Board of Elections and registered to vote, because the deadline for registering will be past by the time you read this. However it's not too soon to start preparing for the next election.
When someone is prison receives notice that they’ve been granted parole release, they should check with the Facility Parole Officer to see if the board granted a certificate of relief from disability. While it is policy to issue it at time of release, the Board does reserve the right to defer. Once out, their Field Parole Officer has the responsibility of submitting the application if they were released without a certificate. That process involves a line of approvals, from their PO to his/her supervisor, to the Area Supervisor, then to a Parole Board Commissioner. If the commissioner doesn’t approve the application, it goes to a second commissioner, and if that person also denies it, that’s the end of the line this time around. But if the second commissioner approves the application, making it a tie decision, it then has to go to a third commissioner who breaks the tie, either in favor or against. This is the reason to start now. It's a long process. But in the end there’s a good chance of having the right to vote restored. Note: The certificate is temporary while on Parole and becomes permanent upon final discharge.
The two relevant sections of the law giving the Board such authority are printed below. You can read all of Article 23, sections 700, 701 and 703 here.
from Article 23 - DISCRETIONARY RELIEF FROM FORFEITURES AND DISABILITIES AUTOMATICALLY IMPOSED BY LAW
§ 700. Definitions and rules of construction. 1. As used in this article the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Eligible offender" shall mean a person who has been convicted of a crime or of an offense, but who has not been convicted more than once of a felony.
§ 703. Certificates of relief from disabilities issued by the board of parole. 1. The state board of parole shall have the power to issue a certificate of relief from disabilities to:
(a) any eligible offender who has been committed to an institution under the jurisdiction of the state department of correctional services. Such certificate may be issued by the board at the time the offender is released from such institution under the board's supervision or otherwise or at any time thereafter;
12. WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE
Buffalo:
Prisoners Are People Too is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm. Each meeting features a documentary film, related to some criminal justice or prison issue, and one or more guest speakers who address that issue.
The Projecting Law Project at the University at Buffalo School of Law has undertaken a year-long project that takes a small group of first year law students out to Attica Correctional Facility six times during their first year, to meet with lifers and long-termers. The students, as well as correctional officers, prisoners, prison administrators and civilian staff, are interviewed on videotape about their insights into the “criminal punishment system.” These students are producing a documentary film entitled, “Encountering Attica.” Some raw footage of this work in progress will be screened at the next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too. Guest speakers will include the project leader, Dr. Terri Miller, and several first year law students.
The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too is scheduled for November 24. Film and guest speaker(s) TBA.
PRP2 programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng. For further information, contact Karima Amin at karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org or 716-834-8438.
New York City:
New York Reentry Roundtable
Community Service Society Reentry Roundtable
Wed Oct 15, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Community Service Society, 105 East 22nd Street New York, NY
Contact: Gabriel Torres-Rivera at grivera@cssny.org
Second Annual Citizens Awards
Citizens Against Recidivism, Thu Oct 30, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Schomburg Cultural Center
515 Malcolm X (Lenox Avenue) New York, NY
Contact: Mika'il DeVeaux at mdeveaux@citizensinc.org
WMD: Poetry!
Join Ty Conscious and Lady Penumbra in celebrating the writings of those Behind the Wall: -poetry-essays-art, at WILD WEDNESDAYS, hosted by Viviana, Theatre Arts Building, 300 43rd St @ 8th Ave, heart of Times Square, 5th floor, last Wednesday of every month - upcoming: Oct 29 and Nov 26 6:00 to 9:30 PM
$5 donation requested – no one turned away. Since it is an open mic, you can bring your own writings, music, or other performance work. You will have approx. 5 minutes to do your thing. Your free speech is fiercely protected here!
For more information call 917.346.0969 Lady Penumbra and Ty Conscious, Prison Projects, PO Box 1784, NY NY 10035
Building Bridges is a joint effort of Prison Action Network and the FUUSA Justice Committee
We thank the Community Church of NY, Unitarian Universalist, for their support.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
BUILDING BRIDGES SPECIAL EDITION
Posted Oct. 2: AWAITING SUPREME COURT DECISION RE: TROY DAVIS
For the most current updates, visit www.troyanthonydavis.org
THE NEXT ISSUE OF BUILDING BRIDGES WILL BE COMING OUT AROUND OCTOBER 13.
BUILDING BRIDGES
September 22, 2008
Dear Reader,
This special edition will have some of the same columns as other months, but it will also prepare you for the events of October 25, 2008. We’re actually going to do something quite challenging at Family Empowerment Day 4. It’s not just going to be a day to hang out with others who have similar concerns about prison and parole and all the other issues surrounding incarceration. This year we are going to be meeting old friends again, and making new ones, but we’ll do it in the context of working together to create a plan. And so we need to prepare.
In order to achieve our goals, we need everyone there! If you have a loved one in prison and you want them to come home when they’re ready, then you need to show up. Because you have to be part of the process that makes that happen. You know it’s not what’s happening now. Many people are being denied parole 4, 5, 6, 7 and more times, despite having done everything possible to become a person with something positive to contribute to the family and the community they left so many years ago. They get denied solely for the nature of their crime, while others who haven’t made any changes in their behavior get released. It seems totally arbitrary and cruel, not to mention dangerous.
What can we do to make parole more fair, more just, and more rational? The chairman of parole will talk to us, and we’ll have an opportunity to ask him these questions. Is he doing anything to bring fairness, compassion and wisdom into the parole process? How can we help him? Who is this man and how much does he support what we want parole to be? Maybe he shares many of our goals, but hasn’t the authority to implement them. After all, he’s a government official with a job description. How much leeway does his job description and the law allow him in the pursuit of a safer and saner society?? This is our opportunity to find out, and to move forward with realistic expectations.
In order for everyone to be safe, there has to be a way where the decision about who is ready to come back into our communities is based on as much concrete evidence, risk assessment, and professional skill on the part of the commissioners as is humanly possible. Parole releases are not minor decisions! They affect all of us in a very serious way. It is time for change! Come to Family Empowerment Day 4 - NYC and start to make change happen!
Please pass Building Bridges on. We all need to be on the same page!
Our new address is Prison Action Network, PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12206. Please send us a donation to support Family Empowerment Day 4. Checks can be made out to Prison Action Network.
In this Issue
1. Family Empowerment Day 4/NYC details and more details
2. Lifers and Long-termers Clearinghouse Alert
3. Parole
4. Prison media
5. Reentry, the long road home. Sonny Rudert and Julio Medina
6. Telephone Justice Campaign
7. What's Going On In New York State
8. Writing Contest
1. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4/NYC - SPANISH TRANSLATION, FEP GENERAL MEETING ON OCT 11; LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY; CURRENT AGENDA; LISTS OF PANELISTS AND ADVISORS; TIPS FOR SUCCESS [ONE GOAL-ONE QUESTION]
WE ARE OFFERING SPANISH TRANSLATION
Spanish translators will be available throughout the day.
COME TO THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT GENERAL MEETING
Saturday October 11, from 3 - 5 pm, at the Fortune Society Academy on Riverside Drive and 140th St. #1 train stops at 137th. What could be easier? There's even parking, if you MUST drive your car.
We’ll meet to plan the details like registration, lunch, and a myriad of other details. This will be the orientation session for those volunteer jobs. We'll also be discussing the agenda, and how to compose your parole goal and your questions for Chairman Alexander. So it's like a pre-meeting.
Please confirm your attendance so we can make sure the space is large enough.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FOR NEWCOMERS TO PAN AND FED
In 2005, at the request of the Otisville Lifers and Longtermers Group, Prison Action Network helped to promote a Family Empowerment Day to begin to organize and mobilize families and supporters of the incarcerated around parole policies that unfairly keep their loved ones behind bars.
The primary objective of FED1 was to educate family members about the policies that prevent eligible, community-ready people from being paroled; FED2 began to organize families and supporters; FED3 educated families about tools that can bring about change. This year, FED4 intends to mobilize families into a knowledgeable, efficient and active group of change agents.
THE AGENDA AS IT LOOKS CURRENTLY:
There are three main sections of FED4:
1) "The Visitors," a documentary film about families and loved ones who take the buses to visit incarcerated men upstate, will serve as both a mirror and an educational tool for families, loved ones and supporters who have faced the trials and tribulations of this experience. A panel discussion* following the screening will help us analyze and discuss these experiences in the context of the society in which we live.
2) The second part of the event deals specifically with the issue of parole. The Chairman of the NYS Division of Parole, George Alexander, will deliver a speech on the state of parole today. It will be followed by a question-and-answer period designed to give us clarity about what he can and cannot do. This question and answer period is not designed to get specific solutions to personal situations, but to gain some indication of where Chairman Alexander stands on the goals that are important to us.
3) In the third session, we will be guided to take ownership of a goal, state the goal clearly, and identify the steps necessary to achieve it. We will first analyze the Chairman's address, looking for the legal and political implications of what was said and not said. Using this information, we will then select a goal we want to work on from a list presented by participants. After input from a team of advisors** who have expertise in areas important to our cause, we'll take a vote. People can vote for as many of the goals as they support; we'll select the one with the most support. The remaining time will be used to strategize with our team of advisors, answer questions and prioritize the steps necessary for success.
FED4/NYC is about empowering people to choose a goal, learn how to achieve the goal, and do the work to achieve the goal. It won't happen without you!
*”The Visitors” Panelists:
Melis Birder: Producer and director of “The Visitors”, which was inspired by her own experiences traveling to visit a loved one. Ms. Birder is a native of Turkey. She studied documentary filmmaking at the New School and has directed and produced documentaries dealing extensively with social issues.
Denise Robinson: Worked as a bus coordinator on the Operation Prison Gap buses to Clinton where much of the film takes place. Her story is the thread that runs through the documentary.
Dr. Divine Pryor: Co founder and director of Nu Leadership Policy group, the world’s first and only academic center that was designed and developed and organized by formerly incarcerated professionals, for research and analysis by scholars for a full range of urban issues that affect incarceration, including affordable housing and full participation in society as a way of discouraging criminal activity.
Ernest Henry: Spent 24 consecutive years in prison. While incarcerated, he acquired his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, chaired AVP for 10 years at Sing Sing, and received a Certificate in Ministry & Human Resources Program at Fishkill. After being released in Sept 2007, he found employment with the Osborne Association. He is a member of the Dutchess County Re-Entry Task Force, and a Transition and Re-Entry Specialist for CURE-NY.
Kathy Henry: Works as a graphic and web designer, and has been married to Ernest for nearly 10 years, eight of which were spent in the prison visiting room! During visits, they created two businesses to assist incarcerated people, Friends Beyond The Wall and Jaden Moore of NY, as well as NewYork Prisoners.com, a parole support web site for NYTS graduates. Kathy is a member of the Poughkeepsie Area Family Support Group and CURE-NY.
Rev. Vivian Nixon: Director of the College and Community Fellowship (CCF). Founded ReEnterGrace, a project that employs formerly incarcerated women and men to reach out to African American faith-based communities and educate them about the disparate impact of US criminal justice policies on people of color. Serves on advisory boards of the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College, ICARE, and Reentry Net.
**The Action Planning Team of Advisors
Edwin (Eddie) Ellis: Host-producer of “On the Count: The Prison and Criminal Justice Report,” a weekly public affairs program on WBAI-FM in NYC, consultant for many organizations including the Council of State Governments, New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the Vera Institute of Justice.
Robert Isseks: Practices law in Middletown, NY, focusing on civil rights and constitutional law. He is one of the lead attorneys in Graziano vs. Pataki
Amy James-Oliveras: Co-director of C.U.R.E.-NY, and Co-Producer and Co-host of the Fancy Broccoli show, which has many incarcerated listeners.
Glenn E. Martin: Vice President of Development and Public Affairs at The Fortune Society, Inc. responsible for, among other things, developing and advancing Fortune’s criminal justice policy advocacy agenda. Drafted the updated version of How to Get and Clean Up Your New York State Rap Sheet, Sixth Edition, a manual to assist clients in obtaining and understanding how to read their state criminal records. Serves on a multitude of committees and boards addressing issues related to reintegration of people with criminal records.
Sheila Rule: President of Resilience Multimedia, a publishing company where she is channeling her passion for social justice into the world of social entrepreneurship, Ms. Rule volunteers with the Riverside Church Prison Ministry. Formerly worked as a journalist at The New York Times where her beats included the New York State Legislature, social services, the homeless and national civil rights.
Peter Sell: Practices law in NYC, specializing in criminal law and civil rights. He works with Robert Isseks as one of the lead attorneys in Graziano vs. Pataki.
Claudette R. Spencer Nurse:. Living in Trinidad since 2003 after husband was released from prison after serving 25 years and was deported there. Currently practices law in Trinidad. Co-founder of the Coalition for Parole Restoration (CPR), an organization advocating for fair parole practices. She currently serves as the Administrative Coordinator for CPR.
William Eric Waters: Program Director at the Osborne Association, also Vice President of the Coalition for Parole Restoration, and Editor of its newsletter, The Deuce Club. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary and bachelor’s degrees from Albany University and the College at New Paltz.
IMPORTANT; PLEASE READ! TIPS FOR SUCCESS: “ONE GOAL; ONE QUESTION”
We recently contacted a small selection of our mailing list, asking them to name the one change they thought was necessary in order to bring their loved ones home. The response was immediate and voluminous! We received so many good and thoughtful responses, going into such detail, that we realized there's no way there will be time at the event to voice them all.
We want everyone's concerns to be heard. That's absolutely necessary if this is to be a grassroots movement, motivated by the concerns of those of us most directly impacted by parole practices. This is how we suggest accomplishing it:
1) Before arriving at the event, decide on the ONE CHANGE you and/or your incarcerated loved one think would make parole hearings more fair and equitable and increase the chance your loved one will come home when he or she is community-ready. [Be specific. Here are just a few examples to help you compose your goal: 1 Change the law so they can’t base a denial solely on the nature of the crime, except in the most egregious situations. 2 Respect the judge's sentence. 3 Develop definitive criteria. 4 Give the people appearing before the board ample time to explain the changes they’ve made in their life. 5 Record Parole Hearings in their entirety.]
Your goal, or one like it, will be added to the list of goals we vote on.
2) Since there will be only 30 minutes for the question-and-answer period following Chairman Alexander's speech, there won't be time to ask personal questions or tell our heartbreaking stories. Instead we urge you to prepare ONE QUESTION, of no more than 100 words, that's related to your goal. For example, if your goal was #5 above, your question to Chairman Alexander might be: "My loved one tells me that the minutes of his parole hearings not always accurate. We suggest implementing the practice of recording or videotaping parole hearings in their entirety, which would also allow for transparency and oversight. What do you think of that idea?" The chairman’s response will help us make our decision and plan our strategies. If someone else has already asked it, there’s no point in asking it again.
Please keep in mind that any changes proposed have to work for the good of us all, including our communities, in order to work for any one of us .
2. ALERT FOR LIFER AND LONG-TERMER ORGANIZATIONS - LARRY WHITE TALKS ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE THREE MAIN STAKEHOLDERS IN ACHIEVING FAIR AND JUST PAROLE POLICIES AND PAROLE BOARD DECISIONS
Progress on the outside requires certain moves on the inside. The Family Empowerment Day event this year features the appearance of the Chairman of the New York State Division of Parole, who has agreed to address a gathering of your families and supporters regarding the issue of parole. Now, that is a major development and represents progress by a community criminal justice advocacy organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of those incarcerated in state prison.
The Prison Action Network did the work to bring about this major step to achieve fair and just parole policies and parole board decisions. But it is just a step in a protracted struggle. The struggle will be a long and hard one and must be a joint venture that involves 1) all those incarcerated in state prisons, 2) their families and supporters, and 3) the community-based advocacy groups and organizations that coordinate the struggle.
An effective joint venture is one with strong and supportive linkages between the parties involved, that is, between prison organizations, the families and supporters of those who are incarcerated, and the community-based advocacy organizations. It will be informative and instructive to quickly examine the role of these three stakeholders. The incarcerated are required to unify themselves into approved prison organizations that work to develop linkage with community advocacy organizations. Linkage is the process of identifying, contacting, and establishing collaboration with community-based advocacy groups and organizations. (Identifying community organizations in the nearby area of your particular facility may be extremely difficult, but you can contact Prison Action Network in such instances.)
Once linkage has been established, the prison organization must support and help fund the joint efforts it undertakes with the community advocacy organization. This is crucially important because prison organizations must never appear to be helpless or inadequate in the face of struggle. Approved prison organizations have the ability to generate funds by the operation of franchises, and that too is an undertaking that prison organizations can collaborate with the community-based advocacy group to achieve.
Financial support for the Family Empowerment Day event is an obligation of approved prison groups and organizations, and incarcerated individuals as well, because all will benefit from fair and just parole policies and parole board decisions. That is what is meant by the term “stakeholder” – they all have a direct interest, a “stake” in the outcome of an undertaking.
Now lets take a cursory look at the role of families, loved-ones and supporters of the incarcerated. Families, loved-ones, and supporters play a valued role in the struggle for fair and just release policies. By the nature of their relationship with those who are imprisoned, families, loved-ones, and supporters are in close, personal contact with incarcerated individuals and are more readily able to state their personal cause than community-based advocacy organizations that have a more direct linkage with the leadership of prison organizations.
This means that families, loved-ones, and supporters are able to speak with a more personal and detailed fervor not only about the incarcerated, but about their own trails and tribulations suffered as a result of the prolonged incarceration of their loved-ones. There are a number of families-of-prisoners organizations and every person who is incarcerated should encourage their family, loved-ones and supporters to become a member of one of them.
One of the primary aims of the Family Empowerment Day 4 event is to initiate a movement to unify the efforts of these various families-of-prisoners groups and organizations around the issue of parole. Initiating a movement entails an educational process in which families are presented with information that not only increases their knowledge of the political workings of parole policy and practices, but what direct actions they can take to initiate change.
As they mature in their understanding, knowledge and strategies, they impart all this to their incarcerated loved ones and this exchange develops into a more unified, effective and decisive relationship that truly empowers both.
Community-based advocacy organizations, like the Prison Action Network, that are committed to working directly with incarcerated individuals are few and hard to find. With the ascendancy of reentry as the dominate concern of criminal justice service provider organizations, more attention is being focused on dealing with the problems that occur after release from imprisonment than during incarceration. That is why organizations like Prison Action Network, CURE-NY and the Coalition for Parole Restoration (CPR) need to receive the support of all those behind the walls, especially by prison organizations.
Lifer and long-termer organizations are the premier prison group because they represent that segment of the general population that has more time to serve and therefore more at stake when it comes to matters of release and prison conditions. Other prison organizations are no less responsible for providing leadership to the general population in the struggle for early release laws and policies, and the improvement of prison conditions. All organized segments of the prison population must share the burden of providing financial support to those community advocacy groups that lead the charge on behalf of the incarcerated.
It is crucial that prison organizations keep abreast of what is being done by community groups to bring about fair and just parole laws and policies and the three newsletters that should be subscribed to and read for up-to-date information are “BUILDING BRIDGES”, the voice of Prison Action Network, CURE-NY, the news organ of CURE-NY, and “THE DEUCE CLUB”, the official newsletter of the Coalition for Parole Restoration.
Larry White
PAN Board Member
3. PAROLE - GRAZIANO UPDATE; FACILITY STATISTICS FROM ARTHUR KILL, OTISVILLE, AND WOODBOURNE PRISONS; REPORT ON RESCISSION HEARING .
THE GRAZIANO VS PATAKI case has been assigned to the Honorable Cathy Siebel. The lawyers are scheduling the final depositions and the case should be ready for motions right after that.
PAROLE BOARD STATS. Release info for a1 violent felons [A1VO] is not available for this edition, since it is only mid-month. We will be publishing August and September statistics in our October Edition which is scheduled for October 17.
Not all the reports are in from the individual prison reporters either, but here’s what we do have.
August, September 2008 Releases based on Reports from the Inside:
ARTHUR KILL
August-September - Casey, Lemons, Hernandez
83 saw the board, 30 were granted parole
31 were initial interviews; 11 were granted parole
45 were reappearances; 12 were granted parole
7 were merit time interviews, all seven received dates
11 of those released were Lifers, according to an unofficial count. Two with 25-Life on initial appearance; two with 25-Life on 2nd board; one with 25-Life on 3rd board, one 20-Life on 6th. Five others made it, but their sentences and which appearance, are not known.
OTISVILLE
August - Hernandez and Lemmons
6 Lifers were released.
WOODBOURNE
August - Grant, Greenan, Ross
11 saw the board; 2 (1 A1VO) were granted parole, (1 flat bid also released)
Of those denied, 4 were A1VO, 3 were reappearances, 1 was initial
SHU’AIB ABDUR RAHEEM’S RESCISSION HEARING ON FRI. SEPT. 5.
I attended the hearing and as a layperson I was quite impressed with the perseverance of his lawyer, Lawrence Stern, who was well prepared and diligent in his arguments. The opposing lawyer made strong arguments also, so we will have to wait to see what the judge decides. From all reports, no matter what the judgment based on the law is, the moral judgment is that Mr. Raheem is a changed man, and eminently deserving of his freedom. We hope the judge feels the law supports this. Unfortunately there were only two of us there to support him. Probably because at the last minute the time of the hearing was changed from the morning to the afternoon. It’s unknown how many people took time off in the morning, and could not return in the afternoon.
4. PRISON MEDIA - FANCY BROCCOLI ON THE RADIO; STILL HERE, HARLEM PRODUCTIONS, INC ON TV.
Rudy and Betty Cypser will be on the Fancy Broccoli Show on October 5 to talk about some new developments in the effort to restore higher education in prison. “Fancy Broccoli” airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives www.fancybroccoli.org to find lots of other good interviews.
Write Fancy Broccoli Show, WVKR, Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0726
Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, has formed his own TV production company, Still Here, Harlem Productions Inc. You can see his work at www.ovntv.com, Channel 35 or on myspace.com/376646829. Starting on September 25, he will be on MNN channel 34 at 7:30 every Thursday. Jazz can be reached at 201 West 138th St. Suite 1, New York, NY 10030, Office: 212-234-0596, Cell: 917-753-3771, Jhayden512@aol.com
5. REENTRY
"The long road home: two ex-inmates talk about re-entering society," Julio Medina and Sonny Rudert, Purchase College, SUNY, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase, NY 10022, 914-251-6500, Tues, Oct 14, 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Free and open to the public.
6. TELEPHONE JUSTICE CAMPAIGN, CCR - THE NY STATE COMPTROLLER IS CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING GLOBAL TEL*LINK’S CLAIMS THAT THE BIDDING PROCESS FOR THE NY PRISON TELEPHONE CONTRACT WAS UNFAIR.
The Telephone Justice Campaign knows that it was fair because it complied with the Family Connections bill, which we all worked together to get passed last year. The Telephone Justice Campaign is circulating a petition to the Comptroller asking that they speed up the process and give us our new contract!
It has been more than a year since we passed the Family Connections Act and ended the 57.5 percent kickback to the State on all prison calls.
Write the State Comptroller at Office of the State Comptroller,110 State Street
Albany, NY 12236, who is currently investigating complaints by the phone company that previously held the contract, that he should approve the new contract now so that families can finally get the fair rate they deserve.
In related news this week, CCR attorney Darius Charney made oral arguments in an appeal before the New York State Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the unlawful tax. We asked the court to reverse the most recent dismissal in Walton v. NYSDOCS and allow families to be compensated for 10 years of the unjust, illegal tax, which amounted to $225 million out of their pockets. It is also critical that the court rule in the case so that no future administration can bring back the kickback contract.
-- Annette Dickerson, Director of Education and Outreach, Center for Constitutional Rights
WHATS GOING ON IN NEW YORK STATE
BUFFALO:
From Karima Amin:
Dear PRP2 Family: Please forgive this late notice. Many of you know that I have been caring for my father in recent weeks. At age 91, he was (is) my most ardent PRP2 supporter, never missing a monthly meeting in three years, until last month. You will also note that I have not written an article this month. However, our 4th Monday meeting (09-22-08) is still scheduled to take place. Come if you can. Peace. -ka
Date: Monday, September 22, 2008 Time: 6:30-8:30pm Place: Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street, Buffalo
Topic: Abuse in America's Prisons
Documentary Film: "Torture: America's Brutal Prisons" (2005, Icarus Films)....48 min., color.....ages 14+.... The report of the horrendous treatment of enemy soldiers by American soldiers in 2004 at Abu Ghraib in Iraq was a shock to the American public. That same public is woefully lacking in the knowledge of the vicious and humiliating treatment that prisoners experience on a daily basis right here in America.
Guest Speaker: Mr. Gary Craig- Investigative Reporter from Rochester's "Democrat and Chronicle" newspaper. In the mid-1990's, Mr. Craig was instrumental in uncovering prisoner abuse in Albion Prison, a prison for women in New York State.
7. WRITING CONTEST - “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL” RESILIENCE MULTIMEDIA, PUBLISHER OF THE WIDELY PRAISED BOOK, “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL: AN ENTREPRENEUR’S GUIDE FOR THE INCARCERATED AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED,” IS SPONSORING A WRITING CONTEST FOR PERSONAL STORIES TO BE INCLUDED IN BOOKS IN OUR “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL SERIES.” THE SERIES HELPS THE INCARCERATED AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED TACKLE HARD CHALLENGES AND HAVE SUCCESSFUL LIVES.
Story Topics: Reentering society after incarceration, Waiting for loved ones to return home from prison, Prison marriages and relationships
Prizes: Three winners will be chosen for each topic: 1st Place: $300, 2nd Place: $150, 3rd Place: $ 75
Stories that do not win cash prizes will still be eligible for inclusion in the series.
Writers whose stories are selected will receive a free copy of the book in which their work appears.
Rules: All stories must be original and about situations or events that actually happened.
You may submit stories on more than one topic.
Stories may be up to 3,000 words.
Stories should be typewritten and double-spaced.
Handwritten stories will be accepted as long as they are legible.
Each page must include page number, your name, contact information and story title.
Resilience Multimedia reserves the right to edit stories for clarity, punctuation, spelling and grammar.
Story entries will not be returned.
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 30, 2008. WINNERS AND OTHER SELECTED STORIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FEBRUARY 1, 2009 IN A PRESS RELEASE.
How to Enter:
Email your story, indicating which topic it is intended for, to:
resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net
OR mail your story to: Resilience Multimedia, 511 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 525, New York, NY 10011
Prison Action Network thanks the Community Church of NY, Unitarian Universalist, for their support.
For the most current updates, visit www.troyanthonydavis.org
THE NEXT ISSUE OF BUILDING BRIDGES WILL BE COMING OUT AROUND OCTOBER 13.
BUILDING BRIDGES
September 22, 2008
Dear Reader,
This special edition will have some of the same columns as other months, but it will also prepare you for the events of October 25, 2008. We’re actually going to do something quite challenging at Family Empowerment Day 4. It’s not just going to be a day to hang out with others who have similar concerns about prison and parole and all the other issues surrounding incarceration. This year we are going to be meeting old friends again, and making new ones, but we’ll do it in the context of working together to create a plan. And so we need to prepare.
In order to achieve our goals, we need everyone there! If you have a loved one in prison and you want them to come home when they’re ready, then you need to show up. Because you have to be part of the process that makes that happen. You know it’s not what’s happening now. Many people are being denied parole 4, 5, 6, 7 and more times, despite having done everything possible to become a person with something positive to contribute to the family and the community they left so many years ago. They get denied solely for the nature of their crime, while others who haven’t made any changes in their behavior get released. It seems totally arbitrary and cruel, not to mention dangerous.
What can we do to make parole more fair, more just, and more rational? The chairman of parole will talk to us, and we’ll have an opportunity to ask him these questions. Is he doing anything to bring fairness, compassion and wisdom into the parole process? How can we help him? Who is this man and how much does he support what we want parole to be? Maybe he shares many of our goals, but hasn’t the authority to implement them. After all, he’s a government official with a job description. How much leeway does his job description and the law allow him in the pursuit of a safer and saner society?? This is our opportunity to find out, and to move forward with realistic expectations.
In order for everyone to be safe, there has to be a way where the decision about who is ready to come back into our communities is based on as much concrete evidence, risk assessment, and professional skill on the part of the commissioners as is humanly possible. Parole releases are not minor decisions! They affect all of us in a very serious way. It is time for change! Come to Family Empowerment Day 4 - NYC and start to make change happen!
Please pass Building Bridges on. We all need to be on the same page!
Our new address is Prison Action Network, PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12206. Please send us a donation to support Family Empowerment Day 4. Checks can be made out to Prison Action Network.
In this Issue
1. Family Empowerment Day 4/NYC details and more details
2. Lifers and Long-termers Clearinghouse Alert
3. Parole
4. Prison media
5. Reentry, the long road home. Sonny Rudert and Julio Medina
6. Telephone Justice Campaign
7. What's Going On In New York State
8. Writing Contest
1. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 4/NYC - SPANISH TRANSLATION, FEP GENERAL MEETING ON OCT 11; LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY; CURRENT AGENDA; LISTS OF PANELISTS AND ADVISORS; TIPS FOR SUCCESS [ONE GOAL-ONE QUESTION]
WE ARE OFFERING SPANISH TRANSLATION
Spanish translators will be available throughout the day.
COME TO THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT GENERAL MEETING
Saturday October 11, from 3 - 5 pm, at the Fortune Society Academy on Riverside Drive and 140th St. #1 train stops at 137th. What could be easier? There's even parking, if you MUST drive your car.
We’ll meet to plan the details like registration, lunch, and a myriad of other details. This will be the orientation session for those volunteer jobs. We'll also be discussing the agenda, and how to compose your parole goal and your questions for Chairman Alexander. So it's like a pre-meeting.
Please confirm your attendance so we can make sure the space is large enough.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FOR NEWCOMERS TO PAN AND FED
In 2005, at the request of the Otisville Lifers and Longtermers Group, Prison Action Network helped to promote a Family Empowerment Day to begin to organize and mobilize families and supporters of the incarcerated around parole policies that unfairly keep their loved ones behind bars.
The primary objective of FED1 was to educate family members about the policies that prevent eligible, community-ready people from being paroled; FED2 began to organize families and supporters; FED3 educated families about tools that can bring about change. This year, FED4 intends to mobilize families into a knowledgeable, efficient and active group of change agents.
THE AGENDA AS IT LOOKS CURRENTLY:
There are three main sections of FED4:
1) "The Visitors," a documentary film about families and loved ones who take the buses to visit incarcerated men upstate, will serve as both a mirror and an educational tool for families, loved ones and supporters who have faced the trials and tribulations of this experience. A panel discussion* following the screening will help us analyze and discuss these experiences in the context of the society in which we live.
2) The second part of the event deals specifically with the issue of parole. The Chairman of the NYS Division of Parole, George Alexander, will deliver a speech on the state of parole today. It will be followed by a question-and-answer period designed to give us clarity about what he can and cannot do. This question and answer period is not designed to get specific solutions to personal situations, but to gain some indication of where Chairman Alexander stands on the goals that are important to us.
3) In the third session, we will be guided to take ownership of a goal, state the goal clearly, and identify the steps necessary to achieve it. We will first analyze the Chairman's address, looking for the legal and political implications of what was said and not said. Using this information, we will then select a goal we want to work on from a list presented by participants. After input from a team of advisors** who have expertise in areas important to our cause, we'll take a vote. People can vote for as many of the goals as they support; we'll select the one with the most support. The remaining time will be used to strategize with our team of advisors, answer questions and prioritize the steps necessary for success.
FED4/NYC is about empowering people to choose a goal, learn how to achieve the goal, and do the work to achieve the goal. It won't happen without you!
*”The Visitors” Panelists:
Melis Birder: Producer and director of “The Visitors”, which was inspired by her own experiences traveling to visit a loved one. Ms. Birder is a native of Turkey. She studied documentary filmmaking at the New School and has directed and produced documentaries dealing extensively with social issues.
Denise Robinson: Worked as a bus coordinator on the Operation Prison Gap buses to Clinton where much of the film takes place. Her story is the thread that runs through the documentary.
Dr. Divine Pryor: Co founder and director of Nu Leadership Policy group, the world’s first and only academic center that was designed and developed and organized by formerly incarcerated professionals, for research and analysis by scholars for a full range of urban issues that affect incarceration, including affordable housing and full participation in society as a way of discouraging criminal activity.
Ernest Henry: Spent 24 consecutive years in prison. While incarcerated, he acquired his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, chaired AVP for 10 years at Sing Sing, and received a Certificate in Ministry & Human Resources Program at Fishkill. After being released in Sept 2007, he found employment with the Osborne Association. He is a member of the Dutchess County Re-Entry Task Force, and a Transition and Re-Entry Specialist for CURE-NY.
Kathy Henry: Works as a graphic and web designer, and has been married to Ernest for nearly 10 years, eight of which were spent in the prison visiting room! During visits, they created two businesses to assist incarcerated people, Friends Beyond The Wall and Jaden Moore of NY, as well as NewYork Prisoners.com, a parole support web site for NYTS graduates. Kathy is a member of the Poughkeepsie Area Family Support Group and CURE-NY.
Rev. Vivian Nixon: Director of the College and Community Fellowship (CCF). Founded ReEnterGrace, a project that employs formerly incarcerated women and men to reach out to African American faith-based communities and educate them about the disparate impact of US criminal justice policies on people of color. Serves on advisory boards of the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College, ICARE, and Reentry Net.
**The Action Planning Team of Advisors
Edwin (Eddie) Ellis: Host-producer of “On the Count: The Prison and Criminal Justice Report,” a weekly public affairs program on WBAI-FM in NYC, consultant for many organizations including the Council of State Governments, New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus, National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the Vera Institute of Justice.
Robert Isseks: Practices law in Middletown, NY, focusing on civil rights and constitutional law. He is one of the lead attorneys in Graziano vs. Pataki
Amy James-Oliveras: Co-director of C.U.R.E.-NY, and Co-Producer and Co-host of the Fancy Broccoli show, which has many incarcerated listeners.
Glenn E. Martin: Vice President of Development and Public Affairs at The Fortune Society, Inc. responsible for, among other things, developing and advancing Fortune’s criminal justice policy advocacy agenda. Drafted the updated version of How to Get and Clean Up Your New York State Rap Sheet, Sixth Edition, a manual to assist clients in obtaining and understanding how to read their state criminal records. Serves on a multitude of committees and boards addressing issues related to reintegration of people with criminal records.
Sheila Rule: President of Resilience Multimedia, a publishing company where she is channeling her passion for social justice into the world of social entrepreneurship, Ms. Rule volunteers with the Riverside Church Prison Ministry. Formerly worked as a journalist at The New York Times where her beats included the New York State Legislature, social services, the homeless and national civil rights.
Peter Sell: Practices law in NYC, specializing in criminal law and civil rights. He works with Robert Isseks as one of the lead attorneys in Graziano vs. Pataki.
Claudette R. Spencer Nurse:. Living in Trinidad since 2003 after husband was released from prison after serving 25 years and was deported there. Currently practices law in Trinidad. Co-founder of the Coalition for Parole Restoration (CPR), an organization advocating for fair parole practices. She currently serves as the Administrative Coordinator for CPR.
William Eric Waters: Program Director at the Osborne Association, also Vice President of the Coalition for Parole Restoration, and Editor of its newsletter, The Deuce Club. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary and bachelor’s degrees from Albany University and the College at New Paltz.
IMPORTANT; PLEASE READ! TIPS FOR SUCCESS: “ONE GOAL; ONE QUESTION”
We recently contacted a small selection of our mailing list, asking them to name the one change they thought was necessary in order to bring their loved ones home. The response was immediate and voluminous! We received so many good and thoughtful responses, going into such detail, that we realized there's no way there will be time at the event to voice them all.
We want everyone's concerns to be heard. That's absolutely necessary if this is to be a grassroots movement, motivated by the concerns of those of us most directly impacted by parole practices. This is how we suggest accomplishing it:
1) Before arriving at the event, decide on the ONE CHANGE you and/or your incarcerated loved one think would make parole hearings more fair and equitable and increase the chance your loved one will come home when he or she is community-ready. [Be specific. Here are just a few examples to help you compose your goal: 1 Change the law so they can’t base a denial solely on the nature of the crime, except in the most egregious situations. 2 Respect the judge's sentence. 3 Develop definitive criteria. 4 Give the people appearing before the board ample time to explain the changes they’ve made in their life. 5 Record Parole Hearings in their entirety.]
Your goal, or one like it, will be added to the list of goals we vote on.
2) Since there will be only 30 minutes for the question-and-answer period following Chairman Alexander's speech, there won't be time to ask personal questions or tell our heartbreaking stories. Instead we urge you to prepare ONE QUESTION, of no more than 100 words, that's related to your goal. For example, if your goal was #5 above, your question to Chairman Alexander might be: "My loved one tells me that the minutes of his parole hearings not always accurate. We suggest implementing the practice of recording or videotaping parole hearings in their entirety, which would also allow for transparency and oversight. What do you think of that idea?" The chairman’s response will help us make our decision and plan our strategies. If someone else has already asked it, there’s no point in asking it again.
Please keep in mind that any changes proposed have to work for the good of us all, including our communities, in order to work for any one of us .
2. ALERT FOR LIFER AND LONG-TERMER ORGANIZATIONS - LARRY WHITE TALKS ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE THREE MAIN STAKEHOLDERS IN ACHIEVING FAIR AND JUST PAROLE POLICIES AND PAROLE BOARD DECISIONS
Progress on the outside requires certain moves on the inside. The Family Empowerment Day event this year features the appearance of the Chairman of the New York State Division of Parole, who has agreed to address a gathering of your families and supporters regarding the issue of parole. Now, that is a major development and represents progress by a community criminal justice advocacy organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of those incarcerated in state prison.
The Prison Action Network did the work to bring about this major step to achieve fair and just parole policies and parole board decisions. But it is just a step in a protracted struggle. The struggle will be a long and hard one and must be a joint venture that involves 1) all those incarcerated in state prisons, 2) their families and supporters, and 3) the community-based advocacy groups and organizations that coordinate the struggle.
An effective joint venture is one with strong and supportive linkages between the parties involved, that is, between prison organizations, the families and supporters of those who are incarcerated, and the community-based advocacy organizations. It will be informative and instructive to quickly examine the role of these three stakeholders. The incarcerated are required to unify themselves into approved prison organizations that work to develop linkage with community advocacy organizations. Linkage is the process of identifying, contacting, and establishing collaboration with community-based advocacy groups and organizations. (Identifying community organizations in the nearby area of your particular facility may be extremely difficult, but you can contact Prison Action Network in such instances.)
Once linkage has been established, the prison organization must support and help fund the joint efforts it undertakes with the community advocacy organization. This is crucially important because prison organizations must never appear to be helpless or inadequate in the face of struggle. Approved prison organizations have the ability to generate funds by the operation of franchises, and that too is an undertaking that prison organizations can collaborate with the community-based advocacy group to achieve.
Financial support for the Family Empowerment Day event is an obligation of approved prison groups and organizations, and incarcerated individuals as well, because all will benefit from fair and just parole policies and parole board decisions. That is what is meant by the term “stakeholder” – they all have a direct interest, a “stake” in the outcome of an undertaking.
Now lets take a cursory look at the role of families, loved-ones and supporters of the incarcerated. Families, loved-ones, and supporters play a valued role in the struggle for fair and just release policies. By the nature of their relationship with those who are imprisoned, families, loved-ones, and supporters are in close, personal contact with incarcerated individuals and are more readily able to state their personal cause than community-based advocacy organizations that have a more direct linkage with the leadership of prison organizations.
This means that families, loved-ones, and supporters are able to speak with a more personal and detailed fervor not only about the incarcerated, but about their own trails and tribulations suffered as a result of the prolonged incarceration of their loved-ones. There are a number of families-of-prisoners organizations and every person who is incarcerated should encourage their family, loved-ones and supporters to become a member of one of them.
One of the primary aims of the Family Empowerment Day 4 event is to initiate a movement to unify the efforts of these various families-of-prisoners groups and organizations around the issue of parole. Initiating a movement entails an educational process in which families are presented with information that not only increases their knowledge of the political workings of parole policy and practices, but what direct actions they can take to initiate change.
As they mature in their understanding, knowledge and strategies, they impart all this to their incarcerated loved ones and this exchange develops into a more unified, effective and decisive relationship that truly empowers both.
Community-based advocacy organizations, like the Prison Action Network, that are committed to working directly with incarcerated individuals are few and hard to find. With the ascendancy of reentry as the dominate concern of criminal justice service provider organizations, more attention is being focused on dealing with the problems that occur after release from imprisonment than during incarceration. That is why organizations like Prison Action Network, CURE-NY and the Coalition for Parole Restoration (CPR) need to receive the support of all those behind the walls, especially by prison organizations.
Lifer and long-termer organizations are the premier prison group because they represent that segment of the general population that has more time to serve and therefore more at stake when it comes to matters of release and prison conditions. Other prison organizations are no less responsible for providing leadership to the general population in the struggle for early release laws and policies, and the improvement of prison conditions. All organized segments of the prison population must share the burden of providing financial support to those community advocacy groups that lead the charge on behalf of the incarcerated.
It is crucial that prison organizations keep abreast of what is being done by community groups to bring about fair and just parole laws and policies and the three newsletters that should be subscribed to and read for up-to-date information are “BUILDING BRIDGES”, the voice of Prison Action Network, CURE-NY, the news organ of CURE-NY, and “THE DEUCE CLUB”, the official newsletter of the Coalition for Parole Restoration.
Larry White
PAN Board Member
3. PAROLE - GRAZIANO UPDATE; FACILITY STATISTICS FROM ARTHUR KILL, OTISVILLE, AND WOODBOURNE PRISONS; REPORT ON RESCISSION HEARING .
THE GRAZIANO VS PATAKI case has been assigned to the Honorable Cathy Siebel. The lawyers are scheduling the final depositions and the case should be ready for motions right after that.
PAROLE BOARD STATS. Release info for a1 violent felons [A1VO] is not available for this edition, since it is only mid-month. We will be publishing August and September statistics in our October Edition which is scheduled for October 17.
Not all the reports are in from the individual prison reporters either, but here’s what we do have.
August, September 2008 Releases based on Reports from the Inside:
ARTHUR KILL
August-September - Casey, Lemons, Hernandez
83 saw the board, 30 were granted parole
31 were initial interviews; 11 were granted parole
45 were reappearances; 12 were granted parole
7 were merit time interviews, all seven received dates
11 of those released were Lifers, according to an unofficial count. Two with 25-Life on initial appearance; two with 25-Life on 2nd board; one with 25-Life on 3rd board, one 20-Life on 6th. Five others made it, but their sentences and which appearance, are not known.
OTISVILLE
August - Hernandez and Lemmons
6 Lifers were released.
WOODBOURNE
August - Grant, Greenan, Ross
11 saw the board; 2 (1 A1VO) were granted parole, (1 flat bid also released)
Of those denied, 4 were A1VO, 3 were reappearances, 1 was initial
SHU’AIB ABDUR RAHEEM’S RESCISSION HEARING ON FRI. SEPT. 5.
I attended the hearing and as a layperson I was quite impressed with the perseverance of his lawyer, Lawrence Stern, who was well prepared and diligent in his arguments. The opposing lawyer made strong arguments also, so we will have to wait to see what the judge decides. From all reports, no matter what the judgment based on the law is, the moral judgment is that Mr. Raheem is a changed man, and eminently deserving of his freedom. We hope the judge feels the law supports this. Unfortunately there were only two of us there to support him. Probably because at the last minute the time of the hearing was changed from the morning to the afternoon. It’s unknown how many people took time off in the morning, and could not return in the afternoon.
4. PRISON MEDIA - FANCY BROCCOLI ON THE RADIO; STILL HERE, HARLEM PRODUCTIONS, INC ON TV.
Rudy and Betty Cypser will be on the Fancy Broccoli Show on October 5 to talk about some new developments in the effort to restore higher education in prison. “Fancy Broccoli” airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.
Visit archives www.fancybroccoli.org to find lots of other good interviews.
Write Fancy Broccoli Show, WVKR, Box 726, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0726
Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, has formed his own TV production company, Still Here, Harlem Productions Inc. You can see his work at www.ovntv.com, Channel 35 or on myspace.com/376646829. Starting on September 25, he will be on MNN channel 34 at 7:30 every Thursday. Jazz can be reached at 201 West 138th St. Suite 1, New York, NY 10030, Office: 212-234-0596, Cell: 917-753-3771, Jhayden512@aol.com
5. REENTRY
"The long road home: two ex-inmates talk about re-entering society," Julio Medina and Sonny Rudert, Purchase College, SUNY, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase, NY 10022, 914-251-6500, Tues, Oct 14, 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Free and open to the public.
6. TELEPHONE JUSTICE CAMPAIGN, CCR - THE NY STATE COMPTROLLER IS CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING GLOBAL TEL*LINK’S CLAIMS THAT THE BIDDING PROCESS FOR THE NY PRISON TELEPHONE CONTRACT WAS UNFAIR.
The Telephone Justice Campaign knows that it was fair because it complied with the Family Connections bill, which we all worked together to get passed last year. The Telephone Justice Campaign is circulating a petition to the Comptroller asking that they speed up the process and give us our new contract!
It has been more than a year since we passed the Family Connections Act and ended the 57.5 percent kickback to the State on all prison calls.
Write the State Comptroller at Office of the State Comptroller,110 State Street
Albany, NY 12236, who is currently investigating complaints by the phone company that previously held the contract, that he should approve the new contract now so that families can finally get the fair rate they deserve.
In related news this week, CCR attorney Darius Charney made oral arguments in an appeal before the New York State Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the unlawful tax. We asked the court to reverse the most recent dismissal in Walton v. NYSDOCS and allow families to be compensated for 10 years of the unjust, illegal tax, which amounted to $225 million out of their pockets. It is also critical that the court rule in the case so that no future administration can bring back the kickback contract.
-- Annette Dickerson, Director of Education and Outreach, Center for Constitutional Rights
WHATS GOING ON IN NEW YORK STATE
BUFFALO:
From Karima Amin:
Dear PRP2 Family: Please forgive this late notice. Many of you know that I have been caring for my father in recent weeks. At age 91, he was (is) my most ardent PRP2 supporter, never missing a monthly meeting in three years, until last month. You will also note that I have not written an article this month. However, our 4th Monday meeting (09-22-08) is still scheduled to take place. Come if you can. Peace. -ka
Date: Monday, September 22, 2008 Time: 6:30-8:30pm Place: Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street, Buffalo
Topic: Abuse in America's Prisons
Documentary Film: "Torture: America's Brutal Prisons" (2005, Icarus Films)....48 min., color.....ages 14+.... The report of the horrendous treatment of enemy soldiers by American soldiers in 2004 at Abu Ghraib in Iraq was a shock to the American public. That same public is woefully lacking in the knowledge of the vicious and humiliating treatment that prisoners experience on a daily basis right here in America.
Guest Speaker: Mr. Gary Craig- Investigative Reporter from Rochester's "Democrat and Chronicle" newspaper. In the mid-1990's, Mr. Craig was instrumental in uncovering prisoner abuse in Albion Prison, a prison for women in New York State.
7. WRITING CONTEST - “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL” RESILIENCE MULTIMEDIA, PUBLISHER OF THE WIDELY PRAISED BOOK, “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL: AN ENTREPRENEUR’S GUIDE FOR THE INCARCERATED AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED,” IS SPONSORING A WRITING CONTEST FOR PERSONAL STORIES TO BE INCLUDED IN BOOKS IN OUR “THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL SERIES.” THE SERIES HELPS THE INCARCERATED AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED TACKLE HARD CHALLENGES AND HAVE SUCCESSFUL LIVES.
Story Topics: Reentering society after incarceration, Waiting for loved ones to return home from prison, Prison marriages and relationships
Prizes: Three winners will be chosen for each topic: 1st Place: $300, 2nd Place: $150, 3rd Place: $ 75
Stories that do not win cash prizes will still be eligible for inclusion in the series.
Writers whose stories are selected will receive a free copy of the book in which their work appears.
Rules: All stories must be original and about situations or events that actually happened.
You may submit stories on more than one topic.
Stories may be up to 3,000 words.
Stories should be typewritten and double-spaced.
Handwritten stories will be accepted as long as they are legible.
Each page must include page number, your name, contact information and story title.
Resilience Multimedia reserves the right to edit stories for clarity, punctuation, spelling and grammar.
Story entries will not be returned.
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 30, 2008. WINNERS AND OTHER SELECTED STORIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FEBRUARY 1, 2009 IN A PRESS RELEASE.
How to Enter:
Email your story, indicating which topic it is intended for, to:
resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net
OR mail your story to: Resilience Multimedia, 511 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 525, New York, NY 10011
Prison Action Network thanks the Community Church of NY, Unitarian Universalist, for their support.
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