ANNUAL LIFER BBQ at City Buena Park - Fun had by ALL

The second annual lifer picnic sponsored by Eccher and Chandler Consulting (that would be Gary “Red” Eccher and Keith Chandler, both former LIFERs) gets better every year, with the typical hot dog and burger BBQ style and with the additional bonus food from pizza to fried chicken, a long list of Veggies too (on the healthier side of snacks) great weather with a cool breezes in a typical Southern Sunny California day.

I can not say it better than (LSA) Vanessa Sloane: "Some parolees had been out only a few days, some several years, but all were united by the fellowship only earned through surviving the crucible of prison and parole."

                Sister Mary Sean (PREP program), Attorney Diane Letarte and Vanessa Sloane (LSA)

                                                   Do you recognize any of these LIFERs?
                                           If you have been to AVENAL, 5 YARD - you might?
                                These were some of the "Former Resident" as we like to call them!
                                        

                     Even our Friendly LIFER Companion watch intensively the Ad Hoc Football game

                                       LIFER's Football game at Buena City Park Annual BBQ

        (FRONT row):  Diane Letarte, Marc Norton, (not pictured Debbie Page and Jared Einsentat)
                              A number of Lifer Attorneys attended the party sponsored by (ECC).
                                (BACK row):  Gary "Red" Eccher and Keith Chandler Consulting)


                  STAY tune for a BLOG posting on
                  UPCOMING: Elderly Hearing and Expanded Medical Release

PLATA (COLEMAN) THREE-JUDGE Federal COURT: (CDCR) Defendants' May 2014 update

 

DEFENDANTS’ MAY 2014 STATUS REPORT  IN RESPONSE TO FEBRUARY 10, 2014 PLATA ORDER,  is submitted by CDCR's General Counsel and summarized below.

 

The State submits Monthly status reports on the current in-state and out-of-state adult prison populations and the measures being taken to reduce the prison population in response to the Court’s February 10, 2014 Order Request for Extension of December 31, 2013 Deadline. 

 

Steps CDCR (Defendants) are taking to implement the measures designed to reduce the prison population detailed in the February 10, 2014 order and the status of these measures.

 

1. Contracting for additional in-state capacity in county jails, community correctional

facilities, and private prison(s).

 

2. Re-entry Hubs:  The State has activated ten (10) prison-based reentry hubs at Avenal State Prison, California Institution for Men, California Men's Colony, Correctional Training Facility, ChuckawallaValley State Prison, Ironwood State Prison, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran, California Institution for Women, Central California Women's Facility, and Folsom Women’s Facility.

 

3. Newly-enacted legislation: SB260 (Youth Offender hearing) and P36 (Three strikes, re-sentencing for certain qualifying third-strike inmates whose third strike was not serious or violent)

 

 4. Prospective credit-earning increase for non-violent, non-sex second-strike offenders and minimum custody inmates.

 

5.  New parole determination process whereby non-violent second-strikers will be eligible

for parole consideration by BPH once having served 50% of their sentence.

 

6.  Parole determination process for certain inmates with indeterminate sentences granted parole with future parole dates. BPH authorizes the release of inmates who are granted parole with future dates and continues to identify additional potentially eligible inmates who have already been found suitable for parole by BPH.

 

7.  Parole process for medically incapacitated inmates. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), in partnership with the federal Plata Receiver, is responsible for health care services to all inmate patients. GOOD NEWS: The Receiver’s Office is beginning to review inmates and has agreed to send completed recommendations to CDCR beginning this month. 

 

8.  Parole process for inmates 60 years of age or older having served at least 25 years.

 

9.  Re-entry program Governor's May revision of the Fiscal Year 2014/2015 budget increased the proposed funding for the expansion of reentry programs from $40 million to $49 million - Budget not passed yet.

 

10. Expanded alternative custody program for females: The State expects to bring an 82 bed facility in San Diego on line in the summer of 2014.

 

GRANT rate for Lifers looking up! -CONGRATS to Attorney Letarte who hit a 80% GRANT rate @ CVSP March 2014

Recently the BPH released a report entitled “2013 Significant Events”. Of interest was the number of grants or percentage of grants made last year. According to official BPH (Board of Parole Hearings) numbers 4,168 parole hearings were scheduled in 2013, which resulted in 590 grants and 1,448 denials, with the remainder of the number of scheduled hearings being either postponed, waived, stipulated or another non-decision rendering outcome.

The raw numbers translate to a grant rate of approximately 14%. Although 14% grant rates makes  PC 3041 (b) EXCEPTION swallow the rule but at least GRANT rate is going "up". See Ca Penal Code 3041(b) it states in part:

"The panel or the board, sitting en banc, shall set a release
date unless it determines that the gravity of the current convicted
offense ........ is such that consideration of the
public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration..." 

 ====================================================================
Although Attorney Diane T. Letarte does not keep statistics but she was very please with her rare "State Appointed week" at CVSP, in the latter part of March 2014. Of the 5 State appointed cases assigned assigned to Attorney Letarte, in 2 consecutive days - 4 of her 5 clients - were found SUITABLE and granted parole. That is an unprecedented 80% grant rate for Attorney Letarte's clients.  Attorney Letarte is very well known by the LIFERs at CVSP. She receives 100's of letters yearly from inmates from all 34 State Prisons. Attorney Letarte describes CVSP as her "home-base"  to represent Lifers. Attorney Letarte has been representing Parolees and Lifers for approximately 15 years. The last 7 years have been mostly Privately retained Lifers and on occasions she accepts 1 to 2 weeks of "state appointed" or Pro Bono Lifer cases.

To put a perspective on the GRANT rates. Ten years ago, in 2003, Attorney Letarte remembers the grant rate at approximately 3%, a rate that makes 14% look pretty good. Five years ago, in 2008, the year of Marsy’s Law enactment, the grant rate was a  4-5%. It wasn’t until 2012 that the number of lifers granted parole topped 500, when 670 were paroled. (1, footnote below)

CURRENT 12 COMMISSIONERS: Results from last year show all 12 currently sitting commissioners have grant rates within a 14 point spread, from a low of 22% to a high of 38.8%, with most commissioners individually hovering around the low 30s percentage rate.While the average denial length is 3 years, long denials (10 or 15 years) are of great concern. It is therefore imperative to retain an EXPERIENCED attorney to avoid such long Denial terms. DO NOT GO TO A PAROLE HEARING WITHOUT PROPER PREPARATION - IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! -  

Good and reliable information as been recently discovered on FACEBOOK (2) by Attorney Letarte  from the families of the incarcerated (support group).   see FB "California's Parole Suitability Hearing" Support on FACEBOOK.


FOOTNOTEs:
(1)  A big Thank You to Venessa Nelson with LSA (Lifer Support Alliance) for the Statistic updates on the Grants. LSA can be contacted at: lifesupportalliance@gmail.com
(2)   https://www.facebook.com/CAPAROLESUITABILITYHEARINGSUPP