Prisoner Post: Surviving Parole in AZ.

Shannon Clark has been blogging about life in the Arizona state prisons since 2005, and his stuff is worth looking at for an insider's view on crime and punishment: check it out at Persevering Prison Pages.

I've always been impressed at how well-informed this guy is about what's going on in the larger community, and how he thoughtfully ties social policy issues in with his real world observations from prison.

Shannon also offers a lot of tips to parolees and prisoners' families (prisoners can't read blogs) about how to navigate the system safely, both inside and outside prison walls, and maintains an open invitation for dialogue with community members about his observations, experiences, and ideas. I found the following post on the challenges of parole and problems of recidivism when I hit his site recently, and thought it was a good way to introduce him to you. Take what you need and leave the rest.


You can drop Shannon a line at:

Shannon M. Clark #113372
AZ State Prison - Lewis
Eagle Point 2C2
PO Box 3500
Buckeye, Arizona 85326.


Check out his blog and let him know what you think. He's a decent guy.

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Parole

January 17, 2011

For the past year, I've noticed dozens of guys being released on Community Supervision (Parole) after completing 85% of their prison terms, only to return for parole violations. Few of them are reinstated onto Community Supervision at their parole violation hearings.

Having spoken to many of these guys, I've learned the following information. hopefully providing this information will help those of you with loved ones on parole, or soon to be on parole.

With nearly everybody I've spoken to, two things were huge contributing factors in their returning to prison. Drugs and lack of adequate support.

Most guys stepped out of the prison gates with good intentions and the desire to successfully complete parole and get on with their lives. Returning to prison to kill their numbers wasn't even a fleeting thought.

Foreseeably, the job market, economy and costs of living were a huge problem. All of these guys had $50, or less, in their pockets upon their release, their loved ones had no income due to recently being laid off, and had no state government assistance due to legislative budget cuts to DES, AHCCCSetc, so employment was a priority, although a hopeless one.

Most of them immediately began searching for employment with a positive sense of responsibility. Responsibility to loved ones and self. In order to help contribute, lessen burdens and occupy time. In a couple of instances, loved ones may have pushed their family member too insistently to gain employment out of desperate urgency for finances. All of them scoured the community for any legal form of employment. All of them came up empty-handed daily. Within 3 weeks, most of them were highly stressed, feeling hopeless and that they had failed their loved ones. Not only could they not find a job and contribute, but they felt they'd become another financial burden on their family.

Feeling employment wasn't a possibility any time soon, many of these guys went to ask for food stamps, AHCCCS (health insurance) and any other help they could get from local government.Most waited for hours in rooms packed with other people in need of help, only to be told that they don't qualify for help for various reason, although I suspect legislative budget cuts to these agencies and programs were the true reason. A few guys did get referrals to local churches for clothing and food box donations. One guy told me about a church in East Phoenix who gave him clothing, a food box, and a bus pass that was valid for a month to help with his job search.

Now, as many addicts will tell you, we all have our triggers. We all have something that sets off our giving in to our addiction. Combined with high stress, feelings of frustration, fear, hopelessness, defeat, failure, and uncertainty of what to do, many addicts relapse. For parolees, relapsing into using drugs/alcohol is a prelude to recidivism. Random urinalysis is common while on parole. Most parolees with any history of drug use are placed on "colors". The parolee is given a "color" by their PO. Every day the parolee calls a number where random colors are announced. If your color is announced-you go to drop a UA. Everybody's color comes around sometime.

Some POs don't send you back to prison on your first dirty UA. They'll give you a chance to stop, go to counseling, and get back on track. Others will send you back, just to rid you from their huge caseload. Most of the guys recently were sent back for one hot UA, although one had six over a three month period.

Times are tough for most of you in society who don't have a cool million in the bank. Our state government here in Arizona has made a huge mess of our financial system in AZ. And seems to continue to make it worse. Legislators and our governor refuse to stop all of their political bickering and fix our budget properly. So, until that happens, things will remain tough and even worsen. How can you help your loved one on parole survive and get off parole? Here's my suggestions:

Try not to overwhelm him/her with hurrying them to get a job, but continue to encourage them to find work. Jobs are scarce, but it's good to keep looking. Stressing won't help either of you. Also, let your loved one know that it's okay if they can't find a job and encourage them to keep looking. If you can, join them in their job seeking.

Take a little time to talk with your loved one. Let them know that it's great to have them home and that they aren't a burden. In prison, we don't talk much about our feelings. Sometimes we'll feel that we aren't contributing or are in the way. We're not used to hearing kind words and encouragements so it'll go a long way.

Most importantly, if you loved one is an addict, pay attention to signs of them using or getting ready to. And in my opinion: many would argue in opposition, don't turn them in to their PO or the police for using, unless they are a danger to themselves or others. Talk to them. Try to get them to stop and/or into counseling. Telling their PO or the police will only get them locked up again, and could harm the relationship and will likely no help at all. Prison is full of drugs readily available. A sad reality. Due to AZs Dept of Corrections and lawmakers' budget cutting decisions, prisons no longer have effective substance abuse classes, much less anything else to give your loved one help with addiction. You can persuade them to take advantage of innumerable meeting and groups out there. Free.

Communication, trust and patience. You'll all make it through these times. What do you think?

Huckabee on the Tragedy in Washington State.

Slow on the draw, here, but this is the best coverage of the Clemmons case I've seen: said by the man who needed to say it most. Given what he knew, he seems to have done the right thing.

There will always be something like this that will horrify and discourage us. Just as we don't generalize the Fort Hood shooter or the Beltway sniper as being representative of all US soldiers or veterans, we must not let AZ politicians dismiss the possibility of early release for low-risk loved ones.

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Washington State Tragedy

by  Mike Huckabee

12/01/2009

The senseless and savage slaying of 4 police officers in Lakewood, Washington has raised many questions as to why the alleged murderer was even on the streets. My name has figured prominently in many of the stories because I commuted his 108 year sentence to a term of 47 years back in 2000. I take full responsibility for my decision then. Unfortunately, many of my fellow conservatives don’t seem to want to take responsibility for the facts surrounding the case.

The Maurice Clemmons presented in a commutation request in the year 2000 was much different than the one who is being sought for the killings of the police officers.

The case before me was of a 16 year old who received a disproportionate sentence of 108 years for burglary and robbery charges. He had already served 11 years in Arkansas prison by that time, which is more time actually served than most similar cases would have netted in sentencing alone. Under Arkansas law, governors don’t parole anyone. The Post Prison Transfer Board does.  That board can recommend clemency, and in this case recommended by a 5-0 vote that his sentence be reduced.  This was one of 1000-1200 cases I reviewed each of the 10 and a half years as governor. Ninety-two percent of the time, any request for clemency was denied.  Most of the ones granted were for clearing a person’s record for a minor offense from 20 years previous. The trial judge in the case supported the commutation.

During the legally required 30 day public comment period before action on the case was complete, there were no objections registered by my office by any authorities, despite claims of the local prosecutor that he “was afraid something like this would happen.” Interestingly, if he was so afraid, then he has failed to explain why in 2004 when Clemmons was back in prison for a parole violation, his office failed to pursue charges and in fact dropped them, allowing Clemmons to go free, move to Washington, and for reasons beyond me, continue to avoid extradition back to Arkansas or be kept by Washington authorities as he displayed signs of psychotic behavior. I am responsible for the commutation in 2000.  I would not have commuted his sentence in 2004 after the re-arrest or in any of the years following.  I can explain my decision in 2000.  I cannot explain the decision of the very vocal prosecutor in Little Rock who seems to avoid answering the questions as to why he didn’t keep Clemmons in prison in 2004 or get him brought back to Arkansas for his repeated parole violations.

There are some glaring facts that some conservative talkers seem to miss:

1.    He was never pardoned. Amazingly, that word has been used to describe my actions 9 years ago.  He was never even considered for a pardon.

2.    The commutation didn’t release him.  It made him parole eligible.  He had to meet the conditions of parole for the parole board, who in fact paroled him.  He had been in prison for 11 years at the time of his release.

3.    Despite news reports, there are no records that the prosecutor, law enforcement, the Attorney General, or victims objected to the commutation.  The only responses my office had record of during the public comment period were support letters from the trial judge, and members of the community. 

4.    He was back in prison by 2004 and would have remained there until 2015 due to his parole violations had the prosecutor chosen to properly file the paperwork. 

5.    The Clemmons of 2000 did not exhibit traits of psychosis and the kind of behavior that he would later express during several arrests in Washington state during the past year.

6.    Religion had nothing to do with the commutation.  It’s been erroneously expressed that my own personal faith or the claims of faith of the inmate factored into my decision.  That is simply not true and nothing in the record even suggests it.  The reasons were straightforward -- a unanimous recommendation from the board, support from a trial judge and no objections from officials in a case that involved a 16 year old sentenced to a term that was exponentially longer than similar cases and certainly longer than had he been white, upper middle class, and represented by effective counsel who would have clearly objected to the sentencing.  (His race, economic status, or education level are not excuses for his behavior because many people of color who are uneducated and living in abject poverty are civil, trustworthy, and honest to a fault and many well-educated, wealthy, white people are dirtbags -- think Bernie Madoff).

  But sadly, Arkansas has had numerous instances of disproportionate sentencing in which a probation and fine would be meted out to white upper class kids whose parents were able to obtain the services of excellent defense attorneys, while young black males committing the same crimes and represented by public defenders would end up with inexplicably long prison terms.  Blacks comprise 15% of the state’s population, but 50% of the inmate population, some of which is due to the fact that their sentences are often longer and they are less likely to be paroled. 

The two professions I value most in our society are soldiers and police officers, with fireman and schoolteachers right behind. Soldiers and police officers are the line between us and anarchy. The death of the four officers in Lakewood should never have happened.  I regret that I ever saw the name of Maurice Clemmons and that I commuted his sentence and made him eligible for parole.  That is my responsibility and it was based on the evidence before me in 2000.  If presented the same facts today, I would have acted in the same manner.  But once he violated that parole and his second chance in 2004, he should not have received the treatment he appeared to have received from the Arkansas prosecutor or the officials in Washington, who failed to send him back to prison and who let him go free on bail even after repeated violent outbursts and a rape charge from this past year.  I can take responsibility for my actions, but not for the actions of others nor the misinformed words of commentators.

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Mr. Huckabee, a Republican, is the former governor of Arkansas and a 2008 presidential primary candidate.

Keep paroled inmates out of prison MI

Just to put out some ideas that have been floating around in less confused states:
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Last Updated: October 23. 2009 1:00AM

50 ideas to fix Michigan

Keep paroled inmates out of prison

The Detroit News is highlighting ideas from various groups to promote discussion on reform, restructuring government and the economy.

Keep paroled inmates out of prison

Idea: Adequately fund the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative and limit prison terms for parolees who are recommitted for technical violations to one year.

Why: Prison spending represents a fifth of Michigan's General Fund budget, up from a twentieth in 1983. Employees within the Department of Corrections count for one in three state employees. Michigan is one of four states that spends more on prisons than higher education. The Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative has proved to decrease recidivism by parolees and should be fully implemented to generate better savings. And technical violations of parole -- compared with committing new felonies -- unnecessarily refill Michigan's prisons with inmates for long periods of time.


Benefits: Fully implementing the prisoner re-entry initiative would cut recidivism 10 percent and save $40 million annually. Limiting felons to a one-year return to prison for technical violations of parole before being re-paroled would save an estimated $14 million a year.

How: Continued budget support for Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative. To this point, limited resources have required that MPRI focus on those inmates who are closest to being paroled. The most successful model for re-entry would include preparing an inmate for release the minute he arrives in custody. Inmates would also benefit from increased access to educational programs including GED and career prep classes. And amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, Public Act 175 of 1927 to limit returns for technical parole violators.


Obstacle: Victims rights and other groups prefer offenders spend more time behind bars than rehabilitating themselves outside of prison. Some question the cost of funding parole services when other items of the budget, like education, are getting cut.


Source: Detroit Regional Chamber