Inmates - Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo

No ‘Compassionate’ Release for Cop Killer

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:34:00 GMT

A doctor told the state parole board that Gregory Powell, a 78 year old inmate, is dying of prostate cancer and has 6 months to live possibly less than that. It was the inmate’s last attempt in requesting parole since his illness makes him eligible for a compassionate release. During the hearing no one spoke on his behalf and the board denied his release. The Los Angeles Times also reports that authorities said that the inmate would rather not be released. Powell is serving time for the execution style death of a police officer. Police officer Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger pulled over Powell and another individual Jimmy Lee Smith. According to the article Powell aimed a weapon at Officer Campbell who then handed over his own gun. Officer Hettinger was also made to turn over his weapon. The two men then took the officers to an onion field close to Bakersfield. Officer Hettinger managed to escape Campbell did not. Campbell’s relatives and members of law enforcement prefer that Powell not escape his fate and that he die in prison.

Inmates Have Facebook Too!

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:23:00 GMT

Information has surfaced that inmates have set up their own pages on social media sites. The California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation has communicated with Facebook and reported inmate accounts. The site will “take down pages that have been updated since the owners went to prison” according to the Los Angeles Times. Some inmates have been able to post updates using smart phones. The cell phones are usually smuggled into the prison, possibly by prison staff. A contraband mobile phone can cost an inmate as much as $1,000.00. Smuggled cell phones are a problem officials are dealing with, but staff members are not searched before reporting for work, and it is not a crime for an employee to smuggle a cell phone. They can be fired but they cannot be brought up on criminal charges. The argument against allowing inmates to have pages on social networking sites is that they can continue to participate in criminal activity and it’s a medium that cannot be monitored by the department. For example, one inmate was able to view one of his victim’s pages and later sent drawings of her based on her uploaded pictures. The debate becomes whether or not it’s within the inmates rights to be allowed access to social networking sites or if it’s in the victim’s rights to deny such participation.

33,000 Inmates from State Prisons to be Released

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:37:00 GMT

After an order from the U.S. Supreme Court, California has to eliminate 33,000 inmates from its prisons due to overcrowding and basically inhumane conditions. Inmates will be released, sent to other states or sent to county jails to serve their sentences. Various county officials expressed their reservations over the reduction plan which has to be carried out over a period of two years. Another concern is for the condition of the county jails. An attorney with the ACLU explains that the county jails also have terrible conditions. L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said that L.A. County does not have mental health program in its jails or the money to house additional offenders. According to the NPR report, low level offenders will most likely be sent to county jails while violent felons or sex offenders will not. In order to take on more inmates L.A. County needs more staff, more space and more mental and medical services, all of which mean more money is needed. California is currently struggling with its budget and many sectors are or will face serious budget cuts. Throwing more money into the jail system means more revenue has to be generated or allocated.

California Prisons go ‘In House’ for Health Care

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:31:00 GMT

In an effort to curb state spending and move toward greater efficiency in inmate healthcare, Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing to have the University of California provide medical attention to state inmates. This move would could save California $300 billion this year alone according to the Los Angeles Times article. In order to reduce spending the new system would include electronic record keeping that can be easily accessed by doctors, buying medicines in bulk, and using video communication between doctors and inmate patients. The state would no longer send inmates to community hospitals instead the prisons would send their inmates to hospitals designated under the plan. Some details still have to be worked out with worker’s unions for current employees that might have to be let go or work within the new system. Also, any concerns lawmakers or federal judges may have still need to be considered. Oversight of the prison healthcare service would be removed from federal judges and taken on by the University of California. A state agency comprised of governor appointees, federal court representatives, and correctional administrators would check the UC and make sure care and spending are appropriate.

Orange County Deputies bring Lawsuit to Stop Early Release of Inmates

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:07:00 GMT

The union representing around 1,800 deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department filed a lawsuit on February 16, 2010 to stop the early release of inmates from Orange County jails. This lawsuit, modeled after the one filed in Sacramento County, is the second one of its kind. In the Sacramento case, the judge issued a temporary restraining order halting the release of inmates under the new state law SB X3 18. Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster ruled that “the law was intended for state, not county inmates, and that the release of inmates into the streets while the number of deputies is being reduced is a ‘formula for disaster'” (Orange County Register). Attorneys representing the union argued that the state law, which went into effect January 25th, was meant to affect state prisons only, not county jails. Between January 25th and February 9th, 311 inmates have been released early from Orange County jails. Other counties, such as Los Angeles, are applying the law differently and in turn not releasing any inmates early. In the present suit, attorneys have also cited an inmate who was released early from Sacramento County jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon who then went on to attempt to rape a woman just hours after his release. Kevin Peterson’s case is commonly referred to by law enforcement officials when stating opposition to this new law.

Early Release for California Prisoners

Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:29:00 GMT

The California prison system will start an inmate early release program. This is in response to a Federal Court announcement that the California prisons reduce its inmate population by about 40,000 within a certain period of time. The court’s main reason for the reduction was in response to overcrowding and the effect it had on inmate behavior and conditions. This issue came up as a result of prison violence. Recently a riot broke out in the Chino State Prison east of Orange County California, bringing in media and state regulator attention to the system. Those that defend the program explain that this would reduce the number of inmates in jail and also adjust the parolee numbers as well. According to the Sacramento Bee “low-risk offenders [would] earn credits on their prison sentences by completing rehabilitation and education programs.” The idea is that the more serious offenders would still be locked away from the community while reducing the population inside and saving money. Opponents of this plan say that offenders are being released during a time of police officer lay offs and budget cuts, therefore creating a scenario for an increase in crime. This program may also reduce sentences at Parolee hearings.