Winter Newsletter 2015

http://ccjrc.org/pdf/Winter2015.pdf

The President Hosts a Panel Discussion on Criminal Justice Reform | The White House

The President Hosts a Panel Discussion on Criminal Justice Reform | The White House

NY Times Opinionater: Instead of jail, court fines cut to fit the wallet

Tina Rosenberg :  New York Times:

David Stojcevski died in jail in Macomb County, Mich., a far suburb of Detroit, last year. He was taking doctor-prescribed methadone and two anti-anxiety medicines to alleviate symptoms of drug withdrawal when he began a 30-day sentence in June 2014. His family alleges that officials at the jail did not respond to his pleas for his medicines. He began hallucinating and was placed in a special cell with 24-hour camera surveillance. (Local 4 television in Detroit first showed the video. A warning: Watching will produce nausea and outrage.) There he lay for 16 days, naked, on the floor. He lost 44 pounds. Finally he stopped breathing, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Guards are required to monitor the cell cameras, taking notes every 15 minutes. They watched Stojcevski for days as he died.

But this isn’t a story about horrendous jail practices, although the lessons should be obvious. Rather, the point is that Stojcevski received a death sentence for a traffic ticket: He had been arrested for obstruction of justice when he couldn’t pay a $772 fine for reckless driving.

His death is an extreme consequence of cash-register justice, a practice that ruins lives across the country every day in less dramatic ways.

And this is a story about a possible remedy: Make fines proportional to an offender’s ability to pay.

About a dozen countries in Latin America and Europe use such fines, called day fines. In countries where their use has been studied, day fines have markedly reduced the number of people incarcerated, made the criminal justice system fairer and less abusive to the poor, lowered recidivism and saved government money.

Day fines were tried in a handful of cities in the United States a quarter-century ago. They didn’t catch on, in part because the political climate was uncongenial: It was the peak of lock-’em-up sentiment. But America no longer wants to lock up every offender. Today, there is a rare bipartisan consensus on the harm created by mass incarceration.

So it’s time to take a serious new look at the day fine.

First, why we need it:

In America, people are routinely jailed for failure to pay fines. Since the 1990s, courts in many parts of the country have had to pay for themselves, or even support their cities, so fines can be exorbitant. Ferguson, Mo., is the most notorious example: “Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the city’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs,” said the Justice Department’s report on the police and courts in Ferguson.

Someone pulled over for a missing taillight can be given multiple fines, plus court fees that might equal or exceed the original fines. If the accused can’t pay, her case may be turned over to a private company that supervises “pay-only probation” — bill collecting, really. The company collects the money and charges the offender for doing so. (Here’s an excellent summary of the process, written in plain English.) The offender could pay off her whole fine and still owe thousands of dollars. If she doesn’t pay, she could go to jail, which would probably mean losing her job.

Cash-register justice incarcerates or keeps on probation many people who are not dangerous, just poor. And taxpayers are being abused by legislators who keep heaping fees on offenders. The lawmakers are not considering the enormous cost of jailing those who can’t pay, the cost of collecting their debts, or the cost to society of turning a civil violator into an incarcerated criminal.

“I don’t think legislators know this is not working — that the fees on the books are costing more money than they are bringing in,” said Karin Martin, an assistant professor of public management at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, for example, looked at the incarceration of 246 people in Mecklenburg County, N.C., who fell behind on their court debt. The county collected $33,476, but jailing them cost $40,000.

Legislatures should not be making courts pay for themselves. It creates terrible injustice and ruins lives. It perverts justice by giving courts an incentive to convict.   But if judicial systems are going to be made to pay their own way, it should be done fairly.

One way is to use the day fine. Rather than a set dollar amount, it is a percentage or multiple of an offender’s daily income — hence the name. In some countries, “daily income” is simply after-tax earnings. Others adjust for the number of dependents or fixed obligations like child support, and some consider only what is earned above a basic living allowance.

In the United States, for example, a very minor offense carrying a fine of one day’s income might cost a minimum-wage earner $72 if based only on straight income, while someone with an annual income of $250,000 might pay $685. A more serious offense could carry a fine of 10 or 20 days’ income, or more. For the system to function, additional court fees should also be proportional to income.

Different fines for different people — is that fair? Compared with the current system, yes. Even $500 for a traffic fine and fees can ruin the life of a minimum-wage worker. For someone who makes $250,000 a year, that same fine is a minor inconvenience, and an ineffective deterrent to further violations. The rich are more likely to drive recklessly, and they can put a fine on a credit card without a thought. Same offense – two very different punishments.

But with a day fine, an offense would carry a similar punitive hit for rich and poor.

Germany is probably the biggest user of day fines. In 1975, the government of what was then West Germany adopted the practice because it wanted to reduce prison overcrowding, and because research had shown that low-level offenders jailed for short times emerged more violent and dangerous. Offenders were no longer given short sentences, but rather fines that were adjusted for income.

In 2010, Germany used day fines in more than 94 percent of traffic offenses and in a vast majority of crimes that would otherwise have drawn short jail sentences, like fraud, embezzlement and theft.

An early study, published in 1980 by Hans-Jorg Albrecht of the Max Planck Institute, found that the fines were more effective than short sentences at preventing future offenses.

Since day fines are calculated to be bearable, collection rates are much higher than with traditional fines. But they still require enforcement – in Germany’s case by means of other civil (not criminal) sanctions like the seizure of property, the garnisheeing of wages or the imposition of a sentence of community service. Nonpayers go to jail very rarely.

The Marshall Project: New York City's Big Idea on Bail

The Marshall Project

Last month in Brooklyn, a homeless teenager was arrested for jumping a turnstile. He had been arrested a few times before, so the judge set bail at $250. The teenager could not pay it. He was sent to Rikers Island jail to wait for trial. He was there for about two weeks.

We hear stories like this with unacceptable regularity. They may not generate the same attention that Sandra Bland’s and Kalief Browder’s stories did, but they should inspire the same outrage. Even one night spent in jail because of poverty is too many.

We are at a tipping point. Many jurisdictions are attacking the inequities associated with cash bail – Hawaii and New Jersey last year, and New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman just last week. New York City is, too. In the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, we are already working to eliminate bail for low-risk groups, and more is in the offing.

The low-risk defendant facing a low-level charge, detained on bail of $1,000 or less, should wait for trial at home, not behind bars. But this group is only 7 percent of the population jailed on bail in New York City.

The bigger question is what we do with the other 93 percent. These 44,000 people are still stuck with a bail system in which how much money someone has determines whether they are detained. If some of these individuals pose a risk to public safety, they should be detained. But the problem with money bail is that it can lead to unnecessary jail time if low-risk people cannot afford to pay bail. Just as troubling, it could also lead to high-risk people being able to pay bail and return to the street.

Before we spend money and time funding additional pilot projects, we need to understand the bigger, systemic problems that plague money bail. Until we do, reform attempts will be nothing more than whack-a-mole. On Tuesday we launched the Bail Lab to do just that.

The point of the Bail Lab is to scout ideas from across the country, and test them. An advisory board of leading experts on bail will guide us, but we have also opened an online hub that invites everyone – from tech start-ups to people with a family member behind bars – to ‘crowdsource’ bail reform. Help us map the problems with money bail. Help us test solutions. And then help us implement what works in New York City and share what we learn with other states and cities nationwide.

First up are experiments to answer the fundamental question of whether money is actually the best way to get people to return to court. The anecdotal evidence suggests the opposite may in fact be true. Most people – 93 percent in New York City – who are released without bail or other conditions before trial return to court within 30 days of their scheduled court date. And the Bronx Freedom Fund – a charitable organization that posts bail for clients facing misdemeanor charges – has had 97 percent of its clients successfully return to court since 2013. This suggests that cash deposits may not actually be necessary to ensure that defendants return to court.

To test that proposition, we will take defendants who have been bailed out by a charitable fund and randomly try various incentives to get them to show up for their court dates: texting reminders, involving family members, engaging defense counsel more actively, and other devices.

What we learn will be shared with judges, to make them aware of the choices they have. We will also work with the courts to gather data on the outcomes of bail – how many defendants with bail set at $250 go to jail? – so that judges can have access to information about what happened to cases. This will create an important feedback loop judges have been wanting.

New York City’s pre-trial system works well for many. We are a national leader in the percentage of defendants – 68 percent – who wait for trial at home, without conditions like supervision or money bail. Most of these defendants return for their trial date. Only 14 percent of defendants in New York City are held on bail. And for those who do have bail set, our system, for the most part, fairly matches bail amounts to the seriousness of the offense: 73 percent of defendants charged with a misdemeanor have bail set under $1000.

Despite these successes, our bail system – like others across the country – is driven largely by guesswork instead of science, with bail amounts often mismatched to defendants’ financial situation and the risk they pose. Courts often do not have the tools to make sure that bail does not lead to unnecessary detention for low-risk people and that release is not done at the expense of public safety. Someone who is a danger to others should be detained.

We are also testing how to speed up and simplify the bail payment process. Even though New York City sets bail amounts that are appreciably lower than the national average, only 10 percent of people are able to pay bail at arraignment. Another 30 percent make bail after arraignment, most within one week. Through experiments, we are identifying whether measures like allowing defendants to pay with a credit card would enable more people to post bail before they are booked into jail. If we can improve the process for posting bail, we can avoid the increased risk of recidivism that has been associated with just a few days in jail, as well as the sky-high costs of incarceration.

And there are other barriers we may be able to eliminate:

• When someone is arrested, his cell phone is confiscated. That makes it much harder to contact family and friends and arrange bail before being transferred to jail.
• The buses to Rikers leave from the courts on a regular schedule. If someone has bail set three hours before the bus goes, he has three hours to arrange bail. If he is arraigned 15 minutes before the bus leaves, chances are he’s going to jail.

We cannot afford to get bail reform wrong. The momentum spreading across the country right now is important and a long time coming, and we cannot settle for partial solutions. While money bail is still with us, we need to make it an accurate and productive 21st century public safety tool instead of a blunt and archaic instrument. But this process must be driven by science.

Elizabeth Glazer is the director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

For more on New York’s earlier bail reforms, see here. For a contrary view, see here.

CCJRC 2015 Voices for Justice Sponsors

We simply cannot thank these folks enough for being part of our event.  A huge thanks also to all those who donated to the silent auction!!

Pell Grants to be restored to prisoners

Finally after two decades prisoners will be allowed to take college classes.  More information will be available on Friday when the official announcement comes from the White House
Wall Street Journal

By

Josh Mitchell and

Joe Palazzolo

Updated July 27, 2015 7:32 p.m. ET

 

The Obama administration plans to restore federal funding for prison inmates to take college courses, a potentially controversial move that comes amid a broader push to overhaul the criminal justice system.
The plan, set to be unveiled Friday by the secretary of education and the attorney general, would allow potentially thousands of inmates in the U.S. to gain access to Pell grants, the main form of federal aid for low-income college students. The grants cover up to $5,775 a year in tuition, fees, books and other education-related expenses.
Prisoners received $34 million in Pell grants in 1993, according to figures the Department of Education provided to Congress at the time. But a year later, Congress prohibited state and federal prison inmates from getting Pell grants as part of broad anticrime legislation, leading to a sharp drop in the number of in-prison college programs. Supporters of the ban contended federal aid should only go to law-abiding citizens.

Obama, in Oklahoma, takes reform message to the prison cell block

the New York Times

EL RENO, Okla. — They opened the door to Cell 123 and President Obama stared inside. In the space of 9 feet by 10, he saw three bunks, a toilet with no seat, a small sink, metal cabinets, a little wooden night table with a dictionary and other books, and the life he might have had.

As it turns out, there is a fine line between president and prisoner. As Mr. Obama became the first occupant of his high office to visit a federal correctional facility, he said he could not help reflecting on what might have been. After all, as a young man, he had smoked marijuana and tried cocaine. But he did not end up with a prison term, let alone one lasting decades.

“There but for the grace of God,” Mr. Obama said after his tour. “And that is something we all have to think about.”

Close to one in every 12 black men ages 25 to 54 are imprisoned, compared with one in 60 nonblack men in that age group.

Continue reading the main story

• Obama Calls for Effort to Fix a ‘Broken System’ of Criminal JusticeJULY 14, 2015

• Obama Commutes Sentences for 46 Drug OffendersJULY 13, 2015

Mr. Obama came here to showcase a bid to overhaul America’s criminal justice system in a way none of his predecessors have tried to do, at least not in modern times. Where other presidents worked to make life harder for criminals, Mr. Obama wants to make their conditions better.

With 18 months left in office, he has embarked on a new effort to reduce sentences for nonviolent offenders; to make it easier for former convicts to re-enter society; and to revamp prison life by easing overcrowding, cracking down on inmate rape and limiting solitary confinement.

What was once politically unthinkable has become a bipartisan venture. Mr. Obama is making common cause with Republicans and Democrats who have come to the conclusion that the United States has given excessive sentences to too many nonviolent offenders, at an enormous moral and financial cost to the country. This week, Mr. Obama commuted the sentences of 46 such prisoners and gave a speech calling for legislation to overhaul the criminal justice system by the end of the year.

He came to the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution on Thursday to get a firsthand look at what he is focused on. Accompanied by aides, correctional officials and a phalanx of Secret Service agents, he crossed through multiple layers of metal gates and fences topped by concertina wire to tour the prison and talk with some of the nonviolent drug offenders he says should not be serving such long sentences.

The prison was locked down for his visit. He was brought to Cell Block B, which had been emptied for the occasion. Only security personnel were outside on the carefully trimmed grass yards. The only inmates Mr. Obama saw were six nonviolent drug offenders who were selected to have a conversation with him recorded by the news organization Vice for a documentary on the criminal justice system that will air on HBO in the fall.

But those six made an impression. “When they describe their youth and their childhood, these are young people who made mistakes that aren’t that different from the mistakes I made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made,” Mr. Obama told reporters afterward. “The difference is, they did not have the kind of support structures, the second chances, the resources that would allow them to survive those mistakes.”

He added that “we have a tendency sometimes to take for granted or think it’s normal” that so many young people have been locked up for drug crimes. “It’s not normal,” he said. “It’s not what happens in other countries. What is normal is teenagers doing stupid things. What is normal is young people who make mistakes.”

If they had the same advantages he and others have had, Mr. Obama added, they “could be thriving in the way we are.”

Continue reading the main story

1.5 Million Missing Black Men

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of black men are missing from everyday life.

Still, he made a distinction between nonviolent drug offenders like those he was introduced to here and other criminals guilty of crimes like murder, rape and assault. “There are people who need to be in prison,” Mr. Obama said. “I don’t have tolerance for violent criminals; many of them may have made mistakes, but we need to keep our communities safe.”

More than 2.2 million Americans are behind bars, and one study found that the size of the state and federal prison population is seven times what it was 40 years ago. Although the United States makes up less than 5 percent of the world’s population, it has more than 20 percent of its prison population

5 Ways President Obama Wants To Overhaul The Criminal Justice System

The White House is Working for Criminal Justice Reform

Obama's Criminal Justice Reform ProposalsPresident Obama wants to put justice back in the justice system:
Posted by AJ+ on Tuesday, July 14, 2015

California's Plan to Curb America's Overmedication of Foster Kids

Governing

In the United States, low-income and foster-care kids are prescribed psychotropic drugs at an alarmingly higher rate than their peers in America or abroad. Governing recently wrote about the problem and what states are doing to deal with it in March. But since then, California began closing in on a package of bills that could make the state a leader in controlling overmedication.

Earlier this month, the California state Senate unanimously passed four bills that would strengthen the state’s monitoring system for foster kids' prescriptions, require stronger evidence documenting the need for medications, add more medical expertise in the area of oversight and force group homes that overprescribe to develop plans to change their practices. Some of those ideas aren't new, but experts say adopting all of them together could make California a model.

"We feel pretty confident that this package of four bills is really more comprehensive and targets so many different aspects of the problem that other states really have not been targeting,” said Bill Grimm of the National Center for Youth Law, the group behind the legislation.

RELATED

• How America's Overmedicating Low-Income and Foster Kids
• States Relax Medicaid Eligibility for Former Foster Kids
• Why Every Foster Kid Should Have an 'Electronic Backpack'
• More Than 1 in 4 Foster Kids Miss Required Checkups

Psychotropic drugs range from amphetamines, which are often prescribed for ADHD, to antidepressants and antipsychotics. Antipsychotics were originally intended for the treatment of severe mental health illnesses but have increasingly been prescribed to children with behavior issues since the 1990s. Numerous studies show low-income children, particularly those in foster care, are prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates far above privately insured kids. The Office of Inspector General has raised alarms in numerous reports. Since 2011, federal authorities have required states to report annually about steps they’re taking to curb psychotropic prescriptions.

California is one of only a few states that requires a judge to approve prescriptions for psychotropic drugs, but according to an investigative newspaper series, it still prescribed them to about a quarter of foster kids (compared to just 4.8 percent of privately insured children), over the past decade. The bills would revamp the court system of prior approval. The form that doctors submit to judges, for instance, would have to show that doctors tried other therapeutic services first. Judges would also have the power to request a second opinion or return the form for more information, and doctors would have to get the written consent of children 14 and older. The bill also offers training to everyone from judges to group-home employees on the appropriate uses of these drugs and expands data-sharing between the Medicaid system that pays for care and the child welfare system. 


The two most notable changes, though, are increased monitoring of group homes and expanded use of nurses -- both of which are uncommon. The newspaper series highlighted links between group homes for foster kids and high rates of prescription medications, which children often had to take as a condition of staying there. With better data-sharing, state officials would flag group homes with the highest rates of psychotropic prescribing and require them to make plans to reduce overmedication. Nurses, meanwhile, would monitor the side effects of antipsychotics such as serious weight gain, diabetes and neurological disorders.

The bills haven’t encountered opposition, but they still need to pass the California Assembly and get the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown who's been fairly quiet on the issue even though it generated a lot of interest after the newspaper investigation. The bills come at an estimated cost of $5 million in the first year, with about $4 million thereafter. To Anna Johnson, a policy analyst with the National Center for Youth Law, Brown's reputation as a budget hawk means he's less likely to support the bill package.
“His main legacy here has been that he’s had this balanced budget, but for foster kids [for] whom every day feels like a rainy day, we feel like he could do more to protect them,” she said.
When asked for his opinion on the package of bills, his press office said Brown doesn’t typically comment on pending legislation.

 
Shadi Houshyar, vice president of child welfare policy at the advocacy group First Focus, agrees that the bills would be a positive step, but she also thinks states are generally behind on an element that’s critical to actually replace drugs: access to services like intensive counseling and individualized case management.
“The biggest challenge is how you increase the use of evidence-based therapies for kids in addition to the monitoring strategies,” she said.

The way to do that, according to Houshyar, is to offer those services through Medicaid, which allows states to leverage federal funding, and make them accessible through child welfare departments. Some notable examples of places that do that are Arizona -- which has a Medicaid plan specifically for foster children -- Michigan and New Jersey.

For California, the money is there, said Grimm. Since 2004, the state has raised $13 billion for mental health services from a ballot measure that raised taxes on people earning more than $1 million a year. But an independent state oversight agency found recently that much of the spending is unaccountable and poorly prioritized, with little sense of exactly how the money is being spent and what it’s producing. Grimm’s group wants to ensure that money is going to children in the foster-care system.

 “There is a considerable amount of money and resources out there,” he said. “The question is to what extent is that money being used for children?”

Chris Kardish  |  Staff Writer

---

ckardish@governing.com  |  @ckardish

Healthcare matters

Germany's Kinder, Gentler, Safer Prisons

The Marshall Project

On Sunday, bleary after an overnight flight from New York, a group of American criminal justice professionals squeezed into a private room in a downtown Berlin restaurant. They were preparing to visit German prisons and meet German prison officials. The trip, organized by the Vera Institute, a think tank based in New York, is all about studying another system so that we might better understand our own.

How Germany Does Prison

From the brief introductions, it was clear that this trip would be as much about the United States as about Europe. Germany’s system of sentencing (15 years is the longest most people go to prison here unless they are demonstrably dangerous) and incarceration (open, sunny prisons, full of fresh air, where prisoners wear their own clothes) serves as a reference point for reflecting on the punitive mentality that has come to define the U.S. justice system.

In Germany, then, we would see ourselves—but through a looking glass.

The American travelers—corrections officials, district attorneys, academics, and activists—represent the variety of perspectives that fall under what journalists have taken to calling the “emerging consensus” on criminal justice reform. There are the guys who run prisons and worry about recidivism numbers. There are elected district attorneys wondering how the public responds to such short sentences. And then there are reform activists determined to see prisoners treated humanely.

Women in Prison

Basket Registry

Colorado Prison Facts

After A Year Of Freedom, Parolee Kevin Monteiro Still Carries Weight Of His Past -

NPR

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

• March 10: Life After Decades Of Prison Begins With Survival
• March 11: Monteiro Stumbles, Then Succeeds
• March 12: Colorado Parole Officers Balance Oversight, Encouragement
• March 13: Colorado Prison Chief Addresses Serious Challenges Facing Parolees

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said. 

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

- See more at: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

• March 10: Life After Decades Of Prison Begins With Survival
• March 11: Monteiro Stumbles, Then Succeeds
• March 12: Colorado Parole Officers Balance Oversight, Encouragement
• March 13: Colorado Prison Chief Addresses Serious Challenges Facing Parolees

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said. 

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

 

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”
On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation, so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot. This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”
On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

• March 10: Life After Decades Of Prison Begins With Survival
• March 11: Monteiro Stumbles, Then Succeeds
• March 12: Colorado Parole Officers Balance Oversight, Encouragement
• March 13: Colorado Prison Chief Addresses Serious Challenges Facing Parolees

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said. 

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

 

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”
On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation, so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot. This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”
On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder. That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

• March 10: Life After Decades Of Prison Begins With Survival
• March 11: Monteiro Stumbles, Then Succeeds
• March 12: Colorado Parole Officers Balance Oversight, Encouragement
• March 13: Colorado Prison Chief Addresses Serious Challenges Facing Parolees

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said. 

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

 

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”
On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation, so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot. This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”
On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

Coming Straight Home From Solitary Damages Inmates and their Families

NPR
The thing Sara Garcia remembers from the day her son, Mark, got out of prison was the hug — the very, very awkward hug. He had just turned 21 and for the past two and a half years, he'd been in solitary confinement.

"He's not used to anyone touching him," Garcia says. "So he's not used to hugs. And I mean we grabbed him. I mean, we hugged him. We held him. I mean, it was just surreal to just know I can finally give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek."

Mark, who was released directly from solitary confinement into his mother's arms, is one of tens of thousands of inmates that NPR and The Marshall Project — a journalism group that focuses on the criminal justice system — found as part of a state-by-state survey. We wanted to know: How many people are released directly from solitary confinement to the streets?

There were at least 10,000 in 2014. That's from information provided by just 24 states. The other 26 states — as well as the federal prison system — say they don't count, or couldn't provide, numbers.
Often, inmates in solitary confinement serve all or most of their sentence. So when they are released, they don't get parole services to help with re-entry that's offered to most ex-prisoners.

Mental health experts and researchers say that long stays in solitary confinement often emotionally damage people, both teens and adults, and can create lifelong mental illness. When those prisoners come home, they often struggle to get along with people, including the family members they depend upon most.

Prison officials say they need solitary confinement to control the most violent prisoners. In Texas, for example, it's used often to break up prison gangs.

Garcia's son went to a Texas prison for robbing a store with a gun. At the time, he was 14. She says that her son was manipulated by some older men; prosecutors say he acted alone.

Just days after he turned 18, Mark was moved to an adult prison. When his mother came to visit, he told her that he was afraid of the older inmates.

More From This Investigation

This story was reported in partnership between NPR News Investigations and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. Continue reading this investigation on The Marshall Project's website: From Solitary To The Street. You can read the first part of the NPR report here.

From Solitary to the Street

NPR
In prison, Brian Nelson lived in solitary confinement. That meant 23 hours a day in a small cell. No human contact, except with guards — for 12 years straight.

Then, his prison sentence for murder was over. One moment he was locked down. The next, he was free.
NPR and The Marshall Project, an online journalism group that focuses on the criminal justice system, investigated the release of tens of thousands of prisoners from solitary confinement to find out how many prisoners, like Nelson, go straight from solitary to the streets.

What was stunning is that most prison systems say they have no idea.
The Marshall Project and NPR surveyed all 50 states. About half reported they don't keep track or could not provide numbers of which inmates go straight home from solitary. And a recent audit for the federal Bureau of Prisons said it doesn't keep numbers, either.

But our tally from the 24 states that say they count shows that last year, at least 10,000 inmates came straight out of solitary.

Yet inmates released from solitary often need the most help — and get the least.

In solitary, they're cut off from things that help with re-entry. There are no education classes, no job training; and when they are released, they often get less supervision than other prisoners.
When Nelson's mother picked him up at the distant supermax prison in Tamms, Ill., he told her how he was given a television during his last year of solitary and kept seeing ads for a fast-food ice cream.
"And I kept seeing a Blizzard. I kept seeing these Blizzards. And I'm like, 'God that looks so good.' So all I wanted was a Blizzard," he says.

On the drive home, they stopped for a Blizzard at a Dairy Queen.

"And I'm standing there and a guy walked behind me. And I was not used to people being that close to me. And I started cussing. I turned around, I'm ready to fight because I thought I don't know if he's going to attack me," Nelson recalls. "I have prison mentality in my mind. And then I looked up and saw my mom crying, like 'Oh my God, what have they done to him?' You know, because I couldn't handle being around people."

That was five years ago. It's still hard for Nelson, 50, to be around people.

About This Investigation
This story was reported in partnership between NPR News Investigations and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system.
Read more of this investigation from The Marshall Project: From Solitary To The Street.

City Council Forum

In the Lead

Source: CriminalJusticeDegreeHub.com

Denver neighbors concerned about planned methadone clinic on E. Colfax

 A planned medical clinic serving recovering drug addicts on East Colfax Avenue has upset some nearby residents, who are angry about, among other things, the proximity to Denver East High School.
The Denver Recovery Group, 2822 E. Colfax Ave., is under construction and could open sometime next month, but residents who live nearby and who have students attending East High School are worried about their children walking past the clinic, the possibility of increased crime, loitering and decreased property values.

"Having that activity doesn't strike me as a good idea," resident Alison Laevey said.
Residents will be able to get more information, ask questions and voice concerns at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 21 at East High School.

The Denver Recovery Group is a startup medical clinic that will provide medication and assistance to recovering addicts of heroin, painkillers and other drugs. One of the common treatment drugs is methadone, a synthetic opioid that helps patients kick heroin and morphine addictions. Methadone is not the only drug dispensed at the clinic.

The same owners also have a clinic in Las Cruces, N.M. called Alt Recovery Center.
Despite concerns, Denver Recovery Group partner Chad Tewksbury said the need is present in the area and he believes there is a misconception about the clientele.

"It's more dangerous to walk past the addicts already on Colfax," Tewksbury said. "No one is forced to come here. They're coming voluntarily."

Some of the surrounding neighborhoods also voiced concerns last year when a similar clinic moved to 1620 Gaylord St. from two blocks north. That clinic is part of Addiction Research and Treatment Services run by the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Addiction Research and Treatment Services executive director Tom Brewster said things have run smoothly since the clinic moved in October. He added that rather than increase crime, these facilities should help reduce crime and help the growing number of drug addicts in Denver.
"This is really a problem; we're trying to address it," Brewster said. "We can hardly keep up."

Another nearby clinic, the BHG Denver Downtown Treatment Center near 18th Avenue and Josephine Street, is scheduled to move in the coming months, leaving a void in the area.
Denver City Councilwoman Jeanne Robb, who represents the area, said she has met with several residents who are upset over the plans and her office is in the process of looking into how this is handled in other areas of the state and across the country.

"Unfortunately, right now we have no restrictions," Robb said. "It's classified as a medical clinic."
The zoning permit for the clinic was approved in January by the city and Tewksbury said he has a three-year lease.

Resident Robert Mutch said he and his wife had put about $150,000 into refurbishing his house, less than a block away from the clinic, but he's now considering moving rather than doing more work.
"All of the neighbors are just livid about it," he said.

Tewksbury said he chose this area because he collaborated with the State Opioid Treatment Authority and identified this as a place that needs this type of clinic. It's also on the bus route. He said he's already receiving calls asking when the clinic will open so clients can transfer.
"I'm passionate about what we're doing," he said.
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
Community meeting:
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: Tuesday, April 21
Where: Denver East High School, 1600 City Park Esplanade

Take Care - Health Matters: Hassan Latif, Executive Director, Second Cha...

Take Care Health Matters

 

We are very excited to share with you the launch of the Take Care Health Matters website. The website serves as a tool and resource to assist justice involved individuals access health care due to the new opportunities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  This website is part of CCJRC’s larger health care access campaign, which we have been engaged in over the past year with our partners the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP).

TELL YOUR STORY!!!
http://takecarehealthmatters.org/stories/tell-your-story

An estimated 70% - 90% of justice involved individuals in Colorado are currently uninsured. The ACA offers unprecedented opportunities to help connect these justice involved individuals with health care. Not only do we believe the ACA promotes alternatives to the overuse of the criminal justice system, but connecting justice involved individuals with health care has been shown to reduce recidivism and improve the health and lives of individuals. The ACA also provides an opportunity to treat mental health and addiction disorders as a public health issue, not a criminal issue.
We are hopeful this website serves as a resource to increase the number of justice involved individuals who are able to utilize and access health care services in Colorado.
Specific on the website you'll find:

• Video stories from both justice involved individuals and criminal justice staff sharing the importance of health care
• A research library highlighting the significance and impact the ACA can have on justice involved individuals
• Resources for justice involved individuals on who to contact to enroll in and access health care services, including behavioral health
• Recorded webinars for health care, criminal justice, and community members
• A professional guide geared towards health care, criminal justice, and community members to establish relationships and connect with one another
• How to find a health care provider
• And much, much more………

We encourage you to take a look at the website and spend some time learning from the stories and information. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
We are extremely grateful for our partnership with CCLP and all of you who have helped contribute to this project. While the ACA offers new strategies to reform the criminal justice system, we know there are challenges and gaps in health care services, particularly for mental health and substance abuse treatment. CCJRC will continue to engage in, monitor, and work to improve the ability for justice involved individuals to enroll in and access health care. As always, we appreciate your continued support as we work to end mass incarceration and promote healthcare as a human right

CCJRC Weekly Legislative Update

CCJRC

Guest commentary: Criminal Justice Reform Doesn't Mean Being Soft on Crime

Denver Post Commentary

he facts are clear: The United States has 5 percent of the world's population but almost 25 percent of the world's prisoners. With more than 2 million people in jails and prisons, the U.S. leads the industrialized world in both incarceration rates and total numbers.

In addition, prisons have become the default accommodation for people with mental illness and drug addictions, and treatment is minimal. Not surprisingly, recidivism rates are extremely high: Close to half of the people released from prison return within three years.


It's no secret that felony convictions and incarceration lead to a drop in earnings, higher unemployment, and reduced future opportunities. Unless this trend is reversed, the path from poverty to self-sufficiency will remain elusive.

Some states, including Colorado, are working to revamp their outdated justice systems. On the federal level, we are pleased to see organizations normally on opposite sides of the political spectrum — like the ACLU and Koch Industries — try to achieve true reform and consensus.

No matter our political party affiliation, our shared goals should be to improve public safety by lowering crime rates; reduce re-offending; promote personal responsibility; and use evidence-based practices during probation and parole to focus on treatment.

We seek a more victim- and community-centered process that addresses victims' needs for restitution and recovery. Our criminal justice system should align incentives with human nature and reward positive behavior and outcomes. 

We should all be able to agree upon a variety of measures to fix our criminal justice system, to specifically address over-criminalization and mass incarceration while lowering costs. Ending mandatory minimum sentences and allowing judges to do their jobs is one reasonable step. Mandatory minimum sentences are knee-jerk reactions that result in long-term incarceration and expand prison budgets with no increase in public safety.


Another practical approach is the problem-solving courts we use very successfully in Colorado for drugs, mental health, family dependency/neglect and veteran trauma issues. If an offender is committed to doing the hard work to recover, let's use Drug Court and send them to rehab rather than putting them in prison and prolonging their bad habits.

Colorado funds Veterans Court using state money and federal grant money. U.S. military veterans who are eligible for the program and who suffer from disorders like PTSD, domestic violence, mental health and substance abuse can get treatment rather than be incarcerated. Trauma Courts are an effective way to repay the obligation to our veterans with significant savings and benefits both to them and to our communities.
Colorado has been a national leader in adopting restorative justice in our criminal and juvenile justice systems. Restorative justice is a process that emphasizes repairing the harm to victims and the community rather than focusing on punishment and incarceration. It is a powerful transformative process that has demonstrated recidivism rates of less than 10 percent.

The "schools-to-jail pipeline" that has criminalized in-school conduct with ineffective zero-tolerance policies has resulted in more than 100,000 students being referred to law enforcement. Reducing contact with law enforcement and using restorative justice practices will ensure our youth are given the best chance for success.

Criminal justice reform doesn't mean we are "soft on crime." It means we are being smart about not making everything a crime. We encourage our state legislators and members of Congress to work together to support these efforts.
B.J. Nikkel, a Republican from Loveland, served in the Colorado House from 2009 to 2012. State Rep. Pete Lee, a Democrat from Colorado Springs, has served in the Colorado House since 2011.
 

CCJRC Weekly Legislative Update

www.ccjrc.org

2015 City Council Forum

Drugs, "thugs," and other things we're taught to fear | Gabriel Sayegh |...

In case you missed this last year.. Throwback Tuesday

CCJRC Weekly Legislative Update

www.ccjrc.org

FAMM Member, Others, Receive Presidential Commutations

FAMM Member, Others, Receive Presidential Commutations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama granted clemency today to 22
federal prisoners, including a member of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums.


“We are thrilled that President Obama is making good on his promise
to use the powers granted him by the Constitution to provide relief for
federal prisoners serving excessively long mandatory minimum sentences,”
said Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums. “We hope and expect to see more commutations granted through
the end of his term.”


The following FAMM member received clemency:

• Donel Marcus Clark
  has served over two decades of a 30-year prison sentence for
  participating in a nonviolent drug conspiracy, his first and only
  offense, during a time when his family was facing financial hardship.
  Desperate for money, Donel became involved in low level role in a
  friend’s crack conspiracy, and was eventually convicted and sentenced to
  35 years (later reduced to 30) in prison—even the Assistant U.S.
  Attorney who prosecuted Donel believed his sentence was too harsh.
  During his time in prison, Donel has maintained a perfect disciplinary
  record, earned outstanding work reviews, taken numerous classes, and
  worked to maintain strong relationships with his children.

“Donel has worked meticulously on personal growth and development
since the beginning of his incarceration over 20 years ago,” said
Brittany K. Byrd, Clark’s attorney. “He is overwhelmed with joy at the
news and looks forward to being reunited with his sons!  We are
extremely grateful to President Obama and hope that he continues to
grant commutations to others like Donel who are serving draconian
sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.”


These commutations follow a 2014 announcement by then-Deputy Attorney
General James Cole that the Obama administration wanted to grant
commutations to federal prisoners serving sentences that would, were
they handed down today, be significantly less onerous.


FAMM has advocated clemency for federal prisoners serving excessively
long mandatory minimums since its founding in 1991. And yet, clemency
is simply a means of triage. No number of commutations is an adequate
substitute for reforming federal mandatory minimum laws.


“I commend the president,” Stewart said, “but I’d also like to stress
that the problem his actions are trying to address can’t be solved by
the White House or the Department of Justice. Congress created these
mandatory minimums, and Congress needs to reform them.”

65 million

2015 Spring Newsletter

http://ccjrc.org/pdf/Spring2015.pdf

Weekly Legislative Update March 23

http://www.ccjrc.org/

Murder and rethinking juvenile sentencing: An interview with Rep. Dan Kagan

Murder and rethinking juvenile sentencing: An interview with Rep. Dan Kagan

State Representative Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, has
introduced a bill to set a new range of sentences for juveniles
convicted of first degree murder. Under current Colorado law, juveniles
convicted of first degree murder face a sentence of life in prison with
the possibility of parole after 40 years. In an interview with Catherine
Strode, Representative Kagan says he believes Colorado’s juveniles
should be sentenced based not only on their crime but on their
individual characteristics and involvement in the crime they committed.

Rep. Dan Kagan, R-Cherry Hills Village

Why are you bringing this bill now?


“For 16 years, we required every judge sentencing a juvenile who
had committed a first degree murder, to life without parole. They were
going to get life without parole regardless of how much they had been
abused during their childhood, regardless of how closely they were
involved in the crime. None of these things could be considered: the
background of the individual, the level of involvement in the crime. The
judge could not consider any of those things. He just had to give that
defendant, although juvenile, life without the possibility of parole.
And we did that for 16 years — until 2006. Then the law changed and all
these juveniles, when they committed their crimes, were sentenced to
life with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Now the Supreme
Court has said mandatory life without the possibility of parole is
unconstitutional to a juvenile; you have to consider the circumstances
of the crime and the circumstances of the criminal himself. This bill is
an attempt at a more just way of making the sentence fit the crime and
fit the offender.

2015 Colorado Civil Rights Legislation

CCJRC Weekly Legislative Update - March 9th 2015

There was a flurry of new bills introduced this past week. CCJRC has not yet taken any formal positions on these new bills unless it is noted below.  On Wednesday, March 11^th the Joint Budget Committee will set the FY15/16 budget for Community Corrections/Division of Criminal Justice and the Dept. of Corrections.  This is called “figure setting” and will ultimately be part of the state budget bill, known as the Long Bill.  The Long Bill then is voted on in both the House and Senate where amendments can be made.   There are also several bills scheduled for hearings this week. Stay tuned!

Bills Up in Committee This Week:

Mon. 3/9/15 – 1:30p - HB1240 (Reduce Student Contacts w/ Law Enforcement) in House Education
Tues. 3/10/15 – 1:30p - HB1087 (Medical Detox Pilots) in House PH&HS Committee

Thurs. 3/12/15 – 1:30p - SB184 (No Detention/Truancy) in Senate Education Committee

New Bills

HB15-1240 Reduce Student Contacts with Law Enforcement
Sponsors: Representative Fields (D)
Status: House Education Committee – Mon. 3/9/15 at 1:30pm
Description:  Encourages each school district to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with law enforcement and sheriff’s departments to minimize unnecessary student contact related to disciplinary responses to school incidents.

HB15-1263 Criminal Record Sealing
Sponsors: Representatives Lebsock (D) and Tate (R)
CCJRC Position: Amend
Status: House Local Government Committee – Wed. 3/18/15 at 1:30pm
Description: Would allow 1^st conviction for a misdemeanor to be eligible for sealing after 5 years from completion of sentence and if no additional criminal charges have been filed.  There are some misdemeanor crimes that would not be eligible for sealing.  The bill would increase the waiting time to 5 years for a municipal conviction when the underlying factual basis was domestic violence.   There are now “dueling” record sealing bills – see HB 15-1061 described below.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  As introduced, the bill would only allow misdemeanor offenses to be sealable if the district attorney does not object.  After meeting with CCJRC and Colorado Criminal Defense Institute, Rep Lebsock has agreed to amend that provision out of the bill in committee.

HB15-1264 Homeless Persons’ Bill of Rights
Sponsors: Representatives Salazar (D) and Melton (D) & Senator Kefalas (D)
Status: House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs - Wed. 4/8/15 – Upon adjournment
Description: Establishes certain protected rights for persons’ experiencing homelessness and allows a person whose rights have been violated to seek enforcement of said rights through civil action.

HB15-1267 Use of Medical Marijuana During Probation
Sponsors: Representative Salazar (D) & Senator Guzman (D)
Status: Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee
Description: Makes an exception to probation conditions to allow a person on probation to possess and use medical marijuana, unless the person has a conviction related to medical marijuana. 

CCJRC Priority bills

SB15-124 Concerning the use of evidence-based practice in response to technical violations of parole

Sponsors: Senator Merrifield (D-Colorado Springs) & Representative Lee (D-Colorado Springs)
CCJRC Position: Priority- Active Support

Status: Passed Senate Judiciary – Sent to Senate Appropriations (not yet calendared)

Description: SB 124 requires that parole officers utilize all available intermediate sanctions and community support services prior to filing a complaint for revocation with the Parole Board unless the nature of the technical violation and a parolee’s criminal history creates a high risk for re-offense.  Also allows the DOC to use short jail terms (no more than 5 days) as an intermediate sanction for a parolee who has had a pattern of technical violations instead of revocation. 

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  Last year, almost 4,000 people were re-incarcerated for a technical violation of parole.  Evidence-based practice research indicates that effective responses to technical violations are sure, swift, and proportional – not severe, like revocation and incarceration back in prison. In September 2014, DOC began a “sure & swift” pilot program that prioritized using intermediate sanctions, including short jail terms.  The pilot has reduced the number of parole revocations and SB 124 will scale out this pilot statewide.

HB15-1042 Concerning requiring presentence reports to include information concerning the amount of time a defendant is expected to actually spend in incarceration
Sponsors: Representative Foote (D) & Senator Cooke (R)
CCJRC Position:  Oppose-Amend

Hearing:  Amended and passed House Judiciary Committee – Up for 2^nd Reading on House floor - 3/9/15

Description: Requires each presentence report given to the court in cases where a person may be sentenced to the Department of Corrections to include information about the estimated amount of time that s/he is expected to actually spend in prison, including consideration of potential sentence-reducing factors like earned time, parole and placement in community corrections.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  It is not possible to accurately estimate how much time someone is

likely to serve in prison because there are too many variables that affect time served that is not predicable.  Length of time in prison will be affected by the amount, if any, of earned time awarded, whether the person is accepted into community corrections, and whether or not the person is granted discretionary parole.   Because the estimate is not likely to be accurate, this would introduce inaccurate or misleading information into a judge’s consideration at sentencing which is inappropriate.  CCJRC and CCDI were able to get several amendments to the bill to address factual and legal inaccuracies but CCJRC still opposes the bill for the reasons cited above.

HB15-1061 No Record Sealing Municipal Domestic Violence
Sponsors: Representative Van Winkle (R) & Senator Roberts (R)
CCJRC Position: Oppose-Amend

Status:  House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Tuesday, Feb. 3^rd but laid the bill over for possible amendments. CCJRC would support an amendment that had a longer waiting period than 3 years for municipal domestic violence convictions that involved actual assault and battery. The bill was set for a hearing last week, but was pulled from the calendar. This bill is essentially tabled until Rep Lebsock’s record sealing bill is heard in committee.

Description: Would make all municipal cases ineligible for sealing if they involved any type of offense considered to be domestic violence.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  In 2013, legislation was passed (SB 13-123) that allowed people convicted of municipal level crimes to petition a district court to have that conviction sealed from the general public if 3 years or more had passed since the successful completion of the sentence and no new offenses had been committed.   A court had the authority to grant or deny the request based on a case-by-case review following a hearing and opportunity for objection by the DA, victim or other interested person. Information on the arrest/conviction of a sealed case would always be available to law enforcement, courts and other criminal justice agencies.  After a case was sealed, if the person was convicted of a new offense, the sealed case would automatically be unsealed.  CCJRC supported this bill in 2013 because of the significant collateral consequences that having a criminal conviction has on people finding work and housing.  CCJRC believes that current law has adequate “guardrails” to ensure that the court can consider all the evidence, including any objection, and make a decision based on a balancing test between the hardship the criminal record has created in finding housing and employment and the public interest in keeping the record unsealed.

HB15-1043 Felony Offense for Repeat DUI Offenders
Sponsors: Representatives Saine (R) and McCann (D) & Senators Cooke (R) and Johnston (D)
CCJRC Position:Oppose

Hearing: House Finance Committee–Wed. 3/18/15 at 1:30pm

Description: Creates a class four felony for DUI if the violation occurred: (1) after 3 or more prior convictions for DUI, DWAI, vehicular homicide, vehicular assault or any combination thereof; or (2) after 2 prior convictions, the current violation included at least one of the following circumstances: (a) a minor was in the vehicle (b) the person caused damage or injury to property or person; (c) the person fled the scene; or (d) the person’s BAC was .15 or higher.  The bill also expands the timeline that a person must use an interlock device from one year to a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years.The bill, as amended, would allow someone convicted of a misdemeanor DUI to be eligible for placement in community corrections as a condition of probation to access residential treatment.  Another amendment requires the court to “exhaust remedies” before sentencing someone to prison for a felony DUI.  The 5-year cost for incarceration alone is estimated to be between $19 - $42 million.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  CCJRC agrees that DUI and, especially DUI accidents and fatalities are a preventable tragedy and more needs to be done to prevent and reduce repeat offenses.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, only 1% of all DUI episodes result in arrest.  The National Transportation Safety Board reported that 71% of all alcohol-related fatalities were committed by a driver with NO prior convictions for DUI.  HB 1043 has no strategies to address the 99% of all DUIs that will not come into the criminal justice system because there was no arrest.  The current DUI treatment delivery system also is not as effective as it needs to be, including a much more robust capacity to address both alcohol addiction and co-occuring mental health issues that occurs in more than half of people with repeat DUI offenses.   CCJRC believes that HB 1043 is focusing on the highest cost – lowest impact strategy of just creating a felony and incarcerating several hundred people a year.  CCJRC does not unilaterally oppose the creation of a felony for serious repeat DUI offenses.  However, HB 1043 is not comprehensive and the research indicates that it will not have much effect, despite its tremendous cost.  CCJRC believes that comprehensive DUI reform is needed and needs to include strategies in prevention, treatment, law enforcement, public education, expansion of alternative transportation, and data collection.

HB15-1087 Alcohol and Substance Abuse Medical Detox Centers

Sponsors: Representative Vigil (D) & Senators Steadman (D) andJahn (D)
CCJRC Position: Support

Hearing: House Public Health Care & Human Services, Tuesday, 3/10/15 at 1:30pm

Description: This bill would create two medical detox pilot programs that would provide limited medical services to individuals addicted to alcohol or other substances who are detoxing. The pilot sites would consist of one rural and one urban substance abuse treatment center and last for 2 years. The pilot sites would be chosen through an application process through the Office of Behavioral Health.

The bill has a large fiscal note, up to $944,000 in Year 1 and $5.5 million in Year 2, and some of the contours of the bill may be changing due to the price tag. Keep your eyes out for a possible action alert on this bill urging lawmakers to support this once we learn more about what may be coming forward.

Rationale: Currently detox centers in Colorado operate a “social detox model,” meaning that little to no medical services are provided to individuals as they are withdrawingfrom alcohol and/or drugs. Hospitals may provide medical detox services, but detox centers are lacking this capability. The lack of medical services for individuals detoxing can lead to severe and painful withdrawal and in some extreme cases, death. It is extremely important for people to have the ability to safely withdraw from alcohol and/or drugs to help increase chances of sobriety and have a healthy recovery.

HB15-1122 Parole Application and Revocation
Sponsors: Representative Fields (D) & Senator Cooke (R)
CCJRC Position: Now neutral due to amendments made

Status:Passed Judiciary Committee – Up for 2^nd reading on the Senate floor - 3/9/15

Description: Would make an inmate in DOC ineligible for adiscretionary parole hearing if the inmate: (1) had been convicted of a class I COPD within the past twelve months; or (2) has declined in writing to participate in programs that have been recommended and made available to him or her. The bill also makes other technical clarifications. CCJRC was able to successfully advocate for two amendments to this bill.  The first, deleted the provision that made someone in prison ineligible for parole if s/he was within six months of MRD/SDD.  The other, deleted the provision that would have given the parole board the authority to revoke for remainder any parolee who requests self-revocation

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  Under current law, the length of time of re-incarceration when someone requests revocation would depend on risk level and crime of conviction.  For example, if someone was convicted of a nonviolent offense, the maximum period of re-incarceration would be 90 days if less than high risk or 180 days if high risk.  Current law only allows the parole board to revoke for remainder those convicted of a Crime of Violence.  The current framework is a better practice.  People struggling on parole who seek self-revocation should be provided with additional support and services, not re-incarceration.  CCJRC also objected to making ineligible for parole anyone whose next parole hearing is within 6 months of SDD or MRD.  Unless someone waives their parole hearing, s/he is entitled to be considered for parole regardless of whether they must be released from prison within six months.

HB15-1203 Earned time for habitual offenders serving life

Sponsors:  Rep Rosenthal (D) and Sen. Steadman (D)

CCJRC Position:  Priority Support (CCJJ recommendation)

Status: House Judiciary Committee – not yet calendared

Description: Under current law, a person sentenced as a habitual offender to serve a 40-calendar-year-to-life sentence before July 1, 1993 is not eligible for earned time. The bill permits those sentenced under those circumstances to be eligible for earned time.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position:  This issue was studied and recommended by the Colorado Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice.  There are approximately 72 people currently serving this sentence in prison in Colorado who have never been eligible for earned time regardless of good behavior and successes in educational, vocational or therapeutic programs.  Earned time is an important incentive to reward positive behavior and should be available to people serving these sentences too.

SB15-116 Needle Stick Prevention
Sponsors: Senator Steadman (D) & Representative Garnett (D)
CCJRC Position: Support

Status:PassedHouse Public Health Care & Human Services Committee

Description:  Would prohibit law enforcement from arresting someone for possession of a syringe (“drug paraphernalia”) or drug possession (if the syringe contained trace amounts of illegal drugs) if the person informs law enforcement prior to a search of their person, vehicle or personal belongings that s/he has a syringe.

Rationale for CCJRC’s position: Currently only individuals who are participants at syringe exchange programs are exempt from being arrested for possessing an injection device. CCJRC supports expanding this exemption to help reduce the amount of people being charged criminally for possessing a syringe. Criminalization of the syringe promotes improper syringe disposal and increases the amount of people involved with and engaged in the criminal justice system due to their drug use.

SB15-184 No Detention for Failure to Attend School

Sponsors: Senator Holbert (R) & Representative Fields (D)
CCJRC Position: Monitor (doing more research before taking a formal position)

Status: Senate Education Committee - Thursday, 3/12/15 at 1:30pm

Description: Removes juvenile court jurisdiction over truancy petitions aimed at students and their parents, except in certain circumstances, and gives jurisdiction over truancy cases to the office of the administrative courts.  There will be a “strike below” amendment that effectively would rewrite the entire bill.  CCJRC is reviewing the amendment now.

SB15-185 Police Data Collection and Community Policing

Sponsors: Senator Johnston (D) & Representative Fields (D)
CCJRC Position: Monitor (waiting to meet with bill sponsors before taking a formal position)

Status: Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee

Description: Creates a community policing grant program to provide funding to local law enforcement agencies in conjunction with community-based organizations for innovative community policing practices. Tasks the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) to convene an advisory committee one year after grants are awarded to study the best practices used and outcomes of the grant program. The bill also requires each law enforcement agency, the Judicial Department, and the Department of Corrections to report specific data on race, ethnicity and gender related to stops, contacts, arrests, disposition of charges, sentencing, and parole hearings to the DCJ each calendar year. Data related to any officers involved in a shooting must also be provided to DCJ.

Other important criminal justice bills:

SB15-007 Community Corrections Board Standards
Sponsors: Senator Guzman (D) & Representative Willett (R)
CCJRC Position: Monitor  (CCJJ recommendation)

Status: Passed Senate Judiciary Committee – Sent to Appropriations
Description: Establishes who must serve on a community corrections board and creates trainings standards/requirements for Board members. Requires DCJ to create and implement training standards for all Community Corrections Board Members. DCJ must also create an evaluation tool to measure the use of evidenced based practices across Community Corrections programs. 

SB15-053 Standing Orders for Naloxone
Sponsors:Senator Aguilar (D) & Representatives McCann (D) and Lontine (D)
CCJRC Position: Support  (lead organization-Harm Reduction Action Center)
Status:Up for 3^rd& final reading on the House floor – 3/9/15
Description: Would allow standing orders for naloxone so that first responders and direct service providers can distribute naloxone without a direct prescription. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can reverse the effects of an overdose and potentially save someone’s life if administered in time.

SB15-058 Eyewitness Identification Policies and Procedures
Sponsors: Senator Guzman (D) & Representative Kagan (D)
CCJRC Position:  Support (lead organization: Colorado Criminal Defense Bar)
Status: House Judiciary Committee – Thurs. 3/19/15 at 1:30pm
Description: Requires all law enforcement agencies in Colorado to adopt policies and procedures related to eyewitness identification to comply with peer-reviewed, evidenced- based practices. 

HB15-1091 Policies on Juvenile Shackling in Court
Sponsors: Representative Lontine (D) &Senator Merrifield (D)
CCJRC Position: Support (lead organization: Colorado Criminal Defense Bar)

Hearing:Passed out of the House

Description: Requires each Judicial District to create an appropriate and evidenced-based policy regarding the shackling of juveniles in the courtroom.

HB15-1229 Concerning Retaliation Against a Prosecutor

Sponsors:Representative McCann (D) & Senator Martinez Humenik
CCJRC Position: Monitor

Hearing: Assigned to House Judiciary

Description:Creates a Class 4 felony for threatening or retaliating against or harassing a prosecutor.

Bills that have been postponed indefinitely (died):

SB15-006 Prohibit Forfeitures Without Criminal Conviction
Sponsors: Senator Woods (R) & Representative Saine (R)
CCJRC Position:  Support