Articles Posted in Prison

On November 4, 2014, California voters approved a voter initiative which requires that certain crimes MUST be filed as misdemeanors. This appears to be an effort by the state of California to reduce the number of people in the state prison system. From now on theft offenses for less than $950.00 must be filed as misdemeanors-even…

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…

In San Diego Superior Court three women have been charged for their child selling plot. Two of the women Hilary Neiman and Theresa Erickson are attorneys who have pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The third woman, Carla Chambers pled guilty to conspiracy to make money from an unlawful activity. The process included…

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…

A couple from Santa Ana was arrested on Monday for faking a death and collecting benefits.  The husband a 51 year old truck driver went under the name of Lucio Rodriguez for about twenty years while living with his wife Rosa Carrasco.  According to the Orange County Register the Carrascos agreed in 2004 to travel…

San Quentin has done some remodeling. Using inmate labor and $853,000 taxpayer money the prison has a new execution chamber. A revision of the chamber stemmed from a federal court order addressing deficiencies in the process. The chamber itself is bigger; there is an adjacent room where the inmate would be for the six hours…

29-year-old Jose Alonso Najera is currently on trial for a double murder. The victims are his parents, who were stabbed multiple times in their Garden Grove home on December 27, 1999. Najera’s friend, Gerald Thomas Johnson, was already convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the slayings after having left his DNA…

Two Orange County men are facing charges in federal court for conspiracy for coordinating the smuggling of live birds into the United States. Duc Le entered a plea in federal court to conspiracy and now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison at his sentencing on June 23rd. And, Sony Dong pleaded guilty…

An Orange County man was sentenced to 4 years in prison for killing a pedestrian who was walking in the crosswalk. Martin Kuehl, the driver of the vehicle, was texting while driving and was convicted of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence (California Penal Code Section 192). Kuehl pleaded with the judge to not send him…

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…