by Anthony W. Accurso
Gregory Fields was in a court-ordered rehab program at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in San Francisco. He had completed a 30-day detox and blackout period when he started the program, during which he could not contact family or friends.
He was ‘‘acclimated in groups, he was talking openly about issues that he had and how they affected his life,” said his public defender, Dana Drusinsky. “He’s a really endearing person, so [the treatment facilitators] were all proud of him.”
Then he stole a cookie.
In November 2019, Fields and other from Harbor Light were preparing food packages for charity. According to the local CBS affiliate, Fields “ate a leftover cookie without permission” and “Harbor Lights asked him to leave the program afterward.”
Fields was offered a deal: He could resume treatment if he agreed to restart the program, including the 30-day blackout period. Not wanting to lose contact with his mother, he refused the deal he saw as punishment.
The circuit court then sentenced him to six months in jail. “The treatment program is justifying it by saying that he stole and he needed to be reprimanded,” said Drusinsky. ‘The way the drug court ...
A firsthand account from FCI Seagoville in Texas, one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic
by Anthony W. Accurso
[Editor’s note: As of July 22, the Bureau of Prisons website reported 1,220 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus at Seagoville, the highest number at any BOP prison. ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
Last January, Koch Industries, through the Charles Koch Institute, announced a partnership with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) to develop the Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative, a program that educates businesses on the benefits of hiring ex-offenders.
“We have to figure out how ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
On January 13, 2020, the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado granted the habeas corpus petition of a parolee who had been re-confined for the remainder of his prison term after the Court found the applicable parole statute limited his confinement to 90 days.
In ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
New York City agreed to pay victims $12.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit on October 18, 2019, brought by visitors to New York City jails at the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Riker’s Island facilities. The case was heard by the United States District Court for the ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
With prison reform a hot topic that has gained nationwide attention over the last decade, prison lifestyle videos on YouTube offer a window into the prison experience for many Americans.
Collectively, the four most popular prison channels on YouTube have more than 2.1 million subscribers. The ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
A New Jersey man who was sentenced to one year in prison died on May 10, 2020, while in custody at the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, where prisoners go before they are sent to a regular prison.
According to court records, Ricardo Williamson ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
In response to a motion filed by the ACLU, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California unsealed documents in June 2019 related to the failures of San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and its mental health provider, Correctional Physicians Medical Group ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
Over 600,000 people are released from prisons across the U.S. each year, and a growing number of reentry providers are prepping to absorb increasing numbers as states reform their systems.
In California, though, as the state implements long-overdue reforms in the criminal justice system, people are ...
by Anthony W. Accurso
In June 2019, California’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published its annual report, “Monitoring the Use of Force,” for incidents the previous year at all juvenile and adult facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The OIG’s office reviewed 6,426 incidents where an ...
