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September 7 Main Rally Index

 September 7 Rally Photos

 Current Call to Action -

Emergency Rally on Medical Crisis
 

MRSA Epidemic Outbreak
 

Support of AB1539
 

Support of Sentencing Bills
 

Crisis of Abuse of Mentally Ill
 

State Capitol Building
llth and L Street North Side,
9 am. Friday Sept 7, 2007
 

Load up your car
a crowd is needed to show
the Gov and legislators that people care about prisoners! Caring begins with you! Print off the flyer and distribute widely

click here, hit print, should print off on one page

www.1union1.com/rally_flyer_sept7.html

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The Greyhound Bus Depot is four blocks from the Sacramento Capitol Building, you can walk to the North Side, llth and L Street side, if you want to share a hotel room please email uniondatabase@aol.com. The AMTRAK station is a short cab ride away.

Please book all travel arrangements (flights, hotels, rental cars) for this rally and at all other times from anywhere in the US with our UNION member Shella Zelenez, just go to this link and book. The Travel Lodge is a ten minute walk to the North side of the Capitol, the Motel 6 on Richards Blvd is within a few miles, or just come for the day.

www.shella.globaltravel.com
 

If you have a ride to offer or need a ride to the rally on September 7, please email uniondatabase@aol.com.

Two rides are needed from San Jose

Rides are needed from Palmdale

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http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/schedules/files.htp
 
 

Our bill AB 1539 to re-sentence and release permanently incapacitated and terminally ill prisoners will be held before the Senate Appropriations Committee on (not re-scheduled yet). A similar bill passed last year but was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor remains the biggest block to many important reforms including Compassionate Release of those who shouldn't be in a prison at all and media access.
 
 

Fax your support of the passage of AB 1539 to re-sentence terminally ill and permanently disabled prisoners to the Senate Appropriations Committee

Sample letter to fax to numbers below

Dear Senator:

As a California taxpayer and voter, I wholeheartedly support AB 1539, the Medical Release and Fiscal Savings Bill. This bill will facilitate the medical release of terminally ill prisoners already required by Penal Code Section 1170, but not being carried out due to procedural deficiencies and delays. It will also allow the medical release of the permanently medically incapacitated. Neither of these groups poses any risk to public safety and constitutionally should be released in a humane and timely manner.

Currently, prisoners who qualify for medical release, and their families, painfully endure an ill-defined and lengthy process that often ends only with the inmate’s death in prison. AB 1539 would specify and streamline proper legal procedures to ensure timely medical releases of those whom a prison doctor, the prison’s chief medical officer, the Board of Prison Terms, and the warden all concur deserve an opportunity for a court to recall his or her sentence and issue a medical release order to Corrections.

AB 1539 can remedy the unlawful and inhumane practice of keeping the terminally ill and the permanently medically incapacitated in prison until they die, and it will save hundreds of thousands of Corrections’ dollars, which could be more effectively used toward the Governor’s renewed rehabilitation goals, which certainly will need more funding than allocated so far. Passing AB 1539 will also help to free up much-needed prison space for rehabilitation classrooms.

I sincerely hope that you will carefully consider these benefits of passing AB 1539 to amend PC 1170 so that it reflects its full intent and disencumbers the currently ineffective legal process of sentence recall and medical release.

Very truly yours,

Your signature - reword it into your own words

 Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Senator Tom Torlakson tom@tomtorlakson.com Fax (916) 445-2527 Senator Dave Cox These are all the numbers listed on his website: FAX 530-283-3439 Fax 916-783-5487 FAx 916-324-2680 FAX 209-223-9140 Senator Samuel Aanestad Fax: 916-445-7750  Senator Roy Ashburn Fax: (916) 322-3304 Fax: 661-323-0446  Senator Jim Battin Fax: (916) 327-2187 Fax: (760) 568-1501 Fax: (951) 653-9524  Senator Gilbert Cedillo Fax (916) 327-8817  Senator Ellen Corbett Fax (916) 327-2433  Senator Robert Dutton Fax (916) 327-2272  Senator Dean Florez Fax (916) 327-5989  Senator Sheila Kuehl Fax (916) 324-4823  Senator Jenny OropezaFax: (916) 323-6056 Senator Mark Ridley-ThomasFax: (916) 445-8899  Senator George RunnerFax: (916) 445-4662 Fax: 661-729-1683 Fax: 760-843-8348 Fax: 661-286-2543  Senator Joe SimitianFax: (916) 323-4529 Fax: (650) 688-6370 Fax: (831) 425-5124  Senator Darrell SteinbergFax: (916) 323-2263  Senator Mark WylandFax: (916) 446-7382 Fax: (949) 489-8354 Fax: (760) 931-2477  Senator Leland YeeFax: (916) 327-2186-----------------------------------

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Tilton's entire confirmation hearing held yesterday 07/11/07 before the Senate Rules Committeee IS online now at www.calchannel.com  Everyone with a loved one in prison or who cares about the extreme taxpayer waste and inhumanity taking place in California's pisons needs to review this video more than one time so that you can see the smoke and mirrors being billowed up the tailpipe of the various legislative committees.  You can see that Tilton talks about reform but most of what he says are empty words.  What is missing of course is his real action.  It was difficult for me to get in all our complaints.  You can see Senator Perata was cutting off everyone who tried to voice anything negative. The other prisoner advocates were testifying in support of Tilton but they all had some reservations and conditions.  It takes some courage to go sit up there in that opposition seat especially in view of retaliation and purposeful lack of access imposed upon those who speak out but we didn't get prison reform on the table by being too nice. As you can see, Senator Perata actually believes that the ombudsmen can and will actually take care of the family complaints.  In my experience, maybe one of one hundred situations get taken care of by ombudsmen!  So, there is a huge breakdown of communications about their effectiveness that needs to be bridged. In fact, there were only two people there in opposition to Tilton's confirmation,  myself and a mother who testified after me who gave Perata a video of her son being abused she said.  I have not seen this tape and do not have a copy of it, however, I am interested in doing so but I didn't get her phone number or email.    There is a ten minute recess during this meeting.  Here are instructions to get to the hearing go to www.calchannel.com you will need the Windows Media Player 10 which is free to download click on "webcast" in the upper left hand corner click on "search archive" on the left put in the date with no dashes or slashes 071107 Senate Committee type in Rules click submit click watch once the program loads, drag the slider over to exactly 53 min. 45 seconds where the hearing begins.  I encourage you to take the time to watch all of it, twice if possible so you can get the innuendos and see past some of the smoke and mirrors.  My testimony followed by one of the prisoner mothers begins at exactly 02:06:53 - Two hours, six minutes and 53 seconds   Rev. B. Cayenne  Bird
UNION
P.O. Box 340371
Sacramento.Ca. 95834
www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html------------------------------------------------

The joint hearing held by Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton held in Sacramento on June 27, 2007 was a huge success. A web page has been set up so that you can print off and mail the articles to the prisoners at

www.1union1.com/prison_cap_campaign.html

Congratulations UNION members for a turn out so large that it made the news wire services. This is the largest turn out for a prison reform hearing by prisoners and their families in the history of California. A clear message that the families of prisoners can organize and that they can respond to calls to action to stand up against those politicians who oppress them, a new day has dawned, but keep on organizing, mobilizing and registering the poor to vote.
 
 

  Honorable JudgeThelton E. Henderson
United States District Court
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, California 94102

 Senior District Court Honorable Judge Lawrence K. Karlton (LKK)
501 I Street, Suite. 4-200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 930-4000
Fax: 916-491-3934Dear Honorable Judge Karlton------------------

Make certain that you are writing letters to editors on the violations that the lawmakers are making of the California Constitution which forbids holding people in custody when they cannot provide adequate medical care. Caring starts with you. We will need more people to sit in the audience when the bill goes to the Senate. Sign up in the UNION so you can help with this important work. An 8th grader can do it. You are needed. Billions of education dollars are being wasted on punishing sick people. How ludicrous!

 You can see the hearing online of UNION members testimony before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If you have a windows media player in your computer.  It's up now.go to www.calchannel.com click on webcasts, click on archives, enter 050907  (just like that - no slashes or dashes) select Assembly, Select Committee, Select Appropriations, click submit and it will come up on May 9, click watch. Move your slider to 42 minute mark by holding down your mouse

Notice the lockstep voting of the Repugs.  They have always done this and continue to do it.  No one is safe as long as Repug politicians sit in elected office.

More information on our campaign to support AB 1539 can be found here

http://www.1union1.com/ab1539_index_page.html

Tell the prisoners to send their families because a crowd could be needed as the bills enter their final phases.

  -----------------------------

How do you make noise? Be prepared to respond to UNION Calls to Action and write to editors. Everyone is hoping and praying that our side is going to find it's own organizing legs soon.

The state runs on voting groups and we outnumber everyone but that doesn't matter if we aren't writing, recruiting, filing lawsuits and initiative campaigns.. All of this oppression is happening because we haven't organized well enough or loudly enough. I made need you to back me up at the Senate level by bringing a crowd to the Sacramento courtroom where the war is located. Sign up for the daily newsletter so you can learn to become an activist for change. Get off the sidelines, writing to editors, recruiting more writers and protesters, getting out the vote is essential to reform! The war is in Sacramento and 90% of winning it is showing up when you're supposed to be there.

http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html

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My past articles which include many sensible prison reform recommendations which would free up tens of thousands of prison cells are located at the following links. I hope you can take them and post them everywhere to THE OTHER VOTERS and mail them into the prisoners. The legislators are in office to service the people who gave them money to get elected, not to service the poor. This is where failure to get out the vote catches up with us.

Rev. Cayenne
 
 

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewByAuthor.asp?authorID=264
 
 

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One powerful organized voting group could demand the closure of 70% of the adult prisons. Failure to organize is costing us our lives and future. It is necessary for us to elect our own people to office as the first step in achieving something like this major feat below. There is no evidence that prisons, jails, juvenile halls, the death penalty, harsh laws, long sentences do one thing to deter crime. 6500 people willing to do a little work can force reform through initiatives, referendums, recalling or electing politicians. Less than that number cannot raise enough funds or make the 150 day signature gathering deadlines.

Please subscribe to the UNION daily newsletter so you can learn how, when, where to become an advocate for change.

http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html
 
 

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the UNION media email list is located here - use it to post letters to editors of 150 words or less (use your pen name if you're afraid to speak out but don't neglect to make your voice heard!) Post comments at as many publications as possible.

http://www.1union1.com/union_addresses.html

Our battles are only as effective as the NUMBER OF PEOPLE who write, recruit and bring people to the polls to vote. That means you!
 
 

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UNION CURRENT CALL TO ACTION #2 in effect until April 30, 2007

This is different from our normal Calls to Action because you are objecting to an interim rule created by the now disgraced US Attorney General Gonzales. The rule if passed will affect every sex offender and the one million women and children in California connected to them. Please send it priority mail today or tomorrow in a red, white, blue envelope so we feel like a force on the receiving end. The cut off date is April 30, 2007. Please also post to national level journalists who are currently missing this important change in the law done by a criminal trying to save himself - Gonzales. A sample letter for you to post online to journalists follows the sample letter that goes to David Karp, Senior Counsel. Power of numbers is the only prayer we have of being heard. Just do YOUR share.David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy,Room 4509, Main Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW., Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference OAG Docket No. 117 on your correspondence.

You may view an electronic version of this interim rule at Regulations.gov. You may also comment via the Internet to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy (OLP) by e-mail to: olpregs@usdoj.gov or by using the Regulations.gov comment form for this regulation. When submitting comments electronically you must include OAG Docket No. 117 in the subject box.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura L. Rogers, Director, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202 514-4689.

David J. Karp,Senior CounselOffice of Legal Policy, Room 4509Main Justice Building950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530.  Re:  OAG Docket No. 117 Please allow me to voice my grave concern  and opposition for the Interim Rule issued as a result of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and SORNA by Attoney General Gonzales. This law will allow double jeopardy which is legal only because federal jurisdiction and state jurisdiction are separate. A person can now be punished by both the federal; and state government for the same violation of registration.  Every state has a registry in place and this is certainly a duplicate effort and an excessively expensive and unnecessary law.  A great many people who have moved on with their lives and living law abiding and productive lives will now be re-exposed with the retroactive clause of SORNA.  This is tantamount to the Salem witch hunts only now it is the families of sex offenders who will brought down with this draconian and vindictive law.  This is cruel and unusual punishment, not public safety as SORNA will show places of employment in the Federal Registry which will be an open invitation to the fear mongers and hatemongers to protest their places of work and/or physically attack them.    Posting places of employment in a federal database will stand in the way of any sex offender in California (and the nation)  from being able to earn a living, no matter how minor their crime.  This is completely counterproductive to the goal of reintegrating ex-felons back into society as self supporting, productive citizens.  The Attorney General has said that SORNA's applicability will be to "virtually the entire existing sex offender population".  Clearly the intent is cover "virtually" everyone, but there is no mention about whether Congress specifically limits what he can do.  Why was this left out? 

  Please consider the effect this will have on the one million women and children attached to a sex offender when they cannot earn a living.  Current laws have forced a group of people to live under a bridge in Florida.  This is an excellent example of how this law will further affect the offenders and their families.  They are unable to work and support their families or themselves  The one time sex offender is lumped together with the violent sexual predator.  In California, there are already laws in effect to handle the truly high risk offender and considering all sex offenders one and the same is simply not right or just.  The tiny fraction of a percentage of sex offenders who are guilty of raping and/or murdering a child are mentally ill and they belong in places of healing. 

They are the people who need to be removed from society for the purpose of safety but even this should be done in a much more healing manner, as they are most often severely mentally ill.   More than 90% of sex crimes involving a child occur within families.  No registration, residency restriction or monitoring system will stop these crimes.  This law is targeting an entire group of people and only a fraction of the group would possibly be stopped from a crime.  We are so scared that those people who have been convicted of sex offense will reoffend,  but look at the statistics.  The Department of Justice states that the average rate of recidivism is 5%, one the lowest rates among all felonies.  It is an invented lie that has been perpetrated to the public that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and that they have a high rate of recidivism. This is simply not true.  Our conservative leaders are constantly preaching about building the family and knocking the liberals for not having stricter morals, but laws such as this are destroying families over mental illness.  It's barbaric, opportunistic and political grandstanding at its worst.

  SORNA can be passed as Federal Interim Rule because Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales, whose character is now being assassinated to do so.  All of his initiatives should simply be cancelled.  He has proven not to be trustworthy and everything he has touched is now tainted, including SORNA.  He most likely wrote this rule anticipating he would need the support of fellow Republicans over the firings of the Attorneys.  How can it be a good rule when Conservatives are so hell bent to overpunish the severely mentally ill in order to build political careers and Gonzales so desperately needs their support.  The fact that SORNA touches so many millions of lives in a destructive manner makes it as much, if not more important than the other probes.  In addition, the Attorney General fails to point out anything relative to Sec. 117 (Duty to Notify Sex Offenders of Registration Requirements and to Register) which places a requirement on him (and his office).

  Notification is a basic tenet of due process, is it not?  Why was this left out of the Interim Rule?  This is an ill conceived, poorly thought out Rule and I ask that it be struck down before we allow the invented hysteria that has pervaded our country continue to destroy families.  A child is 40 times more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than a sex offender.  Why are these people being ostracized, forced to live in exile and banishment, on the streets of our FREE country?  This is all too reminiscent of the nightmare of Nazi Germany.  That is a frightening state of affairs for our country.  SORNA should be discarded immediately Signature ----------

------------ Make your letter  express your view and the impact on your own life or that of people whom you love, do not simply copy my letter word for word.  Where's the focus on prevention and healing of the mentally ill?  There are many issues not mentioned here.  Please copy me on what you wrote Mail in a red, white and blue priority mail envelope by Tuesday night so we feel like an army because we all mailed within 48 hours of one another.  Get your family members to write. I may be changing the above letter since this is just a draft but I wanted you to get started on at least thinking about this and exchanging arguments and ideas since we have 54 California journalists on our UNION newsletter list who are learning this issue as well. ---------------------------------Schwarzenegger and O'Reilly sued and settled for sexual harrassment. Why aren't they in the database? http://www.1union1.com/sexual_harassment.html--------------------------------Sexual assaults committed by youth are a growing concern in this country. Currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all cases of child molestation committed each year (Barbaree, Hudson, and Seto, 1993). In 1995, youth were involved in 15% of all forcible rapes cleared by arrest—approximately 18 adolescents per 100,000 were arrested for forcible rape. In the same year, approximately 16,100 adolescents were arrested for sexual offenses, excluding rape and prostitution (Sickmund, Snyder, Poe-Yamagata, 1997). --------------------------------Treatment for most sex offenders works http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslawtreat.html --------------------------------http://www.anandaanswers.com/pages/naaFalse.html

An alarming national trend:
False Rape Allegations

Eugene J. Kanin, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 
Purdue University

----------------------------------------------- Cayenne, This my SORNA post to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/04/21/testimony-doesnt-help-go_n_46494.html Another important issue needs to be brought into this discussion of justice to all vs. undue loyalty to a few: the Federal Interim Rule that Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales to write amending SORNA (the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act). This Interim Rule should be challenged for a number of reasons, among them the questionable character of its author whose mission of justice for all has been clearly tainted by his misplaced loyalty and covert lies. Other reasons to challenge SORNA:

SORNA applies to virtually all sex offenders, whereas its intent was to apply to child molesters. Retributive justice on such a broad scale can do little to prevent child molestation. According to Bureau of Justice statistics, more than 90% of child molestation is by someone the child knows well, and child molesters have less than 4% recidivism rate. Ironically, the fear mongering engendered by SORNA promotes vigilantism and thus endangers far more children than it protects. Every child suffers who is connected to a sex offender who is banished and persecuted.

SORNA allows a "legal" form of double jeopardy. A person can be punished under both federal and state law for the same registration violation.

SORNA requires sex offenders to register where they work and go to school, as well as where they live. This invites hate-monger protests, and poses a risk of physical assaults, at workplaces and schools. Posting one's place of employment and education in a sex offender database can undoubtedly hinder a person's efforts to earn a living.

Now, the February 16, 2007, Federal Interim Rule written by Alberto Gonzales would require SORNA registration restrictions to be placed retroactively on "all sex offenders, including sex offenders convicted of the offense for which registration is required prior to the enactment of that Act." People who have become law-biding, productive members of society will be subject to unjust banishment and punishment if this retroactive feature of SORNA is made permanent. SORNA is already unjust to many; it does not need to be retroactive too! Attorney General Gonzales should have to answer to this injustice as well

What we need is more people who understand the legalease wording of these proposed bills, in particular those proposed by Republican legislators at the core of most of our problems. Many bills are going unchallenged which is interpreted by the legislators to mean consent. We also need more people to learn the issues by subscribing to the UNION daily newsletter so there can be attendance at some of these hearings, letters to editors in support or opposition and when necessary, massive rallies at the Capitol which we have done many times over the past decade.

Please take a look at Dr. B. Cayenne Bird's column at the Chronicle for a list of the bills which need to be studied and commented upon then write her at rightor1@yahoo.com because we are surely missing points with so much happening at once and not enough qualified volunteers who actually understand the trainwrecks coming if these pass. Lives are at stake and your work is needed. Get active now, everyone can get a pen name and write 7 sentence letters to editors and show up three or four times a year on some of the campaigns or they can send someone. The people with no group are the ones who go to prison in California. Groups run the legislature, large, funded groups that have a million dollars in their treasury at least because that's what is needed to do referendums, initiatives, or recalls. No muscle means no reform is possible. Get active and do something about your problems as there are no rescuers and no way to win without lawsuits, referendums and initiative campaigns. This can be done if enough people help. Takes a little work.

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Our eight year campaign against medical neglect in California's prisons and jails has been very successful. Support for our wrongful death and medical neglect lawsuits still in progress is still very important since their outcomes will affect every California prisoner. The Mark Grangetto medical neglect lawsuit is coming to court in Hanford this summer and we will need to overflow the courtroom to show that people do care about prisoners! By attending and bringing people to the hearing, you will help make a strong point that medical neglect of any prisoner is unacceptable to we the voters of California. We won't know about the trial date until the very last minute so make certain you are subscribed to the UNION Daily Newsletter via email and have ten people lined up to come with you.

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Are you posting comments beneath prison reform articles and writing to editors short 7 to 10 sentence reactions to what they're writing in the news? We elaborate on the issues in the daily UNION newsletter but you can find plenty of places to help educate the public on prison issues that appear almost daily in the Sacramento Bee, North County Times, California Progress Report Be interactive if you want to see reform as silence is consent. When you aren't writing and attending protests, everyone assumes that you are happy with the status quo. We have a great media email list online for you to use (select, copy, paste)
 

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This is special area of our website that we have set up to rail against Prop 83 Jessica's Law. One million women and children are in danger of becoming homeless and banned from society and not one child will be saved by this most unconstitutional law. Read the stories of real California families affected and get the facts.
 

http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm

If you would like to be one of the 6500 workers to help me bring about criminal justice reform, better conditions in prisons and jails and help for the families of prisoners, please join our UNION.  We always need help with our website updates, researchers, letter writers, protesters, people to give rides when we have a call to action to attend an important hearing on protest. We also need clerical assistance filing and answering mail in Sacramento as the pleas for help number in the thousands. We could always use supplies, paper, postage, ink cartridges, the state runs on groups, if you don't have a big one, you can't elect people to office who will represent you. Your participation in this process is necessary as the power of numbers is the only solution.

there is an audio you can listen to at this link

Join the UNION

Rev. B. Cayenne Bird

rightor1@yahoo.com

United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect

www.1union1.com

 Writing, protesting, recruiting more workers, getting out the vote, that's what real patriots do when their chains become too heavy. We never have enough volunteers in action which is why the problems still exist. You can do something about this needless suffering when you work in a group. There are 3 million people attached to a state prisoner but until they are properly organized, funding themselves and getting out the vote, the numbers won't count and we will be stymied in our work to file more lawsuits and do more initiative campaigns. 6500 workers can change any law, elect or recall any politician, will you be one who takes action in the UNION?

Ms. Anne Sheehan
State Personnel Board
801 Capitol Mall, MS #22
P. O Box 944201
Sacramento, CA 94244-2010

Other complaint information is located on this page link

Contact: U.N.I.O.N.
Rev. Dr. B. Cayenne Bird
Volunteer Director
P.O. Box 340371
Sacramento, Ca. 95834
 

 Rightor1@yahoo.com

Hearing Before the Three Judge Court this Monday, September Sept 24, 2007

The Sept 7 Rally was a big success. A special thank you to everyone who attended. The sentencing commission bills were put on hold until next year (didn't pass) Our bill AB 1539 for sick and dying inmates is on the Governor's desk, he must sign or veto it by October 12, 2007. Keep on writing to editors about the expense and futility of punishing the sick
 

 September 7 Rally Photos

September 7 Main Rally Index
 
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http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/schedules/files.htp
 
 

Our bill AB 1539 to re-sentence and release permanently incapacitated and terminally ill prisoners will be held before the Senate Appropriations Committee on (not re-scheduled yet). A similar bill passed last year but was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor remains the biggest block to many important reforms including Compassionate Release of those who shouldn't be in a prison at all and media access.
 
 

Fax your support of the passage of AB 1539 to re-sentence terminally ill and permanently disabled prisoners to the Senate Appropriations Committee

Sample letter to fax to numbers below

Dear Senator:

As a California taxpayer and voter, I wholeheartedly support AB 1539, the Medical Release and Fiscal Savings Bill. This bill will facilitate the medical release of terminally ill prisoners already required by Penal Code Section 1170, but not being carried out due to procedural deficiencies and delays. It will also allow the medical release of the permanently medically incapacitated. Neither of these groups poses any risk to public safety and constitutionally should be released in a humane and timely manner.

Currently, prisoners who qualify for medical release, and their families, painfully endure an ill-defined and lengthy process that often ends only with the inmate’s death in prison. AB 1539 would specify and streamline proper legal procedures to ensure timely medical releases of those whom a prison doctor, the prison’s chief medical officer, the Board of Prison Terms, and the warden all concur deserve an opportunity for a court to recall his or her sentence and issue a medical release order to Corrections.

AB 1539 can remedy the unlawful and inhumane practice of keeping the terminally ill and the permanently medically incapacitated in prison until they die, and it will save hundreds of thousands of Corrections’ dollars, which could be more effectively used toward the Governor’s renewed rehabilitation goals, which certainly will need more funding than allocated so far. Passing AB 1539 will also help to free up much-needed prison space for rehabilitation classrooms.

I sincerely hope that you will carefully consider these benefits of passing AB 1539 to amend PC 1170 so that it reflects its full intent and disencumbers the currently ineffective legal process of sentence recall and medical release.

Very truly yours,

Your signature - reword it into your own words
 
 Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Senator Tom Torlakson tom@tomtorlakson.com Fax (916) 445-2527 Senator Dave Cox These are all the numbers listed on his website: FAX 530-283-3439 Fax 916-783-5487 FAx 916-324-2680 FAX 209-223-9140 Senator Samuel Aanestad Fax: 916-445-7750  Senator Roy Ashburn Fax: (916) 322-3304 Fax: 661-323-0446  Senator Jim Battin Fax: (916) 327-2187 Fax: (760) 568-1501 Fax: (951) 653-9524  Senator Gilbert Cedillo Fax (916) 327-8817  Senator Ellen Corbett Fax (916) 327-2433  Senator Robert Dutton Fax (916) 327-2272  Senator Dean Florez Fax (916) 327-5989  Senator Sheila Kuehl Fax (916) 324-4823  Senator Jenny OropezaFax: (916) 323-6056 Senator Mark Ridley-ThomasFax: (916) 445-8899  Senator George RunnerFax: (916) 445-4662 Fax: 661-729-1683 Fax: 760-843-8348 Fax: 661-286-2543  Senator Joe SimitianFax: (916) 323-4529 Fax: (650) 688-6370 Fax: (831) 425-5124  Senator Darrell SteinbergFax: (916) 323-2263  Senator Mark WylandFax: (916) 446-7382 Fax: (949) 489-8354 Fax: (760) 931-2477  Senator Leland YeeFax: (916) 327-2186-----------------------------------

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Tilton's entire confirmation hearing held yesterday 07/11/07 before the Senate Rules Committeee IS online now at www.calchannel.com  Everyone with a loved one in prison or who cares about the extreme taxpayer waste and inhumanity taking place in California's pisons needs to review this video more than one time so that you can see the smoke and mirrors being billowed up the tailpipe of the various legislative committees.  You can see that Tilton talks about reform but most of what he says are empty words.  What is missing of course is his real action.  It was difficult for me to get in all our complaints.  You can see Senator Perata was cutting off everyone who tried to voice anything negative. The other prisoner advocates were testifying in support of Tilton but they all had some reservations and conditions.  It takes some courage to go sit up there in that opposition seat especially in view of retaliation and purposeful lack of access imposed upon those who speak out but we didn't get prison reform on the table by being too nice. As you can see, Senator Perata actually believes that the ombudsmen can and will actually take care of the family complaints.  In my experience, maybe one of one hundred situations get taken care of by ombudsmen!  So, there is a huge breakdown of communications about their effectiveness that needs to be bridged. In fact, there were only two people there in opposition to Tilton's confirmation,  myself and a mother who testified after me who gave Perata a video of her son being abused she said.  I have not seen this tape and do not have a copy of it, however, I am interested in doing so but I didn't get her phone number or email.    There is a ten minute recess during this meeting.  Here are instructions to get to the hearing go to www.calchannel.com you will need the Windows Media Player 10 which is free to download click on "webcast" in the upper left hand corner click on "search archive" on the left put in the date with no dashes or slashes 071107 Senate Committee type in Rules click submit click watch once the program loads, drag the slider over to exactly 53 min. 45 seconds where the hearing begins.  I encourage you to take the time to watch all of it, twice if possible so you can get the innuendos and see past some of the smoke and mirrors.  My testimony followed by one of the prisoner mothers begins at exactly 02:06:53 - Two hours, six minutes and 53 seconds   Rev. B. Cayenne  Bird
UNION
P.O. Box 340371
Sacramento.Ca. 95834
www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html-

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The joint hearing held by Judges Thelton Henderson and Lawrence Karlton held in Sacramento on June 27, 2007 was a huge success. A web page has been set up so that you can print off and mail the articles to the prisoners at

www.1union1.com/prison_cap_campaign.html

Congratulations UNION members for a turn out so large that it made the news wire services. This is the largest turn out for a prison reform hearing by prisoners and their families in the history of California. A clear message that the families of prisoners can organize and that they can respond to calls to action to stand up against those politicians who oppress them, a new day has dawned, but keep on organizing, mobilizing and registering the poor to vote.
 
 
 
  Honorable JudgeThelton E. Henderson
United States District Court
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, California 94102 
 
 Senior District Court Honorable Judge Lawrence K. Karlton (LKK)
501 I Street, Suite. 4-200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 930-4000
Fax: 916-491-3934Dear Honorable Judge Karlton------------------

Make certain that you are writing letters to editors on the violations that the lawmakers are making of the California Constitution which forbids holding people in custody when they cannot provide adequate medical care. Caring starts with you. We will need more people to sit in the audience when the bill goes to the Senate. Sign up in the UNION so you can help with this important work. An 8th grader can do it. You are needed. Billions of education dollars are being wasted on punishing sick people. How ludicrous!
 
 You can see the hearing online of UNION members testimony before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If you have a windows media player in your computer.  It's up now.go to www.calchannel.com click on webcasts, click on archives, enter 050907  (just like that - no slashes or dashes) select Assembly, Select Committee, Select Appropriations, click submit and it will come up on May 9, click watch. Move your slider to 42 minute mark by holding down your mouse  

Notice the lockstep voting of the Repugs.  They have always done this and continue to do it.  No one is safe as long as Repug politicians sit in elected office.

More information on our campaign to support AB 1539 can be found here

http://www.1union1.com/ab1539_index_page.html

Tell the prisoners to send their families because a crowd could be needed as the bills enter their final phases.
 
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How do you make noise? Be prepared to respond to UNION Calls to Action and write to editors. Everyone is hoping and praying that our side is going to find it's own organizing legs soon.

The state runs on voting groups and we outnumber everyone but that doesn't matter if we aren't writing, recruiting, filing lawsuits and initiative campaigns.. All of this oppression is happening because we haven't organized well enough or loudly enough. I made need you to back me up at the Senate level by bringing a crowd to the Sacramento courtroom where the war is located. Sign up for the daily newsletter so you can learn to become an activist for change. Get off the sidelines, writing to editors, recruiting more writers and protesters, getting out the vote is essential to reform! The war is in Sacramento and 90% of winning it is showing up when you're supposed to be there.

http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html

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My past articles which include many sensible prison reform recommendations which would free up tens of thousands of prison cells are located at the following links. I hope you can take them and post them everywhere to THE OTHER VOTERS and mail them into the prisoners. The legislators are in office to service the people who gave them money to get elected, not to service the poor. This is where failure to get out the vote catches up with us.

Rev. Cayenne
 
 

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewByAuthor.asp?authorID=264
 
 

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One powerful organized voting group could demand the closure of 70% of the adult prisons. Failure to organize is costing us our lives and future. It is necessary for us to elect our own people to office as the first step in achieving something like this major feat below. There is no evidence that prisons, jails, juvenile halls, the death penalty, harsh laws, long sentences do one thing to deter crime. 6500 people willing to do a little work can force reform through initiatives, referendums, recalling or electing politicians. Less than that number cannot raise enough funds or make the 150 day signature gathering deadlines.

Please subscribe to the UNION daily newsletter so you can learn how, when, where to become an advocate for change.

http://www.1union1.com/Join_the_UNION.html
 
 

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the UNION media email list is located here - use it to post letters to editors of 150 words or less (use your pen name if you're afraid to speak out but don't neglect to make your voice heard!) Post comments at as many publications as possible.

http://www.1union1.com/union_addresses.html

Our battles are only as effective as the NUMBER OF PEOPLE who write, recruit and bring people to the polls to vote. That means you!
 
 

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UNION CURRENT CALL TO ACTION #2 in effect until April 30, 2007

This is different from our normal Calls to Action because you are objecting to an interim rule created by the now disgraced US Attorney General Gonzales. The rule if passed will affect every sex offender and the one million women and children in California connected to them. Please send it priority mail today or tomorrow in a red, white, blue envelope so we feel like a force on the receiving end. The cut off date is April 30, 2007. Please also post to national level journalists who are currently missing this important change in the law done by a criminal trying to save himself - Gonzales. A sample letter for you to post online to journalists follows the sample letter that goes to David Karp, Senior Counsel. Power of numbers is the only prayer we have of being heard. Just do YOUR share.David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy,Room 4509, Main Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW., Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please reference OAG Docket No. 117 on your correspondence.

You may view an electronic version of this interim rule at Regulations.gov. You may also comment via the Internet to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy (OLP) by e-mail to: olpregs@usdoj.gov or by using the Regulations.gov comment form for this regulation. When submitting comments electronically you must include OAG Docket No. 117 in the subject box.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura L. Rogers, Director, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202 514-4689.

David J. Karp,Senior CounselOffice of Legal Policy, Room 4509Main Justice Building950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530.  Re:  OAG Docket No. 117 Please allow me to voice my grave concern  and opposition for the Interim Rule issued as a result of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) and SORNA by Attoney General Gonzales. This law will allow double jeopardy which is legal only because federal jurisdiction and state jurisdiction are separate. A person can now be punished by both the federal; and state government for the same violation of registration.  Every state has a registry in place and this is certainly a duplicate effort and an excessively expensive and unnecessary law.  A great many people who have moved on with their lives and living law abiding and productive lives will now be re-exposed with the retroactive clause of SORNA.  This is tantamount to the Salem witch hunts only now it is the families of sex offenders who will brought down with this draconian and vindictive law.  This is cruel and unusual punishment, not public safety as SORNA will show places of employment in the Federal Registry which will be an open invitation to the fear mongers and hatemongers to protest their places of work and/or physically attack them.    Posting places of employment in a federal database will stand in the way of any sex offender in California (and the nation)  from being able to earn a living, no matter how minor their crime.  This is completely counterproductive to the goal of reintegrating ex-felons back into society as self supporting, productive citizens.  The Attorney General has said that SORNA's applicability will be to "virtually the entire existing sex offender population".  Clearly the intent is cover "virtually" everyone, but there is no mention about whether Congress specifically limits what he can do.  Why was this left out?   Please consider the effect this will have on the one million women and children attached to a sex offender when they cannot earn a living.  Current laws have forced a group of people to live under a bridge in Florida.  This is an excellent example of how this law will further affect the offenders and their families.  They are unable to work and support their families or themselves  The one time sex offender is lumped together with the violent sexual predator.  In California, there are already laws in effect to handle the truly high risk offender and considering all sex offenders one and the same is simply not right or just.  The tiny fraction of a percentage of sex offenders who are guilty of raping and/or murdering a child are mentally ill and they belong in places of healing.  They are the people who need to be removed from society for the purpose of safety but even this should be done in a much more healing manner, as they are most often severely mentally ill.   More than 90% of sex crimes involving a child occur within families.  No registration, residency restriction or monitoring system will stop these crimes.  This law is targeting an entire group of people and only a fraction of the group would possibly be stopped from a crime.  We are so scared that those people who have been convicted of sex offense will reoffend,  but look at the statistics.  The Department of Justice states that the average rate of recidivism is 5%, one the lowest rates among all felonies.  It is an invented lie that has been perpetrated to the public that sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and that they have a high rate of recidivism. This is simply not true.  Our conservative leaders are constantly preaching about building the family and knocking the liberals for not having stricter morals, but laws such as this are destroying families over mental illness.  It's barbaric, opportunistic and political grandstanding at its worst.  SORNA can be passed as Federal Interim Rule because Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales, whose character is now being assassinated to do so.  All of his initiatives should simply be cancelled.  He has proven not to be trustworthy and everything he has touched is now tainted, including SORNA.  He most likely wrote this rule anticipating he would need the support of fellow Republicans over the firings of the Attorneys.  How can it be a good rule when Conservatives are so hell bent to overpunish the severely mentally ill in order to build political careers and Gonzales so desperately needs their support.  The fact that SORNA touches so many millions of lives in a destructive manner makes it as much, if not more important than the other probes.  In addition, the Attorney General fails to point out anything relative to Sec. 117 (Duty to Notify Sex Offenders of Registration Requirements and to Register) which places a requirement on him (and his office).  Notification is a basic tenet of due process, is it not?  Why was this left out of the Interim Rule?  This is an ill conceived, poorly thought out Rule and I ask that it be struck down before we allow the invented hysteria that has pervaded our country continue to destroy families.  A child is 40 times more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than a sex offender.  Why are these people being ostracized, forced to live in exile and banishment, on the streets of our FREE country?  This is all too reminiscent of the nightmare of Nazi Germany.  That is a frightening state of affairs for our country.  SORNA should be discarded immediately Signature ---------------------- Make your letter  express your view and the impact on your own life or that of people whom you love, do not simply copy my letter word for word.  Where's the focus on prevention and healing of the mentally ill?  There are many issues not mentioned here.  Please copy me on what you wrote Mail in a red, white and blue priority mail envelope by Tuesday night so we feel like an army because we all mailed within 48 hours of one another.  Get your family members to write. I may be changing the above letter since this is just a draft but I wanted you to get started on at least thinking about this and exchanging arguments and ideas since we have 54 California journalists on our UNION newsletter list who are learning this issue as well. ---------------------------------Schwarzenegger and O'Reilly sued and settled for sexual harrassment. Why aren't they in the database? http://www.1union1.com/sexual_harassment.html--------------------------------Sexual assaults committed by youth are a growing concern in this country. Currently, it is estimated that adolescents (ages 13 to 17) account for up to one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all cases of child molestation committed each year (Barbaree, Hudson, and Seto, 1993). In 1995, youth were involved in 15% of all forcible rapes cleared by arrest—approximately 18 adolescents per 100,000 were arrested for forcible rape. In the same year, approximately 16,100 adolescents were arrested for sexual offenses, excluding rape and prostitution (Sickmund, Snyder, Poe-Yamagata, 1997). --------------------------------Treatment for most sex offenders works http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslawtreat.html --------------------------------http://www.anandaanswers.com/pages/naaFalse.html

An alarming national trend:
False Rape Allegations

Eugene J. Kanin, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 
Purdue University

----------------------------------------------- Cayenne, This my SORNA post to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/04/21/testimony-doesnt-help-go_n_46494.html Another important issue needs to be brought into this discussion of justice to all vs. undue loyalty to a few: the Federal Interim Rule that Congress empowered Attorney General Gonzales to write amending SORNA (the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act). This Interim Rule should be challenged for a number of reasons, among them the questionable character of its author whose mission of justice for all has been clearly tainted by his misplaced loyalty and covert lies. Other reasons to challenge SORNA:

SORNA applies to virtually all sex offenders, whereas its intent was to apply to child molesters. Retributive justice on such a broad scale can do little to prevent child molestation. According to Bureau of Justice statistics, more than 90% of child molestation is by someone the child knows well, and child molesters have less than 4% recidivism rate. Ironically, the fear mongering engendered by SORNA promotes vigilantism and thus endangers far more children than it protects. Every child suffers who is connected to a sex offender who is banished and persecuted.

SORNA allows a "legal" form of double jeopardy. A person can be punished under both federal and state law for the same registration violation.

SORNA requires sex offenders to register where they work and go to school, as well as where they live. This invites hate-monger protests, and poses a risk of physical assaults, at workplaces and schools. Posting one's place of employment and education in a sex offender database can undoubtedly hinder a person's efforts to earn a living.

Now, the February 16, 2007, Federal Interim Rule written by Alberto Gonzales would require SORNA registration restrictions to be placed retroactively on "all sex offenders, including sex offenders convicted of the offense for which registration is required prior to the enactment of that Act." People who have become law-biding, productive members of society will be subject to unjust banishment and punishment if this retroactive feature of SORNA is made permanent. SORNA is already unjust to many; it does not need to be retroactive too! Attorney General Gonzales should have to answer to this injustice as well

What we need is more people who understand the legalease wording of these proposed bills, in particular those proposed by Republican legislators at the core of most of our problems. Many bills are going unchallenged which is interpreted by the legislators to mean consent. We also need more people to learn the issues by subscribing to the UNION daily newsletter so there can be attendance at some of these hearings, letters to editors in support or opposition and when necessary, massive rallies at the Capitol which we have done many times over the past decade.

Please take a look at Dr. B. Cayenne Bird's column at the Chronicle for a list of the bills which need to be studied and commented upon then write her at rightor1@yahoo.com because we are surely missing points with so much happening at once and not enough qualified volunteers who actually understand the trainwrecks coming if these pass. Lives are at stake and your work is needed. Get active now, everyone can get a pen name and write 7 sentence letters to editors and show up three or four times a year on some of the campaigns or they can send someone. The people with no group are the ones who go to prison in California. Groups run the legislature, large, funded groups that have a million dollars in their treasury at least because that's what is needed to do referendums, initiatives, or recalls. No muscle means no reform is possible. Get active and do something about your problems as there are no rescuers and no way to win without lawsuits, referendums and initiative campaigns. This can be done if enough people help. Takes a little work.

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Our eight year campaign against medical neglect in California's prisons and jails has been very successful. Support for our wrongful death and medical neglect lawsuits still in progress is still very important since their outcomes will affect every California prisoner. The Mark Grangetto medical neglect lawsuit is coming to court in Hanford this summer and we will need to overflow the courtroom to show that people do care about prisoners! By attending and bringing people to the hearing, you will help make a strong point that medical neglect of any prisoner is unacceptable to we the voters of California. We won't know about the trial date until the very last minute so make certain you are subscribed to the UNION Daily Newsletter via email and have ten people lined up to come with you.

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Are you posting comments beneath prison reform articles and writing to editors short 7 to 10 sentence reactions to what they're writing in the news? We elaborate on the issues in the daily UNION newsletter but you can find plenty of places to help educate the public on prison issues that appear almost daily in the Sacramento Bee, North County Times, California Progress Report Be interactive if you want to see reform as silence is consent. When you aren't writing and attending protests, everyone assumes that you are happy with the status quo. We have a great media email list online for you to use (select, copy, paste)
 

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This is special area of our website that we have set up to rail against Prop 83 Jessica's Law. One million women and children are in danger of becoming homeless and banned from society and not one child will be saved by this most unconstitutional law. Read the stories of real California families affected and get the facts.
 

http://www.1union1.com/Jessicaslaw...Noway.htm

If you would like to be one of the 6500 workers to help me bring about criminal justice reform, better conditions in prisons and jails and help for the families of prisoners, please join our UNION.  We always need help with our website updates, researchers, letter writers, protesters, people to give rides when we have a call to action to attend an important hearing on protest. We also need clerical assistance filing and answering mail in Sacramento as the pleas for help number in the thousands. We could always use supplies, paper, postage, ink cartridges, the state runs on groups, if you don't have a big one, you can't elect people to office who will represent you. Your participation in this process is necessary as the power of numbers is the only solution.

there is an audio you can listen to at this link

Join the UNION

Rev. B. Cayenne Bird

rightor1@yahoo.com

United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect

www.1union1.com

 Writing, protesting, recruiting more workers, getting out the vote, that's what real patriots do when their chains become too heavy. We never have enough volunteers in action which is why the problems still exist. You can do something about this needless suffering when you work in a group. There are 3 million people attached to a state prisoner but until they are properly organized, funding themselves and getting out the vote, the numbers won't count and we will be stymied in our work to file more lawsuits and do more initiative campaigns. 6500 workers can change any law, elect or recall any politician, will you be one who takes action in the UNION?

Ms. Anne Sheehan
State Personnel Board
801 Capitol Mall, MS #22
P. O Box 944201
Sacramento, CA 94244-2010

Other complaint information is located on this page link

Author:  Dr. B. Cayenne Bird
Bio: Dr. B. Cayenne Bird
Date:  October 4, 2006

Email article link to friend(s) - 

The protest will begin at 8 a.m. and run until 1 p.m.  I have the permit in hand. 

Inmates are missing the point that it is their families - not themselves - who have the power of the vote and musst be ACTIVE with our calls to action if reform is ever going to happen.  This will have press coverage this week, but we must prepare to create the necessary crowd so that it has EXTENSIVE press coverage and those at the top, including DAVIS, can see that we mean business. Mail this inside to five inmates, I have addresses if you don't.  It is a crisis, there will be even more bloodshed if we don't ACT now.  We must get the word inside before more riots happen.  Everyone support our U.N.I.O.N. and find ten who care enough about their loved ones to picket soon.  We must cover this and cover this well or sit and suffer in our stupid silence.
 

U.N.I.O.N. Grievances/Proposed Solutions

Mr. Robert Presley, Secretary
California Adult and Youth Correction Agency
Sacramento, CA
Dear Mr. Presley:

Because you are the executive at the top reporting directly to Governor Gray Davis, the man he appointed as Secretary of the Agency for Adult and Youth Corrections, the Senate Rules Committee has made it clear that our grievances can only be settled by you. We've been told that what happens inside California prisons is ultimately your responsibility. I have prepared this letter for the special Warden meeting you've called which proposes solutions and our collective serious objections and capabilities.

For the wardens who have yet to meet us, here's a little history. Over the past five years, we have united in a statewide communication system and daily newsletter to report to California media and legislators the tragic fiscal and human loss happening in voter-financed penal institutions. As you know, our action system is called United for No Injustice, Oppression, or Neglect (U.N.I.O.N.) We consist of a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system from arrest through parole. Additionally, thirty six publishers and journalists subscribe to the newsletter and consider it a very reliable news source in California for what is really happening behind the walls.

We have 6,000 subscribers to the newsletter who are inmate families, groups, lawyers, authors, legislators and other alarmed citizens. Many are in the helping professions. We have been focused on building a voting lobby large enough to change any law or recall any politician through the initiative process. We are pastors of large congregations, priests, social workers, public defenders, civil and defense lawyers, educators, physicians and nurses - humanitarian organization leaders, families of inmates from every imaginable occupation. Somehow the arrests crossed over into the middle and upper middle class. It isn't just family members of the poor and uneducated that you have caged. We know the formula for successful organizing and each and every U.N.I.O.N. subscriber is committed to reach our goals for reform through ACTION.

I should also mention that our U.N.I.O.N. coalition gathered 66,000 signatures even after coming in at the last minute to the Amend Three Strikes petition campaign this past summer.

The point is that we are intelligent and we do know how to organize, write letters to editors and author stinging books. We are skilled at giving speeches and appearing on television and radio. We know how to draw crowds and picket to draw attention to injustice and inhumane treatment of U.S. citizens mistreated daily in California's prisons and jails. We know how to organize initiative campaigns and recalls and are experts in how to deal with onerous bullies and thugs. We do not operate from a position of fear.

During the past five years, we have brought to everyone's attention in CDC and the legislature thousands of instances of unbearable incompetence which result in needless suffering and dying and lawsuits costing taxpayers millions, if not billions of dollars which could better be used to actually rehabilitate and/or to prevent crime from ever happening.

For awhile it seemed that conditions were improving. Admittedly it required a legal settlement of $123 million per year in additional inmate medical care to make the point that abusing and medically neglecting peoples' family members is unacceptable. Not to mention virtually thousands of inches of articles and letters to editors so that the voters could see what they were buying with their tax money. We have learned that just asking nicely without noise making and activism doesn't work.

We have witnessed some improvements but they are so minuscule in proportion to the size of the problems that we are compelled to take a stronger stand against practices that you and the lawmakers accept as business as usual.

I have detailed the preceding so that it is clear we have the numbers, the education and the ability to fight back in a meaningful manner which all of the Wardens and rogue CCPOA members need to fully comprehend.

Our eyes and ears are everywhere, inside every jail, every prison and every juvenile detention facility. We cannot be deceived with public relations cover ups, lied to, or convinced that we shouldn't put an end to this needless suffering and dying. We're here to stay and we're growing daily with ACTIVE WORKERS who are not afraid to fight back for the safety and well being of their loved ones.

That said, we can either engage in an all-out battle where we outnumber all of you, since there are at least three million people hurt, or you can accept that we are dead serious about the following items and set about to make changes. We're way past being merely fed up. This is what we want to see NOW, not six months or years from now - but NOW! We've been waltzing with concepts and empty promises for five years. It is past the time for us to actually see these reforms take effect.

  1. This fact is foremost. There are too many people in prison. Conveyor belt laws such as Three Strikes need to be eliminated and non-violent offenders need to be released. Such conditions endanger the public safety as people are just becoming sicker due to inhumane treatment. There are many forms of alternative sentencing at the court level. While it may be CDC's job to warehouse human beings sent to them by the court, some administrator needs to exhibit the courage to say "HALT! We have too many people in custody and we're not going to accept anymore non-violent inmates because we cannot properly care for them within the current budgets." Anyone who buys into this mistreatment by continuing to accept non-violent inmates is just as guilty of crimes against humanity as Gray Davis.

2. The mentally ill only become distraught and depressed in the hostile environment of prisons and jails. Careless double celling of 18,000 mentally ill inmates with light offenders is causing murder and mayhem, and unnecessary lockdowns.

A. Special, accommodations such as hospitals should be provided for the mentally ill so that they can be healed instead of psychologically intimidated, victimized, robbed, raped and physically tortured or murdered in vicious prison and jail settings. Retribution style justice makes "custody" the opposite of "healing." The current methods are not a solution to crime and the mentally ill should not be punished, nor should innocents be exposed to their demented disorders.

B. The mentally ill are never going to be able to follow "rules" - that's what distinguishes them as "mentally ill." Mentally ill inmates have no business in prison at all. End the practice of using pepper spray on the mentally ill to get them to come inside from the walk alone cages.

3. The practice of continuous lockdown in whatever form, whether it is "modified programming", "full lockdown" or "fog alerts" that last all day needs to end. Putting two men in a cell the size of a bathroom for days, hours and weeks on end is just wrong. Guards are made more vulnerable to violence when people are so severely mistreated. Here's what we know about a better way to handle people who need more help than anyone else in prison - young gang members. These mostly young people might also be tremendously mentally ill, or they may be under-educated. The power struggle doesn't work to help them to recover. Medical and psychological tests should be administered on every prisoner when they are committed and then routinely conducted every year afterward.

. a. Never mix three gangs on the same yard. NEVER.

b. Southern and Northern Hispanics shouldn't even be at the same prison, let alone the same yard.

1. Whites and Southern Hispanics can live fairly well together.

2. Blacks and Northern Hispanics can live fairly well together.

3. Blacks and Whites are also fairly compatible.

4. Eliminate any combinations of THREE races or gangs on any one prison yard which is something that most CDC administrators already know. Provoked riots is a way that CCPOA justifies itself to the public but we're wise to this game and we're not going to stand for it any longer. Two compatible races/gangs on each yard will GREATLY reduce violence. This is only common sense.

c. Hold only the people responsible for disturbances accountable instead of blanket punishment lockdown for thousands of men.

The mental breakdown from isolation and continuous lockdown is severe and there is no real treatment, except to offer mind-numbing drugs instead of stimulation of the mind by educational opportunities, some sun and exercise in good air.  This should be done in compatible small groups. Military studies show that group punishment and isolation simply do not work.

Guard overtime is costing the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars according to the Legislative Analyst. It shouldn't require weeks on end to search the cells looking for contraband. We believe this is an inhumane ploy mostly designed to benefit the guards. It is unacceptable to us that this continue.

*********

Psychological intimidation, limited access to legal libraries, interference with mail and packages and retribution for filing complaints against Guards are unacceptable to the people of the U.N.I.O.N.

We believe that prison guards intentionally create lockdowns by provoking through psychological intimidation temper outbursts from men who are already emotionally broken people. We have reports of social gatherings, pot lucks, training meetings and other guard fun going on while inmates are cruelly caged for hours, days, months and years.

Often, the guards believe they are above the law and want to justify their jobs and overtime to the voters. They get bored with routine and tranquility. Many have retribution-style training and enter this occupation with only a high school education to live out a "wanna-be" cop fantasy. Some are fearful that the inmates they kick around and psychologically torture with constant cell searches, destroying pictures and legal material, and a thousand other taunts might fight back with physical violence. They go to great lengths to create lockdowns over minor situations such as a cell phone found or a plastic cafeteria tray missing. We're not referring to one or two days but months, years and excessive punishments which gives the inmates no quality of life.

Individual wardens and their employees are making up the rules as they go along, completely disregarding the inmate's Title 15 and D.O.M. which should be used as the final authority. The "system" is out of control and the inmates have nowhere to turn for help. The media is banned, the guards exercise retribution if they file a 602 or a lawsuit. Medical care is withheld as a "punishment" for months and years on end if inmates even dare to speak out. CDC MUST enforce these two sections of the penal code and provide serious consequences to Wardens and Guards who deviate from your own rules.

Penal Code §147. Every officer who is guilty of willful inhumanity or oppression toward any prisoner under his care or in his custody, is punishable by fine not exceeding four thousand dollars ($4,000), and by removal from office.

Penal Code §149 Every public officer who, under color of authority, with out lawful necessity, assaults or beats any person, is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars. ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

We believe that administrators should have no less than a Master's Degree in criminology and that guards should have a minimum AA degree which includes basic CPR and some courses in teaching and social work. Everyone would be better off if you sent the bar bouncer types back onto the streets and hired someone besides the present bullies and thugs.

********

Food

The new heart healthy diet is causing needless hunger among inmates. This diet might be practical for people who can eat anytime they want since carbohydrates are known to burn up quickly. But for inmates who are given three eating periods with one of those consisting only of a cold, mystery meat sandwich at lunch, the hunger is intolerable. Mystery meat full of sodium and nitrates is not heart healthy.

We want real meat back on the menus because protein is more filling and nutritious. The word protein is Greek for "first importance" because every function of the human body depends on adequate amounts of PROTEIN. For those people who want protein alternatives to meat due to religious reasons and/or special diets, we support that position too.

The majority of the inmates want REAL poultry, beef, pork, chicken, fish and decent quantities food so that they are not continually suffering symptoms of starvation.

Some people do not metabolize carbohydrates well at all and this creates a medical condition known as hyperinsulinism, written about extensively by Dr. George Atkins whose 30 year studies (and 10 million books sold) are widely used by thousands of American physicians. A carbohydrate-based diet creates a pre-diabetic condition which ultimately develops into diabetes for many people.

Inmates are human beings and deserve fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and starches in greater quantity and quality served in a SANITARY manner. God help the thousands of inmates who do not have family to send them money for canteen so they can pay exorbitant prices for junk food to stave off the hunger pangs. It's outrageous and very likely contributing to the present violence throughout the prison system.

Blood sugar regulation is different for everyone and when it gets low or is deprived or shockingly contaminated, nothing but chaos will result. The heartbreak of families witnessing their loved ones underfed is unnecessary. As you know, we UNION people have a way of turning heartbreak into lawsuits. Cutting food will no longer be a cost-savings. We will name individuals responsible for this insanity in lawsuits from the lowest aid to the top callous legislators who sit idly allowing this great abuse. It's a promise we can and we will keep! Cease the heart healthy starvation diet immediately.

***************

We believe that many jail suicides are either homicides or caused by extreme psychological intimidation. Jailers should be neutral instead of voicing degrading opinions to people who may not even be guilty. It seems that there is no justice in the courts and that the prisons are filled with innocent and/or mentally ill people who deserve to be treated with more respect. Our files are full of abuse at all 33 prisons, all the jails and all the juvenile detention facilities.

This all comes back to a testosterone-driven revenge mentality which endangers guards, inmates and the public. This red-neck attitude may be rooted in tradition but this is the year 2002. Restorative justice techniques will stop the never-ending cycle of revenge. Murders, beatings, injustice in CDC's kangaroo courts are causing a strong reaction from people who are already downtrodden and hopeless. Not one U.N.I.O.N. subscriber has any trust whatsoever in our criminal justice system. That's because it is totally corrupt and ineffective. Instead of cutting back on fair trial expenditures, we should be increasing budgets in this area. Ultimately, the taxpayers pay dearly for what is meted out in the name of justice. People begin to take the law into their own hands - both inside the prisons and in the neighborhoods. A little street sense would go a long way toward reducing violence. We want the degradation of our loved ones to stop.

Conditions where 600 men are living in a gym at Mule Creek prison with exposed pipes and bunk beds stacked three high are just as cruel as continuous lockdowns. For ten toilets shared by 600 men to be spaced 12" apart and offer no privacy dividers is an affront to common decency. Human waste on the walls, floors, poisoned water supplies, filthy kitchens and showers endangers the public safety since there are highly contagious diseases such as Hepatitis and Tuberculosis to name a couple which can be transmitted to families.

Clean up ALL the hellholes to reduce the costs of rampant disease. California prisons are on a par with those in Tijuana and are an international disgrace. We've had it on this point! When did it become acceptable for a minor violation to result in a deadly disease due to administrative callousness and ignorance? You are not dealing with herds of livestock, these are the loved ones of California's voters. Many are veterans. Many are simply addicts who need rehabilitation, or geriatric seniors who are well past the point where they are a threat to society. Too many are even innocent or over-sentenced. We are dead serious on this point - clean it up or we'll clean you out through the power of the vote.

**************

Visiting is inexpensive therapy and gives hopeless men and women a reason to live. Yet even after we testified on March 8 by scores we are still experiencing intimidation of families who attempt to visit.

We know that the legislators failed California when it violated our State Constitution by ending all visits in 1997. But the people of the UNION also know very well how to bring 6500 people together to raise money for lawsuits and initiative campaigns. We are not morons incapable of collecting 200 signatures each to change any law, recall any politician or file a class action lawsuit. If rehabilitation, education and healing are the goals then visiting must be viewed in a completely different light. The families of prisoners are innocent victims and to mistreat devastated people is not only cruel and unusual, but certain to bring about violence in the institutions and neighborhoods. It's a downright stupid action. Overnight family visits should be restored and used as a reward system. This would certainly give incentive to rehabilitate.

We have posted at our website a complaint submitted against Mule Creek Prison which details 22 pages of problems. It was composed by 87 inmates. At least 90% of the problems described in this document apply at all prisons, jails and juvenile detention facilities in California. There are many proposed solutions in that document as well. We have it posted online at this website address:

http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/mulecreek.htm

Our general website address containing a collection of our published articles, campaigns and subscriber complaints, as well as informative studies and books authored by our subscribers can be found here.

http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/index.htm

The human bondage industry cannot continue to operate in its present manner without a tremendous response from the families connected to hundreds of thousands of people victimized by these inhumane practices and failure to adhere to laws. Enough said.

Most sincerely,

B. Cayenne Bird, Journalist
Volunteer Director
U.N.I.O.N.

Back to the Lockdown Index

http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/lockdown_index.htm

Select, copy, open a new email, paste this appeal to a new email. Let's alert the clergy in California only. Please contact five churches and ask everyone you know to do the same. Fax, email, snail mail, deliver this letter to at least five members priests, pastors.

Good Christians will be happy to hear from you. Make certain that you too have written a 200 word letter to the editor re the visiting threat. Reach out for help. Stand up for visits. We must garner support now. Lives depend on it. 

To Beloved Friends and Fellow Laborers: 

March 20, 2002 

Greetings: 

As brothers and sisters in Christ we are commanded to love one another and to continue loving one another. That includes remembering people in prisons and hospitals who are suffering. We are to remember them as if we were suffering with them. Prisoners need to be visited, as they are often solitary and forsaken by the rest of the world. And, as our Lord instructed, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40). 

We have an urgent situation in our state. California Department of Corrections is planning to change, restrict and add to the already harsh regulations governing prison visits. In some cases it will even halt the ability of clergy, friends, and family to reach these people. 

Inmates in the cruel Security Housing Units will be restricted to short visits from blood relatives only. 

Certain drug convictions will forbid visits for a year. This is an intolerable situation! Indeed, it goes contrary to all that has been asked of us in the Bible and that we have been commanded to do. We believe the true intent is that Gray Davis needs to make a budget cut. He has selected the poorest, least organized, weakest voting group of mostly grandmothers, wives, and little children in a move that will ultimately endanger public safety. 

In order to help as quickly as possible, we need for you to contact the people in your congregation to let them know what is happening. Additionally, we have asked everyone to write to their newspapers (letters-to-the-editor) explaining the importance of such visits to the prisoner mental and spiritual well-being. This is not a political issue but rather a situation whereby the clergy will be forbidden to carry out their responsibility to minister to those in need. 

Reluctantly, we may also need to file a lawsuit against the state to correct matters and should we reach that point, we will urge you to join us in our efforts. Our organization is very poor since many of our members are families of prisoners, but we have heart and will try to stand up to this oppression. We will need help with funds and volunteers from all over the State. 

We were able to find a lawyer who would work on contingency for two prisoners who were abused. Eddie Dillard was raped at Corcoran after the guards put him in the cell of a predatory rapist (Booty Bandit) on purpose. Stephanie Hardie was a young mother sentenced to ten years in prison for overdrawing her own checking account. She died needlessly at Chowchilla Prison due to medical neglect at a young age and left two young children behind. These hearings will be coming up soon and their outcome affects the safety of every California inmate. We need people to know and write about these two cases as well. It would be good to fill the courtrooms during the hearings in Fresno which are coming up. 

Visiting was simply deleted in 1996 by the Legislature. The UNION did not exist at that time and the advocates missed it. The Legislators failed to uphold their oaths to defend the California Constitution. Visiting is now considered a "privilege" and not a "right." People will surely die over this travesty which violates the rights of the families. Unreasonable search and seizure, pursuit of happiness, and more are but a few of the rights in jeopardy. 

As long as the law is in place, the threat will be over us. But it would take 6500 people cooperating to change the law. You can see by the hardship that is happening in the campaign to end the three strikes law that families of prisoners do not know how to do this work. They are emotionally and financially devastated and do not know how to organize a voting group of the proportion needed. 

So we need to cry out to fellow Christians for help since millions of people will be adversely impacted. 

I give thanks to God always for all of you and what you are doing in His name. As I close this message, I would like to echo the words of the Apostle Paul, "Grace to you and peace from God." What better way to remember Christ, who was a felon, at Easter. Please contact me with your pledge to help those who most need it - the innocent victims of crime who are families of prisoners. We have a daily online newsletter which reports on criminal justice and human rights which you may subscribe to in order to stay current. 

In truth and love, 

B. Cayenne Bird, Journalist 
Volunteer Director, U.N.I.O.N. (United for No Injustice or Neglect) 
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/advice.htm 
rightor1@aol.com 
P.O. Box 22765 
Sacramento, Ca. 95822 

For more information on this subject please go to these sites. Index is on first page 

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2398/visiting_regulations.htm 

Text of Visiting Regulations 

Letter written by UNION Director B. Cayenne Bird to CDC containing more details of visiting threat 

Los Angeles Times Commentary - Don't Cut Off Prisoners From Their Families 

Letters to CDC About Visiting 

1996 Senate Bill 2601 (deleted visits in 1996) 

Inmates' families rip rules proposal 

Harsh new rules threaten public safety 

U.N.I.O.N. HOME 

-------- 

hundreds of letters should be sent to editors and news directors throughout California to show we are upset. Here are some sample letters. 

Dear Editor: 

Friday, March 8th, an important hearing took place in Sacramento which most people probably don't know about. And yet it was well- and emotionally-attended by those who did know. The California Department of Corrections held it to air proposed changes to visiting rules in our 33 state prisons, changes which are rather onerous. 

Of course, if you are one of our 160,000 prisoners or one of their presumably 800,000 family members, you care about visiting rules. But the truth is that if you are any citizen in the state of California you should care because the vast majority of prisoners will parole and there is precious little else in their prison experience besides family contact that may help them exit prison a whole, non-repeat offender. 

Prison is...well, prison--total loss of freedom, exposure to gangs, drug availability, insanity, brutality, sexual abuse, antagonistic guards. For ten years now the mind-set of our Governors has been to reduce educational and self-help opportunities. A troubled person commits a crime, gets sentenced, and several years later exits a whole person? Highly unlikely, unless something makes a difference in his/her life, and the best hope of that is family support and visiting. 

The CDC, rather than making visiting more difficult and stressful, should be bending over backwards to make use of the thousands of free "therapists"--family members--whose unsolicited efforts can make life inside and outside the prison more stable and safe. 

Deborah D. J... 

opinion@sacbee.com, letters@latimes.com 

Dear Editor: 

The people in charge of state prisons in California (CDC) would have you believe that 1% of the drugs in prison come in through the Correctional Officers. That must be based on the opinion that they don't need the money since they just got a whopping 25% raise from the Governor (who's union is Davis' biggest campaign contributor). But with drugs inside going for 10 times the street price, don't bet on it. 

CDC has visitors to the inmates passing the contraband. Oddly enough, the visitors are screened, the visits are monitored, and after the visit the inmates are strip searched. Now just who is kidding who? 

Maybe funding a drug rehab program upon entry to prison would do more for the citizens of the state than fattening the CO's wallets would. 

Bob D 

------------- 

Letters must be faxed in to become part of the legal records by 5 p.m. March 8, 2002. Letters to editors on this topic are also greatly needed. We expect inactive people to do the crowd generation on this as UNION volunteers are very over-extended right now on matters of equal importance. 

We are against proposed changes to the Director's Rules #02/03 

Regarding: Visiting Rules 

 We, the 5000 humanitarian groups and individuals of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect, strongly oppose the proposed changes to the Title 15, Visiting Rules for California State Prisons 

The public comment period will close March 8, 2002 at 5:00 p.m. Any person may submit public comments in writing (by mail, or by fax) regarding the proposed changes. To be considered by the Department, comments must be submitted to the Department of Corrections, Regulation and Policy Management Branch, P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001; by fax at (916)322-3842;before the close of the comment period. The email which was previously advertised to accept comments was shut down. 

 Faxing is best. Follow up by snail-mailing your letters. Write your own letter in your own words. The letter below should give you plenty of ideas. It is a sample only. Limit yours to one page. Explain how the regulation offends or inconveniences you in any way. Try not to curse. 

 Writing letters to the editor is very important. If the press misses this one, CDC will get away with it completely. Do not exceed 200 words. The email list is posted here. If hundreds of letters don't arrive objecting to these changes, the media will assume everyone is happy with them and you will suffer forever. 

 Media addresses

 B. Cayenne Bird 

 Director, UNION 
P.O. Box 22765 
Sacramento, Ca. 95822 

March 2, 2002 
 
 

Rick Grenz, Chief, 
Regulation and Policy Management Branch 
Department of Corrections 
P.O. Box 942883 
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001 
 

Dear Mr. Grenz: 

We are against proposed changes to the Director's Rules #02/03 . We, the 5000 humanitarian groups and individuals of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect, strongly oppose the proposed changes to the Title 15, Visiting Rules for California State Prisons 

In times of a budget crisis it is easiest to cut services to prisoners and their families because they do not have a large enough funded voting group with which to defend themselves or their loved ones. If they did, such oppressive, dramatic visiting regulation proposals wouldn't dare be issued. Our group the UNION is the nearest resemblance to a citizen's group to fill this role. Here are our comments and objections to the Proposed Visiting Regulations. 

Those who participate in locking people in cages have a responsibility to do the right thing for the poorest of the poor. It may not be found in a manual written by power-hungry men, but it is found in the Bible. 

Christ himself was a felon. He had a particular softness toward those who through mental illness, duress or just wrong decisions ended up in prison. He instructed us to view prisoners as if they were Christ himself. I already know that people who use pepper spray to bring mentally ill inmates in from the outdoor cages cannot be appealed to through compassion. 

The UNION questions whether CDC has the authority to alter the regulations since visiting is not a privilege as stated in the beginning paragraphs.  Visiting is a right according to the California Constitution. Visiting has been used for punishment, for psychological torture and mind control techniques. This is a violation of California 
Constitution, Article 1, §7 (b), where no distinction between classes of citizens is made, including prisoners who are being punished for some violation. 

"A citizen or class of citizens may not be granted privileges or immunities not granted on the same terms to all citizens. Privileges or immunities granted by the Legislature may be altered or revoked."  California Constitution, Article 1, §7 (b). "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them." 

Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 US 436, The use of visitation as punishment is cruel and unusual, as receiving mail and visitors are the only thing that prisoners receive to keep them sane, in touch with family and friends, which contacts are needed when they are released at some future date. Rights are something that cannot be taken away from us. 

We are aware that the government through the legislative process likes to turn rights into privileges, but privileges can be tampered with, changed at the whim of a bureaucrat who has no authority to make these kind of decisions. Privileges can be tightly regulated and, with little justification, taken away where "Rights" present greater obstacles to abuse. We would request that the sentence at the start of the regulations "Visiting is not a privilege," be removed from the new regulations that are proposed. 
 

The regulations parrot the general attitude at all California's prisons that the families are criminals who deserve to have their rights Constitutionally violated. All the regulations, in one form or another violate the Fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, the Fifth amendment right to remain silent, denial of equal protection of the laws, the right to due process. 
 

These regulations appear to have two underlying purposes. To give California prisons carte blanche to violate rights of visitors, prisoners, attorneys and anybody else they want to investigate. The regs give the employees arbitrary and capricious powers to deny anyone privileges, who doesn't "toe the line" or violates some hidden rule or regulation unknown to the outside. I guess I am just old fashioned, but I thought the Bill of Rights meant something. 
I guess they are null and void in the prisons of California. 
 

They may be the weakest, poorest-of-the-poor citizens in California. But to deprive, punish, intimidate and BULLY families in this manner who already stressed to the maximum is just morally wrong. They are the innocent victims of crime, not trash. When inmates see or hear that their family members were abused during visits, it creates great emotional trauma. This results in bad feelings towards the guards and does not help the inmates heal. It leaves the families traumatized. 

The goal should be to rehabilitate, educate and return inmates back to their communities in much better condition than before they were incarcerated. This attitude is far more conducive to ensuring the public safety than the present approach to give guards with only a high school education encouragement to degrade people who are already financially and emotionally devastated. 

The State of California insists that it wants people to hold jobs and be productive, tax-paying citizens so that they can earn money to pay for the bureaucracy. Causing them inconvenience and mental duress during visiting, requiring young children to have legal I.D. cards, timing the length of a hug or a kiss to 5 seconds has no practicality.1) 3175 (e) Limiting the greeting and goodbye hug and/or kiss to a maximum of five seconds. 
This sort of over-policing costs not only in terms of the expense of wasted motion but in human terms as well. The taxpayers of California should not need to pay for inmates, their wives and children to be psychologically intimidated, forced to stand in long DMV or prison visiting room lines, missing days of work and creating mountains of unnecessary paperwork. 

CDC whines constantly and wastes money, makes excuses for medical neglect claiming that there are staff shortages, yet proposes to worsen that situation with 3172 (b) Requiring CDC106 Applications for all persons, including minors. 

What's a DOJ or CLETS search on a child supposed to accomplish except maybe "marking" that child for life in your database? Will you ever get a report stating "This seven year old has a record of drug smuggling and aggravated assault." The answer can only be NO, so what is the real purpose of such a reg? We want this one deleted entirely and suggest 14 years of age to be more reasonable. 

3175 (f) Disallowing children seven years and older from sitting on a male inmate's lap. 
This assumes all inmates are pedophiles when in fact, the percentage is very low. There are already adequate regulations concerning sex offenders. Most children by nature cling to their fathers on the infrequent times they can visit. 

This type of guard interference might result in permanent scarring of the child involved. It sends a message that love is bad and emotional distance is good. This is not the message we need to send to children who are already confused about why their dads have men/women with guns standing by ready to shoot. The prison environment is a frightening place for adults, let alone children. What possible abuses have brought about this idea? There is little opportunity for lawbreaking in a visiting room as it is since they are heavily guarded. 

4) 3170.1 (c)Disallowing non-family members from visiting SHU inmates 

The regulation that prohibits only family members to visit inmates in cruel solitary confinement (Security Housing Units SHU) does not consider that a large percentage of inmates have no family. They are in fact, former foster children in many instances who have never had much love or nurturing. 

Putting someone in isolation is an inhumane act of violence designed to break their spirit and causes extreme mental illness. To prohibit visitors to the SHU who are not family members will mean in many instances that there will be no visitors forever to thousands of isolated prisoners. 

Christ commanded that EVERYONE, family members or not, visit those in prisons and hospitals regularly to facilitate their healing. The current laws violate one of the most basic premises of Christianity by blocking the public from doing their required service to humanity. There can be no motivation here that is understandable or acceptable. Not legally; not morally this practice is nothing less than an outrage. Isn't the real intent here to block priests, preachers, advocates from inmate contact so that they cannot report back to the media on the horrors of the SHU? 

3171 (1) (d) Disallowing new inmates convicted of drug charges from having contact visits for their first year. 

In addition to invoking cruel and unusual punishment on both inmates and family members, this is a highly prejudicial regulation implying that only drug addicts or accomplices would visit an inmate convicted of drug use. The media has reported many abuses of guards supplying inmates with drugs and very few incidences of families bringing in drugs. 

One of the comforting factors to anyone who has lost a family member to prison for this reason might be that drug dependency problems would at least be eliminated during incarceration. The family often hopes that with their continued love and support and rehabilitation programs, if they existed, the inmate might emerge from prison drug-free. 

Is the purpose of this regulation to psychologically torment and alienate recovering addicts and their families? The treatment practices in Betty Ford Center for example include the families. This proposed reg defies modern mental health procedures at every turn. They were sent to prison as punishment, not FOR mental cruelty. Often addicts are fathers and husbands. A year of separation is an unreasonable time frame and we recommend you strike this one entirely. Childhood friends, fiancées, foster parents would all be prohibited from visiting prisoners who desperately need social contact and support for survival. Mental breakdown will worsen and it is already at shameful levels. 
Families of prisoners are not to be judged as criminals. The rule that does not allow former inmates already covers any potential problem well enough. The search process is thorough for families but not for guards. We would suggest cavity searches for all guards before and after each shift as more of a solution to this problem. 

3179. Appeals Relating to Visiting 

The UNION has some recourse against accusations of misconduct or erroneous interpretations of rules and regulations by CDC Visiting Staff. Those who are not part of our coalition that includes tens of thousands of families are caused to suffer during the months of waiting for written replies from Wardens and the Director's office to remedy the situation. 

The Inspector General's office is far too busy to have their precious time spent on thousands of these type of complaints, yet they are important to the healing and rehabilitative process. The more rules imposed, the greater resulting complaints and problems since most of the Guards are on power trips and abuse their authority. 
These regs general violate rights, spew hate and help no one. They do a great deal to harm relationships and to further damage the most vulnerable members of our society; the innocent victims of crime who are the families and children of prisoners. 

Sincerely, 
 

B. Cayenne Bird 
UNION Director 
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/home.html
rightor1@aol.com
 

 Date and Time: March 8, 2002, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

 Place: Department of Water Resources Auditorium 

 1416 Ninth Street 

 Sacramento, CA 95814 

 Purpose: To receive comments about this action. 

Volunteers are needed to attend three important hearings coming up soon. 

 Stephanie Hardie, Chowchilla prison wrongful death medical neglect case 

 Eddie Dillard (Booty Bandit) civil suit against the guards 

 Both of these trials are being held in Central California 

 Lawyers who will accept pro bono or contingency cases are desperately needed. Also, students and other volunteers who will assist with criminal cases can make a difference here. Email rightor1@aol.com. Spread the word 
 
 

Jim Shook, a veteran in prison for a minor crime needs a liver transplant. Transplants are denied to all prisoners. A minor crime shouldn't result in a death sentence. To benefit all prisoners needing a transplant, we ask that you circulate the flyer on this webpage to at least TEN Veteran's groups and churches. Christ would never condone this cruelty, Jim's family is devastated. We are all there is to help. Click on the red web address and when you get to the site, hit your print button. Then send the flyer everywhere 

 http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/Shooktransplant.htm

 The medical crisis is full blown now with 39 inmates dead in one month statewide. Six of those deaths occurred at Chowchilla and and six at CMF Vacaville. 

 The UNION is the only way that the journalists and attorney who have surfaced can get the news out to the public. We need everyone's help in locating family members of the 39 inmates who died statewide Nov. 1 through Dec. 12 so that we may determine circumstances. 

 We are supplying 31 news agencies, especially the Los Angeles Times with the information as it breaks. Reporters are banned from the prisons, so everyone's help is needed in bringing the people involved together. 

 Volunteers are also needed for research as we need it, filing, preparation of other cases for national television news coverage, and we may end up picketing. 

 This affects everyone with a loved one inside. Everybody pitch in 

 rightor1@aol.com 
B. Cayenne Bird 
P.O. Box 22765 
Sacramento, Ca. 95822 

A letter like this needs to be FAXED to Gov Gray Davis and a PHONE CALL placed so that we make incredible noise and put an end to the harassment of witnesses to the prison deaths. Only hundreds of calls get attention. 

 February 8, 2001 

 Gov. Gray Davis 
Sate Capitol, 
Sacramento, CA 95814 
Fax: 916-445-4633 
Subject: Mistreatment of Chowchilla Witnesses 
Letter to the Editor: 

This letter is about several inmates who witnessed several deaths that occurred at the Chowchilla Women's Facility and other Correction Facilities within the State of California between November 1 and December 12, 2000. 

 Currently, there are several witnesses at the Chowchilla Women's Facility who are being harassed and threatened due to their testimonies regarding the deaths that occurred at the Chowchilla facility. This type of inhumane retaliation needs to be investigated and stopped before more inmates are lost to untimely deaths. 

 The media and our Legislators are not being fair to the California taxpayers when they refuse to acknowledge these witnesses and ignore their cries for help. The public has a right to know what is going on in our Prisons. If inmates (witnesses) continue to suffer mental and physical abuse at the hands of the CDC, this will only lead to more lawsuits - at the taxpayer's expense. 

 A concerned citizen, 

 Donna H. 
Chula Vista, CA 

 Make your own letter on the topic of mistreatment of Chowchilla inmate witnesses and fax it here. Also, call your local legislators and let them know that you as a voter resent this abuse and would like to see some bills going forward for prisoners 

 Gov. Gray Davis, 
State Capitol, 
Sacramento, Ca. 95814. 
Sacramento Phone: 916-445-2841 FAX: 916-445-4633 
San Francisco Phone: 415-703-2218 FAX: 415-703-2803 
Fresno Phone: 559-445-5295 FAX: 559-445-5328 
Los Angeles Phone: 213-897-0322 FAX: 213-620-2365 
These are serious matters of life and death for all California inmates. We need thousands more people helping to get this important work done. 
 
 

We have several cases where an inmate nearly died because the ambulance took one hour or more to arrive at the prison. Most prisons are in rural areas. With the frequency of riots, delayed ambulances are a form of torture and medical neglect. We are seeking cases where an inmate needed emergency service and couldn't get it. We need to know how long it took from the time the inmate was injured until he was actually given emergency help and all the specifics.

UNION members have been mailed a survey so that we may take a vote on the next three projects we plan to focus on in the next legislative session. If you aren't a UNION member, sign up today. Individuals don't count in Sacramento, the laws are influenced by large groups. Without a group, nothing can be changed. When the families of inmates become active, laws will change, but not one minute before.

Ten volunteers are needed to research government data for important information needed by UNION members who work inside the media. This entails tracking lawsuit payouts and how budget appropriations intended for one program actually ended up being spent. Please email rightor1@aol.com if you are good at research and want to make a difference

The best search engine in the world pays the UNION three cents everytime you access it from our page. Please use it for all your searches.

Search engine

CDC held a hearing regarding media access to prisons on September 6. To view these proposed changes and to get full information go to

Media Access

 Letters, phone calls, faxes and visits to Governor Davis' office by the thousands are needed. The Phone Bill which will reduce the prices paid by families for phone calls from inmates must be signed or vetoed by him by September 30.

It passed both the House and Senate and everyone who worked for this is to be congratulated. Too many people think someone else is doing this VITAL lobby work, then not nearly enough people do it.

 Teach inmates how to fight for themselves since they have time to write a letter for every member in your family. Unless we show numbers, the bills lose by default

 Governor Gray Davis
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Capitol (916) 445-2841

 Subject: SB 1978 (Hayden) - Telephone Contract Bill>

 TALKING POINTS

 The bill's intent is to provide affordable telephone service for families with incarcerated loved ones by eliminating the commission to the state, approximately 40%. The current annual commission to the state is $16-20 million.

 The bill would require that "only the costs of operating the phone system be recovered" by the state. Many of California's 33 prisons are located in remote regions making it expensive and difficult for families and friends to travel to these remote locations and visit their family member in prison.

Such a situation forces many families to accept collect calls as the only means to stay in touch with their loved one in prison. The rates range from $0.30 to $0.50 per minute.

A connect fee starts at $3.00 and can go up to $8.00. If the call is for some reason disconnected, you are subject to the same connection fee again.

 There is a security feature consisting of a voice over-lay that periodically plays throughout the call. The over-lay results in interruptions and drowning out of conversation.

Your support for SB 1978, if passed and signed into law, would help thousands of Californians gain access to fair and affordable collect phone calls from California prisons.

 This same lobby work is needed for all bills which pertain to prisoners and their families. Most of them passed both houses and can only be stopped by the Governor who is always anxious to prove his "tough on crime" stance. Only when he sees a well organized MAINSTREAM group will he listen. This means that you as REGULAR citizens need to bug him. The bill numbers and text are at

UNION Bills Page

 Fight back or be a victim? The choice is yours
 
 

 The medical doctors/administrators believe that only violent inmates are housed in the SHU's in California. If you are aware of inmates who do not have a violent conviction confined to the SHU, please email me right away no matter what prison. You may send letters too but overnight delivery is important. Keep it coming until I say stop.

 The medical doctors/administrators believe that the guards are not chaining dying inmates to their beds in hospital secure areas of the prisons. If your inmate is subjected to this chaining, or you know someone who is, please email me or send overnight mail to the address below.

Restraints are never supposed to be used on inmates for merely screaming for help. If your inmate has ever been "Punished" for screaming by being placed in restraints, please email or write me.

 If your inmate has ever been given methadone for pain relief please email or write the details.

 If your inmate has ever been "punished" for a suicide attempt through loss of privileges, confinement to the SHU or other custody punishments, please email or write me. If your inmate has ever been punished for his/her mental illness no matter what prison, we need to show the patterns now.

 While we do have documentation or families with complaints on all our claims, it never hurts to overdo.

 All families need to pitch in and help gather the data so that major reforms and employee discipline will be administered as promised.

B. Cayenne Bird, Director
 

 We have been warned by friends in the legislature that waiting rooms and visiting areas have been equipped/are being equipped with microphones to record conversations with your loved ones. Pass the word to be careful.

 B. Cayenne Bird, Director
U.N.I.O.N.
UNITED for NO INJUSTICE, OPPRESSION or NEGLECT
P. O. Box 22765
Sacramento, CA 95822-0765

 http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2398/home.html

 We have a Call to Action to mail the 46 legislators who voted "NO" on the AB2447 to Amend the Three Strikes Law into ten inmates. We have an email which gives full snail mail addresses and teaches the inmates how to help us organize the UNION, participate in letter campaigns and recruit their families to help us. This has already strengthened your UNION and we need many more of these mailed inside. If you just mail ten sets, it will travel to and teach many inmates how to fight back. It doesn't matter whether your emphasis is on the Death Penalty, Parole, Mandatory Minimums or Injustice in general, it is the same group of uninformed assembly members who are going to vote everything down until they see a voting lobby built LARGE enough for them to respect. The letter can be written to suit any aspect of injustice. Go to

What needs to be done to change the laws

CDC Healthcare, Angie Tam - ATam@healthcare.corr.ca.gov
Prison Visitor Info - 1-800-374-8474
Inspector General for Prisons
Inspector General Steve White
801 K Street, Suite 1900
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916/445-6696
e-mail: swhite@yaca.corr.ca.gov

Mr. Steve Cambra, Director
California Department of Corrections
Director: Steve Cambra
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, CA 94283-0001
Headquarters Street Address:
1515 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-7682 or (916) 445-7683
FAX (916) 322-2877
 

Rightor1@aol.com

 Attorney General's Offices
Email pin@hdc.dojnet.state.ca.us
Sacramento (916) 324-5437
Los Angeles (213) 897-2000
San Francisco (415) 356-6298
San Diego (619) 645-2001
San Diego (619) 525-4641
San Francisco (415) 703-2218

Governor’s Office
Capitol (916) 445-2841
Fresno (209) 445-5295
Irvine (714) 553-3566
Los Angeles (213) 897-0322
Riverside (909) 680-6860
San Francisco (415) 703-2218

 Everyone should recruit at least ten families and teach them to recruit ten families until we build a giant voting lobby which will have the clout needed for reform.. Team leaders must have both a computer and a fax and be committed to bringing their 30 people to a Call to Action about once a month to back up legislators who may be willing to write new laws for us and/or attend critical hearings.

We are also investigating legislative financial holdings relating to any prison-building businesses and need researchers on this topic.

Besides letter writers and demonstrators, we need office supplies, transportation for our demonstrators from all points in California, postage, postage, and money to pay the phone bill so that we may continue to handle complaints and liasion between media, legislators and prisoner families on a number of issues.

 Send money made out to B. Bird, P.O. Box 22765, Sacramento, Ca. 95822

 rightor1@yahoo.com