Month: May 2011

The afternoon panel in San Francisco’s Justice Summit was on the death penalty.  The panel began with a haunting clip from an Interview with an Executioner, which follows Don Cabana. He is a former warden at Parchman Penitentiary in Mississippi  who would become an anti-death penalty activist, following his carrying out the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, whom he came to believe was innocent.

Don Cabana, in the documentary, said that it is not uncommon for death row inmates to maintain their innocence. However, he said by the time they get into the execution chamber and you know the execution is going to take place, “usually something happens and they may not come right out and say I did it.” Instead they would say things like “Warden, would you tell the victim’s family I’m sorry,” he continued, “something that says ‘I did this.’ “

On Sunday, former Attorney General and current Congressman Dan Lungren responded to a Sacramento Bee editorial.

Wrote Mr. Lungren, “Rather than confront facts, The Bee deals in fantasy. While admitting that the court’s decision could reduce the prison population  by 33,000 inmates, The Bee attempts to minimize the impact – all will be well: Just raise taxes again, build more prisons (“unlikely”), or ‘sensibly’ stop sending as many convicts to prison.”

It is appropriate that today we also run an article about a proposed 32% fee hike for UC students.  It is appropriate because every dollar we spend to incarcerate someone is a dollar we cannot spend on educating the future investment.

In a lot of ways, money spent on prisons – especially in their current form with the length of sentences and recidivism rate – is a sunken cost.  Every dollar we spend on education is an investment.

In 2010, a Yolo County jury convicted Steven Hector Martinez of Woodland, age 35, of one count of battery with serious bodily injury.  The incident had occurred on Picnic Day in April 2009 in a fight outside of Bistro 33.

Supposedly the defendant, a complete stranger to the victim, “sucker-punched” him in the face with his fist.  After an initial trial saw a 6-6 hung jury, the second trial saw Mr. Martinez convicted and sentenced to 31 years to life.

Judge Timothy Fall eventually accepted a misdemeanor plea by Anthony Brown for a DUI on a case that began on December 26, 2008 but for which the DA was attempting to upgrade to a felony even as Mr. Brown was serving time in the California Department of Corrections for another unrelated offense.

The case was filed almost two and a half years ago in January 2009.  Because the DA was taking so long to dispense with the matter, Mr. Brown filed the paperwork himself for the Penal Code 1381 demand for a trial.  It was completed by Mike Cabral of the DA’s office and the defendant was delivered back to Yolo County.

A few months ago a woman accused of drug dealing was acquitted of those charges, but still faced an immigration hold.  Her husband had tragically put out an assassination hit on her back in Mexico.  The sad part is, given the minor charges against her, the Sheriff’s office did not have to report the woman to immigration.

Some will argue that everyone who is here illegally ought to be deported, but considering the resources it takes to verify immigration status and transfer from custody to deportation proceedings, that is simply not practical.

A Yolo County jury last week acquitted Maria Olivares of possession of heroin for sale, possession of meth for sale, and offering to give away or transport less than 28 grams of marijuana.  The two primary charges contained enhancements due to their large quantities.

The incident began on November 4, 2009 when officers made an 11 pm traffic stop.  The car was pulled over for turning on the left turn blinker while stopped at a red light, when the law requires one to do so 100 feet or more before the intersection.