Sep 17 2010
Family Members & Former Lifers Protest Governor For Routinely Denying Parole
A crowd of recently released inmates and their families gathered yesterday in front of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office in protest of his decision to detain parolees past their eligible parole dates. Members of the nonprofit group Lifers to be Free posted large photographs of those detained in front of the Governor’s office in response to the Governor’s actions. Lifers To Be Free is a project of FACTS (Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes Law Education Fund), an inmates’ support and advocacy group based in South Los Angeles. Since taking office in 2003, Schwarzenegger has rejected over 60 percent of the recommendations he has received from the California Parole Board, a governing body whose members he appointed himself, despite their decisions that the inmates are no longer a danger to society. California is one of only four states whose Governor has the right to review and reverse parole recommendations. In particular, in cases where inmates are serving life terms for murder, the Governor has the right to reverse decisions, and has done so in about 2/3rds of such cases. When such decisions are made, the inmate in question has no right to be present, speak for themselves, or even respond to questions or concerns.
GUESTS: Jimmie Thompson, founder of Lifers to be Free, Geri Silva, Executive Director of FACTS, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes
Find out more about Lifers to be Free by calling 213-746-4343. The group meets on the 2nd anf 4th Saturday of every month at 5 pm at Chuco’s Justice Center, 1137 E. Redondo Blvd., Inglewood, CA.
Geri Silva’s new KPFK program on Prison rights called Think Outside the Cage debuts this Saturday at 1:30 pm.
One Response to “Family Members & Former Lifers Protest Governor For Routinely Denying Parole”
nothing changees. seems to alot of us that most of the guys who hae term to life, and get out are informants, baby killers and wemon killers. seems that regular guys,who have standard murders, cant get dates, and if they do, cant get out.
the programs they run for uss are a joke. any program ruun by inmate facilitators saves the state a ton of money, and they dont have to recignize. why? because programs like the old cat t were run by professional pshycs, and their eports could be taken to court if the board said you lacked insight.now, you have programs run by inmates such as impact and outhers, that are a joke. and the state doessent have to pay anyone to run them, and can ignore any cronos from the program.
im feed up. we have been treated like animals for to long. we are human beings..when does this end?
mr possitive