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| Judge scolds prison officials for parole woes |
| By Marin Independent-Journal |
| Published: 05/16/2005 |
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A federal judge scolded prison officials this week for abandoning alternatives for parole violators but declined to find them in contempt of court for failing to follow a court injunction. Youth and Adult Correctional Secretary Roderick Hickman abruptly ended three programs in April that diverted parole violators to halfway houses, drug treatment or electronic monitoring instead of returning them to prison. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said Hickman should have sought the court's permission before ending or altering the programs, calling his unilateral decision "clearly unsatisfactory." Because Hickman might have misunderstood his obligation, Karlton said he wouldn't immediately do anything "radical." Hickman has asked Karlton to appoint a mediator to oversee the settlement, saying disputes over terms of the agreement are stalling reforms. Karlton is set to consider that request May 23. Corrections attorneys said Hickman intends to modify at least two of the three programs because they weren't working. He has previously said the programs will be used only for parolees leaving prison, not for those who violate conditions of parole or commit new crimes that usually would send them back behind bars. Karlton said prison officials must do more to avoid sending parole violators back to prison under the settlement Schwarzenegger signed on his first day in office in November 2003, shortly after the government's watchdog Little Hoover Commission labeled California's parole system a "billion-dollar failure." The judge said he was pleasantly surprised Schwarzenegger settled the case and agreed to provide parole services well beyond the constitutional minimum, and had been working cooperatively with inmates' rights attorneys to reform the parole system. |
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