Colorado House strikes death penalty: On Wednesday the House of Representatives in Colorado voted to "end the state's death penalty and instead use the money to bolster a cold case unit at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation." Joe Hanel, of the Herald Denver Bureau writes the story. Rep. Paul Weissmann was the driving force for House Bill 1274, craftily presenting representatives with one of two options- death penalty or cold case unit. Republicans all stood opposed. "Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, said the death penalty is the only way to deter inmates serving life sentences from committing more crimes." Is the Colorado state budget really so lean that nothing else can be cut to fund the cold case unit? We doubt it.
Lethal injection bill advances, death penalty repeal bill stalled: Paul Hammel, of the World-Herald, has this "twist[ed]" story. On Thursday, "the Judiciary voted 6-1 to advance the lethal injection bill to the full Legislature for debate. The action came almost a month after the Committee had refused to endorse the measure." Hammel writes that "passage of the lethal injection bill seems assured--29 of 42 state senators who responded in a pre-session survey by the World-Herald said they supported lethal injection." Oddly, that same day, "the Judiciary Committee also advanced, on a 6-1 vote, a bill to repeal the death penalty. LB 306, introduced by Council, would not be debated until next year because it was not selected as priority." See our previous posts on the Mata case here, here, and here.
A new home for inmates with "sensitive needs": Despite strong opposition from the City of Lancaster, state officials have decided to move forward with plans to convert a local prison reception center into a long-term facility to house hundreds of "sensitive needs" inmates, writes Ann M. Simmons, of the Los Angeles Times. "Sensitive needs" is used to refer to sex-offenders, ex-gang members and the like. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said he was disappointed but not surprised by the state's decision while noting that, "'the Antelope Valley has been raped by the corrections department since the prison was built."
Sacramento considers closing youth jails: Andy Furillo, of the Sacramento Bee, writes that "Sacramento County probation officials have proposed shutting down their two main youth jails for convicted juvenile offenders, a budget move that carries potentially drastic implications for public safety." Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth G. Peterson said, "'if it happens it will be devastating [because] the Boys Ranch is the last resort at the local level for older boys who have committed relatively serious offenses." The reason for the proposition can be traced to the current budget crisis in California, and attempts by the county to cut costs. If closure did occur, 247 jobs would be eliminated.
Prison inmates to take over forced lay-off positions?: "Ohio wants to use prisoners to replace Statehouse janitors and groundskeepers who were laid off because of budget cuts" writes Andrew Welsh-Huggins, of the Associated Press. The idea has the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association deeply angered, claiming that the positions are not "phantom jobs" and need to be reserved for the non-inmate population. William Carleton, executive director for the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board, points out that the Statehouse needs the inmate labor due to the loss of 17 employees since the beginning of 2009.
Lethal injection bill advances, death penalty repeal bill stalled: Paul Hammel, of the World-Herald, has this "twist[ed]" story. On Thursday, "the Judiciary voted 6-1 to advance the lethal injection bill to the full Legislature for debate. The action came almost a month after the Committee had refused to endorse the measure." Hammel writes that "passage of the lethal injection bill seems assured--29 of 42 state senators who responded in a pre-session survey by the World-Herald said they supported lethal injection." Oddly, that same day, "the Judiciary Committee also advanced, on a 6-1 vote, a bill to repeal the death penalty. LB 306, introduced by Council, would not be debated until next year because it was not selected as priority." See our previous posts on the Mata case here, here, and here.
A new home for inmates with "sensitive needs": Despite strong opposition from the City of Lancaster, state officials have decided to move forward with plans to convert a local prison reception center into a long-term facility to house hundreds of "sensitive needs" inmates, writes Ann M. Simmons, of the Los Angeles Times. "Sensitive needs" is used to refer to sex-offenders, ex-gang members and the like. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said he was disappointed but not surprised by the state's decision while noting that, "'the Antelope Valley has been raped by the corrections department since the prison was built."
Sacramento considers closing youth jails: Andy Furillo, of the Sacramento Bee, writes that "Sacramento County probation officials have proposed shutting down their two main youth jails for convicted juvenile offenders, a budget move that carries potentially drastic implications for public safety." Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth G. Peterson said, "'if it happens it will be devastating [because] the Boys Ranch is the last resort at the local level for older boys who have committed relatively serious offenses." The reason for the proposition can be traced to the current budget crisis in California, and attempts by the county to cut costs. If closure did occur, 247 jobs would be eliminated.
Prison inmates to take over forced lay-off positions?: "Ohio wants to use prisoners to replace Statehouse janitors and groundskeepers who were laid off because of budget cuts" writes Andrew Welsh-Huggins, of the Associated Press. The idea has the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association deeply angered, claiming that the positions are not "phantom jobs" and need to be reserved for the non-inmate population. William Carleton, executive director for the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board, points out that the Statehouse needs the inmate labor due to the loss of 17 employees since the beginning of 2009.
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