This letter was written by a person incarcerated at Pelican Bay.
I know you want pandemic stuff, but it wasn’t all that bad. I could’ve spiced it up and said stuff like, oh my God, it was horrible. The phone company gave us two free calls a month, and that is still going on. Everybody still wears his mask, that is mandatory, as I totally believe it should.
I should be asking you what in the hell is wrong with all these dumb asses running around out there, with no mask, partying like there isn’t a pandemic? People are dying for God sake. Anyway, they pretty much have this covered deal under control here. Every Monday morning everybody with a job, or any kind of vocational where you will be around others, will get a COVID test. Any positives are quarantined immediately.
Like I said it’s pretty much over up here. Not to change the subject from COVID, actually it is part of what is going on because of it. I am not asking for legal advice or anything like that, I just want the public to be aware of this. People going back to court for sentence modifications that could possibly be an early release, are being delayed.
Presents are using COVID-19 as an excuse for all kinds of stuff. I asked to see the optometrist and was told no longer coming to the prison due to COVID-19. I personally know two men that are still waiting to go back to court, to get released. COVID-19 again.
The public voted on proposition 57, and it won by a large amount of hours. There are all kinds of changes supposed to happen through prop 57. They aren’t happening. Every prison in California is supposed to work on every inmate’s case, to see if they qualify for different things. A senate bill 1393- The Fairland Just Sentencing Reform Act, went into law January 1, 2019.
In the past penal code 667(a) required a sentencing court to add a five year enhancement to a person’s sentence, for each felony conviction. Now it is discretionary, and up to the judge. Remember I told you the sentence I received. I got 16 years added on, for these exact things I just mentioned.
In 2001 I got a terrorist threat charge. That is a verbal threatening comment to another human being. I still truly believe it is the most ludicrous charge of all felonies. I received a 16 month prison term and did nine months. In my current case, the court gave me an extra 10 years for the same crime I already did nine months for. Do you think this is fair?
Pelican Bay has denied me for the past two years the opportunity to go back to court for a sentence modification, even though I have a letter from the public defender’s office stating that I qualify. These are the stories I really wish your project was interested in. CDCR is straight lying to the public. They don’t want anybody to get out early.
It is all about money and it saddens me big time. Incarceration of people (you have seen the statistics compared to other countries) is a multi billion dollar enterprise. I have been trying to get back to court for five years, and I will never stop trying. CDCR and a lot of people are having a meeting on May 7, 2021 about Penal Code 1170(d)(1). I am not going to get into it, read it if you have computer access.
They are trying to get guidelines for people like me, five year prison term, 16 years in enhancements, I have been incarcerated for 11 years for 180 dollars and a non-violent robbery. As stated, I deserve punishment, and alcohol cannot be an excuse. I think I have paid my dues for my crime, and I am almost 65 years old, and you college folks are paying through your taxes around 70,000 dollars a year to keep me here.
I pray they will let me see a judge hopefully this year or next.