http://media.www.californiaaggie.com/media/storage/paper981/news/2007/04/05/CampusNews/Annual.Prison.Law.Symposium.To.Be.Held.Saturday-2825294.shtml
By: Allie Shilin
In response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Prison Overcrowding State of Emergency Proclamation on Oct. 4, 2006, the UC Davis School of Law will be addressing present conditions in California's prison system during their third annual Prison Law Symposium on Saturday."The state of emergency is basically just saying that the issues and problems can't be neglected anymore," said Phoebe Hyun, co-organizer and third-year UC Davis law student. "It has to be confronted and it has to be dealt with now. I think the state of emergency is just a solidification of how people are feeling. The governor and the state couldn't ignore it anymore."
The four-panel discussion will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. Hall in room 2021. Sixteen speakers from diverse backgrounds and expertise, including an 18-year political prisoner and members of the public defender's office, will discuss a variety of issues, including the present prison conditions, alternatives to incarceration and post-release issues, sex and gender oppression and the death penalty.
Kimberly Huangfu, co-organizer and third-year law student, said the symposium is relevant because the government "is spending so much money on the prison system, but [the public] isn't seeing any results."
Taking money away from social welfare programs and education is not the best way to alleviate the prison problems, and money instead should be shifted to prisoner rehabilitation, she said.
Students should attend the event, according to Hyun, because every person is connected to the prison system in one way or another, even those who have not experienced it personally.
"We get huge fee hikes every year ... and we're not just paying for our education," she said. "We're in a public school system. In this case, these prisons and the costs of these prisons are a big chunk of our budget right now.... Not only the tax dollars, but it's something that you're going to have to deal with. It has a trickle-down effect. How we take care of our law in society will come back around in some way or another."
Hyun and Huangfu expressed a deep concern for the people behind bars and their possible future if they assimilate back into society.
"When you label somebody as a prisoner, it kind of dehumanizes them and we're saying that it might have been a mistake," Hyun said. "It's not just about giving them a second chance. It's about doing the right thing and making sure that the prison system actually works. That prison system only works when they're rehabilitated.
"I don't think the problem is solved when you're throwing them back and forth into prison," she said. "It's far beyond that prison time. I think it's a part of considering these people as fully human."
2 comments:
I was a teacher at California State Prison, Solano in Vacaville for 7 1/2 years. I witnessed abuse there and management attempted to get me to participate in framing my clerk. The adminiatration of the prison system is very deceptive and masks its cruelty. Decent staff members are afraid to speak the truth. Their comments must be screened by the Public Information Officer. The truth is hidden from the public. Most Democrats and Republicans go along with the system rather than challenge it. That is why California has the highest recidivism rate in the United States.
Actually, California's rate is the highest because we 'parole' all but a handful of offenders while the majority of the states do not. The majority of the prison population in other states either discharge upon release (maxed out) or have only a few months of parole to serve--ALL CA offenders are paroled for 3 years (min 13 months).
You folks simply refuse to tell the truth because it doesn't serve your agenda. But, the good news (for you) is repetitive lies become truth over time...you're getting there.
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