Gabriel City » California

Juvenile Prison in California Closes

hcdmedia — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:41:50 +0000

California’s largest juvenile prison has closed and will become an adult facility. Read more here.

Juvies

hcdmedia — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:30:53 +0000

Photographer Ara Oshagan has a photography series she calls “Juvies.” She documents high-risk juvenile offenders who are being charged as adults in the state of California.

More of Oshagan’s photography can be viewed on her website.

The Beat Within

hcdmedia — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:15:35 +0000

The Beat Within is a journal for and by incarcerated youth. The mission of the journal is to provide a creative outlet for young people within the prison system, and it features poetry, art and creative writing.

Here’s a poem from the latest issue:

I Forgive You

by Remy in Alameda

I forgive you

For not being there for me

I forgive you

For leaving me

I forgive you

For neglecting me

I forgive you

For keeping my brothers away from me

I forgive you

For hurting my mommy

I forgive you

For hurting me over and over again

I forgive you

For lying to me

I forgive you

For standing me up

I forgive you

For not being in my kid’s life

I forgive you

For leting someone else take your place

I forgive you

For not being my father

I forgive you

Judges Agree to Schwarzenegger’s Plan

hcdmedia — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:21:37 +0000

In August federal judges ruled against the state of California in two lawsuits brought by prison inmates who argued that overcrowding led to poor medical and health care. After months of modifying proposals to reduce the California prison population, Governor Schwarzenegger’s latest plan has been accepted by a panel of judges.

California Shifts Money From Prisons to Schools

hcdmedia — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:03:02 +0000

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed to reduce prison costs in California and funnel the saved money into higher education. Though the details of his new plan are not yet clear, it seems the proposal calls for some privatization of California prisons and/or services. The proposal will require a constitutional amendment or ballot box action.

New Hospital at San Quentin

hcdmedia — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:20:28 +0000

San Quentin’s five-story $136 million hospital is opening. The facility is well equipped and is replacing San Quentin’s old hospital which one nurse stated “was like a Third World country.”

New California Plan Submitted

hcdmedia — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:39:53 +0000

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has submitted a new plan for inmate reduction in California, just three weeks after his initial plan was rejected by a panel of judges who threatened him with contempt of court for not meeting their demand for a proposal to reduce the inmate population by 40,000 prisoners over two years. This new proposal would open up 42,000 inmate beds by 2011.

Judges Reject Schwarzenneger’s Plan

hcdmedia — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Federal judges rejected Schwarzenneger’s plan to reduce overcrowding in California prisons. The panel of judges stated that the plan did not follow the guidelines to reduce the prison population by 40,000 in two years and the failure to comply put the Schwarzenneger administration in contempt of court. The judges threatened to impose their own plan if the administration refused to comply.

Read more of the Los Angeles Times article here.

Tupac – Trapped music video

hcdmedia — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:28:27 +0000

Tupac raps about his experience as a young black man living in California and the different pressures he faces from society, his community, and tensions with the police.

*WARNING: explicit lyrics

California Youth Prisons More Succesful than Adult Prisons

hcdmedia — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:23:49 +0000

With a broken prison system to deal with, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to model the adult prison system off of the more successful youth system. In the last years, the state has shifted many of the low level juvenile offenders to counties, lowering the recidivism rates and saving California $100 million. Now, legislators are hoping to reform the adult system similarly.