ARC Inside Newsletter - July 2021

INSIDE NEWSLETTER Issue #10 /July 2021

a letter from our Executive Director Sam Lewis Greetings to our Incarcerated Community Members, I sincerely hope and pray that each of you are well. I am happy to announce that ARC will be launching Hope And Redemption Programming in all prisons. Our tentative start date is October 1, 2021. This program was created by and is facilitated by former life prisoners. There’s so much that I can share with you, but with limited space, I’d like to encourage you to double down on programming. Everything you do now to prepare to return home will greatly enhance your successful reentry. The tools that we can master while inside will be extremely useful before you are released. I say this from both personal experience and from observing hundreds if not thousands of people that have returned home. Life moves fast out here, and it can be difficult and sometimes overwhelming in many different aspects, from family reunification to the loss of a family member. We have to adjust to employment, housing, technology, and so much more as we reintegrate back into society.

On January 12, 2022, I will have been home 10 years after serving 24 years of a Life Sentence. I’ve navigated many of these things, and much of my success I attribute to being prepared. Please take this time now to prepare for your successful reentry. Use this time to invest in you and your future. I promise that you will find this investment one of the best you will make in your future.

Double down on rehabilitation. Double down on investing in you!

Sincerely, Sam Lewis, Executive Director

In This Issue

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Letter from Sam Lewis, ARC’s Executive Director

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2021 State Policy Priorities

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ARC launches Federal Policy Platform Note About CA Three Strikes Law

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ARC’s Hope and Redemption Team Expands to 31CDCR Prisons

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Our Community in Action

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Women’s Update: ARC Presents Free World Podcast Women’s Hike Back at CCWF

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Boundless: Father in Freedom ALSP Culmination Ceremony at Lancaster

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Stay Connected

SAM LEWIS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ANTI-RECIDIVISM COALITION (ARC). A FORMER LIFE PRISONER, SAM UNDERSTANDS THE VARIOUS OBSTACLES THE PRISON AND REENTRY POPULATIONS FACE. IN 2017, SAM CREATED THE HOPE AND REDEMPTION TEAM (HART), A GROUP OF NINE FORMER CALIFORNIA LIFE PRISONERS WHO GO BACK INTO CALIFORNIA STATE PRISONS TO PROVIDE HOPE, DEMONSTRATE THAT REDEMPTION IS ACHIEVABLE, AND TO PREPARE PARTICIPANTS FOR SUCCESSFUL REENTRY INTO OUR COMMUNITIES.

2021 State Policy Priorities ARC and our partners continue to advocate for you and are working to pass key pieces of legislation.

Learn about our important State Policy updates below!

AB 333 (Kamlager) Reforming Gang Enhancements: ARC is working on legislation that will begin to address this harm by making the standards for applying a gang enhancement more rigorous, including: End the ability of prosecutors to claim people are gang members simply because they may come from the same community, be related, or know each other, reduce the list of crimes that allow gang enhancements to be charged ,prohibit use of the current charge as proof of a “pattern” of criminal gang activity, and require direct evidence of current and active gang allegations.

without any new felony convictions and has no new charges pending.

Status: This bill is the Assembly Appropriations Committee AB 89 (Jones-Sawyer) – PEACE (Peace officer Education and Age Conditions for Employment) Act: Increases the minimum standards so that all new peace officers, including correctional officers, in California must be either 25 years of age or have a bachelor’s degree

Status: This bill is in the Senate Appropriations Committee *This bill is not retroactive*

Status: This bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee

ACA 3 (Kamlager - Ending Involuntary Servitude - The California Abolition Act: The Constitution of California prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude “except to punish crime.” ACA 3, the California Abolition Act, would amend the California Constitution to remove such conditional language, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude without exception.

AB 990 (Santiago) –Family Unity Bill: This bill seeks to strengthen visiting rights to support the emotional health of Californians and their incarcerated loved ones and to improve in-custody conduct and reduce recidivism Status: This bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee

Status: This Constitutional Amendment is in the Appropriations Committee. *Because this amends the CA Constitution it must pass the CA Senate and Assembly by a 2/3 vote and then will turn into a Proposition for the voters of CA to decide via the ballot in 2022*

SB 481 (Durazo) – The Meaningful Opportunity Acts: SB 481 provides a judge the ability to strike or dismiss a special circumstance and impose a sentence of 25 years to life for people sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP) for crimes they committed at age 25 years or younger after serving 15 years of their original sentence. Currently, law prohibits judges from dismissing or striking a special circumstance, which mandates an LWOP sentence - denying many youth the opportunities to have a Youth Offender Parole Hearing. After the special circumstance is struck, these individuals would become eligible for a Youth Offender Parole hearing.

Status: This bill is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee AB 717 (Stone) - CAL ID Expansion: AB 717 will expand the in-prison CAL-ID program so more people released from state prison have a chance to receive a government photo identification before they reenter our communities. AB717 helps incarcerated people obtain documents such as a birth certificate & social security card, which are needed to get a CAL ID.

Status: * This has become a two year bill, meaning it will pick back up in January 2022 in the Senate. This bill also requires a 2/3 vote from the CA Senate and Assembly. This bill is retroactive*

Status: This bill is the Senate Appropriations Committee SB 262 (Herztberg) - Bail: This legislation creates a more fair pretrial justice system in California by setting bail at $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies, ensuring people accused do not remain in custody simply because they cannot afford to pay bail and do not assume any costs of court-imposed release conditions; and, requiring bail companies to refund the premiums they receive from defendants who aren’t charged; have their case dismissed or make all of their required court appearances.

AB 1127 (Santiago & Quirk) – Juvenile Three Strike Reform: This bill would eliminate strikes committed as a juvenile from being used to enhance future adult felonies. This bill would also allow people to petition for resentencing if their prior juvenile adjudication was used to enhance an adult felony conviction Status: * This has become a two year bill, and will be heard in January 2022 in the Assembly* If you have any questions or policy ideas, please continue to call and write to us. Your insight and feedback is crucial to changing and reforming our criminal justice system in California. You may send mail to the LA or Sacramento offices, make sure to write: C/O ARC Policy.

Status: This bill is the Assembly Appropriations Committee SB 731 (Durazo): Sealing Old Convictions: This bill seeks to sunset criminal convictions and proposes expanding record sealing to all sentences following completion of terms of incarceration, post-release supervision, and an additional period of time provided the person has completed their sentence 2

ARC Launches Federal Policy Platform ARC National Director Michael Mendoza explains why ARC is expanding our policy work to the Federal Level.

This year, ARC announced a national advocacy platform with the hope that we can contribute to the healing around mass incarceration and racial justice that America so desperately needs. Our national advocacy efforts continue in the spirit of our state and local efforts -- they are rooted in empathy and center the experiences of those most directly impacted by the criminal legal system. These efforts are intended to lift-up best practices learned in the state context, potentially large funding streams directed for reentry, and set national standards based on our definitions of healing, hope, and care. The safety and well being of our future generations across the country depends on the development and safety of our children under every aspect of our care -- including the criminal legal system. Many of ARC’s members experienced incarceration during the prison boom incentivized by the omnibus crime bill and lived through overcrowded conditions governed by anger, violence, and little hope of freedom. To that end, ARC is able to advocate with empathy rooted in lived experience and expertise.

ARC is sponsoring the following Federal Legislation : H.R. 2834 - Miranda Rights for Kids Act: This bill requires parents to be notified when a child is arrested and requires that the child consult with legal counsel before they can waive their Constitutional Rights and be subject to custodial interrogation.

H.R. 2908 - Establishing Age Protections for Children: Establishes a minimum age of 12 for criminal culpability for children; increases the minimum age for a child to be tried as an adult from 13 to 16; eliminates the felony murder rule for children; prohibits the placement of children in adult jails or prisons; requires data collection on youth who come into the federal criminal justice system; and establishes a grant block program for treatment and services for children under 12 and child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

H.R. 2858 - Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021: This bill would retroactively end life and de facto life without parole by giving individuals convicted of crimes as children the ability to petition a judge for sentencing review and modification after serving 20 years; give judges the ability to depart from mandatory minimums when sentencing children (up to 35% away from the minimum); and protect child sex crime victims from harsh sentencing when they commit acts of violence against their abusers.

HR 2865 Reverse Mass Incarceration Act: This bill would authorize the Department of Justice to award competitive grants to states that accomplish two important goals: reducing prison populations while keeping crime rates low. These awards would be used for “evidence-based programs to reduce crime rates and incarceration” S.J.Res. 21 Ending the Exception: The proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States would prohibit the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime. This legislative effort is part of the first step that includes two thirds of the states that need to agree to change their state constitution in order for our federal constitution to be amended and put an end to involuntary servitude.

H.Con.Res. 100 Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation: Proposes a U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation to properly acknowledge, memorialize, and be a catalyst for progress, including toward permanently eliminating persistent racial inequities.

Note About ca Three Strikes Law We know many of you have important questions about the Three Strikes law. But please note this would take a ballot measure to fully repeal the Three Strikes law. If you want more information on the next steps to remove the Three Strikes law please contact or have your loved ones reach out to the Repeal California’s Three Strikes Law Coalition (RCTSLC) or visit https://www.repealthreestrikes.org for more information.

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ARC’s Hope and Redemption Team to Expand to 31 CDCR Prisons We’re excited to announce that Governor Newsom signed into law a budget which includes significant funding for rehabilitative programming inside California prisons, reentry services for returning citizens, survivors and victims of crimes, and age-appropriate care for systeminvolved youth.

Most notably, the state will fully fund the ARC’s transformative Hope and Redemption Team (HART), in which ARC Life Coaches who served life sentences go back into CDCR institutions to provide parole board preparation, rehabilitative programming, and reentry support to those still in confinement. The funding will allow the Hope and Redemption programming to operate in 31 prisons and across 110 yards, meaning the HART team could be coming to you in the near future.

“Participating in the Anti-Recidivism Coalition’s HART Program helped me successfully reintegrate into society,” said Mark Taylor, ARC Hope and Redemption Life Coach, who participated in the Hope and Redemption Team program while incarcerated. “This essential program • Provides $27 million ongoing General Fund to connected me to vital resources after my release as establish the Office of Youth and Community well, including housing, employment, a healthy support Restoration that was created in the Health and network, counseling, etc. Simply stated, the lessons that I Human Services Agency pursuant to SB 823 learned in this class have served me well in every sphere (Chapter 337, Statutes of 2020). of life.”

• Reduces the debt of low-income Californians by Also included in this budget are the following investments eliminating various criminal administrative fees. in our incarcerated and free communities.

Eliminates various criminal administrative fees and the civil assessment fee of up to $300 for failure to pay or failure to appear without good cause and makes the unpaid balances of the associated fees uncollectible. Includes $151 million General Fund in 2021-22, $151 million in 2022-23, $130 million in 2023-24, and $120 million in 2024-25 and ongoing to backfill the revenue associated with the eliminated fees.

• Further investments in rehabilitation, re-entry, and recidivism reduction strategies. Includes a “Rehabilitation, Re-entry and Recidivism Reduction” package of $200+ million. This package includes career development, rehabilitative programming, family connection, local support for individuals to remain out of the criminal justice system, and removal of barriers to successful re-entry. The Hope and Redemption team funding comes from this package.

• Pine Grove Conservation Camp will remain open to provide opportunities for incarcerated youth to assist in fire prevention. Pine Grove provides critical reentry & job training to justice-involved youth, while counties across CA can send youth to Pine Grove without committing them to Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).

• A focus on survivors and victims of crime with $175 million General Fund for various programs to support survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and forced sterilization.

Includes $50 million for homeless youth emergency services and housing programs.

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our community in action

Our ARC community comes together to honor and celebrate Juneteenth in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.

ARC, Second Call, and Fresno Barrios Unidos visited Soledad to meet and present to incarcerated people with vital reentry programming opportunities.

We held our first in-person member support meeting in a long time. We are so glad that many of our members showed up and gathered together to rekindle bonds and support each other.

ARC Sacramento gathers in person for a community bike ride.

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ARC Presents FREE WORLD Podcast We are thrilled to announce ARC is launching FREE WORLD, our first original audio podcast!

FREE WORLD is a podcast about women reconstructing their lives after incarceration. In this series, we hear stories from women and non-binary individuals about the ways prison tears at the bonds of family, the triumphs of resilient human beings, and what’s it like to put a life back together in freedom.

The podcast is hosted by Norma Cumpian and Shone Robinson from ARC. Norma and Shone will highlight their personal experience in the system and interview amazing women and nonbinary individuals about their journey from incarceration to freedom.

This groundbreaking podcast is hosted and produced entirely by formerly incarcerated women, the first of its kind. We hope our audience can learn about the journey, struggles, and resilience that women face inside and out of the system. Our voices and minds are with the women currently incarcerated. You can listen to Free World on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please listen, subscribe, and leave a 5-star review. Thank you!

women’s hike ARC’s Women’s and Non-Binary Department went on our first outing since the stay-at-home orders were lifted. Our first adventure was a hike in Elysian Park.

When we reached the top of the hill, we took a few minutes to take in the Los Angeles skyline and feel gratitude for our freedom.

back at ccwf We were thrilled to return to Central CA Women’s Prison (CCWF) after more than a year of restrictions due to Covid-19.

Norma Cumpian, Associate Director of Women’s and NonBinary Services, said about the day, “We are proud to be a part of the CCWF community and have the opportunity to empower the women inside to thrive.”

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Boundless: Fathers in Freedom ARC’s Ride Home Manager Carlos Cervantes shares what fatherhood means to him.

I wasn’t home when my daughter Clarissa was born 13 years ago.

She was 2.5 years of age when I was released from prison, and I always felt like I missed those years with her. Now with our 3-month baby Adrian, we seem to all have a bigger purpose in our lives.

Having him helped me heal from the time I wasn’t there for Clarissa.

That’s freedom for me.

It’s challenging trying to balance work and family. I have a hard time disconnecting from work, making it hard for me to stay connected to our family time.

Clarissa is a folkloric dancer: she has been practicing for 9 years and the fact that she loves traditional Mexican dance takes me back to how important culture is in our lives. Adrian: he is 3 months old and can recognize my voice from a mile away. I love that.

My time behind the walls taught me how to care for my children.

As a parent now, we teach the value of being present with them, so guiding them and showing them morals has helped me be a positive Photo Credit: Aaron Jay Young, as part of the “Boundless: Fathers in Freedom” series. influence in their lives.

To my children: you are beautiful, smart, courageous, you are loved, you are amazing, and you gave purpose to my life.

ALSP Culmination Ceremony at Lancaster ARC partnered with Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Post-Conviction Justice Project of USC Gould School of Law (PCJC) to develop and host the Advanced Leadership Skills Program (ALSP), which was designed exclusively for those sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). The first iteration of the training was offered last Summer to those who served LWOP sentences and are now home due to legislative changes and commutations. This year, we brought the training into California State Prison at Lancaster for the first time, and last month, we were able to congratulate the first group of people currently serving LWOP to complete the training at a part-virtual and part-in person culmination ceremony.

The training consisted of 10 two-hour prerecorded or live streamed modules covering everything from one-on-one management to public speaking. Recognizing that most LWOPs have leadership experience in prison and that they have valuable gifts to offer their communities, the program builds that capacity with concrete, practical skills for leadership in any arena.

The culmination ceremony featured speeches from five of the program participants, representatives from ARC, HRW, and PCJP, and California State Senator Maria Durazo, who has been a champion of justice reform for those serving LWOP Sentences. Congratulations, again, to those who completed this training both in and outside of prison.

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Anti-Recidivism Coalition 1320 E. 7th Street Suite 260 Los Angeles, CA 90021

Founded in 2013, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) works to end mass incarceration in California. To ensure our communities are safe, healthy, and whole, ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change. Through our grassroots policy advocacy, we are dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system so that it is more just and equitable for all people.

Masthead Executive Director: Sam Lewis Associate Director of Inside Programs: Jacob Brevard Deputy Director: Bikila Ochoa

Our supportive services – which include case management, trauma-informed counseling, housing, education, employment training, and mentorship – ensure that those returning home are given the best chance to be healthy, whole members of their communities. Our programs, correspondence, and legislative work on behalf of currently incarcerated people create hope and a pathway to freedom for many who never thought freedom possible.

Inside Newsletter Editor-in-Chief: Nicholas Reiner Deputy Editor: Josh Pynoos Design Editor: John Dich Women’s Update Editor: Norma Cumpian Operations: Oscar Bonilla

Write to the Anti-Recidivism Coalition Los Angeles: Anti-Recidivism Coalition, 1320 E. 7th Street Suite 260, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Sacramento: Anti-Recidivism Coalition, 2830 G Street, Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95816 During this pandemic, we want to hear from you, and know what life is like, so we can help amplify your voices and the current state of life inside prison. Please write to us and tell us what needs to be done to keep you healthy and safe.

Please write to us at ATTN: #COVID-19 Submission, 1320 E. 7th Street, Suite 260, Los Angeles, CA 90021 If you write ARC a letter, please include some general information that will assist us in determining how to best serve you, and that will aid ARC with their advocacy efforts. Please answer the following questions: • • •

Are you serving a determinate sentence, serving a life sentence, or a life without the possibility of parole sentence?

Are you returning home due to SB 394, SB260, SB261, AB 1308, SB 1391, SB 1437, AB 965 or Prop. 57?

Have you had a suitability hearing? If so, how many have you had?

Also please keep ARC updated if you happen to transfer out of your current institution. This will ensure you continue to receive the ARC quarterly newsletter.

Submit to our Newsletter!

We want you to contribute to our next newsletter and submissions are now open! Tell us what inspires you, what your goals are, what gives you hope, or anything you would like to share with our community! Feel free to also write your commentary on public life or what’s happening in the world at large.

Please write to us at ATTN: Newsletter Submission, 1320 E. 7th Street, Suite 260, Los Angeles, CA 90021. Write the name you would like to be published under.

Submissions may also be posted on the ARC website. Please note that your submission is not guaranteed publication. We look forward to reading your work!

Support Letters for Board Please be aware that it takes at least a month for us to have a support letter ready for the board. Help us help you and write to us within 3 months of your board date. We want you home!!

Thank you, ARC Staff

Learn How You and Your Family Can Get Involved The bills that ARC and other community-based groups throughout California are supporting this year are significant in that they help provide many of you with chances to return to your families, remove barriers to your employment once you return home, and ensure that young people never enter the juvenile / criminal justice systems. California legislators need to know that these bills are extremely important to their constituents. One of the ways that you can help these bills become reality is to encourage your families to contact their representatives and voice their support. They can find out who their representatives are by using the following website: findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

Once they find out who their representatives are, they simply have to contact them and voice their support. Your family members, loved ones and friends can contact their representatives through phone calls and social media, as well. Please encourage your friends and loved ones today!

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