Washblog

Free books, free hats, free stuffed animals, free fun, free clothing, school supplies, and free toys!   This is what many families took with them after they had a fun-filled day at Gifts for Kids.

NOVA High School played an essential role in making all this happen for more than 300 kids.  As one of the many social justice projects that NOVA High school engages its students and staff in, Gifts for Kids has been an event which over 100 students have had the opportunity to participate in.

"To all the citizens who read this, that can't fully appreciate how tough, dangerous, and important these officers' jobs are, let me tell you from this side of the wall, you can't put a price tag on what these officers do every single day to see to it your communities are free to live in peace and you are all able to enjoy the freedoms provided by keeping monsters like Scherf locked-up.  Nor can anyone imagine the risks they take.  Only when one of them makes the ultimate sacrifice does our society become aware of the deadly reality they live every day to protect you.  Officer Biendl gave her life doing this.  So before more cuts are made that put people like her at risk you may ask yourselves - shouldn't you protect those who protect you?  She believed you were worth it.  I know she was."

L-R: Senator Adam Kline, former 3-Striker Stevan Dozier who was released under clemency, and King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg speak in support of Senate Bill 5263 at a press conference prior to the hearing for the bill.  January 19, 2011.

Senate Bill 5236 was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.  It would allow Washington 3-Strikers who have only Class B felonies and no weapons charges or sexual offenses to apply for parole after serving 15 years.  The current sentence for all 3-Strikers is 777 years, 77 months, and 77 days with no possibility of release.  

Over the last decade, 11 or more bills proposing to reform 3-Strikes - primarily by removing lower-seriousness crimes from the list of Most Serious Offenses - have failed due to opposition from prosecutors, crime victims, and radio talk show host John Carlson.  Carlson was a primary author of the 1993 ballot initiative that created the 3-Strikes law.

The current bill is much more narrow in scope than most previous proposals, allowing an estimated 15-20 3-Strikers to apply for conditional release under parole.  It was supported at the hearing in testimony from King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg and Tom McBride of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

I met with Kathya Alexander and Lea Zengage at Justice Works! (JW!) headquarters and Gift and Thrift shop on Rainier Avenue in Seattle.  Kathya had just accepted the position of Executive Director of this grassroots criminal justice reform organization. Lea, after nearly a decade as Executive Director, is stepping down.  The two women will work together for several months for a smooth transition.  Lea will stay with Justice Works! as an organizer.

It's a milestone for the organization.  Lea has served without pay since JW! was founded in 2001 under the name, Justice Passage.  Kathya, a founding member of JW!, will be paid.  The shift to new leadership - and the paid staff position are signs of the organization's growth.

L-R: Dolphy Jordan, Ari Kohn, Chris Jones, and Pollard Fa'alogo.  Dolphy and Pollard are current PPEP students

I met Chris Jones as he entered Jillian's Billiards Club surrounded by family and friends.  We were there to celebrate his acceptance of an Associate of Science degree earlier that afternoon from North Seattle Community College.  

Ari Kohn, Founder of Post Prison Education Program (PPEP) introduced us and Chris led me to a table at the edge of the party to share reflections on his transition from prison with the help of that program.  A Phi Theta Kappa key glinted on his lapel as if releasing a tiny wattage of his tremendous energy.

There was in the room a sense of celebration of Chris Jones as a person, his hard-won success in moving past active addiction, the spiritual awakening in prison that had transformed his world view, his academic honors (a 3.71 grade point average in a challenging science curriculum), the honor of delivering one of the student addresses at the graduation ceremony that day, his volunteer work as a tutor to other PPEP students, and his new enrollment in the Electrical Engineering program of Washington State University.

     Update

1. In September, 2010, Al Kareem Shadeed was granted conditional release from his 3-Strikes sentence of Life Without Parole after Governor Gregoire approved an earlier unanimous recommendation of Washington's Clemency and Pardons Board. Read more about his case here.

 

2. The 9th Circuit has essentially reversed its own decision in Farrakhan v. Gregoire. From Disregarding the Results: Examining the Ninth Circuit’s Heightened Section 2 'Intentional Discrimination' Standard in Farrakhan v. Gregoire. Ryan V. Haygood, May 2011, Columbia Law Review.

   "(I)n October 2010, the Ninth Circuit initiated its own rehearing en banc. It reversed its earlier rulings and announced a new standard imposing a nearly insurmountable 'intentional discrimination' threshold for section 2 felon disfranchisement litigation.

   "This new standard, which was used to dispose of the Farrakhan plaintiffs' claims, is inconsistent with the text, precedent, and legislative history of the Voting Rights Act. Future plaintiffs have to show 'at least':

   1. that Washington's 'criminal justice system was infected by intentional discrimination,' or
   2. that the state's 'felon disfranchisement law was enacted with such intent.'"