Bob-bi-lu
07-18-2005, 07:30 PM
Article published Jul 18, 2005
State: No interviews with ward
Allegations of abuse by staffer being investigated
STOCKTON -- The state has denied repeated requests by The Record to interview a ward at a Stockton-area youth prison, saying that an ongoing investigation involving the ward allows the prevention of media contact.
The state's Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly the California Youth Authority, acknowledges that it launched an investigation into allegations a staff member abused John Garrison, 19, on May 27 in N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility.
Chaderjian's Superintendent Steve Kruse was put on administrative leave about the same time. Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Sarah Ludeman neither confirmed nor denied that Kruse was involved and said she would not identify the staff member being investigated under the allegations.
Kruse remains on administrative leave from Chaderjian. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
Ludeman said the agency is denying interviews with Garrison out of concerns for prison security.
She also said the staffer's rights are protected under the Police Officer's Bill of Rights -- yet another reason to deny access, because a ward could expose the staffer during an interview.
"There are certain protections we have to ensure for our staff," Ludeman said. "Part of that is confidentiality."
Youth advocates said they fear the denial mars transparency at a time when it is most needed in the state correctional system.
A local defense attorney and parents of wards said visiting rights are frequently interrupted.
Garrison was convicted in Siskiyou County on two felony counts of first-degree burglary and escape.
He entered the state's juvenile prison system in 2002 and has been at Chaderjian since December 2003.
The investigation has been turned over to the Office of the Inspector General, the state's prison watchdog agency to ensure impartiality, and media interviews will be allowed once the investigation is concluded, Ludeman said.
Ludeman cited policy that says "safety, security, casework or other factors" may be used as grounds to deny a media interview.
Sue Burrell, an attorney for the Youth Law Center, said it appeared that the state is using a vaguely written policy to keep unflattering information from becoming public. The state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is in the midst of a major overhaul, making access to wards especially important, she said.
"This is thwarting the idea of transparency," Burrell said.
State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, has authored a bill that widens media access to inmates in state prisons. Her bill doesn't address juvenile wards, but Romero said, "We should be able to have access to state government."
It is not only the media being denied access. Even parents of wards in the system say they're often prevented from visiting their own children.
Laura Talkington, a Fresno resident and the mother of a Chaderjian ward, mailed a letter Friday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top corrections officials decrying the fact that parents like her have been denied visits since July 5.
Her son, David Remillard, 20, was convicted of reckless burning of an inhabited structure at age 15. He's taken responsibility for his mistake, Talkington said.
Driving to Stockton from Fresno to see her son each weekend is important to both her and her son, who is expected to be released later this year, she said.
"It's hard on him when I don't visit," Talkington said.
Robert Garrison Sr., whose son was the target of the alleged abuse, said he worries the state is turning his son into a hardened criminal.
A resident of the northern California community of Somes Bar, Garrison Sr. said he has been unable to navigate a maze of paperwork to visit with his son and last talked to him by phone eight months ago. Even then, his son had to make a secret call from a prison phone, he said.
"His whole youth is gone," Garrison Sr. said. "I'm afraid they're going to hold him so long until he's too old, and then they'll ship him off to prison."
Even Dennise Henderson, an attorney in the San Joaquin County Public Defender's Office, said she has trouble gaining access to wards she represents. Prison staffers are slow to respond to requests, and appointments often get canceled, she said.
"Who does this kid talk to when he's allegedly been assaulted?" Henderson asked. "How does he get that information out?"
Link to Article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050718/NEWS01/507180304/1001
State: No interviews with ward
Allegations of abuse by staffer being investigated
STOCKTON -- The state has denied repeated requests by The Record to interview a ward at a Stockton-area youth prison, saying that an ongoing investigation involving the ward allows the prevention of media contact.
The state's Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly the California Youth Authority, acknowledges that it launched an investigation into allegations a staff member abused John Garrison, 19, on May 27 in N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility.
Chaderjian's Superintendent Steve Kruse was put on administrative leave about the same time. Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Sarah Ludeman neither confirmed nor denied that Kruse was involved and said she would not identify the staff member being investigated under the allegations.
Kruse remains on administrative leave from Chaderjian. He could not be reached for comment Friday.
Ludeman said the agency is denying interviews with Garrison out of concerns for prison security.
She also said the staffer's rights are protected under the Police Officer's Bill of Rights -- yet another reason to deny access, because a ward could expose the staffer during an interview.
"There are certain protections we have to ensure for our staff," Ludeman said. "Part of that is confidentiality."
Youth advocates said they fear the denial mars transparency at a time when it is most needed in the state correctional system.
A local defense attorney and parents of wards said visiting rights are frequently interrupted.
Garrison was convicted in Siskiyou County on two felony counts of first-degree burglary and escape.
He entered the state's juvenile prison system in 2002 and has been at Chaderjian since December 2003.
The investigation has been turned over to the Office of the Inspector General, the state's prison watchdog agency to ensure impartiality, and media interviews will be allowed once the investigation is concluded, Ludeman said.
Ludeman cited policy that says "safety, security, casework or other factors" may be used as grounds to deny a media interview.
Sue Burrell, an attorney for the Youth Law Center, said it appeared that the state is using a vaguely written policy to keep unflattering information from becoming public. The state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is in the midst of a major overhaul, making access to wards especially important, she said.
"This is thwarting the idea of transparency," Burrell said.
State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, has authored a bill that widens media access to inmates in state prisons. Her bill doesn't address juvenile wards, but Romero said, "We should be able to have access to state government."
It is not only the media being denied access. Even parents of wards in the system say they're often prevented from visiting their own children.
Laura Talkington, a Fresno resident and the mother of a Chaderjian ward, mailed a letter Friday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and top corrections officials decrying the fact that parents like her have been denied visits since July 5.
Her son, David Remillard, 20, was convicted of reckless burning of an inhabited structure at age 15. He's taken responsibility for his mistake, Talkington said.
Driving to Stockton from Fresno to see her son each weekend is important to both her and her son, who is expected to be released later this year, she said.
"It's hard on him when I don't visit," Talkington said.
Robert Garrison Sr., whose son was the target of the alleged abuse, said he worries the state is turning his son into a hardened criminal.
A resident of the northern California community of Somes Bar, Garrison Sr. said he has been unable to navigate a maze of paperwork to visit with his son and last talked to him by phone eight months ago. Even then, his son had to make a secret call from a prison phone, he said.
"His whole youth is gone," Garrison Sr. said. "I'm afraid they're going to hold him so long until he's too old, and then they'll ship him off to prison."
Even Dennise Henderson, an attorney in the San Joaquin County Public Defender's Office, said she has trouble gaining access to wards she represents. Prison staffers are slow to respond to requests, and appointments often get canceled, she said.
"Who does this kid talk to when he's allegedly been assaulted?" Henderson asked. "How does he get that information out?"
Link to Article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050718/NEWS01/507180304/1001