O'Rourke to visit inmates inside California's San Quentin

[TexasTowelie]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is planning to visit San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco on Saturday to meet with inmates and have them lead him on a tour of the facility — a rare peek behind bars for a White House hopeful.

The former Texas congressman will spend part of his time with inmates who are close to finishing their sentences, discussing ways to improve the "re-entry" process into society and to combat recidivism. He will also conduct an interview with "Ear Hustle," a podcast produced by inmates inside the all-male prison that is California's oldest.

President Barack Obama visited El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security facility for male offenders in Oklahoma, in July 2015, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to set foot inside a federal prison. Obama was calling then for shortening the sentences of non-violent drug offenders and advocating for the reduction, or outright elimination, of severe mandatory minimum sentences.

O'Rourke's visit follows his attending a roundtable Thursday in Las Vegas, where he spoke with formerly incarcerated people about restoring voting rights, providing better training and education for former prisoners and overhauling the criminal justice system. A new Nevada law restores voting rights to inmates automatically upon their release from prison — something O'Rourke supports.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/ap/o-rourke-to-visit-inmates-inside-california-s-san-quentin/article_b3d11053-b8cf-502d-aae7-3a93d1f8d9dc.html

[Indygram]

1. I absolutely LOVE that he's doing this!

His hunger to learn and truly understand things is rare in politicians.

[dalton99a]

2. Cornell University study: Nearly half of Americans have had a family member jailed, imprisoned

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/03/study-nearly-half-americans-have-had-family-member-jailed-imprisoned

Study: Nearly half of Americans have had a family member jailed, imprisoned
By Susan Kelley | March 4, 2019

In a groundbreaking Cornell-led study illuminating the extensive scope of mass incarceration in the U.S., nearly 1 in 2 Americans have had a brother or sister, parent, spouse or child spend time in jail or prison – a far higher figure than previously estimated.

The study is the first to accurately measure the share of Americans – 45 percent – who have ever had an immediate family member jailed or imprisoned for one night or more. The researchers had assumed they would find half that rate.

“The core takeaway is family member incarceration is even more common than any of us – all of whom are experts in the field – had anticipated,” said Christopher Wildeman, professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology and a co-author of the study, which appeared March 4 in Socius.

The figures are even higher for African-Americans and people with low education levels; for those groups, nearly 3 in 5 have had an immediate family member incarcerated, the team found. And siblings were the most common immediate family member to be incarcerated, the researchers said – another surprise finding – and a trend about which not much is known.