The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. Stunningly, in Brown v. Plata (2011) 563 U.S. 493, the State of California conceded a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The concession was based on evidence presented during 14 days of testimony before a three-judge panel about life inside California’s vast prison system, especially for inmates with health problems.

The three-judge panel, which included pioneering civil rights leader Thelton Henderson, found that California’s prisons had twice the number of inmates they were built to house. Some inmates were being held for prolonged periods in telephone-booth-sized cages without toilets. The suicide rate was nearly 80 percent above the national prison average.

The record abounded with scenes worthy of Dante’s Inferno: 50 sick inmates held in a 12-foot by 20-foot cage for up to five hours waiting for medical treatment; a prisoner with severe abdominal pain who died after waiting five weeks to see a specialist; a prisoner with “constant and extreme” chest pain who died after waiting eight hours to see a doctor.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, affirming an order that California reduce its prison population immediately, pointed out what should be obvious: “Prisoners retain the essence of human dignity inherent in all persons . . . A prison system that deprives prisoners of basic sustenance, including adequate medical care, is incompatible with the concept of human dignity and has no place in civilized society.”

California's Response to Plata

The Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137 percent of capacity within two years. In response, California passed Assembly Bill 109 in 2011, commonly known as “realignment.” AB 109 took a two-pronged approach to reducing the prison population. First, it stipulated that many “prison” sentences would now be served in county jail, not the state prison system. This applied to nearly all people convicted of non-violent, non-serious crimes who were not registered sex offenders. Second, once these relatively low-level offenders got out of county jail, they would be supervised by county probation workers, rather than state parole agents.

California’s 58 counties, Marin included, were suddenly facing a new set of challenges and expenses but also potential benefits. Fortunately, to accomplish the goals of realignment, Sacramento increased funding to the counties to support efforts towards recovery and treatment.

Collaboration and Creativity

Realignment had an immediate impact on the environment at the Marin County jail. Some of the inmates sent there were more criminally sophisticated and required higher-level supervision. But many inmates would soon benefit from a new approach to their transition back into the community. In fact, Marin already had some innovative jail programs put in place over 25 years ago by Sheriff Bob Doyle, who has long believed that society as a whole would benefit if inmates received treatment to help them improve their lives.

In 2009, building on Doyle's efforts, Lieutenant Jim Hickey and Captain David Augustus created a "reentry team” modeled on the assistance given a patient being discharged from a hospital emergency room. The purpose was for jail staff to offer a “soft send-off” to people leaving the jail – with the goal of giving them a better chance of success on the outside.

The soft send-off begins when the reentry team identifies those inmates at greatest risk and the ones who are most motivated to change their lives. Prior to release, these individuals are matched with such jail programs as alcohol treatment, domestic violence prevention, GED preparation, and resume writing. Participants are also referred to county agencies for health insurance, food stamps, and general assistance. Others engage in a course called “Thinking for a Change,” a cognitive behavioral therapy program that helps inmates make better decisions through role-playing and thinking exercises that focus on the triggers likely to incite criminal behavior.

Marin County Superior Court Judge Beverly Wood added an innovative approach to the Community Court by holding regular court sessions in the jail. Participating inmates can resolve traffic infractions and regain their driver’s licenses by doing treatment programs in the jail.

Marin’s AB 109 Team

The reentry team expanded in 2012 to include Sheriff Deputies Josh Todt and Dave Estes, and eventually Probation Officer Lucie Brown. Success stories abound.

Deputy Todt tells of a 56-year-old chronically homeless man from San Rafael who had been arrested 40 times in a single year due to his serious alcoholism, PTSD, and depression. After enrolling in Marin’s Mental Health Court, he received medication, psychological treatment, and housing. Ultimately, he reunited with his family, moved into an apartment, and is now working at an auto shop. He has not been arrested in the past seven years.

Getting people into stable housing is a major goal of the team. “A person cannot comply with probation if they don’t have a place to stay or something to eat,” says Chief Probation Officer Michael Daly. “We help people by placing them in sober-living environments, in hotel rooms, and in shelter beds. We have invested over a million dollars to provide stable housing. The goal with realignment funds is to keep Marin County safe.”

To help probationers find work, Probation Officers work closely with Marin Employment Connection, which provides job search assistance, and with the Marin City Development Center construction program, which helps people get union construction jobs.

In a twist on the cliché of “community ties,” the Probation Department maintains a large closet of interview clothing (suits, dress pants, etc.) for loan to probationers with upcoming job interviews. Whether it is assistance procuring a bus pass, purchasing a pair of work boots, or getting a driver’s license, Daly says his department is there to serve.

The re-entry team now includes Marin Veteran Services Liaison Sean Stephens, Public Defender Case Worker Darrell Roary, San Rafael Police Officer Lynn Murphy, and recovery coaches Jim Ricci, Alan Miller and Deena Martin. Also assisting the team are drug and alcohol counselor Pattie Williams and April Glisson from Jail Mental Health staff, along with Marin Interfaith Street Chaplain Paul Gaffney and Dominique McDowell from the Marin City Community Clinic. Representatives from St. Vincent De Paul and the Ritter Center are part of this important community effort. The reentry team has received recognition and presented its collaborative approach at local, state, and international conferences.

Marin’s Public Defender Office also works to connect its clients with treatment and services, coordinating with the reentry team to secure housing and general assistance. When it comes to avoiding re-offending, the Public Defender shares the goal of the AB 109 team – to help clients transition away from the justice system and on to a crime-free life.

Realignment Works

Fifteen months after AB 109 became law, over 27,000 people had been released from the state prison system. And yet the state’s crime rate still had not gone up three years following passage of the law, according to the academic study Is Downsizing Prisons Dangerous? by Professors Jody Sundt, Emily J. Salisbury and Mark G. Harmon. Thanks to the dedication of many caring workers in Marin’s criminal justice system in particular, many formerly incarcerated persons have moved away from violating the law. Marin County is a safer and better place for the efforts undertaken on their behalf.