Arizona has a prison overcrowding problem and they are trying to find a way to reduce the number of prisoners, by reducing sentences of some people who are in prison, and who have already served more than half their sentences.
The problem is that the people in charge of doing this have no training and have no idea what they are doing. They know nothing of how a prison is operated, nor what inmates are and are not allowed to do while in prison.
I know of someone who went before the AZ parole board recently. Apparently the board was demanding he do things in prison that it is not possible for him to do.
Who are these naive people who know nothing about the job the are tasked to do?
He went in at 17 and was charged as an adult nearly a year later after he had turned 18.
I was not there so I don't know all of the details, but this is what I was told happened.
The prison has failed to keep his file up to date on both time served and his education that he has received there so far (he tried to get a retrial years ago, but all of the evidence has "disappeared" therefore no retrial is possible).
He was told to show up with nothing, which he did. The board wanted him to show his accomplishments in prison regarding classes he has taken(GED). His prison record doesn't even reflect the nearly 30 years of time he has already spent in prison( the prosecuting attorney asked for a 10 year sentence and the judge gave him over 40 years with no parole.).
They demanded he get networked into a circle of respectable people. How are you going to do that while in prison?
They demanded he get computer training- there are no computers for inmates in the prison he is in.
They demanded he be more assertive to get the education he needs to make it on the outside.- That will only get you in more trouble in prison.
When you have a long prison term to serve, you aren't allowed to take classes until you are nearing the end of your stay. He still has a long time before he gets close.
He has not received treatment for an injured back. He and other inmates have access to drugs in the prison yard, due to corrupt guards, which he used in the past (for pain relief?), but no longer does so.
I am not excusing his teenage actions, but his prison term was and is excessive based on others who have committed the same crime.
Who is on this parole board, and why do they know nothing about prison life?
Another stupid comment was that he should ask to go to a different prison where training is available.- Prison is not a hotel where you can just leave and go elsewhere whenever you want.