Behind Bars: The truth about life without the possibility of parole

What if you could help provide hope to the life of a person who has none? 

This is a new blog, but one that I hold very dear to my heart. In part, for personal reasons, but mainly to offer the public a glimpse at what is really going on. The contents of this blog may contain factual information that some may find offensive. In no way is it meant to, but sometimes the truth is a bitter pill to swallow. 

There are a group of women that have in the past behaved very badly. So badly, they are now safely ensconced behind triple layer fences topped with electrified razor wire. They are a select group of women who broke the law, committed, or were a party to a murder(s). For their crimes, it was decided by the courts, either by trial or plea bargain, that they would serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for their crime. In other words, their chances of being released at this point in time, are zero.

Now you might be wondering why on earth ANYONE would want to listen to anything that might benefit these women. Why would anyone choose to hep? My intentions here are not to persuade you to think these women are victims of circumstance, nor are they victims of society. Most, if not all, are most likely guilty of their crimes. Many of these women have been serving their life sentences at one of two state prisons in California: Central California Women's Facility and California Institute for Women. I will begin my focus on the former prison, hereby known as "CCWF". 

My knowledge of these women stems from a former high school friend, Michelle Rene Scott, who committed her first and only crime, a double homicide 24 years ago. She was 26 at the time. That event resulted in the deaths of two persons, a man (her former boyfriend), and his current girlfriend. Both were shot at close range and died as the result. I will write another blog detailing the event more, but today my focus is meant to be on the women, not one woman in particular, who face the sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

CCWF houses many women facing life sentences. The numbers are staggering, however, the number of women facing life without the possibility of parole (now called "LWOP"), is about 88. The amount of time these women have served ranges from 30+ years down to less than 1 year for the new comers, who arrive all the time. In Michelle Scott's case, she has been incarcerated for 24 years now.

The current laws regarding the possibility for parole eligibility for non-LWOP's have changed dramatically. It used to be highly unlikely that the parole board would grant parole to a inmate serving a life sentence. Special circumstances were needed, along with a "perfect inmate record". That in itself is not always easy to maintain after 30 some years. Still, occasionally they were released. Now, as of today's date, the number of women being released is huge. They are also likely to have committed a murder, mayhem, great bodily injury, kidnapping, robbery, etc...however, their sentence was deemed appropriate for the possibility of parole, of which, they are likely to get granted after serving a percentage of their time.

So what is the point I'm trying to make? It's simply this: inmates serving a life sentence are being released every day whether or not you have any knowledge or input regarding the matter. Some of these inmates may rightly deserve to be released, others in my opinion, should not be, but will be.

Inmates serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole do not have a chance to go home. Some of these inmates have worked very hard to be rehabilitated and make the most of their time. Many have served 20-30 years of their sentences. I believe that these women deserve the same consideration as the ones that are only facing a life sentence, and these considerations certainly should be on an individual basis.

My goal here is to educate the public on the facts- not attempt to sway you. You be the judge. These women have nothing to lose.

You may be wondering where I get my information. The answer to that is: I was once a prisoner along side these women. I met them, got to know them, and witnessed the hard work they have accomplished. They do this knowing they will not go home- they just want to turn their lives around.

I encourage all feedback and I am always happy to answer any questions. Thank you for taking the time to view this blog.