Previous: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Aug. ’23
Welcome to the September issue of First Amend This!
This publication provides an insider look at issues affecting the Idaho Department of Correction community. If you wish to assist this effort, share the link, copy and paste, or print and send this issue to another.
Loved ones are encouraged to join the Idaho Inmate Family Support Group (IIFSG) on Facebook or contact the group’s admins at idahoinmate@gmail.com.
Looking to help improve Idaho’s criminal justice system? We ask that you contact Erica Marshall with the Idaho Justice Project. The Idaho Justice Project works to bring the voices of people impacted by the criminal justice system to the legislative table to work on solutions.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
In this issue:
Bringing to attention drug overdose deaths; Dave Fisher proposes a programming model for true rehabilitation; a condemned man excessively served with death warrants has filed a lawsuit against the state; the former health care provider for Idaho prisons is using Texas law to stiff Boise hospitals for millions; and a handful of other newsworthy items to entertain you before you flush.
Let’s First Amend This!
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IDAHO JOINS INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO SPREAD DRUG OVERDOSE AWARENESS
On August 31, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) hosted International Overdose Awareness Day at the Idaho Capitol Building.
Representatives from Full Circle Health, Magic Valley Paramedics, and Waapi Kani Cedar House Mental Wellness and Recovery Services joined community leaders and people impacted by addiction to reflect on the lives lost to fatal drug overdoses, and to amplify the harm-reduction and recovery efforts taking place in Idaho.
The IDHW website shows that 2,800 Idahoans died from drug overdoses between 2012 and 2022, and fentanyl-related deaths tripled between 2020 to 2022.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 110,000 lives were lost nationwide to drug overdoses within the 12-month period ending in March ’23, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Multiple states, including Idaho, have now legalized over-the-counter sales of the opioid-overdose reversal drug naloxone, brand name NARCAN®*.
But the nasal spray by itself isn’t always enough to reduce the effects of a fentanyl overdose. Jacob Evans recently explained on the radio show Christian Living Spotlight (94.1 KBXL, Boise) that, because the drug can cause the body’s organs to shut down, CPR must be used before and after administering naloxone to treat fentanyl overdoses .
Evans discussed an outreach effort organized by the Nampa Fire District and his addiction recovery group HOPE Guides, to provide Idahoans information on opioid addiction and treating opioid overdoses, and to match those in need with compassionate, community resources.
Idaho has also joined other states in establishing laws that protect those who seek or apply emergency assistance for drug overdoses.
[In summary]
Medical Assistance Law — Idaho Code 37-2739(C)
Any person who acts in good faith to seek medical assistance for any person experiencing a drug-related medical emergency shall not be charged or prosecuted for possession of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia, or for using or being under the influence of drugs.
Any person experiencing a medical emergency shall not be charged or prosecuted for possession of controlled substance or drug paraphernalia if evidence for the charge was obtained as a result of the medical emergency and the need for medical assistance.
The protections in this section shall not be grounds for suppression of evidence in other criminal charges nor used to protect individuals from receiving technical violations from their probation or parole officers.
Good Samaritan Law — Idaho Code 5-330
Any person who, in good faith and without compensation, offers and administers first-aid or medical attention to a person in need of assistance is protected from civil lawsuits, unless they administer treatment in a grossly negligent manner. This protection ends when the person is taken into an ambulance or a generally recognized medical facility.
Visit samhsa.gov or realdealonfentanyl.com for more information on addiction, recovery and reversing drug overdoses.
Sources: Shirah Matsuzawa, ” ‘I Will Never Get Over Losing Him’: Idahoans Share Stories of Loss and Triumph on Interational Overdose Awareness Day,” KTVB.com. “Gov. Little to Commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day,” Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Laura Guido, ” ‘Left in the Shadows Amidst the Crisis’: Officials Honor Idahoans Who Died, Highlight Ways to Prevent Overdose Deaths,” Idahopress.com. Miriam E. Deplhin-Rittmon, Ph.D, “Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Increasing Overdose Prevention Awareness,” SAMHSA.gov.
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WEEK ONE, DAY THREE BREAKFAST (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
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2 each — Cinnamon Rolls
2 oz — Breakfast Sausage
2 oz — Bran Flakes
16 oz — Milk 1%
8 oz — Vitamin Beverage
2 pkt — Sugar
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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DAVE FISHER RE-IMAGINES CORRECTIONS
In an article published last month by the Boise Weekly, Kate Jacobson shared the story of former resident Dave Fisher, a family man who worked for 26 years as an Idaho engineer prior to experiencing Idaho’s prison system.
Fisher tells the Weekly that not long after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013, he was charged with multiple counts of intimidating a witness and sent to prison to serve a total of seven years in two installments.
“The amount of rehabilitation I went through in prison isn’t just zero, it’s a negative number,” Fisher said. “Prison separated me from my children, home, pets, jobs and friends. The prison system is a warehouse where you are stored with absolutely no guidance on how to become a better person–I left prison far worse than went I went in.”
Pulling from his experience and the experience of others incarcerated, Fisher set out to design a better model for carceral rehabilitation.
His approach is unique in that it combines peer support components and continuous cognitive programming with slightly augmented 12-step principles, whereas the majority of Idaho prisoners are funneled through requisite programming months prior to being released. Fisher also proposes using frequent psychological testing to track participants’ progress and determine their criminal risk levels. This, he explains, to more accurately gauge when they’re ready to return to their communities.
I spoke to Fisher over phone as an admirer of the time and effort that he has invested in his proposal. The next difficult task to conquer, he says, is finding the right people to introduce his model into a setting where it can be tested and adjusted accordingly.
View Fisher’s proposal or contact him at prisonreform.info.
Sources: Kate Jacobson, “Local Man Designs His Own Prison Reform Proposal for ‘True Rehabilitation’,” Boise Weekly. Dave Fischer, “A Prison Reform: A Solution for True Rehabilitation and Timely Release from Prison,” Prisonreform.info.
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WEEK ONE, DAY THREE LUNCH (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
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1 each — Fresh Fruit/Orange
2 oz — Peanut Butter
1 oz — Jelly
2 oz — Whole grain Bread
3 oz — Fresh Vegetable
1 oz — Potato Chips
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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CONDEMNED PRISONER BACK IN COURT AFTER BEING SPAMMED WITH DEATH WARRANTS
After being served in February with yet another impotent death warrant, GP Jr., 67, will be allowed to pursue a claim of cruel and unusual punishment through federal courts .
Pizzuto has now been served a total of five death warrants during his time on death row, where he has sat since being convicted for the brutal 1985 murders of Brenda Herndon and her nephew Delbert Herndon.
The last two death warrants were served to Pizzuto within a period of three months despite the state knowing that it lacked the lethal chemicals required to carry it through.
Like other states where the death penalty remains legal for egregious criminal acts, Idaho has struggled to obtain lethal injection drugs as a growing number of manufacturers and suppliers refuse to supply them for the purpose of homicide.
Pizzuto, who is represented by the Federal Defenders Services of Idaho, claims the State has violated his Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights. (The Eighth Amendment guarantees protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The Fourteenth Amendment protects people from the deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process.)
Both claims were presented last month before Idaho U.S. Federal District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who reiterated in a written statement the nature of Pizzuto’s concerns:
As Pizzuto describes it, defendants’ repeated rescheduling of his execution is like dry firing in a mock execution or a game of Russian Roulette. With each new death warrant comes another spin of the revolver’s cylinder, restarting the thirty-day countdown until the trigger pulls. Not knowing whether a round is chambered, Pizzuto must re-live his last days in a delirium of uncertainty until the click sounds the cylinder spin again.
Though Winmill rejected the argument that the state violated Pizzuto’s Fourteenth Amendment rights, he determined it plausible that a violation of the Eighth Amendment occurred, making Pizzuto’s claim eligible to move on to the next step of the legal process.
Pizzuto’s lawyers are asking the state to refrain from issuing any more death warrants or activating execution protocols until it possesses the ability to carry out an execution.
Sources: Ruth Brown, “Judge Permits Pizzuto Lawsuit Claiming Cruel, Unusual Punishment to Move Forward Against Idaho AG,” Idaho Capital Sun. Kevin Fixler, “Are Repeated Death Penalty Dates Psychological Torture? What Idaho Federal Judge Says,” Idaho Statesman.
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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN EXPECTING (TO BE EXECUTED)
James Dawson with Boise State Radio News last month outlined the process of seeking and imposing the death penalty in Idaho:
1) Prosecutor seeks the death penalty
2) Judge assigns counsel
3) Trial and sentencing
4) Appeals
5) Issuing and serving the death warrant
6) Performing execution protocols
Citing information obtained through the Death Penalty Information Center, Dawson reports that Idaho has performed a total of 26 executions since 1884, when the state was still a territory.
View his article, “How the Death Penalty Works in Idaho” here.
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WEEK ONE, DAY THREE DINNER (MAINLINE)
[Fruit and whole grain bread is substituted at facilities flagged for excessively brewing alcohol.]
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1 cup — Chicken Stir Fry
1 cup — Steamed Rice
2 oz — Teriyaki Sauce
0.75 — Cup Vegetables #7
1/2 cup — Fruit Crisp
8 oz — Vitamin beverage
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Source: IDOC Food Service Menu 7.1
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FORMER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR IDAHO PRISONS FINDS A WAY TO F*CK BOISE HOSPITALS FOR MILLIONS
It turns out that residents who received inadequate medical treatment under the care of Corizon Health, Inc. aren’t alone in getting screwed by the company now operating as YesCare, Inc.
Prison Legal News contributor Matt Clarke reported last month that in April 2022, using a shady yet legal maneuver known as the “Texas 2-step,” Corizon filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the name Tehum Care Services.
Clarke writes, “[The company’s] listing of its 20 largest creditors shows over $37 million in debts, but two of the largest creditors on the list–hospitals in Boise, Idaho–have an ‘unknown’ amount of debt.”
As First Amend This! reported in June, the company has also filed to wipe away the $2,631,593 awarded earlier this year to pay the attorney fees of former resident Adree Edmo, who sued the IDOC and Corizon after being refused surgical treatment for gender dysphoria.
Source: Matt Clarke, “Corizon Executes ‘Texas Two-Step’, Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners,” Prison Legal News, Aug. ’23. First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, June ’23.
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IDAHO MODERNIZES PRISON FOOD SERVICE, SERVES WOMEN EQUAL PORTIONS
On July 2, for the first time decades, residents of IDOC facilities were treated to a fully revised food service menu.
In addition to receiving a surprising array of more savory and healthier options than before, this reporter was elated to be supplied after submitting a public records request with food service menus that no longer discriminate against residents based on their gender.
The androgynous adjustment of portions is most likely to be noticed by females in custody, who before were receiving half of the male portions for many of their meals.
Sources: IDOC Food Service Menus 7.0, 7.1. “First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Nov. ’22”
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HUMAN COMPANIONSHIP FOR A HUMANE SOCIETY
Luke Randle with CBS2 news reported last month on the new partnership between the Idaho Humane Society and the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center.
Randle shared with viewers how the heartwarming partnership is providing the animals that society has abandoned with an opportunity to care for the cats, dogs and other critters awaiting your adoption.
View: “Reentry Center Residents Lend a Helping Hand to Idaho Humane Society” @ Idahonews.com.
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BOOKIN’ WHAMMERS
Our friends who publish the Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter are curious to learn in what ways readers have been harmed by the contents of books.
“There are a lot of opinions and decisions by those in charge of what books are made available to who and about how books might be harmful to readers,” the coalition wrote in its June newsletter. “But we know of NO situations where people feel they have been harmed by reading certain books. Please let us know if you are a person who feels they have been harmed in that way. In the meantime, if you feel reading a certain book is actually bad for you: STOP reading it.”
Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter
PO Box 1911
Sante Fe, NM 87504
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RENICK ON THE RADIO
With six years of episodes available for streaming, Mark Renick hosts Victory Over Sin on Boise’s KBXL 94.1FM, Saturdays at 12:30 pm. The program, funded by an advocacy arm of St. Vincent de Paul, shares what it’s like to live incarcerated in Idaho and then come out of incarceration to live on parole.
8.12.23 Author and policy advocate Kristy Laschober returns to the show to discuss how she arrived at her new position at Operation Restoration, a Louisiana-based project that is helping incarcerated women in get into college and advocacy work. Her book, “Perfectly Flawed: Uncovering Your Greatest Purpose” is available on Amazon.
8.19.23 Not long ago Marvin Castaneda was a resident working at the Idaho State Correctional Institution as a reentry specialist. Today he carries the title of “career program specialist” for St. Vincent de Paul of Southwestern Idaho. His experience in incarceration, he says, is a strength that he uses to help others at his job.
Contact Mr. Renick at 208-477-1006 or visit svdpid.org for more information on reentry resources in Southern Idaho.
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RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED
TFCRC — Resident Joe Agnew as the Restore, a nonprofit home-improvement store’s, Volunteer of the Month.
ICIO — Ofc. Junior Garcia and Cpl. Chad Fernald for graduating from the IDOC Honor Guard’s level one military training.
SAWC — Cpl. McKenzy Bradley for graduating from the IDOC Honor Guard’s level one military training.
IMSI — Administrative Assistant Leilani Howard, Ofc. Daniel Cordero and Ofc. Michael Hopson as Employees of the Month. Sgt. Cassaundra Lehmkuhle as Supervisor of the Quarter.
Source: Idaho Department of Correction on Facebook
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RESIDENT AUDITING 101
A public records request reveals that as of August 16:
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- The sum housing capacity of Idaho prisons is 8,249.
- The number of Idaho prisoners housed in Arizona is 480.
- The number of people on probation and parole in Idaho is 15,909.
- The number of females in Idaho prisons is 1,195 (1,475 including those in county jails).
- The number of residents currently housed in Idaho is 8,118 (total population is 9,533 including those in county Jails, expanded CRC, and Texas).
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RESOURCES FOR THE INCARCERATED
After successfully petitioning President Obama for clemency, Jason Hernandez set out to help others through the process. His book, “Get Clemency Now: A Guidebook to Everything A Person in Prison Needs to Know About Clemency and How Families Can Help,” is free for those who can access the PDF versions he’s made available online.
Other versions can be ordered through Hernandez or Amazon.
Though much in the book pertains to federal commutations, state prisoners and their loved ones will also find its contents helpful.
www.getclemencynow.org
getclemencynow@gmail.com
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INMATE SERVICES AT WORK
To: Jacob Evans, HOPE Guides
Date: 8.31.23
Hi Jacob,
Good to hear back from you. I’m excited to learn more about your project and brainstorm ways to help.
From what I remember hearing on the radio, your project originated in Nampa but is looking to expand. Can you tell me to what areas and in what ways you are expanding? Knowing will help me narrow my scope of operations.
I’ve had my father search around your site and relay to me what he can. He tells me that you list your mission, community partners, information on Idaho’s good Samaritan and medical assistance laws and instructions on how to administer NARCAN®.
That’s great, because those links are easy to share and I myself was unaware before the radio show that Idaho has established good Samaritan laws and that neutralizing fentanyl overdoses requires before-and-after CPR. Powerful information that others need to know.
Have you by chance considered linking to or creating any videos that show the proper technique for reviving individuals experiencing fentanyl overdoses? I think those would be great resources as well.
Also, as I begin to share you with my network, I may end up inadvertently directing non-local traffic to your site. This may result in an opportunity to help people outside of your service area without having to tie up your resources beyond what it takes to have your web guy add the links or content.
I may be reaching here, but the IDOC hosts an audio/visual apprenticeship program–how cool would it be to form a partnership with the IDOC and allow its residents to participate in creating educational content for your project?
I’m guessing the Division of Probation and Parole managers in District 3 and District 4 might also welcome the opportunity to inform their clients of your efforts. My reasons for saying this: 1) I’ve been hearing stories of people leaving prison and dying from fentanyl overdoses, and, 2) a partnership with the IDOC could come in handy when grant opportunities open up.
I would also like to ask your opinion on how extensive medical assistance laws are, and if you have identified any need to improve them at the legislative level? If so, I’d be happy plug you in with a folks who help move those types of discussions.
One final question, … have you been in contact with Emergent Pharmaceuticals at all, and have they provided any supportive messages or resources?
With your permission, one of the actions I’m looking to take immediately is to share your project and the information you offer in the monthly newsletter that I write as a service project for the Idaho Corrections community (First Amend This! @ bookofirving82431.com). It has a small but loyal audience of people that come for different reasons from all over the globe.
Again, I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to learn more and exchange ideas. I know it to be true that your project will save lives, and I recognize it as my responsibility to help in whatever ways I can.
Cheers,
Patrick Irving 82431
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SUGGESTION BOX
More pizza.
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Shout out from Slim to Danielle!
* NARCAN is a registered trademark of Emergent Operations Ireland Limited.
Bookofirving82431.com is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Emergent Operations Ireland Limited or Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
Next: First Amend This! An IDOC Newsletter, Oct. ’23 [Censored!!!]