Convicts confront their past (CA)

[Truth Seeker]

This is an article of 2005, but it may be interesting to everyone interested in rehabilitation and new chances for Lifers:

San Francisco Chronicle, July 1st, 2005

IN A CLASSROOM at San Quentin State Prison with a view of Mount Tamalpais, Radha Stern unfolded her most precious possession: a quilt depicting the life of her son, Chris, who was shot and killed nine years ago over an argument with his roommate about where to put the dishes.

Her audience was a group of 14 inmates, all serving life sentences, most for first- or second-degree murder. The shortest amount of time anyone in the group has spent in prison is 16 years. The longest is 32 years.

They're now working to persuade the Board of Prison Terms that they are fully rehabilitated and should be released on parole.

The inmates are all participants in the Katargeo Group run by the Insight Prison Project, a nonprofit organization that offers a range of classes at San Quentin.
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Read more at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DG01DH7KP1.DTL