During week 2 of my SRP journey, I came to my internship site twice for 9hrs each. Personally, I feel like coming for these 2 full days instead of three short days will let have a complete look on how the office runs throughout the day.
Now that I've cleared up my new schedule, lets get into what my week has consisted of research wise.
Although this week had felt a little like last week in terms of what I did, the unique aspects of the different revocation hearings and the phone calls I witnessed were what made the week more intriguing. From all the revocations that I've witnessed and watched, this week I saw two inmates not get revoked. This was extremely shocking to me since the inmates are usually revoked because they violated their parole frequently enough. So you must be thinking to yourself (or not), what made these cases different, well I'm not quite sure but lets dive in:
The first inmate to not get revoked (since I've been there) received violations for having negative UA (drug tests), and the drug of choice was HEROIN. I am not going to lie, it shocked me that the board gave him a second opportunity to go on parole despite the dirty UAs, especially since I had previously seen revocation hearings with a similar case that obviously got revoked. From what I observed, I feel as though the board's decision was based on the fact that he would not have been released from prison until 2019 and that he seemed very regretful and willing to change his life (I was kind of rooting for him), thus he was granted another chance.
As for the second inmate, he was violated for drug paraphernalia, specifically marijuana. According to the inmate, the marijuana did not belong to him. He said that he had given a friend a ride and that he left the drugs in the inmate's car. How was this found about? He was pulled over and his car was searched which led to the discovery of the marijuana. This was only his first time in the system and he had had no prior history with drugs...
Personally, I feel like the intensity of these two cases are very different. How does one with multiple negative UAs for heroin get the same punishment as someone who unknowingly possessed marijuana? Is possessing worse than using? Does race have any play in the situation?
I know that my main focus is on the victims, but I can't help but to speculate on such peculiar scenarios, if that makes any sense..
In regards to victim support, I witnessed a few phone calls between the advocates and a parole officer as well as another victim. These phone calls forced me to see how misinformed victims are as to what they can do to protect themselves, and receive help... Sometimes, victims are unaware that the Arizona Victim Services even exists. It is things like this that prove why my research is important in today's day and age.
Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope I catch you next week.
-Frida
P.S. I got a few requests to make vlogs, if you are interested in that, please indicate so in the poll.
Hi Frida! I agree - being able to experience two full, nine-hour work days at your internship, rather than three half days, seems like it would be a very good opportunity to take! Personally, I find the divide between the revocation hearings and their situations to be very intriguing as well. What is an example of one of the inmates who did get revoked, and what do you think is the cause of the divide between situations?
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor! I cannot think of an example from the top of my head, but from what I have witnessed most inmates are revoked (I'd say a good 85%)... There is not much of a divide because they were two different hearings if that makes sense...
DeleteThis is all actually super intriguing.. So I'm guessing "revoking" means giving the inmate another chance at parole? The second inmate said that the drugs belong to someone else, right? Was that ever proved? How? Where they arrested because of possessing those drugs in the first place or were they originally arrested for something else, given parole, and then broke that because they were caught with drugs? ((Why were they pulled over?)) sorry for all of the questions..
ReplyDeleteHi ALexis, I'm glad my blog is not so boring. Just a few clarifications though, "revoking" means they don't get another chance at parole and must complete their sentence in prison, if the inmate is not revoked, then s/he gets another chance at parole. Also, these hearings usually each last 30 minutes at most, so it's not like a full on investigation could be conducted to see if the inmates claims are legitimate. This brings me to my next point, it was never proven that that drugs belonged to someone else because, and that did not need to be proven because unfortunately, if illicit substances are found in someone's car, the driver takes the blame... The inmate's original sentence was for something else, this was how he broke parole... I'm not really sure why he was pulled over, I don't remember if it was for speeding or he looked suspicious??
DeleteI hope this answered your questions :)
Hey Frida! The questions you asked were very though-provoking and interesting. I can't wait to hear what you will witness next week! You mentioned in your reply to Alexis that the hearings last about 30 mins...how many of them do you watch each day?
ReplyDeleteHey Danielle. It honestly depends on how many are scheduled that day, but usually its at least 4, sometimes more, sometimes less. Also, the longer hearings tend to last 30 minutes, they are usually a little shorter, I guess I should have clarified that.
DeleteHi Frida! Great post. I love how you don't just passively sit and watch the hearings but instead come up with questions and your own insight as they go along. Your internship seems really interesting. I have a quick question. You mentioned that many of the victims are unaware that Arizona Victim Services exist. How do the victims find this service? Does someone direct them to it?
ReplyDeleteHey Gillian, thanks for your feedback. Typically, the victim services sends its information to the victim's contact info, but sometimes this doesn't work because the contact info is sometimes not up-to-date.
DeleteThat's really cool that your actively asking questions during the hearings. It's astonishing how the inmate that was caught with heroine was given a second chance, but I guess if he is wanting to try again at life its justified. I cant wait to see more updates!
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh!
DeleteHey Frida! I really enjoyed your perspective on why the inmates could have been released. I'm extremely surprised that the first inmate was released because of his history. Besides the fact that he said he wanted to change his life, do you think there could have been any other reason he was released? Keep us updated.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace! The board members mentioned that his prison sentence would not be over until 2019, so they decided to give him a second chance with the condition that if he had one dirty UA he would be sent back to prison
DeleteThank you for the clarification!
DeleteWow, this is crazy. I can't honestly believe that the inmate was released. I thin what you are doing is truly awesome and I hope that you are enjoying your project so far. Has it been difficult for you lately?
ReplyDeleteHi Timmy, as of right now it has not been too difficult, but I am sure when the parole hearings start things will get more hectic...
DeleteHi Frida. It's really cool that you get to experience a full work day. How many hearings do you generally go to in a day? The fact that those two inmates had similar sentences is shocking considering the severity of the drugs and possessing vs doing. Why did these inmates not get revoked over others?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the day, it can range from 5-15... Personally, I cannot read the minds of the board members so I don't have an exact answer. However, in the post I mentioned what I presumed the reasoning was for each inmate...
DeleteThank you!
Hi Frida,
ReplyDeleteThe different hearing information was super interesting, I'm also quite curious the different circumstances involved in the decision to revoke paroles. My question for you is: what do you think you can do personally to raise the awareness of the victims of the protections they are granted?
Hi Magna! I am a little confused by the wording of your question so I'll try my best to answer it! I hope to advocate for the protection of victims with this project and my final presentation.
DeleteThanks!
Hi Frida! I found both of the cases to be very fascinating.Do the victims receive representation at these revocation hearings?
ReplyDeleteThey can if they request them, but most of the times they are unaware that these hearings even take place...
DeleteHey Frida! Very cool that you have been a part of these informational hearings and have been exposed to field research as you have. I think your questions about possessing marijuana vs. using heroin goes back to the unfortunate fact that marijuana is still listed as a schedule 1 drug, even though the two drugs are very dissimilar. I thought your observation of race too was spot on. Look forward to reading more about your interesting blog in the coming weeks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wonderful insight Kayvon!
DeleteHi Frida! Your week sounds very informative and interesting, I'm glad you are so interested in your topic. Are all of the victims charged with drug offenses, or is that just what happened this week, and how many cases do you have the privilege of hearing each week?
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel! That is just what happened that week, the inmates are charged with different offenses often times. I tend to observe ~15 in a week, more or less...
Delete