Inside Chowchilla Women's Prison: Locked up, reaching out

Feb 09, 2010

— filed under: Restitution, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA, Prison

Behind the locked doors of the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla there's a waiting list to join a unique group. It's called the Long Termers Organization (LTO). Prisoners must be discipline free for year before they are accepted.

"We do have remorse for what we have done, we are taking responsibility and we are doing our best to give back what we have taken away," Inmate Charlann Geronimo said.

"It means a lot to the victim. It's the beginning of the healing process when the offender takes accountability for their actions and offers some type of remorse," Tina Figueroa with Madera County Victim Services said.

Inside Chowchilla Women's Prison: Locked up, reaching out

"I'm here for 2nd degree murder, I'm a battered woman. It was domestic violence," Inmate Crystal Potter said.

Potter is paying her debt to society by serving 15 years to life for her crime. But, she says she wants to do more.

"There is not enough money, there are not enough words that can really heal the wounds that we have caused," Potter said.

Last year she sent a letter to the nation's largest victim compensation program explaining how members of LTO had raised more than $138,000 to help local charities such as victim services.

"Our organization works in ways to rehabilitate prisoners by reaching out into the community and giving back in anyway we can," Potter wrote in a letter. "We may never gain the trust or the forgiveness of our victims, but to do now, what we should have been doing from the very beginning."

Read the whole article.

Document Actions

Add comment

You can add a comment by filling out the form below. Plain text formatting.

Name (Required)

Tell us your name.

E-Mail (Required)

Enter your e-mail address.

Subject (Required)

Comment (Required)

Are you a human? (Required)

Sections

Inside Chowchilla Women's Prison: Locked up, reaching out

Document Actions

Personal tools


RJOnline Blog 2010 September (2) August (36) July (42) June (37) May (45) April (38) March (49) February (44) January (43) 2009 December (41) November (47) October (47) September (42) August (46) July (48) June (42) May (32) April (1) March (8) February (1) View all Recent RJOB Comments Ecuador Aug 26, 2010 is this a joke Aug 26, 2010 Peacebuilding Aug 25, 2010 More…	Info Inside Chowchilla Women's Prison: Locked up, reaching out Feb 09, 2010 — filed under: Restitution, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA, Prison from Norma Yuriar's story for KMPH TV: Behind the locked doors of the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla there's a waiting list to join a unique group. It's called the Long Termers Organization (LTO). Prisoners must be discipline free for year before they are accepted. "We do have remorse for what we have done, we are taking responsibility and we are doing our best to give back what we have taken away," Inmate Charlann Geronimo said. "It means a lot to the victim. It's the beginning of the healing process when the offender takes accountability for their actions and offers some type of remorse," Tina Figueroa with Madera County Victim Services said. "I'm here for 2nd degree murder, I'm a battered woman. It was domestic violence," Inmate Crystal Potter said. Potter is paying her debt to society by serving 15 years to life for her crime. But, she says she wants to do more. "There is not enough money, there are not enough words that can really heal the wounds that we have caused," Potter said. Last year she sent a letter to the nation's largest victim compensation program explaining how members of LTO had raised more than $138,000 to help local charities such as victim services. "Our organization works in ways to rehabilitate prisoners by reaching out into the community and giving back in anyway we can," Potter wrote in a letter. "We may never gain the trust or the forgiveness of our victims, but to do now, what we should have been doing from the very beginning." Read the whole article. Document Actions Send this Print this Add comment You can add a comment by filling out the form below. Plain text formatting. Name (Required) Tell us your name. E-Mail (Required) Enter your e-mail address. Subject (Required) Comment (Required) Are you a human? (Required)