they have to hold to this parole. hold to this promise that they are not going to divulge any information. and some of these individuals take it very seriously. one example i can give you comes from september of 1862. a union colonel named moore is taken by the confederates. he is paroled very quickly because it occurs during the maryland campaign. and moore is given his parole. and he's sent off of this huge oclivity called south mountain. national pike, he bumps into the union army that's pursuing the confederate army. we've discussed the maryland campaign ay thhearmy of the pot had. now all of a sudden they have a union prisoner who is only a few hours removed from being in confederate captivity. and they were begging moore to divulge some information. they said, colonel moore, good to see you. where are the confederates? he said, well, i can't tell you that. well, we're headed up this road a ways, up over south mountain. and moore goes, you are? and the general who questioned him said, oh. what do you mean by that

this is an image of the largest parole camp in the eastern theater known as camp parole in annapolis, maryland. this is for union soldiers, but their guards are their own men. they're guarded by union sentries. so it was essentially each side cease responsibility to ensure that their own men would not violate their paroles. and the confederacy had several parole camps as well. if you're from the annapolis region and you have driven through it, it is called parole, named after this particular camp. these parole camps had some problems. they're not fun places. the union soldiers disliked the fact that they would be treated as prisoners within their own state. they were guarded by their own men. they were guarded by what were known as the invalid corps, wounded soldiers on light duty. those parolees could not leave. they could ask permission to go into the city and visit annapolis. but passports were issued at a limited rate. they were fed. they were not abused. and they had some freedoms until they were formally exchanged but this freedom was limited. now, imagine again this position. y

, voters prefer the option of life without parole. a poll was done in 2009 by a professor at uc santa cruz where he asked about replacing the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole with work and restitution, whether it is people -- with the people sentenced to life without parole would be required to work and some of the restitution would go to victims, and 2/3 of californians chose the option of life without parole and preferred that alternative. there is very strong support among voters for replacing the death penalty. in terms of how it would work, the governor has absolute authority to change any criminal sentence he wants, and that includes a death sentence, which he has the power to convert with -- convert to life without possibility of parole. the governor would take that action, most cases would completely end with him. he could change those sentences himself. fork cases where the person has two prior convictions, they would go to the california supreme court for further review, and four justices on the californi

violated the conditions of his parole. jones expected to learn his fate after a hearing with the parole examiner. >> so regarding my findings in this hearing, i'm going to defer them for a period of ten days in an effort to look everything over. i'm going to make a recommendation after i come up with my decision. i'm not going to recommend anything today. >> the delay in his ruling meant jones would have to remain in jail until the board could reach a decision. >> come on, sir. >> how am i going to sleep tonight? i'll probably toss and turn. i feel a little more unsure than i did at first. i've just got to really have faith in my prayers right now. i've got to have faith in prayers. oh, man. >> the final decision on jones came during a break in our shooting. when we returned to tampa, there was a new inmate in jones' bunk and jones himself was back at the noah house. a free man. but very much aware that he was still on parole and one slip away from going back to prison. >> when the people told me that i would be getting ou

. >> nobody ever makes parole.hey all come back, come back in this church and go right back out there again. and we learn nothing because there's no rehabilitation in here. >> inmates who become disruptive or violent at the penitentiary of new mexico are transferred to the lockup units in level v or vi. the trouble is, once inside, their behavior doesn't always improve. a lesson rookie amy lee is learning the hard way. >> i went upstairs to ask joseph if he wanted to go to the shower. he told me to take his next door neighbor. i said, no, it's your turn right now, so we're going to go. he said, no, i'm not going right now. i said, okay, so at this point, you're refusing. we later went up with a sergeant and he used choice words, calling me a tramp. >> i snapped at her, yelled at her. and she got her little feelings hurt. if she don't -- if her feelings are gonna go get hurt, go work at a damn church. >> this is what's going to happen. we will pull him out, all right? you're going to -- you can just hang out in ther

out on parole for seven years when he failed to report to his parole officer.een back at riverbend for one year. >> i'm not coming back. ain't no chance of that. no way. just a rat race. a controlled life. can't do nothing. 42 years old. too old for this. >> michael was very young when he first came to prison on a parole violation for aggravated assault. he believes his time at riverbend has matured him. >> it's helped me to cope with some issues that i have. and it's -- i was going to say a good place. but it's not. prison is not no good place. >> don't forget my guitar. >> i figured you might leave it for later. >> david's cellmate, greg edwards, has to wait another three months for parole. >> i'm happy for him. i just, you know, i see these guys come and go. but i know this guy right here, you know, he's -- he knows this ain't no life. >> the time has come for these two inmates to say good-bye to their lives behind bars. >> i'll holler at you. >> michael's wife and sister will be meeting him to take him home. >> it's been a nightmare, you know? but it's over

>>reporter: his parole agent will be watching. >> he will change the way he operates.figure out what got him in trouble and didn't and figure out a way to beat me and the system. >>reporter: several county jail in more than california have stopped taking any parole violators at all. the action have to rise to the level of clear cut crime for them to faced a national state prison time. this story began with a tip. if you have an idea for our next investigation send e-mail through abc 7 news.com or call this number on the screen. >>> for the each team, abc 7 news. >> people in small ohio town attended vigil tonight after school shooting left one stawnt dead and fore others injured. teenager opened fire this morning in the cafeteria outside of cleveland. teacher then chased them from the building. police captured him nearby. suspected shatter attends separate school for at risk students. there will be no school tomorrow although counselors will be available. they say he was bullied. >> french fishing boat towing a cruise ship to safety tonight off the coast of offer cam.

>>reporter: his parole agent will be watching. >> he will change the way he operates.figure out what got him in trouble and didn't and figure out a way to beat me and the system. >>reporter: several county jail in more than california have stopped taking any parole violators at all. the action have to rise to the level of clear cut crime for them to faced a national state prison time. this story began with a tip. if you have an idea for our next investigation send e-mail through abc 7 news.com or call this number on the screen. >>> for the each team, abc 7 news. >> people in small ohio town attended vigil tonight after school shooting left one stawnt dead and fore others injured. teenager opened fire this morning in the cafeteria outside of cleveland. teacher then chased them from the building. police captured him nearby. suspected shatter attends separate school for at risk students. there will be no school tomorrow although counselors will be available. they say he was bullied. >> french fishing boat towing a cruise ship to safety tonight off the coast of offer cam.

parole agent who caught a sex offender in the act of violating his parole in the isles of a wal-mart store. here's dan with the exclusive report. >>reporter: it's state parole agent chris weaver job to keep track of 38 felon back on the street after serving time but there's one that especially worries him. 47-year-old scott herman. >> in this case this is a guy clearly has a problem. can not control himself. continues to deny deny deny. >>reporter: since 1996 herman has had half dozen conviction and parole violations for indecent exposure for annoying molesting children. >> from the become of him i could see see his pant wiggle in the crotch area this. >>reporter: mother was doing some christmas shopping last year in this dollar tree in santa rosa when she spotted herman grabbing himself and leering at her 7-year-old daughter. after she got the license plate number called police and made sure her daughter was okay. >> i explained to her that there are some people who are just maybe a little bit sick in their brain and they don't rea realize that they should not be touching their priv

we reached him at the jail. >> is this part of the parole? stay way from kids? in a store not a public place. i can't go anywhere. they're everywhere. everywhere it makes us unsafe state. we, in our homes and with our families cannot feel secure. from acts of unrehabilitated criminals in the community. >> this outspoken critic of the law from the start aims to ease overcrowding in state prisons shifting some of the population to county jails and by shortening time served for parole violators but neelsson supports building more bed space, transfering out of state and reopening closed private prisons. >> there are solutions. unfortunately now before we embrace those, there will be blood on the streets. >> necessary idea because the states prison capacity was overwhelmed. >> the director of the prison law office file aid lawsuit that led to prison realignment saying other ways such as probation and electronic monitoring will save money. >> this is are other things that are schools and care for the elderly. now it's going for a failed, broken sis im. so this is tryi

it was written the day before he violated his parole. >> parole is hard for me.er to raven. she is cool. i like this part, too. i have been talking to her on the phone, this is my daughter, i love her so much. i love her little baby. she is a good kid, brother, and by god -- he gets on my ass. that's a trip. he's getting on my ass and he's on his way back. my god, brother, you do right by her. don't drink, dog. i love you, brother. it will get better, roy. >> oh, my goodness, i ain't going to lie now. after i read it and laid down, i'm practically having a panic attack. man, am i going to make it? >> it was interesting for me to hear ray slip into the mind set of what i assume roy must have been going through. it showed me what goes through someone's mind when they are on parole. >> i already thought if i didn't have my daughter i would tell that [ bleep ] parole board, let me stay here. if i could just revoke and if it wasn't for raven because i don't want to break her heart, i would just self-revoke, stay here, and they can kiss my ass honestly. that's how i fe

. >> they told the lady on the parole board [ bleep ] and he called her a bitch and a whore. >> the love of my life. >> david and i had known each other for seven months. when we finally got caught. >> she got fired. >> it was a bad choice, but i wouldn't take it back for anything. >> we have an inmate by the name of conrad. >> you get escorted everywhere you go. >> we're going to transport him from a level six facility to a level five facility. we have some issues related to the classification officer that was assigned to this unit. this particular individual made threats in the recent past so, we need to move him to an alternative housing area. he is pretty short, so he will be getting out soon. it's in the best interest of the classification officer and level six to get him transferred out of here. he does not know nothing at this point. at this point he is just under the assumption that he is going to be escorted to medical at which time i'll speak to him and advise him what is going to occur. >> because it appears to be an isolated incident staff move conrad to a different part of t

head to the parole board.r know what's going to happen. you don't know if they are going to deny you or let me go. but i know that somebody up above is looking out for me because if it wasn't meant to be, i wouldn't be here right now. so -- worst case scenario, my parole could be denied. best-case scenario, i'll be out by 5:00. >>> coming up, will he still be happy after his parole hearing? fredrico files for an out of state transfer. the results are less than he hoped for. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. wait -- scratch that -- what makes you trust a car insurance company? a talking animal? a talking character? a talking animal character? how fancy their commercials are, maybe? or how many there are? well what about when a company's cus

and, in fact, had recently been released on parole. so we visited him as his parents' home where he had been living. >> are you going to make it this time staying out? >> yeah, i believe i'm going to make it, no doubt. >> roy is optimistic about his future, and so were we. back at lyman, his brother ray was serving a 15-year sentence for assault but was only days away from being released on parole. we looked forward to covering their first reunion in more than ten years. but then ray got bad news. roy was headed back to prison. >> my mom told me that ray was drunk. honestly, i guess he wanted to come back. >> roy served another 15 months in prison then was paroled again. we visited him five months later. >> i was on borrowed time last time you interviewed me. i didn't have my own place, you know? i was staying with my folks. loved them to death, but i didn't have no independence. and then i was lonely on top of it. i got to drinking a little bit and that turned into a problem. i went to the parole office after drinking. i wasn't drunk,

and charles manson follower tex watson was denied parole, crime victims groups wonder about the next time. >> many of the manson clan have done perfect in prison z they could very well end up being in front of the governor some day who, unfortunately, may at this rate may let them out. >> the governor's office rs says that a court order to reduce the population was not a factor in parole decisions. >> thank you very much. >> coming up, the warning that local mad cow case has nothing to do with bad beef. >> and i'm sandhya patel. here is the headlines. cooler with storms coming through. forget about the spring-like warmth. it's fading away. i'll be back with the accu-weather forecast coming up. >> >>> an 18-year-old woman managed to walk away from this terrible crash with only minor injuries. the chp says the woman lost control of southbound 680 ending up trapped in her car slid underneath a big rig that was transporting the crane. crews freed her from the wreck. the accident snarled traffic for hours. >> marin county health department says mad cow disease is not to blame for the deat

if this is three strikes were sending the it to prison without a lot -- without the possibility of parole, this deserves a lot of debate. law enforcement should speak from their own personal point of view, more than they do today. >> you are the policy director on the death penalty for the aclu in northern california. can you share with us how the efforts are happening in the united states and whether there is a healthy effort in the state of california? >> this is a great time to work on the issue of the death penalty. every day we get closer and closer to ending the death penalty in california and across the country and indeed, across the world. several states have into the death penalty in the last four years. most recently, the state of illinois into the death penalty in march of this year. [applause] we are now at the time when 16 states, puerto rico and the district of columbia do not have the death penalty. many more states are addressing this issue, connecticut and montana, colorado, kansas, these are all states that have had bills in their legislature to into the death penalty th

with chance for parole. >> throw the book at her completely. why give her a chance for parole? this is a despicable human being. she is 15 so we are lighter? at 15 you know right from young and she is journaling how amazing and exciting it was, i slit her throat and stabbed her repeatedly? it is absolutely revoting and sickening. this is not someone that has any remorse whatever. >>shepard: randy? >>randy: this is not about the defendant and it is not about the victim. it is about the system. what you have here is the system can only handle so much. cases need to move. we reward defendants who are remorseful even if it is not really true, who are young, who suffer the way that she did. she had a father in jail, a mother who abandoned her and serious psychological issues and row zach we know is number two on the list that causes violence behind another. >>shepard: she had that because she was disturbed in the first place. >>randy: so you have to treat her deftly than your "cold hearted stone cold killer." >> and her sentence, there was no remorse after she killed the child. she

well, the saturday -- i got that letter saying he was declined parole on friday. i forget what the date is. like the 5th, i think. or it might have been the 6th. whatever the friday was before the 6th. that's friday. saturday, about 10:00, i get a phone call from the lady at the corrections department, the victim's coordinator saying that he had been unconditionally pardoned. i get this letter and 24 hours later a phone call saying the worst possible thing happened. i didn't get a say in anything. i didn't get to plead anything. my rights have been violated. >> does it seem odd, the pardon files that contain letters and other documents about this process, they don't exist for the trustees working in the governor's mansion. >> it's even more odd when you consider the people working in the governor's mansion were not just any old criminals, they were murderers. they are the kind of people you want to take extra care, not rely on just their good works and the fact they appear to have done a good job. you want to take extra care because you don't want to release murde

we can do much better job if we were actually to replace the death penalty to life without parole and invest the money saved in solving homicides. every victim's family should have some justice. >> i wanted to ask you to perhaps tell the audience about the controversy related to the death qualified jury. many people did not realize that when we select a jury for the death penalty case, this is comprised of different members of the city. >> people look to california as we continue to send a lot of people to death row every year, with the highest number of new death sentences. people look at the state and they see how many people in california are moving away from the death penalty, who favor replacing the death penalty and how can you have so many people voting for death sentences when the population is moving further away from the death penalty? those of us. support replacing the death penalty are not allowed to be on death penalty juries. the process is complicated but the prosecutor and the defense attorney goes through a long selection process when they ask everyone their view of t

state parole board approved 400 release 10% of the cases and the governor reversed only 71 decisions. that gives governor brown a higher release rate than his 2 predecessor. brown release rate stands at 80 percent. governor schwarzenegger was less generous denying freedom nearly a quarter of the time. and gray davis was stingiest with most lifeers behind bars with two percent out. >> flood gates are open and let them go free. that concerns us terribly. >> rate may different but the result has been the same. >>reporter: brown administration points out this governor is only following the law. this other grovrs not. under the swarzenegger administering the court steps in an let almost all paroled killers go despite whether the governor wanted. >> other governors have routinely ignored the law and what the law says if an individual has been deemed not a threat to public safety then the governor must allow the parole decision to stand. >> they say the streets are not more dangerous and of the 8 60 murderer released since 1995 only 5 were arrested for another crime. none violent. that's les

the parole board recommended he got the pardon.later he slammed into charity smith's car as she pulled onto a hoi. it is still under investigation. we have asked governor barbour to explain how he could have pardoned a guy who was sitting in jail after his fourth dui arrest after an 18-year-old girl was dead. so far the governor hasn't been willing to talk to our program. they say they didn't know about the fourth dui. the governor hasn't explained why the parole board or his office didn't do a last-minute check of the record before signing the pardon. on another cnn program, on john king's program here's what barbour said about pardons in general of more than 200 people including four convicted killers. >> the power of pardon in the state is to give people a second chance who have repented, been rehabilitated and redeem themselves. >> repented, rehabilitated, redeemed. harry bostwick had three dui arrests, one felony. he was supposed to be in an alcohol abuse program. he swore he wasn't drinking. his connected friends also said th

>> no -- well, i got that letter that said he had been declined parole on friday. i forget the date, like the 5th, i think, or might have been the 6th. whatever the friday was before the 6th. so that's on friday and then saturday at 10:00 i get a phone call from a lady at the corrections department, the victim's coordinator. she said he had been unconditionally pardoned and would be released on sunday. i get this letter, not even 24 hours later i get a phone call saying the worst possible thing has happened. i didn't get a say in anything. i didn't get to plead my case about anything. my rights have been violated. >> does it seem odd that the files that would normally contain documents about the process they don't exist for the trustees that work in the governor's mansion. >> it is more odd when you consider the people that worked in the governor's mansion were not any ordinary criminals. they were murderers. these are people you want to take extra care, not rely just on their good works and the fact that they appear to have done a good job around the governor's ma