I’ve never been a proponent of prisoners rights. I studied and earned a degree in Administration of Justice, but never worked in the field. Until Obama was elected, I’d always been pro law enforcement and viewed the entire justice system from the point of view it worked and needed only minor adjustments. Since then with the attempts to disenfranchise voters, the knowledge that many states do not allow felons to vote, the rise of BLM, my conscience has been raised.
My reason for writing this comes from reading an article by a California penal trained fire fighter. In 2008, I spent some time as a contract fire line worker supporting the regular CalFire, National Forest Service, local, and CCC fire fighters. My work took me out to the lines to deliver food, water, other supplies, as well as to retrieve or transport fire personnel. The crews were busy operating out of the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico.
My travels took me to 2 different California Conservation Corps camps operated by the California Department of Corrections. These were minimum security honor camps where those prisoners had earned the right to attend and participate. I also met and talked with some of the crews from the camps. The duties of the inmate crews were as difficult as what the regular federal, state and local fire crews were performing at far less pay.
Something I did not realize at the time, I learned today. After release former prisoners cannot gain full time employment as a first responder due to their record of incarceration. The story of Dario Gurrola struck a chord with me. You can read his story here www.nbcnews.com/... With climate change and the increasing call for full time wild land fire fighting is only going to grow. Why are we training people to do the work and then continuing to penalize them when they complete their sentences?
Wildfires continue to devastate California, and the pictures on TV and in newspapers are nothing compared to the searing heat of being near them in real life and the seriousness of knowing that it is your job to prevent people’s homes and businesses from being burned. I know because I’m currently serving as a seasonal firefighter. But when I hang up my uniform at the end of this season’s fires and stop risking my life to protect the safety and property of my fellow Californians, I’ll be out of a job.
But once those in custody are released, as I was over a decade ago, state law won’t let them become regular, full-time municipal firefighters — even though California is suffering from a firefighter shortage. The government can call on penal firefighters to put themselves in danger for just $2-$5 per day, plus $1 per hour when fighting fires, but then denies them the ability to get a stable, full-time job using those same skills once they’re released.
When we claim we have rehabilitated someone after sentencing them to prison, we should not further hinder them once they have completed their sentence. Their right to vote and work should be restored. If we have also trained them to do dangerous work, we should treat them as a valued member of society. They have paid their debt to society, if they want to continue to be of service as fire fighters, we should let them and not place obstacles in their way.
