Helenawinds

Missoula Judge Robert L. “Dusty” Deschamps, The Use Of Religious References In Judicial Decision-Making

Judge Dusty Deschamps has described himself as a devout Roman Catholic. As a devout Roman Catholic, Judge Deschamps follows the tenets and creeds of the Roman Catholic Church. In a recent sentencing hearing for Autumn Heinz, Judge Deschamps sentenced Ms Heinz to a 20 year commitment with the Department of Corrections and restitution in the amount of $461,000.00. He also made the following comments in a written decision: “You seem to be on the right track, and I don’t see any point in locking you up just to punish you . You’re going to have to carry this cross the rest of your life.”

Comments like these betray a belief about the origin of suffering. While it may allow Judge Deschamps to make religious sense of pain, it is in the end a devastating lie against the very identity of God. St. John Paul II, in his encyclical Salvifici Doloris, clearly reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching that suffering is always an evil. Let that sink in for a minute. Suffering is ALWAYS an evil. It does not have its origin in God. God, in His mercy, works all things to good, including evil (Romans 8:28). In his written decision, Judge Dusty Deschamps, through his use of religious references in his judicial decision-making and through his proclaimed catholicism, sentenced Ms Heinz to a life time of suffering, hence evil. Judge Deschamps won’t sentence her to prison but rather he sentences her to his own religious belief.

Where it’s not necessarily wrong to refer to some problem we are having as a “cross” we must bear, in Jesus’ day, a cross was a symbol of suffering. According to St. John Paul II suffering is always evil.

But Jesus meant something far deeper than this when He told His disciples to carry their cross. He said to them, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In Jesus’ day, a cross wasn’t just a symbol of pain and suffering; it was mainly a symbol of death. What Jesus was telling them is that they needed to put to death their own plans and desires, and then turn their lives over to Him and do His will every day.

Judge Deschamps is actually sentencing Ms Heinz, in accordance with his own religious belief, that she needs to carry her cross, turn her life over to Jesus and do His will every day. If Ms Heinz had been Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist would he have injected his intolerant religious beliefs? Would he tell the Jewish person, the Muslim or the Buddhist to pick up the cross of Christ? He can’t discriminate judicially based on religion, so my answer would be, yes, he would tell the non-christian to pick up the cross of Christ.

Missoula prides itself on its’ inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance of all. Judge Robert L. “Dusty” Deschamps does not embrace the ideals of Missoula. The use of religious references in judicial decision-making jeopardizes the integrity of the criminal justice system and, if not proscribed, encourages further use of the Bible by judges and other officers of the court.

Does Missoula really need the intolerant judicial decisions of Judge Deschamps? If Missoula really believes in tolerance, inclusion and acceptance of all, Missoula needs to rid itself of this intolerant religious judge.

The Lost and Unwanted Souls…Victims of Montana Corrections.

The Montana Department of Corrections and the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole have collaborated to incarcerate mentally ill offenders at Montana State Prisons for indeterminate amounts of time for management purposes only. These incarcerations are for long term mental health needs management, not based on judicial orders and no one accepts jurisdiction over these lost and unwanted souls. These incarcerations are for management purposes only. This collaboration is an illegal agreement under the Administrative Rules of Montana.

To fully understand what is happening to our mentally ill citizens one must be aware of three separate documents, when put together reveal a tragic consequence of long term incarceration to “manage” mental illness and no one is accepting jurisdiction for placement upon being paroled or released. With no placement there is no parole or release.

1)  Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Rule 20.1.101 states the Board of Pardons and Parole is responsible for the oversight of Montana's inmate parole and furlough programs.  The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole adopts administrative rules separately from the Department of Corrections.
2)  Montana Department of Corrections P&P Procedure No. 4.1.100 Secure Placement - A management decision to place an offender at a secure facility for long term mental health needs and/or treatment.
Montana Department of Corrections determines secure facilities as  Montana State Prison (MSP), Montana Women’s Prison (MWP), Great Falls Regional Prison, Dawson County Correctional Facility, and Crossroads Correctional Center. The mentally ill offender is now an inmate at a state prison and under ARM Rule 20.1.101 the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole has jurisdiction over inmate parole.
3)  Memorandum of Understanding Between Montana Department of Corrections and Montana Board of Pardons and Parole (MOU)  The parties agree that the Board of Pardons and Parole has jurisdiction over DOC Commitments that the DOC has placed in prison under a Secure Placement Request except DOC commitments that the DOC has placed in prison for mental health treatments for the period necessary to meet the DOC Commit's mental health care needs.  This agreement was signed by BOPP Chairperson Annette Carter and Montana Department of Corrections Reginald Michael.

Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) state that the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole (BOPP) is responsible for all inmate parole and furlough. The Montana Department of Corrections places mentally ill people in prison, not under judicial orders but for management purposes only. Once a mentally ill person is placed in prison they become an inmate under the Administrative Rules of Montana. BOPP says we will accept jurisdiction over all inmates except those inmates that are placed in prison for management of mental illness. BOPP says leave your mentally ill commitments for as long as is necessary but we are not taking jurisdiction. Montana Department of Corrections leaves the mentally ill person in prison for as long as necessary to treat the inmates long term mental health needs. Long term is long term. There is no parole or release available because BOPP won’t take jurisdiction.

Montana Department of Corrections has placed these lost, unwanted souls in prison because DOC can’t or won’t manage their mental illness. BOPP says fine, leave them in prison for whatever amount of time you want. We aren’t responsible for them and we aren’t finding placement, treatment or parole. Montana Administrative Rules says if a person is an inmate BOPP has jurisdiction and is responsible for placement and parole. BOPP says, not happening.

Administrative Rules of Montana was established for a good and decent society. The Montana Department of Corrections and the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole entered into an agreement not consistent with the Administrative Rules of Montana and not consistent with a good and decent society. Manage our mentally ill citizens by long term incarceration, not for judicial reasons but for management reasons. Make an agreement where no one has jurisdiction for placement, treatment, parole and release. Without placement and treatment there is no parole or release.

Under the rules of Montana, The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole has jurisdiction of these lost and unwanted souls. The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole is refusing to meet their obligation to the State of Montana. But then, what decent and good society wants these lost and unwanted souls anyway.

Montana Board of Pardons and Parole Annette Carter and The Montana Department of Corrections Reginald Michael…do your jobs as set forth by the Administrative Rules of Montana or get out so we can find someone who will do the job.

Montana Department of Justice. Attorney General Tim Fox’s 5 Million Dollar IT Consultants With Ties To Iranian Money Laundering and E-mail Hacks

The mission of the Department of Justice is protecting and promoting public safety and the rule of law. DOJ has nearly 800 people in eight divisions. According to Governor Steve Bullock’s Executive Budget, fiscal years 2018-2019, IT is critical to every aspect of the Department of Justice mission. The IT mission is to deliver, maintain, and protect IT solutions, collaboratively with customers, which are cost-effective, timely, innovative, integrated, and secure and meet or exceed customer needs. The majority of DOJ IT systems contain very sensitive information, support continuous law enforcement operations, and interface with the FBI, and therefore they have very stringent security and uptime requirements.

In fiscal years 2016 through 2018, The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Tim Fox, spent $5,000,000.00 for Information Technology Consulting.  25% of this $5,000,000.00 was paid to a consulting firm  Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited commonly referred to as Deloitte.  Deloitte has quite a checkered reputation.  Let's take a look at how Deloitte protects and promotes public safety and the rule of law, as declared to be the mission of the Montana Department of Justice

Deloitte operates across the world in more than 100 locations including Hong Kong, China and India. In the late 1990’s, Deloitte commenced operations in India. In India, ICAI regulations do not permit foreign firms to carry out audits in India. Hence Deloitte carries out audits in India under the name of C.C.Chokshi & Co., an existing auditing firm that it arranged an agreement with. After India was forced to liberalise under one of the conditions of the world bank and IMF sponsored bail out, Deloitte was granted a license to operate in India. It subsequently purchased C.C.Chokshi & Co and now conducts audits in India under the name of this firm.

In August 2012, Deloitte, as the official internal auditors for Standard Chartered, helped the bank cover up money laundering operations related to Iran which were earning the bank significant profits by “intentionally omitting critical information”. Deloitte paid the state of New York a $10 million settlement, was required not to take on new business for one year from designated New York banks, and was required to implement reforms in order to prevent similar problems in the future.

In September 2017, Deloitte suffered a cyber attack that breached the confidentiality of its clients and 244,000 staff, allowing the attackers to access “usernames, passwords, IP addresses, architectural diagrams for businesses and health information”. Reportedly, Deloitte had stored the affected data in Microsoft’s Azure cloud hosting service, without two-step verification. The attackers were thought to possibly have had access from as early as October 2016. The breach affected all of Deloitte’s email and administrative user accounts. As of October 2017, the New York attorney general’s office was investigating the hack. The New York Attorney General is investigating the hack, not the Montana Attorney General, a probable victim of the attack.

The mission of the Montana Department of Justice is to protect and promote public safety and the rule of law. Deloitte, an Information Technology Consulting firm, has ties to a bank that laundered money to Iran, paid a $10 million dollar settlement and was restrained from doing business in New York. This while being paid $1,272,000.00 from the Montana Department of Justice.

The mission of the Montana Department of Justice is to protect and promote public safety and the rule of law. This is their mission while paying over 1 million dollars to Deloitte after Deloitte was hacked because they negligently stored sensitive information using a cloud hosting service. Information Technology is critical to every aspect of the Department of Justice mission. The New York Attorney General investigates, not the Montana Attorney General who was a probable victim of the attack. The Montana Department of Justice has information on almost every Montanan, whether it be a driver’s license, vehicle plates, fingerprints for background checks, driver-history records, vehicle titling and criminal justice records. All this information was comprised by the IT firm hired by Attorney General Tim Fox. Did you know? The breach affected all of Deloitte’s email and administrative user accounts.

The Montana Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Tim Fox, is making a mockery of justice. Iranian money laundering, fraudulent companies in India, Information Technology standards that don’t conform to industry standards. The probable release of sensitive information of almost every adult in Montana. Did you know? Now you do. Your tax money is paying for this mockery of justice.

Montana Law and Justice – Second Year On A Judicial Hellhole Watch List

In the last several years 14 falsely convicted people have been exonerated in Montana for crimes ranging from child sexual assault to murder. Each false conviction was obtained by teams of investigators, prosecutors and judges. These trained teams are from a combination of city, county, state and federal investigators and law enforcement. Fighting these trained government teams is a single defendant and his or her attorney. The defendant is paying for his or her own defense or is given a public defender. Either way the defendant cannot match the dollars spent by these trained government employees to obtain false convictions.

Richard Burkhart recently filed a lawsuit in Cascade County for one such false conviction for murder, CDV-18-0565.  Burkhart's conviction was based on a coerced "confession" by co-defendant Michael Staley.  Michael Staley's pregnant girlfriend was charged with Felony Obstruction of Justice in the matter and was then paraded in handcuffs in front of Staley while Staley was in the county jail.  Staley, fearing that his child would be born in prison, was coerced into "confessing" that Burkhart was the killer in exchange for dropping charges against Staley's girlfriend and Staley had only to plead guilty to an obstruction of justice charge and received a light sentence.  Mr. Burkhart was found guilty September 19, 2002, in large part because of a "confession" that a team of highly trained investigators knew to be coerced.  September 26, 2002, this highly trained team received exculpatory information that Burkhart was innocent but did not turn the information over to Burkhart's attorney.  Due to the actions of this highly trained team of investigators, Richard Burkhart spent 16 years of his life  incarcerated in the Montana State Prison.  Officer Jamie Pinski and Great Falls Police Detective Tim Thiesen are directly responsible for this egregious false conviction.

Chief Justice Mike McGrath said his proudest moment was the convictions of Freddie Lawrence and Paul Jenkins, both false convictions and the men were exonerated after spending a combined 46 years incarcerated in the Montana State Prison. Detective and Sheriff, Sam McCormack said his most memorable moment was the convictions of Freddie Lawrence and Paul Jenkins, both false convictions. His side-kick, State Investigator Reed Scott, aided him in obtaining these false convictions.

The combined sentences for the 14 people falsely convicted and later exonerated was 348 years and 2 life sentences. There are many more false convictions waiting to be exonerated. These false convictions were obtained by highly trained investigators, prosecutors and judges.

Montana is designated on a judicial watch list known as the Judicial Hellhole Watch List. This designation is, in part, due to Montana Judges refusing to act as gatekeepers for junk science and junk experts being offered to jurors in their courtrooms. Judge Thomas Honzel and Prosecutor turned Judge, Robert L. “Dusty” Deschamps are examples of judges refusing to act as gatekeepers.

These highly trained investigators, prosecutors and judges then go into retirement leaving behind falsely convicted defendants to live in poverty, fear and destroyed lives. These investigators, prosecutors and judges live on their public retirements having obtained these retirements at the expense of the people they victimized. Indeed, the falsely convicted have been victimized to propel the careers of these highly trained teams and generate campaign dollars for future political aspirations.

Montana still wants the death penalty.

Montana Law and Justice Interim Committee – Someone Call Search and Rescue

The LJIC is responsible for monitoring the activities of the Office of the State Public Defender (OPD), the Department of Corrections (DOC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and any entities attached to those agencies for administrative purposes. The administratively attached entities that the LJIC monitors are: • the Board of Pardons and Parole (attached to DOC); • the Board of Crime Control (attached to DOJ until January 1, 2018, when it will transfer to DOC); • the Gaming Advisory Council (attached to DOJ); and • the Public Safety Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council (attached to DOJ).

The LJIC is required to monitor the operations of the agencies under its jurisdiction and should give specific attention to: 1) identifying issues likely to require further legislative action; 2) identifying opportunities to improve existing laws that govern an agency’s operation and programs; 3) determining whether the experiences Montanans have had with an agency can be improved through legislative action; and 4) reviewing proposed agency legislation.

 
The Law and Justice Interim Committee has been meeting for the last two years implementing and monitoring laws designed to reduce prison overcrowding and recidivism.   The members come to the meetings with their designer coffee's and wander in late after roll call.  The law enforcement personnel testifying get to put on "their good stuff" and look shiny.  The agencies being monitored turn out their best looking people dressed all fancy and smiling, with reports that have been worded just right.  The Committee Members tour prison facilities and of course Director Reginald Michael always looks great and speaks eloquently. Everyone looks shiny, dresses well and drinks expensive coffee...and spend millions of dollars.

The 2017 Legislature passed a package of bills purported to reduce prison overcrowding and recidivism in the Department of Corrections population. The Law and Justice Interim Committee was tasked with monitoring the operations of the agencies in implementing this package of laws. Perhaps the committee members got lost in Montana attempting to implement the law MCA 44-7-120. A law that actually provides housing for those inmates being released from prison. This law sprang from Senate Bill 65 and is now an actual law that cannot be enforced. I fear the members are lost somewhere looking for the housing created by this law. It is the only explanation I can find for their complete lack of monitoring the agencies they have been tasked to monitor and identifying opportunities to improve existing laws that govern an agency’s operation and programs.

Here are some recent newspaper headlines concerning these laws created by the legislature and tasked to the Law and Justice Interim Committee to implement and monitor.
Yellowstone County: A Montana sheriff is saying efforts to reduce jail crowding are backfiring Flathead County: “Nothing that happened at the Legislature has affected jail overcrowding at this point.
Lewis and Clark County: The planned renovations will bring capacity from the current 80 inmates to 156.

The Law and Justice Interim Committee, after two years of drinking designer coffee, listening to law enforcement personnel dressed up in their “good stuff”and listening to the carefully worded reports of monitored agencies, voted for the following legislative action to reduce prison overcrowding and reduce recidivism:

LAW AND JUSTICE INTERIM LEGISLATION

The committee voted in September 2018 to forward 3 bills to the 2019 Legislature.

LC 93 (LClj01) — Clarifying interim oversight of the Office of State Public Defender. Section 1. Section 5-5-228, MCA, is amended to read: (iv) the office of state public defender;
LC 360 (LClj02) — Revise appointment of board of pardons and parole members. Section 2. Section 2-15-2305, MCA, is amended to read: The members must be appointed as provided in [section 1]. using the process provided for in [section 1].
LC 361 (LClj04) — Eliminate or revise MCA references to Article II, section 36, of the Montana Constitution (Marsy’s Law). Marsy’s Law was passed by the heart strings of voters. The Montana Supreme Court has declared Marsy’s Law unconstitutional.

Two years of work, millions of dollars and the Law and Justice Interim Committee have added 23 words in two laws to relieve prison/jail overcrowding and to reduce recidivism. Meanwhile a few miles down the road the Montana Innocence Project, with the help of volunteers and donations, have exonerated seven wrongfully convicted people in Montana. The Montana Innocence Project did this without tax payer money, wearing jeans and t-shirts and fighting state prosecutors to free innocent people.

I fail to see where the addition of 23 words is going to relieve prison overcrowding, reduce recidivism and provide housing for those leaving prison. The Law and Justice Interim Committee has given a whole new meaning to GET LOST IN MONTANA.

Butte Pre-Release and Alleged Sex Offender, Dr. Patrick McGree

December 28, 2017, prosecutors charged Dr. Patrick McGree, a longtime family physician in Butte, with two felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent, three counts of sexual servitude, and two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault.

McGree has been a physician in Butte for 31 years, working from an office on South Clark Street in recent years and also practicing at the North American Indian Alliance clinic in Butte.

Eric Sell, with the Department of Justice, confirmed that Dr. Patrick McGree, a family practice physician, is under investigation. Sell said the Butte-Silver Bow County sheriff’s office requested the state to investigate McGree in late December 2016. The Montana Department of Justice discloses that Dr. McGree operated a private clinic and also practiced at the North American Indian Alliance clinic in Butte. What the Montana Department of Justice does not disclose is that Dr. McGree also practiced at the Women’s Center at the Butte Pre-Release, Community Corrections and Counseling Services Inc (CCCS Inc).

Community Corrections and Counseling Services Inc (CCCS Inc) filed forms 990 with the IRS. Form 990 shows CCCS Inc paid Dr. McGree, as an independent contractor, $140,500.00 for services provided to the women at the center in 2015.
In 2016, CCCS Inc paid Dr. McGree $139,350.00 and in 2017, after the state began investigating Dr McGree for sexual assault and sexual servitude, CCCS Inc paid Dr. McGree $117,500.00 for services to the women at the Butte Pre-Release.

The Montana Department of Justice investigators, through their investigation, knew or should have known that women at the Butte Pre-Release were possible victims of sexual servitude to Dr. McGree. Community Corrections and Counseling Services Inc. (Butte Pre-Release) knew or should have known that Dr. McGree was under investigation from December 2016 for sexual assault and sexual servitude and continued to force women in 2017 to possible sexual assault and sexual servitude for services provided to the women under the care of CCCS Inc. Montana Department of Corrections knew or should have known that the women at Butte Pre-Release were being subjected to possible sexual assault and sexual servitude through services provided by Dr. McGree. All these agencies knew or should have known that the women at the Butte Pre-Release were possible victims of Dr. McGree and failed to identify them as victims.

The Department of Justice, Community Corrections and Counseling Services Inc and the Montana Department of Corrections failed in their duty to protect and identify each possible victim of Dr. McGree, even to the point of forcing these women to actually being possible victims and forcing them into sexual servitude.

The Montana State Legislature should call for an immediate investigation of The Department of Justice, Community Corrections and Counseling Services Inc and the Montana Department of Corrections for failure to disclose this information to prosecutors. All victims from the Butte Pre-Release need to be identified and provided with the necessary counseling and assistance to help them recover from the trauma inflicted from the actions of Community Counseling and Corrections Inc.

“The defendant said he wanted the agents to just pull his license and make it easier.” These are women with no voice. Who will be their voice? These women were not sentenced to sexual assault and sexual servitude. It was forced upon them by the people that had power over them. These people now need to be identified.

Warden Lynn Guyer, By a lie, a man… annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant

Lynn Guyer is in Deer Lodge, Montana.

September 18

Started New Job at Montana Department of Corrections

Mary Perrien Congratulations!! They’re lucky to have you.

Lynn Guyer Thanks Mary. It is going to be a huge challenge. No programming, mental health treatment, education and dry cells.

Mary Perrien

By a lie, a man… annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant

Warden Lynn Guyer, with a stance of self aggrandizing, is loudly proclaiming to the people of Idaho that the Montana State Prison has no programming, no mental health treatment, no educational opportunities and dry cells (this last comes from his experience with lawsuits in Idaho). He is coming to Montana to overcome the challenges that have been created at The Montana State Prison. I am giving Warden Guyer the benefit of the doubt that he didn't show up at the Old Territorial Prison to proclaim these outlandish remarks but rather he actually arrived at the current prison.

The Montana State Prison definitely has its' problems, mainly that of overcrowding. The state has incarcerated people at an alarming rate, particularly the American Native population. I am hopeful this scourge is lessening with the retirement of Ron Alsbury. The newly configured Board of Pardons and Parole, the lynch pin of prison reform, is failing. Lynn Guyer's edict in Idaho that the state prison has no programming, mental health treatment, education and dry cells is completely and unequivocally false. By a lie, a man... annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant. Shall we take a look?

PROGRAMMING AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES:
Montana Correctional Enterprises (MCE), headquartered near Montana State Prison at Deer Lodge, employs 75 civilians and provides daily training for approximately 500 inmates at Montana State Prison and Montana Women’s Prison in Billings.

The Montana Correctional Enterprises Division provides vocational education, on-the-job training and work experience to inmates in industry, vocational and agricultural programs. Inmates working in these programs develop marketable job skills, a strong work ethic and self-esteem through a feeling of pride in their accomplishments, often for the first time in their lives. In addition, inmates earn a wage to pay their victim restitution and court-ordered fines, and to save money for their release.

INMATE ACADEMIC EDUCATION
Curriculum
The Montana Adult Basic Education Content Standards set by the Montana OPI will be issued to govern all classroom curriculums.

In order for students to receive pay, they must be assigned full time. School is a work assignment and students are not allowed to be assigned to another work assignment, while attending school.

The Life Skills Program provides learning opportunities directed at independent living through practical preparation in a variety of areas. Life Skills rules that are approved by the Education Department will be discussed with and signed by the inmate before they begin class. If an inmate is identified as having a disability that affects his ability to participate in educational programs, an appropriate accommodation shall be provided, including, but not limited to, individualized instruction. The list continues, however in the interest of space this should give you an idea of educational opportunities.

PROGRAMMING FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE- A message from Department of Corrections Director Reginald Michael. Lynn Guyer, by declaring there is no programming, denies Director Reginald Michael's message that this program exists.

The Montana State Correctional Treatment Center in Deer Lodge accepted its first 30 inmates, DOC Director Reginald D. Michael said.

The secure, remodeled facility formerly housed the Treasure State “boot camp” program and now provides a 90- to 180-day intensive chemical dependency treatment program for prison inmates approaching their release dates.

“It’s critical that we create opportunities for people to stop coming back to prison,” Michael said in a news release. “By helping inmates develop responsible thinking, become more accountable and learn the skills they need to overcome addiction, this new program will give offenders a real opportunity to take their lives in a more positive direction.”

MARTZ DIAGNOSTIC INTAKE UNIT (MDIU)

Mental health assessment and evaluation

In nearly all cases, mental health services, including evaluations, are voluntary and inmates have the right to decline mental health services if they choose.

Newly arrived inmates are told how to access mental health services and what to do if they experience a mental health emergency.

Inmates are offered an opportunity to sign a release of information form that allows mental health staff to request the inmates’ past mental health records to aid in assessment and treatment.

Within two weeks of arrival at MDIU, each inmate receives a brief mental health screening, which is usually completed by a mental health technician. Based on the results of this screening, inmates who need additional evaluation and assessment are referred to a licensed clinician. This additional assessment is completed within 30 days of admission.

Inmates who may have developmental or learning disabilities are also offered an assessment at MDIU.

DRY CELLS
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS MONTANA STATE PRISON OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE
Dry/Strip Cell Procedures
To enable staff to isolate contraband ingested, or inserted in body cavities, inmates are subject to dry/strip cell procedures in cells where the toilets cannot be flushed.

By a lie, a man... annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant

How unfortunate Warden Lynn Guyer has chosen to start his career in Montana by throwing his boss, Director Reginald Michael, under the bus by denying the programs that Mr. Michael says exist. Now who do we believe, Director Reginald Michael or Warden Lynn Guyer? Director Reginald Michael says all the above programs exist and Warden Lynn Guyer says the above programs don't exist. Lynn Guyer It is going to be a huge challenge. No programming, mental health treatment, education and dry cells.

Do we need to make changes at the prison? Absolutely. Can we improve programs at the prison? Absolutely. Can these changes and improvements be made by someone with a hero complex? Can these changes and improvements be made by someone that throws their boss under the bus before they even begin their job? Can we ever believe anything Warden Guyer says if he starts his job with lies? Who do we believe?

By a lie, a man... annihilates his dignity as a man. Immanuel Kant

The New Warden of the Montana State Prison, No Real Prison Experience Necessary

Headlines across Montana:

HELENA — A former Idaho corrections official has been named the warden of the Montana State Prison. Corrections Director Reginald D. Michael said Tuesday that Lynn Guyer will begin his job at the Deer Lodge prison on Oct. 22. Guyer retired in May 2016 after 13 years as warden of the North Idaho Correctional Institution.

Warden of the North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI)? Does anybody actually know what the North Idaho Correctional Institution is? Well let’s take a look because it isn’t a prison.

NICI primarily houses defendants sentenced under a retained jurisdiction sentence. Retained jurisdiction provides a sentencing alternative for courts to target defendants who might, after a period of programming and evaluation, be viable candidates for probation rather than incarceration. Retained jurisdiction means the judge retains jurisdiction over the defendant. Idaho Department of Corrections does not have jurisdiction over the defendant, the judge retains that jurisdiction.

Per the Idaho Department of Corrections Website:
"Retained jurisdiction, often called a rider, is a sentencing option available to judges in the State of Idaho. Offenders sentenced under retained jurisdiction are called as retained jurisdiction. During the 90- to 365-day retained jurisdiction sentence offenders receive treatment." http://www.idoc.idaho.gov/content/prisons/inmate_classification...

The North Idaho Correctional Facility is a treatment center, not a prison. NICI currently averages a 414 male defendant population serving retained jurisdiction sentences (“riders”) between 90 to 180 days where defendants receive treatment for substance abuse, counseling, GED and workforce training. At their rider’s completion, defendants are evaluated and recommended to the court to be either placed on probation or ordered to serve their underlying prison sentence.

Defendants at NICI are not serving prison sentences, they are receiving treatment. Retained jurisdiction is what is commonly referred to as the "Rider" program. There are now several options for this available to the Judge. Depending on what one is utilized, the "end date" is when the Judge has to decide whether to place the defendant on probation, or to simply impose the sentence and remand to the custody of the Department of Corrections. During the time at the treatment center where Lynn Guyer was the warden, the defendant has not yet been remanded to the Department of Corrections.

Here is Lynn Guyer's work history in corrections:

Lynn Guyer started his career at the treatment center at the North Idaho Correctional Institution as a correction officer. Two years later he transferred to the Nampa Community Work Center as employment development coordinator. In 1990, he went to Caldwell to work as a probation officer, four years later to the IDOC central office in Boise as program coordinator for Probation and Parole (P&P), and in 1996 was promoted to P&P district manager in Twin Falls. In June 2003 be became warden at the North Idaho Correctional Institution treatment center.

He worked at a treatment center as a correctional officer. He then worked as an employment development director. He then worked as a probation officer and then became "warden" at the same treatment center where he worked as a correctional officer. With this work history he now has the experience to be warden for the Montana State Prison (MSP), the largest correctional facility in the state, housing nearly 1,500 male inmates in a 68-acre compound designed to handle all custody levels: maximum, close, medium and minimum.

The Deer Lodge High School mascot is the "Wardens". Just because the high school students call themselves "Wardens" does not make them experienced to be the Warden of the Montana State Prison. Being a warden of a treatment center does not make Lynn Guyer experienced to actually be a warden of a prison.

Maybe Reginald Michael said it best at the Interim Law and Justice Committee meeting recently held in Helena. "It's very hard to find someone to work in the middle of nowhere Montana." Well, Mr. Michael, that's where we are.

Warden of the Montana State Prison, no experience necessary.

Lynn Guyer, Newly Appointed Warden State of Montana Prison, Shocking Support of Bizarre Judge

Lynn Guyer was recently appointed Warden of the Montana State Prison. The appointment was made by Reginald Michael, Director of the Montana Department of Corrections. Guyer’s support of Idaho Judge Randy Stoker is so shocking and so outside of Montana values. Read the entire blog about this 14 year old rape victim that was impregnated by her rapist and you decide if Guyer’s support of Judge Stoker is something you can support. Your tax money is supporting these values.

01/14/2018 - Lynn Guyer
I first met Judge Stoker in 1996 while I was District Manager of Probation/Parole in Twin Falls. I found him to be a very honorable man. He always kept a balance with what was best for society, the victim and the offender in mind when determining his decisions. Lynn Guyer, Warden Retired, North Idaho Correctional Institution.

Idaho judge says rape is 'a direct consequence of the social media system.' After issuing an unusual probation sentence for a man who raped a 14-year-old girl, Judge Randy J Stoker delivered a sermon on modern-day morality.

An Idaho judge who said a man who raped a 14-year-old girl could be released on probation if he agreed not to have sex outside of wedlock also linked the case to a breakdown of morality in the social media age, adding: If I had my way, I would eliminate the internet.

The unusual requirement that a convict remain celibate as a condition of probation received widespread attention this week, after segments of Judge Randy J Stokers ruling were made public.

I will tell you, sir, that if you are ever placed on probation to this court, a condition of that probation will be you will not have sexual relations with anyone other than who you are married to, if you're married, period, the Twin Falls district judge said.

However, additional details of the judges ruling, contained in a transcript of the hearing obtained by the Guardian, reveal how Stoker delivered what amounts to a sermon on modern-day morality in which he connected the 14-year-old victim's rape to the social media system.

The extramarital celibacy requirement is highly unusual but has some statutory basis in conservative Idaho, where premarital sex is still technically a crime, although the statute banning fornication is rarely if ever enforced.

Twin Falls prosecuting attorney Grant P Loebs said the sex offenders compliance with the no-sex rule would be tested via polygraph. "The probation officer whose job it is to make sure you're not a threat to the community will ask you ... have you been doing this or this or this?" he said. "That's the way those conditions are checked. Not by spying on someone."

Stoker said in court that he could have sentenced Cody D Herrera to life in prison for raping the 14-year-old girl in 2015. Instead, he sent the 20-year-old to a treatment program run by the Idaho prison system. If Herrera completes the program within a year, he will be placed on probation.

But if he violates the conditions of his probation, Stoker said, he will be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison.

In handing down his striking judgement last month, Stoker imposed the additional condition of celibacy outside of marriage, and also railed against what he suggested was today's hook-up culture. He questioned Herrera's level of remorse and noted the young mans proclivities, a taste for pornography, an astounding number of partners, and fantasies of sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Modern-day technology, he added, was at fault.

I think it is a direct consequence of the social media system that we have in this country, Stoker continued. I can't tell you how many times I have seen these cases: How did this happen? Well, I met somebody on social media.

Stoker conceded that Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and other sites might not be the direct cause of all the sexual assault cases he has presided over in the deeply conservative Gem State. But he said the vast majority of such cases originate online.

I can't change that, he said. If I had my way, I would eliminate the internet, and we'd all have better lives. But I can't do that either. It also says something about, I guess, the level of morality in this country. I can't change morality. People are going to do what they're going to do.

According to court documents, Herrera and the victim met in 2014. He was 17 at the time. The girl told him she was 16. They hung out with friends, went to the mall, and communicated via Facebook. But when her mother found out about the relationship, she tried to put a stop to it.

The mother called Herrera and Herrera's mother. She explained that her child was only 14, too young to have a boyfriend. But Herrera and the girl continued their online relationship.

On 2 March 2015, Herrera snuck into the girls bedroom, ostensibly to watch a movie with her. He began to fondle the girl. She asked him to stop. He then raped her without wearing a condom.

Not long after, according to the affidavit of Twin Falls police detective Benjamin Mittelstadt, Herrera heard a rumor that the girl was pregnant. He called her mother to find out, in a conversation that was later downloaded from the woman's phone.

During this conversation Mr Herrera admitted to knowing that [the girl] was underage, Mittelstadt said, and stated he did not want to be stuck behind bars being raped and stabbed for what had happened.

The girls mother told Stoker in the Twin Falls courtroom that her family fell prey to a manipulative predator. Herrera did not just rape her daughter, the woman said, but he also harassed and threatened the young girl and her friends and relatives.

It was his intent from the beginning to take what he wanted from my 14-year-old child, her virginity, and he stayed around until he got it from her, she told Stoker. Cody will never understand what he has done to our family. Cody robbed her of her innocence. He destroyed the child left in her. This can never be returned.

Dan Brown, Herrera's defense attorney, told Stoker that his client comes before this court young and somewhat naive in many respects. His fondness for pornography might be unsavory, Brown said, but it certainly hasn't hurt anyone.

Herrera pleaded guilty to one felony count of rape. By his own admission, the judge said, Herrera had 34 sexual encounters with separate individuals while still in his teens and his attitude was, well, I'm going to use young children for sexual gratification.

I have never, never seen that level of sexual activity in a 19-year-old, in this court system, and I've been doing this for 15, 16 years, Stoker said. My view of life is that what you do in the past is a good indication of what you're going to do in the future.

A little 14 year old girl is raped and impregnated. The judge says it is the fault of social media and sentences the sex offender to a celibate probation. The sex offender can only have sex with his wife, if he is married. Warden Lynn Guyer says the judge is a very honorable man and supports Judge Stoker stating that a celibate probation for a sex offender is what is best for society.

There isn't anymore I can say here that isn't already here. Do you support the appointment of Lynn Guyer as Warden of the Montana State Prison?

Montana Dept of Corrections and Community Counseling and Correctional Services Antiquated Treatment

Community Counseling and Correctional Services (CCCS) Inc is a not for profit, private correctional facility in Butte that contracts with the Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC) to incarcerate and provide treatment for adult offenders. CCCS Inc contracts with MDOC to provide addiction treatment at WATCH, the men’s program at Warm Springs and Watche, the women’s program in Glendive.

The men's WATCH program has a capacity of 115 individuals. CCCS Inc contracts with the Montana Department of Corrections for a per diem daily rate of $63.69. The total daily per diem rate is $7324.35. The treatment program lasts for 6 months or 180 days. The total cost of treatment for 115 individuals for 6 months is $1,318,383.00.

The women's WATCHe program has a capacity of 50 individuals. CCCS Inc contracts with the Montana Department of Corrections for a per diem daily rate of $103.62. The total daily per diem rate is $5181.00. The treatment lasts for 6 months or 180 days. The total cost of treatment for 50 individuals for 6 months is $932,580.00.

The total cost for 6 months of treatment for WATCH and WATCHe is $2,250,963.00.

The 2017 Legislature changed state law concerning treatment programs for people convicted of fourth or subsequent DUI. Whereas people convicted of a fourth or more felony DUI charge were previously required to either serve prison time or complete WATCh’s in-patient treatment, House Bill 133, a sweeping sentencing-reform bill passed last year, contains a provision that allows them to be sentenced to an appropriate treatment court program instead, which Mike Thatcher (CEO of CCCS Inc) finds baffling.

Baffling? Participants in treatment court programs are enrolled for 12 - 18 months at a cost of $4000.00 per offender. If all 165 WATCH's participants were treated in treatment court programs the total cost would be $660,000.00 for 12 months of treatment vs the $2,250,963.00 for 6 months of treatment through the CCCS Inc WATCH programs. In treatment court the offender has access to a social worker, an addiction counselor, a probation officer and a public attorney. They are required to find their own housing, get a job, pay taxes and are at home with their children rather than the children being farmed out to foster care or elderly grandparents. The job requirements for CCCS Inc is a high school diploma or GED vs a social worker, addiction counselor, a probation officer and a public attorney, all educated professionals.

Mike Thatcher and the Montana Department of Corrections operates on an antiquated belief system. Evidence-based practices (this is a popular phrase now used in the correctional system) shows that addictions are the result of early childhood trauma. Mike Thatcher believes Montanans "advocate that people should be completing WATCh as a ‘pound of flesh.’”

I believe that most Montanans advocate for the ability to provide housing, food, education and opportunities for their families. The antiquated "pound of flesh" phrase comes from Shylock, a character in the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. He is a Jewish money-lender who lends money to Antonio. When Antonio is unable to pay the money back, Shylock says he has the right to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. I don't believe that Montanans want to cut flesh from the bodies of victims of childhood trauma.

With a salary of a quarter of a million dollars a year, Mike Thatcher can afford a Shakespearean belief of cutting the flesh from trauma victims. Other Montanans cannot afford the huge tax burden of supporting CCCS Inc and the Montana Department of Corrections antiquated belief system. William Shakespeare died 400 years ago. In 400 years we have evolved to evidence-based practices for treating early childhood trauma. That evidence-based practice does not include cutting flesh from people.

Montanans advocate for improving the lives of their families. Unnecessary tax burdens of millions of dollars does not improve the lives of Montana tax payers, it only improves the bank balances of CCCS Inc and the political position of the Montana Department of Corrections.

Are you still baffled Mike Thatcher (CEO of CCCS Inc) and Reginald Michael (Director of MDOC)?