Program keeps convicts at jobs

Chester d.
03/17/2010 9:58 AM

d d. I understood that the employer would be able to get a tax break. Which I actually could see being an incentive. That and some are paying less than min.wage. wouldn't have to worry about vacations, retirement, health insurance etc. And yes, I do think that there are quite a few in town that are desperate for employees. The whole domino affect comes into play here. They pay the county/city back 15 dollars a day, the employer gets someone that is working for less and it brings that whole pay scale back down to a lower level. Revolving door imo.

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Chester d.
03/16/2010 5:02 PM

Amanda J. did you know that some of the inmates make less than min. wage? Employers don't need low paid workers they need employees that work well and will stay. Have you seen the listings in the classifieds? Same places looking for employees. The turn over is unbelievable. Problems with the employees? or problems with the employers? Both? Dennis Houle should never have been on work release. We wouldn't have gone missing. The whole sex offender program is nothing but a mess. Your right there isn't a program out there that can claim any successful methods of rehabilitation. Look at the issue for housing sex offenders in some areas. They have trouble finding places to live. Some are living under bridges etc. Some are asking to go back to prison/jail because they can't find jobs or living quarters. I am hoping Ashley will do a follow up on this story.

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Amanda J.
03/16/2010 10:59 AM

Interesting that anyone can be involved in the work release program unless the court specifically says they can't. Maybe the court should be made to document only those that can be on work release instead. Make the court more responsible. It may sound like I just said the same thing but it's not. There is so much stuff that goes on during trials and sentencing that little things like work release gets overlooked. They (the new prisoner) should have to petition the court during their trial for this priviledge. This should not be left up to the correction center on who gets to participate. I worked in corrections for many years and the inmates were rarely checked on not randomly. One of the inmates didn't work for over a week but left on work release everyday just to go stay at his girlfriends all day. Nobody in corrections even knew until finally his job called and said he hadn't been showing up. Unfortunately the inmates will work for low pay and employers need low pay workers in this economy. Hey they can work for minimum wages. It only costs the inmate $15/day. They have no other expenses. They are probably able to save more than you and I at a higher salary with expenses. Why don't they pay the entire $60/day for their stay? Why is the taxpayer responsible for paying $45/day for an inmate that just sleeps on a set of sheets every night. Chester, You should be an investigative reporter. I like your style. You do research and tell it like it is (with a humorous little twist). Yep I remember when Dennis Houle and Mike Sparrow killed Sherri Collins in Bismarck. It was a game to those two. Spin the chamber of the gun that had 1 bullet in it and shoot. Murders, rapists, child molesters, burglars, terrorizers, etc all have the ability to go on work release unless deemed by the court otherwise. And sex offenders can't be fixed by castration as not all sex offenders are male. They need to be all sent to some deserted island where they offend each other to their hearts content. Some opinion-some first hand knowledge. Thanks for letting share and vent.

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Chester d.
03/16/2010 12:03 AM

I also found out today that the Womens Correctional Prison in New England has also been providing some work force to the Dickinson area. Like I said some of these programs can be a good thing but it looks like the whole project needs some revamping. Big time. It does help certain businesses that are having a hard time finding staff. But then again they might be having a hard time finding staff because they continue to do what they are doing. Putting their employees and customers at risk. jmo Restaurants, hotels and dry cleaners to name a few types of businesses that have been known to work with the program. Sounds nice doesn't it? yeah right. How do you feel about your 15 year old daughter that is standing in drive thru with a meth addict when his old "connection" comes thru? Or... having her work at a hotel and a sex offender is working along side of her. She doesn't know he is a sex offender. All she knows is that he is from the jail. Feeling safe yet? Now keep in mind this is saving the tax payers 15 dollars a day. Think about the guy who has a problem with terrorizing, simple assault and resisting arrest. Working in an environment that appears to have some major conflict going on. Lack of supervision, personal conflict, overworked understaffed Booooom time bomb ready to go. I'd say keep the prisoner in jail, cut the cable and all the extras and have them shovel some streets. jmo

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Chester d.
03/15/2010 11:25 PM

d.d. Good to see yours posts. This following is from 2004 but google Dennis Houle and read about his latest. http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/article_5ac78cb3-2233-5116-9bc6-f12c77bb017d.html The parole board said "yes" to Dennis Houle, 43, who asked to work outside prison walls for the last five months of his sentence, Ernie Reinert, a parole administrator, said. Inmates sentenced to 10 or more years in prison need the parole board's permission for work release, others do not. Houle is serving a 49-year sentence for the murder of 16-year-old Sherri Collins, of Bismarck. Houle was 18 when he shot Collins in the head at a Bismarck hotel on March 18, 1980. He had been scheduled for release in January 1998, but blew his chances after he walked away from the Missouri River Correctional Center in June 1996. It was his third escape or attempted escape. Houle was caught sawing through prison bars in June 1982, and a month later, he escaped when he climbed over a prison building.

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Chester d.
03/15/2010 2:08 AM

I did some checking on the tobacco. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/05/flavored_cigarettes.html The report details how R.J. Reynolds recently sold alcohol- flavored cigarettes as limited edition brands of an ongoing line of flavored cigarettes called Camel Exotic Blends. ** This still would have been a violation of the rules. Just because the employer might know the background behind this person doesn't mean that the employer has told the other employees. There is the whole confidentiality law that states only certain things can be shared with the staff. If there were two other "managers" that were drinking at this place there are more issues going on than Wedemeyer. How many employers in this program have training in dealing with those are being incarcerated? How many employers employees have training in dealing with those that are incarcerated? I think that such a program could be a good thing. However, from what I've read lately about those out on work release makes me think otherwise. Wasn't there a Mr. Houle from Bismarck that was out on work release? If my memory serves me right he was in prison for murder. While out on work release the man never went back. Took a little vacation so to speak and then turned himself back in.

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Adam H.
03/15/2010 12:40 AM

Chester: When the inmates are out and at work, there are random job checks by an officer. Also, when they return to the jail, they receive breathalyzers and UA's. If they are late, they get checked on. The employers who higher them also have a responsibility to make sure the inmate is abiding by the rules while they are at work. They know who they are highering when they higher them, and they know what is expected of the inmate. I can undestand your concern, but these inmates are monitored a lot closer than you think.

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l c.
03/14/2010 9:58 PM

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Dennis J.
03/14/2010 7:24 PM

"William Wedemeyer, an inmate at SWMCCC serving a year for terrorizing, preventing arrest and simple assault, thinks the program is a good idea. “All criminals should have the opportunity, regardless, to try to rebuild their lives, and it’s a great program for that purpose,” Wedemeyer said. However, he feels he’s been discriminated against because his work release privileges were pulled." Excuss me as I throw up in front of the court system and those who broke the law, I am so sick of the system and yet they(the system) does not give a s*** about the safety of our youth who has to work with what, "thrash".

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Leah S.
Dickinson, ND     03/14/2010 5:34 PM

The only reason I clicked on the article was because I saw the picture and thought "WHY is Tom Selleck in Dickinson Prison?!" LOL

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