P ortia nei O bservar Thursday. M a rc h 22, 1979 Paga 5
Behind the Wall
Larry Baker »35021.
O. S P Corresponden!
American State Bank
Ju,lus D ‘Sno wden 9390,3
E d,,o r
_____
* ‘ The Bank I ha I integration butt! ' ’
2737 N.E. Union
Seldom will you find a group o f
convicts willing lo say, "(hank yo u,"
io a Superinicndcnt o f a state prison.
This is especially noteworthy since
only a few weeks ago those same pri
soners were confined to their cells for
a period o f six days with the loss o f
their privileges, recreation and hot
meals. Lord only knows how many
of them made dolls resembling Hoyi
C Cupp. Superintendent o f O .S .P .,
and stuck them with needles and pins
while playing the "V o o d o o " game.
Oh! W o w , I can still taste those
damn stale sandwiches.
What separates the men from the
boys in an institution is the fact that
they can publicly aknowledge some
thing good that someone else has
done lor them. So if "T h e M an ’ ’ has
a thank you coming, then he is en
titled to it. right up front.
Hoyt C . C upp recently announced
that O .S .P . had been given full insti
tutional sanction to a "special in
terest class" that two years ago was
only an inmate’ s dream.
Time and tim e again Cupp has
warned the residents o f this in
stitution that if he ever received even
the slightest hint o f an 'inmate coun
cil" being formed, even if it was in
the middle o f the night, he would
jump right out o f his warm bed.
pajamas and all. and come running
down here with one purpose in mind.
"Everybody is going to the ‘ H ole’ .
Wow! T h a t’s not a dream, that’s a
nightmare.
What type o f a "special interest”
class did Cupp sanction? It is called
The Class o f Legal Processes. ’
Thirty inmates, whose responsi
bility it is to govern themselves, set
up their own curriculum designed to
learn the basis o f civil, state and fed
eral law. The inmate students also
have the privilege to invite anyone
to their sessions knowledgeable in
those fields as a guest lecturer or par
ticipant.
" I l wasn't until I started attending
these sessions and learned how and
why some laws were created by our
leg islato rs.’ * says C lifto n W ash.
" T h a t J a c tu a lly began J o gain
respect for them, as well as for what
those laws stood fo r."
W ho teaches and lectures at these
sessions (or the class? Check this
out Attorneys, judges, law profes
sors. legislators and etc.
“ Heck, I had my own sentencing
judge come in and lecture on the sen
State Representative Jane Cease, and Kathy Pete of W illamette Law
School talk to inmate students of the Class of Legal Processes.
tencing procedures o f the c o u rt,”
said David Crawford.
Many o f the inmates in the class
have been th ro u gh the c rim in a l
justice system many times and will
readily admit they still don’t know
what went on in the c o u rtro o m
before they were sentenced.
" M a n , that ain’t nothing,” inter
rupted Pete Gongales. “ W e’ ve even
had the state's prosecutor in my trial
come to class and lecture on legal
courtroom procedures."
Convicted prisoners being lectured
to by judges and district attorneys in
side a prison? Makes one question if
Keesey’s Academy Award winning
film , “ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest" was filmed where? O h, well!
Right city, but wrong street.
The Class o f Legal Processes goes
into its third year o f operation this
month and its maximum capacity has
increased from ten to thirty students
since it originated in March 1979.
The classes' popularity has spread
throughout the prison population.
There are over 100 inmates on a
waiting list.
The success o f the class cannot be
measured by the inmates alone. In
cooperation w ith prison o ffic ia ls ,
many valuable people have helped tie
this success together and it now func
tions in official capacity with state
wide coordinators.
N o rth e rn O rego n a re a , Judge
Robert E. Jones, Multnomah County
C irc u it C o u rt. S ou th ern O regon
a re a , D ix ie H a n n o n , A s h la n d ,
Oregon, (w ife o f State Senator Lenn
H a n n o n ). E astern O reg o n a re a .
Judge W alt I. Edmonds, Deschutes
c o u n ty C irc u it C o u rt. W estern
Oregon area, Andy Bugas, Astoria,
Oregon, (son o f State Representative
Theodore T . Bugas). Oregon’s Legi
slative area, Shirley M ead, Salem,
Oregon. Together these individuals
have c o n trib u te d endless hours
volunteering service to help build the
class.
" I have never been in an environ
ment with so many top o fficials,
from this state, where you can get to
know them as human beings and
respect their viewpoints from where
they stand. Every Wednesday night I
personally look fo rw a rd to these
sessions. I think they’re neat,” stated
Donald D u ffy .
Recently the inmate students had
as their guest Phyllis Burke, a law
student a tte n d in g N o rth w e s te rn
Law School. M s. Burke who has
been involved with prison o u t-o f-
state educational programs around
the country and at present is attempt-
ing to obtain a law degree; wants to
pass the Oregon Bar Association and
practice law in this state, mentioned,
"This is the first time I have ever
heard o f this type o f a ;lass being
established inside o f a p ris o n ’ s
walls.”
W hat effects have the class
Sessions had upon the prison? Since
the first class, about 200 inmates
have participated in them and only
nine have been known to receive any
type o f disciplinary infractions while
they were students. The class also
teaches the inmate to use the legal
procedures if having problems with
guards or staff when they feel there is
no other course o f action open.
As one guard pointed out, "now
days it’s almost getting to the point
where we (guards) have to learn all
the civil rights status before we can
write a disciplinary report that will
stand up in court on these guys.
Sometimes I have to go home and
practice the ‘quick-draws’ with my
pencil to write a man up (disciplinary
report), because if I don’t draw fast
enough, I can get hit with a grievance
report from the inm ate."
H .C . Cupp respects this type o f
action between inmates and staff in
resolving their problems, if there is
no more room for discussing their
grievances. Learning how to handle
th e ir fru s tra tio n s th ro u g h legal
channels, instead o f violence, is the
most healthful lesson a person can
learn in life ,” says Superintendent
C upp. C upp has awarded his in
stitution with over $20,000 in new
law books and materials last year
and he expects them to be used.
"Unless everything is done in a
voluntary nature the class w ill not
accept it,” says the inmate class coor
dinator. “ Receiving funds or writing
a grant for assistance would take the
needed human element out o f the
sessions. I really respect these elec
tiv e , c iv il and p ro fe s s io n a l in
dividuals who can drop to this level
o f society to help a person under
stand what different laws mean and
stand fo r. Some day it w ill once
again be a way o f life for more than
95V# o f us upon release.”
So this is what H oyt C. Cupp is
being thanked fo r — opening the
doors o f this prison so the residents
can learn from the experts ‘ the way
o f life .’
282-2216
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TAKE ELEVATOR TO 2ND FLOOR 3RD ST. ENTRANCE
A Cook's Tour of the Legislature
by State Senator Vern Cook
By the tim e you read this, the
House Tax Plan, the alternative to
G overnor A tiy c h ’ s program , has
probably been passed by the Oregon
House of Representatives and is on
the way to the Senate for almost im
mediate consideration. The program
definitely has broad and bi-partisan
support.
We outlined the m ajor proposal in
our previous column, a 30V# property
tax refund o f up lo $800 with similar
renter reb ate, the present hom e
owner and renter relief on lop o f that
for those with income up to $17,500,
a rebate o f income tax payments o f
about $100 on the average, and an
indexing in the income tax to reduce
the effects o f inflation.
The House plan would be entirely
statutory without a need for a vote
on a Constitutional amendment. De
signed to cover the com ing b i
ennium, the first calender year o f
operation (1979) would be covered
by the law. The measure would be
submitted to voters in the May 1980
prim ary election and i f approved
would becom e e ffe c tiv e fo r the
second calendar year (1 9 8 0 ) and
would then become a permanent
program for the future, except the
income tax indexing which would
have to be renewed by the
l egislature.
Also mandated would be a new
method for submitting local govern
ment tax levies, affecting all amounts
in excess o f the six percent lim ita
tion . A fte r voter approval o f an
amount equal to the previous year’ s
excess above the lim itation, any ad
ditional amount could be submitted
to the voters only three times.
Our Judiciary committee is con
tinuing its review o f Rules o f C ivil
Procedure, which we expect to com
plete by month’s end. Authorized by
the *77 Legislature, the new rules will
take effect 90 days after the session
unless vetoed by the Legislature.
They will have significant effects on
all litigation.
Bills sought by the Support E n
forcement Division o f the Attorney
G e n e ra l’ s o ffic e , in vo lved w ith
collecting child support from non
custodial parents, would strengthen
the hand o f the state. Utah, with the
best U .S. collection record, receives
only 11% o f the amounts due. with
Oregon at 8 % , one o f the N ation’s
leaders. The bill would require notice
to the division o f any decree m odifi
cation, would make state and federal
pensions subject to garnishment, and
would extend the long-arm jurisdic
tion statute to get at out-of-state
fathers o f c h ild re n born out o f
wedlock A no th er b ill contains a
radical proposal to substitute ad
m inistrative procedures fo r court
procedures. This would lim it the
rights o f individuals involved.
A very interesting bill has been the
“ Free Speech” Senate Bill 361 which
China, farmers luncheon topic
At a luncheon hostessed by the
Marion County Jane Jefferson Club,
( ongressman Les AuCoin will speak
on “ T h e P eo p le's R epublic o f
C h in a ." A t 1:30 and 3.30 issues
workshops will lake place in which
grass roots Democrats and Democra
tic Legislators will discuss such issues
as " T h e Rising M ilita n c y o f the
Am erican F arm er — Justified or
N o t? ” and " W h a t Features D o
Democrats Wish to see Incorporated
into a Legislative Plan?” Each work-
I
shop discussion w ill be led by a
legislator and a member o f the Plat
form and Resolutions Committee o f
the Democratic Party o f Oregon.
A banquet at Putman Center will
continue the forum. Organizers have
taken care to select buildings with a
m inim um o f architectural barriers
fo r the elderly and handicapped.
R e g is tra tio n and the m o rn in g
program will be held in the Collins
Legal C enter. A ll Dem ocrats are
urged to attend.
w o u ld open q u a s i-p u b lic areas.
Voiumns o f letters have been received,
and the com m ittee is w orking on
amendments to remove some objec
tions yet retain the rights o f the
public to express freedom o f speech
in the public areas o f shopping cen
ters.
T h e c o m m itte e has also been
assigned SB 581 which would repeal
the 55 mile an hour speed limit and
return Oregon to the Basic Rule. The
bill, introduced by Judiciary com
m ittee, w ill delve at considerable
length into the truth or falsity o f
claims and charges for and against
the bill, relating to lives saved, fuel
conserved, and threatened energy
shortages. W e hope for at least a
cleanup o f the present law to remove
the energy speed limit when the fuel
shortage ends.
Considered at the request o f the
C ity o f Portland is a bill to make life
harder for pimps (procurers for pro
stitution). The testimony o f prosti
tutes would be allowed without cor
roborating testimony, which is some
times required where the witness is a
participant in a crime, but which is
not universally required. I will also
propose making procuration o f Class
A instead o f a Class C fe lo n y ,
thereby increasing the potential sen
tence. Portland C ity Commissioner
Charles Jordan appeared in support.
A lthough the b ill w on’t elim inate
prostitution it will surely discourage
it.
A t the next L egislative R eport
Breakfast on Saturday, March 31st,
House Speaker Hardy Myers will be
the special guest speaker The break
fast, starting at 8:00 a .m ., runs for
two hours at the M & M Restaurant,
137 N. M ain Avenue in downtown
Gresham. The public is urged to a t
tend. Senator Bill M cC oy was the
special guest on March 17th.
I always welcome opinions to help
guide me in the Legislature, and the
breakfasts are an effective way to
convey them. Your letters and cards
are likewise always welcome at my
office. W rite to me: Senator Vern
C ook, S2I I , C apitol, Salem, Oregon
97310.
E
X
O
D
U
S
1518 NE KILLINGSWORTH
PORTLAND. OREGON 97211
284 7997
MARCH 1979
On the Season of Spring:
Spring is nature's activity of renewed sub
stance.
On Self-Control:
I count him braver who overcomes his
desires than him who conquers his enemies; for
the hardest victory is the victory over SELF.
Aristotle
On Self-Reliance:
The greatest thing in the world is to know
how to be sufficient unto oneself.
Montaigne
On Reward:
The reward of a thing well done is to have
done it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
r