NH DOC - Granite State High School Inmate Graduation Ceremony Recognizes Twelve

(Concord, N.H.)  The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announces that twelve inmates at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord received their diplomas today during the 2011 Granite State High School commencement exercise.  This was the largest class ever. Commissioner William L. Wrenn congratulated the offenders and awarded them their diplomas.

The Corrections Special School District is a fully functioning public high school that is run at the Concord facility through the Bureau of Programs. The inmates receive their diplomas after completing the required number of classes and credits like in any New Hampshire public high school.

“Obtaining a high school diploma is a significant accomplishment for each of these men and one that will play an important part in helping them to be successful when they are released from prison,” Commissioner Wrenn said.

Eleven of the twelve inmates were in attendance for the graduation ceremony.  One of the graduates was paroled earlier this year.

CORNERSTONE BLASTS LYNCH FOR PLAYING PETTY POLITICS WITH ADULT PAROLE BOARD

CONCORD - Yesterday, at the Governor and Council meeting, Governor Lynch chose to replace (to the Adult Parole Board) two outspoken critics of the severely flawed SB500 law, which allowed for the mandatory early release of violent and sexual offenders.

Last year, the controversial SB500 law came under fire when it was revealed that sexual and violent offenders were being mandatorily released into the community nine months prior to their maximum sentence.  Even though Governor Lynch insisted at the time that the law was not releasing these offenders early, members of the Adult Parole Board, including Gregory Crompton and Alan Coburn, disagreed with the Governor’s assessment, were publically critical of the flawed law, and asked for more discretion over the early release of these offenders.

Subsequently, this year the House and Senate passed SB52, which made critical changes to the SB500 law in that it gave the Adult Parole Board the discretion they requested over the early release of sexual and violent offenders, as well as greater discretion over the parole violators.

Even though Governor Lynch signed SB52 into law, thereby admitting that SB500 was flawed and needed changes, he chose to replace the two most outspoken critics of the early release law at yesterday’s Governor and Council meeting.

Commenting on Lynch's decision to play politics with the Adult Parole Board was Cornerstone Executive Director, Kevin Smith:

“Rather than just admitting that he was on the wrong side of the early release law to begin with, John Lynch chose to play petty politics with the Parole Board by replacing its two most vocal critics – even though he signed into law the very changes those two members were asking for.  Rather than commending his Board members for pointing out a severe flaw in the original law, the Governor chose to punish them instead for their public dissent.  Once again, this is just another example of John Lynch’s failed leadership and incompetent management of those who work for him.”

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Cornerstone-Action is the legislative and issue advocacy arm of Cornerstone Policy Research. 

Cornerstone Policy Research is a non-partisan, non-profit education and research organization dedicated to the preservation of strong families, limited government and free markets.

NH DOC - Minimum Security Inmate Missing From Transitional Housing Unit

(Manchester, NH) The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announced that a minimum security inmate did not report back to the Calumet Transitional Housing Unit in Manchester at his scheduled time.  On August 3, 2011, Jesse Michael Bourque, 29, left the housing unit at approximately 6:00 pm to go to work with a return time of 8:30 pm.  He failed to report to work or to return to the unit.  At approximately 9:30 pm he was placed on walkaway status.

Inmate Bourque is described as a white male, 69 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.  He has tattoos on his left arm, abdomen, and his left right leg. 

Inmate Bourque was sentenced in Hillsborough County Superior Court to three concurrent 2 to 7 year sentences for second degree assault, resisting arrest, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.  He was admitted to the New Hampshire State Prison on June 17, 2010 and is eligible for parole on December 16, 2011. His maximum release date will be December 15, 2016.

The New Hampshire State Police and the Department of Corrections are investigating.  Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact their local law enforcement office or the New Hampshire State Prison at 603-271-1801.

NH DOC Recognizes Corrections Officers for Extraordinary Accomplishments During Pinning Ceremony

(Concord, N.H.) On June 21, 2011, New Hampshire Department of Corrections Commissioner William L. Wrenn recognized fourteen Corrections Officers assigned to the New Hampshire State Prison for Men and the Secure Psychiatric Unit in Concord for their extraordinary accomplishments.  Commissioner Wrenn pinned medals on the following individuals during the ceremony.

•        Corrections Officer Stacey L. Barnouski was awarded the Honorable Service medal for helping to rescue two women from a burning home in Concord in March 2011 while she was off-duty.

•        Corrections Officer Tony Keene was awarded a Line of Duty medal for injuries he received in the line of duty in December 2010 after he was slashed by a patient in the Secure Psychiatric Unit.

•        Sergeants Christian Pelletier and Luca Susca and Corrections Officers Devin Barlow, Justin Evans, Andrew Hilson, and Anthony Kappes were each awarded the Life Saving medal for helping to pull an inmate to safety from a fire in his cell in the Special Housing Unit in September 2010.

•        Sergeant Michael Shaw, Corporal David Stevens, and Corrections Officer Robert Charter each received a Team Commendation medal for safely evacuating seven other inmates who lived in the same tier during the September 2010 fire.

•        Corporals Glenn Daniels, Craig Orlando, and Jason Wyatt each received a Team Commendation medal for diffusing a suicide attempt by an inmate in the Reception and Diagnostic Unit in February 2010.

Commissioner Wrenn said, “These employees went above and beyond to safely resolve potentially tragic situations.  These are the kind of dangers that our officers face on a daily basis and this is our way of recognizing their professionalism in their service to the public in the highest regard.”

NH DOC - New Hampshire GraniteCOR to Exhibit at Business Expo

(Bretton Woods, N.H.) The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announces that New Hampshire Correctional Industries-GraniteCOR will have an exhibition booth at the thirteenth annual Mount Washington Valley Business Expo to be held on June 6-7, 2011 at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods.

Tables and chairs manufactured by inmates at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility (NCF) in Berlin will be on display.  GraniteCOR Administrator Fred Nichols and NCF Industries Supervisor George Adams will be available to answer questions and provide brochures.

GraniteCOR is a self-funded job skills building program in the state correctional system where offenders learn manufacturing and other skills that will be useful for when they are released from prison. The operations include a furniture shop, wood shop, sign shop, print shop, and the license plate shop. Over three hundred offenders participate in the program.