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SLO County man turned down for medical parole

May 25, 2011

Steve Martinez

A San Luis Obispo County man’s plea for medical release under a new law aimed at cutting the number of inmates and the cost of care in the nation’s largest state prison system was denied by California parole officials on Tuesday. [SacramentoBee]

The program is intended to parole inmates who are medically incapacitated, saving the state millions of dollars a year.

A stabbing behind bars left Steven Martinez, 42, a quadriplegic, and raised his cost of incarceration to about $625,000 per year. He’s served 12 years of a 157 years-to-life sentence.

Parole board Commissioner John Peck said after a four-hour hearing that Martinez “would pose an unreasonable threat to public safety” because he has said others could carry out his repeated threats against prison nurses and guards.

The cost of medical care for paroled inmates could be paid by Medicaid, private insurance and prisoner finances. The program is expected to lower the high cost of providing guards to watch over paralyzed or comatose inmates.

Another San Luis Obispo County former resident, John Joseph Swesey, 72, is also scheduled for a medical release hearing. He is serving 24 years for burglary, making terrorist threats and possessing a firearm as a felon.

In 2004, Peter and Maria Delvaglio were working to evict Swesey from a San Luis Obispo apartment building they owned. A few days later, Swesey broke into his landlords’ home and told Peter Delvaglio he was going to kill him, according to court records.

Peter Delvaglio locked himself in an upstairs bedroom and called 911.

Meanwhile, Swesey fired a shot near Maria Delvaglio’s head and ordered her upstairs.

Upon arrival, San Luis Obispo police officers ordered Swesey to surrender his firearm. Swesey pushed Maria Delvaglio in front of him and during a struggle she was shot in the arm.

Four more inmates are scheduled for early medical release hearings. They are Juan Garcia Sandoval, 78; Craig Alvin Lemke, 48; John Michael Diaz, 61, and Edward Ortiz, 58.

John Joseph Swesey

Juan Garcia Sandoval

Edward Ortiz


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Wow $625,000 per yar

For this POS and others like or worst!

Maybe we should all be criminals!!!!!!!


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Sometimes I think we all are viewed as criminals by those in charge.


Here’s hoping for change…


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Idea

Give them to the victims’s family and justice will be well served

If they survive, they will wake up to a simple fact, the golden rule!


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Without a doubt, Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, AZ has it right. Tent City in the desert and pink underwear for the inmates.


It’s simple…if you don’t want to do the time there, don’t do the crime.


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I CANNOT HELP THEM OUT

I AM TOTALLY BROKE

MY FAMILY 1ST!!!!!!!


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You would think that a solution would be incarceration WITHOUT guards, The only thing this POS can do is move his lips, put him where nobody can understand him, for that kind of money it would be cheaper to house him in a four star hotel in Vietnam!


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How about a 5 star in Mexico???


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How about a a ten star in Davey Jones locker?


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Lifes a beach, especially for those who are habitually stupid.

No one made any of these people do the bad things they are serving time for and I’m sorry martinez was stabbed by another criminal but he is on his own, I do not owe him a dime…


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” … I do not owe him a dime…” Well, not quite. We do “owe” him some standard of living, even if it means that he is totally incapacitated due to the attack he suffered while in prison. I have no sympathy for the man, but that does not mean that we can simply ignore those who are in our prisons and cannot take care of themselves, so yes, we do “owe” him the ability to be taken care of because he is in prison. I’m not sure how that can be changed; do we as a society allow people like this to be “farmed out” to a locked down facility that could cost the state less to house and care for people like this, or are there laws that prohibit persons who have been convicted from being released too early.


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All we owe the convicted is tihree squares and a cot, they should be making big rocks into little rocks to pay back their debt to society and if they become sick or shanked while in prison they shopuld be spending their own money to service their needs…

And no, prisoners should not be released early just because of over crowding, they broke the law, were convicted of their crimes and owe society a debt of time in jail.


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Agree, being humane does not mean spoil with more tax money.

Beans and bacon with bread – delicious

Patatoe with bacon soup and bread – delicious

A lot of law abiding people having hard times are or can do well on basics.

Why should these felons have better!?

They owe society, it is NOT the other way around!!!


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I agree! Talk about overcrowding, ask the homeless if they would like more space, privacy, etc. when they stay in a shelter and these people, including children, have done no crime (for the most part). Hello, you did a crime and need to serve the time. A cot is correct, no TV, radio, boombox, etc. I don’t want to pay the electric bill for your pleasure, I don’t want you to have kosher meals, etc. You made a choice, not me, I don’t owe you anything but a fair, just, reasonable enviroment to serve your time. I don’t believe in harm, unkept conditions, but I don’t have to cater to your special needs.


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You think that’s bad, how do you think a Somali Pirate would rather be incarcerated in America than living in Somalia. I think those pirates hit it big-time!


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you preach about spending money on education. well 625k a year for about 40 years is about 25 million dollars that we will spend on this one guy. Yeah send him to a private jail and let him live on say 50,000 a year, and spend the rest on our future, not our trash. We need to ease the requirements for capital punishment and speed the process. Bob, you seem to have lots of compassion and probably more money than you know what to do with. I am a wonderful person and available for adoption.


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I find it ironic that virtually every state in the union, and every city in the state have a fiscal emergency or on the verge of bankruptcy due to an enormous of debt and I do mean enormous amounts.

I also find it ironic that the problem has a “common” cause or trace back to a long long history of kicking the can down the road, meaning a string of “camouflaged” mis-management.

And if you haven’t, you should now, wander what motivates these officials to broadcast a dyer emergency and or cover-up/ camouflage a problem!

I also find it shameful that many young people “cannot” survive on a single job (or advance themselves) and the reason for that is taxation upon taxation, from salary, from anything you use or do affecting the cost of living.

More money is used in government for our legal and justice system for the care of these felons than advancing the youth in this country!

I suggest the government utilize some of its state and federal land, open a homeless monastery of some sort and put these sorry bastards out to pasture.

We have no more money to surrender to both compulsory/ underhanded taxation.

In the meantime, if they want more revenue, they should issue more conceal firearms permit to law abiding citizens, now!

Its simply us first and them (including inmates and government) last!

GOVERNMENT IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY PANDORA’S BOX OF SOCIETY


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