REHABILITATED, BUT STILL DENIED

POLITICS AND NOTERIETY INTERFERE WITH PAROLE PROCESS

SENT TO SEGREGATION UNIT

APPEALS TO GOV . SCHWARZENEGGER

Sending a strong signal to California inmates that rehabilitation efforts make no difference when it comes to parole, on May 23, 2005 , the California Board of Prison Terms told inmate Jeffrey Perrotte to come back and try again, in two more years. California sentenced Perrotte to prison on August 19, 1993 . This May was the second time the Board of Prison Terms passed him over for parole.

Perrotte serves a 15-years-to-life sentence for Second Degree Murder, as a result of the 1992 auto accident that took the life of Jilly Rizzo. The entire story can be read here.

By his own words, Perrotte agrees with his being imprisoned. "I am a convicted murderer, I am ashamed of my actions and terribly sorry for the pain and suffering that I caused," Perrotte says on his website. Perrotte made terrible choices that resulted in the tragic death of an innocent man. Before that, he made terrible choices that led to alcoholism.

Once he entered prison in 1993, Perrotte chose differently. Perrotte gained sobriety with the help of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous, and has remained sober during his incarceration. Bootlegged alcohol is readily available in prison, but Perrotte refuses it.

He devoted himself to the development of his mind and spirit. "He has received from an accredited California university his bachelor's in Business Administration, an MBA in Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Business," explained Ed Lambert, his father-in-law. "He did this with nearly straight A's."

Perrotte began a crusade to warn others against the deadly effects of drunk driving, His writings have been used by the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, the state of California and a few major professional sports teams. His website is directed at anyone who abuses alcohol and drugs.

Perrotte and his wife Michelle have five children, and during their regular prison visits, Jeff helps the children with academics, encourages them in their life choices, and tries to be a father to them, and a husband to Michelle.

Perrotte had three lucrative job offers awaiting him if he had been paroled during May.

"The real issue here is after 12½ years of prison, should Perrotte be eligible for parole based on his rehabilitation and achievements while in prison?" Lambert stated. Apparently not, according to the actions of the California Board of Prison Terms. Or, politics and fame may have trumped justice.

Frank Sinatra considered Jilly Rizzo his best friend, and Rizzo ran with the Rat Pack. Rizzo, once convicted of bank fraud, is buried six plots from Sinatra. Rizzo's death dealt a hard blow to the famed entertainer. Perrotte readily admits that his crime was horrendous, still, the original conviction for Second Degree Murder as much as anything resulted from the notoriety attached to the crime. Under normal circumstances, Perrotte would have received a shorter sentence and long ago been released from prison.

Grover Trask, previous Riverside County District Attorney, took an unusual interest in Perrotte's potential parole when several months ago, he requested Perrotte's prison file. Trask serves on the board of the Barbara Sinatra Foundation. Given the close relationship between Sinatra and Rizzo, the Perrotte family worries that politics and notoriety have served to deny him a fair chance at parole and, worse yet, are setting him up another denial at his next hearing.

Tip Kindel, a spokesman for the Board of Prison Terms stated in a July 31, 2005 article in The Desert Sun, "…the purpose of prison is punishment."

"Does that mean that someone who turns his life around as Jeff Perrotte has, is just wasting his time?" family friend Steve Tolin asked. "That is absurd, and it sends the wrong signal to California inmates. Why should any of them do anything to improve themselves under those circumstances?"

On May 29, 2005, Chuckawalla Valley State Prison authorities removed Perrotte to a segregation unit. They claim that he put out a "call" among inmates that caused a fight between white and Mexican inmates. Perrotte, who was nowhere near the action, denies that he had anything to do with the incident. Furthermore, the system has been unable to validate the claim against Perrotte.

"They have no evidence that Jeff did anything," Lambert explained, "but they force him to live in the hole, using the toilet bowl for a sink, and driving him toward depression." As result, the Department of Corrections may move him to San Quentin, labeling him as a threat to the prison institution. "This serves no purpose but to make it even more difficult to win parole next time." Lambert stated that Perrotte is a threat to the prison system because he is smart and has worked hard to educate himself, "the traits that should win his freedom, not label him as a threat to the institution." The Perrotte family believes their only hope for justice will have to come from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to whom they appealed several weeks ago. According to The Desert Sun, this appeal can take 12-15 months. Seldom do governors overrule the Board of Prison Terms.

"We're hoping that Gov. Schwarzenegger sees the good that can come from sending a signal that rehabilitation matters," Lambert stated, "and that he believes in the good that Jeff has and will accomplish. Jeff has done enough time, and he's done it well." In September, 2005, Jeff was released from Administrative Segregation after Prison Officials from Sacramento overrode the institutions attempts to label Jeff as a "Shot-Caller" and send him to an indeterminate Secured Housing Unit. Jeff's troubles did not end at that point as they should since those 'rogue' prison guards and counselors who were trying to cause Jeff harm, once again, did everything possible to make his life in prison miserable. Jeff, through great distress and turmoil, continued to carry the message of hope to others in the prison system and in the community. His courage is unmatched and his efforts are substantial, even while he was under extreme personal attack.

On August 28, 2006, Jeff was transferred to the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, California. Jeff states that his quality of life has been greatly improved as a result of this transfer. Jeff indicates that the Prison Officials at Tehachapi are far more professional and care about rehabilitation; offering many programs that were unavailable at Chuckawalla. Jeff also indicates that the prison guards are more professional and treat the men incarcerated with dignity and respect. He is grateful for the transfer.

Jeff is currently getting prepared to appear before the parole board in June, 2007. He is collecting letters of support from those in the community and from prison officials. Jeff is involved with many programs which are making a significant impact in the lives of at-risk teens, adults and men who are serving time in prison. Through Jeff's efforts, men are turning their lives around and society is being saved the cost of re-incarcerating these men upon release.

Jeff recently indicated that he had a direct conversation with the Associate Warden for his facility, as well as the Warden. Jeff stated that these two men are genuinely concerned with helping the inmates at CCI gain the tools necessary for a successful reintegration into society. Jeff stated that these men show professionalism at a degree that he has never seen in his almost fifteen years of incarceration.

Jeff, and his family and friends, hope for a positive decision at the parole hearing in June and hope that those who read this website will assist by contacting the parole board, and the prison, through letters of support. (Please go to the "How You Can Help Page")

Here is the latest in regards to that development.