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El Dorado, California
June 3, 1999
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Inmate Leon, C29681, is due for a board hearing in the near future. I trust that should this hearing already have taken place, the following information will be passed on to the Review Committee. CDC does not encourage us to speak out, and I doubt that many have, or would be tempted to speak for an inmate, but I choose to go on record in behalf of an exceptional person, who is also an inmate. Timothy J. Leon was my lead clerk in the Medium Security Library, II yard, at CCI, California Correctional Institution (Tehachapi) from 1990 through 1992. That library was my first assignment as a correctional librarian, beginning in December of 1990. While I was an experienced librarian, I had little knowledge of corrections. Assigned to an evening shift when no other Education personnel were on board, I cautiously came to depend upon and trust inmate Leon, in the absence of any staff member who was available to me. Leon never took advantage of my inexperience, and as a result of his counsel, I was better armed against those who tried to take advantage of me. In time, I came to understand whom I could and could not trust, and there were a number of staff at the top of my negative list, including a supervisor. To some degree, my years at CCI were an ordeal, a trial by fire, if you will, and I will candidly state that Tim Leon played a major role in my development and eventual promotion to Senior Librarian. I was not alone in my cautious trust and confidence in Tim Leon, an inmate. The teacher-librarian who initially trained me, every teacher in the compound, and all the Education supervisors knew and respected Tim Leon, his tact, helpful attitude and his very special skills. In spite of our training to the contrary, inmate Leon was recognized as different, and trusted by all educational and vocational staff. Tim Leon was to some extent an indispensable man. He was constantly being borrowed from the library to assist with electronic and other technical difficulties encountered by Education staff. He had designed and set up several programs on a new IBM compatible unit in the SCEP's office, and was involved with the setup of the new computer lab. Inmate Leon could make any computer sing like no one else, and he was often called on to troubleshoot computer problems, both on his time off and during his working hours in the library. Surprisingly, Tim Leon's extensive knowledge and expertise was self-taught, much of it involving technology that did not exist before his prison commitment. Tim Leon is one of those amazing individuals who is able to learn and master new technology almost as soon as it is made available. He is well-read. He was quite at home in the library and the law library, where he was a regular patron although no longer a library clerk, unlike most inmates who never access their libraries. After a forced rotation into another position, part of CCI's effort against over-familiarization, inmate Leon continued to be a factor in the operation of the law library by volunteering and assisting his replacement. He did this out of a sense of duty and commitment to the function served by a working inmate library. He had invested a lot of himself into the successful operation of the library, and he simply cared that it continued to be a productive establishment after he left. Inmate Leon subsequently worked as a literacy aide in Education and then in the print shop as a computer and miscellaneous equipment repairman, where his expertise became more easily accessible to staff. I was advised early on to read the central file of any inmate or inmate clerk that I had any extensive contact with. I have benefited in many ways from this practice, but I have never seen another file quite like Tim Leon's. His life has been changed by a momentary lapse that did not, at the time, nor does it now, truly reflect his character, or his value to the community at large. Had he not become involved in the group hazing of a child molester, I have no doubt that he would ever have been involved in a crime. In all my contact with inmate Tim Leon, he has shown a respect for others, whether staff or inmate, that is unusual in a prison setting. Tim Leon is an exceptional inmate, and, I believe, an exceptional person. The loss of his best years behind bars, enduring a difficult life amongst the worst elements of our society, is society's loss as much as his. Tim Leon has long since paid for his crime, and the crime of several of his friends, none of whom paid for their actions as Tim has, even though it was a group action that resulted in the accidental death of a child molester. Tim Leon has already served beyond the minimum of his indeterminate sentence, and he is both eligible for parole, and deserving of it. Leon has not deteriorated in prison. He has not become a criminal in prison. He has retained a natural respect for fair play and law and order, unlike most of those around him. And he has improved himself greatly in a very difficult environment. I unhesitatingly recommend that Timothy J Leon be paroled or released, as soon as possible. Not only is he no longer a danger to society, our community would be enhanced with his release--he is skilled; he has much to contribute. Dennis McCargar, Sr. Lbrn. |
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