The new chair in Oregon brings extraordinary experience to her work and the power of having it, from the dual perspectives she gained through the extremely tragic life experiences she suffered through; will serve her—and those she sits in judgment on— well.
An excerpt from the story from The Oregonian.
“SALEM -- The 57-year-old inmate sat in a locked metal cage in the parole board room of the Oregon State Penitentiary and pressed his case for release. He'd spent two decades in prison for murdering his stepfather for $20,000 in insurance money, and he told board members he was a different man now.
“The board grilled John Castro on why he was ready for freedom, how he'd owned up to the murder and what, specifically, he'd done to become a better person.
“But the son of Castro's victim wasn't convinced the man in the cage was really rehabilitated. He urged the board to keep him imprisoned.
“Vicki Walker, the former state senator chosen by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to chair the parole board, sat quietly in the small, stuffy room and took notes. Though appointed in July, Walker is not allowed to participate in the hearings until her appointment is confirmed by the Senate in October.
“When she joins the board debate, Walker will have plenty to say to inmates like John Castro.
“Naturally outspoken, Walker brings perspective to the job that few can claim -- compassion, forged through personal experience, for those on both sides of the prison wall.
“Her empathy for victims, she says, comes from being sexually abused by her father and her uncles when she was a child. In the Legislature, she was a frequent advocate for victim's rights. But Walker also offers understanding for inmates. Her brother spent 17 years in an Alaska prison for murder. Walker set up a post-prison release plan for him and helped him negotiate the outside world when he was released in 2000.
“With that background, Walker will juggle the claims before her from those convicted and those they harmed, leading the calls on who leaves prison and who stays.
"Ninety-five percent of offenders return to the community," she says. "If we as a board don't believe in redemption, we're in trouble."
“But there's that other side, she acknowledges: "We also want to make sure these people don't come back."
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.