#KeepPJHome: ICE is targeting the Cambodian community for deportation... and this man might be on the top of its list.

Guest Post by Thi Bui.



Last week, I caught up with Borey Ai aka PJ, whom I wrote about in this piece for The Nib:

Refugee to Detainee: How the U.S. is Deporting Those Seeking a Safe Haven

It's been twelve weeks since PJ was released from ICE detention, two years since he was released from a life sentence in prison for a crime he committed at the age of fourteen. The #KeepPJHome campaign is going strong. Hundreds of postcards have been mailed to California Governor Jerry Brown, asking him to grant PJ a pardon in light of his rehabilitation and years of service to others as a counselor and advocate for juvenile justice reform.

We sat on a grassy knoll overlooking Oakland's Lake Merritt. PJ told me it's been a long time since he sat down in a park. We chatted about how you can rent kayaks and sailboats on the lake. He asked me if there were things I've always wanted to do since I was a kid, and I replied that I've been using my adulthood to catch up on them. I asked, "What about you?"

"So many things," he answered with a smile that looked mostly optimistic but which I couldn't help thinking was incredibly sad at the same time. I thought about a life, humans in cages, and how Americans don't feel safe even though the US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Meanwhile, PJ played with a small dog that came to lie down in his shadow and chatted with her owner, an elderly woman with a walker.

A short while later, an electronic beep told him it was time to change the battery on his ankle monitor. He put a fresh battery into the bulky plastic contraption under his sock as we discussed the process of getting a 47-hour pass from his parole officer to go to Stockton to visit his mother and see his childhood haunts.

All of these lingering effects of imprisonment go away if PJ receives a pardon.

Two remaining jail escapees captured in San Francisco

Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu were apprehended after their van was spotted in a Whole Foods parking lot.



All three of the inmates who broke out of an Orange County jail more than a week ago, launching a statewide manhunt, are back in custody. One of the men turned himself in on Friday, while the other two escapees were apprehended in San Francisco on Saturday after a citizen who recognized their vehicle tipped off police.

Man tipped police to jail escapees' stolen van in S.F. parking lot near Whole Foods

37-year-old Hossein Nayeri and 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu were captured on Saturday morning after a citizen in San Francisco alerted police officers about a suspicious person and a vehicle, matching the description of a stolen white van associated with the fugitives, in a Whole Foods Market parking lot.

Orange County jail escapee surrenders to police

Bac Duong has been taken into custody. Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu remain at large.



Bac Duong, one of three inmates who escaped from an Orange County jail last week, sparking a region-wide manhunt, is in custody after surrendering to police on Friday. The two other inmates remain at large.

1 of 3 Orange County jail escapees surrenders to police

Duong, 43, turned himself in to Santa Ana police after a friend or acquaintance called police. Duong reportedly walked into a business called Auto Electric Builders and told an acquaintance, who worked there, that he wanted to turn himself in. She contacted police, and the place soon was soon surrounded by cops.

Duong is one of three inmates who broke out of the maximum security Orange County Men's Jail last Friday. The three inmates reportedly cut through steel bars, forced their way into a plumbing tunnel and used a "makeshift rope" to rappel down the multistory facility from the roof.

37-year-old Hossein Nayeri and 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu remain at large.

Three inmates escape from Southern California jail

Hossein Nayeri, Jonthan Tieu and Bac Duong broke out of a maximum security prison in Orange Country.



UPDATE: In Southern Califronia, authorities have announced that the reward for information leading to the capture of jail escapees Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Tien Duong has quadrupled to $200,000.

O.C. Jail Escape Reward Quadruples to $200,000 as Anxiety Grows in SoCal

* * *
In Southern California, a manhunt is underway and authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of three inmates who escaped from an Orange County jail last week.

Reward for escaped Orange County prisoners up to $50,000 as search for jail inmates continues

On Friday night, sheriff's officials discovered that 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu and 43-year-old Bac Duong escaped the maximum security Orange County Men's Jail in Santa Ana.

According to authorities, the three inmates cut through steel bars, forced their way into a plumbing tunnel and used a "makeshift rope" to rappel down the multistory facility from the roof.

Piece of shit ex-cop Daniel Holtzclaw sentenced to 263 years

Former Oklahoma City police officer was found guilty of 18 sexual assault charges.



On Thursday, a judge sentenced former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw to 263 years in prison, the full amount recommended by a jury, for the rape and sexual assault of eight women and girls.

Oklahoma City Cop Daniel Holtzclaw Sentenced to 263 Years for Rapes

Holtzclaw was accused of committing sex crimes against thirteen Black women. He was convicted in December on 18 of 36 counts of first-degree rape, second-degree rape, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy, procuring lewd exhibition, indecent exposure, burglary and stalking.

Prosecutors argued that Holtzclaw, who is white and Japanese, specifically used his position and power as a law enforcement officer to target Black women in a low-income neighborhood and intimated them into keeping his crimes a secret. He was convicted of offenses involving eight of the women.

Inmate found hanging in Houston city jail cell

38-year-old Hung Do apparently used his own clothing to hang himself.



I've lost count of all disturbing recent headlines about people who have died in police custody. Last week in Texas, an inmate was found dead hanging inside his cell at the Houston city jail. [UPDATE: Four people have died while in custody of the Houston Police Department within the span of one week.]

PD: inmate hanged himself in Houston city jail

38-year-old Hung Do was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, underwent and passed physical and mental health evaluations, and was booked into the city jail on Wednesday. According to police, he was found dead in his cell on Thursday afternoon. He apparently used his own clothing to hang himself.

Planning a jailbreak? Don't forget to leave a racist note.

Two convicted murderers used power tools to bust out of a maximum security prison.


It's like a scene out of The Shawshank Redemption, except it's real life, with some totally random racism thrown in. In New York, two convicted murderers managed to escape from maximum security prison by using power tools to cut through the wall of their cell. The jailbreak has authorities scratching their heads over how they got away with it. I'm just wondering why they had to draw a racist Asian caricature on their farewell note.

With Power Tools and a Ruse, 2 Killers Flee New York Prison

48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat were discovered missing from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York early on Saturday morning. The pair apparently used power tools to cut through a steel wall in their neighboring cells, then traveled through a series of tunnels that led to a manhole outside prison walls. As I write this, they're still on the loose, with a massive manhunt underway.

The escape like it was a pretty sophisticated plan that took several days to execute. But yo, take a look at the parting message that Matt and Sweat left behind, presumably for authorities:

Two women sentenced to six years for fatal nightclub beating

Candace Brito and Vanesa Zavala were convicted of manslaughter in the brawl that killed Kim Pham.


News out of Southern California... On Friday in Orange County, the two women convicted of manslaughter in the fatal beating of 23-year-old Annie Kim Pham were each sentenced to six years in state prison.

Kim Pham beating death: 2 women sentenced to 6 years each in prison

27-year-old Candace Brito and 26-year-old Vanesa Zavala were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and assault, but were acquitted of a second-degree murder charge, in the brutal fight that killed Pham outside a Santa Ana nightclub last January. The defendants claimed they were acting in self-defense.

The fight apparently started as a verbal argument between two groups of friends, but escalated when Pham threw the first punch. She fell to the ground and was kicked in the head during the brawl, sustaining brain damage. She died two days later when she was taken off life support.

Arson-murder rap overturned, man set free after 24 years

Judge rules that the 1990 case against Han Tak Lee was based on now-discredited arson science.



Whoa. After spending the last 24 years in prison, convicted for setting the fire that killed his daughter, a man walks free. Last week in Pennsylvania, a federal judge overturned his 1990 murder-arson conviction, ruling that the case against him was based on now-discredited arson science.

Arson-Murder Rap Tossed, Han Tak Lee Set Free After 24 Years In Prison

79-year-old Han Tak Lee was released on bail Friday from the federal courthouse in Harrisburg. Lee was found guilty of purposely setting the 1989 cabin fire that killed his 20-year-old daughter Ji Yun Lee at a religious retreat in the Pocono Mountains. Prosecutor argued that the motive for murder was Ji Yun's severe depression, which had become too difficult for her family to handle.

Lee has consistently maintained his innocence over the last 25 years. Meanwhile, over the past two decades, there has been a revolution in fire science. Mr. Lee's case is one of dozens around the United States to come under scrutiny because of now-debunked beliefs about how arson can be detected.

Austin Powers actor charged in prison murder

Joseph Son is accused of killing his cellmate.

Damn. Remember this scumbag? Joseph Son, the former Austin Powers actor-turned-convict, has been charged in connection with the 2011 beating death of his cell mate in Wasco State Prison: Former actor could face death penalty in prison killing.

Son, a former mixed martial arts fighter best known for playing Dr. Evil's henchman "Random Task" in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, was convicted of torture in 2011 after DNA evidence linked him to a 1990 gang rape in Orange County.

About a month into serving his life sentence, Son killed his cell mate. He is now charged with assault by a life prisoner with force causing death. (Basically, murder.) I don't know why it took two years to charge him, though it's not like he was going anywhere. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty:

Austin Powers actor suspected in prison murder

The guy who played Random Task in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and was sentenced to life in prison last month for raping and torturing a woman in 1990, is now accused of killing his cellmate: 'Austin Powers' actor suspected in prison death.

40-year-old Joseph Son is suspected in the murder of another prisoner at Wasco State Prison. His cellmate, a parole violator serving a new two-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender, was found dead in the cell he shared with Son. The death is being treated as a homicide:

This ain't no Shawshank

Inmate Inhak Cho was caught trying to escape an Illinois jail using self-made metal chisels.

Asians Behaving Badly... prison break edition! In Illinois, McHenry County jail authorities caught an inmate, 46-year-old Inhak Cho, trying to chip his way through the 18-inch concrete wall in his cell with a pair of self-made metal chisels.

Cops: Algonguin man tried to chisel way out of McHenry County jail.

Not quite Andy Dufresne, Cho had been working on his little escape plan for one or two weeks, and had managed to make a hole about an inch deep and 18 inches wide, while concealing his work with toothpaste.

Authorities discovered the hole thanks to a tip from a confidential informant.