S. Korean ex-leader sentenced to 8 more years in prison

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S. Korean ex-leader sentenced to 8 more years in prison

2018-07-21 11:48 Last Updated At：11:48

A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former South Korean President Park Geun-hye to an additional eight years for abusing state funds and violating election laws.

She now faces the prospect of more than three decades behind bars. She's already serving a 24-year prison term over a massive corruption scandal that led to her removal from office last year.

Seoul Central District Court on Friday found her guilty of causing substantial losses to state coffers by unlawfully receiving about 3 billion won ($2.6 million) from chiefs of the National Intelligence Service during her presidency and sentenced her to six years in prison.

However, she was found not guilty of bribery charges related to the money transfers. The court said it was unclear whether the spy chiefs sought or received favors in return.

The court separately sentenced Park to two years in prison for breaking election laws by meddling in her party candidate's nomination while attempting to win more spots for her loyalists ahead of the parliamentary elections in 2016.

She didn't appear in court.

Park's conservative party failed to gain a majority in the National Assembly after the parliamentary vote in April 2016. Analysts then said voters were frustrated over what they saw as Park's heavy-handed and uncompromising leadership style and inability to tolerate dissent within her party, which triggered rifts between her loyalists and reformists.

The party's defeat loomed large months later in December when an opposition-controlled parliament suspended Park's powers by passing a bill on her impeachment. Millions of protesters had poured onto the streets calling for Park's ouster amid allegations that she colluded with a longtime confidant to take tens of millions of dollars from companies in bribes and extortion and allowed the friend to secretly manipulate state affairs. The court convicted Park on most of these charges when it sentenced her to 24 years in prison in April.

The ruling marked a stunning fall from grace for the country's first female leader who won the 2012 presidential election by more than a million votes. Park enjoyed overwhelming support from conservatives who remember her father, staunch anti-communist dictator Park Chung-hee, as a hero whose aggressive industrial policies lifted the nation from the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War and rescued millions from poverty. Critics see the elder Park as a brutal dictator who tortured and executed dissidents.

While Park's prison term currently adds up to 32 years, this could change, and potentially get even longer, depending on rulings of appeals courts. Prosecutors appealed Park's 24-year term on charges including bribery and abuse of state power and are now demanding 30 years in prison. The Seoul High Court will rule on the case on Aug. 24.

Following her impeachment, Park was formally removed from office following a ruling by the country's Constitutional Court in March last year and was arrested weeks later.

VR headsets are 'hope machines' inside California prisons, offering escape and practical experience

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. (AP) — Jacob Smith has been in prison for two decades, but he and other inmates are still taking regular trips to far-flung, exotic locales. No passport required, just a virtual reality headset.

“I went to Thailand, man!” Smith recalled with a grin, describing the first time he strapped on a VR device and was transported to the lush landscapes and bustling markets of Southeast Asia.

A Los Angeles-based nonprofit is bringing the technology to California prisons with the goal of providing inmates a brief escape and, more importantly, exposure to real-world scenarios that will prepare them to reenter society.

During a weeklong program last month, incarcerated men at Valley State Prison near Fresno sat on metal folding chairs in a common area. They shuffled in their seats as they were outfitted with the headsets that resemble opaque goggles. Their necks contorted slightly and smiles spread across their faces as the high-definition videos started and their journeys commenced.

Some saw the sights on the other side of the globe, including Bangkok, while others experienced more practical scenes, such as job interviews. The men sit across virtual desks from virtual interviewers who are both easygoing and hard-nosed to give them the tools for finding employment once they are released.

“For a lot of us, the workforce has changed and things are different with the application process,” said Smith, who is eligible for parole in 2031 and now volunteers helping his fellow inmates navigate the VR experience. “It’s a nerve-wracking experience going to sit in front of somebody and telling them why I’m good for the job.”

Afterward, volunteers help the inmates process the emotions or traumas that bubbled up during their experiences. Sabra Williams, founder of the nonprofit Creative Acts, calls the VR devices a “hope machine.”

The program stems from a prison arts project that Williams ran that incorporated theater, music, poetry, dance and painting. Watching incarcerated people become engaged in artistic pursuits made her wonder about other ways to “bring the outside world inside."

She heard from people who had left prison lamenting that technology had passed them by. They felt confounded by simple things like pumping gas, checking out at a supermarket, or going to the ATM.

“And what I hear from them is that it made them feel like they didn’t belong, and that they only belong in prison,” she said.

First Williams' group dug for footage on YouTube to recreate everyday activities. Soon they were creating their own videos focusing on travel, constructive scenarios, civic engagement, conflict resolution, art, and even meditation “to blow their minds and also educate their minds.”

Such technology could have an important role to play in rehabilitation and, especially, reintegration into society, said Nancy La Vigne, the dean of Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice in New Jersey. She envisions people who haven't been in the real world for a long time using VR to act out navigating the DMV or figuring out how to take a city bus.

Another benefit could be a calming effect on stressed-out inmates. La Vigne points to research published by the American Psychological Association that found that incarcerated people who viewed short nature videos showed reduced levels of aggression and were subject to fewer discipline reports.

But with a hefty price tag and limited access, La Vigne worries about the “practical realities," such as unintended consequences that stem from those who might be left out of the VR experience.

“You can't just hand them out or sell them at commissary,” La Vigne said.

A former inmate, Richard Richard, first used a VR headset about six years ago when the program was launched and since his release has become a volunteer for Creative Acts. He said he is impressed by how far the technology has advanced. He loves watching his fellow inmates use the devices for the first time and then progress as they deal with trauma and emotional issues.

“You may physically be here, but mentally, spiritually you can actually transcend this environment,” he said.

The group conducts the program, using 100 Oculus headsets donated by Meta, both in the general population and in solitary confinement. Youth offenders are also eligible. It currently runs three times a year at four California prisons, and Williams hopes to expand it throughout the state and across the country.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement Friday that it “welcomes innovative approaches that help keep our communities safe.”

In announcing the introduction of VR at the California Men's Colony prison in San Luis Obispo County last August, the department said the usage has the potential “to heal trauma, regulate emotional response, and prepare for a safe, successful reentry into society.”

The introductory two-minute trip to Thailand is often emotional for many inmates, some of whom had “never been off their block, let alone out the country,” Williams said.

“And so many times people would take off the headsets and they’d be crying," she said. "Because they’d be like, ‘I never knew the world was so beautiful.’ ”