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Judges Order California to Release Tens of Thousands of Prisoners

Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a good idea. 

A special panel of federal judges tentatively ruled Monday that California must release tens of thousands of inmates to relieve overcrowding.

The judges said no other solution will improve conditions so poor that inmates die regularly of suicides or lack of proper care.

[...]

The three judges suggested a target prison population of between 100,800 and 121,000 inmates — down from the current level of about 158,000. More inmates live in conservation camps, community correctional facilities and private prisons in other states.

The proposed targets would require the state to reduce the prison population by between 36,200 and 57,000 inmates. Attorneys representing inmates had sought a reduction of about 52,000 inmates.

Posted by Owen at 2224 hrs
Law + Politics + Politics - General

1. A logical outcome when self-anointed “tough on crime” legislators fail time and again to consider the actual resources necessary to house all the people they want to send to jail.  Three strikes, mandatory minimums, blah blah blah, it all comes with an invisible price tag that legislators are loathe to acknowledge.

   This is something Wisconsin would be wise to consider when you’ve got people talking about trying to create mandatory jail time for second-time (or even first-time) OWI offenders.  Even if it’s just for 30 days, that’s 30 days that a correctional facility has to house and feed someone.

   Posted by Recess Supervisor on February 09, 2009 at 2257 hrs
   
   
   

2. So why not build more prisons?  Think of how many people would be put to work not only building them, but then running them.  Perhaps they will release the prisoners with the condition that they must leave the state. I can only hope.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 09, 2009 at 2337 hrs
   
   
   

3. Put them on a leaky boat and float’em to Cuba.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 0025 hrs
   
   
   

4. Maybe we could try getting the people who engaged in consensual nonviolent “crimes” out of there first?  You know, those dirty drug offenders that hurt only themselves?  I can’t believe I’m saying this by RS is right; this is the result of too many crimes being prosecuted, not the result of too many real criminals.

   What is it Ayn Rand wrote?  “You can’t control law abiding people, so you need to create enough laws so as to make everyone a criminal?”  That’s the idea, at least.  Let’s get rid of this country’s second failed prohibition, already.  It took us far less time to figure out the first one did nothing but create organized crime.  Now that street gangs in this country almost outnumber our soldiers, can we starting talking seriously about it?

   Posted by Mike Gallo on February 10, 2009 at 0035 hrs
   
   
   

5. Yes Maureen, and then government will raise everyone’s taxes a whole bunch to pay to keep all those people in jail.  If that’s what you want - more government spending and more government employees, that’s fine.  Just don’t pretend that there’s not an enormous ongoing cost to the whole thing.

   I have a feeling you’d like Governor Thompson, since he too thought that incarcerating people was a great economic development program for rural Wisconsin.  New Lisbon, Stanley, Boscobel, Mauston (okay, Sand Ridge isn’t technically a prison, but it’s close).

   Posted by Recess Supervisor on February 10, 2009 at 0115 hrs
   
   
   

6. Raise my taxes to keep crooks in jail. Have any of you ever visited a prison? Try it sometime - it will be an educational experience.

   Mike - are you serious? Spend some time in the inner city - drugs and drug related crimes are extremely violent. Making them legal will just increase the demand and cause a lot more crime. People will still have to pay for them and since they don’t have a job (and won’t be able to get one if they are a drug user) - they have to turn to crime to get the money.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 0744 hrs
   
   
   

7. Maureen, the state of California is BROKE!  The state has a $42 Billion dollar deficit and state employees are already being furloughed two days a month.  There is no money to build new prisons.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 0755 hrs
   
   
   

8. Send them to Maricopa County in Arizona and let Sheriff Joe take care of them.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 0823 hrs
   
   
   

9. So why not build more prisons?  Think of how many people would be put to work not only building them, but then running them.  Perhaps they will release the prisoners with the condition that they must leave the state. I can only hope.

   And take money away from WEAC? Who are doing SUCH a wonderful job educating themselv…..er kids with it? Don’t you want smart kids? You heartless Bastard….pffft….

   But seriously why NOT at least explore the possibility in Wisconsin and other states for that matter of privatizing the prisons?

   I know in Wisconsin we’ll get the usual chorus of “Privatizing ANYTHING is bad, because everyone DESERVES to be on the government dole, and the How can I feed my Children on 28 bucks an hour….Blah, blah blah, but isn’t it at least worth looking into?

   And besides that would free up potentially BILLIONS of Dollars that Doyle could give to WEAC each year…..

   See? Its a win win…...all around.

   Aside from the usual arguments from the Unions

   Posted by Michael J. Cheaney on February 10, 2009 at 0845 hrs
   
   
   

10. Unless they are independently wealthy, most drug users are in for burglary and theft and the like.  Although, they are probably pretty non-violent, so a minimum security tent camp like Maricopa County has with baloney sandwiches would be fine with me.  Even give them rehab while they are there. Fine.  But to arbitrarily just let tens of thousands out is a bad idea. 

    Are they at least going to deport the illegals?  Even Janet Napolitano is paying lip service to that one now.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 0938 hrs
    
    
    

11. this is the result of too many crimes being prosecuted, not the result of too many real criminals.

    What is it Ayn Rand wrote?  “You can’t control law abiding people, so you need to create enough laws so as to make everyone a criminal?”  That’s the idea, at least.  Let’s get rid of this country’s second failed prohibition, already.  It took us far less time to figure out the first one did nothing but create organized crime.  Now that street gangs in this country almost outnumber our soldiers, can we starting talking seriously about it?

    Exactly…

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 1237 hrs
    
    
    

12. I like the slow boat to cuba idea, or we can release them a thousand miles offshore. 

    This is the same BS as we hear with school boards….and local taxes…we will have to cut x, or not respond to fires…we need more money. 

    All about priorities.  There is more than enough money in that bloated tax structure to fund more prisons….just cut the other fluff.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2009 at 1302 hrs
    
    
    

13. Don’t dare lecture me on the inner city, Bill.  Using a drug is a nonviolent offense that affects no one but the user.  You are simply trying to obfuscate my point by saying that crimes committed by people to get drugs, or crimes caused by the illicit trade in drugs, are somehow the same as the benign use of the drug.  You’re either an idiot or willfully ignorant if you don’t see the parallels to the prohibition of alcohol.

    Posted by Mike Gallo on February 10, 2009 at 1827 hrs
    
    
    

14. You’re either an idiot or willfully ignorant if you don’t see the parallels to the prohibition of alcohol.

    I agree.

    I did drugs this past weekend.  It didn’t cause me to shoot someone or go on a crime spree.

    Luckily my drug of choice can be found at thousands of retail establishments across the county.

    I guess I’m fortunate in that regard that my drug of choice is legal.

    I’ll never understand how the multi-trillion dollar “war on drugs” doesn’t come under fire from all these people who hate war so much.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 11, 2009 at 1158 hrs
    
    
    

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