Dan Walters: California prison costs out of line Share

Sacramento Bee ^ | 2/16/11 | Dan Walters

[SmithL]

A recent Wall Street Journal article on how states are reducing their prison costs was illustrated with a photo of inmates being housed cheek-by-jowl in a California prison gymnasium.

The article was also illustrated with a chart detailing how 31 states were reducing their prison spending. But California was not on the list for a very simple reason: It is not reducing prison spending, even though the number of its inmates is slowly declining.

Gov. Jerry Brown's 2011-12 budget makes sharp reductions in spending on health and welfare services and higher education – permanent ones, he says – but would largely spare K-12 education and prisons, the two other big categories, if voters agree to extend some temporary taxes.

...

Why this huge disparity?

The sweetheart contracts that former Gov. Gray Davis negotiated with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the immense cost of inmate health care, which is dictated by a federal judge, are two of the big reasons.

[SmithL]

The article doesn't mention which federal judge that wants to bankrupt California, but if you're interested:

Henderson, Thelton Eugene

Born 1933 in Shreveport, LA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nominated by Jimmy Carter on May 9, 1980, to a seat vacated by Cecil F. Poole; Confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1980, and received commission on June 30, 1980. Served as chief judge, 1990-1997. Assumed senior status on November 28, 1998.

Education:
University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1956
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1962

Professional Career:
U.S. Army Corporal, 1956-1958
Attorney, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1962-1963
Private practice, Oakland, California, 1964-1966
Directing attorney, East Bayshore Neighborhood Legal Center, East Palo Alto, California, 1966-1969
Assistant dean, Stanford Law School, 1968-1977
Private practice, San Francisco, California, 1977-1980
Associate professor, Golden Gate University School of Law, 1978-1980

[artificial intelligence]

We currently have a lawsuit going through to force California taxpayers to pay an additional 7.8 Billion per year to provide mental health care, gardens, nice prisons to the prison system.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

The California Prison union and CHP union donated big bucks to all recent governors and have gotten great leaps in pay and benefits over the past 20 years. Their union has been especially effective in getting sweet deals for their folks, starting back with Pete Wilson. I’m not sure how much Arnold gave them, but Wilson and Davis were especially generous in raises and benefits.

[newzjunkey]

But California was not on the list for a very simple reason: It is not reducing prison spending, even though the number of its inmates is slowly declining.

What!? If the numbers are declining at all it's due to court mandates caused by overcrowding and a lack of political will to build more prisons.