Posted on 05/08/2011 5:36:46 AM PDT by Kaslin
How small is the California prison population likely to become if Gov. Jerry Brown has his way? In three years, California's prison population would be 20 percent smaller.
When we chatted on the phone on the issue last week -- always an experience -- Brown sounded more like his old self, a left-wing talk-show host of the 1990s, than the tough-on-crime Oakland mayor and state attorney general who followed.
There are always two Jerry Browns. There's the talk-show Brown who likened American incarceration rates to "absolute oppression." A decade later, Attorney General Brown fought three federal judges, who ordered California to release 37,000 to 58,000 inmates to relieve overcrowding, because the judicial panel "does not recognize the imperatives of public safety, nor the challenges of incarcerating criminals, many of whom are deeply disturbed."
Now as governor, he has signed a bill to transfer some 37,000 inmates -- felons convicted of nonviolent, non-serious, non-sex crimes -- to local jurisdictions over three years. The move should save boatloads of money, as jail beds cost about half the $50,000 annual tab per state prison inmate. "Low-level offenders" also could be diverted to community programs, parole or home detention. Critics call it a get-out-of-jail-free card.
For the 47,000 inmates serving fewer than 90 days last year (they violated parole or have served a chunk of their time in jail), the current system makes no sense. As Brown noted, "all these damn lawsuits" require expensive medical, dental and psych evaluations whenever inmates are admitted, even for short stays.
Brown also argued that the U.S. Supreme Court could issue a ruling "any day" that forces the state to release inmates to relieve overcrowding as per the three judges -- an odd pronouncement from the state's erstwhile lawyer. I think he's wrong. Recent big-bench decisions have steamrolled over federal judges' intrusions into state justice policy.
As always happens, Brown is amazed that I don't see that his plan is "conservative." "This represents the best thinking of people in penology," he explains -- and an end to what he calls wasteful "$50,000 scholarships."
On the short-timers, he is right, but he should have stopped there and not attempted to throw all "low level" felons to the counties as well. When Brown starts talking about incarceration rates in Europe and arguing that "local people" are more "in touch" with offenders, I think of San Francisco -- the city that flew drug offenders to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to help them evade federal immigration authorities in 2008. I think about the 40 crimes -- including felony domestic violence, assaulting a police officer, solicitation for murder and human trafficking -- left out of an earlier version of the bill.
Brown notes that local law enforcement supports the plan. Of course, they do. They're starving for money.
Brown promises that there will be "no realignment unless money follows it." (He doesn't have the money yet because his tax-extension proposal didn't qualify for the June ballot, but he's working on it.)
In the last five years, changes in the parole system have reduced the number of state prison inmates by 11,000 in five years. Criminal Justice Legal Foundation President Michael Rushford sees a link between California's tough sentencing system and its low crime rate. He predicts that the state's next crime report "is going to be a little higher," and next year, "a lot higher."
Maybe Rushford's wrong. Maybe he's right. The question is, to paraphrase not Brown, but Dirty Harry: Do you feel lucky?
This would free up some space, Nationwide.
Mumia Jamal would be a good start.....(although he's not in a Kalifornia prison)
I’m with you. Some of us here were screaming about this back when times were good. Now the Illegal Alien dynamic is an enormous portion of what’s left of CA economy.
But on point. Any Illegals in the prison system, drop all of them off at their home countries most southern point. Any simple possession pot beef, like a 3rd strike, cut them loose.
TO: OREGON, NEVADA AND ARIZONA
SUBJECT: PREPARATIONS
California has fallen. Recommend you begin preparing defensive positions along your borders with California. There has been plenty of time for friendly forces to evacuate from California. Consider anyone approaching your border from California to be hostile. They are coming to take your money and dispense propaganda. Strategic Plan is to seal off California and allow it to fester and pop like a boil. Good luck and God bless.
OH PLEASE! What a pantload of crap. Both Oregon and Nevada are in worse shape than is California, they feed off of California at present, and their sorry assed survival depends on California to a great extent. So why don’t you switch over to DU and peddle your crap over there. By the way, do you know where FR is located? The best conservative blog in the world is located right here in good old California. Sounds like you are from one of those states that has the out door toilet as it’s State Edifice!
Brown can do that right now, why wait? Just send all the illegal aliens in California prisons back to Mexico!
So long as its not a commutation of sentence. Found here again and lots of jail time,way more than what was left on the sentence. It must be a prosecutable crime to be here illegally and that prosecution must be carried out.
He has about 600 or more on Death Row he can start with.
Dear vette6387; thank-you for your erudite response. I agree, California is doing really well. Well, unless you count that budget deficit thing. Oh, and crime that makes Afghanistan look like a quiet day at the Vatican. Our “State Edifice” is not an outdoor toilet. We sent our outdoor toilets to California years ago. You can buy one in LA for $300,000. It’s a fixer-upper, though. Don’t take the basement apartment. I think that it’s noble that you stick-up for your home state. I wish you well in your endeavors. And please, make sure you pay your state taxes.
Fire up Ol' Sparky.
I would imagine that serving time in a California prison would be like BEING in Mexico!
As someone who just moved out of Cali I just want to say you got it right. Do the math, the state is going back to Mexico.
“There are already government programs that pay the employer a subsidy/lower his taxes for employing felons”
Just shows that taxes are too high in the first place and/or it is already too expensive to employee people due to government interference.
Stop the insanity.
On the California side the security would be air tight ~ you'd go through a series of airlocks at different atmospheric pressures to get in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.