CA: Major parole moves on the table. Governor's ideas would reduce prison population, save millions

Sacramento Bee ^ | December 27, 2003 | Gary Delsohn

[John Jorsett]

Convinced that California can no longer afford its $5.3 billion prison and parole system, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is exploring moves that would all but eliminate parole conditions for nonviolent, nonserious offenders and eventually -- through early release and lighter penalties -- dramatically shrink the prison population. Some of the moves result from recent court settlements. Others are efforts whose planning began under former Gov. Gray Davis and have been speeded up by Schwarzenegger.

[Scenic Sounds]

"Arnold has had us identify the nonviolent, nonthreatening inmates," said one high-ranking corrections official working on some of the proposals. "We could probably cut the (prison) population by a third, which would be a huge savings for taxpayers and give some of these people a chance to be productive citizens again."

By all means, let's parole the nonthreatening inmates!!

Isn't it amazing how politicians spent a decade or two getting votes by promising to lock up more people and now politicians are going to be getting votes by promising to save money by releasing the nonthreatening inmates?

Why are we such suckers to play this game?

[CindyDawg]

Actually IMO this is a good idea if there is follow up. Many people are in jail that should be out having to work and support their families. He needs to look at removing "felonies" that are handed out for just about everything these days if the ones released are going to have a chance for a good job though.

[DoughtyOne]

Why not eliminate the criminal codebook? We could save billions. Lordy, we spent decades trying to get those who supported drug cartels and violent criminals off the streets, now Arno is planning to infuse the cartel/gang pipeline with new cash. Gotta love it.

[DoughtyOne]

Cindy, have you ever asked yourself why crime has dropped dramaticly in the last decade? Tougher sentencing was the reason IMO. Now we're about to eliminate that tougher sentencing. Good idea?

[Scenic Sounds]

Actually IMO this is a good idea if there is follow up. Many people are in jail that should be out having to work and support their families. He needs to look at removing "felonies" that are handed out for just about everything these days if the ones released are going to have a chance for a good job though.

Yeah, I agree with you, but in the eighties, it was expedient for politicians to be irrational about crime. The idea was to legislate justice in individual cases and to take away the discretion of judges and even prosecutors - mandatory sentences were good for a lot of votes.

There were of course voices warning that this day would come, but no one listened. Mostly, we just lost a lot of money and we've got plenty of that in this country. ;-)

[liberty or death]

If there are 1,000,000 inmates in California then that 53,000 per inmate. These institutions are getting like schools in that the top is so heavy its about to roll over the ship.

[al baby]

All on Death row this your last supper burger fris and a coke

tommorows the day see ya

End of story

[CindyDawg]

I've heard the statistics but around here it's hard to see. Anyway, I'm not talking about violent criminals. Some need the key thrown away. I'm just more for rehabilitation such as half way houses, making offenders work to support their families and pay back victims and costs. What good does it do to have them locked up and draining society ? I think a little something called "personal responsibility" overlooked along the way.

[drypowder]

give some of these people a chance to be productive citizens again

Does this mean they never had a chance? Give us a break! I may be a hard case but I believe if you do the crime, you ought to do the time. End of story.

[cake_crumb]

Not a bad idea if carefully, intelligently done...and for the threatening inmates on death row : carry it out.

[Amerigomag]

Hey Arnie. Instead of deporting illegal aliens, which is the choice of the vast majority of California citizens, you could follow Bush's lead and match willing workers to willing employers.

We could take some of our illegal guests and make them COs. They work cheap and aren't bothered by lack of a fancy retirement program.

What do you think Arnie? You'd be a hero to the Hispanic caucus, California would save millions and we'd keep in tack the deterrent value of sentencing guidelines that have dramatically reduced criminal activity in California.

We could even require these new COs to reside inside the walls and we'd have a double win-win situation

[John Jorsett]

Now we're about to eliminate that tougher sentencing. Good idea?

I think "3 strikes" was a major component to the drop in violent crime, and letting the nonviolent ones out wouldn't reverse 3 strikes.

[Ciexyz]

I'm willing to give Arnie credit for trying to make the system more workable. Pre-release counseling sounds like a great idea. Should've been implemented long before now. As to the non-violent offenders in prison for drug use, they've been punished, it's not like they're getting away with it. The state could show some flexibility here. Let some of them out, and see how it goes.

[FITZ]

Maybe it could be good if all the non-violent criminals who aren't citizens are immediately deported and permanently banned from legal re-entry or legal residency.

[meenie]

I'm in favor of letting them out into a setting similar to the tent city that Phoenix has used. The institutional costs are reasonable. The best rehabilitation consists of not wanting to return to the correctional facility. Carpet, television, recreation, weight training facilities, etc. enable quite a few to elevate their life style and encourage return visits. Tent city and enforcing 187 would probably do more for the budget than turning the hoodlums back onto the streets.

[FITZ]

Lordy, we spent decades trying to get those who supported drug cartels and violent criminals off the streets, now Arno is planning to infuse the cartel/gang pipeline with new cash.

He should keep those working for the violent drug cartels locked up obviously --- but California prisons contain an awful lot of Mexican criminals --- drug users, DWI's, shoplifters, bad check writers who could be sent back to their own government and taxpayers to deal with. I wouldn't release any of those here but if they're deported and banned from reentry it could help cut costs.

[gcruse]

most of the targeted offenders are now locked up for nonviolent, drug-related crimes

"Tommy Chong and his terrorist-enabling, perverted lifestyle, long-haired freaky people, won't see the light of day if I have to instruct every prosecutor in California to go for the death penalty wherever the demon weed rears its mind destroying head.  This ain't over."
                                 -----John Ashcroft, coming soon

[TheCrusader]

Bout time. There are crimes that deserve jail time and there are 'crimes' that do not. I never did see how creating so many new laws, creating new criminals and building new prisons all over the place fit into the American way. Especially the feminist related laws where so many men go to prison for being poor, or for "breaking" a protective orders by sending flowers or cards to their wives trying to patch things up.

Then there's all this nonsensical "mandatory jail" stuff where the Judge's power to determine extenuating or mitigating circumstances is stripped away and he is reduced to a human rubber stamp. And let's not forget all these "hate crimes" they came up with that punish the person for both the crime and his alleged thoughts. Of courese there's the Draconian "three strikes" laws that turn life into a sporting event and sends 'career criminals' away for life for doing such horrible things as stealing a pizza or a bag of golf clubs, (yes, these are on record in CA). Then there's the WOD that sometimes sends a highschool kid to jail for possession of a roach.

Let's face it, there are way too many people in jails today for committing the pettiest of crimes, and way too many wealthy, famous or politically connected criminals who are always found not guilty. It's become a system of whose got the connections, fame and $$$$$$$ more now than ever before. The famous entertainer type will almost always walk, the wealthy will more often than not buy 'justice', those connected to the "law enforcement system" are specially privileged, and the poor fill the prisons.

I didn't grow up in an America like this and it's nice to see things beginning to change somewhere.

[Scenic Sounds]

Maybe it could be good if all the non-violent criminals who aren't citizens are immediately deported and permanently banned from legal re-entry or legal residency.

I'm not sure anyone would disagree with that.

Immigration is of course another issue in which the public is being taken for a ride. Politicians of both parties pretend to be opposed to illegal immigration, but enough politicians of both parties either quietly believe or are paid to quietly believe that illegal immigrants are a net boon to our economy as a whole or are at least crucial to those sectors of our economy who pay these politicians to think that way. As a result, very few politicians are willing to take the step (heavy employer sanctions) that would be required to really curtail illegal immigration. Instead, we have politicians who pander to the public by proposing walls and troops along our borders - "solutions" they know will not interfere with the economic needs of their patrons. Right now, of course, the public is being prepared for an upgrade in the status of illegal immigrants. That's always a tricky one, but don't underestimate our politicians - these guys are good! LOL.