How California Got into the Mess We're In with Prison Sentences: There Will Never Be Enough Red Meat for Some

It's about time someone held his feet to the fire. This man talks out of both sides of his mouth. Good for the Register! We have all heard his rhetoric and I hope the public starts to get a clue about him.

Mr. Russo, please don't let up on this prison reform. These politicians that have chosen to ignore the professional studies and other states success in dealing with recidivism and sentencing reform need to be held accoutable for this HUGE waste of our tax dollars that they are about to spend. They chose NOT to allow us a choice in the matter. This state is now buried in billions and billions of bonds that will cost double and triple their face amounts and I am sure that much of this funding will be wasted on red-tape and big business and lost down a big black hole and the prison system will still be as inhumane and unconstitutional as ever.

I still can't believe they did it. They knew better and still did it!! The Assembly is just a bunch of kiss you know whats. No back bone whatsoever.

The legislators go with the people who put them into office. When enough of the families of prisoners figure out that they can do this too, elect people to office or do recalls against good vs. evil punishers like Todd Spitzer. B. Cayenne Bird, the Director of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect has been exposing the Republican politician's stonewalling for about a decade.

It's good to see you bringing out the details on these varmints in elected office. Follow the money trail to determine their loyalties. The voters are sleeping, when will they ever wake up and put the right people into office?

The people determine the press coverage by what they say and do. Actions that count such as lawsuits, initiative campaigns, this is what keeps prison reform on the front burner. The legislators go alone with whomever writes the biggest checks and has the most voters. Voter apathy is all that stands between repression and progression.

It's good to see the students at ten Cal State campuses marching for education instead of incarceration. The 18 year old group hasn't been voting. Maybe they're waking up to their own voting power.

Frank:

I am quite opposed to the mindless expansion of criminal sentences and the associated absurdities (a life sentence for stealing CDs after years of clean living). In the opposition to those issues, however, we should not forget the problems with a sentencing or parole commission.

At the same time that the legislature (or was it the voters by incitive) were eliminating indeterminate sentences, Public Advocates (PA) had a federal suit challenging indeterminate sentences. I have not read the depositions, but I have heard them described. Time after time the PA attorneys asked members of the parol board define the psycho-babble that the members had used to justify their decisions. They could not.

We like to believe that if we change things there are some philosopher kings that will make decisions the way we think they should be made. That is not the real world.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer either.

-- Chris Peeples –-

Shouldn’t a few facts be considered when discussing the prison issue?

Unfortunately, the state has released almost no facts or real information about prison overcrowding. What kind of facts should be made available? Well when asking for billions to build more prison beds, they could start by reporting the actual prison bed shortfall which is 16,600 beds according to the Legislative Analysist. The oft quoted Prison bed "design capacity”[1] does not reflect American Correctional Association correctional bed standards.

It should also be reported that the real correctional bed shortage is at the county level with a shortage of at least 66,000 jail beds according to a recent Sheriff’s Association study. The county jail bed shortage causes the routine annual release of over 200,000 inmates early and the shift of many short-term offenders to prison, where they now occupy about 30,000 to 40,000 prison beds and cause prison overcrowding. If the cause of prison overcrowding, the county jail bed shortage, were dealt with, there would be a prison bed surplus. With adequate county jail bed space, the State could reduce parole revocation rates to normal levels and reduce annual prison operating costs by up to $.5 billion.

The proposed additional 13,000 jail beds will not come close to meeting need which is probably in the neighborhood of about 90,000 to 100,000 beds. On the other hand, if the additional requested prison beds are constructed and other proposed changes are implemented, there will be a 32,000 prison bed surplus by 2012 according to the Legislative Analysist.

The main issue is that the State has not provided any facts based on a “normal” analysis of the correctional system to support the request to spend billions for additional prison beds. Such an analysis is not a big deal or particularly difficult but it is an absolute basic requirement before deciding to embark on any construction. Of necessity, analysis of a correctional system starts at the front end, beginning with reported serious crime and arrest projections[2], and moving to the end of the system, the prisons.

It should amaze any taxpayer that elected leaders would even consider proposals to build more prison beds in the absence of any system-wide analysis! Correctional beds have a life of 30 to 40 years or longer. Such an unsupported request is unprecedented but it will apparently be approved. It has been sold as prison reform but it is really only increased prison spending that has about nothing to do with “reform” of any kind. It has a great deal to do with politics and no one should laud them for their claims of dealing with prison system problems.

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[1] American Correctional Association nationally recognized standards require single cells “for inmates assigned to maximum custody” (i.e. DC&R classification of Level IV inmates).

[2] It should be noted that serious crime and arrests, which presumably determine the need for prison beds, have declined for the past decade.

Mr. Russo- Thank you for this article and for bringing our attention to these comments made by and about Assemblymember Spitzer. I find it interesting that Mr. Spitzer describes his responsibility as protecting the citizenry of the government- are not the men and women who are incarcerated also citizens of this government? Thank you for your article and for bringing balance to the "lock them up and throw away the key" way of thinking.

The future

It has been estimated that, if present trends continue, the entire nation will be incarcerated by about 2056. At that time, the government will merely have to declare America a prison nation, prevent Americans from entering Canada or Mexico, stop issuing passports and plane tickets and increase Coast Guard shoreline patrols to guarantee corporations access to some 300,000,000 slave laborers.

And what is the philosophical foundation for the land of the free being transformed into a prison nation?

There isn't one. There is no philosophy, there is no foundation; it's only profit—profit generated by little men and women hiding behind paper fictions chartered by governments and constructed in such a way that they can reap the worldly benefits of profit without incurring the temporal liabilities associated with enslaving and exploiting an entire nation.

read more
http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20041205.htm

Dear Frank,

Thanks for the post. Below is my response to the OC Register blog.

I have been very careful in my attack on those who sit idly by on the sidelines in their failure to address prison overcrowding by choosing a sentencing commission as the solution as liberals. Not all democrats oppose prison expansion. Not all democrats are liberals. In fact, at the bill signing ceremony today at the capitol, the Speaker was joined by Ms. Wolk, Ms. Richards, Mr. Swanson, Ms. Salas and Mr. Solorio. Definitely Democrats. Obviously not liberals on public safety.

We achieved a balance of prison expansion, reentry programs and program intervention. That is a solution I have been arguing for all along. It just took more than a year--and a special session last year with no progress--to finally get it done.

In response to OC Register Piece no up on the Register's web-site blog:

"Steve [Greenhut],

I appreciate the time you are taking to concentrate on our state prison overcrowding issue. And I was very clear with you (but not in the most ideal circumstances last week boarding a plane while trying to answer your questions.)

We have completed shifted how we are approaching corrections under AB 900. We are going to stop the waste of time/circular motion by which we currently handle parole violations. We are supporting re-entry facilities for parolees who are returning to society. And we are investing in rehabilitation to the tune of $50 million year in and year out.

I am insisting that we do not bring the same mentality to our corrections model. We must have sufficient prison beds for those who harm victims and society; we also know the vast majority of inmates will return to freedom and will not have the job or social skills to reverse their long trends of poor choices and behavior.

This month, Jose Solorio and I are meeting with Sheriff's officials to discuss how to take the reforms we passed last week and implement them successfully at the local level so that we can become a model for the State.

I am proud of this difficult work. I will add that I approach it hesitatingly, but with an open mind, because trying to change a parolee's life from crime to responsibility is a daunting undertaking and the odds will be that we are not successful. The alternative is less pleasant and jeopardizes public safety in the future.

Knowing the difficult struggle in this complex area of public policy and our open and frank discussion about it, your criticism appears to be quite unfair."

Mr. Spitzer- At least you have the courage to respond to some comments. However I beleive that Assemblybill 900 was a huge mistake. Throwing more money into a broken system doesn't fix it. The first thing that should have been done was a Sentencing Commission and Parole Reform. Legislators went behind the backs of voters because you they knew we would never allow more prisons to be built before other options were tried. Our Sentencing Laws are inhumane and unconstitutional. Just because these sentencing enhancement were voted in does not make them right. The public has been mislead time and time again by politicians. Keeping young people away from society for long periods of time while they are young does nothing but make sure they no longer fit into it. They struggle to catch up and can't by design. The pace of progress it quick. So what have you done but make sure these young people can't make it. There are countless young people in prison for 10 years and up for hurting no one. We have enhanced our way into this overcrowding. I really don't think you understand the years that courts are doling out upon our youth for non violent and minor offenses. You are out of touch with reality. Many have been coerced into prison because our laws have become so barbaric. No one is saying prisons are not necessary. They are. But they should never be profitable. The only winners here are the big unions you align yourself with. The CDC can't manage the prison system. They already have proven that. Look at the Death chamber they tried "re-model". For what it was to cost you could build a 3000 sq. ft. home at $250 a sq. ft. It's obvious there is no controls and no oversight to anything these entities do. The proverbial $25,000 toilet seat is what we will get.

All anyone has to do is check the voting records of the Republican politicians including Todd Spitzer. They consistently voted against everything that provide real prison reform, every bill, everything that made sense they blocked.

Go to www.assembly.ca.gov and enter key words and you will see this is extremely easy to prove. Todd Spitzer was one of the worst, a former cop and prosecutor, who once tackled a homeless man in a grocery story and boasted about it.

A Christian man would have bought him a sandwich. Spitzer will lie, cheat and do everything in his power to look innocent when he and his Republican Buddies are responsible for the entire mess.

Romero had a great reform bill on the table just last SB 1547 and check out who voted that down. These are criminals running our state, bought and paid for by law enforcement labor unions to expand the prisons and destroy the families of everyone they take into slavery.

Response to Michael Westmoreland:

Know your facts: I was in the downtown Sacramento Safeway several years ago when store security was struggling with a shoplifter. I was just shopping myself when I heard the struggle and saw two plainclothes security personnel unsuccessfully trying to make the arrest.

I verbally calmed the suspect down and assisted in placing the handcuffs on him before he got hurt and/or hurt store personnel.

It's pretty hard to be a good christian and buy someone food when he was stealing non-food items AND he was slugging the employees.

No one bragged about it.

Once a jackboot, always a jackboot. As a taxpayer I highly resent our education dollars being robbed and taxes raised by law enforcement's purchased politicians such as Spitzer.

I am also sick of his lies on sex offender issues just so he can appear to be "tough on crime." The one million women and children who will soon be living under a bridge because they might have a mentally ill person in their family can be directly traced to Republicans as bad or worse than Spitzer.

Nothing he says or does represents my views. Jackbooted thugs in office have got to go and that can only be achieved by registering people as "decline to state" who are victims of their callous nonsense.

I will also add that Jose Solorio is a disgrace to the Democrats as are everyone who passed this stealth legislation practically overnight. No one is safe when the legislature is in session. God help us all when prisons and human bondage have become more important than education.

The students are on the move at least, a group that hasn't been voting. There is no doubt that your primitive views have permeated every level of those who believe in punishing the sick. Thank God that others are not so ignorant.

Harsh sentancing laws have played the biggest role as to why the prisons are over crowded. Inmates are packed like sardines.The lobby-backed politicains that pressed for harsh sentancing laws want tax-payers to foot the bill for more prisons.Politicians have their lobby money,Corporations have their slaves....All because the kick backs are too good... too long.Prisons filled up to the brim with slaves.

All about money is what our justice system has become.....Shame on these makers of Slaves for Political and Corporate profit.Both politicians and companies have their pockets lined with greedy money profits.Tax payers are dupped by fear mongering campains like:three strikes-tuff on crime hype.The crime is political,and Corporate,the crime is there is no honor.The crime is the tax-payers are being sold out,and inmates lives that are slaughtered in the process mean nothing to these money grabbers.

It is time to stop building prisons.
Our prison system is both a devastating moral blight on our society and an overwhelming economic burden on our tax dollars, taking away much needed resources from schools, health care and affordable housing. The prison system is corrupting our society and making us more threatened, rather than protecting us as its proponents claim. It is a system built on fear, racism, and the exploitation of poverty. Our current prison system has no place in a society that aspires to liberty, justice, and equality for all

It is time to stop building prisons.
Our prison system is both a devastating moral blight on our society and an overwhelming economic burden on our tax dollars, taking away much needed resources from schools, health care and affordable housing. The prison system is corrupting our society and making us more threatened, rather than protecting us as its proponents claim. It is a system built on fear, racism, and the exploitation of poverty. Our current prison system has no place in a society that aspires to liberty, justice, and equality for all

Recognizing that our reliance on mass incarceration to respond to social problems
makes things worse, not better.

Imagine if the enormous capital that is
invested in prisons annually(which ultimately has a negative sum social and economic value) was
diverted instead into...education…health…jobs…[and] housing ????????

Private prison operating companies such as Corrections Corporation of America and Wackenhut Corporation. These businesses contract with governments to manage prisons, literally making a profit every time another person is sent to jail,and as the prison population in their hands increases, the influence of the prison operators grows.

Increasingly, these companies are offering privatized design, construction, and financing packages to government bodies, and consistently removing the opportunity for public oversight.

Accountability for prison conditions under privatization is also greatly reduced, as private prison operators have been essentially granted immunity from federal prosecution !!

This whole prison deal is a complete mess,it solves nothing,it does not immediately resolve the over crowding crisis.

Release of non-violent inmates,needs to happen.The old,frail and terminally ill and mentally ill need to be released,to real healing facilities,not ran by a punishing ignorant CDC with a tiny "r",which stands for absolutely nothing~~except repulsive or retards !!

People are getting a strike for stealing 2 bottles of liquer,or some clothes,or videos.These lobby-backed politicians are for the Prison Industrial Complex.Tax payers foot the bill to build more prisons so Corporate stock-holders can expand ther work force. This even takes jobs away from us on the out-side.
These politicians need to be recalled,or voted out.These politicians pressed for harsh sentancing through fear-mongering campains that's why the prisons are over crowded.By the year 2056 at this rate of incarseration every American will be in prison....they'll just put barbed wire around the whole____county. Don't think your grand kids will escape these blood sucking leaches.

My daughter was arrested 2 weeks ago and charged with Posession Of A Controlled Substance (self use), Damaging property over 400 $ (kicked at the cops car window while being in the backseat Mace sprayed) & Posession of drug paraphenalia.

I in no way support her using drugs, yet the "laws" here had her locked up in County jail for 7 days, suddenly released under CO just yesterday.

She is a first offender.

I've looked around for drug rehab places for her and find the costs are $20,000..$5,000...$2,000...per month and she would not be kept under lock and key but could walk out anytime.

Due to the property damage offence she cannot get any drug rehab order from the court.

She is only 19 years old, was under suicide watch all last weekend due to her terrific/horrifying lockup experience. Me, her mother, could not be given any information on her wellbeing and health due to "privacy laws", Nor did any person from the Jail ask her permission to inform me how she was doing.

YET, I can go online to occourts.org or ocsd.org and find out any arrest, warrant or court date information by entering a persons name. Privacy Laws don't apply here??

What sick, pathetic laws you pass on young teens and adults who have been caught up in using this incidious drug Meth. Jail time, no cost free inmate rehab for all charged with posession, lumped with huge fines they could hardly ever pay. All this does is give them a record, financial hardship, without help for rehabilitation, and most likely to use again, be busted and locked up longer due to second offense.

Prop 36 is only for simple posession and still you pay if working or live at home then your parents foot the bill.

America and Americans are looked upon as the biggest law enforcement joke on the planet due to, illegal imigrants receiving better welfare & handouts than citizens will ever get, no real help for drug addicts, cops who are above the law and low offense criminals locked up then having the book thrown at them.

I hate California.

Sitting in the Orange County Superior Courtroom I witnessed an inmate who housed at the Orange County Mens prison. The judge was told this man is in court for the 4th time on arraignment and again the DA has not listed charges for him. California Penal code states a person must be arragned with charges and enter a plea within 72 hours. The inmate has been sitting in Jail for many weeks!!!
He cannot afford an attorney. The Judge gave him another arraignment date and sent him back to Jail.

Answer why this human right violation case is allowed to continue?

In addition to my post above regarding unlawful inprisonment due to violation of CA Penal Code laws, the inmate was in West Superior Courtroom W14 on Tuesday June 19, 2007. Any person who cares could easily find out this prisoners identity and help.

Yes, we who live outside the US in other countries, laugh at how you wave you flags citing all your freedoms and rights. You have no rights. Your country is laughed at and you have been fooled. Saying you are the wealthiest country in the world makes no sense. Everything you have has been charged by you or your government or been stolen. No other country wants your way of life. What have you become? You won't give your neediest children healthcare and then you provide $30,000 a year mats on the floor for poor homeless people! None of this makes sense; does it make sense to you?

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