And, despite the fact that I am not a resident of California, I’m all FOR it — NATIONWIDE. I’ll explain later, but first, this…
From The Sacramento Bee:
Big prisoner release plan
Schwarzenegger proposing to free 22,000 low-risk offenders earlyBy Andy Furillo
In what may be the largest early release of inmates in U.S. history, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration is proposing to open the prison gates next year for some 22,000 low-risk offenders.
According to details of a budget proposal made available to The Bee, the administration will ask the Legislature to authorize the release of certain non-serious, nonviolent, non-sex offenders who are in the final 20 months of their terms.
The proposal would cut the prison population by 22,159 inmates and save the cash-strapped state an estimated $256 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1 and more than $780 million through June 30, 2010. The proposal also calls for a reduction of more than 4,000 prison jobs, most of them involving correctional officers. …”
(Snip!)
“… Gubernatorial spokesman Adam Mendelsohn declined to confirm the proposal outlined to The Bee but reaffirmed the administration’s belief that all departments need to cut spending by 10 percent next year. The corrections budget is $9.9 billion.
Schwarzenegger “has not made any decisions” on where the cuts will take place, Mendelsohn said, including whether they will involve early release of inmates or staff layoffs. …”
(Snip!)
“… UC Berkeley law professor and corrections expert Franklin Zimring said that in raw numbers, “I don’t know of any” other releases across the country that would match what Schwarzenegger’s administration is proposing.
But he said the proposed 13 percent cut in the prison population – which stood at 172,079 as of Dec. 12 – would be on par with the results of changes in parole policy that Gov. Ronald Reagan imposed in the early 1970s. …”
KUDOS!
Of course, this is flying like a lead balloon with the correctional officers, law enforcement and the “victims’ rights” groups. Unfortunately for the latter, and assuming these are mostly potheads, johns and prostitutes; THERE WERE NEVER ANY “VICTIMS” IN THE FIRST PLACE. Too bad, so sad, and kudos to The Goobernator.
But don’t just stop there, California; there is much more cost-cutting to be done. Legalize and regulate any so-called “drug” a person can obtain by simply tossing a seed into the ground or a flower pot and legalize sex between consenting adults, even if they choose to skip the “small talk” and prenuptials and get right down to “bidness” after some quick “hoss tradin’”. In case you’re wondering — I don’t participate in any of the above, nor do I condone or advise it — I just think it’s UNCONSTITUTIONAL to lock somebody up and deprive them of their liberty for no other reason than the fact they disagree with me. NO VICTIM, NO CRIME. “Society” is NOT a “victim”, it’s a “wildcard” the Authoritarians of BOTH sides of the aisle utilize to incarcerate their fellow Americans whom do not share their (oh so) “moral” points of view. And it’s EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE in terms of MONEY, too — something even an Authoritarian jackass can understand.
While we’re at it, Goobernator — how about slashing your police force by NO LESS than 13%, too. If you’re going to lean toward liberty by doing the RIGHT thing and releasing my fellow Americans who should’ve never been incarcerated in the first place, we won’t be needing to be footing the high salaries of so many law enforcement officers to conduct years-long sting operations designed only to round up a few hundred potheads or prostitutes either, will we? On the Federal level, same thing; demolish the Department of Homeland (in)Security and shrink the F.B.I. Obviously, the F.B.I. is worthless to we Americans if they’re headquartered in Washington and can’t seem to find any crooks lurking on Capitol Hill, right before their very eyes, correct?
Big government — often blamed upon the Democrats, and rightfully SO, but the Republicans get a pass — WRONGFULLY so. The Nanny State of the Dems is expensive, no doubt, but the Police State of the Republicans, when you consider the salaries of the law enforcement, corrections and judicial personnel, along with the costs of those “three hots and a cot” involved in housing the civilized world’s largest per capita inmate population — folks — you are talking HUGE GOVERNMENT.
Stop… the… MADNESS.
***
A huge thanks to our friends at The Moderate Voice for adding this article to their always fantastic Center of Attention blogger roundup…
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4:30 am on December 22nd, 2007 1
[...] California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger, who plans to release 13% of ALL prisoners who’ve left no victims behind, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee had a reputation of [...]
12:42 pm on December 26th, 2007 2
[...] left-leaning blogger touts the prisoners-set-free plan of a right-leaning [...]
5:13 pm on December 27th, 2007 3
Reducing California prison system costs and literally saving billions, is not a very complicated undertaking.
Briefly, billions can be saved by:
1. For an immediate fix to prison overcrowding, temporarily revise the Prison Work Incentive Program. The current one-third sentence reduction for low risk inmates can be increased to eliminate the 16,600 prison bed shortfall.
2. Release Requests for Proposals for 16,600 correctional beds to house short term, low risk offenders and technical parole violators. This would be a permanent fix to overcrowding.
These two changes save $518 million in annual prison operating costs and avoid spending any of the $6.5 billion in bond funds for unnecessary prison bed construction.
3. The temporary fix to the broken parole revocation system would involve the use of the above community correctional beds to house technical parole violators awaiting revocation action.
This change would result in an annual saving of about $.5 billion in prison operating costs.
4. For a permanent fix to the parole system, particularly the revocation system, establish a community corrections program with features similar to successful community corrections programs operated by Minnesota and Oregon since the early 1970s.
This change would make the savings in 3 permanent and also end political attacks on any efforts to improve the prison and parole system.
These changes would require actual political leadership in dealing with the major prison system problems, the lack of which has allowed an outstanding prison system to deteriorate into an expensive, very flawed. System.