California Budget

About the California Budget: The Prisoner Release – UPDATED

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We are all scrambling to apprehend the details
of the recently agreed upon (by the Uber Five), but not yet passed California State Budget.

There is a lot about which one might be furious, enraged even. But everyone is exhausted.

(cough) Constitutional convention (cough, cough).

However one segment of the budget cutting has already gathered some loud and very well-financed opposition: That would be the cuts to California’s prison system. In particular, the budget cuts that, if passed, will result in the release of 27,000 or so of the state’s least violent, least problematic prisoners—a little bit early.

In that, since the early to mid-1980’s, California has been on an incarceration binge, letting some of our low-level nonviolent prisoners out slightly in advance, will hardly being down the empire.

But representatives of many of the state’s law enforcement agencies, including our own police union, the LAPPL, are pushing statistics suggesting that early release will cause some kind of crime spree.

They say:

“The Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), which examined early prisoner releases, found early releases were a dangerous shell game with 70 percent of released inmates re-arrested within three years.


Um….guys? 70 percent IS California’s recidivism rate
—regardless of the length of prison stay.

Yeah, that’s a problem—-But it has nothing to do with early release.

Get a grip.

If you really want to worry about something, start manning the battle stations about the fact that, with the newest cuts to education, most students will be in classrooms with an average of 44 kids, likely higher.

As of last night, Republicans have actually threatened to blow up the whole budget deal
over the prisoner release.

Unconscionable.

PS: One thing the state cannot do, though, is dump part of its prisoner load on the counties.

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UPDATE: The Republicans are serious about blocking the budget if there are prison cuts. Every Californian should be screaming about this. We have school cuts that will result in most middle and high school classrooms having 45 kids and above in each room—a situation that means that certain kinds of necessary instruction simply will not occur.

But, God forbid we should cut prisons. Here’s some of what the SF Chron reported on the impasse:

Less than 24 hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state’s top lawmakers announced a tentative budget compromise, the hard-fought deal was in jeopardy over spending cuts that would result in the early release of thousands of prison inmates.

The plan, according to Matt Cate, Schwarzenegger’s top prison official,
would reduce the prison population this year by 27,000 inmates, some of whom would be released early. There are 167,700 inmates.

The plan includes:

— Sending thousands of old and sick inmates to non-prison hospitals.

— Allowing some nonviolent, inmates, but no sex offenders,
to serve the last year of their sentence under house arrest.

— Allowing some nonviolent inmates to earn time served by receiving a GED certificate or vocational training.

— Creating a sentencing commission to overhaul the state’s sentencing laws. [WHICH WE DESPERATELY NEED!]
The governor would also begin considering the fate of thousands of illegal immigrant
inmates who could be turned over to federal authorities for deportation.

GOP lawmakers accused the administration of double-crossing them in budget talks.

“Budget negotiations depend on the good-faith actions of all parties,” Assembly Republican leader Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo said in a statement.

A proposal to release inmates early was “never discussed or agreed to by Republicans,” he said. “We made it abundantly clear during negotiations that such policies would endanger the public and were unacceptable.”

Blakeslee’s fellow Republicans said they wouldn’t approve any part of the budget deal.

“This is not what we agreed to, and if it’s finalized
… there won’t be any Republican votes on this budget deal,” said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine.

Read more here.

Then pick up the phone and scream at someone. Preferably anyone who is threatening to block this budget. While you’re at it, ask them what kind of campaign donations they’ve gotten from the CCPOA.

13 Comments

  • A la verga! But we all know, the gavachos and the republicans, and the LAPD are to blame for gang violence! A la verga! A la verga!

  • Here’s your problem. It’s not with the Republican legislators.

    GOP lawmakers accused the administration of double-crossing them in budget talks. “Budget negotiations depend on the good-faith actions of all parties”….

    It’s pretty irresponsible for the governor and Democrats to announce a deal as being finished when the one that they announced never existed.

    No one can truthfully say the risks that the release of so many prisoners can pose to the public. And, just think how desperate they might be to go back to crime when they find that there are no jobs and that companies don’t want to hire them.

    Schools might as well be cut and classrooms crowded. The public schools are so bad that they are not much more than baby-sitting services for which a little more crowding doesn’t matter. Anyway, if so many of those students are going to end up in jail anyway, they might as well get used to the crowding now.

  • Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand
    Woody speaks for many of us out there
    Repondez s’il vous plaid – Honk if you’re Scottish
    Only reply to this if you’re not stupid

  • “The Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), which examined early prisoner releases, found early releases were a dangerous shell game with 70 percent of released inmates re-arrested within three years.

    Um….guys? 70 percent IS California’s recidivism rate—regardless of the length of prison stay.

    Yeah, that’s a problem—-But it has nothing to do with early release.

    So you are in favor of letting people prey on other people earlier than they would otherwise?

    I’d say… let out only non-violent criminals who were convicted of victimless, non-dangerous crimes (pot smokers, for example, but not crack or meth heads).

  • Those released prisoners would not find jobs. You know it, I know it, and the American people know it.

    Tell me what’s the next step. Try to look beyond just the next hour and day. Project months and years ahead and tell me how you deal with the next problem, and the next, and the next which results from throwing up the prison gates.

    Like most liberal ideas and calls for “social justice,” there’s a cost to them all, and most of you can’t see it or want to admit it.

  • California has a budget problem because of the countless people in prison for 25 to life for a small drug charge or petty theft DUH DUH!!!! Why are we spending money to send people to prison for life and keep them there,when they clearly needed a drug program Duh, Look how much money we would not have spent on them to be housed in our prison system!! A murderer is getting less time in prison then drug offenders what the hell is California thinking. The 3 strikes law is a joke true the child molesters should be in prison and people who have a serious case but why are we putting away people who had 20.00 worth of drugs????????UNBELIEVEABLE PEOPLE !!! My Husband has been in prison for the past 14 years for 20.00 worth of drugs, If we had money he wouldn’t be there California should look at situations like this!!!!In 14 years my Husband has gone to school and several programs etc. He has never even had any write ups he’s not violent Why is California paying to house people like him when he would come out get a job and take care of his family.The law is so bad 2 Judges in Santa Clara County quit because of the 3 strikes law!!

  • No other state in the United States strikes someone out for such petty charges!! Lets build more prisons and cut programs for children and seniors Stupid Stupid Law 3 strikes should be used for what it was intended. Not for minor drug possesion or stealing a piece of pizza!!!Wake up California

  • I moved from california many years ago. I saw what the state
    was doing in regards to gun laws that dont work , and prison
    and educational systems that dont work. Many of our state prisones started serving time as juviniles and by the time they could be released will be totally useless in society.
    without the tools for sucess of course they will victimize
    the population and ultimately return to prison.

    For all those who believe in longer sentences , think about
    your life. can you say that you never did anything that could have sent you to prison ? dont you feel lucky you did
    not get caught ? and could learn from your mistakes and have
    a productive life.

  • Ms Fremon you may think you know what your talking about but noone deserves to spend 25 years to life for having possesion of a small amount of drugs!! The punishment should fit the crime.California is ass backwards they let child molesters out and keep others in prison for years for a minor drug charge. Your stupid if you think that is right!!!!!!!!

  • I’m a former Californian (SF Bay Area) and you’re missing a GOLDEN opportunity.

    California doesn’t have jobs or money, so why not setup a voluntary program where these same 27,000 low risk inmates can choose to serve out there term working in retrofitted prisons doing the same $.30 an hour work the Chinese are doing making tshirts, etc. with the profits going to pay for their incarceration and any money spilling over being set aside for them when they are released and/or going toward merit pay teacher raises.

    You also save money because with a steady 5 day, 40 hour work week, these voluntary prisoners are getting the same job training in house instead of as a separate program.

    Will they get these same jobs on the outside, likely not, but how many people work at their first job? I haven’t pushed a mop and bucket in almost ten years.

    This will still mean jobs for normal citizens because a tshirt can’t simply be made in one place:

    1) The cotton must first be grown
    2) then it’s shipped to a mill (or prison in this case) for spinning into fabric
    3) the fabric is then cut to patterns and sewn
    4) finishing of labels, tags, screen printing and embroidery is added
    5) tshirt is packaged and shipped to a distribution center or direct to a retail location.

    There are too many steps to keep in one location which is why jobs flooded to China en masse because it wasn’t cost effective to do a few of the steps here and the rest over there.

    Even if ALL steps are done within prisons, you still need local shipping/packaging/freight companies to deliver these products and there’s an entire set of logistics contractors that go along with supporting that setup alone which equals…..JOBS!!!

    Work smarter, not harder California. You just may be worth living in again some day.

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