The Supreme Court has requested that California reduce its prison population by more than 30,000 inmates. While this may sound like an unforseen victory as a result of the current state budget crisis the reality of "inmate reduction" is quite grim:
"State officials in California will have two years to comply with the order, and they may ask for
more time. Justice Kennedy emphasized that the reduction in population need not be achieved
solely by releasing prisoners early. Among the other possibilities, he said, are new
construction, transfers out of state and using county facilities."
The result of this "release" of non-violent offenders from federal prisons will ultimately lead to overcrowding in local jails, increased ease of deportation, and defunding from other public services. In the words of Matthew Cate, the Secretary of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: “Our goal is to not release inmates at all,”
Regardless of what they say or how they say it, they don't really care about us.
Only thing I would add is that health care is another reason. Many inmates receive the only care they have access to in the clink. Throwing them out on the street means less access.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this means more people on probation, parole, and house arrest, and with fancy technological control devices such as GPS monitors. The network of control becomes subtler, more diffuse, and stronger.
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