though i cannot agree that none of the inmates are capable of handling life in the outside world, as you seem to suggest. i called for the release of “40k nonviolent potsmokers”. parents and shopkeepers and college students alike end up in jail over marijuana, not just uneducated street thugs.

the idiotic war on drugs — i thought it went without saying but perhaps i should erferenced it in this piece — is the root cause of this prison system overload, and not just in california. LA just happened to be the city where the first example of what this kind of overcrowding eventually, almost inevitably, leads to.

i’d be interested in understanding what inspired you to construe this particular post as “gleeful”.

Having worked in these prisons (starting at this one where they rioted) I know the issue is far more complex than your sophomoric rant would suggest. When you open the gates and let 40,000 prisoners go one day, what happens to them the next day? These aren’t people with supportive families and jobs waiting for them. For the most part, they’re socially inept people with poor educational foundations and almost no work skills — even if jobs were available. What they do is to go back to what they know to survive — selling drugs, using drugs, petty thefts, burglaries, grifting, etc. And they do that until they are caught — and then they are returned to prison with longer sentences based on their prior records. Doesn’t sound like such a good long-term solution now, does it?

And when they hit the streets, who supervises them if they stay on parole? The parole division is overwhelmed as it is, and they can’t adequately supervise all current parolees. So, we add more to their workload? Or do we hire more parole agents? If so, where do they come from? Do you know how long it takes to train an agent to a point where he is actually effective?

The solution is systemic. The whole concept of a penal code needs to be reevaluated. Sentencing laws must be changed. The concept of rehabilitation must be recreated, and it must be done locally, not in a statewide prison system. Parole must be overhauled completely. And most importantly, families and schools must be confronted on their responsibilities in raising adults rather than children.

It’s fun to rant, but reality always intrudes. Sorry to throw cold water on your gleeful I-told-you-so party.

On the following pdf from 2007 you’ll find these pages intriguing: PDF by the California Department of Corrections
Page 25 (bed capacity)
Page 29 (Felons incarcerated by crime type)
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Offender_Information_Services_Branch/Annual/CalPris/CALPRISd2007.pdf
.-= Dez´s last blog ..GDW: Part IV: Reasons =-.