If California is not taxing and spending too much, the
Golden State is incarcerating too much, with a record number of prisoners
housed in crowded circumstances. Federal Courts have poked into this growing
problem, demanding that the California Department of Corrections released
prisoners.
prisoners into county jails, and from country jails to the local prisons, and
of course offenders are being released early following the mandates from the
federal court of appeals.
crowding and draconian sentencing. How much money does the state of California
spend on corrections? How about investing in our business infrastructure our
post-secondary institutions?
girl whose brutal murder pushed for the Three Strikes Law, I was surprised to
learn that he opposed the strict requirements imposed by the statute. Judges up
and down the state have also complained that the law takes away discretion from the
courts to mete out just sentencing without considering extenuating
circumstances. Some individuals commit terrible crimes as troubled youth. In no
way am I suggesting that the state courts should dole out mercy and condolences
without regard for proper discipline and punishment, but taking away judicial discretion
is cramming our prisons with more low-level offenders without providing them
the means to get back on their feet and get back out and serve our communities
upon release.
The last jury I sat on, the individual was convicted of
resisting arrest, receiving a one-year sentence from the judge. My colleagues
and I felt even then that the sentencing was too harsh, yet the deputy district
attorney assured us that he would most likely serve only two months before
being released. Overcrowding was an issue then – and that was 2005. The prison population has only gotten worse, with budget cuts putting fewer guards and rooms available for corralling the crowds in our correctional system.
Rehabilitation has its place in our criminal justice system, as does a system of restorative justice. Judges in Orange County have implemented Drug and Domestic Violence courts to deal with the fraught issues connected with addiction and family dramas, with noticeable effects. Better to redeem convicts than to relegate them to a bureaucracy of failure and fallout.
inmates who go jail for low-grade drug possession or other non-violent
misdemeanors is contributing to the crush of prisoners. It is immoral to lock
up someone because of an addition to a controlled substance. If Congressman
David Dreier (R-San Dimas) was willing to talk about decriminalizing drug use, then perhaps the
voters in this state should consider decriminalizing low-grade drug possession.
The Cato Institute published a white paper on the effects of decriminalization
in Portugal, and they found that drug use declined, with tourist consumption
having no impact on the public arena, a fear which many countries evince when anyone brings up decriminalization. The Netherlands succeeded at making pot 'boring" because it was legal.