Jan 27 2010
New Inmate Release Plan Begins as Governor Calls for Prisons in Mexico
On Monday, California’s plan to reduce the state’s prison population by 6,500 inmates over the course of the year went into effect. Approved by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last year as part of an announced effort aimed at addressing prison overcrowding and budgetary woes, the new policy will affect inmates deemed “low-risk” offenders and parolees. The plan will allow such prisoners, including many non-violent offenders, to reduce their sentences by participating in work, education and rehabilitation programs. Parole agents will also see a decrease in workload from 70 to 48 cases as “low-risk” offenders will not be supervised upon release and hence would not returned to prison for technical violations. Law enforcement groups have criticized the plan saying that it would result in increased crime. Meanwhile, as California faces yet another fiscal emergency, Governor Schwarzenegger told reporters recently that the state could reduce prison spending by a billion dollars by moving thousands of undocumented inmates to newly constructed facilities in Mexico. The proposal, which was not concrete, nevertheless was assumed to be a part of his overall desire to see privately-run prisons compete with state-controlled ones. California remains one of the most overcrowded and expensive prison systems in the nation and a binding federal court order mandates that it release 40,000 inmates over the next two years.
GUEST: Ruthie Gilmore, Professor at USC, Co-founder of Critical Resistance and the California Prison Moratorium Project.
For more information, visit www.criticalresistance.org, www.capmp.org, and www.curbprisonspending.org.
One Response to “New Inmate Release Plan Begins as Governor Calls for Prisons in Mexico”
I can’t get over how much are economy is suffering now, and then to add more strain on it seems absurd. When will these decisions be the breaking point for the American people. How can releasing these inmates help anyone? I do believe in second chances for a better life, but not at the cost of saving some money. That to me tells me that the system we had in the first placed was severely flawed. How convenient, we need more money and this is the route we take.