July 11, 2011
How prisoner release could benefit California - op-ed
Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito appealed to fear with their dissents to the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 23 decision ordering California to shed more than 30,000 inmates from its bloated system.
Alito predicted a “grim roster of victims” resulting from willy-nilly early release of prisoners; Scalia imagined tens of thousands of “happy-go-lucky felons” on the loose, many with “intimidating muscles” developed while “pumping iron in the prison gym.” It is true that the court’s decision places the state in a bind, yet it should be an opportunity to carry out proven reforms that will make California’s criminal justice system more just and improve public safety.
The current system, which holds more than 150,000 people in quarters meant for 80,000, is failing both inmates and taxpayers. Although California spends billions on incarceration, its recidivism rate is the second highest in the nation: 58 percent of released inmates return to prison within three years. The Pew Center on the States reports that 40 percent of these returns are for violations of parole rules such as missing appointments with a parole officer or failing a drug test -- not for new crimes...
LINK - Bloomberg.com
