California releasing 27,000 inmates from prison

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

State budget deal reduces prison inmates by 27,000

The plan accomplishes this with a combination of measures, including having some prisoners complete sentences at home and shortening terms for those who finish rehabilitation programs.

Reporting from Sacramento -- The state budget deal negotiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders would reduce the population of California prisons by nearly 27,000 inmates in the current fiscal year.

That would be done with a combination of new measures, including allowing some inmates to finish their sentences on home detention, creating new incentives for completion of rehabilitation programs and scaling back parole supervision for the least serious offenders.

The proposal, details of which were obtained by The Times, would save a total of $1.2 billion in the coming year.

It is unclear whether Republicans will vote for a budget plan that includes reduction of the state prison system, which now houses 170,000 inmates. Some GOP votes are needed to pass a budget in California.

If Republicans demur, the Democrats who dominate the Legislature could approve the prison proposal as separate legislation with a simple majority vote, which would not require GOP support.

The plan would grant authority to state corrections officials to allow any inmate with 12 months or less left to serve to complete his or her sentence on home detention, although state officials would not be required to do so. Prison officials could also put any inmate who is over 60 or medically incapacitated on home detention instead of in a prison cell.

The state would use electronic monitoring for inmates serving time at home, and officials estimate that about 6,300 could do time this way.

In addition, inmates who achieve milestones in rehabilitative programs, substance abuse treatment, vocational training or education could receive up to six weeks off their prison terms, although the credit could be forfeited in cases of subsequent bad behavior.

The plan includes a scaled-down version of Schwarzenegger's proposal to change some felonies to misdemeanors so inmates could go to county jails instead of prisons. Five crimes would be reclassified, such as petty theft with a previous conviction.

Inmates would receive less severe sentences for committing property crimes, because the amounts that guide sentencing in state law would be increased to account for inflation.

The state would change its parole system to create a "Parole Re-Entry Accountability Program" that would return fewer people to state prison, depending on their behavior. The plan is estimated to reduce the state parole population by 46,000 -- more than a third of those currently under supervision.

Those former prisoners convicted of the least serious crimes would not be subject to parole revocations that could return them to prison, as currently happens with about 70,000 a year. Those who committed more serious crimes would earn the right to early parole discharge for completing drug treatment.

In addition, counties would receive a total of $45 million in the coming year, from federal stimulus funds, to keep inmates on probation instead of sending them to prison. The money could be used by counties to hire more staff.

The budget plan also would create a sentencing commission to reexamine the state penal code, which would not save money immediately but would advance plans under discussion by lawmakers for years. The commission would be charged with establishing new sentencing guidelines by July 1, 2012.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ca...0,1856950.story

Can you balance the budget? Try for yourself:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-state...57202.htmlstory

[Niels Bohr 72]

Wow. If the inmate is smart enough, they'll take advantage of the state's lack of police resource to do more crimes.

[Ban Hammer 12,836]

Wow. If the inmate is smart enough, they'll take advantage of the state's lack of police resource to do more crimes.

and if cali residents are smart, they'll start changing their views towards owning a gun.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I see your point.

[meowmeowmeow 0]

arnie .....dumbass move once again.

[NickD 202]

Probably figure food stamps and welfare will cost the state less than prison, where are these inmates going to get a job?

[kayandnigel 0]

I am staying in Minneapolis

[mawilson 2,133]

About damn time.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

arnie .....dumbass move once again.

Not if its the only move he can make...

The State is bankrupt, and the voters didn't want to pay more taxes. This is the inevitable result.

[mawilson 2,133]

arnie .....dumbass move once again.

Not if its the only move he can make...

The State is bankrupt, and the voters didn't want to pay more taxes. This is the inevitable result.

And it's the right move.

I hope the boys in Washington are paying attention.

[HAL 9000 96]

Ahhh... lets all invest in arming ourselves back to the Ole West instead of getting a decent edumacashion.

[Ban Hammer 12,836]

Ahhh... lets all invest in arming ourselves back to the Ole West instead of getting a decent edumacashion.

i'm sure a phd will stop a robber cold

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Ahhh... lets all invest in arming ourselves back to the Ole West instead of getting a decent edumacashion.

Not much chance of that now that they've cut $9bn from the education budget Statewide.

Of course there will always be people who insist on pushing simplistic solutions to complex problems.

Safe to say that private proliferation of firearms is not the way out of the budget crisis - even if some people derive a sense of security from the extremely remote possibility of home invasion.

[dalegg 143]

Probably figure food stamps and welfare will cost the state less than prison, where are these inmates going to get a job?

I've been wondering about this too. Having any prisoner record has always been an automatic denial for many jobs already. Now they're at the bottom of a long list of already unemployed people. I think they are in competition with single mothers on welfare too now who are having their benefits cut.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Ahhh... lets all invest in arming ourselves back to the Ole West instead of getting a decent edumacashion.

Not much chance of that now that they've cut $9bn from the education budget Statewide.

Of course there will always be people who insist on pushing simplistic solutions to complex problems.

Safe to say that private proliferation of firearms is not the way out of the budget crisis - even if some people derive a sense of security from the extremely remote possibility of home invasion.

It would help stimulate the economy. More firearms sold will help the firearms industry. More criminals on the street will stimulate the hardware industry by increasing the sale of break-in tools at first, then replacing broken glass and busted doors, and more secure locks and other security measures later. Dead or wounded perps on the front lawn will stimulate other industries.

It's an overall win for everybody, well, except for the hardened criminal missing his favorite squeeze that got let out early.