Federal Judges Order California To Reduce Prison Population By 40,000

[WillowTree]

A ruling by the three-judge panel who have effectively taken control of the California prison system has ordered the state to reduce the prison population by as much as 40,000 inmates within the next two years, finding the system in violation of Constitutional mandates. The Tough On Crime balloon has just popped.

The judges said that reducing prison crowding in California was the only way to change what they called an unconstitutional prison health care system that causes one unnecessary death a week. In a scathing 184-page order, the judges criticized state officials, saying they had failed to comply with previous orders to fix the health care system in the prisons and reduce crowding, and recommended remedies, including reform of the parole system.

The special three-judge panel also described a chaotic prison system where prisoners were stacked in triple bunk beds in gymnasiums, hallways and day rooms; where single guards were often forced to monitor scores of inmates at a time; and where ill inmates died for lack of treatment.







D-Day: Federal Judges Order California To Reduce Prison Population By 40,000

 

[KittenKoder]

Bah! Just enforce the Death Penalty ... that should about do it.

 

[WillowTree]

40 thousand in two years, lessee that cracks down to about 20 thousand a year,, that's a lot of criminals running around, hide the children.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Or take out all the non-violent drug offenders.

 

[KittenKoder]

Or take out all the non-violent drug offenders.

Non-violent in Cali?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Or take out all the non-violent drug offenders.

Non-violent in Cali?

You don't think there are any non-violent drug offenders in prison in California?

 

[KittenKoder]

Or take out all the non-violent drug offenders.

Non-violent in Cali?

You don't think there are any non-violent drug offenders in prison in California?

40,000 of them? I doubt there are that many.

 

[WillowTree]

what exactly is a non violent drug offender? and are there 40 thousand of them in California prisons?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Non-violent in Cali?

You don't think there are any non-violent drug offenders in prison in California?

40,000 of them? I doubt there are that many.

Maybe not 40,000. I certainly don't have any inside information as to how many there are, but I'm sure there's a good amount.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

what exactly is a non violent drug offender? and are there 40 thousand of them in California prisons?

A drug offender that hurts nobody but themselves.

 

[KittenKoder]

what exactly is a non violent drug offender? and are there 40 thousand of them in California prisons?

Pot heads mostly ... they aren't stupid enough to kill or fight the cops back most of the time. But 40,000 ... no way that many of the drug offenders are non-violent.

 

[WillowTree]

A substantial number of drug law violators sentenced to incarceration in Bureau of Prisons custody can be classified as "low-level". Using one set of criteria which limited offenders to no current or prior violence in their records, no involvement in sophisticated criminal activity and no prior commitment, there were 16,316 Federal prisoners who could be considered low-level drug law violators. They constituted 36.1 percent of all drug law offenders in the prison system and 21.2 percent of the total sentenced Federal prison population.

this is from 1994 but it's a start.





USDOJ: An Analysis of Non-violent Drug Offenders



so no current or prior violence is allowed.

 

[WillowTree]

according to this article there are approximately 24,000 so the other 16 thousand would be who? I wonder?


24,000 Low-Level, Nonviolent Drug Offenders Locked Up in Overcrowded State Prisons with Serious Offenders

 

[KittenKoder]

according to this article there are approximately 24,000 so the other 16 thousand would be who? I wonder?


24,000 Low-Level, Nonviolent Drug Offenders Locked Up in Overcrowded State Prisons with Serious Offenders

Low level isn't necessarily non-violent though. But meh, I still think they should just start using the death penalty more.

 

[jillian]

Non-violent in Cali?

if the government got out of the drug enforcement business, there wouldn't BE any violence around drugs....

and yes, there are a lot of people in jail for possession and sale...those are the people who should be released to comply with the court's directives.

or would you prefer they released child abusers?

 

[WillowTree]

according to this article there are approximately 24,000 so the other 16 thousand would be who? I wonder?


24,000 Low-Level, Nonviolent Drug Offenders Locked Up in Overcrowded State Prisons with Serious Offenders

Low level isn't necessarily non-violent though. But meh, I still think they should just start using the death penalty more.

dang,, you are a radical,, you sure you're not an obama czar?

 

[KittenKoder]

Non-violent in Cali?

if the government got out of the drug enforcement business, there wouldn't BE any violence around drugs....

and yes, there are a lot of people in jail for possession and sale...those are the people who should be released to comply with the court's directives.

or would you prefer they released child abusers?

WTF? You have never seen a crack addict without their hourly dose, have you?

 

[Harry Dresden]

what exactly is a non violent drug offender? and are there 40 thousand of them in California prisons?

Pot heads mostly ... they aren't stupid enough to kill or fight the cops back most of the time. But 40,000 ... no way that many of the drug offenders are non-violent.

yea its an adventure living here.....the most inept legislature anywhere.....have been since last century....

 

[KittenKoder]

what exactly is a non violent drug offender? and are there 40 thousand of them in California prisons?

Pot heads mostly ... they aren't stupid enough to kill or fight the cops back most of the time. But 40,000 ... no way that many of the drug offenders are non-violent.

yea its an adventure living here.....the most inept legislature anywhere.....have been since last century....

The short times I was there I saw more criminals on the streets than anywhere else to, and not the little shop lifters and jay walkers. Though that was the LA area, but still. If that's what they have on the streets, I would hate to visit their prisons. In Seattle we get about one shooting a month, that's it!

 

[Harry Dresden]

Pot heads mostly ... they aren't stupid enough to kill or fight the cops back most of the time. But 40,000 ... no way that many of the drug offenders are non-violent.

yea its an adventure living here.....the most inept legislature anywhere.....have been since last century....

The short times I was there I saw more criminals on the streets than anywhere else to, and not the little shop lifters and jay walkers. Though that was the LA area, but still. If that's what they have on the streets, I would hate to visit their prisons. In Seattle we get about one shooting a month, that's it!

well im fortunate to live in the County i live in...like night and day compared to most of LA