Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Prisoner Release...

Hey guys,

Prisoners at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California are seen housed in a gymnasium due to overcrowding in this Septembe
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court ordered the state of California to reduce its inmate population by approximately 46,000. 

The decision comes in response to evidence of overcrowding, poor sanitation, and high percentages of mental health issues.  According to reports, California’s 33 prisons were designed to hold about 80,000 people, yet currently have more than 145,000. 

Prison populations began to grow in the mid 1990’s after the state adopted much harsher penalties for all types of offenders.  Now with the overcrowding of its prison system, California needs a plan.

The solution mandated by the Supreme Court has many in California concerned about the safety of the people in the state once thousands of convicted offenders are released.

With no money to hire more staff, repair existing facilities, or build new prisons, California has some difficult choices to make.

The question still remains, what type of offender will be released?

What do you think? 


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110523/us_nm/us_california_prisons_court
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 25, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    What I would do in this extremely difficult situation would created different non-expensive options for the many inmates that have been arressed for petty crimes.To those who are legal citizens of the United States I would put them on house arrested with many manditory hours of community service to be done.This way they can give to the community while being housed at there one (or family)expense. For those whom are not legal or citizens , there should be a deportation option in which they are sent back to their country of origin. My options only apply for those whom are serving less than 5 years in prison. I honestly don't know if it would work but that's what I would do.

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  2. Kelly CorriganMay 31, 2011 at 3:36 PM

    I think that the solution of releasing prisoners isn't the smartest of solutions. First of all, it is completely unsafe for not only the citizens of California, but for citizens all over the United States. Now, I'm sure that they wouldn't release major criminals such as rapists or serial killers, but even those who have been arrested for minor crimes have probably become more vulgar over time in prison. Secondly, what exactly will California do with the prisoners once they are released? If they don't have enough room for them in prison, exactly where else do they expect to keep them? I'm interested to see how this issue will play out.

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