Judge Rules Against California Prison Transfers

Judge Rules Against California Prison Transfers

Source Link: www.forbes.com

California's 33 state prisons were designed for roughly 100,000 inmates but now hold about 172,000, and a federal judge has given the state until June to reduce overcrowding.

Corrections officials had hoped that 2,260 inmates would volunteer to transfer to other states, but only 460 have done so. Earlier this month, Corrections Secretary James Tilton ordered the transfer of up to 5,000 inmates to private prisons in Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Those transfers will take place unless the administration's request to temporarily block the ruling is denied.

To fight overcrowding, Schwarzenegger also has asked lawmakers to review sentencing laws and consider an $11 billion prison and jail building program.

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Privatizing prisons has always bothered me. It is just an incentive to have more prisoners, imo.

Now we are shipping prisoners around the country, state to state, to take advantage of the opportunity. Does anybody else see the danger this poses to freedom everywhere?

I applaud this judge for stepping up and ruling against this practice.

The problem is that a lot of the inmates that are in jail are there for non violent crimes like drugs. If they made some effort to not jail drug users then you would see the prison rate go down dramaticly. I believe that prison should be for those that are a clear and present danger to society as a whole and not for any offence that realy dosent hurt anyone. This is why these prisons are so overcrowded.

To privatise prisons actualy might be a good idea, just because the McDonnalds Corporation Maximum Security Pennitentary would be funny to see.

It isn't funny, though.

The trend in prison populations is just the opposite. More people are being held longer for less reason than ever before.

[edit on 21-2-2007 by Icarus Rising]

Originally posted by Icarus Rising
It isn't funny, though.

The trend in prison populations is just the opposite. More people are being held longer for less reason than ever before.

[edit on 21-2-2007 by Icarus Rising]

No there isnt anything funny about prison. What I thought would be funny is corporate sponsorship of a prison not the prison itself. Yes people are getting longer prison sentances for less and less reason. as I also stated above.