On Paris Hilton and Jail

I would just like to say that the taxpayers of California would be better served if Paris Hilton was hit with a huge fine and about 200 hours of community service (like at an animal shelter since she likes dogs) rather than sending her to jail. Not too long ago, I listened to a news story on NPR about prison overcrowding in California. It's a huge problem there. I believe they are shipping inmates out of state, or if they haven't then it's in the works.

Here's a news article about the prison overcrowding situation in California:

By Ed Mendel

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 8, 2007

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Democratic leader is urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to use his administrative power to change parole rules to ease severe prison crowding, possibly by as many as 8,100 inmates.

Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland, said Republican opposition kept parole reform out of a $7.8 billion plan to ease overcrowding through a building program and transferring some prisoners to other states.

Perata said speculation at the Capitol that the bill signed by the Republican governor last week includes an unwritten “side deal” to have Schwarzenegger bypass the Legislature and administratively enact parole changes is inaccurate.

“I wouldn't call it a deal,” Perata said of talks with the governor. “What we said is we couldn't put it in the bill because the Republicans wouldn't support it.

“We said further that if you don't do something with parole, you can't make any of this work,” said Perata. “So you've got the ability to do it. It's up to you to do it.”

Adam Mendelson, Schwarzenegger's communications director, said there is no agreement for the governor to take administrative action to ease prison overcrowding.

“The agreement is to sit down with Republicans and Democrats to determine what next steps need to happen,” Mendelson said.

About 173,000 inmates are packed into 33 state prisons designed for far fewer prisoners. More than 16,000 inmates are in “bad beds,” some stacked three high in gyms, classrooms and day rooms.

“The governor has a lot of emergency powers,” said Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin. “I would not anticipate that is going to be a significant thing in trying to get the 'bad beds' taken care of.”

Lawmakers scrambled to get a plan in place to ease crowding before three judges hold hearings next month that could put a cap on prison population, resulting in the early release of some inmates.

The state is scheduled to file its proposed remedy next Tuesday with U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson. Critics say the legislation does not contain sentencing or parole changes, which could quickly reduce the flow into prisons.

AB 900 authorizes a $7.4 billion bond and $350 million from the general fund to provide up to 53,000 new beds, increased rehabilitation and the transfer of 8,000 inmates under contract to prisons in other states.

But the first new beds may not be ready for at least 18 months. Before prisoners can be shipped out of state, a court order blocking transfers must be lifted and inmates must be screened.

The state budget Schwarzenegger proposed in January contained two parole changes for low-level offenders that corrections officials estimated could result in 8,100 fewer prison inmates next fiscal year.

About 70 percent of inmates released from California prisons return in three years, the highest recidivism rate in the nation. California and Illinois are the only states that put all released inmates on parole.

The governor's budget proposal is expected to reduce the number of prison inmates because having fewer people on parole, now about 120,000, would reduce the number of people returned to prison for parole violations.

One reform, “12-month clean,” would shorten the three-year parole period for more parolees if they have no violations for a year. Under the other, “direct discharge,” some inmates who have served their sentence would be released without parole.

The governor has the power to expand the “12-month clean” program. But “direct discharge” without parole, which accounts for about 7,000 of the estimated reduction of 8,100 prison inmates, is not authorized under current law, said Brian Brown of the Legislative Analyst's Office.