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Three Strikes, War on Drugs, Determinate Sentencing, Corruption in the prison system -- these all contribute to the overcrowdedness mentioned in Robin Kemker’s article California Hits the Wall.
And with crime rates down, yet a 70% recidivism rate, what are parolees being re-arrested for if not crime?!
California has far too many laws -- many of which were brought about by pushing the public’s emotional buttons.
Throughout history, whenever prison systems reached critical mass, reform followed. Slowly, each prison reform brought with it new ideas for how to make the system a little more humane, which, in turn, brought about progressively more desirable results in parolee behavior than had previous systems.
The current American prison system is a strange mix of the first two historical systems, seeming to not want to let go completely of torture as punishment beyond the sentence, or the money-making potential underlying the system.
The 3rd system, and the one historically proven to get the best results, was the one which implemented indeterminate sentences and let the prisoners take responsibility for their actions inside. This means that all those who acted responsibly were released early (with supervision) based on a merit system, and those who didn’t act responsibly, did their entire allotted time -- no matter what the offense. But that’s not all.
The 3rd system enacted treatment of prisoners that showed respect for life, which included giving them the same opportunity to be educated as those on the outside. But corrupt prison administration sabotaged that system.
Education, Respect of human life, Responsibility for implementing the opportunity to change the quality of life…
This is something that is supposed to be happening inside prisons already, according to California penal code section 5054, but is not.
Why isn’t it being upheld? Prison is just a bad idea no matter how you look at it. The past 40 years in California’s prison system have taken us backward rather than forward in prison and criminal justice reformation. The Supreme Court Order is proof that critical mass has again been reached in prison history. It’s time for Reform. I hope the public truly realizes that this is what is best for everyone, not only for prisoners.
Now is the perfect time to introduce a Prison Reform basically new to America -- Restorative Justice. It works, and does so without any of the negative residuals our country has been plagued with since the idea of Prison infected this land at its ‘founding’.
Kookie Williams
Banning, CA
