Prisons: 2012 and Beyond

                   The United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave; at least that’s what we have always been told.  It is written in our national anthem, and our constitution lays out the guidelines we must follow in order to stay that way; violations of those guidelines are grounds for punishment.  The punishment that the United States has been most fond of using is imprisonment; making the inmate population in the United States the largest amongst other nations. We have had a long lasting battle with prisoners and prisons; debates on what to do with criminals and how to do it. This has lead to a large problem amongst our prisons and we are trying furiously to fix them.  Many prisons have turned to early release, and others have turned to the reform of tough on crime legislation (Navarrette, 2011, CalRealignment.org, 2011.)

            California, in particular, has been trying viciously to reduce inmate population size.  One of the biggest attempts began with a Supreme Court case in which the court ruled the settings in which the inmates were living to be cruel and unusual punishment; which violated their eight amendment rights (CDCR, 2010; Biskupic, 2011.) The environment that these inmates are living in includes less staff, and more inmates. This leads to increased stress for both inmates, fighting off assault and sexual attacks, and staff who are in charge of more and more inmates; who can rebel at anytime leaving the officers vulnerable to attack (Martin, J., Litchenstein, B., Jenkot, R., & Forde, D 2012.) Also, the inmates are living in unsanitary conditions; every year millions of prisoners are released into the community.  Amongst those inmates released from prison, thousands now house viruses such as tuberculosis, HIV, or hepatitis C; all of which are contagious (Harrison, 2002.) 
           Other consequences that inmates must deal with due to the overpopulation, are the lack of rehabilitation programs.  Not only are the inmates being locked up for longer periods of time, but they are not given any hope of changing their ways; instead they are given the chance to learn new criminal tactics. How can we anticipate change in criminals if we do not provide them help? We throw them in a cell with others who have similar backgrounds, or who have committed worse crimes, and expect them to leave prison a model citizen of the United States? The prison system is a revolving door. Governor Brown said in a press release on April 5, 2011 that (CDCR, 2010,)

            "For too long, the state’s prison system has been a revolving door for lower-level offenders and parole violators who are released within months—often before they are even transferred out of a reception center. Cycling these offenders through state prisons wastes money, aggravates crowded conditions, thwarts rehabilitation, and impedes local law enforcement supervision (CDCR, 2010.)"

            There has been tons of speculation as to what is the best way to handle and loosen the problems amongst inmates due to overpopulation.  Some believe that the change can come if we change sentences.  California has taken a couple of steps to try and end overpopulation using legislations such as what Governor Brown calls realignment. Realignment began on October 1^, 2011 which sent thousands of prisons from state prisons to county jails (CalRealignment.org.) According to an article posted in The Sacramento Bee (2012) nine months after realignment was enacted in California there was a 39 percent reduction in new prison admissions as well as a 26,480 reduction in inmate population; this accounts for two-thirds of what the Supreme Court ruled needed to be reduced by 2013 (Walter, 2012.)

                        Another attempt at reducing the overpopulation occurred in November of 2012. Proposition 36, a reform to the tough on crime, three strikes lawwas voted into effect by the citizens of California. Proposition 36 is said to cut down on prison overpopulation because it will change the sentencing guidelines of the three strikes law.  Now an individual must commit a violent crime, such as murder,rape, or use a deadly weapon while commiting a crime, as their third strike conviction; making them eligible for life without the possibility of parole. Also, inmates who are currently serving a life sentence based on the three strikes law may have their sentences changed to reflect the guidelines of the new law (Attorney General, 2012.)  Therefore, an inmate who is serving a life sentence on their third strike,who has not committed a violent crime may have their sentence reduced to a more appropriate sentence. The first resentencing took place in San Diego on November 21, 2012 (The CW, 2012.) Kenneth G. Corley was convicted in October of 1996 to 25 years to life for possession of drugs for sale. He was resentenced to 15 years, and released based on time served (The CW, 2012.)

            Because of the new changes in the laws, many California attorneys have been gearing up for more cases like the one of Mr. Corley.  There is anticipation that there will be many more inmates released on similar grounds (The CW, 2012.) With changes in the law such as realignment, and proposition 36 I anticipate that there will be a large reduction in the population within the prisons. I believe that once the inmate population drops to a point where rehabilitation programs can be once again introduced to inmates, there will also be a drop in recidivism rates.Although, I don’t believe that these outcomes will happen overnight, there will be a brighter future for prisons, inmates and a less stressful environment for prison staff.

Works Cited

Attorney General. The Attorney General's Office, (2012).Proposition 36 three strikes law. repeat felony offenders. penalties. initiative statue.. Retrieved from website: http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/36-title-summ-analysis.pdf

Biskupic, J. (2011, May 24). Supreme Court stands firm on prison crowding. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2011-05-24-Supreme-court-prisons_n.htm

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). (2010). The cornerstone of California’s solution to reduce overcrowding, costs, and recidivism. Retrieved from http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/index.html

CalRealignment.org. (2011). California realignment. Retrieved from http://www.calrealignment.org/

Harrison, E. (2002). The health status of soon-to-be-released inmates: A letter to congress. National commission on correctional health care, 1, retrieved from http://www.ncchc.org/stbr/Volume1/Health Status (vol 1).pdf

Martin, J., Litchenstein, B., Jenkot, R., & Forde, D. (2012). They can take us over anytime they want: Correctional officers' response to prison crowding. The prison journal, 92(1), 88-105. doi: 10.1177/0032885511429256

Navarrette, R. (2011, May 26). Where does California put 33,000 released inmates?. CNN . Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-26/opinion/navarrette.california.prisons_1_prison-population-prison-overcrowding-high-court?_s=PM:OPINION

The CW: San Diego channel 6. (2012, November 21). San diego superior court first to re-sentence under proposition 36, releases ‘three-striker’. Retrieved from http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/San-Diego-Superior-Court-First-to-Re-Sentence-Under-Proposition-36-Releases-Three-Striker-180402461.html

 

Walter, D. (2012, August 15). Realignment has dropped California prison population sharply. The Sacramento bee. Retrieved from http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/08/realignment-has-dropped-california-prison-population-sharply.html