Opinion: The Conversation: How to handle California’s prison population

‘If the Supreme Court removes that pressure by overturning the three-judge panel’s order, it wouldn’t just be bad for prisoners, who are dying from inadequate medical care at the rate of one every eight days. It would be bad for public safety. Warehousing inmates in overcrowded spaces devoid of job or drug programs but packed with hardened gangsters makes them more likely to reoffend when they’re released.’ -- Los Angeles Times Editorial

‘The sudden release of 40,000 unemployed convicts into California’s struggling economy may be more costly than advertised. In fact, the costs of re-arrest, court processing, and repeat incarceration could result in more expense than benefit. Those who regard the California prisoner release program as a remedy to prison overcrowding often use the term ‘minor offender.’ It pains me to admit this, but my 27-year-old nephew (whom I’ll call Jake) is one such ‘minor offender.’ Jake was released early from jail, and from probation, and from official supervision altogether. Yet, California Department of Corrections recidivism statistics say that Jake has a 71.5 percent chance of returning to jail. We can only hope.’ -– Yahoo! News op-ed

‘For several decades, the passage of tough laws and long sentences has created an illusion in the public’s mind that public safety is best served when we treat all offenders pretty much the same way: arrest, convict, imprison, parole. … ‘What the numbers say loud and clear, however, is that most nonviolent offenders are learning the wrong lesson … are becoming better and more hardened criminals during their prison stays.’ -- Sacramento Bee editorial quoting Kamala Harris’ book ‘Smart on Crime’