I Think There's A Simple Solution To California's Overpopulated Prisons!

The horrific conditions that California prison inmates have to endure are being addressed in a trial. Arnold Schwarzenegger has acknowledged before that the overcrowded prisons are a hazard.He shipped inmates to other states to try to reduce the prison population. Here's an excerpt from SF Gate:

"The state has about 172,000 inmates, including 156,000 in its 33 prisons, which were designed for just over half that number. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature agreed in April 2007 on a $7.3 billion bond measure that would add 53,000 prison and county jail beds. The governor has also transferred several thousand inmates to prisons in other states.

In the current lawsuits, however, inmates suffering from physical and mental illnesses argue that expansion won't bring the prison health system up to constitutional standards. They want the court to limit population of the 33 prisons to 104,000, which would require the release of 52,000 inmates - to county jails, treatment centers or parole - over two years."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the whole article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/19/BAAV147D2S.DTL

My opinion is that they need to figure out how to get the real drug offenders.If we were really doing that,the drugs would never get smuggled in to the country in the first place.Why are there so many drug users in prison & petty dope dealers? I think it's because this is a booming business for America. There is no real interest in securing our borders & stopping the flow of illegal goods.The war on drugs has been ongoing for over 30 years now & it has only gotten worse. Are we really that inept at tackling the drug issue in America or is something more sinister at work?

In the video I posted, you have various hip-hop artists giving their opinion on the Rockefeller Drug Laws a.k.a. New York drug laws.We need to amend the drug laws in America & the "three strikes law." Doing that would go a long way in eliminating an ongoing problem with prison overcrowding. Here's an excerpt from speakout.com:

"Nation-wide attention was focused on so-called three-strikes laws in 1994 when California voters approved an initiative mandating prison terms of 25-years-to-life for defendants convicted of a third felony. The California law also doubles minimum terms for second time offenders. The vote came in the wake of the widely publicized 1993 murder of 12-year old Polly Klaas, whose killer was a paroled felon. Washington State adopted a three-strikes law in 1993, and 22 other states have followed suit. Congress passed a federal version in 1994.

In March 1999 the Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to California's three-strikes law brought by a man sentenced to 25 years to life under the law for stealing a bottle of vitamins. The justices ruled that lower courts should rule on the controversial law before it is brought before the Supreme Court.

While some politicians hailed the three-strikes laws as the ultimate get-tough-on-crime measure, others criticized the laws for contributing to prison overcrowding. If a defendant is convicted of a third felony, judges in three-strikes states are required to issue a 25-year plus sentence, even if the third felony was a minor offense such as shoplifting. Also, studies of three-strikes laws have shown that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the policy."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the rest here:
http://speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1290b-1.html