Calif. to transfer inmates out of state

[Judi Lynn]

Oct. 21, 2006, 1:42AM
Calif. to transfer inmates out of state

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will begin shipping thousands of inmates to prisons in four other states next month at a cost of more than $51 million a year, corrections officials said Friday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared an emergency this month to speed up the no-bid contracts with two private companies. He said the transfers are needed to ease crowding in the nation's largest prison system, where more than 172,000 inmates are crowded into space designed for about 100,000, forcing some inmates to sleep in gymnasiums and auditoriums.

The GEO Group Inc. of Florida will be paid an estimated $28.7 million a year to house as many as 1,260 inmates at its New Castle Correctional Facility in Indiana.

Tennessee-based Correctional Corporation of America will be paid a projected $22.9 million annually to house as many as 1,000 inmates at four prisons in Arizona, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4277478.html

[MADem]

1. I hate to say it, but Arnie could solve his problem with a signature

and two words: "Legalize it."

It's already the principal cash crop of the state, and he could tax it and the state would be rich as can be. Then he could let all those nonviolent Cheech and Chong types out of jail. Save the state a bundle, and likely increase tourism a thousand fold.

[Richard Steele]

2. Yup. If they just stopped locking up people who aren't hurting anyone...

...they'd have tumbleweeds rolling down a lot of cellblocks!

Of course, they'd also have a whole CLASS of political contributors
filing Chapter 11...so we can rest assured that it's not gonna happen.

[iamjoy]

5. No, He Can't

Didn't the Supreme Court rule this wasn't a state's right, but a federal issue?


Of course, the Conswervatives will blame it on the (illegal) immigrants.

Doesn't California have a "3 Strikes You're Out" law? While the tough law and order types may love it, maybe that is A reason why the prisons are so crowded.

[MADem]

7. He'd risk losing federal funding, but hey, fuck it--throw down

The feds need California more than California needs the feds. By itself it is one of the world's largest economies.

The Supreme Court ruling, IIRC, had to do with DOCTORS being allowed to prescribe the stuff, and the growing of medical marijuana: http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/06/scotus.medical.marijuana/

I say approach it from a fuck you, this is recreational, like beer argument. Get the neighboring states in on it as well. If enough states threw down, they could override the Booze Lobby who would no doubt join the Big Pharma lobby that got to the Supremes.

Alternatively, what they could do is "decriminalize" it and warn dealers that they'd be busted for tax evasion and NEVER get out of jail if they didn't declare taxes on their earnings--a la Al Capone. The smart dealers would pay up, list their occupation as a service or entertainment provider, like clever prostitutes do, and leave it at that.

If enough states decide to "get around" the law by just doing it, it will eventually go the way of those foolish blue laws, which used to be the norm everywhere, but are slowly being lined off the books nowadays--like not being able to buy liquor or groceries on Sundays, for example!

[crikkett]

11. yeah it's not like he never had it himself n/t

[crikkett]

10. but it wouldn't be the state prisons that are overcrowded

it would be federal prisons.

[saigon68]

3. Sending lots of minority men to warehouses

As my 80 year old aunt once said years ago, those darkies should have their things cut off. That way they can't father (insert racial epithet here)

[notadmblnd]

4. that's a hell of a lot of money for 1000 people

22.9 million divided by 1000. You do the math cause math makes my head hurt. I wish I had that kind of money to spend to care care of my people with.

[fed-up]

6. watch his campaign donations carefully in the future-

supposedly he returned $32K from a prison in Florida, or was it $90K (see second story)

or have they figured out another way to funnel him the money, has he bought prison stock???

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_prisoners06.3972786.html

BACKLASH: Democrats, corrections officers and activists decry the plan to ship inmates out of state.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, October 5, 2006
By PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise
The governor's emergency order to transfer California inmates to other states to ease crowding sent private-prison stocks soaring Thursday while provoking the ire of Democratic legislators, corrections officers and inmate advocacy groups.

The state is poised this month to sign deals with private prison operators to house California inmates in states such as Indiana. The plan would send 2,200 inmates to other states almost immediately.

Campaign Money
It has already stirred the frustration of state legislators, who shot down a similar proposal during a special session on prison crowding in August. Amid accusations of cronyism and conflicts of interest, Gov. Schwarzenegger's campaign announced Thursday that he has returned $32,000 in campaign donations to a private prison slated to benefit from his proposal.
"The Governor has a strict policy against accepting contributions from persons or entities doing business with the state or seeking to do business with the state and in which he or his office might be negotiating the terms of such state contracts," wrote his attorney in a letter to The Geo Group. The Geo Group is a Florida-based private prison firm, and one of three firms currently negotiating with the state for three- to five-year, no-bid contracts to house inmates out of state.

...snip


http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/34312.html

Inmates to be sent out of state
Schwarzenegger declares an emergency to ease extreme overcrowding.
By Andy Furillo - Bee Capitol Bureau
Last Updated 12:16 am PDT Thursday, October 5, 2006
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1

...snip

"The governor showed real leadership," Spitzer said. "We're in a desperate situation here. He called a special session of the Legislature, but the Democratic leaders did nothing to address the issue."

Tilton said he expected the transfers to result in a net cost saving to the state, with the private firms charging about $60 a day on average to house inmates compared to $90 in California.

He identified the Corrections Corporation of America, Cornell Corrections and the Geo Group as the private prison companies that will receive the no-bid contracts to handle the initial movement of prisoners to the other states.

Geo had contributed more than $90,000 to Schwarzenegger over the years. Julie Soderlund, a spokeswoman for the governor's re-election campaign, said Wed-nesday that he recently returned the contributions to the company.

[Miss Chybil]

8. Is he going to give their families money to go visit them?

Or, I guess that's not a concern.

[jwirr]

12. He just might give them money to visit, hoping they will stay there.

We find that happening when county prisoners are placed in other counties. The families relocate in order to be close to the prisoner.

[Judi Lynn]

13. It's a pity the children and spouses, siblings, parents are handed this

hardship. Not that many will be able to drop everything and travel hundreds of miles or more to visit their loved one, to keep a sense of family intact, to some degree.

There are occassionally cases of people who are falsely imprisoned, as we find out regularly, as well.

Making things even harder for everyone hardly seems like progress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(For the poster who believes the large chuncks of change spent on incarcerating prisoners, it'd be a safe bet most of that goes as salaries to the guards, etc., not trinkets and snacks for the people in jail.)

[crikkett]

9. Now see this is what Angeledes should be harping about

and not his whiney-butt complaints about not being on the Leno show.

[dkofos]

14. Wouldn't it be cheaper to release the non-violent offenders??

Or is he more worried about pissing off his buddies and their NO-BID CONTRACTS!?!?