Early Release of Criminals

California is on the verge of releasing early the highest number of prisoners in United States history—43,000—though the order by three federal judges has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

We blogged on early release recently.

The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has written an excellent article that addresses the three major arguments used for early release, and found them all wanting.

An excerpt.

“Assumptions about California sentencing and prison conditions

“Three widely reported assumptions about California sentencing and prison conditions have been cited by proponents as support for the release of prison inmates.

“1) California sentences a disproportionate number of people to prison compared to other states. Sentencing data from the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) tracking the imprisonment rates in each state per 100,000 population does not support this claim. A DOJ report, Prisoners in 2007, released in December 2008, indicates that California’s imprisonment rate ranks 40th among the 50 states and is significantly below the national average. (See Chart 1.) If anything, California is behind the national curve on the imprisonment of convicted felons.

“2) California prisons are overcrowded and conditions are getting worse. The claim that state prisons are filled beyond design capacity is correct. California prisons have been overcrowded for more than 15 years. While state spending increased from $68.5 billion in 1998 to $144.8 billion in 2008, the Democrat majority in the state legislature has refused to include spending to modernize and expand the capacity of state prisons. In spite of this, overcrowding has not gotten worse. As of June 30, 2009, California had roughly the same number of inmates in state prisons as it did in 1998. And, since 2000, the number of juveniles in state institutions has actually dropped by 79%.

“3) Healthcare in California prisons is so substandard that massive inmate releases are necessary. The judicial inmate release order cites experts, anecdotal evidence, and earlier court rulings to support its conclusion. Other data raises questions about how severe the problem is and the need for drastic action to solve it. The mortality rate of prison inmates can be affected by several variables such as age, prison assaults, and suicide, but a total breakdown in the prison healthcare system as the panel asserts, should have caused a significant impact. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Mortality rate per 100,000 state prisoners by state, 2001-2006, provides this data. (See Chart 2.) It shows that the mortality rate among California prison inmates is the 38th lowest among the 50 states.”