California Prison Deal leaves some cheering and leaves many asking for more

Last Thursday, California's legislature passed a $8.3 billion bipartisan bill in attempts to curb a prison crisis. California's prison system, which is expected to hold approximately 190,000 inmates by 2012 and is currently only designed to hold 100,000, has long been struggling to keep up with capacity and as a result, many inmates are currently assigned to temporary beds located in gyms and hallways. This overcrowding led to a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court with the plaintiff citing a complaint of cruel and unusual punishment. The court has ordered that the state of California take serious steps to rectify this situation by June of this year or risk court take-over of the entire prison system. In order to avoid such a take-over, the California legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger have put together an aggressive bill that would build new prisons, increase bed space in existing prisons and allow the Governor to temporarily send some inmates out of state.

Opposition to this bill comes primarily from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which sees the bill as more work for an already under-staffed prison system. It also sees it as an increased risk for current Peace Officers, as inmates who are unwilling to be transferred out-of-state will be more likely to attack the officers.

Also, many taxpayers are frustrated with yet another bill that focuses primarily on building more prison space and not enough on rehabilitation efforts.

To read more about the bill and its ramifications, see these articles:
Capitol embraces prison deal -- but will judges? - Sacramento Bee
Deal struck on California prison crowding - The San Jose Murcury News
Calif. Lawmakers Approve Prison Plan - The Washington Post
Outline of Prison Deal to be Voted on Tomorrow by California Legislature - California Progess Report