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California to cut prison population

California cutting prison population good news or bad?

  • Good news

    Votes: 24 39.3%

  • Bad news

    Votes: 13 21.3%

  • Make them farm carrots

    Votes: 24 39.3%
  • Total voters
    61
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#2
Drug offenders are low risk? Don't they kill people and steal to support their habit. Sounds like good people to lock up to me. I'm all for saving tax dollars, but stepping up executions would help a lot more.
 
#3
SteveC said:
Drug offenders are low risk? Don't they kill people and steal to support their habit. Sounds like good people to lock up to me. I'm all for saving tax dollars, but stepping up executions would help a lot more.
Click to expand...

Yes, some of them are low risk - I'd even suppose many. I think it's a very broad brush to paint all drug offenders as killers and thieves. Simple possession of coke, especially crack, has big jail time attached to it. They also spoke of rehabilitation programs, which many consider a better option for changing people's ways than the pen.

I'm also for stepping up executions in air tight cases, but that will never happen.
 
#5
this thread can't possibly last too long. but I think that it is currently a bad idea as these guys have already been exposed to the prison populace. however, I would be for not always locking someone up on drug charges under the right circumstances.
 
#6
My feeling is that we have WAY too many crimes with mandatory sentences, most of which are based on laws which were created to pander to interest or action groups. For instance, in some jurisdictions you can be categorized as a sex offender for life by being arrested for public urination.

I have no problem with early release for many groups of inmates that were jailed for this type of offense or for non-violent offenses - the sooner they get out of the prison population, the less they will be sucked into that terrible culture.
 
#8
SteveC said:
Drug offenders are low risk? Don't they kill people and steal to support their habit. Sounds like good people to lock up to me. I'm all for saving tax dollars, but stepping up executions would help a lot more.
Click to expand...

The average drug offender in prison committed no violent crime. They are in for years at a time costing the state money... all for possession.

It's also important to realize that the drugs themselves don't create the violence that does occur. That is done by the government's prohibition. For another example of violence caused by prohibition, look back to when alcohol was outlawed... plenty of violence and crime that could have been avoided, and was eventually stopped by ending the prohibition.
 
#12
The three strike law was amazing. A guy got life in prison for stealing a videotape, his third crime. Yes, it was stupid of him.

They are making room for all the new criminals, as things decay, loose their jobs and become desperate to survive.
 
#13
Rehab is great for the people who go through with it. Part of what the state needs to maintain is prison for offenders that do not want to go through rehab. My brother-in-law works with the drug court system here in San Diego and from what he's talked about, the threat of jail time is one of the biggest motivations for drug offenders to stick with rehab programs.
 
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