Prison Reform on the California Horizon?
For the first time in a generation, the prospects for significant prison reform seem tantalizingly at hand.
Last week, after a meeting with the leadership of the state Legislature, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "Everything is on the table."
That included an acknowledgment that the solution will almost inevitably involve releasing inmates who no longer pose a danger to society -- and continue to occupy prison space at huge expense to the taxpayers.
Admittedly, Schwarzenegger's hand was forced by the prospect of a court order that would impose a cap on the prison population, and a court ruling rejecting his plan to transfer inmates to private prisons in other states. Another hurdle has been the Legislature's refusal to endorse his multibillion-dollar scheme to build new prisons and jail facilities throughout the state. ANONYMOUS EDITORIAL in The San Francisco Chronicle