Comments on: New Way To Cut Budget: Release Prisoners

States Facing Budget Trouble Consider Releasing Inmates Early To Save Millions

[dsr57]

Put the all in the desert and let them kill each other !!

Now that would be some urban renewal !!

Posted by dowjones20k
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You could make it pay per view. That would generate some income. You could make a cool TV series out of it.

[juwboy]

This is a predicted consequence of California''s "Three Strikes and Your Out" law which was passed by the state''s voters through the initiative process 10-15 years ago.

At the time, opponents said that weren''t enough prisons to implement the law and that the costs would be tremendous.

[gce65]

So don''t release violent offenders early!

But clean out all the mandatory minimum drug offenders and petty criminals who were locked up for much longer than they should have been because of a Republican "lock ''em all up" mentality.

We criticize China and other countries for the size of their prison populations all the time, but America has the largest prison population in the world and we only have one-fifth as many people as China. And we lead the world in executions.

[sgtrds]

If we weren''t wasting so much money on Bush''s war we could have plenty of programs to keep people out of prison in the first place. The GOP talks like investors, but they constantly ignore the fact that investment in pre-school programs and quality public schools and trade schools pay back a huge dividend of a lower crime rate and fewer prison or welfare costs. investing in kids is a 1000% return investment! They are pennywise and pound STUPID!

[harv1981]

More devestation from the "war on drugs." Why doesn''t "my body my choice" mean more than the simple right to slaughter babies. Its time to stop outlawing goose liver, tobacco, home schooling, *** for pay or for play. Its time to start minding our own business, like raising our kids, living within our means, and working for a living.

[ringading3]

Prisoners don''t vote. Welfare dependents vote. Which ones do the politicians serve?

[element51]

What about the use of those ankle bracelet things that they sometimes use on drunk drivers? Confine non violent offenders in their own home and let them feed themselves. If they violate then take them back to court and impose more time. These things are easily monitored and you could add a GPS so the prisoner could be located easily if they left the area that they were confined to. Just another suggestion to consider. Let their family pay for feeding and housing them at home.

[andrew_693]

I have an idea, let''s bring back those that are wasting our money in Iraq and you will see how all the sudden there aren''t budgetary problems and we don''t have to release drug dealers into the streets.

[kansas1946]

To open the prison door and release prisoners back into communities is merely placing a state burden onto local governments and will ultimately jeopardize safety in communities," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, who could see 1,800 inmates released in his area.
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Oh, the usual hysteria. Releasing non-violent offenders isn''t going to jeopardize anyone''s safety. Non-violent offenders probably shouldn''t be in jail in the first place. Can''t anyone come up with any creative solutions instead of jail. Non-violent drug offenders should never be in prison, but that is half the prison population. Americans are just goofy.

[element51]

This is, indeed, a difficult issue to tackle. There is no doubt that we have a terrible problem with our prison system and something must be done. But what? One thing that might be considered is to take a better look at the legalization on marajuana. While I am not suggesting that drugs are a good thing, I honestly feel that compared side by side alcohol is by far more dangerous to society than marajuana. If marajuana was regulated and taxed and treated more or less like alcohol it would create more space in prisons and generate lots of tax dollars. Given the fact that people are going to use pot anyway and that it covers the entire spectrum of society why not get control of it and put the criminal element out of the pot business? Those who think that adding one more drug is a bad move should realize that it''s already here. This is just a thought and posted only to solicit comments.

[eaglesong]

Not all prisoners who are termed "violent" should be considered violent. I happen to be married to a man who due to his crime is considered "violent", yet he has done more to help rehabilitate other prisoners, the length of his sentence is ludicrous, less time is given to a person for manslaughter than what he was given. Let''s take a look at the prison system itself, and some prisoners want to return to the outside world and be with their families and make a positive input in society.

[barbaraf4]

Why not do away with the court system? We can abolish all laws and all penalties. We can put the criminals in charge. That is what we are coming down to.

[dan9111]

Put the all in the desert and let them kill each other !!

Now that would be some urban renewal !!

Posted by dowjones20k

OK, you should go there first. You sound very enthusiastic about it.

[dowjones20k]

Hard to beleive that it costs 18000 to 46000 a year to house an inmate????

California is nuts .. unless it''s mostly wages for corrections officers ... but I doubt it ... take out the A/C ... the TV''s everything that all the do gooders advocated for ..

put these criminals on road crews or something ...

use to be that if you did the crime you did the time ..

now we have a bunch of coddled prisoners who get free schooling etc. .... Here in MA, we have a judge who feels a man who murdered his wife should be allowed to have a *** change at the taxpayers expense !!!

We have lost our minds and our way !!!!

Pitiful !!!

Put the all in the desert and let them kill each other !!

Now that would be some urban renewal !!

[runningralph]

Large prison farms with manual labor. Highway maintenance and clean-up. Clean and paint public buildings. Clean and paint and maintain the prison facilituies.

[speakinup]

Joe bought Newt Gingrich''s lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.

When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

[speakinup]

Or, we could make them organ donors.

How about we make it mandatory for them to be on tread mills 8 hours a day, so they can generate electricity.

Let''s make that Sheriff in Arizona (Joe Arpaio) in charge of all prisons. He has GREAT ideas about how to make folks not want to go to prison so much that they stay away from crime.

No coffee - there is no nutritional value in it.

Sleep in tents in hot weather - our troops get to do it, so it can''t be cruel or unusual punishment.

No TV except Disney Channel.

And bring back chain gangs. They should earn their way. Hey we could use them to build new jails for minimum security inmates.

He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights.

If they don''t like it, he tells them, "This ain''t the Ritz-Carlton, if you don''t like it, don''t come back!"

[candide777]

This story reminds me that pro gun people go around talking about how felons can''t legally buy guns but they fail to mention that at least one third of the felonies committed each year do not result in a conviction. Bottom line is that there are a LOT of people running around out there who have committed multiple felonies but never been convicted. There is no way to keep them from legally purchasing guns because that would cut into the gun manufacturers'' profits and they won''t stand for that! They won''t rest until every one in the country feels the need to buy a gun, and they''re making that happen by legally arming people who commit felonies but are too smart to get caught.

Censor this one too! ;-)