The Penalty

An effective penal system does not:

a. have a 70% recidivism rate. Governor article
-people that go to prison are more than likely going to prison twice

b. cost $47,102 per incarcerated person. LAO article
-my wife and I both live on a budget of $37,000 each year.

c. reduce its incarcerated population by shortening 40,000 sentences. Bloomberg article
-the California penal system is being usurped by the Fed because of its ineptitude.

d. have "barbaric medical conditions in some prisons, resulting in as many as 64 preventable deaths of inmates a year and injury to countless others." San Francisco Chronicle
-the standards are so bad that the Human Rights Watch monitors our prison system.

e. have job training for prison guards that consists of filling out crossword puzzles and working with brain teasers. News Bank
-apparently California taxpayers doled out $80,000 last year to pay for prison guards to complete crossword puzzles

f. have completely delusional leadership, "Even though California ranks near the bottom in overall staffing levels, we don't have the major problems like hostage takings, escapes and whole prison takeovers that other states have. I think overall we're doing a good job in California."~Lance Corcoran. News Bank
-the logic is: If they're still in their cells, then we're doing a good job.

g. fail so miserably that the Federal Government is forced to step in and reform it. Yahoo
-I'm not commenting on state vs. federal government. It's just shocking.

h. imprison or parole 1 in every 31 adults. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
-We incarcerate more citizens than any other country in the world.

i. segregate the prison population by race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Johnson v. California
-This began in 2003 and continues to be a big issue.


All of these things are true of either the California Prison System or the Federal Prison System. The issues I raise here are just a sampling of the problems associated with the penal system in the United States. They are shocking and in need of serious public attention and political reform. I've stopped short of listing more issues because I want to get started on discussing solutions.