California Prisons Continue

California Prisons Continue to defy federal judges and play with prisoners lives by having inadequate health care. I live in a California State prison and I can, as I have, tell you that the level of health care is less then I would get in a 3rd world country. The federal courts have rightly pointed to over-crowding of prisoners as the main cause. And for ten plus years the courts and the state have gone back and forth over the issue of health care and mental health care. The bottom line is men and women are dyeing while the states politicians refuse to act. They are so worried about being made to look soft on crime that they are willing to allow inmates to needlessly die. The blame also goes to the Federal judges for allowing this problem to linger and not forcing the California prisons to actually do something. All that comes out of the federal courts over seeing this issue is talk, talk, talk, and the Schwarzenegger administration just talks and files appeals. In the mean time one inmate dies a completely preventable death every week due to this failure by both sides to act. Right now I’m more insearced at the federal courts. You three old men die being played by the California politicos like violins. You old men sit there an act like Moses handing down order after order from on high. While the California politicos are dancing around a golden California and thumbing their collective noses at you. At this point you judges look like fools! And I say stop! Stop allowing the State of California to continue thumbing their noses at you! The three Judge Panel needs to get on with it and issue a final order detailing the process for parole with a date for the order to be implemented. That’s what I have to say on that – for now. I also want to address the various published reports of 40,000 inmates to be released, that’s only part true. The real number to look at is the cap of 110,000 inmates to be housed in the California state prisons. That means at any one time only 110,000 inmates will be housed in state prisons so first the 40,000 will be released; then the county jails will dump all their convicted felons into the prisons system. As a result the state prisons system must parole more people – to stay at or under the cap, so as I said it not just 40,000 to be paroled it’s the 110,000 cap. Lastly a few blogs ago I wrote about cutbacks to prison rehabilitation programs. Mainly vocational training and education. It’s now becoming a reality. The pink slips are going out to the teachers. See, now that is the way the state cuts the fat. It gets rid of the two programs that have been proven to cut future crime and recidivism. This sends a very clear message the state doesn’t care about your safety. With a 70% recidivism rate in the state of California they are all but ensuring that new crimes – thus new victims – will happen. By cutting two proven rehab programs the state of California is simply throwing its citizens to the wolves. If I were governor and I knew that the feds are going to release 40,000 – 100,000 paroles in the next year (about the regular 90,000 that parole every year anyways) I would mandate re-entry classes for every inmate that might possibly be paroled. I would organize countries and cities to begin halfway houses. In short I would do everything in my power to help all the men and women who are about to be paroled. Because it’s the right thing to do and I would have a sworn duty to protect California’s citizens. Because if the state does as I expect, which is nothing, there is going to be a very messy release, when it comes. So Judges and Lawmakers wake –up this is going to happen – plan for it! To the reader: Thank you for reading this. Please try to do something to help all the new paroles. With Respect, VERITAS