Thread: Calif. orders inmate transfers

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/artic ... transfers/

Calif. orders inmate transfers
Governor to force many out of state due to crowding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to forcibly shift thousands of inmates to out-of-state prisons after only a few hundred volunteered to leave.

The action escalates the pressure to overhaul a state correctional system that officials say will be out of space by summer. A federal judge has given the state until June to relieve the crowding or face a possible cap on admissions.

"The safety of our correctional officers is threatened, we have the highest recidivism rate in the country because there is no room for rehabilitation, and we face the possibility of court-ordered early release of felons," Schwarzenegger said Friday in a written statement.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 inmates will be forcibly moved, said James Tilton, secretary of correction and rehabilitation. The first to go will be inmates scheduled for deportation after they have served their sentences, as well as those who get few visitors.

Tilton said 380 volunteer inmates already have been moved to private prisons in Arizona and Tennessee and 300 additional volunteers are being screened. He said his department is in negotiations with prisons elsewhere for the involuntary transfers.

California's prisons contain 172,000 inmates, far more than their intended capacity.

In October, the state signed contracts worth $153 million with privately run prisons in Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Arizona to house 2,260 California convicts.

"Right now, the only tool I have are these out-of-state beds," Tilton said.

Republican lawmakers welcomed Schwarzenegger's decision, calling it overdue.

"We are out of options," said state Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, who chairs a committee examining prison operations. "This is prison, these are prisoners, and they don't get to say where they're going to do their time."

The transfers are expected to start within days, but appeals by prisoners could delay the moves by up to 10 weeks.

Democratic lawmakers, advocates for inmates, and the prison guards' union attacked the transfers as illegal and irresponsible.

"I think it's pathetic policy," said Steve Fama, staff lawyer with the Prison Law Office, which represents prisoners. "Because the elected officials don't have the will to figure out how to solve [the] crisis, we instead export convicts and spread our mess across the land."

He said his nonprofit San Quentin group would sue to block the transfers if asked to do so by an inmate. State law requires an inmate's consent before he or she can be moved out of state, he said.

The California Correctional Peace Officers' Association sued in October to block the export of inmates, and a Sacramento County Superior Court hearing has been set for Feb. 15. The Legislative Counsel's office, a nonpartisan agency that advises lawmakers, has concluded that contracting for services with out-of-state prisons violates the state constitution.

Schwarzenegger also has proposed an $11 billion building plan for new prison space and has asked lawmakers to consider changing the state's sentencing and parole laws.

Wardens tried to drum up enthusiasm for the out-of-state lockups with a 20-minute video, but they got relatively few takers. The video extolled good food, scenic views, and cable television.

Inmates with medical or mental health problems are not eligible to transfer. Many others were dissuaded from volunteering, officials said, by prison gang leaders and rumors that a court-ordered prison cap could force the early release of thousands of convicts.

I don't particularily like shipping them all over......but if this is the other option:

leaders and rumors that a court-ordered prison cap could force the early release of thousands of convicts.


then I guess they have to do something. Maybe Sheriff Joe can help them find luxery alternatives. I'm sure he's got wonderful budget cuts and housing alternatives.