This is what I wrote in response to Senator Steinbergs editorial today. I will break it up into several posts due to word limits at the SF Chronicle site. This is not everything that he needs to know, and I am sure that you will have many points to add in your comments. Dont forget to vote for your own posts. Please do yesterdays posting work first. sfgate/opinion/article/Deadline-on-prison-overcrowding-must-be-extended-5002872.php Posted by B. Cayenne Bird Darrell, you are the best lawmaker of all when it comes to trying to prevent and heal mental illness (and in many other ways too), but I really must stand up to you on this release issue. We need a Governor who will re-try every case that carries a three year or more sentence. The reason is that the prisons are full of too many innocent, over-sentenced, over-charged people because there have been almost no consequences for over-zealous prosecutors. They lie, withhold and distort the truth for the sake of career promotion and to keep the prison beds full in order to generate a “profit” back to the State, as you well know. The Conservative judges especially are so bought into this overly-punitive, broken down and corrupt system that they have allowed gross miscarriages of justice and imposed harsh sentencing upon tens of thousands of people. There are 3 million Californians connected to a state prisoner or someone caught up in the horrible parole system. You dont see them as often at the State Capitol because they are typically women who are working two jobs trying to make ends meet while their male family members are taken out too often for crimes that arent really even crimes. But be aware, the families of prisoners may often be dysfunctional, but their family members are not too stupid to organize and there is going to be hell to pay with the Democrats holding a super-majority if the harsh sentencing laws and injustice in tens of thousands of cases are fixed before the next election. Additionally, we have asshat judges like Jay Bybee rabidly blocking habeas appeals that should be heard before the 9th Circuit. The prisoners are not only being physically and psychologically tortured, they are being denied due process. Recantations by key witnesses are being intentionally ignored. CDCr has imposed sentences on existing inmates in kangaroo courts that are so corrupt that they are an international embarrassment. Brown has fought compliance with Plata-Coleman for many years because he is too elderly and too stubborn to be effective as Governor. The truth is that Brown is giving all the Democrats, including you, a bad name with his Republican-like views on prisons and he has blood on his hands! Suddenly construction on jails throughout our State is taking place in addition to a billion dollars in rented prison beds to further erode programs and education that could actually prevent and cure mental illness. This is very clear to many people who are academics and intellectuals who might also be related to those three million prisoners that Brown is playing games with our budgets and acting out his role as the head shill for law enforcement labor unions. People are really fed up with attitude Darrell, including the media folks whose job it is to serve the public’s right to know. This a humanitarian crisis that cannot be trivialized any longer. Darrell, I believe that you know about the many prisoners who could be released who are not criminally insane. There are frail elderly with family members who would love to have them. People with Parkinsons, Alzheimers, quadriplegics, for heavens sake. Women in their 60s, 70s, and 80s still take up the beds. There are non-violent offenders galore which Brown refuses to release because of his slave labor need for firefighters. While there are many mentally ill people in prison who are getting much worse in that inhumane environment, not everyone is mentally ill. A true champion would be fighting to get the mentally ill completely out of the prison system, which has big success in Norway at Bastoy Prison and the Scandanavian Countries. A politician in touch with the voters will realize that all marijuana convictions are offensive to most Californians, and that these people need to be out of the prisons and jails immediately. White collar workers with no violence in their backgrounds could certainly be on GPS doing restorative justice programs through community service in poor neighborhoods. Many of them hold college degrees and are not even working as teachers in prisons! What a waste of human lives and State resources. Are you aware, Darrell, that during sentencing the judges do not even ask whether or not the defendant has a family at home? How about all these rogue cops, DAs, judges who have been caught? Why arent the cases that they were attached to before being caught in criminal activities reviewed and re-tried? That is fundamentally wrong to continue to incarcerate people after new evidence has surfaced. This viewpoint that ALL prisoners belong there is outrageous given the state of things and Browns unhealthy allegiance to the CCPOA. He vetoed legislation that could have eased the stupid sentencing laws and that is more evidence that he has sold his soul to the human bondage industry which is not serving its original purpose. Then add the lack of transparency and the ban of the journalists from taxpayer-financed institutions to all this mess and there is no good argument for not actually releasing these prisoners. Everyone is on to the jail building and game of musical chairs that Brown has played to avoid compliance to Plata Coleman. People are very awake and marching in the streets over the devastation of families caused by these blood houses. Norway is way ahead of us and you could re-design better without so many people in prison for crimes that arent really crimes. The overcrowding is still resulting in death, depression, disease and a high suicide rate, not to mention the very cruel separation of families which permanently damages the children and spousal relationships of prisoners who need these close family ties. You can be a leader here Darrell instead of falling in with Brown, an embarrassment to all progressives and thinking people of all parties. Prisons should be used only as a last resort, which is not what is happening.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 19:50:12 +0000
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