California's political prisoners.... (crimes, how much, living in)

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix

I am for 3 strikes. You have to be very foolish to commit and keep committing crimes after you have 2 strikes.

I will take it one further... you have to be very foolish to remain in California after you have 2 strikes.

[MisterDuke]

No part of 3 strikes will ever be overturned. At this point, the prison guards union is too powerful and willing to spend a lot of money lobbying to keep the system in its current format, regardless of the impact on the state budget. Their ranks have swelled because of the prison building boom to accommodate the extended sentences of 3 strikes offenders.

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by mother of a 3-striker...

His crimes happened 12 years ago when he was immature and needed drug and alcohol rehab. He has been incarcerated since then and has seen the errors of his ways. He is now 37. He has been paying his debt back to society for his crimes. Staying in prison another 13 years is excessive punishment that doesn't fit the crime.

I don't know why you would come on this forum and try to solicit sympathy for a person that obviously is guilty and has committed quite a few crimes. He may have gotten convicted of 3 but my police friends tell me that there were probably far more.

And, to call it him a "political prisoner" is somewhat ludicrous. It demeans the true political prisoners that are confined in Cuba, Korea and China.

I have friends that have been burglarized and it is a frustrating, expensive and time consuming event that sometmes they never recover from. They lay awake at night and listen to every sound waiting for the next break-in.

It is sad that a young person goes into a life of crime through drugs, alcohol or whatever but the bottom line is they need to be kept away from honest society.....

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by happ

3 strikes was a reactionary attempt to curtail crime. Putting people away in a violent\ boredom prison environment is pointless if they return to a state in depression. Parolees get $200 & a bus ticket home. Crime is nothing more than dollars & common sense. When people are well-cared for [universal health insurance\ affordable housing\ employment protection-unions\ extensive school programs-youth sports-tutoring-counseling] the crime will be comparable to Europe.

Simple solution!

Why would we want that? European countries have higher crime rates(in some cases much higher) than the US in pretty much all categories except murder and gun violence. Perception of safety is also higher in the US.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I have no idea why housing inmates cost as much as it does. Why don't we do what Sherriff Joe in Maricopa county Arizona does. Inmates are kept in tent cities. They work during the day. Cable TV, Video games, and other items that inmates should not have are not in the Maricopa county jails. He has road crews that clean things up. It is a place that if you ever visit for an extended time you will not want to go back. I don't think that they have a problem with 3 strikes there because no one wants to end up in that jail.

My thought is that if someone is a carreer criminal and ends up in jail often then maybe they should reconsider carreers. Chances are they are not any good at it. maybe they should try going to school or learning a trade that won't land them in jail to begin with.

One easy way to eliminate overcrowding is to empty the jails out. to do this we can speed up the appeals process so that it takes place in weeks instead of years. Once a violent criminal has passed the appeals process we eliminate them. Makes room for all those less violent people that are required to stay in prison due to the 3 strikes law. Another solution is to send them over to Iraq or Afghanistan and let them serve the nation. Stay in prison, or spend five years at war. Let them decide.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by MisterDuke

No part of 3 strikes will ever be overturned. At this point, the prison guards union is too powerful and willing to spend a lot of money lobbying to keep the system in its current format, regardless of the impact on the state budget. Their ranks have swelled because of the prison building boom to accommodate the extended sentences of 3 strikes offenders.

It's not just the officers' union. There have been propositions trying to overturn three strikes but ... the public simply does not want to repeal this law.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

I don't know why you would come on this forum and try to solicit sympathy for a person that obviously is guilty and has committed quite a few crimes. He may have gotten convicted of 3 but my police friends tell me that there were probably far more.

And, to call it him a "political prisoner" is somewhat ludicrous. It demeans the true political prisoners that are confined in Cuba, Korea and China.

This is classic inmate behavior. They turn the whole debate around ... and make themsevles the victims. Forget about the victims of the horrendous crimes they've commited.

It's truly unbelievable. And, unfortunately, the federal courts in San Francisco have been buying it.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by mother of a 3-striker...

Criminal college is right. Non-violent 3-strikers are considered lifers and thrown in with murders and gangbangers. It becomes survival of the fittist. Only the ones with a strong inner spirit can survive the evil. Racism is the worst. They all join their racial groups and if one doesn't cooperate with his/her group they are ostracized by the group. The smart ones stay away from the groups and keep to themselves. They become paranoid, always having to watch their own backs.

Sorry but this is just plain wrong. We isolate inmates ALL THE TIME due to safety concerns. All the inmate has to do is tell an officer he believes this life is in danger and he's put in segregation. After an investigation, they're usually moved to a different institution.

The evil that occurs in prison is generated by the inmates themselves, including your son. There is no one else to blame but yourselves. Your son committed at least three crimes, probably more. If he didn't want this to happen ... he should have stopped committing crimes after the first conviction.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I have no idea why housing inmates cost as much as it does. Why don't we do what Sherriff Joe in Maricopa county Arizona does.

Ask the federal judges in San Francisco. And ask the Prison Law office in Berkeley, which makes millions off of inmate lawsuits. They're the ones who get all of these court ordered mandates which cost so much money.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I will take it one further... you have to be very foolish to remain in California after you have 2 strikes.

Some do, in fact, move to avoid a third strike. Others are hard core gang bangers who actually consider extremely long prison sentences to be somewhat of an honor (insane but, that's gang culture) ...

And most of these guys are, for lack of a better word, total losers. They grew up on welfare, their parents were drug addicts, they have absolutely no interest in ever working a day in their life so ... to them, prison is a dream. When and if they ever get out ... all they try to do is position themselves to get on SSI or some other public assistance.

P.S. The "non-violent" inmate we had to transfer out the other day got violent, btw, because he didn't want to work in the kitchen.