Prison expansion instead of reform

Re “State seeks $7.4 billion for prisons,” April 26

California prison reform plans have been proposed for three decades now by criminal justice experts. But state legislators have no interest in acting on this sound advice. It would be political suicide and hurt prison industry profits for them to do so. Instead, they continue to mislead the public, use scare tactics and pull sneaky moves like this one: giving less than 24-hour public notice on a bill coming before the Assembly that doesn’t begin to outline what is needed for prison reform.

Acting as if they are solving the problems besetting the horribly dysfunctional California prison system is disgraceful, cowardly and outrageous. Our legislators owe it to us to pass effective prison reform legislation that addresses the true causes of overcrowding and recidivism; for starters -- sentencing and parole reform.

BARBARA CHRISTIE

Arroyo Grande, Calif.

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Sacramento leaders have made a mockery of democracy by denying taxpayers public hearings and the right to vote on $7.4 billion in bonds for more prisons when polls say only 3% of Californians prioritize prison construction. The praise of Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) for the deal as a “balanced response” is absurd because it excludes any solutions to the problem of too many people in prison and pays only lip service to rehabilitation.

Building and staffing new prisons will only further drain funding for rehabilitative services. California has missed a unique opportunity to enact genuine reform. We could have enacted a moratorium on sending people to prison for technical parole violations, which would have freed up thousands of beds. We could have amended the “three strikes” law. We could have followed the lead of other states by placing fewer people on parole.

Instead, legislators have pushed for an end run around taxpayers to waste more of our valuable dollars on a system that’s devastated families across the state.

VANESSA HUANG

Policy director

Justice Now

Oakland

CRAIG GILMORE

Organizer

California Prison

Moratorium Project

Los Angeles