Yes, folks, these times suck. But which of those five items are most Americans concerned about? If you guessed job and money loss, then you'd probably be right. Inversely, the top concern of federal judges is reducing the number of inmates in California prisons by 40 percent (which means releasing up to 57,000 "low risk" offenders).
It is unfortunate that prisons are overcrowded. But where will the inmates go if released from prison? If you guessed your own neighborhood, you're probably right. In fact, many of the inmates will go to the county where they last lived, according to www.KSBY.com. We can all see where this is going, right?
Petty thieves, child molesters, drug dealers, and those who are deemed "nonviolent" criminals will be given free reign, and most won't be able to find jobs (just like the majority of law-abiding citizens).
What happens when you have criminals roaming the streets with nothing to do? If you guessed crime, you should get a large federal bailout bonus like the CEOs on Wall Street and the nation's bankers. Criminals without jobs resort to crime. It's just common sense. Maybe some will look at their newfound freedom as a second chance at living a crime-free life. But if they're sent right back to the place where they committed their initial, incarceration-inducing crimes, who's to say they won't go back to the life they knew best?
But wait! Those who support this federal ruling say the billions of dollars saved from the release of these prisoners can be applied to "crime prevention programs." Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I doubt California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the inactive, counterproductive state legislators will use the money for crime prevention. The money will most likely be lost in the ever-increasing state deficit.
