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Dortell Williams is an inmate at the Los Angeles County California State Prison in Lancaster, California. Dortell has been published in a number of community newspapers, including the San Francisco Bay View, The Final Call and The Los Angeles Sentinel. He mentors at-risk kids through San Francisco's The Beat Within and is an inside correspondent for Families to Amend Three Strikes. You can email Dortell at: dortellwilliams@yahoo.com. For more information about the Honor Yard Program, visit: www.prisonhonorprogram.org

Political Hype and Propaganda

Commentary by Dortell Williams, recorded 9/13/07

1) 2:57 MP3 Radio Essay

Political Hype and Propaganda

Did you see the ABC News story recently, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admonished the public that the intervening feds might release some 40,000 prisoners due to overcrowding?

It was straight hype: propaganda – damage control. Schwarzenegger has known the California Department of Corrections was in trouble since he took office in 2003. In fact, he ran partly on the promise that he’d fix the beleaguered prison system.

It has only gotten worse.

During his State of the State Address earlier this year, he again promised to plug the holes in this sinking ship.

And there are plenty of holes: Mismanagement in hiring, vendor payments, employee discipline – you name it, according to federal Receiver Robert Sillen, appointed by the Northern District Court to take over the medical wing in 2006.

In fact, mismanagement in hiring cost taxpayers $453 million in overtime last year. In July, the California Inspector General’s Office called the prison’s in-custody drug rehabilitation program “a complete failure,” and a waste of #143 million.

Violence is up, progress is low, recidivism is at a record high. The problems have culminated in the malpractice deaths of one prisoner a week on average.

In response to the problems the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a three-judge federal panel to intervene, most likely with early releases. There are currently 172,000 prisoners tightly wedged inside, amounting to nearly 100 percent over capacity.

To capture the significance of 172,000, listen to this: The federal government houses 190,000 prisoners – for the entire U.S. California houses more prisoners than France and Germany – combined. California’s prison population even dwarfs the 130,000 troops America has in Iraq.

The governor resorted to “fear politics” by warning that “dangerous criminals” will be released back onto the street. But does anyone think the feds would be so irresponsible?

The truth is, the larger number of state prisoners are in for non-violent offenses. You’ve heard of the horrific stories of three-strikers: a quarter century for stealing a pizza and addicts caught with minor amounts of drugs.

As for lifers, those who rarely get a second chance, their recidivism rate is estimated by criminologists as the lowest – at between 1 and 4 percent. Barry Krisberg, president of the non-profit National Council on Crime and Delinquincy told the Los Angeles Times, in June, that he reviewed the early release programs of 14 counties and states, he found “no [significant] increases in crime due to such releases.”

I truly believe, when you treat prisoners like humans, you’re more likely to get humane parolees. Thankfully, the federal courts seem to agree.

Update:

Senate Bill 299 sailed unscathed through the Senate Public Safety Committee, the Senate Public Safety Commission, Senate Appropriations and the full Senate. The bill is scheduled to go before the Assembly Public Safety Committee, August 31st, where it is expected to hit turbulence. Old fashioned, traditional letters are requested of the public for legislative supporters of the bill to offset expected opposition.