The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals adroitly gave Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger the ego-busting smackdown he deserves last week when it rejected his inadequate plan to ease prison overcrowding.
Schwarzenegger’s ongoing arrogance has reached such a plateau, the high court stopped just shy of holding him in contempt of court for defying their August order. But they warned their resistance to the contempt charge is only temporary.
The court is threatening to take control of California’s prison system because the state refuses to be responsible and come up with a plan to reduce the prison population by 40,000 prisoners within two years. Schwarzenegger came with a counter offer to lower the populations by 18,000 over two years.
The court wasn’t in a bargaining mood. Three federal judges essentially told Schwarzenegger that if he couldn’t figure out how to make improvements they would do it for him.
The court is so serious, three federal judges wrote in the decision, “We will view with the utmost seriousness any further failure to comply with our orders.”
At issue is the way prisoners are warehoused. The state currently has nearly 170,000 people, more than double the intended capacity. Many inmates suffer chronic illnesses and mental health problems. The situation is so dire, the court deems California is violating the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by allowing cruel and unusual punishment.
This won’t be the first time the court has snatched power away from the state’s top bully. In 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson took control of the prison system’s medical care.
At the time, Henderson said overcrowding was so bad that on average, one inmate per week was dying needlessly. The prisons are so overcrowded it’s not unusual to cram them into makeshift cells, hallways and dormitories.
The court noticed the irony in Schwarzenegger’s balking at cutting prison populations because he had previously threatened to do just that in order to get his way during stalled state budget negotiations. It was one of his most notorious bullying tactics of the year, although we’re certain this near lame duck isn’t through yet.
Cutting 40,000 low-level prisoners loose should be a no-brainer. The state isn’t in a financial position to build new prisons and hire more corrections officers.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, it costs more than $47,000 per year to house an inmate. The 40,000 inmates the federal government wants California to release would save the state nearly $2 billion a year; plenty enough to fund rehabilitation programs. The released inmates could be required to pay back the rehabilitation costs as part of their parole.
That would free up tax money from the general fund for education or social services.
But Schwarzenegger would prefers to lethargically maintain the Republican status quo of appearing tough on crime, especially entering an election year.
Attorneys for inmates suing for the overcrowded conditions had their positions steeled with the court’s admonitions toward the state.
The judges said that if the state doesn’t come back with a suitable plan by Nov. 12, they will give inmate attorneys two weeks to come up with their own plan to reduce prison populations.
If the governor doesn’t come up with a feasible plan to fix the prison system, we hope the court can find an orange jumpsuit in his size — one not tailored by Armani.