By Allison White
Eureka Times Standard
SACRAMENTO — Legislators continue to debate and adjust a plan to trim the state’s inmate population to save $1 billion and follow a court mandate, but the bill is unlikely to open the flood gates at Pelican Bay State Prison.
The California Assembly is currently reviewing the Senate-approved plan, which would have reduced the prison population by about 27,000 non-violent inmates in the first year, saving $1.2 billion. Those savings have already been anticipated with the passing of this year’s budget counting on it, but the Assembly’s version of the plan would keep about 10,000 more prisoners behind bars, racking up a $200 million budget hole.
The state currently spends about $49,000 per inmate per year, while the national average is $32,000, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a recent speech.
All of the changes in any of the debated early release plans would affect only a small portion of inmates within Pelican Bay’s walls, said Lt. Ken Thomas, public information officer for the prison.
“The vast majority of our population wouldn’t be eligible,” Thomas said.
Most of the inmates at Pelican Bay are required to be housed at the highest security levels. Of the 3,226 inmates at the facility as of Aug. 12, only 222 are non-violent Level I offenders, according to data from the California Department of Corrections. Only non-violent inmates are currently being considered for the inmate reduction programs.
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has stripped some of the more controversial segments of the plan. She has removed the program allowing inmates who have less than 12 months in their sentence, are over 60 years old or are medically incapacitated to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest with electronic surveillance.
She also took out a portion that would change several property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors to keep offenders out of prison. However, the Assembly plan still includes a program that would allow inmates to earn up to four months of early release credits for completing rehabilitation programs.
“When we arrive at a responsible plan that can earn the support of the majority of the Assembly and makes sense to the people of California, we will take that bill up on the Assembly floor,” she said.
Part of the interest in the bill is in response to a federal court mandating that California release 40,000 inmates over two years to ease the overcrowded prisons and improve health care conditions.
The state prison system as a whole is at about 182 percent capacity and Pelican Bay is at about 135 percent capacity, according to the CDC.
To handle the overcrowding, Pelican Bay has converted a gymnasium to hold the few Level I inmates it has, Thomas said. However, he said the federal court’s health care concerns are not likely to be a problem for Pelican Bay.
“At Pelican Bay, the health care is up to federal standards and has been for a number of years,” Thomas said.
The prison’s compliance with health standards was solidified shortly after the prison’s opening in 1989. Thomas calls it the “Madrid ruling” -- inmates sued the prison in Madrid v. Gomez for excessive use of violent force, for inadequate mental and physical health care and for the use of a Special Housing Unit that isolates inmates, according to documents from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
One of the outcomes of the 1995 ruling in the case set specific guidelines for mental and physical health care that Pelican Bay has followed since, Thomas said.
Other state prisons may have their populations and policies drastically altered, but Thomas said this bill and the recent court ruling will not likely have a huge impact at Pelican Bay.
“There are 33 state prisons,” Thomas said. “Some have issues, some don’t.”
Part of the bursting inmate population problem comes from the number of people who are released from prison and then return soon after for violating the terms of their parole, said CDC Press Secretary Seth Unger. Every year about 70,000 parole violators go back to state prison.
Most of the bill the Senate passed last week was proposed by the corrections department, including the sections Bass removed, and Unger said one large point includes helping parolees stay out of prison.
“The way we’re doing that is targeting parole offenders that are non-violent and non-sex offenders for banked parole,” Unger said. This would allow parole officers to improve supervision on those with the highest risk of reoffending while those on banked parole would still be subject to warrantless searches and seizure by local police.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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