Daily Corrections Clips

Realignment

Calif. gives $602M to help build 11 county jails
The Associated Press-- Eleven California counties will be getting millions of dollars from the state to help pay for expanding their jail facilities as responsibility for lower-level criminals shifts from state prisons to county lockups.

For more information on this topic, please view the following links:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/03/california-prison-budget.html

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120309/NEWS08/203090309/Riverside-County-given-100-million-jails?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

http://www.news10.net/news/article/183077/2/11-county-jails-to-receive-expansion-funds?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/mar/08/shasta-county-wins-33-million-state-jail-upgrade/

http://www.recorderonline.com/news/tulare-51998-porterville-jail.html

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/region-riverside-county-snags-million-for-jails/article_13df766f-26e9-5e85-aeb4-8990b723a808.html

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20120309/NEWS01/203090307

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/62335/

http://www.modbee.com/2012/03/08/2104603/county-lands-80m-jail-grant.html

CDCR NEWS:

California’s prisons see increased demand for medical care despite population drop
By Julie Small, KPCC-- Tens of thousands of inmates in California prisons suffer from complex and chronic diseases. That's unlikely to change much, even with a new law that’s expected to reduce the prison population by 40,000 within a few years. Longer “tough on crime” sentences mean people stay in prison longer and get sicker.

RIEHL: County plan for inmate release a sound one
By Richard Riehl, North County Times-- It took a federal court ruling and a $28 billion budget deficit for California to finally do something about its obsolete prison system. San Diego County's chief probation officer, Mack Jenkins, told the Carlsbad City Council last month that implementing Assembly Bill 109, the Public Safety Realignment Act, will be "the most significant change in California's correctional system in at least 30 years."

California Felons Ask For Right To Vote After Prison Realignment
Tom Jones, KION-- Several organizations that promote voting rights have petitioned the state's Court of Appeal to give convicted felons who have been placed under regional supervision as part of prison realignment the right to vote.

The death penalty without the penalty
By Debra J. Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle-- While running for governor of California in 2010, Jerry Brown admitted he would "rather have a society where we didn't have to use death as a punishment." But because the Legislature and California voters approved capital punishment, "we've got to make it work."

Lawsuit pushes voting rights for felons
By Rina Palta, KALW-- A lawsuit filed Wednesday by lawyers for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and two other nonprofits aims to protect the voting rights of thousands of convicted California felons.

AP NewsBreak: Report says CA can shift some high-risk inmates; may need to build fewer prisons

Associated Press-- The state can safely house some maximum-security inmates in lower-level prisons, a development that could save taxpayers money, according to a University of California study obtained by The Associated Press.

California Inmates

`Speed Freak Killer' trained an apprentice, prisoner writes in letter to TV station
McClatchy-Tribune News Service-- Convicted serial killer Wesley Shermantine wrote a letter to FOX40 from San Quentin's death row.