CALIFORNIA TURNS DOWN MICHIGAN OFFER OF PRISON BEDS

California prisons are under a Federal Court are so over crowded that a special three judge Federal panel ordered them to reduce the inmate count by over 40,000. Michigan’s budget problems are so great that they are closing prisons and laying off guards. Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm offered to house California prisoners for a price. After all Michigan has enough unemployed without adding the prison guards to it.

It sounds like a win-win situation. Thank you but no thank you says California. First of all Michigan wants $89.00 a day per inmate when California can pay $63.00 to other states. Secondly Michigan’s offer does not include medical and mental health care for the inmates. Third, and perhaps most important, in light of California’s problems which result from the Federal Court order which says that California’s current situation is unconstitutional because it is unable to provide medical care to its overcrowded prisons, the nearest acute medical and mental health facilities are 150 miles from the prison.

But California must do something about its overcrowded prisons. Prison riots, caused by overcrowding are occurring with greater frequency. At the same time California is near bankruptcy and the legislature has mandated a 1.2 billion dollar cut in the prison budget. It has voted money to build new prisons but it will take years to build them and there is no money to staff them.