ACLU Lambasts Gov. Brown's Prison Plan, Calls Competing Senate Proposal a Step in Right Direction

The American Civil Liberties Union of California is encouraged by Sen. Darrell Steinberg's proposal, announced today, to reject Gov. Jerry Brown's call for prison expansion and to instead seek lasting solutions to California's overincarceration crisis that will also make our communities safer. As several members of the Senate Democratic Caucus acknowledged at a press conference this morning, mass incarceration has taken a substantial toll on California's communities and it's time to do something different.

Gov. Brown's proposal to drain the state's hard-won reserves to rent more prison beds is unnecessary and won't keep our communities safe. Sen. Steinberg's plan acknowledges the need to make systemic changes that will enhance public safety, such as utilizing evidence-based community crime-prevention programs and establishing an advisory sentencing commission. But the state can and should do more.

While we are heartened by the Senate's commitment to address the overincarceration crisis, the ACLU of California strongly urges the governor and legislature to adopt the plan filed with the federal court by the administration on Aug. 15, under which the state would expand good time credits for inmates participating in rehabilitative programming and allow for parole of elderly and geriatric inmates. These proposals were found to have no negative impact on public safety, and were even endorsed by the now Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Jeffrey Beard. This is not "early release," but rather "earned release."

California is once again pouring more money into a broken criminal justice system rather than implementing cost-effective solutions that will protect our communities, and end California's mass incarceration crisis once and for all. For years, Sacramento has rejected even the most modest cost-effective proposals that would reduce the state's prison population without impacting public safety. Continuing to pass only costly, temporary solutions will guarantee the continuation of this crisis at even greater expense. It's time to fix the problem.

This afternoon, the ACLU of California sent this official letter opposing Gov. Brown's proposal to Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

Kimberly Horiuchi is a Criminal Justice and Drug Policy Attorney with the ACLU of California.