California pays rising price for prison growth

Amid a budget crisis, the state is under pressure to approve $7 billion more for prison healthcare.

from the April 22, 2008 edition

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But one of the judges of a three-judge federal court panel set up to look into the state's prisons, dismayed by the slow pace of reform, appointed a new federal receiver in January to speed up the process.

The judge had earlier found the healthcare system to be "broken beyond repair," causing an "unconscionable degree of suffering and death." On average, an inmate in a California prison needlessly dies every six to seven days due to grossly deficient medical care, it found.

Paying for reforms

Federal receiver J. Clark Kelso's three-to-five-year plan includes the construction of seven facilities by mid-2013 to house 10,000 chronically sick or mentally ill inmates now in traditional cells. "This money is for construction of facilities that are desperately needed," says Mr. Kelso. "What we have in Californian prisons is incredibly old and not maintained."

The state's prison problems began over a decade ago, he says, with the decision to stop constructing prisons. Instead, prisoners began doubling up in gymnasiums and vocational spaces, robbing prisoners of needed exercise and creative outlets.

He pressed Californian legislators last week to pass the $7 billion price tag up front.

"This will be a real test, how do legislators vote to help prisoners when schools, parks, and other services important to voters are being cut," says Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies.

US District Judge Thelton Henderson, one of the three-judge panel, is also weighing a cap on the number of prisoners.

He and Kelso have borne the brunt of criticism that spending must be shelved until the budget crisis is weathered. But H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state department of finance, says it is not a matter of choice. "This is a federal directive," he said in a phone interview.

Kelso and Mr. Palmer also say the needed billions can come from bonds that spreads payment out over 25 years. "By our calculation, the amount of money used from the next budget will be as little as $50 million," says Palmer. Critics counter that the borrowing plan will nonetheless straightjacket future budgets by billions.

Whatever the cost, experts say state legislators shun federal takeovers. "From a state governance point of view, you don't want to lose control over your prison system," says Jacobson. "It's also an embarrassment that says you are not running your services well."

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