Fiscal Pressures Lead Some States to Free Inmates Early, says the Washington Post. Across the United States, a financial crisis is brewing in our nation's correctional systems. California, which has the largest prison system in the nation, (housing 170,000 inmates with a capacity of only 100,000), plans to increase the budget for new prison construction by 7 to 14 billion dollars, on top of releasing 22,000 nonviolent prisoners on unsupervised parole. Other states, especially Michigan, face an even more dire situation...
posted on May 5, 2008 - View this thread

High-resolution images of Death Row at San Quentin State Prison, California.
posted on Nov 12, 2007 - View this thread

You’d need years to really study these murals of Califonia’s history - the artist certainly had a lot a free time to create them. You'd probably also need a special invitation to engage in a multi-year study in the gallery - and you probably don't want one.
posted on Aug 20, 2007 - View this thread

What's my bail for a WMD offense in California? If against a person, or water or food: $1 million. But for just $100k, you can use WMDs against animals, crops, or natural resources and be out free by dinnertime.
posted on Jun 11, 2005 - View this thread

Arnold Signs Prison Smoking Ban
By July 1, 2005, there will be no more cigarette smoking in California's prison system.
Makes sense, no smoking in our bars, no smoking behind our bars.
posted on Sep 28, 2004 - View this thread

Medical marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal sentenced to one day in prison. Very interesting. Is Ed too high profile to be given an average sentence, unlike other non-violent drug offenders? Is this damage control for a very controversial case involving tightly-controlled information for jurors and state vs. federal rights? Regardless, Ed continues the fight and is appealing his conviction and is also asking for Judge Breyer to step down. Previous mefi discussion here.
posted on Jun 5, 2003 - View this thread

An imaginative solution to California's school budget crisis.
posted on Jan 24, 2003 - View this thread