1) Clearly, Mr. Webb lacks Californians problems or concerns with the illegal alien problem facing us which explains his nonsensical “possibilities.” Some estimates state that over half of California’s prison population is made up of illegal aliens. That is our problem.
The obvious solutions are to cut state money to sanctuary cities, send our state military to guard our border, enforce 834b of our own penal code which is very similar to AZ’s SB1070, and make it close to impossible for illegal aliens to live and commit crimes in California.
[Editor’s Note: According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, for the most recent period for which figures are available (2008), the number of illegal aliens among the state’s prison population was 19,008 of 171,085 total inmates, or 11 percent.]
2) The only things that California’s prisons and schools have in common are the facts that 1, they are unionized and 2, the more we spend on them, the more that is demanded and the worse they get. California spends 55 percent of the entire state budget on a school system that graduates 50 percent of its students. It is becoming abundantly clear that in both of these areas, the public employees, no matter what they feel they are worth, have priced themselves out of the market. We just can’t afford these expenditures.
3) At some point, everyone must take responsibility for his or her own actions. It seems reasonable to expect people convicted of their “first strike” to modify their behavior so as to avoid a possible second or third.Should someone who commits three non-violent offenses serve long prison terms? Probably not. But, like the three strikes law itself, the question of loosening it should be decided by the people of California. As their elected representative, I want to abide by their wishes. Modifying the law to present to voters is something that I am willing to consider.
4) The head of CDCR should be a compassionate person with experience in law enforcement and preferably a military background. As any head of such an important department, she/he should be a person who is willing to take all required actions to obtain and provide anything necessary for efficient operation of the department.
5) I will not second guess the actions of previous governors with no information about the specific cases on which to base an opinion. The first purpose of a prison system must be to protect society from those who would harm others. It is my belief that if we can depopulate our prisonsystem by sending the majority of inmates to their home countries we can do a much better job of rehabilitation. What I want to do is to apply all of our rehabilitation money and efforts to American citizens who deserve our help.
