Baca Has a Good Idea, But Wackos Want to Pamper Criminals

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca wants to deal with jail overcrowding by having some of less risky prisoners placed on home detention.

But get this - some activists are worried that the prisoners on home detention won't have tax-funded health care and housing!

From Patrick McGreevy's Los Angeles Times piece:

Some opponents of the legislation winding its way through the Legislature are not fighting it on the law-and-order grounds raised in the Hilton case.

Instead, they say the county has already made it difficult for inmates to get medical care and psychiatric services in the jails, and the new program will make it even harder.

"This bill may allow jails to place individuals who need critical medical or psychiatric care in home detention without identified services or funding to pay for these services," said Margaret Jakobson-Johnson of Protection and Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit group providing legal help and advocacy for the disabled.
[snip]
However, poor inmates may be left on their own entirely if put on home detention, Jakobson-Johnson said.

You mean like us law-abiding folks?

In addition, she is concerned that some of those on home detention will lack stable housing. "Release on home detention without housing, or a clear plan to find housing quickly, may do more harm to an individual," she said.

The proposed legislation would allow those assigned to home detention to receive vocational and housing assistance and to leave home for psychological and medical care, said state Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster), a coauthor of the bill. He said the county does not give up its obligation to provide inmates with healthcare just because they are assigned to home detention.

He disputed Jakobson-Johnson's criticism that home detainees would be less likely to get the care they need than those behind bars.

"That argument doesn't make sense," Runner said. "What's happening now is these people are being released after a few days and sent home, or are not serving any time in jail. In those circumstances, they are not getting any care anyway."

Convicted inmates serving sentences should be performing work - preferably on behalf of their victims.

Los Angeles County is under a court order to end overcrowding, so some inmates are released after serving only 25% of their time, a practice that will probably be modified if Baca wins the new powers.

Hmmmmm, now why would Los Angeles County have jail overcrowding? Oh. That's right. How many illegal aliens are in there?

The bill would save counties money. It costs L.A. County an average of $10 a day for a prisoner on home detention, compared with $70 daily to keep the inmate in jail, Bilowit said.

The main drawback I could see to this is that for some people, home confinement is hardly punishment. Some people who aren't criminals voluntarily confine themselves to their homes. In the spirit of those concerned about the health care and housing for inmates placed on home confinement, we should make sure the home has all of the modern appliances, conveniences, and utilities, too. Why shouldn't my taxes to go make sure some criminal can watch HD cable television at home?

Seriously, we need a truly rehabilitative system for people who can be reformed, and restorative justice wherever possible. Quite often, a criminal's crimes are against specific people, not faceless "society". They should have to work for their victims to pay off their debt to them as much as possible.