Well, this is a sweet idea. Except, when I was driving for a state contractor here in CA, I actually had to spend some time running trucks into and out of California's prison system.
Perhaps if Ms. Davis had ever spent some time with some of those model human beings we have incarcerated in our prisons, she might think twice about releasing them into the general population. People like rapists, murderers, thieves, and the like.
Truth to tell, I find it odd that she would suggest that these people be turned loose, but then, Davis makes enough from her salary as a tenured professor, not to mention speaker's fees, that she probably believes she'd never have to live next door to any of them. Not too many of these guys live in her neighborhood. Most of them would move into lower income areas like mine, like North Highlands. It's an area where we have a very small police presence. (Hey, in areas where you don't have big money, the cops aren't really willing to go. No political power around here.)
I remember well lockdowns, the constant threat of violence, having to lock the doors to my truck as I drove in and out, having to ride with a guard in the buddy seat, not being allowed to even carry a 9/16ths wrench so I could readjust my brakes, because if these people got their hands on it, SOMEONE MIGHT DIE. Most of these people are violent to begin with, regardless of the reason behind it. You put them in with other violent people, and yes, they do become more violent. There is a constant threat once you lock people up.
But, I would also hasten to add, that among those prisons Ms. Davis cites, there are honor camps, there are minimum security facilities, and there are also other options open to our courts, such as house arrest. Violence is lower in most of those facilities, and in some, it's almost non-existent. (Not all. Keep in mind, we've got a serious problem here with the California Youth Authority.)
A significant problem we're having with our prisons has more to do with corruption among our prison guards, and within the penal system within this state. However, you sure as hell don't want to turn these guys loose, claiming that just because they're locked up, that's creating the problem. It ain't so, kids. And many of these guys wind up back behind bars, not because the system is out to get them, but as one woman working for the Prison Industries Authority told me, they're "stuck on stupid." Many of the guys I've seen leaving the prison actually have some skills. There's companies out there that will give them a chance, if they'll just put some effort into getting straight.
For whatever reason, they choose not to. They decide they'll take the easy route, and back they go to Folsom, to Corcoran, to Pelican Bay. They don't have to do this to themselves.
I've got friends where I work who have felony convictions, and yet, they've taken the time to turn their lives around. These are good people, and I've welcomed them into my home without a concern. Life is made up of choices. They chose to make something of themselves.
