May 17, 2007

The prison mess (cont.)

As a student of civics, I have been intrigued by Robert Sillen's tenure as the state's prison health care czar. He has done some interesting things. But I'm not sure his record to date justifies giving him -- or some other federal appointee --even more control over the prison system.

Appointed a year ago by a federal judge and essentially given carte blanche to fix health care in the prisons, Sillen admits that he has barely made a dent. Inmates are still dying from lack of care or bad care. Costs are exploding. And the correctional officers don't like him any more than they do Schwarzenegger. It looks to me that he is struggling with many of the same problems that the governor is facing, even though Sillen actually has more power at his disposal.

Now Sillen says he's been stymied by overcrowding -- and he doesn't think the reform plan approved by bipartisan, two-thirds majorities in the Legislature is going to do any good.

Maybe it won't. But the last time I checked this was still a democracy. A huge number of legislators representing a broad cross section of the public have felt the pressure and have decided that the best way to solve the problem is through a combination of building more beds, putting fewer people in prison, and doing more to keep ex-cons from reoffending and coming back. Sillen doesn't like what they have done. I don't like the whole package, either.

But shouldn't the court at least allow the plan to get some traction and see if it can work before stepping in and ordering some other approach that, almost by definition, would be contrary to the wishes of Californians?

Posted by dweintraub on May 17, 2007 10:59 AM