Two big stories, coming in the heels of Brown v. Plata, present a spectrum of issues that should have us occupied in the next few years as California struggles to find its way out of mass incarceration.
The first story appeared in the Los Angeles Times on the very next morning. Apparently, due to a computer error, hundreds of parolees were wrongfully released. The timing of this story is rather peculiar; it coincides not only with the decision, but also with the budget cuts to CDCR and to parole departments in particular. Apropos parole, a proposal for medical parole has begun making the rounds in the legislature.
The second story, featured in yesterday's Chron, is about the decline in violent crime in California, which, in accordance with the national trend, has fallen to a 44-year low. As many experts have demonstrated, this decline has very little to do with incarceration, and is the outcome of various longitudinal developments unrelated to the administration of justice.
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