CA Gov. Brown's 'Ugly' Plan to Avoid Prison Overcrowding Falling Short

Allies of Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) now say that his plan to solve the state prison overcrowding issue will be “ugly.” After years of building no new prisons, Brown says that he will release certain prisoners earlier and shift responsibility for some prisoners to localities.

Courts will likely not find Brown’s “ugly” plan sufficient to overcome the Supreme Court’s order to ease such overcrowding. Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said that it was “dubious” whether the plan could pass – especially since Democrats want more focus on rehab rather than prison space.

“The plan is ugly,” a Brown appointee to oversee prison issues, Jeffrey Beard, said. “We don’t like it. But … it’s the best plan we could come up with.” Brown is still short some 2,570 inmates to meet the Court’s requirements. His “realignment” plan, which effectively released inmates onto California’s streets, has been met with widespread disapproval by the Californian public, and has resulted in crimes including rape and murder.