Legal Commentary

Believe it or not, the picture to the left depicts what used to be the San Quentin gym. The prison has become so overcrowded that they have had to place hundreds of beds, side by side, in the gym. Beyond the physical difficulties, think of the daunting task of making sure that people from feuding gangs aren't bunking next to each other.

More on this from the source of the picture, an NPR report. I strongly recommend listening to the podcast as well. 

So, what should we do? Build more prisons? How do we reduce overcrowding? As I mentioned a few days ago, John Pfaff's recent work on this suggests the problem is not length of sentences, but admission numbers. I don't know if this rationale explains what is happening in San Quentin, necessarily; it might explain the system as a whole, particularly medium and minimum security prison populations. Anyway, food for thought.