Prison Reform From Someone Who Was There.

In today's LA Times, Pat Nolan, a former CA state legislator, who spent more than 2 years in prison has an insider's viewpoint on what must be done to reform CA's prison system. And, it's not building more prisons. I've met Pat at a Restorative Justice conference about 3 years ago. We compared notes and I share many of the same thoughts and solutions, with him.

• Every reform must be judged by whether it makes the public safer. This may seem obvious, but many prison policies are based on the convenience of the bureaucracy rather than public safety. One glaring example: Some inmates have been "frog-walked" from solitary in Pelican Bay directly to the gate and released. No period of preparation to make decisions in the free world.

• Reserve costly prison beds for people we are afraid of, not for people we're mad at. Too many prisoners pose no physical threat to us. We're not afraid of them; we're mad at them. There are ways to punish them in the community, holding them accountable to do honest work and pay restitution.

• Remove the nonviolent mentally ill from our prisons. Prisons are not set up to give mentally ill inmates the treatment they need, and their presence in our prisons makes management of the inmate population much more difficult.

• Encourage participation in faith-based activities. Inmates need to learn self-restraint, based on a worldview that reminds them that they are not the center of the universe.

• Give inmates meaningful work and educational opportunities. Meaningful jobs teach inmates productive skills that will help them make the transition to leading productive lives in the free world. The wages they receive allow them to pay restitution to the victims they have harmed, support their families, pay some of the costs of their incarceration and save a small amount toward their "gate money."