Stan Moody

POB 240 Manchester, ME 04351 207/626-0594 Stanmoody1@aol.com

More Department of Collections

November 11, 2011 The ink being barely dry in my article on Arizonas new policy of charging prisoner visitors a $25 fee, along come the two other wonders of the western world CA and TX. California, you will recall, recently was ordered by the US Supreme Court to free 33,000 prisoners due to conditions deemed cruel and unusual punishment. They have released them, not to the community, but to county jails. Hold on a minute! was the hue and cry as county jail budgets dove into the red. CNNs Aaron Smith reports that one California county Riverside will begin charging prisoners $142.42 per day for their stay in the Riverside County Hilton1. To be levied in accordance with ability to pay, the county expects to reap up to $7 million a year. California, with an annual cost of incarceration in excess of $50,000 per prisoner, has found a way to sustain its primary growth industry corrections in lieu of unwinding this final solution for disposing of the drug addicted and the mentally ill. Not to be outdone, in Texas there will be no more free lunch on weekends, that is. While Texas has not yet figured a way to charge for meals, Aaron Smith reports that the Department of Criminal Justice will save nearly $3 million a year by cutting out weekend lunches2. In light of a staggering $3.37 a day for meals, they can save $1.60 a week per prisoner. Unreported, however, is the life extension
1 2

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/09/news/economy/california_jail/index.htm?iid=HP_River http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/21/news/economy/texas_jail/index.htm?iid=EL

potential in decreasing by 104 per year the number of high carbohydrate meals traceable to early onset diabetes. As well, Texas, the state with the highest execution rate in the nation, has put a stop to the coveted last meal. This gesture of human dignity, having been disrespectfully left on the plate by convicted murderer, white supremacist Lawrence Brewer, has become a thing of the past, saving the State of Texas a certain amount of face and $300 - $400 per year. The worlds most extensive assembly line of processed offenders the US prison system shows signs of increased efficiency in this bad economy. God bless America! Stay tuned!