As part of its plan to close a $26 billion dollar budget gap, and in response to a federal order to reduce its prison population, the State of California last year began sending hundreds of non-violent, non-sexual offenders back to their home counties. What will the so-called realignment strategy mean for counties, for communities, and for the offenders themselves?
Assistant Visiting Professor Jessica Eaglin teaches federal sentencing at California Western and is following California's prison plan closely. She offers her thoughts on how the plan and how incarceration disproportionately affects communities of color.
