The anti Prop 9 arguments complain that the cost of giving victims new rights, or that adding tough law, is just too costly. Can we take these opponents seriously?

Many of the anti-Prop people and groups are not bashful about proposing their own costly programs for whatever criminal-prisoner cause they champion. For example:

… Health Care: when it comes to the cost of health care for prisoners, cost is not a consideration. Criminal rights activists and federal judges are designing  health care that is better than what law-abiding citizens get or can afford. The courts are ready to grab $8 Billion of California funds to satisfy their whims.
 
… Overcrowding: we need to spend money to make the prisoners more comfortable. Do prisoners have to pay for their bed, clothes, a roof, food, entertainment? Maybe they should.

… Early release from prison: federal judges are prepared to release thousands of prisoners. The recidivists will commit new crime, new victims, and new economic hardship. Almost 70% of those released will be back in prison in 2-3 years after committing more crime. So, how does all this solve prison issues and reduce the cost of prisons? Do the judges and criminal rights people worry about this merry-go-round of crime? Do any of them have a clue to the disaster they will make? The disregard of public welfare is so unbelievable.

… Capital Punishment: a multi-million $$$ new death chamber and new expensive procedures developed so the killers don’t suffer, worry or have any anxiety.  The criminal advocates talk as if execution is a medical procedure, there should be no harm: am I missing something, the purpose is death. Is there any consideration of the victim’s suffering - absolutely Not!

Generally, for the opponents of Prop 9, the concerns are only about the welfare and the rights of the criminal, the prisoner. Nothing is too costly for them. Victims? Gee, still no closure yet?

Here are some real facts on the cost of crime:
(National Institute of Justice. Published in the Journal of Law and Economics)
Note: these are 2001 figures, the latest available. When inflation is factored in, add another 10-15% conservatively.

• $4118 is the annual cost of crime to each US citizen when all tangible and intangible costs are included
• $105 Billion annually in medical bills and lost earnings (tangible)
• $450 Billion annually when pain, suffering and lost quality of life are counted (intangible)
• $127 Billion annually from rape, $93 Billion from assault, $61 Billion from murder, $56 Billion from child abuse
• 3% of all medical expenses in the U.S. related to violent crime
• 1% of all annual U.S, wages lost to violent crime
• 10-20% of all mental healthcare related to crime
• 4 out of 5 gunshot victims end up on public assistance and uninsured, costing the U.S. government $4.5 Billion annually
• after suffering and loss, victims still have to pay taxes to support prisoners: it costs each California resident approximately $25,000 annually per prisoner, about $109 annually per citizen.

Victims suffer from pain, lost income, job loss, withdrawal, loneliness deep seated anger, health costs not covered by insurance for themselves and their family, delayed life health affects, anguish over parole, fear of the criminal attack on them or their families, and loss of basic human rights to justice.

What does the violent prisoner suffer from: no crunchy peanut butter, no porno, no violent TV or movies, parole rejection, fear of other criminals, lost privleges, no drugs, no sex, and no work out equipment

Are California’s prisons too overcrowded versus the U.S
(Joan Petersilia, professor of criminology, law and society at UC Irvine. Professor of law at Stanford. From a Los Angeles Times article)

…”On any given day, 456 out of every 100,000 people are behind bars in California vs. 432 national average”

… “The chance that any person arrested for a serious crime in California will end up in prison is 5%, close to the national average”

… “2/3 of the overall growth in California prison population comes stems from violent crime; robbery, assault and homicide. Drug crimes account for 10% of the increase”

…”The special consequences of 3-strikes law notwithstanding, prison terms in California are no longer, on average, than those imposed in other states for similar crimes”

…”California’s spending on prisons – now about $8 Billion annually – is not disproportionately higher than of other states”

California Crime Facts