"What do Scott Peterson, Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson have in common besides murder? They are all classified as "low risk" offenders by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Some-on-Death-Row-low-risk-for-parole-4189492.php
I think this article speaks to the very real possibility that Bruce Davis will be paroled. It also highlights the politics of the parole situation.
3 comments:
i think davis is going to be released probably in the next 5-10 years. parole is not instant and he has 2 years to serve in a federal prison. what i have been wondering though is with manson being 78 years old should his age be taken into consideration on how he is treated these days. i think for instance that it is cruel to put 78 year old prisoner in the hole. also sending him back to vacaville might be a better match for him. vacaville is the mental hospital prison for california. does anyone agree or should his confinement be the same as it has been?
Beauders - I think I agree. A prisoner of his age should be in a suitable setting (especially given that he's said to suffer health problems). No matter what we think of him as a human being, we should treat him and any other prisoner in a civilized and human fashion during their confinement and the enforcement of their sentence. Being able to do that should be part of what separates us from them.
I'm not a fan of extended periods of solitary confinement for most inmates though. It's dehumanizing, potentially leads to mental illness and can qualify as torture. (Though don't take me to be someone who thinks prison should be like a spa retreat. I don't think any reasonable person holds this view. I just think our institutional culture would likely benefit from some changes. A lot of people in prison come out more hardened criminals than they were when they went in. I don't think it unreasonable that we might ask why that's the case and how we might change it.)
Bruce will parole. If not this time, next. It's bleeding the system when he appeals and his last 2 have ended in a parole suggestion and the next will as well.
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