Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The decision by the US Supreme Court yesterday, ordering California to release more than 30,000 prison inmates because of overcrowding is sure to spark new debate over the state’s fiscal crisis, the New York Times reports. Jerry Brown wants to transfer tens of thousands of nonviolent inmates from state prisons to county jails, but needs money to do it. The governor is already arguing that the high court ruling makes his tax measure proposals all that more vital. But there may be a cheaper way for California to solve its prison overcrowding problem: Stop locking up so many people for nonviolent drug offenses and ease sentencing for other nonviolent crimes. Better yet, legalize pot altogether, and the prison population will drop substantially.
