Gritsforbreakfast

Seanchi520, given your foolish blather about "career criminals" who didn't take care of themselves, you need to read more carefully.

Charges against this fellow were dismissed. You have no evidence he is a career criminal. Also, he had high blood pressure. The jail had his meds and didn't give them to him for weeks. He finally had a stroke and the docs said it was because his meds were withheld. He WAS taking care of himself on the outside - the jail just wouldn't give him his medicine. That's simply not his fault.

In response to your question, "why should prisoners receive free medical care when that is not offered to our astronomical populace of working poor?" The answer is, because the government chose to incarcerate them. SCOTUS has long held that IF the state incarcerates someone they're responsible for their healthcare. Incarcerate fewer people, then those costs will decline (and there will be fewer neglectful incidents like this one). However the US has 5% of the planet's population and 25% of its prisoners. When our society makes such choices, they must also pay the costs that go with it.

"Good time" is a euphemism. The fact is, and the editorial writers should have known it, the jail is full, and regulators and courts won't let them keep low-level offenders there longer just so they can pick up trash on the roads. I think it's disingenuous to make this criticism without acknowledging that pragmatic reality, especially from a county commissioner who's made funding decisions that helped put the jail in this circumstance.

I doublechecked and it looks like I reversed the paraphrase. The LBB summary says the money is to "implement a rehabilitation plan." sorry for any confusion.

Sanders - I'm sorry if this was phrased confusingly. These are NEW monies over and above the baseline budget.

I knew Robert back in the day when he had hair (okay, when both of us did), but the cheerleader stuff is news to me. That said, he was always a bit of a pom pom shaker when he was entertainment editor at The Daily Texan in college, but that was well before anyone would have ever suggested "Fingers of Fury" as a nickname. Great pic!