California inmates and three-strikes madness

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the state of California to reduce its prison population by 30,000 or more to alleviate inhumane conditions.

About 15 years ago, a lot of states were caught up in a get-tough-on-crime hysteria. California passed a three-strikes-your-out-law. This was a ridiculous measure based arbitrarily on the rules of baseball. Anyone convicted of a third felony, regardless of the severity of the crime, was locked away for good.
Other crimes, such as drug possession, could be treated in ways other than with a cell and a locked door, but those folks usually are locked away, too.
No one should be surprised that California has reached this crisis. The governor says he can alleviate concerns by sending thousands of low-level offenders to county jails. However, it’s hard to see how shifting prisoners around is going to keep the state from turning a lot of prisoners loose.
A conservative minority on the U.S. Supreme Court, led by Justice Samuel Alito, said this ruling sends “the equivalent of three Army divisions” of criminals out on the streets and would jeopardize the safety of Californians. It might also jeopardize the safety of Utahns or people in other Western states where those people might want to migrate.
The lesson in all this? You can’t get tough on crime without also literally paying the price. If you want to lock a lot of people up, you have to pay for more prisons. Too many governments from Washington on down seem to believe they can do things without having to pay for them, and too many taxpayers are guilty of the same.