Good and Mad Reading for the Weekend

For the weekend ahead, we recommend stopping by the Los Angeles Times, which has this excellent article on how California is trying to unpack its prisons (they call it "realignment") by passing the buck to county facilities -- without giving those facilities the bucks they need to pay for it.

Note the additional California prison-unpacking coverage in the sidebar:

• Criminal justice:  These guys are in serious need of marriage counseling
• Get ready, California counties:  Here come the inmates
• Now hiring:  Ex-cons need apply
• L.A. County Probation Department should handle new parolees

It's all good stuff on the mechanics of solving an overcrowding crisis.  Of course, the best way to avert these mechanics entirely is not to pack the prisons in the first place.  Choosing smarter options than mandatory minimum sentencing laws would be a big help in avoiding overstuffed prisons.