Among the many ways California is trying to resolve the budget crisis is to release certain prisoners who are either minor offenders or no longer a threat. The latter category includes some violent prisoners who have suffered illness or injury that reduce or eliminate their potential as a threat.

One example is a rapist (clearly a prisoner you would not want to release) who was stabbed in the neck during a prison fight which left him totally paralyzed. Because of this he is no longer considered a threat to repeat offend and thus was on the list of those to be released.

But some objected to his release, largely on the basis that he seems to be a total jerk and a poor prisoner. The appeals court supported this position, saying he could still be a threat. They cited a case in which a man in a wheelchair used a string tied to the trigger of a gun to shoot and kill his wife.

I have somewhat mixed feelings on this case. On the one hand I am a firm supporter of punishing criminals, but at the same time it doesn’t really seem that this guy is going to be a threat and if my tax dollars can be spent better in other ways it seems to make sense.