Please take your blood pressure medicine before you read this post, because it is going to tick you off, royally.

The ONLY reason Arizona has a “prison crowding problem” is that it is the ONLY state in the entire nation that demands everyone convicted of anything–including minor, non-violent crimes–MUST serve 85 percent of their sentences behind bars.

Because of this stupid law, we have six private prisons in Arizoa that ONLY house minimum and medium security prisoners. Not a single one of them house a single inmate considered dangerous or violent. ALL the violent ones–the ones we all want behind bars–are housed in our state-owned and run prisons.

It makes you wonder if we have that law BECAUSE the Republican-controlled legislature and governor’s office are shoveling pubic funds to their pals in the private prison industry, who are loose and generous with campaign contributions.

That isn’t public safety. That’s a public screwing.

Other states have long ago realized it was stupid to imprison everyone as though they were all murderers. Minor and non-violent offenders can be handled in a lot better ways–how about the county jails, for instance–than spending at least $23,000 a year to house them in private prisons.

Please tell me Governor Ducey isn’t so dumb he can’t see how wasteful this all is. He could show real leadership by getting rid of the “everyone goes to prison” rule and dropping plans for yet a seventh private prison! No, No, No!

And Gov., our school systems could sure use the money you’d save Arizona by being a “good businessman” that doesn’t waste money.