This is the result of California's '3 strikes and your out' law. To many people in for non-violent crimes( drug dealing, theft, and burglary), doing 25 years to life. Its costing the tax payers over $50,000 yearly to house ONE INMATE, not including medical cost which runs $60,000 yearly or more depending on their age. No wonder California is so f'en broke!
For those of you that haven't figured this whole thing out let me be the first to tell you that California's prison system is a business, and if you are going to invest your money into ANYTHING I would go for the prison industry...lol