Arnold Tours California Prisons!

Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched what he says will be a statewide tour of California 's troubled prison system.

The Governor started by touring Mule Creek Prison near Ione, accompanied by top prison brass and Inspector General Matthew Cate, the state's independent prison watchdog . The medium to maximum facility houses more than 3,700 inmates in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The Governor said he wanted to start his tour by visiting an effective prison. "I wanted to go to a prison that was a good example of where the prisoners get good education, where when they come in from the first day they are being prepared to be released," said Schwarzenegger, the first governor to visit a state prison since Gov. Pete Wilson toured San Quentin in 1996. "I came here today on a fact-finding mission to see firsthand the state of our prisons." He later added: "I think we are moving in a good direction to create very good reform."

As he toured the grounds, correctional staff members briefed the Governor on recent reform efforts.

California prisons have come under scrutiny from state lawmakers and federal officials for overspending and failing to help inmates obtain job skills. Critics also claim the prison guards' union has too much power in how state prisons are run.

A federal judge has threatened to take over the state prison system. However, Schwarzenegger predicts the judge will instead decide to work with state corrections officials, instead of assigning a receiver over the largest state prison system.

The Governor also is considering letting inmates lift weights again - a privilege ended in the 1990s. Schwarzenegger visited prisons to promote weightlifting in the 1970s, at the peak of his bodybuilding career. (As seen in Pumping Iron ).

Global Arnold Staff