Kathy
12-02-2003, 11:10 AM
This might be for Mississippi, but it applies to all states!
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20031202/opinion/750932.html
Lawmakers lack sense of urgency
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EDITORIAL
We appreciate the Mississippi Legislature's hard-nosed approach to crime and punishment.
Nonetheless, we also believe the Legislature's thinking on this issue should be informed by two key factors: Wisdom, and a sense of urgency.
Wisdom - to recognize that there are some proven alternatives to incarceration which the state should explore.
A sense of urgency - about the escalating cost of housing inmates and the need to make some difficult choices.
When it comes to corrections in Mississippi, "business as usual" is no longer a viable option.
The state's 85 percent rule, which requires those convicted of a crime to serve 85 percent of their sentences, has swelled both the prison population and the corrections' budget.
And given the state's precarious fiscal situation, Mississippi simply can't afford the rising cost of housing so many prisoners.
The price tag for Mississippi's 20,481 inmates is expected to balloon to $294.5 million in fiscal year 2005, according to Chris Epps, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections.
What to do?
First, the Legislature needs to give serious, honest consideration to a bill it defeated earlier this year - a bill that would have reduced prison terms for model prisoners by giving them more days off for days they work.
Lawmakers slightly modified the 85 percent rule in 2001, freeing up prison space by granting early release to some nonviolent, first-time offenders. They should enact additional reforms in the statute next year.
Second, lawmakers need to speed the implementation of programs that are proven, legitimate alternatives to incarceration.
One such program is drug court.
Interestingly, since the 2003 Legislature approved a law allowing the establishment of drug courts statewide, six new drug courts have been created since July 1.
Unfortunately, though lawmakers helped create drug courts, they refused to fund them - an economic obstacle that has delayed the creation of additional drug courts.
The Legislature's mishandling of drug courts - a proven program - gives rise to two important questions: 1) Why did lawmakers wait so many years before finally approving a bill to establish drug courts? 2) Will we now have to wait a number of years before the Legislature helps to fund them?
We hope not.
Another program the Legislature should help fund statewide is house arrest.
Prisoners sentenced under house arrest programs wear an electronic bracelet that monitors their movements. They are required to pay all court fees, support their families and submit to weekly drug tests. In some counties they must also participate in community service programs.
House arrest, which is typically limited to offenders whose crimes are nonviolent in nature, is a viable alternative to incarceration for some prisoners.
Mississippi's Department of Corrections is at a crossroad.
In our day of declining tax revenues and shrinking budgets, state officials can't continue doing the same thing and expect different results.
Our thinking must be informed by a new paradigm - e.g. modify some prison sentences (especially those for nonviolent offenders and model prisoners) and implement alternative programs - and a sense of urgency about the gravity of the problem.
You may contact Opinion Page Editor Rich Campbell at 584-3128 or by e-mail at RCampbell@hattiesb.gannett.com.
Email this story
Originally published Tuesday, December 2, 2003
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20031202/opinion/750932.html
Lawmakers lack sense of urgency
-----------------------------------------------------------
EDITORIAL
We appreciate the Mississippi Legislature's hard-nosed approach to crime and punishment.
Nonetheless, we also believe the Legislature's thinking on this issue should be informed by two key factors: Wisdom, and a sense of urgency.
Wisdom - to recognize that there are some proven alternatives to incarceration which the state should explore.
A sense of urgency - about the escalating cost of housing inmates and the need to make some difficult choices.
When it comes to corrections in Mississippi, "business as usual" is no longer a viable option.
The state's 85 percent rule, which requires those convicted of a crime to serve 85 percent of their sentences, has swelled both the prison population and the corrections' budget.
And given the state's precarious fiscal situation, Mississippi simply can't afford the rising cost of housing so many prisoners.
The price tag for Mississippi's 20,481 inmates is expected to balloon to $294.5 million in fiscal year 2005, according to Chris Epps, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections.
What to do?
First, the Legislature needs to give serious, honest consideration to a bill it defeated earlier this year - a bill that would have reduced prison terms for model prisoners by giving them more days off for days they work.
Lawmakers slightly modified the 85 percent rule in 2001, freeing up prison space by granting early release to some nonviolent, first-time offenders. They should enact additional reforms in the statute next year.
Second, lawmakers need to speed the implementation of programs that are proven, legitimate alternatives to incarceration.
One such program is drug court.
Interestingly, since the 2003 Legislature approved a law allowing the establishment of drug courts statewide, six new drug courts have been created since July 1.
Unfortunately, though lawmakers helped create drug courts, they refused to fund them - an economic obstacle that has delayed the creation of additional drug courts.
The Legislature's mishandling of drug courts - a proven program - gives rise to two important questions: 1) Why did lawmakers wait so many years before finally approving a bill to establish drug courts? 2) Will we now have to wait a number of years before the Legislature helps to fund them?
We hope not.
Another program the Legislature should help fund statewide is house arrest.
Prisoners sentenced under house arrest programs wear an electronic bracelet that monitors their movements. They are required to pay all court fees, support their families and submit to weekly drug tests. In some counties they must also participate in community service programs.
House arrest, which is typically limited to offenders whose crimes are nonviolent in nature, is a viable alternative to incarceration for some prisoners.
Mississippi's Department of Corrections is at a crossroad.
In our day of declining tax revenues and shrinking budgets, state officials can't continue doing the same thing and expect different results.
Our thinking must be informed by a new paradigm - e.g. modify some prison sentences (especially those for nonviolent offenders and model prisoners) and implement alternative programs - and a sense of urgency about the gravity of the problem.
You may contact Opinion Page Editor Rich Campbell at 584-3128 or by e-mail at RCampbell@hattiesb.gannett.com.
Email this story
Originally published Tuesday, December 2, 2003