Pubdate: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 Source: Huntsville Times (AL) 836435150.xml Copyright: 2003 The Huntsville Times Contact: http://www.htimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/730 OPENING PRISON DOORS Legislators Had No Real Choice But To Expedite Parole Process Head for the hills! Hundreds, no, thousands, of Alabama prisoners are about to be set free to menace law-abiding citizens! No, it's not as dire a situation as that. But the Legislature has had to come to terms with prisoners and finances. And, because the state must balance its budget, finances prevailed. The state parole board will increase from three to seven members with the goal of putting from 5,000 to 6,000 inmates back on the streets during the next year. The prisons don't have the facilities to hold them. The state doesn't have enough money to send them to prisons in other states - which was a bad idea anyway because if they violate Alabama law then Alabama should be responsible for their incarceration and rehabilitation. Those paroled will be non-violent offenders - many, probably, imprisoned under Alabama's draconian anti-drug laws that don't stop the proliferation of drugs but do put a burden on taxpayers to house, feed and guard. Many will be prisoners who are eligible for parole anyway but are slowly working their way through the system. The new parole board members will speed the process. (And many of those released will find it easier to regain their voting rights under a bill that Riley and a majority of the Legislature agreed upon.) Alabama's legislators haven't relished the predicament they've been put in. Most of them have been gung-ho anti-crime, with the emphasis on incarceration over alternative sentences. But those same legislators know Alabama voters are in no mood for raising taxes, even though they support long sentences for criminals. That double bind has caught up with the Legislature as it tries to beat an end-of-the-month deadline for passing a budget. So the more economical route of setting free nonviolent offenders was chosen. Not that it's going to be as simple as that. Unless the state helps prisoners with drug treatment, housing and jobs, expect to see many of them play revolving door with the system. They'll be back in cells quickly, and others will be set free. The Legislature did allocate more officers and more anti-drug centers, but will they be enough to keep former inmates from making crime a career? The situation makes it clear that a priority of the next regular session is more intensive work on sentencing changes recommended by Attorney General Bill Pryor and a special commission, as well as more alternative forms of punishment for law-breakers. Otherwise, Alabama is going to find itself back in the same situation - too many prisoners, not enough money - sooner rather than later. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth