Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003
Source: Times Daily (Florence, AL)
Copyright: 2003 Times Daily
Contact:  http://www.timesdaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1641

GET OUT OF JAIL FREE

THE ISSUE

Alabama is speeding up the release of thousands of "nonviolent" offenders 
to save money and reduce the prison population.

WE SUGGEST

Releasing prisoners back into society would only cost more in the long run; 
the state needs to find other ways to reduce overcrowding. Alabama is 
caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to its prison population

On the one hand, the state is housing more than 28,000 prisoners in 
facilities built to hold less than half that number.

The federal government has been breathing down the state's neck to improve 
this situation or face federal-court intervention, and the state is in its 
worst financial bind in decades - which means new prisons aren't an option.

This situation is what prompted Gov. Bob Riley to recommend that the 
Legislature do what was once unthinkable: let prisoners go.

The governor, whose failed $1.2 billion tax package would have addressed 
the overcrowding problem, asked the Legislature to create a second Board of 
Pardons and Paroles to expedite the release of between 5,000 and 6,000 
non-violent and drug offenders.

Last week, that board started hearing between 40 and 50 cases a day. The 
second board is expected to streamline the process and eliminate the 
14-month backlog of cases waiting to be heard.

The Legislature also agreed to beef up the number of parole board employees 
from about 400 to about 500 to help manage the increased workload.

The problem with all of this is that when we, as a society, become more 
concerned with the amount of money it takes to house a prisoner than we are 
with that prisoner's readiness for public life, we open the door to some 
serious consequences.

The rate of recidivism is high, even in non-violent offenders, and it's 
likely that some of those who are released will end up in trouble again.

When this happens, the state has to pay for the legal process to start all 
over again.

Taxpayers won't be the only ones paying the bill if the rate of property 
crimes increases as people convicted in these cases in the past are released.

The governor and the Legislature need to go back to the drawing board on 
this issue in the spring and look for a better solution. While this effort 
may save money in the short run, it has the potential to cost us dearly 
down the road.

In the meantime, we urge both parole boards to use the extra resources to 
thoroughly screen all of those up for parole and to keep the standards for 
their release high.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake