Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 Source: Indianapolis Star (IN) Copyright: 2003 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.starnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210 Author: Fred Brooks OVERLOADED PRISONS, BUT NO MORE MONEY The Indiana Department of Correction is caught in a Catch-22. Every year, more and more people have to be housed by the DOC, yet this year, Indiana lawmakers say "No more money" and tell the DOC to lower its population. The DOC has no power to let any inmate out of prison early; only lawmakers have this power. The DOC has no choice but to continue to accept prisoners into its facilities. By doing so, it is violating federal laws that have put population limits on facilities throughout the state and opens itself to lawsuits by inmates housed in these facilities. Lawmakers have discussed letting nonviolent drug dealers loose. Elected officials are sending the message to drug dealers that selling is all right because it isn't violent. Only the people who buy the drugs are violent. Doesn't anyone see something wrong with this picture? We need to look at first-time offenders to lower the prison population. Many of them are given longer sentences than repeat offenders. For the past 20 years, many first-time offenders have not been sentenced fairly. Releasing them makes more sense than telling drug dealers that it is all right to deal drugs or telling the DOC to initiate policies outside its power. Fred Brooks Inmate Pendleton Correctional Facility - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens