Pubdate: Tue, 03 May 2005
Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.journalnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/504
Author: David Ingram
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

BILL WOULD SHORTEN PRISON SENTENCES FOR FELONIES

It Saves Money At Expense Of Criminal-Justice System, Opponent Says

RALEIGH - Prison sentences for most felonies committed on or after Dec. 1
this year could be quite a bit shorter than the sentences are now, under a
bill making its way through the General Assembly.

The bill would shorten the minimum sentence for most repeat offenders
by several months and in some cases by two years. As a result, maximum
sentences would be shorter, too.

The proposed changes wouldn't apply to first-degree murder or to
lower-level felonies, but they would apply to the large group of
crimes in between. Those include crimes from child abuse inflicting
serious injury to first-degree rape.

A handful of crimes, such as second-degree murder committed by someone
with a long record, would require longer minimum prison terms.

Rep. Phil Haire, D-Jackson, the primary sponsor of the bill, said that
the new sentences would be more consistent with each offender's record.

"By being consistent in the sentences, it helps us project our prison
population so that we can plan for the future," Haire said.

Opponents are arguing that the new sentences wouldn't be long
enough.

"What we're doing is reducing the sentences on the most serious
crimes," said Rep. Joe Kiser, R-Lincoln, who is the Republican leader
in the House.

The bill is scheduled for a vote on the House floor Monday.

It and several related bills grew out of recommendations from the N.C.
Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission designed, in part, to
alleviate a shortage of space in the state prison system.

The state's prison population has grown steadily in recent years, from
22,848 in June 1994, to 31,914 in June 1999, to 35,205 in June 2004.
Department officials expect it to grow to 45,312 by 2014.

Officials say that there are several reasons for the increase,
including the elimination of parole in 1994; the state's overall
population growth; an increase in the percentage of felons being
sentenced to active prison time; and new laws that lengthened
sentences for certain crimes, such as making methamphetamine.

In response, state officials approved six new prisons, each with 1,000
beds; three of those are now open. By 2008, the prisons are expected
to increase capacity to between 34,188 and 38,807, depending on how
tightly the state packs the inmates.

But that still won't meet population growth, and legislators are
looking at several options.

They might decide to build more prisons, parole more inmates sentenced
before 1994, cut the lengths of new sentences or some combination of
the three.

Legislative researchers have not yet analyzed Haire's bill to see its
possible effect on the prison population, though it would almost
certainly reduce the population.

"It would save money, and if that's what we're doing, it's a shame,"
Kiser said. "It's just as important to build prisons as it is to build
schools to meet the needs of the growing population."

Haire acknowledged that many criminals would get shorter sentences,
but he denied that money is a concern.

"We're not going soft on crime or anything like that," he
said.

The N.C. Conference of District Attorneys is opposing the bill. Peg
Dorer, the director of the conference, said that the state should find
other ways to solve the prison crunch.

"This an effort to free up prison beds, to reduce the costs for
corrections," Dorer said.

"I appreciate that they're tying to find ways to cut funds, but not at
the expense of the criminal-justice system," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin