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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin