Pubdate: Tue, 08 May 2001
Source: American Press (LA)
Copyright: 2001 Shearman Corporation
Contact:  http://www.americanpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/926

RELAXING PRISON TERMS MAKES SENSE

Louisiana lawmakers have seen the light when it comes to the state's 
growing prison population.

The state Senate last week voted 29-5 for a bill that would relax some 
prison sentencing and, as a result, cut down the number of prisoners in 
correction facilities around the state.

The measure would end mandatory prison sentences for certain nonviolent 
criminals; reduce sentences for drug possession; establish a board to 
review cases of certain inmates to see if they are a good risk to be freed; 
and require all felony convictions to be for violent crimes before a 
criminal can get a life sentence as a multiple offender.

"It (the bill) should not be interpreted in any manner or form as being 
soft of crime," says state Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge. "We are still 
going to be putting violent offenders behind bars."

Politicians, prison officials and the public now agree that Louisiana's 
crime-and-punishment system isn't working.

State Sen. Don Cravins, D-Arnaudville, says the state has some of the 
toughest sentencing laws in the nation, but that it still ranks No. 1 
nationally in the number of people incarcerated per capita.

Cravins says the system has gone haywire and that alternatives to prison 
offer better options for some because they can be productive while helping 
their families and their communities.

"We have lost control of the prison population," said state Sen. Charles 
Jones, D-Monroe. "We are spending nearly $60 million on prisons.

"What will this bill do? It will keep our people safe while at the same 
time saving approximately $60 million a year."

Corrections Department Under-secretary Trey Boudreaux warns that the 
savings won't be immediate, but adds that $60 million in savings is a 
conservative estimate.

Under the proposed law, prison time would be eliminated for such crimes as 
simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, Medicaid fraud, prostitution, 
theft of a firearm and simple possession of a small quantity of drugs.

A prison sentence for such offenses would be left up to the discretion of a 
judge.

The measure also cuts in half mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for 
drug possession with intent to distribute. The sentence would increase with 
the amount and kind of drug involved.

According to Jones, of the 35,000 inmates in state prisons, 15,000 are 
there on drug-related charges.

Lawmakers and correction officials said the savings from the relaxed prison 
sentences could be plowed back into alternative-to-prison programs and 
preschool education programs. Repeated studies show that spending money on 
children as young as 3 and 4 years of age can have a major effect on 
reducing crime, the dropout rate and the welfare roles when these 
youngsters become young adults.

We applaud the state Senate for this major philosophical change and 
encourage House members to approve the bill.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager