Pubdate: Sun, 22 Dec 2002
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Janet L. Cox
Note: Cox is a lawyer in Oklahoma City.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

POINT OF VIEW: PRISON ALTERNATIVES NEED EXPLORING

REGARDING "Inmates' early release hurts safety," by Rep. Fred Morgan 
("Point of View," Dec. 15): Punishment for criminals has never been an 
exact science. Prior to the passage of the 85 percent law by the state 
Legislature for certain violent crimes, the law required that any 
defendant, having two or more prior convictions, was required to serve a 
sentence of not less than 20 years; after one prior conviction, he was 
required to serve not less than 10 years. Only the district attorney has 
the power to waive this provision of the law and is the leverage of the 
"plea bargaining" system that results in more than 90 percent of pleas by 
defendants.

Many people are serving 20-plus years in the state's correctional system 
for nonviolent crimes. An example is one of my clients, serving 30 years 
for concealing a cell phone from his girlfriend after having previously 
been convicted of two minor drug charges. Without the two prior felony 
convictions, the range of punishment was zero to five years. In his case, 
the district attorney's office refused to waive the "three strikes and your 
out law" of two prior felonies and the jury set punishment at 30 years.

In Oklahoma, jurors are required to determine punishment. One question 
during deliberation has always been "when will the defendant be eligible 
for parole?" The court always instructs the jury "that parole is a function 
of the executive branch and not for their consideration." The result of 
lengthy prison terms for the offender is predictable because of the 
uncertainty of the defendant's eligibility for parole.

The Legislature needs to recognize that continuing to incarcerate repeat, 
nonviolent offenders for prison terms that should be reserved for only the 
violent offender is the primary cause of the ballooning prison population 
in Oklahoma, costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

Recent programs such as community sentencing and drug courts, funded with 
state and federal dollars, have proved successful and effective, at 15 
percent the cost of incarceration. The benefits of probation, 
rehabilitation and supervision are common sense answers to the archaic 
"warehouse" approach to punishment for nonviolent offenders. This 
philosophy only serves to refuel the gas tank for such offenders to commit 
more crimes upon their release, because the underlying problems of poverty, 
lack of education or drug abuse contributes to a continuing lifestyle of 
criminal conduct.

No one is advocating that accountability for individuals who continue to 
violate the law be abrogated. It is simply time to silence the "town crier" 
about thousands of criminals being unleashed on the public and creating an 
atmosphere of danger and panic, when the Legislature has failed to fix an 
inequitable system of punishment and fund alternative programs that will 
benefit the nonviolent offender and protect the public.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager