Pubdate: Mon, 14 Jul 2003
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC)
Copyright: 2003 The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Contact:  http://www.goupstate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/977
Author: Freda Robinson

MANDATORY SENTENCES

What can be done to help this state with the budget? My suggestion is to 
take some of these inmates in our prison system out of prison and have them 
under a home monitoring system. Let there be a fee that these people should 
pay on a weekly basis.

A lot of people in our prison system are first-time drug offenders who have 
been sentenced to long, fixed prison terms without even a chance of 
rectifying their mistake.

These laws are costing our state millions of dollars.

These people could be out here working and paying taxes instead of the 
state locking them up for 15-25 years and costing the taxpayers more money 
each year.

In my opinion, these first-time offenders should not have to do 85 percent 
of these long sentences. Many of these offenders work while incarcerated 
and do not get credit toward time served for this.

By giving them credit, it would give these inmates more ambition to try 
harder instead of discouraging them.

This war on drugs is not working, and these mandatory laws for drug 
offenders are not working. The jails are getting fuller every day, with 
some of the prisoners having to sleep three prisoners to a two-prisoner cell.

Give these particular offenders another chance, and if they are repeat 
offenders, put them back for the remainder of their mandatory sentences. 
Come on, South Carolina, wake up!

Freda Robinson

Chesnee 
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