Pubdate: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 Source: Hattiesburg American (MS) Copyright: 2003 Hattiesburg American Contact: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1646 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) STATE'S INCARCERATION RATE NEAR THE TOP JACKSON - Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps believes it's time to look at alternatives to lengthy prison sentences with Mississippi having the second-highest incarceration rate in the nation. Mississippi imprisoned 743 inmates per 100,000 population in 2002, according to the latest Bureau of Justice statistics. Only Louisiana had a higher rate at 794 per 100,000. Epps believes the state's truth-in-sentencing law is one of the reasons for Mississippi's rate. The law currently requires that inmates convicted of major crimes serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before they are paroled. Lawmakers approved the law in 1994 after the federal government offered money to states that would implement such rules for inmates convicted of murder, manslaughter, rape and other crimes. The rules were relaxed in 2001 for first-time, nonviolent offenders. Federal statistics show Mississippi had 12,251 prisoners under federal or state jurisdiction in 1995 compared with 21,397 in 2002. There are currently 20,481 inmates in state prisons, according to MDOC's Web site. In addition, there are about 24,000 prisoners under supervision in community corrections programs, Epps said . Gov.-elect Haley Barbour said he would oppose any attempts to weaken the truth-in-sentencing law. Barbour said "some suggest releasing prisoners or not sending criminals to jail at all. These are the wrong answers to the question of how to fix the problems in the corrections department. "I propose that we manage the prison system better by utilizing private and regional jails. They have proven they can save taxpayers' money." Epps, citing figures from the Performance Evaluation Expenditure Review Commit-tee, said it cost $37.88 a day to house an inmate for fiscal year 2002. He said the total cost to supervise someone on parole or probation is $1.72 a day. He agreed that housing prisoners at private facilities is cheaper than in state prisons. For instance, it costs $28.50 per inmate per day at the Corrections Corporation of America facility in Tutwiler. However, Epps said the difference is that the CCA facility doesn't offer vocational and educational programs and it doesn't handle sick inmates. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin