Pubdate: Fri, 21 Nov 2003
Source: McAlester News-Capital & Democrat (OK)
Copyright: McAlester News-Capital & Democrat 2003
Contact: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=139068&BRD=1126
Website: http://www.mcalesternews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1892
Author: James Beaty
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

GUV AGREES: DOC OFFICERS GET TOO LITTLE FOR TOO MUCH

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry agrees with correctional officers when they say
they are being asked to do too much, working without enough officers to
watch the state's worst offenders .

"They're exactly right," Henry said. "We place far too many demands on
our correctional officers and we don't pay them enough."

Henry made the comments in an interview with the News-Capital &
Democrat concerning the Department of Corrections, which faced a
budget crunch so severe earlier this year that employees were
furloughed without pay for two days.

Henry doesn't have a ready solution.

"I hope we can see revenues continue to grow and we can do something
for all our state employees," Henry said.

Henry knows Oklahoma locks up a lot of inmates. The state ranks first
per capita in the number of females it places behind bars. Oklahoma
ranks third in the amount of men incarcerated.

"We do need to be tough on crime, but we also need to be smart on
crime," Henry said.

Oklahoma currently has 22,818 inmates, with 1,949 correctional
officers to watch them. The correctional officers are spread over
three shifts - but the inmates are there 24 hours a day.

The governor believes it may be time to examine the state's sentencing
guidelines, which call for specific prison terms for many crimes and
requires that inmates serve up to 85 percent of their sentences - even
if there may be mitigating circumstances in some cases.

"It's probably time to rethink our mandatory minimum laws," Henry
said. "We're working very closely with the Oklahoma District
Attorney's Council on this."

More use of drug courts could also reduce the number of people in
prison. Drug courts often place drug offenders into rehabilitation or
treatment programs, as opposed to sentencing them to prison terms.

It costs money - but not as much as sending someone to prison.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin