Pubdate: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) TOO MANY INMATES State Must Assess High Incarceration Rate As the principal drafter of the state's penal code and its rules of evidence, Robert Lawson wrote the book on criminal justice in Kentucky. Now, the longtime University of Kentucky law professor has written a report that suggests we are throwing the book at too many convicted criminals, locking them up at unnecessarily high rates and for unnecessarily long sentences, thereby driving the state's incarceration costs to unsustainable levels. Although prosecutors say the increased number of people being held in the state's prisons and jails translate to increased public safety on the outside, the numbers Lawson cites in his report make a compelling argument that the "lock them up and throw away the key" mentality has gone a bit overboard in Kentucky. Lawson points out that the number of inmates in Kentucky grew from 2,838 in 1970 to 17,330 last year and that the cost of housing those prisoners rose from $7 million in 1970 to more than $300 million last year. That's a population increase of more than 600 percent and a cost increase of more than 4,200 percent. And absent some changes in the laws or policies, the growth will continue. State Corrections Commissioner John Rees says the number of prisoners is growing at a rate of 1 percent a month this year. It's predicted that the number of prisoners in 2010 will be 4,350 more than today. To keep up with such growth, the state would have to build a new prison every two years. But the only way for a revenue-strapped state to do that is by cutting deeply into spending on other services. Of course, no one wants hard-core or violent criminals loosed on our streets. Lawson isn't suggesting that, and neither are we. But Lawson makes a good case that excessive sentences for minor crimes and drug offenses are responsible for Kentucky's burgeoning prison population. In particular, he notes that changes to the law over the years have made Kentucky's persistent felon statute "brutally harsh" and one of the few in the nation that applies to non-violent offenses. Lawson is not alone in suggesting that that we should not be sending people to prison for long lengths of time for minor drug offenses. Virtually from day one, Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration has said that Kentucky can't incarcerate its way out its drug problem and has touted treatment as a cheaper and more effective approach. Lawson's report buttresses that argument. We would hope that Lawson's findings would prompt both the administration and the General Assembly to take a critical look at the criminal justice system, with an eye toward ensuring that our punishments truly fit the crimes. After all, when the guy who wrote the book tells us we're getting it wrong, the least we can do is take the time to find out if he's right. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek