Pubdate: Fri, 14 May 2004 Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS) Copyright: 2004 The Clarion-Ledger Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805 'TRUTH IN SENTENCING' NEEDS REVIEW House Corrections Chairman Bennett Malone, D-Carthage, and Senate Corrections Chairman Robert "Bunky" Huggins, R-Greenwood, say they will review some of the state's sentencing laws this summer - and one they will scrutinize is the so-called "Truth in Sentencing" law. The state "without increasing taxes, can no longer afford to incarcerate nonviolent offenders for the amount of time they are receiving," Malone told The Associated Press. Bravo! A lawmaker has finally come forward to admit that it's not "soft on crime" to be smart with punishment. The 1995 law requires prisoners to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole. The federal rule upon which it was modeled applied only to serious offenses, but Mississippi applied it to all crimes. As a result, the inmate population swelled from 12,474 in 1995 to more than 20,000 this year. And costs are skyrocketing. Up to half of those incarcerated could be better dealt with through alternate sentencing, including drug courts, which can divert people from becoming career criminals. Malone and Huggins should be encouraged to ensure that punishment is swift, sure, and cost efficient! - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart