Pubdate: Tue, 23 Oct 2007
Source: Moultrie Observer, The (GA)
Copyright: 2007 The Moultrie Observer
Contact: http://www.moultrieobserver.com/extras/letters.shtml
Website: http://www.moultrieobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1728
Author: Lori Glenn
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH EPIDEMIC SWELLS GA. PRISONS

MOULTRIE -- Georgia's prisons are at about 105 percent,  thanks in large 
part to a methamphetamine epidemic,  said Georgia Department of Corrections 
(DOC)  Commissioner James Donald.

Last year, 21,000 inmates were sentenced into the  system but only 18,000 
were rotated out. The remainder  is growth in an already maxed-out system.

"We're the fastest growing large prison population in  the nation. ... We 
know exactly where our population is  coming from," he said, listing off 
several Albany ZIP  codes.

The crack epidemic in the early 1990s coincided with  tougher sentencing 
structures. For Georgia, a second  epidemic -- methamphetamine -- is under way.

"We've taken in 250 to 300 meth-related criminals each  month, almost 3,000 
a year," Donald said. "Ninety-seven  percent of them are white by the way. 
.. That's really  crowding us in our jails."

Eighty percent of felons were either using, selling or  in a drug-induced 
stupor when they committed their  crime, he said. In addition, 75 percent 
of incarcerated  offenders have no high school education or 
general  equivalency degree, he said.

Quoting Gov. Sonny Perdue, Donald called Georgia the  "corner drug store." 
Of the 4,000 Mexicans in Georgia's  prisons, half are incarcerated for 
selling illicit  drugs.

"It's inherent with the challenge we have with our  borders. The GBI 
(Georgia Bureau of Investigation) has  done an elite study and believes 
that they have  suppressed 75 percent of the meth labs in the state,  but 
now the stuff is coming up the road on the  interstate," he said.

The average age of Georgia state prisoners is 34.  Sixty-five percent of 
prisoners will become  incarcerated again for another crime, he said.

"They really want to do right," Donald said, but they  need meaningful 
employment and a suitable place to live  to better their chances of 
resisting breaking the law.

As he toured the Colquitt County Correctional  Institution Tuesday, Donald 
spoke with inmates,  appealing to their reason.

"I don't understand the attraction of living in a cell  like this with a 
whole bunch of other men. Is this  something you want to do for the rest of 
your life?" he  posed.

"Sir, no sir," the inmates responded in unison.

"This is an opportunity to think about why you're in  here. You're young. 
You should be out there with the  rest of your life and working with your 
family," he  said.

The largest problem apparent to Donald is lack of work  ethic in today's 
society. That's why he likes county  prisons, which for the most part put 
their inmates to  work. Inmates with work skills have a better chance 
on  the outside not to re-enter the system, he said.

CCCI Warden Billy Howell noticed that the inmate population is getting 
younger and younger and that the younger generations have relatively little 
respect for others. Donald agreed.

"We've not done a good job of equipping our kids like we were equipped. As 
a result of that, these guys are back there for pushing drugs, and they've 
never held a job," he said.

The DOC has hired 18 new full-time chaplains, and Donald is reaching out 
for partnerships with faith-based organizations. In addition, Donald is 
advocating Georgia on the Move, an offender re-entry partnership program 
among citizens and state and local governments supporting a safe Georgia.
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