FUCK THE POLICE
911 EVERY DAY
The get tough movement - treating aneurysms with morphine since the time of Draco.
Prisons: New law only adds sense to sentence
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/OPINION01/804090327/1008/OPINION
"I think the Legislature is finally seeing that we need to take a look at drug courts, parole ... to deal with the budget. And we can do it in a way that won't affect public safety."
The new law that would lessen prison time for nonviolent offenders shouldn't cause panic, but should reassure taxpayers by returning common sense to sentencing.
It's true that nearly 7,000 inmates could be eligible for parole under a bill Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law Monday. But that doesn't mean 7,000 inmates will be paroled.
Senate Bill 2136 relaxes the state's so-called 85-percent rule, passed in an ill-advised moment in 1994 when the Legislature took the federal government's "get tough on crime" challenge and raised it.
The so-called "Truth in Sentencing" law was the result of a nationwide push for tougher sentencing, and Mississippi lawmakers responded. This newspaper supported the law. Famous last words: It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Unfortunately, Mississippi overreacted and the law worked too well. Congress had told states to pass tougher laws to continue receiving federal funds for prisons.
While the federal mandate was for violent criminals, Mississippi made it for all offenders. Mississippi has been on a prison-building binge ever since, trying to keep up with the ever-increasing number of those incarcerated: mostly drug-related or nonviolent.
Lawmakers thought they had "solved" the crime problem. Thinking the Parole Board would no longer be needed, they actually proposed abolishing it in 2000 and transferring remaining duties to Corrections.
But the 85-percent rule had other consequences. In 1995 - the year it took effect - Mississippi housed about 12,400 inmates and a Corrections budget of about $119 million. There now are more than 22,000 inmates, with a $309 million budget.
SB 2136 took courage on the part of lawmakers to approve. It's easy to get "tough" on crime by saying let's lock 'em up and throw away the key.
But Epps has begged lawmakers for years to change the law so fewer people will be incarcerated. Including those behind bars, more than 50,000 people are in prison or on parole and under his supervision, and growing!
It's time to bring balance back, as Epps says, with alternative sentences and more nonviolent inmates on house arrest or eligible for parole, as SB 2136 allows.
It makes sense, and dollars and cents, to shift "tough" on crime to smart on crime.
Prisons: New law only adds sense to sentence
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/OPINION01/804090327/1008/OPINION
"I think the Legislature is finally seeing that we need to take a look at drug courts, parole ... to deal with the budget. And we can do it in a way that won't affect public safety."
The new law that would lessen prison time for nonviolent offenders shouldn't cause panic, but should reassure taxpayers by returning common sense to sentencing.
It's true that nearly 7,000 inmates could be eligible for parole under a bill Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law Monday. But that doesn't mean 7,000 inmates will be paroled.
Senate Bill 2136 relaxes the state's so-called 85-percent rule, passed in an ill-advised moment in 1994 when the Legislature took the federal government's "get tough on crime" challenge and raised it.
The so-called "Truth in Sentencing" law was the result of a nationwide push for tougher sentencing, and Mississippi lawmakers responded. This newspaper supported the law. Famous last words: It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Unfortunately, Mississippi overreacted and the law worked too well. Congress had told states to pass tougher laws to continue receiving federal funds for prisons.
While the federal mandate was for violent criminals, Mississippi made it for all offenders. Mississippi has been on a prison-building binge ever since, trying to keep up with the ever-increasing number of those incarcerated: mostly drug-related or nonviolent.
Lawmakers thought they had "solved" the crime problem. Thinking the Parole Board would no longer be needed, they actually proposed abolishing it in 2000 and transferring remaining duties to Corrections.
But the 85-percent rule had other consequences. In 1995 - the year it took effect - Mississippi housed about 12,400 inmates and a Corrections budget of about $119 million. There now are more than 22,000 inmates, with a $309 million budget.
SB 2136 took courage on the part of lawmakers to approve. It's easy to get "tough" on crime by saying let's lock 'em up and throw away the key.
But Epps has begged lawmakers for years to change the law so fewer people will be incarcerated. Including those behind bars, more than 50,000 people are in prison or on parole and under his supervision, and growing!
It's time to bring balance back, as Epps says, with alternative sentences and more nonviolent inmates on house arrest or eligible for parole, as SB 2136 allows.
It makes sense, and dollars and cents, to shift "tough" on crime to smart on crime.
