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| Iowa grants paroles in record numbers |
| By Demoines Register |
| Published: 09/19/2003 |
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The Iowa Board of Parole is freeing a record number of convicts, using a philosophy of keeping violent offenders behind bars while granting early releases to lower-risk inmates. The approach appears to be easing Iowa's chronic prison crowding without endangering public safety. Statistics indicate that criminal offenses by parolees have not increased, and violent crimes by those released are rare. Still, crime victims worry about allowing additional inmates out of prison early. On the other hand, supporters of sentencing reform say it bolsters their arguments that prisons should be reserved for the most dangerous offenders. The state board granted paroles to 3,782 inmates during the budget year that ended June 30, up 4.4 percent from the year before. Over the past two years, the number of paroles has increased by 26 percent. Crime victims as a group will fear the change, even if most prisoners being freed are classified as low-risk, said Jo Mulvihill of Polk County Victim Services. She said some victims believe that any type of crime, whether it involves prostitution, burglary or drugs, could have a link to homicide or sexual abuse. The Rev. Carlos Jayne of Des Moines, a lobbyist for the Justice Reform Consortium, a coalition that supports revisions in Iowa's criminal sentencing laws and alternatives to prison, said he strongly supports releasing additional low-risk inmates. 'We should have prisons for the most dangerous and those who have committed the worst crimes,' Jayne said. 'What the parole board is doing has probably saved us from having to build another new prison that much more quickly, although we might still end up having to do that.' Paul Stageberg, a researcher for the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, said it appears the parole board's new approach is succeeding. |
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