|
|
| Officials to Study S.C. Prison Deficit |
| By Greenville News |
| Published: 02/10/2003 |
|
Gov. Mark Sanford said recently he opposes releasing prisoners early to reduce the prison system's projected $23 million deficit but will consider all options presented by budget and prison officials in coming weeks. The State Budget and Control Board, which Sanford chairs, ordered state budget officials January 28 to look for means to reduce the prison system's deficit and to see if other agencies are facing the same dilemma. The prison system, which includes 29 prisons and more than 23,000 inmates, started the year with an almost $6 million deficit that has grown with budget cuts and a swelling prison population. Former Corrections Director Gary Maynard, in a report to budget officials, listed options ranging from the early release of prisoners to the closing of prisons and refusing to take inmates with sentences of less than a year. New Director Jon Ozmint said that he expects the agency to run some kind of deficit because any action taken in coming weeks will not be enough to save millions of dollars before the end of the state budget year in July. 'There are a lot of options,' he said. 'None of them are great.' Officials said options include furloughing non-violent inmates, which could be done on Sanford's order; invoking the Emergency Powers Release Act to release inmates early, which would need legislative passage; or increasing paroles and sending inmates to home detention. All of the inmates released would have to be non-violent. Sanford said he has long supported truth-in-sentencing legislation, which requires inmates to serve the time they are sentenced to. He said while he will consider any option to cut the prison system's deficit, supporting the release of inmates 'would be difficult.' He said he wants to see what shape other agencies are in before deciding in case other agencies also are facing shortfalls and are 'ticking time bombs.' Ozmint told the board that one problem he faces in managing the prisons is that he cannot order employees to move to a different prison because of a state law that prohibits superiors from involuntarily transferring state employees more than 30 miles. Ozmint said the law kept officials from moving registered nurses to vacancies in prison infirmaries, which eventually had to close because of nursing shortages. 'That's the insanity of that process,' Ozmint said. Ozmint said the state currently has a staff-to-inmate ratio of eight inmates for every one staff person, a personnel ratio higher than any other state except Alabama, which he said does not have the same rehabilitation mission as South Carolina. Officials also are considering new revenue means, including using money in the agency's accounts for prison industries, concessions and farms; converting bond money approved for construction to operating funds; further increasing charges to local governments for litter pick-up crews; and using funds from the sale of a juvenile facility. The sale is expected to generate $500,000. Givens and State Park Correction Institution near Columbia, both minimum-security prisons, were closed two years ago to save money. Officials also want to reduce staff by placing cameras around prison boundaries and further reduce medical expenses, records show. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Do you know someone who has been arrested in Waco or McLennan County? It’s important to find a good Waco lawyer to represent you in the matter involving your own liberty. Look for the best Waco attorney that you can find. Whether you have been accused rightly or wrongly, it’s important to know your legal rights that concern whether you go to jail.
I've got not long ago started off some sort of blog site, the internet people produce here possesses served everyone enormously. Appreciate it intended for all of your current time period & do the job. Accountants East Grinstead