One Louisiana lawmaker is hoping to put state inmates to work in an effort to clean up areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and save the state some money. Sen. C.D. Jones, D-Monroe, is sponsoring a bill that would put non-violent offenders to work on cleaning up the hurricane devastated areas. The proposed bill is getting mixed reactions, but Jones said not all criminals would be eligible for the work.
"Those sex offenders would not be eligible for this program," he said. "Those persons who are considered violent offenders would not be eligible for this program."
Jones said the Department of Public Safety and Corrections would screen the inmates and only non-violent offenders in the last year of their sentence would be eligible. The inmates would work side-by-side with private companies and non-profit agencies already on the job.
Jones said inmates would earn up to minimum wage while on the job, but even with those payments his bill would save the state and its taxpayers a great deal of money in the long run.
A similar plan in Mississippi saved the state $15 million once it started the program.