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| Harper rips budget idea on prisons |
| By Howard Fischer |
| Published: 04/21/2009 |
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Sen. Jack Harper is blasting a proposal to put some prison inmates into a home arrest program - a plan that actually was floated by his own party leaders. The Surprise Republican said many of the people who would be eligible for this early release were originally charged with serious offenses. He said the fact they were convicted of or pleaded guilty to some lesser crime as part of a plea deal does not make them suitable for home arrest. "They jeopardize women and children," Harper said. The fight stems from a request by legislative budget staffers to the Department of Corrections to figure out how much money the state could save if it allowed some people to serve the last year of their sentence on home arrest instead of behind bars. That request was based on direction from the Republicans who chair the House and Senate Appropriations committees. Based on the criteria presented, the savings were pegged at $22 million. Harper subsequently got the Department of Corrections to provide him a list of who would be eligible. That list included not just the charge for which each was doing time, but the list of the original crimes for which each was arrested. Of 300 he reviewed, Harper found 50 who he said should not be released, even to a home arrest program, one day before serving their full sentence. The list is heavily populated with those charged with dealing or trafficking in drugs, many with more than 100 pounds of marijuana. There also were several whose prior charges or records included multiple drunken driving convictions, domestic violence, theft and child abuse. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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