|
|
| State must reduce its prison population |
| By journal-news.net |
| Published: 05/23/2011 |
|
Recommendations by a special commission that studied prison overcrowding in 2009 are being implemented - but are not solving the problem, West Virginia legislators were told this week. Last week, the state had 6,849 prisoners in its custody. Correctional facilities intended to hold long-term convicts have been overflowing for years, to the point that more than 1,700 prisoners are being held in regional jails like the Eastern Regional Jail here in Martinsburg. "I would say we're at a crisis," state Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein told lawmakers at an interim meeting. Most recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Prison Overcrowding, made in 2009, have been followed, Rubenstein said. Those suggestions included more use of alternative sentencing, "community corrections" programs and accelerated parole for nonviolent offenders. Yet, during the past five months, the total prison population has increased by about 200 inmates. This is not a new problem - but it is one that is growing worse. The bottom line is that West Virginia doesn't seem to have enough prison cells to accommodate all of our criminals. Building a prison would be prohibitively expensive, at an estimated cost of at least $120 million. What, then, are we to do? Simple mathematics comes into play: If we can't house more inmates, we are going to have to find ways to send fewer people to prison, or to free some of those already in cell blocks. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think