|
|
| 25 states embrace 'Smart On Crime' policies |
| By U.S. Newswire |
| Published: 11/17/2003 |
|
As states grapple with their third straight year of fiscal misery and struggle with a cumulative $200 billion in revenue shortfalls, policymakers in 25 states have implemented smarter, less costly sentencing and correctional reforms, according to a new report commissioned by Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and authored by Judith A. Greene. Greene identified a fast-growing national trend of state-level criminal justice reforms: "From Alabama to Wisconsin, public officials in 25 states have made major improvements in their sentencing and correctional policies. Four more states have similar reform proposals under consideration. Seventeen states, including Michigan, Louisiana, Washington, Texas, Kansas and Mississippi have rolled back mandatory minimum sentences or restructured other harsh penalties enacted in preceding years to 'get tough' on low-level or non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses." Sentencing experts, policy makers, corrections officials, former prisoners and advocates from around the country will discuss the growing sentencing and corrections reform movement, and many of the reforms detailed in the report at the opening plenary session of the first-ever State Strategies for Criminal Justice Reform conference in Baltimore, Md. In 2002, Michigan legislators repealed almost all of the state's mandatory minimum drug statutes - long cited as among the toughest in the nation -- replacing them with drug sentencing guidelines that give discretion back to Michigan judges. These sweeping reforms were crafted by an unusual alliance of prosecutors, reform advocates, drug court judges and civil rights groups, and accomplished with broad bipartisan support that crossed traditional political alignments. Michigan will save an estimated $41 million this year alone because of the reforms. Sixteen states, including Texas, Washington, Colorado and Kentucky have eased prison population pressures by shortening time served in prison, increasing the release rate and sanctioning probation or parole violators without returning them to prison. Texas policymakers introduced parole reforms in 2000 that resulted in a dramatic decrease in their state's prison population -- 7,698 from September 2000 to December 2001. Ohio's policymakers used structured sentencing reforms at both the front-end and the back-end of the correctional system to stabilize the prison population and to reduce the numbers of prisoners by 4,000. In January 2002, corrections director Reginald Wilkinson shut down the Orient Correctional Institution, wringing as much as $40 million out of the annual corrections budget. This year he has moved to close a second prison. Since the state budget crisis, Governors in many states-California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Virginia-have closed entire prisons to save correctional costs. Smart On Crime: Positive Trends in State-Level Sentencing and Corrections Policy was authored by Judith Greene of Justice Strategies and commissioned by Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). The report was funded by a grant from the Butler Foundation and Greenville Foundation. Contact Monica Pratt for a copy of the executive summary and report. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think