Miss. prisons to free some criminals

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By The Biloxi Sun Herald

Published: 03/16/2001

A bill signed by the governor this week will allow nonviolent criminals to get back to their jobs and families, and will reserve prison beds for the most violent criminals, said corrections Commissioner Robert Johnson.
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove approved legislation that allows qualified first-time offenders convicted of nonviolent crimes to seek parole after serving a quarter of their sentences.
Musgrove said the bill 'provides relief to our escalating prison populations without decreasing any commitment to public safety.'
Only those convicted after Jan. 1, 2000, are eligible.
Early parole would not be available to anyone convicted of homicide, robbery, manslaughter, sex crimes, arson, burglary of an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault, kidnapping, abuse of vulnerable adults, sale of a controlled substance or felonies with enhanced penalties.
Under a 1995 law, Mississippi inmates must serve 85 percent of their sentences before seeking parole.
The legislation was inspired by public sentiment to get tough on crime and a federal program that awarded incentive grants to states that passed truth-in-sentencing laws for violent crimes.
Of all the states that passed such legislation, Mississippi was the only one 'that did a blanket application of the law' regardless of the offense, Johnson said.
As a result, from 1996 until now, Mississippi has experienced more than a 30 percent increase in its prison population, Johnson said, ranking the state third in the country in the rate of prison growth.
'That's almost directly attributable to the 85 percent law,' he said.
From June 30, 1994 - one year before legislators approved the 85 percent rule - until today, the number of state prisoners jumped from 10,699 to 17,950. In 1995, the Department of Corrections budget was just over $119 million. Last year it soared to nearly $263 million.
Johnson said he supports any law that improves public safety, but added that people convicted of shoplifting, writing bad checks or larceny can be monitored and assimilated back into the community, saving the state $15,000 a year.
He said the state added 1,500 to 1,600 prison beds during the past year, eliminating overcrowding for the first time in recent history.
But most are medium-custody beds for low-risk offenders, Johnson said, adding, 'We've got more hardened offenders than we've got room for.'
Jonathan Compretta, a spokesman for Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, said the truth-in-sentencing law has reduced crime and pumped federal dollars into the state.
However, scaling back to allow nonviolent offenders early parole would not jeopardize that funding, he said.
'I think we have to get smarter on crime and try some alternatives,' Compretta said.

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