Monday, February 16, 2009
COLUMBUS — The state is strapped for money, so the powers that be are pushing to release some crooks from the pokey. Which ones would you cut loose? Burglars? Robbers? Drug- pushers? Certainly not the murderers and rapists and violent offenders.
That’s the dilemma facing the 128th General Assembly, which last week started deliberations on Gov. Ted Strickland’s operating budget proposal for the next two fiscal years.
Granted, the top Democrat in Ohioland included a few too many federal stimulus dollars in his calculations, and he’ll have to cut some things in order to implement the far-reaching education and school-funding reform he envisions.
In his State of the State speech, Strickland issued notice that prison sentencing reforms would have to be instituted in order to prevent further cuts to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Terry Collins, director of the that department, reiterated the need for reform to lawmakers last week, noting that prison population was projected to jump to more than 60,000 over the next decade from the current inmate count of 50,719. It would cost upward of $1 billion, just to build the beds for those new prisoners.
That’s not to mention the medical costs that come with a “graying” prison population.
“I have one inmate at the Ohio State Medical Center that has cost the department over $1.5 million,” Collins said. “And at least nine others ... are not too far behind in their healthcare costs.”
Collins and the Strickland administration are asking lawmakers to change sentencing guidelines for lower level and nonviolent offenders, sending those folks to community-based and other corrections programs and keeping them out of prison cells.
“I also want to be perfectly clear and understood that I’m all for putting assaultive, predatory violent offenders in prison,” Collins said. “In fact, some of these inmates may never get out of prison, but we have to separate the ‘bad’ from those we are just ‘mad’ at.”
Here’s how Collins recommends changing the system:
UAllowing judges to sentence individuals who fail to pay child support to diversion programs instead of prison time.
UIncreasing the the amount of “earned credit” prisoners can earn for participating in education, vocational, employment, substance abuse and other rehabilitation programs.
UPunishing some prisoners who violate parole with electronic monitoring and other penalties outside of additional prison terms.
URaising the threshold for thefts to be considered felony offenses to $750 from $500.
Collins estimated that the above-mentioned reforms would result in a savings of 6,736 prison beds.
“...(W)e cannot continue to believe the only option is to punish people by sending them to prison,” Collins said.
“Incarcerating everyone is not the answer. There are options that can be successful. We have to be willing to try.”
X Marc Kovac covers the Statehouse for The Vindicator. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.