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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "Prosecutors group assails proposal to cut prison sentences"
Updating a long list of entries on the Governor's proposal to reform Indiana's sentencing laws, including this one from Jan. 17th, Heather Gillers reports today in a long front-page story in the Indianapolis Star:
A group of county prosecutors has denounced a legislative proposal backed by Gov. Mitch Daniels to shorten sentences for many drug crimes.The prosecutors' position signals what could be a provocative debate in the Statehouse over whether the proposal is a responsible way to curtail prison costs or a soft-on-crime measure that might endanger the public.
The sentence reductions are part of a larger criminal justice overhaul backed by Daniels, Chief Justice Randall Shepard and two national think tanks. But one senator involved fears the debate over cutting sentences -- and the almost-certain accusations of being soft on crime -- could torpedo the entire reform package. * * *
The prosecutors board's vote has no formal impact on the proposed legislation. Still, over the past several weeks, [criminal code] commission members have been trying to hash out a compromise with prosecutors. The sentence reductions are especially important because they create the savings that would pay for other reforms in the proposal. * * *
Legislators "don't want to be put in a position where they're not considered 'law and order,' " said Sen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton, another commission member. "But I think you can be 'law and order' and also be thoughtful, so that as we do these things, what we do makes sense."
Bray, a former prosecutor, said he was skeptical of the reforms before he saw the data. The Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Governments Justice Center found that Indiana's prison population has grown at triple the rate of neighboring states over the past eight years -- despite a drop in the crime rate. The two think tanks found that if the prison growth continues, it will cost the state an additional $1.2 billion over the next seven years.
The proposed reform package drafted by the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission would require offenders convicted of most felonies to spend the final six months to three years of their sentences outside prison in community monitoring programs.
The state would work to transform its disjointed network of monitoring programs -- in hopes of doing a better job of rehabilitating those prisoners after their early release -- by giving additional funds to those programs that keep people out of prison.
The state also would reduce sentences for many drug crimes, downgrading possession of small amounts of cocaine or methamphetamine to a D felony from a C, and downgrading small-scale dealing of those drugs to a C felony from a B. (A D felony can result in a sentence of six months to three years, a C felony of two to eight years and a B felony of six to 20 years.) * * *
Lawmakers on the commission said conceding to prosecutors' demands could cause the whole plan to fall apart, because the proposal envisions using the money saved by reducing prison terms to strengthen community monitoring. Changes would include expanding drug abuse treatment services and concentrating more resources on monitoring higher-risk offenders.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 19, 2011 01:29 PM
Posted to Indiana Government