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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Ind. Law - More on "Why do drug charges carry bigger sentences than killing? For the answer, ask your legislator"

"Trend to Lighten Harsh Sentences Catches On in Conservative States" reports Charlie Savage in the August 12th NY Times. This will update the ILB's most recent entry on the topic, from August 11th. But it is one of many -- to find them just type "sentencing" in the search box.

Today's NYT story begins:

WASHINGTON — Fanned by the financial crisis, a wave of sentencing and parole reforms is gaining force as it sweeps across the United States, reversing a trend of “tough on crime” policies that lasted for decades and drove the nation’s incarceration rate to the highest — and most costly — level in the developed world.

While liberals have long complained that harsh mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses like drug possession are unjust, the push to overhaul penal policies has been increasingly embraced by elected officials in some of the most conservative states in the country. And for a different reason: to save money.

Some early results have been dramatic. In 2007, Texas was facing a projected shortfall of about 17,000 inmate beds by 2012. But instead of building and operating new prison space, the State Legislature decided to steer nonviolent offenders into drug treatment and to expand re-entry programs designed to help recently released inmates avoid returning to custody.

As a result, the Texas prison system is now operating so far under its capacity that this month it is closing a 1,100-bed facility in Sugar Land — the first time in the state’s history that a prison has closed. Texas taxpayers have saved hundreds of millions of dollars, and the changes have coincided with the violent crime rate’s dipping to its lowest level in 30 years.

ILB: Meanwhile, Indiana remains immune to these reform efforts.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 13, 2011 09:34 AM
Posted to Indiana Law