There are a few telling signs about the wisdom of Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to save the state some money by giving early release to some low-risk prison inmates.
First, the state's correctional officers union supports the measure. Corrections officers obviously see firsthand what is going on in our state prisons.
Also, when the state's Department of Corrections Secretary Rick Raemisch visited earlier this month with local law enforcement officials, the governor's plan didn't exactly receive the sort of cool reception you might expect.
A provision in Doyle's 2009-11 budget would make eligible for early release felons convicted of nonviolent crimes who have displayed good behavior while in prison. When Raemisch visited Monroe on March 13, he estimated that about 6,000 of the state's 23,000 prisoners would eligible for review. Of those, he expected that about 1,000 could be released early.
Doyle's argument for the early releases is to ease the state's spending on prisoners, ease prison overcrowding, and encourage rehabilitation of felons. All are legitimate arguments to make.
The problem with the early-release provision being included in the budget is that there is no dollar amount in projected savings. Raemisch told the Times that if about 1,000 prisoners are released early, it could save the state $27 million in the first two years.
That's a significant savings, and the merits of the governor's goals regarding early release warrant further discussion of the idea.
But it shouldn't be part of the budget, because there is no way to know how many prisoners actually would be released early. And case-by-case decisions should not have any possibility of being impacted by budgetary goals.
There's also the matter of how early releases conflict with the state's Truth in Sentencing law, which says a prisoner must serve the actual sentence imposed by the judge. The early release proposal is a policy discussion, not a budgetary one, and it should be treated as such.
First, the state's correctional officers union supports the measure. Corrections officers obviously see firsthand what is going on in our state prisons.
Also, when the state's Department of Corrections Secretary Rick Raemisch visited earlier this month with local law enforcement officials, the governor's plan didn't exactly receive the sort of cool reception you might expect.
A provision in Doyle's 2009-11 budget would make eligible for early release felons convicted of nonviolent crimes who have displayed good behavior while in prison. When Raemisch visited Monroe on March 13, he estimated that about 6,000 of the state's 23,000 prisoners would eligible for review. Of those, he expected that about 1,000 could be released early.
Doyle's argument for the early releases is to ease the state's spending on prisoners, ease prison overcrowding, and encourage rehabilitation of felons. All are legitimate arguments to make.
The problem with the early-release provision being included in the budget is that there is no dollar amount in projected savings. Raemisch told the Times that if about 1,000 prisoners are released early, it could save the state $27 million in the first two years.
That's a significant savings, and the merits of the governor's goals regarding early release warrant further discussion of the idea.
But it shouldn't be part of the budget, because there is no way to know how many prisoners actually would be released early. And case-by-case decisions should not have any possibility of being impacted by budgetary goals.
There's also the matter of how early releases conflict with the state's Truth in Sentencing law, which says a prisoner must serve the actual sentence imposed by the judge. The early release proposal is a policy discussion, not a budgetary one, and it should be treated as such.
