PRISON INMATES BOOM IN 1990S

Census numbers show inmates increased by 200 percent during
decade

JACKSON - The population in Mississippi's correctional facilities
swelled by more than 200 percent in the 1990s, and the growth was
mostly among minorities.

U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday shows that 25,778 people
were locked-up in Mississippi in early 2000. In 1990, there were 8,573
inmates in the state. The census numbers include inmates in state
federal and local facilities.

According to the federal survey, nearly 71 percent of those behind
bars, or 18,219 prisoners, are black. The proportion has increased
since the 1990 census, when about 67 percent of the state's inmates
were black.

"Sixty-seven percent was low," said Ron Welch of Jackson, a prisoners'
rights attorney. "Black populations are disproportionately represented
in prison populations in this country."

Whites comprise about 28 percent of the Mississippi prison population;
about 7.4 percent of the state's prisoners are women.

The numbers are opposite the state's overall population, which is 61
percent white and 36 percent black.

The growth in inmate population is due in part to the 1995 "truth-in-
sentencing" law, which required that felons serve at least 85 percent
of their sentences.

Since 1992, the state Department of Corrections budget has tripled. It
cost about $15,700 to house an inmate for a year in fiscal year 2000
that ended June 30, said Ken Jones, MDOC spokesman.

Welch said better law enforcement and more drug laws also contributed.
At least half the state's inmates are now drug offenders, he said.

"The single most important thing is the 85 percent law put more people
in prison across the board," Welch said. "There seems to be no limit
to the number of Mississippians that other Mississippians want to put
in jail."

Legislators this year changed the truth-in-sentencing law to allow
first-time, nonviolent offenders, be considered for parole after
serving one-fourth of their sentences.

To keep up with the sprawl, since 1994, 10 joint-county regional
facilities and five private prisons were built in Mississippi, Jones
said. Two of the state's three prisons were also expanded, he said,
adding about 9,700 new beds throughout the system.

Rep. Jim Ellington, R-Jackson, said Mississippi's prison population
has increased because the state has more places to put inmates now.

"If there's one consistent thing in my district people tell me it's,
'I don't want more taxes but if there's one thing I'm willing to pay
more taxes for it's to build more prisons,"' Ellington said.

The truth-in-sentencing law let people know criminals will have to
serve the majority of their sentences, he said.

"It also acts as a deterrent," Ellington said. "The criminals know
they are going to serve a certain amount of time, at least."

Rep. Alyce G. Clarke, D-Jackson, advocates alternative sentencing
programs for first-time drug offenders. The cost to rehabilitate
someone without incarceration is only about $1,200, she said.

"It really, really concerns me, the number of blacks we have being
incarcerated," Clarke said. "We have a large, unfortunately,
population of (black) people who are drug users."

According to the census numbers, about 1 in 57 black people in
Mississippi is in a correctional institution. For whites, that number
is roughly 1 in 245. The state trails only Maryland and Louisiana in
its percentage of black inmates.