RELAXING PRISON TERMS MAKES SENSE

Louisiana lawmakers have seen the light when it comes to the state's
growing prison population.

The state Senate last week voted 29-5 for a bill that would relax some
prison sentencing and, as a result, cut down the number of prisoners in
correction facilities around the state.

The measure would end mandatory prison sentences for certain nonviolent
criminals; reduce sentences for drug possession; establish a board to
review cases of certain inmates to see if they are a good risk to be freed;
and require all felony convictions to be for violent crimes before a
criminal can get a life sentence as a multiple offender.

"It (the bill) should not be interpreted in any manner or form as being
soft of crime," says state Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge. "We are still
going to be putting violent offenders behind bars."

Politicians, prison officials and the public now agree that Louisiana's
crime-and-punishment system isn't working.

State Sen. Don Cravins, D-Arnaudville, says the state has some of the
toughest sentencing laws in the nation, but that it still ranks No. 1
nationally in the number of people incarcerated per capita.

Cravins says the system has gone haywire and that alternatives to prison
offer better options for some because they can be productive while helping
their families and their communities.

"We have lost control of the prison population," said state Sen. Charles
Jones, D-Monroe. "We are spending nearly $60 million on prisons.

"What will this bill do? It will keep our people safe while at the same
time saving approximately $60 million a year."

Corrections Department Under-secretary Trey Boudreaux warns that the
savings won't be immediate, but adds that $60 million in savings is a
conservative estimate.

Under the proposed law, prison time would be eliminated for such crimes as
simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, Medicaid fraud, prostitution,
theft of a firearm and simple possession of a small quantity of drugs.

A prison sentence for such offenses would be left up to the discretion of a
judge.

The measure also cuts in half mandatory minimum and maximum sentences for
drug possession with intent to distribute. The sentence would increase with
the amount and kind of drug involved.

According to Jones, of the 35,000 inmates in state prisons, 15,000 are
there on drug-related charges.

Lawmakers and correction officials said the savings from the relaxed prison
sentences could be plowed back into alternative-to-prison programs and
preschool education programs. Repeated studies show that spending money on
children as young as 3 and 4 years of age can have a major effect on
reducing crime, the dropout rate and the welfare roles when these
youngsters become young adults.

We applaud the state Senate for this major philosophical change and
encourage House members to approve the bill.