NUMBER OF IOWA INMATES UP 200%

Coralville, Ia. - Iowa is on the verge of a $256 million prison
construction boom, and Nicholas Viola is one of the statistics behind
the growth trend.

Viola, 19, of Des Moines, arrived at the Oakdale state prison here in
December after receiving a five-year sentence for second-degree theft.
The young man acknowledged he has a methamphetamine problem.

"I'm sad, but I've got to do what I've got to do. I had my fair
chances," said Viola, whose girlfriend back home is pregnant with his
second child.

Viola is among about 8,700 men and women behind bars in Iowa's
prisons.

That number has skyrocketed by 201 percent from 2,890 inmates two
decades ago.

Some of the factors behind the surge include more prison terms for
drug offenders; tougher penalties for many crimes, including sex
offenses; and more people sentenced to life in prison for rape, murder
and kidnapping.

Some Iowans question the prison expansion plans, contending the state
doesn't need to incarcerate so many people, citing the $26,000 average
annual cost to house each inmate. However, Iowa policymakers broadly
support prison construction to hold inmates in safe, secure facilities
that are uncrowded and efficient to operate.

"When people get sent to prison -- at least from this county -- they
earn it," said Polk County Attorney John Sarcone. "They either
committed a forcible felony that sends them to prison or they failed
in many of the things we provided for them."

In 2006, Iowa ranked 11th-lowest nationally in its incarceration rate
- -- imprisoning 296 inmates per 100,000 residents. The national average
was 445 per 100,000 residents.

Randall Wilson, legal director for the Iowa chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union, said his organization supports upgrading Iowa
prison facilities. But he contends lawmakers should reconsider who
belongs in Iowa's prisons.

One of his concerns is the incarceration of the mentally ill. Prison
officials have said about 40 percent of Iowa inmates have had a
diagnosis of mental illness, mostly involving conditions such as
depression and bipolar disorders.

"We need to get the mentally ill out of prison and into programs that
will really help them," Wilson said.

Iowa's prison population is expected to increase by almost 12 percent
to 9,730 prisoners by midyear 2017, according to the Iowa Division of
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. One positive trend has been
some abatement since 2004 in new admissions for drug offenses. Last
year saw a drop in returning inmates.

Gov. Chet Culver has proposed a $256 million prison construction plan
that includes $130.7 million for a new 800-bed maximum-security prison
at Fort Madison and $68 million to upgrade and expand the
Mitchellville women's prison. The package would also expand community
corrections facilities in Des Moines, Ottumwa, Sioux City and Waterloo.

Hamilton County Sheriff Denny Hagenson, bringing an inmate to the
Oakdale prison reception center here, said Iowa's criminal justice
system treats offenders fairly.

"At least in our county, they have been given so many chances before
they get here that this is the last resort," Hagenson said.

The Oakdale prison, about a mile north of the Coral Ridge Mall, houses
about 860 male and female inmates.

New inmates are issued prison clothing here, get haircuts, are checked
for health problems, have paperwork processed and undergo orientation.
The facility also has a psychiatric hospital, plus units for general
population inmates, high-risk female offenders and prisoners with
special needs, such as mental health and medical problems.

Viola, the prisoner from Polk County, estimated he had been arrested
more than 10 times for offenses ranging from criminal mischief to burglary.

"They gave me probation, and I messed that up. They sent me to
treatment, and I messed that up," Viola said. He was also sent to a
program for probation violators, "and messed that up" as well.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller contends that Iowa must spend more
money on drug treatment programs to help curb the growth of its prison
population. Iowa now spends about $56 million on drug treatment, using
money from state, federal and other sources.

"We know that drugs are the cause of the overwhelming number of crimes
in our state, either drug crimes or crimes to finance the drug habit,"
Miller said.

He said he believes that the state does a good job on drug education,
prosecution and enforcement, but that it's falling down by not
adequately funding drug treatment.

"If we did that, I think that would have a significant effect on crime
in our state, and the prison needs as well," he said.

Nationally, many states are exploring strategies to avoid building
expensive new prisons, according to a report released in January by
the Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

The report said nine states last year created oversight committees or
task forces to address sentencing laws, prison overcrowding, indigent
defense and the provision of re-entry services. Seven states amended
parole policies, four states reformed juvenile justice policies, two
states changed mandatory sentencing provisions, and three states
revised prison sentences for consensual teen sex.

Iowa lawmakers have begun work on a multiyear effort to revise the
criminal code, although no major changes have been proposed.

Other states, such as California, are building more prisons. The
California Legislature in 2007 approved $7.4 billion in lease-revenue
bonds to construct more than 50,000 prison and jail beds, the report
said.