BEHIND BARS

Nobody believes that Louisianians are naturally more criminal than people
born in other states. So it should concern everybody who lives here that
Louisiana imprisons a higher percentage of its residents than every other
state does.

According to a new report released by State Policy Reports, in 2003
Louisiana imprisoned 801 people for every 100,000 residents. Mississippi
was next worst, with 768 people in prison for every 100,000 people who live
there.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that two states with high rates of child
poverty, lagging economies and a long history of subpar schools would have
crime problems. In addition to that, Louisiana went through a phase where
lawmakers were fascinated with minimum-sentence legislation. They deprived
judges of the discretion to give some offenders probation or to order them
into rehabilitation centers.

It should go without saying that violent criminals need to be imprisoned.
Far too many law-abiding people in Louisiana live in perpetual fear of
violence. Those responsible for the mayhem need to be punished.

At the same time, those who are in prison for feeding their drug habits
would be better served in less punitive, more rehabilitative settings. In
2001, the Legislature wisely repealed mandatory sentencing laws for certain
nonviolent offenses. That slowed the growth in the state's prison
population; nevertheless, when data were collected in 2003, Louisiana was
still the unfortunate front-runner in incarcerations.

A high prison rate isn't so much a disease as it is a symptom. And if state
officials and lawmakers are as embarrassed by our dubious distinction as
they should be, they'll do more to fix our schools, bring down the high
poverty rate and create better jobs. Having the highest percentage of its
citizens in prison doesn't make Louisiana safe. It means that the state has
failed in many ways.