PRISON CROWDING WORSENS

6 new N.C. sites won't be enough

North Carolina is building three new prisons and has approved financing for
three more. But the latest projections on the number of inmates indicate the
state will have to build several more if legislators don't choose other
options to reduce the need for cells. The N.C. Sentencing and Policy
Advisory Commission's latest estimate, released this week, indicates that
the state will have 44,094 inmates behind bars by 2013 but will have only
enough capacity for 37,743. Such overcrowding could lead to U.S. Justice
Department intervention, as it did in the 1980s when the state had a similar
crisis. The new estimates show a continued uptick in the prison population.
Last year, the commission revised its estimates upward because convictions
for murder, robberies and drug trafficking rose by roughly 20 percent. The
commission took the same tack this year, though not as precipitously,
because of a 19 percent jump in habitual-felon convictions -- the so-called
three strikes penalty -- and a roughly 5 percent jump in drug trafficking
convictions.

Even when the third of the three prisons approved this year opens in 2008,
the state will be nearly 2,000 beds short if no other measures are taken.

It gets worse from there. New estimates show that by 2012, the shortfall of
prison beds will be 800 beds wider than what was estimated a year ago.

That's approaching the size of a typical 1,000-bed maximum-security prison,
which costs the state about $80 million to build and $17 million to operate
each year.

"We're predicting again this year a shortage, and it's not going to go away,
even with the prisons we're building," said Susan Katzenelson, executive
director of the commission.

Where to put resources

The new estimates are likely to do more than stoke the debate over building
new prisons versus reducing sentences. Next year, state legislators are
expected to consider tougher penalties to combat domestic violence and a
rising number of methamphetamine operations. But tougher penalties often
lead to more inmates or longer sentences, and budget shortfalls make it
harder to pay the additional cost of housing them.

Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, is developing legislation to toughen
domestic violence penalties. He said the prison capacity issue won't deter
him from pushing a bill in the next session.

"The crimes involving violence need to be taken a little more seriously than
they currently are -- even if that means treating nonviolent crimes less
seriously," he said.

Legislators have been unwilling to lessen penalties for any crime. The
commission suggested several alternatives two years ago that could reduce
the demand by 4,600 prisoners over 10 years, but they have yet to gain
traction.

Sen. Wib Gulley, a Durham Democrat, said the new estimates only reinforce
the need to take up the commission's suggestions. Gulley introduced three as
bills in the last session.

"We've had serious economic difficulty trying to build six new prisons to
meet current demand," Gulley said. "I frankly doubt that there will be
enough resources to build more prisons in the future and still do anything
for education, health care or some of our other pressing needs."

His bills and others withered under charges that they were soft on crime.
The bills can be reconsidered when the legislature reconvenes in May, but
legislators could be hard-pressed to approve the measures in an election
year.

Looking at all options

What else can legislators do? Some have suggested more double-bunking, a
practice correction officials disdain for safety reasons. Others say the
state has to find more ways to divert and treat those with drug problems
before they turn to serious crime to feed their addictions.

Rep. Phillip Frye, a Mitchell County Republican, is vice chairman of the
House Appropriations subcommittee, which oversees justice spending. He said
he's not sold on the sentencing commission recommendations, but he's not
sure the state could afford building six new prisons to meet the expected
demand in 2013.

He said the three recently approved prisons buy some time for legislators,
maybe long enough to see how other states are tackling the issue.

Last month, The New York Times reported that, to help balance their budgets
this year, roughly half the states have reduced some sentences or made it
easier for inmates to win parole.

"We all have to go into this thing with our eyes open and be willing to look
at the methods that have been tried and work in other states," Frye said.