PERDUE BACKS SENTENCING GUIDELINES

Gov. Sonny Perdue's challenge to the state's Superior Court judges this
week to embrace sentencing guidelines should resonate with all who care
about equal justice. With the sixth highest number of inmates in the
nation, Georgia's prisons are running over with nonviolent offenders, while
some who committed violent crimes are serving only 65 percent of their time.

The Council of Superior Court Judges has been reluctant to embrace
guidelines in the past, claiming they infringe on judicial discretion. A
recent report by the Governor's Certainty in Sentencing Commission,
appointed by former Gov. Roy Barnes and with Perdue's support, should
convince them otherwise. The law already sets a range of sentences for
judges to follow; the proposed guidelines merely narrow that range,
ensuring that violent offenders serve at least 90 percent of their time and
that nonviolent offenders go to less expensive facilities and work programs.

At least 20 percent of the state's prison beds are filled with nonviolent
inmates --- many with drug problems --- at a cost of $20,000 each per year.
Intensive probation supervision and drug treatment with twice-weekly
testing, which the sentencing commission suggests, would save tax dollars,
prevent recidivism and free up prison beds for violent criminals.

In his speech to the judges, Perdue also reiterated his commitment to
reforming the state's system for providing legal counsel to poor
defendants, noting that an additional $4.79 million in this year's budget
is just a start on reforms recommended by the state Commission on Indigent
Defense. The governor should also support legislation for statewide
standards in representing the poor and creation of a state oversight board.

Perdue's pledge to make justice equal across geographic, economic and
racial lines is welcome. Judges must join in that cause by embracing
sentencing guidelines and indigent defense reform.