PLAN TO EASE JAIL CROWDING STALLED

MONTGOMERY -- The definition of a "violent" criminal has stalled a plan
designed to ease crowding in Alabama prisons.

State Prison Commissioner Mike Haley's plan to identify non-violent
habitual offenders for possible early release from prison doesn't define
the term "violent" and requires more work, the head of a sentencing panel said.

Joseph H. Colquitt, chairman of the Alabama Sentencing Commission, a panel
studying the state's sentencing practices, wrote Haley on July 1 that the
panel needs more facts, including Haley's definition of violent, to
properly evaluate a proposal Haley presented to the panel a month earlier.

Ted Hosp, Gov. Don Siegelman's legal adviser, said there is no definition
of violent in state law or court cases. What is considered violent depends
on circumstances, he said.

Haley said he decided not to make public a list of the crimes he considers
violent because the list was incomplete.

"The proposed procedure and screening instrument were presented as a
beginning point for discussion to make any necessary refinements, not as a
final recommendation," Haley said.

Siegelman told Haley in an executive order last September to come up with a
procedure for selecting non-violent habitual offenders to be considered by
trial courts for shorter sentences under recent amendments to the state's
habitual offender law.

Those granted shorter sentences would qualify under the Parole Board's
rules for earlier parole consideration, which would free up prison beds.
Haley's plan called for the convicted habitual offender seeking a review of
his sentence to file a request with the court, which in turn would ask
prison officials to say whether the offender was violent or eligible for
review.

Under the provisions of state law, inmates convicted of certain violent
crimes would be declared ineligible for the review. But others would be
considered for release by prison officials on a risk-assessment form, using
a point system and factors such as the inmate's juvenile or prior parole
record.

The fewer points, the better the chance an inmate would have of being
released. Colquitt said members of the Sentencing Commission considered
Haley's plan at a June 28 meeting and expressed several concerns about it.

"It was the commission's opinion that no recommendations could be made
regarding the proposed procedure until the members have been provided the
proposed definition of 'violent offender/offense,'" Colquitt wrote Haley on
July 1.

Other members, Colquitt said, expressed concern that victim advocates and
prosecutors hadn't been given enough input into developing the plan. "The
commission requests your further assistance in providing a definition of
'violent offense/offender' and responding to the concerns that are
mentioned above," Colquitt wrote.

Haley said last week he disagrees with Colquitt's letter and believes he
had ample input from Victims of Crime and Leniency and from the state
Office of Prosecution Services.

Haley, also a member of the Sentencing Commission, was absent during the
discussion, but said he expects to defend his plan at a subsequent meeting
of the commission.