Jail Deadline

STATE MUST PAY FOR PRISON PROGRAMS TO AFFORD PAYING FINES

Prison crowding is a problem that won't go away in Alabama. It can't, not
anytime soon at least. There simply are too many prisoners, not enough
prison space and too little money.

Prison officials find themselves facing another, potentially expensive
deadline: Remove all state inmates from county jails by April 1 or be hit
by court fines, possibly $26 a day for each inmate in jail longer than 30
days. With 320 state prisoners sitting past that limit in county jails
throughout the state which, by the way, is a big improvement over the 2,000
this time last year the already money-strapped prison system could be
forced to pay out $250,000 a month.

Needless to say, the state doesn't have that kind of money to lose. It's a
perfect example of pay now, or pay more later.

Over the years, the state has negligently underfunded state prisons. So
much so, that a prison system built to house 10,000 prisoners is crammed
with more than 26,000 inmates.

The prisons are so full that they cannot take all the newly convicted
prisoners from county jails. Only a court order, backed up by the threat of
hefty fines, prompted Gov. Don Siegelman and state prison officials to take
action last year to relieve the backlog in jails.

Siegelman's plan was aimed at reducing prison crowding, in large part, by
directing more inmates into drug treatment, community work and other
alternative programs. That approach makes sense because it frees prison
space for violent criminals by redirecting some nonviolent criminals.

What's needed even more, though, is a comprehensive review of the state's
prison and sentencing systems.

Fortunately, that's what the Alabama Sentencing Commission is doing.
Unfortunately, it hasn't finished its work. Last month, commission members
asked the state Legislature for another year, more money and more access to
criminal records to complete its job.

But that doesn't erase the deadline the state is facing. Plus, a bill aimed
at curbing abuses of the state parole board by mandating that certain
violent criminals serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before they
can be paroled would add to the crowding problem.

The short-term solution is for the state to speed up implementing its
alternative programs. It can do that by making sure the money is there to
pay for them.

The choice is clear: Pay now or pay more later.