MOUNTAIN STATE'S PRISONS FASTEST GROWING IN SOUTH

West Virginia has the fastest growing prison population in the southern
United States, according to a new report by the Southern Legislative
Conference of the Council of State Governments.

Still, no other Southern state has fewer prisoners than West Virginia, both
in per capita and absolute numbers.

Between 1994 and 2004, the number of inmates in West Virginia's prisons
doubled, from 1,962 inmates to 3,942 - twice as fast an increase as other
Southern states, according to the report.

That amounts to 218 prisoners for every 100,000 West Virginians - less than
half the average of 15 other Southern states.

The amount West Virginia spends on its prisons tripled in the same decade,
from $36 million to $110 million, the report says.

The state's inmate population is expected to increase by another 72 percent
in the next ten years, according to the report, again the highest expected
increase in the South.

The report only counted inmates in longer-term correctional facilities, and
did not include people held in the state's regional jails. In addition,
about 1,000 prisoners who belong in the state's prisons are being held in
regional jails because there is not room for them in the prisons, according
to Jim Rubenstein, commissioner of the state Division of Corrections.

The state does not need to build a new prison, at least not yet, Rubenstein
said. More beds are being added to existing facilities to deal with the
increase in prisoners.

But soon, state officials must either reduce the number of prisoners or
face building a new prison, which could cost $100 million. Rubenstein wants
lawmakers and courts to use alternative sentences more often for
non-violent offenders. For example, a mental health court in the Northern
Panhandle has helped mentally ill offenders avoid jail through treatment
and counseling.

In the past decade, lawmakers have increased jail sentences for a variety
of crimes, including non-violent drug crimes and driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs.

"We're the receiving end of these court orders. We've got to look at the
length of the sentences and community corrections," Rubenstein said.
"Sometimes comments are made that we need to lock up those folks who are
dangerous to society," he said. "What do the citizens of West Virginia
want? If we want to be tough on crime, it comes at a cost."