STUDY: PENAL CODE TOO HARSH

State Laws Filling Prisons, Straining Taxpayers

LOUISVILLE - Kentucky's prison population has exploded by 600 percent since
1970 and will keep growing because of "irrational" penalties enacted by
lawmakers, a study by a respected law professor says.

The study by University of Kentucky law professor Robert Lawson, who wrote
Kentucky's penal code, says the burden on taxpayers has increased
exponentially.

The state's budget for housing state prisoners has risen from $7 million to
more than $300 million since 1970 and is threatening to bankrupt the
system, Lawson wrote in the 72-page report.

The number of inmates has climbed from 2,838 in 1970 to 17,330 last year,
according to the report. The report blames that rise on the state's
"brutally harsh" persistent felon law and an array of drug penalties.

The study, titled "Difficult Times in Kentucky Corrections -- Aftershocks
of a 'Tough on Crime' Philosophy," was compiled based on data provided by
state agencies, Lawson said in an interview. It will be published next year
in UK's law review.

Lawson says Kentucky's penal code is now one of the toughest in the nation
as a result of "stupendous" changes enacted piecemeal.

It is one of only a few states, for example, that applies its persistent
felon law to nonviolent offenses.

"The three-strikes law permits and sometimes even requires punishment that
is morally indefensible ... and that works to warehouse for extended
periods offenders who are unlikely to inflict serious harm on the public,"
Lawson's report says.

Lawson also said that the state's two-strikes law should be eliminated, as
well as a law that elevates second drug offenses by one felony level.

Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who is the state's justice secretary, and other
officials said they agreed with much of Lawson's analysis, particularly
with regard to drug offenders. Pence chaired a statewide task force that
recommended expanding options favoring treatment over jail time.

But Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel said: "It does
appear that the more people who are incarcerated, the lower the crime rate
is, and the public is willing to pay those costs."

Lawson's report carries weight because he was the principal drafter of
Kentucky's current penal code, adopted in 1975, as well as its rules of
criminal evidence. He also has taught many of the lawyers who serve in the
General Assembly.

Projections cited in the study show the state would need to build the
equivalent of one new prison every two years to keep up with the growth in
prisoners -- at an estimated cost of $100 million each.