PRISON POPULATION GROWTH A CONCERN

House Committee Chairman Says 'Truth-In-Sentencing' Must Be
Studied

JACKSON - A new report says 8.9 percent of Mississippi's total prison
population is serving a life sentence, and experts say the figure is
likely to increase.

Nationally, the number of prisoners serving life sentences has
increased 83 percent in the past 10 years as tough-on-crime
initiatives have led to harsher penalties, according to the study
released this week by The Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group
that promotes alternatives to prison.

The report said the increases are not the result of an increase in
crime, since violent crime fell significantly during the period
covered by the study.

Rather, longer mandatory sentences and more restrictive parole and
commutation policies are most responsible, the report said.

In Mississippi, 2,003 inmates - including 285 not eligible for parole
- - are serving life sentences.

Ryan King, research associate for The Sentencing Project, said
Wednesday the growing number of inmates serving life sentences is
going to create economic problems for Mississippi and other states.

King said the average lifetime cost of housing an inmate is $1
million.

"As the costs go up, the numbers go up and the average age of the
person in prison increases. You've got an older prison population, and
the inherent health care costs," King said.

Lawmakers are looking for ways to stymie prison population
growth.

"The state of Mississippi, without increasing taxes, can no longer
afford to incarcerate nonviolent offenders for the amount of time they
are receiving," said House Corrections Chairman Bennett Malone, D-Carthage.

"It's going to be very pressing upon the Legislature to look at
truth-in-sentencing," he said.

Mississippi's truth-in-sentencing law requires most inmates to serve
85 percent of their sentence before they're considered for parole.

Malone and Senate Corrections Chairman Robert "Bunky" Huggins,
R-Greenwood, said this summer they'll review some of the state's
sentencing laws.

In the just-ended 2004 session, lawmakers passed a bill that will
allow some nonviolent inmates to work time off their sentences.

Malone said lawmakers may take another look at amending the law to
include drug offenders, depending on the crime committed.

"If it's a big-time drug dealer, we're not going to look at him,"
Malone said. "Violent offenders, we're not going to even look at.
They're going to stay there and do their time, and we're going to make
it just as rough on them as we can."

Lawmakers also may look at the state's drug possession law. Before
July 1998, a person charged with simple possession of cocaine could
get a maximum three-year sentence. Currently, the maximum sentence for
the same charge escalates depending on the amount of the drug.

A person convicted of possessing 2 to 10 grams of cocaine could get
four to 16 years in prison, while a conviction for possessing more
than 30 grams is 10 to 30 years.

Charlie Wood, an assistant district attorney in Harrison County, said
most of the drug offenses his office prosecutes are less than 2 ounces.

"Typically, a crack cocaine user is going to have a small amount of
cocaine on him - less than a gram," Wood said. "Addicts don't carry
that stuff around with them. They smoke it if they've got it."

Wood said the focus should be on treating drug offenders for their
addiction.