EARLY PAROLE PROGRAM RESULTS ARE ENCOURAGING

One of the more expensive budget items this year and in years past has
been money allocated to care for state prisoners, including
facilities, staff, food and medications. That financial burden is a
holdover from days when people advocated tough punishment and jail
terms for most crimes, especially those related to drugs.

By bowing to get-tough advocates, the courts filled jails to overflowing.

Now, Alabama is trying to alleviate part of the problem by paroling
prisoners jailed for nonviolent crimes. Most fall into the drug- and
alcohol-related offenses.

Since starting its early release program, the Alabama Board of Pardons
and Paroles has paroled 3,637 inmates through nonviolent offender
"special dockets."

When these paroles were announced, law enforcement officers gave a
doom-and-gloom forecast about the dangers of sending these convicts
back into communities. They predicted crime would go up immediately
following their release.

Apparently, these predictions were wrong.

Of those paroled, 155, or 4 percent, have been returned to prison.
And, only about half of that group is being returned for a new crime.
They are being returned for parole violations.

The initial figures are encouraging because the recidivism rate for
released prisoners has run as high as 25 percent in the past.

District attorneys across the state are still worried that people will
quickly learn there will be no substantial punishment for nonviolent
crimes and the numbers will go up.

Certainly, offenders need to be punished, but cities and counties have
alternatives, such as monitored home arrest, to putting people in
prison. And most of these options are safe and still save taxpayers
thousands.

It's still a bit early to judge the release program based on the
actions of those released. But if former prisoners can become
productive members of our society, they should be welcomed back. If
they can't, they should go back to prison.