STATE 2ND IN PRISON RATE

JACKSON, Miss. - Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps believes
it's time to look at alternatives to lengthy prison sentences with
Mississippi having the second-highest incarceration rate in the nation.

Mississippi imprisoned 743 inmates per 100,000 population in 2002,
according to the latest Bureau of Justice statistics. Only Louisiana
had a higher rate at 794 per 100,000.

Epps believes the state's truth-in-sentencing law is one of the
reasons for Mississippi's rate. The law currently requires that
inmates convicted of major crimes serve at least 85 percent of their
sentence before they are paroled.

Lawmakers approved the law in 1994 after the federal government
offered money to states that would implement such rules for inmates
convicted of murder, manslaughter, rape and other crimes.

The rules were relaxed in 2001 for first-time, nonviolent
offenders.

Federal statistics show Mississippi had 12,251 prisoners under federal
or state jurisdiction in 1995 compared with 21,397 in 2002. There are
currently 20,481 inmates in state prisons, according to MDOC's Web
site. In addition, there are about 24,000 prisoners under supervision
in community corrections programs, Epps said Wednesday.

Gov.-elect Haley Barbour said he would oppose any attempts to weaken
the truth-in-sentencing law. Barbour said "some suggest releasing
prisoners or not sending criminals to jail at all. These are the wrong
answers to the question of how to fix the problems in the corrections
department.

"I propose that we manage the prison system better by utilizing
private and regional jails. They have proven they can save taxpayers'
money."

Epps, citing figures from the Performance Evaluation Expenditure
Review Committee, said it cost $37.88 a day to house an inmate for
fiscal year 2002. He said the total cost to supervise someone on
parole or probation is $1.72 a day.

Epps proposesd to curb the growth with house arrest and drug court
expansions.

Some inmates are "in prison for searches, burglary and stuff. They
were stealing to buy drugs. We need to expand our drug court so they
can receive treatment, but there's a cheaper way to do the treatment
with them being in the community," he said.

"Expand house arrest because that's $7.86 a day. That's still versus
$37.88," Epps said.

"The recidivism rate for the house arrest program is 38 percent over
three years. The rate for people coming out of prison over three years
is 32 percent. You're not losing a lot of ground there."

Lawmakers rejected a proposal this year to reduce the prison terms of
model prisoners by giving them more days off their sentence for days
they worked.

State Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, a member of the House Penitentiary
Committee, said instead of focusing on the 85 percent rule,
legislators could appropriate or redirect funds to drug intervention
programs.

"What we need to do is use the interdiction before and while they're
using, but before they steal," Mayo said.

Barbour said he supports using faith-based drug treatment
programs.

"For example, we need to involve ministers and other community leaders
in the drug fight so they can be more active in spreading the message
about the impact of drug use," he said.

Epps said he projects the state's inmate population will grow by 700
in fiscal year 2005, which begins next July. He has requested $67.4
million to go with the $227 million the department already has for the
current budget year, bringing the total to $294.5 million for fiscal
year 2005.

Epps said Mississippi has the nation's second lowest operating budget
for corrections.

Mississippi isn't the only state with prison budget woes, Epps said.
Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton ordered the early release of 567 inmates in
December 2002. Epps also cited Ohio's closure of a prison and planned
corrections staff furloughs in Oklahoma.

"The point I'm trying to make is that we haven't let any inmate out,
we haven't furloughed anybody, we don't plan on letting our
rehabilitation staff go," Epps said. "I'm asking the legislators ...
let's implement this stuff before we get in the shape some of these
other states are in."