CAN THE STATE AFFORD TO TAKE THESE RISKS

By Jason Green The state has apparently begun setting free non-violent
felons as part of its cost-cutting measures.

That means as many as 5,000 prisoners in the state system could go free in
the coming days as the state attempts to cut its overhead.

In a story appearing in today's edition of The Advertiser, Chilton County
Sheriff's Investigator Shane Fulmer and District Attorney Randall Houston
voiced their concerns over the release of Joe Cammon, an individual
convicted of distributing illegal drugs. He was sentenced to four
consecutive life sentences, in addition to a separate 15-year sentence for
possession of cocaine.

This has nothing to do with Cammon. This has to do with the state in an
effort to cut costs, putting people who have foregone their rights to
freedom and privilege through committing crimes back onto the streets of our
communities.

Not long ago, Attorney General Bill Pryor recommended everyone in the state
investing in a new security system or a gun because there was nothing the
state could do to protect its citizens.

How sad is this state?

How bad have things really gotten? It's odd things we were all promised by
the state would happen during the Sept. 9 tax battle should it not pass are
beginning to happen.

School systems going broke and facing state takeover if immediate solutions
aren't found, convicted felons going free, state agencies being cut - does
this sound familiar? It should. We were told.

Yet this is what we said we wanted. We, by voting no, said we didn't care if
these things happened.

We don't care if services are interrupted. We don't care if schools are
consolidated.

We don't care if we have to live next door to someone who sells our school
children drugs or gets our parents or our best friends hooked on Crack or
Meth. We don't care about those things.

The sickening thing here isn't so much what is happening - it's that we
could have prevented it. It could have been headed off on Sept. 9 and it
could have been headed off years ago through proper management.

In my humble opinion, political agendas became far more important that the
good of the people.

Some people must have felt yelling, screaming and name calling would make
real problems go away. Unfortunately, we are discovering, and will do so
more frequently in coming days, that only one thing was going to make the
problems go away - solving them.

We must live with the decisions we make, but the next time we have an
opportunity to prevent things like mass-job loss, financial failing schools
and felons going free, let's put down our political agendas and do the right
thing. Until then, Pryor's advice might not be so bad.

Note: Jason Green is the Managing Editor for The Clanton Advertiser. His
column appears each Tuesday.