Other Voices

A BETTER SOLUTION IS TO BE 'SMART ON CRIME'

Mississippi's legislators are spending more than $6 million a year to avoid
appearing soft on crime.

That's the estimate from state Corrections Department chief Christopher
Epps. In testimony to the state Legislative Budget Committee recently, Epps
reminded legislators that they had gone beyond federal "truth in
sentencing" requirements in 1994. The result has been a skyrocketing prison
population.

The federal government told states that in order to receive federal prison
funds, they must require inmates convicted of murder, manslaughter, rape,
armed robbery or aggravated assault to serve at least 85 percent of their
prison sentences.

Mississippi lawmakers went further - requiring all prisoners to serve at
least 85 percent of their sentences.

The result has been the number of state prisoners rising from 10,669 in
1994 to 23,473 less than 10 years later. Costs have gone from $110 million
in 1994 to $270 million last year.

How much is it worth to Mississippi taxpayers to keep nonviolent offenders
in prison? Think of the 20-year-old convicted of selling a few ounces of a
drug to another college kid. Does it increase or decrease his chance of
future crimes?

The state's correction chief suggested these and other nonviolent offenders
could be put on house arrest or supervised parole. He called it being
"smart on crime."

Such changes also would be smart financially, allowing the state to save
more than $6 million annually, he said.

Legislators need not fear appearing "soft on crime" if they are "smart on
crime."