MISSOURI BILL AIMED AT REDUCING SWELLING PRISON POPULATION

FULTON, Mo. - Larry Witherspoon says he's a changed man, his days of
drinking and drugs -- the stuff that drove him to stealing and eventually
prison -- in the past.

Witherspoon, of Kansas City, credits the past three months he has spent at
a minimum-security facility in Fulton serving what the state calls a shock
sentence -- 120 days of prison time, with education and treatment for
substance abuse and other problems.

Such sentences are aimed at rehabilitating first-time, nonviolent offenders.

"When my wife went blind, I wasn't prepared for it and my whole life got
out of proportion," said Witherspoon, 48. "The treatment is really doing
good for me. It's got my self-esteem back up and my head cleared."

Witherspoon's story and others like his resonate with some lawmakers. The
Missouri House is expected to begin debate today on legislation that would
expand the use of shock sentences and allow other nonviolent offenders to
petition for release after 120 days.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Harold Caskey, a Democrat from Butler, would
also reduce the maximum sentence for the lowest class of felonies from five
years to four.

Some prosecutors fear that the bill would go too easy on criminals. Some
judges chafe at its sentencing guidelines.

Backers say the bill would keep criminals from committing new crimes and
ease the crowding in Missouri's prisons. At least 1,542 beds would
initially open up, saving the state about $9 million in the first year and
more than double that in subsequent years, according to estimates.

Given the state's dire financial situation, now is an appropriate time to
consider alternatives to long prison sentences for some crimes, said Sen.
Matt Bartle, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The Senate passed the
bill 26-0 last month.

"There's a sense we don't have the right sentencing mix in the state," said
Bartle, a Lee's Summit Republican. "Our violent offenders probably need to
be put away longer. Some of our lighter offenders probably shouldn't be
incarcerated."

Mirroring a national trend in the tough-on-crime 1990s, the state's inmate
population has more than doubled since 1991 and now stands at about 30,200.
Last year, while the number of inmates in the nation's prisons grew by 2.8
percent, Missouri had a 6.6 percent increase, according to the federal
Bureau of Justice Statistics.

More than half the new admissions to state prisons are for nonviolent,
drug-related crimes.

The Missouri Department of Corrections has filled prisons with more inmates
than the facilities were designed to hold. A new maximum-security prison is
planned to replace an old one in Jefferson City, but no projects are in the
works to add capacity.

Caskey, a former Bates County prosecutor, studied the state's sentencing
laws and co-wrote a report called "Arresting the Overflow." The report
concluded that mandatory minimum sentences were filling Missouri's prisons
- -- and sucking up state funds at a rate of about $13,000 per year per
prisoner -- but not deterring crime.

State guidelines call for some first-time, nonviolent offenders who are
sentenced to prison to enter 120-day shock programs. The programs are
designed to treat drug and alcohol addictions and to teach the inmates job
skills.

When the 120 days are up, a judge reviews the prisoner's progress and can
release the prisoner on probation or parole, or require him or her to serve
the longer sentence.

But the current system is not working perfectly, some say. Some inmates,
Caskey said, have been left in the programs longer than 120 days because
judges have not reviewed their cases in a timely manner.

Under the bill, judges would be required to consider those guidelines and,
if they chose not to follow them, explain why in writing. If a judge did
not offer an explanation, the Board of Probation and Parole could elect to
shorten the sentence.

Also, inmates serving time for the two lowest levels of felonies could
petition after 120 days to be released on probation or parole or into an
alternative program.

Caskey said some provisions should appeal to law enforcement officials. The
bill would increase the maximum sentences for nearly all persistent and
dangerous offenders and make endangerment of a child a more serious felony.

The Senate added an amendment sponsored by Bartle that would ban human
cloning in Missouri. It also added a provision, backed by Sen. Charles
Wheeler, a Kansas City Democrat, that would make it a felony to tamper with
prescription drugs.

If the bill passes, Missouri would join several other states that have
recently enacted alternative sentencing laws. In Kansas, Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius last month signed legislation to allow some drug offenders to
enroll in community treatment programs instead of going to prison.

Meanwhile, in Fulton, Witherspoon is two weeks away from completing his
shock sentence. Anger-management classes have helped him get his emotions
under control, he has learned to write a resume, and substance abuse
treatment has helped him -- he thinks -- kick his addiction.

Rather than serve out his five-year prison sentence, he hopes to be
released on probation and reunite with his wife, who is still struggling
with the diabetes that stole her eyesight. He'll be a better husband, he
said, and he talked eagerly of joining a blind community with her.

"I've got myself together," he said. "County jail would have never helped me."

The legislation is SB5.