CHANGES IN PRISON SYSTEM COULD SAVE STATE MONEY

Prison overcrowding and the early release of prisoners have long been
important issues in Oklahoma and the rest of the country.

The problem never really goes away, but every once in a while it becomes
more prominent.

One of those times is now.

When government officials begin to discuss releasing people from prison, it
is often because the prisons are running out of space.

The current problem is the result not only of space constraints but also of
the budget shortfalls affecting every branch of state government. The
Department of Corrections is no exception and therefore must look for ways
to reduce spending.

One idea that was almost implemented last year was furloughs for
corrections employees, including prison guards.

The public was understandably concerned that having fewer guards on duty
could make prison escapes more likely.

Escapes occur relatively often even when a full complement of guards is on
duty, so these fears were arguably quite justified. At a special session
last fall, the state Legislature appropriated $9.8 million in additional
funding in order to avoid the furloughs, but the idea is being discussed
again now.

Another idea that our state is considering is the reinstatement of a law
that would allow the early release of certain nonviolent inmates.

This law was previously on the books but was repealed in 2001, partly in
response to a brutal crime in which a man released under the law murdered
his ex-girlfriend and her parents and also wounded his own son before being
killed by police.

While that situation was certainly tragic, and the possibility always
exists for similar incidents to occur, that is not a sufficient reason not
to bring back the program.

Inmates eligible for early release would generally be very close to their
regular date of release, so denying the early release would not keep the
few potentially violent offenders locked away indefinitely. Of course, it
is impossible to know which inmates will revert to crime after their
release, just as it is impossible to know which citizens will resort to
crime in the first place.

Another proposed idea to save money and to relieve overcrowding is the
elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenses.

This is an idea that should be in place even if the state were not facing
its current crisis.

Mandatory minimum sentences do not always allow judges and juries the
flexibility to set sentences that they feel are appropriate to the
particular crime in question.

A variety of circumstances are present in every case that goes through our
courts, and the sentences imposed should be able to accurately reflect any
mitigating factors.

A complementary idea is to allow more nonviolent offenders to participate
in community sentencing programs.

This would save the state a lot of money in incarceration costs by allowing
offenders to pay back their communities by performing community service
rather than by spending time in prison.

For drug offenders, an increased emphasis on treatment should be
implemented, as well. Helping people to break their drug habits and to find
gainful employment makes a lot more sense both monetarily and morally than
incarcerating them when their only offense is the possession of drugs.

While a significant number of people might disagree with me about not
giving every drug offender prison time, most people would probably agree
that white-collar criminals could be released without endangering public
safety. Many of these offenders probably should have never been imprisoned
in the first place.

I am definitely not advocating that they should go unpunished. However, in
many cases, it would make more sense just to fine these offenders heavily
but allow them to remain out of prison so that they could continue to work
and pay off their fine. This would be quite beneficial financially, since
those in question would be contributing money to the state rather than
costing the state money as prisoners.

Many would argue that these offenders also deserve a loss of freedom for
their crimes, but it would be wise to save the prison time for a second
offense.

Oklahoma's budget shortfall has provided an incentive to re-assess some of
our sentencing guidelines and imprisonment policies.

Many of the proposed ideas should have received consideration before we
were in such a distressful financial situation.

- --Matt Cox is a letters senior.

His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.