Treatment or punishment?

STATE DEBATES HOW TO HANDLE DRUG OFFENDERS

Topeka o Kansas prisons are becoming warehouses for those addicted to drugs
and alcohol and society might be better off if they weren't locked up.

That's not some left-wing, soft-on-crime rhetoric. It's the assessment of
front-line workers in the drug war.

But how to fix this problem is at the heart of a fierce debate going on in
the criminal justice community and Legislature.

Some prosecutors and judges are telling lawmakers to approve a bill that
would give certain drug offenders treatment for substance abuse rather than
jail time.

But other prosecutors, such as Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney,
oppose the legislation, saying there are details within the bill that would
allow repeat drug offenders to avoid prison.

"Everyone is entitled to a second chance, but I don't think you're entitled
to a fifth, eighth or 10th chance," Kenney said.

Aside from the budget, legislative leaders agree that Senate Bill 123 is
probably the most important measure under consideration by the 2003
Legislature.

'Broken' criminal system

In a rare joint caucus of the Senate last week, Shawnee County District
Judge Eric Rosen, a supporter of the bill, told lawmakers that nearly 90
percent of the criminal cases before him are in some form drug-related, a
percentage similar to Douglas County's, officials said.

"What we are dealing with are addicts, and we are not beginning to touch the
problem at all," Rosen said. "What we are doing now is simply broken."

Rosen and Johnson County Dist. Atty. Paul Morrison, who both serve on a
commission that studies sentencing guidelines, described a state criminal
justice system where a person arrested for possession of drugs is sent to
prison or placed on probation without treatment.

That starts an escalating process that often ends tragically -- a person is
in and out of jail, violating probation and committing new offenses to
support his or her drug habit, they said.

"There isn't anyone who hates dope more than me," said Morrison, who added
that the current form of punishment was not helping society.

Some drug treatment is available, but it is too short, not diverse enough to
handle the different problems of addiction, and not available for most
offenders because of budget constraints, Morrison and Rosen said.

"It's like telling a person with cancer, you need chemotherapy, but we're
only going to give you a week's worth," Rosen said.

Under Senate Bill 123, people convicted of drug possession could be given
mandatory drug treatment for as long as 18 months.

Cost-effective?

During 2002, 1,571 offenders were sentenced in Kansas for drug possession,
according to a bill analysis. Of that number, 731 received prison sentences,
while the others were placed under various forms of supervision. Under the
new bill, 1,255 of those offenders would have been placed in mandatory
treatment.

Aside from the policy aspect of trying to transform drug offenders into
productive citizens, supporters of the bill also are pointing to the bottom
line -- treatment costs less than building and operating a new prison, they
say.

The state prison system is at capacity and the bill would free up 240 prison
beds.

"There are tremendous savings with Senate Bill 123," said Sen. John Vratil,
R-Leawood, the bill's sponsor.

But some lawmakers are skeptical.

They've been burned before on recommendations to go easy on lesser offenders
and they questioned whether the current effort was being driven by what's
good policy or what's inexpensive.

State Sen. Robert Tyson, R-Parker, asked if a person arrested repeatedly for
drug possession could continue to avoid prison time. The answer was yes.

Some reservations

That is what troubles Kenney, the Douglas County district attorney. With
most crimes, repeat offenses fetch enhanced sentences. But that wouldn't be
true in most cases for drug possession under the proposed law.

"The bottom line is now drug sentences are mostly geared toward probation
for first offenses and getting treatment, so if they do re-offend, you have
something held over their heads," she said.

Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, questioned the cost savings being pitched.
One written explanation of the bill provided by the bill's supporters said
the costs of the drug treatment program would be paid by the offender. When
Brownlee asked about that, Vratil said that would almost never happen.

One provision that would have made the changes in the law apply to inmates
already in prison will be taken out of the bill, according to Vratil. With
that change, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has said she would support the bill.
Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline opposes the legislation.

"This bill eliminates sanctions, and treatment without sanctions does not
work," Kline said.

State Sen. Mark Buhler, R-Lawrence, said he supported the bill with the
change.

"The system we have now probably isn't working. This is an attempt to see if
we can limit jail space," Buhler said.

Buhler said he was influenced greatly by Morrison's comments.

"He's about as avid a prosecutor as there is," Buhler said.