CROWDED PRISONS?

Stack The Convicts Higher And Thicker

Freeing habitual criminals from prison early is an unacceptable approach to
solving the state's problems of crowded prisons and a shortage of money.

The General Assembly is considering reducing the sentences of habitual
"nonviolent" criminals to make more room for those convicted of violent crimes.

A far better approach -- for the interim anyway -- would be to "stack'em
higher and thicker" until more efficient prisons can be provided.

North Carolina's district attorneys say the present system houses only 1.7
inmates per Department of Correction employee, compared to a national
average of 2.7 inmates per employee.

Why? One explanation is that North Carolina has built a montage of small
prisons in counties across the state so legislators could boast about what
they had done to enhance the economies of their districts.

In a recent front page story in the News-Argus, local law enforcement
officials made a convincing case for not reducing mandatory terms under the
state's Structured Sentencing Law.

District Attorney Branny Vickory is confident that such a reduction would
lead no not only to more crimes but more serious violations.

He cites a case in which a man was convicted of a felonious but "nonviolent
crime" involving cocaine and sentenced to 14 years just weeks before the
Structured Sentencing Law went into effect. He was released after six
years. Months later, the man was charged with stabbing his 83-year-old aunt
and her 68-year-old son to death.

Sheriff Carey Winders points out that if more criminals are released on
probation, the state will have to spend more on probation officers who
already are responsible for more people than they can reasonably supervise.

Goldsboro police officials, including Chief J.M. Warrick Jr. and Maj. Tim
Bell warn that the crime rate -- which declined six percent after
Structured Sentencing -- will increase. Bell said it is "unthinkable" that
the cost of new prisons would outweigh concerns for the public's safety.

There undoubtedly are some ways the state can solve the problem of prison
overcrowding and the budget crunch. Turning convicted criminals loose to
resume preying on innocent people is not one of them.

- --GENE PRICE