Prisoner of soaring costs - Akron Beacon Journal editorial

[Kolesar]

Will Ohio finally curb its expanding and expensive prison system?

Published on Thursday, Aug 12, 2010

Ohio legislators have run out of reasons not to repair the state's criminal justice system. Confronting crowded jails and prisons and the soaring costs of the system, lawmakers have stalled for more than a year on a bill that would target key contributing factors to the problems. Legislative leaders ordered a study, to be sure they had a firm grasp of the issues. They got it. The Justice Center of the nonpartisan Council of State Governments released a report last month that laid bare Ohio's overburdened criminal justice system.

With the details of a creaking system in hand and Ohio's financial troubles unresolved, it is encouraging that Bill Harris plans to revisit proposals to make a number of changes to criminal sentencing laws. The president of the Republican-controlled Senate indicated recently he would take up Senate Bill 22 when lawmakers return after the summer break.

The Senate's criminal justice committee narrowly approved the bill last year. Gov. Ted Strickland supports the proposals. Still, opposition from Republicans and county law enforcement officials prevented the measure from reaching the Senate floor.

The inaction has been inexcusable. Ohio's prisons are roughly 30 percent above capacity, the annual cost approaching $2 billion. Studies, including the latest one, show the problem mostly stems from consigning more offenders to prison for low-level crimes handled more effectively in community-based corrections facilities — at significantly lower cost.

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http://www.ohio.com/editorial/opinions/100510399.html

Call your legislators and urge them to support Senator Bill Seitz' bill SB-22.

Details of the bill are in the editorial. I was loathe to delete any of this editorial! IIRC, the state portion of the school budget is about $5 billion.

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Comment:

Scoopster
columbus, oh

Posted 04:57 AM, 08/13/2010

Ohio lawmakers changed sentencing laws to comply with Congress's Federal Truth in Sentencing law. States would receive federal funding by complying to inmates serve 85% of their sentence.

Instead Ohio lawmakers made inmates serve 99% of their sentences. But the Federal funding was only for five FISCAL years, 1996-2001 for total of $62 million.This is not much.

Therefore, Ohioans are footing this out of control criminal sentencing system 100%. Other states have reduced their laws to 65% in order to curb the cost. Senator Seitz see's the big picture. SB 22 should have been passed a year ago. But now we are waiting and paying for a study, when the facts are right cut dry. We can not afford to house prisoners for 99% of their sentences. Especially with the population growing and never stops growing.

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Letter to editor:
Prison is more cost-effective

The Aug. 12 editorial ''Prisoner of soaring costs'' advocates passage of Senate Bill 22, which would permit the early release of some prisoners before they have served their full terms. You seem to think this would come without costs.

In case you don't realize it, there are other considerations. These people have a very high recidivism rate. Early release just gives them a head start on committing more crimes.

Early release inflicts costs on those who are victimized by crimes that otherwise would not have been committed, including the cost of stolen and damaged property, lost productivity and medical costs.

We will all pay indirectly through higher prices, higher insurance rates and other costs, including police and prosecution costs for the new offenses.

Early release does not save money. It only shifts costs from the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, where they belong, to ordinary people, where they don't belong.

I suspect that the aggregate cost for ordinary people as a whole, if it could be determined, will probably be much higher than the cost of continued incarceration.

The entire budget for prisons is only about 4 percent of the state budget. Not much for one of the critical pieces in the state's efforts to protect public safety, which is the state's first responsibility. Early release is not the answer. And it undermines the integrity of our sentences. A bad idea all around.

John Murphy Executive director
Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association
Columbus