Pay inmates? No, but let’s correct some prison problems
Georgia’s next governor, Nathan Deal, said Wednesday the state must cut its work force to balance the budget.
Psst…Mr. Deal! Wanna know who ought to be first in line for the pink slips? How about the prison guards who sold so many cell phones to inmates that the jailbirds were able to organize a short-lived protest in state penitentiaries this month?
Depending on whom you believe, either the wardens at four state prisons locked down inmates for several days to pre-empt a protest, or the prisoners themselves refused to leave their cells to perform their work assignments.
The inmates used their contraband mobile phones — it’s a felony in this state for a prisoner to possess one — to send text messages to one another. Some of them used the phones to call an AJC reporter to claim credit for the work stoppage.
Their gripe? In large part, it’s that they want to be paid for working jobs within the lockups and on other state property.
One of them, a convicted murderer named Diego, told our reporter that he paid a prison guard $350 for a pre-paid phone. So, forgive me for doubting these guys are truly hurting for cash.
But let’s say the offending guards are caught. And let’s say the inmates are made to understand they’re not going to start getting paid — not beyond the food, shelter and health care they already receive, that is.
And certainly not when the state is eyeing up to $2 billion more in budget cuts. Far from paying inmates, the Georgia Department of Corrections, like other state agencies, will probably have to further tighten its belt.
We spend about $1 billion a year on Corrections. The agency needs some creative, money-saving solutions.
One in 13 Georgia adults is in jail or on probation or parole. That’s the nation’s highest rate. And once inmates are released, they’re returning to prison in alarming numbers. During the past decade, two in three ex-cons have been re-arrested within three years. Something isn’t working.
There’s little wiggle room for dealing with killers like Diego. But we ought to look seriously at alternative options for those incarcerated for lesser crimes.
And we might find some possibilities in another historically tough-on-crime state: Texas.
In a recent essay for the free-market Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Marc Levin of the Center for Effective Justice in Texas focused on some policies toward nonviolent offenders in his state that appear to be more effective and less expensive than what we’re trying.
Since 2005, Levin wrote, Texas has saved more than $2 billion in projected prison costs through “reforms to strengthen community-based supervision, sanctions and treatment options for nonviolent offenders.” At the same time, the state’s crime rate in 2009 was at its lowest level since 1973.
Here’s a place to start in Georgia. According to Levin, we spend $151 million a year to house about 9,000 drug offenders. It’s not only dealers who are serving long sentences: The “average [Georgia] inmate released in 2009 on a drug possession charge,” he wrote, “spent 21 months locked up…”
We have drug courts and day-reporting centers that are ripe for expansion. Levin’s Texas example also suggests more drug testing, graduated punishments and incentives for parolees to behave themselves.
Then we can focus on keeping violent guys like Diego behind bars. They need to pay for their crimes, not get paid.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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85 comments Add your comment
Dave
December 18th, 2010
5:14 pm
Don’t expect the current leadership of the DOC to do anything innovative. Most are good old boys to their core. If it weren’t for politics most wouldn’t be there.
killerj
December 18th, 2010
7:04 pm
Take away lively hoods and you reep what you sew,shame Goldman & Sachs gets away with the scam of the century with to many political backings,time for a third party, not only the prisons need change our whole way of thinking does.
Furious Styles
December 18th, 2010
9:51 pm
“One in 13 Georgia adults is in jail or on probation or parole. That’s the nation’s highest rate. And once inmates are released, they’re returning to prison in alarming numbers. During the past decade, two in three ex-cons have been re-arrested within three years. Something isn’t working.”
Ha! Its touted on tv and in movies that after prison an ex-con’s debt has been repaid to society, however in REAL life, that is not so. This debt continues well after release.
1.) The ability to gain employment. For the ex-con, being up front about criminal past is #1 in the process of redefining their future in a positive way. However, the brick and steel walls put up in order to find work are largely absurd and impractical which makes attempts to support oneself or supporting a family once released futile.
2.) Renting property. 50/50 chance of success renting from a private owner. You can forget about it if its a public rental agency or search firm.
Too many hoops to jump through to get back on track. Everyone’s expecting this fairytale scenario where the prisoners are released and they find a job, housing, get off drugs and live happily ever after are dreaming. As long as its setup like this, the revolving door of prison will always be open.
Soon there will be a prison on every corner and outnumber churches. Building and building prisons isn’t going to solve the problem. If they aren’t lifer’s or death row inmates, sooner or later they’ll have to be let go. The formula need some MAJOR tweaking.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
6:27 am
Our billion dollar burden
In January, a jury acquitted Holland’s husband but convicted her. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole. It will cost at least $180,000, in today’s dollars, to keep her locked up.
“Is this a good deal for the taxpayers?” asked Holland’s trial attorney, Steven Harris. “Hell no. Were there other alternatives for her punishment? Of course.”
Forty percent of Georgia inmates are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Most are drug and property offenders.
http://www.ajc.com/news/government-waste/a-billion-dollar-burden-532578.html
I’m waiting for the hook Kyle, when is it going to come? hmm…
When is one of the good comrades from the leftwing extreme going to push for drug legalization, again?
Will AJC comrades Cynthia and Jay be writing OpEds to legalize Pot anytime soon? I mean with the usual Big Socialist GUB’MENT mantra of, “if we can tax it, we can control it”… “just look at all that revenue the state can collect”… and, “think of all the money we will save by reducing the prison population” ?
Liberals are too predictable.
Of course there is one other twist in the mix, probably coming from the rightwing, designed in something of a work program. Some kind of supervised buy off your the time – for the non-violent offenders – on your sentence scheme in lieu of actual prison incarceration ?
Conservatives are somewhat predictable too.
With little hope that the U.S border will be secured anytime soon, given the unlikelihood of the current President and his administration cutting off the flow of illegal drugs and people entering without authorization, including the criminal mindset that will go unchanged among some segments of our population that says, it is okay to break the law because society in some fashion probably stole prosperity from you or you wouldn’t be in your miserable predicament: Meaning, it’s okay, crime can pay and if it doesn’t, all you’ll get is free medical, three hots and a comfy cot.
It was interesting to see “who is behind bars” from this cited report that goes directly to the criminal mindset. Sadly, instead of being denounced and rejected by society as demeaning it is being promoted and embraced culturally in music and video as something honorable to emulate.
To the conservative elements cited in the referring article (Newt and Company) you might want to start a bit earlier on when touching on “changing lives”, intervening before the fact, instead of rehabilitating after the commission of a crime, however petty. People were not born thieves or drug addicts. They were taught to become such things by a society that made it all too easy for them to take what appeared the easy way out of a hard life that offered too few reasonable alternatives, other than… just say no.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
December 19th, 2010
7:50 am
The Republican Senators who voted in favor of the measure were Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Ensign (Nev.), Richard Burr (N.C.) and George Voinovich (Ohio).
Need I clarify which foul new piece of legislation the usual suspects have retched up upon us? Does it even make a difference, considering that it is the same vile group that has vomited the last ten of these abominations? What do we care if we are representing Maine or not? Is it not obvious that compromise means that the few bad apples always pollute the whole barrel?
Expel these diseases, heal thyself, Republican Party.
As for you dummycrats, the children are watching you lead them astray.
Enjoy your earthly glories.
snarf
December 19th, 2010
10:15 am
I Report skipped out on his vaccinations again…
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
12:36 pm
Many prison officials are sued by inmates and very few of those suits are successful. However, Arpaio is setting records for losing these suits and is presently the subject of a federal investigation regarding this and other matters.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
12:57 pm
Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Elected Maricopa County sheriff in 1993 and re-elected to five four-year terms.
It appears Arpaio is well liked by the people who elected him. He is obviously winning at something and doing a good job of doing it right. The federal investigation is mostly due to other matters: His tough illegal immigration crack down. Others lose less, are sued less, because they don’t have the guts to stand up and not back down in a fight against crime. ALL CRIME.
The gulag
December 19th, 2010
2:01 pm
Prison sentences are much shorter in places like Russia and in the rest of the world in general and recidivism is much lower. Why? Because the prisons are flat out horrible- so bad no one wants to go back. Here prisons are way too humane. Make prison so harsh that people won’t want to come back and you’ll definitely see a drop in the recidivism rate. At least start with no tv, then can pole these worthless animals- by that I’m talking about the hardened criminals- not the casual drug abusers. Make it not worth their while to come back.
get out much?
December 19th, 2010
2:23 pm
Sheriff Joe Arpaio under investigation by the Maricopa Board of Supervisors for financial mismanagement: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/10/31/20101031sheriff-joe-arpaio-finances-maricopa-county.html – sounds like he would fit in perfectly with Governor Elect Deal.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
2:33 pm
Arpaio is very good at getting elected, not so good at running a jail. Many, if not most, prisoner suits are dismissed because they are frivilous. Citizens who elect sheriffs also serve on juries that consider these lawsuits.
No More Progressives!
December 19th, 2010
2:41 pm
The Right Brothers
December 18th, 2010
8:04 am
Georgia sure does have a boatload of uneducated, proverty-striken jobless bums, doesn’t it Kyle. Perhaps a tax cut is in order to create jobs and other such stuff for them. What do you think, Kyle. Educate us on where we went wrong. Was peonage the better option. After all, it’s sulf-sustaining.
It’s interesting how the limp-wristers, who’ve never met an “illegal” alien they wouldn’t educate, house, feed & clothe at my expense, suddenly want to get tough with convicts. We don’t have a war on terror, but a man caused disaster.
How can you get tough with people who’ve been given due process, yet no one wants to send a Gitmo terrorist to a Military tribunal?
Go figure.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
4:13 pm
Oh gee, perhaps we should all wonder down to namby-pamby land and select only bleeding heart law hating bed wetting socialist liberal pantie-waste to serve on Maricopa County juries, just to make sure Joe Arpaio unconstitutionally loses all frivolous lawsuits filed against him, so these jackwagons who break the law can get their confidence back to commit another crime after all that uncomfortable justice?
Tissue… Crybaby!
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
4:22 pm
I think that you might have misunderstood. The same folks that elected Arpaio sit on the juries that award big verdicts against him. It is a shame that you have to resort to that kind of name calling when you run out of argument.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
6:49 pm
The shame is you never had an argument.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
7:09 pm
Once again in light of the kind of shameless insinuations you resorted to throughout this blog in support of what one can only guess is costs verses effect?
In Maricopa County, it costs $61 a day to house an inmate, yet they are holding over 4,000 more inmates than San Bernardino County where it costs $54 a day.
According to Maricopa county officials, the high cost of housing an inmate comes from the fact that they built two new jail facilities and have consistently been adding positions to handle the growing inmate population for the past five years.
Yet, Maricopa County, the fourth most populated area in America, operates under a $212 million budget, while San Bernardino County’s is upwards of $400 million.
While San Bernardino County is struggling to find room for inmates, Arpaio is hiring more officers and building more tents to handle Maricopa County’s growing inmate population, proving that he has a clear understanding of the price of public safety.
I’m sure you can produce evidence to the fact (not just your statements) that those so-called big lawsuits exceed the amount in difference between what San Bernardino County’s spends which is upwards of $400 million to that of what Maricopa County spends at $212 million? Well, are those so-called big lawsuits awarding nearly $200 million annually?
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
7:23 pm
Taxpayer Dollars Fund Luxury Detention Centers for Illegal Immigrants
E-mails obtained by the Houston Chronicle reveal that federal authorities have ordered the following changes at the holding centers for illegal immigrants: More variety in menus, fresh veggie bars, self-serve beverages, continental breakfast on weekends, movie nights, bingo, arts and crafts, dance and cooking classes, tutoring and computer training.
The facilities are also to be made more welcoming with new paint, bedding and house plants. Human rights groups think the changes are overdue, claiming that illegal immigrants should not be treated as criminals.
“We find that in the U.S., individuals are not getting speedy access to justice, not being able to apply for refugee status and that children are being locked up,” said Jared Feuer of Amnesty International.
“They should be in jail. How do we treat people stopped for DUI? Do we put them up at a Holiday Inn and give them a veggie bar?” said Michael Cutler a retired Immigration and Naturalization Service Agent.
Cutler said he thinks federal agents think the new rules send the wrong message to lawbreakers. “If you come to the U.S and violate our borders and our laws, not only should you expect them to get away with it, the alleged leaders of our country want you to be rewarded for it,” said Cutler.
The most controversial changes involve security. Letting low-risk detainees roam free in street clothes, the security downgrade has outraged many in law enforcement.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25674402/detail.html
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
7:49 pm
The same folks that elected Arpaio sit on the juries that award big verdicts against him.
Needless to say this is a very questionable statement: If the same people that elected him were the ones sitting on the juries that award the big verdicts against him, why would these same people re-elect him, election time after election time? Obvious logical conclusion: They are not the same people and they are not the same people in number or Joe Arpaio could never be re-elected.
Shame you have to resort to making misguided statement that simple logic will not support.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
8:18 pm
Your guess is wrong again. The point is that Arpaio is sucessfully sued by prisoners for constitutional violations more than most. Whether or not he saves money doing it is not the point of this conversation.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
8:20 pm
Jurors are randomly selected from the voter registration roles.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
8:22 pm
That should be voter registration “rolls”.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
8:56 pm
Oh but of course not, the point is he doesn’t live up to your liberal views, is the reality. Then again, Arpaio is probably fighting crime more than most. Though, it wouldn’t take much crime fighting do more then the federal government has done against what Arpaio contends with on a daily bases. My guess is spot on. Courts have lost the will to punish crime as they once did in service to political correctness that has violated the Constitution’s intent more times than Arpaio and all the others combined.
Whether or not he saves money doing it is not the point of this conversation
According to you maybe, other extreme liberals probably but to the rest, I seriously doubt it.
To the point: ‘ federal authorities have ordered the following changes at the holding centers for illegal immigrants: More variety in menus, fresh veggie bars, self-serve beverages, continental breakfast on weekends, movie nights, bingo, arts and crafts, dance and cooking classes, tutoring and computer training.
The facilities are also to be made more welcoming with new paint, bedding and house plants. Human rights groups think the changes are overdue, claiming that illegal immigrants should not be treated as criminals.
“We find that in the U.S., individuals are not getting speedy access to justice, not being able to apply for refugee status and that children are being locked up,” said Jared Feuer of Amnesty International ‘…
To you and other extreme liberals this may be proper humane treatment, anything less would certainly violate the Constitution. It wouldn’t take much to be successfully sued under that view of what is Constitutional. I mean, when the paint is a week too old someone’s constitutional rights have been violated? They were given a baloney sandwich instead of a veggie bar, is now cruel and inhumane punishment?
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
9:26 pm
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
8:20 pm
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
8:22 pm
Doesn’t matter, your statement remains misguided and logically unsound. They are not the same people which was your original statement. Changing it now to the same voter roll instead makes very little. No one gets the vote of every registered voter in their bid for an elective office and they always have those who personally don’t like them with a grudge to settle. Obviously the majority in Maricopa County is satisfied with Arpaio and what he is doing despite any missteps or lost lawsuits.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
9:34 pm
You do like trying to change things when you feel that your arguments are faltering don’t you?
First it was the big lawsuit award costs, though, this conversation is no longer about those costs. Now it is the “same voter roll” instead of the “same people”. Sooner or later you might finally come up with a valid argument with enough changes or diversions.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
9:59 pm
Federal law enforcement, political correctness and lenient punishment imposed by the courts have nothing to do with Sheriff Arpaio’s inability to deal with prisoners in a constitutional manner as shown by the adverse verdicts against him. Nor does my view of the constitution. I can assure you that I was not on any of those juries.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
10:21 pm
Perhaps you believe that only Arpaio’s detractors were selected to be in the jury pool. Consider the possibility that many citizens of Maricopa County may find Arpaio to generally be a good sheriff but when confronted with unconstitutional treatment of those in his custody, they are compelled to find against him.
Daddee
December 19th, 2010
10:26 pm
My arguments are not faltering but my patience is. I hope this conversation has been instructive to you in the art of argument. Try to stay on point and goodnight.
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
10:57 pm
Again this new diversion offers little to support for your argument or your obvious dislike of Arpaio. As to “many citizens”… how about a “few citizens” or those now many registered to vote citizens would find against him at the polls as well, with their ballots.
As to unconstitutional treatment of those in his custody… many law abiding citizens in this country work, if they have a job, and live in conditions worse than those locked up inmates are living in at Arpaio’s tent city, without any assurances of free medical or dental treatment should they need it.
Perhaps they should break the law just so they can improve their living standards?
If the Feds implement those order humane changes cited previously, it sure gets me to thinking and I’ll bet my thoughts have a lot shared sentiments among the thinkers.
Under those constitutionally humane living standards how soon can we check in… If it pleases the court your honor, just make sentence 99 years and a day!
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
11:04 pm
I’m laughing too hard to concentrate. The last part of that comment should have been, just make my sentence 99 years and a day!
I mean this is better than MTV, money for nothing and your chicks for free, what these liberals consider humane constitutional treatment, LOL!
Michael H. Smith
December 19th, 2010
11:12 pm
Your arguments remain pure foolishness. Sleep tight, perhaps you can patiently dream of something better to come up with for a valid argument overnight.
Billyboy
December 19th, 2010
11:37 pm
There is a solution for prisons. You should research the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA. They found the only true solution, can you find it?
A Hearty Cheese Sauce
December 20th, 2010
9:52 am
Fire the guards and take a nightstick to the guilty prisoners. Its the only way.
Cool hand Clyde.
December 20th, 2010
10:26 am
Clyde belongs behind bars for his crimes against our language.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 20th, 2010
10:27 am
Part of the problem is that there is no fear of punishment. I used to know a guy, now deceased, who spent most of his adult life in prison, including 11 years in one stretch. I heard him talking to somebody once and the subject of a possible 5 year sentence came up. His take on it, “Five years ain’t nothing. Hell, I can do that laying down”. That’s a large part of the problem; they have no fear of punishment.
A Hearty Cheese Sauce
December 20th, 2010
11:21 am
Prisoners should be beaten early and often. Its the only way.