The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The Portland-based partnership advocates for greater fairness and effectiveness in the state's criminal justice system.

Heavy spending on prisons - at the expense of social services such as education and treatment programs for alcohol and drug abuse - is the legacy of Measure 11, members of the partnership told the group. The voter-approved ballot measure, which establishes mandatory sentences for certain crimes and treats youths as adults when they're charged with those crimes, took effect in 1995.

The partnership believes that the timing is right for the state to change its public safety strategy.

"There is recognition that our current state strategy hasn't made us any safer, but it has been very expensive," said David Rogers, the partnership's executive director.

The legislators who took part in Saturday's session at the Campbell Senior Center - Sens. Bill Morrisette, Floyd Prozanski and Vicki Walker, and Reps. Phil Barnhart, Chris Edwards and Nancy Nathanson - agreed that reform is needed.

A major overhaul of Measure 11 isn't likely because that would needing a "super-majority," requiring support of two-thirds of the 60-member House and two-thirds of the 20-member Senate to pass, Walker said.

However, several bills will be circulating this session. Walker said she's exploring a bill that would prevent criminal fines from accruing interest while an offender is in prison.

"We're setting these people up for failure," Walker said, noting that the interest can be substantial, especially after a prisoner has served a long sentence.

Preparing prisoners to re-enter the community and providing them the support they need to succeed is a key issue, she said, because 95 percent of the people who enter the prison system eventually come back out.

The issue hit home for her, Walker said, when her brother was released four years ago after serving 15 years in prison.

With no driver's license, no credit history and no job, "the stress level is intense," she said. "If we don't make progress to make that re-entry easier for them, they're going to go back."

The partnership supports two bills aimed at achieving greater fairness and rehabilitation of youths ages 15 to 17 who have been charged with Measure 11 crimes. Both bills would allow judges more discretion in determining how young offenders should be held accountable for their actions.

The partnership also will be active in the budget process, seeking to boost funds for programs that reduce recidivism, or relapse into crime, Rogers said. Voter sentiment appears to be changing, he said.

Department of Corrections officials estimate that in two years the state will have to build another prison, at an estimated cost of $660 million, including debt service, according to the partnership. But 44 percent of voters think building a new prison is a poor idea, according to a recent poll of 600 registered voters that was conducted for the partnership.

More than 80 percent of voters support requiring prisoners to get their GED - the equivalent of a high school diploma. Also, more than 80 percent support investing in programs to help released prisoners re-enter the community, according to the poll.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/01/28/printable/c1.cr.prisonreform.0128.5f10UeR6.phtml