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November 18, 2008
KY: Study Blames Repeat "Offender" Law for Overcrowded Prisons
Study blames Ky. law for overcrowded prisons
November 17, 2008 @ 07:30 PM
2008/The Herald-Dispatch
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s repeat offender law shoulders much of the blame for overcrowded prisons, according to a new study by the man who wrote the state’s penal code.
The report by University of Kentucky professor Robert Lawson called the state’s repeat offender law “draconian” because, unlike in most other states, it is not limited to violent or serious crimes.
He said the law originally was reserved for the worst criminals, but legislators have extended it so much over the years that it has “pushed the state’s corrections budget off the charts.”
Earlier this year, lawmakers authorized releasing some prison inmates early as a cost-saving measure aimed at relieving some of the mounting financial pressure Kentucky’s prison system is putting on an already cash-strapped budget.
The study comes as a state panel on sentencing reform is considering the issue and will make recommendations to the Kentucky Criminal Justice Council, which will report to Gov. Steve Beshear.
The panel’s chairman, Deputy Justice Secretary Charles Geveden, said it will vote to recommend eliminating the part of the law that provides enhanced sentences for offenders with only one previous felony conviction.
Panel member and public defender Ed Monahan said he would propose limiting the law to violent offenders.
The president of the Kentucky Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys, prosecutor Chris Cohron, told The Courier-Journal for a story published Monday that his group is opposed to limiting the law to serious or violent offenders. Cohron says offenders who repeat crimes should have additional penalties.
Geveden said it will be difficult to get lawmakers to change the law because they “don’t want to be perceived as soft on crime.”
State Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, who has been chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, said she expects a “full frontal assault” from prosecutors.
In a rebuttal to Lawson’s report, Fayette County prosecutor Ray Larson said 20 persistent felons cited in the study had been convicted of more than 300 felonies and misdemeanors. He said the 3,200 persistent felons his office prosecuted in the 12 years ending in 2007 were convicted of 45,000 felonies and misdemeanors.
“The average citizen wants to be protected from these predatory repeat criminals,” Larson said.
Attorney General Jack Conway said he is willing to “listen and to talk about what offenses ought to trigger the PFO laws.”
But he says a more effective way to slow the growing prison population is to refer nonviolent drug offenders for treatment and to set a sliding scale of sentences for theft offenses.
“You shouldn’t be punished the same for stealing $500 as embezzling a half-million,” he said.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x2077109477/Study-blames-Ky-law-for-overcrowded-prisons
Posted by lois at November 18, 2008 10:14 AM