We really need to determine what we want from our prison system and make adjustments. Is incarceration intended to protect society, punish lawbreakers (and deter by extension) or reform offenders? A recent story on NPR revealed the size and reach of the prison lobby. That shit's big business.
Oregon Constitution, Article I, Section 15: "Foundation principles of criminal law. Laws for the punishment of crime shall be founded on these principles: protection of society, personal responsibility, accountability for one's actions and reformation."
Before we start cutting costs by making it less likely that violent criminals or sex offenders will stay in jail, we could just decriminalize things like possessing, selling, and smoking pot. How many people are in prison for marijuana-related crimes?
It is my understanding that incarceration is not "to protect society" in all cases. If that were true...no inmate would ever be released. Unfortunately, inmates are warehoused in the countries facilities and given release dates in the future that most undoubtedly will be unsuccessful as there has been no funding for rehabilitation. Much like rubbing a dogs nose in urine to train him not to pee on the carpet. Instead of giving the dog adequate outdoor potty time and encouraging proper behavior we just rub the inmates face in his mistake and shove him into lockup. Why would an inmates behavior change? I am not naive enough to believe that every inmate can be "changed" but many can and that is what we need to keep in mind as a society. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Aren't we all acting just a little insane by putting human beings in timeout without reform/treatment?