News Dec 5, 2012 at 4:00 am

Kitzhaber Says, "Read My Lips: No New Prisons."

Comments

1
So the solution to an expensive prison problem is to spend MORE money and imprison fewer lawbreakers?

And could you show how the correlating increase in population compares to the imprisonment rate?
2
The population of Oregon is a little under 1.5 times what it was in 1982. The data above show that the prison population is now 4.56 times what it was then. The violent crime rate has shown a marked _decrease_ over the same period. Data: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/orcrime.htm

Violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 1982: 473. In 2011: 248. We need serious changes in drug laws and treatment for those who need it rather than putting them in cages as if that actually worked—otherwise the burglary/theft/property crime rates will not really go down. None of this is news to people who have been paying attention, I think. Flatlining the prison population is not "really bold"; it needs to decrease. The numbers show what a catastrophic failure the past few decades of crime/sentencing policies have been.
Looking at the differences in spending it's important not to ignore the qualifier "upfront" to consider what course of action will yield good results over the long term.
3
How about some radical prison rehab like: providing those already incarcerated with some good counseling and resources to help them rehabilitate? How about some "good time" for those who have already been sentenced under Measure 11 who are trying to rehabilitate themselves? The sentencing guidelines under Measure 11 are insane for those who have not hurt anyone. Under Measure 11, a person who has committed robberies while addicted to meth and who has never hurt anyone can serve a longer sentence that a murderer! There is NO REHABILITATION PRISON so we need to correct that so we do not have re-offenders. Let's give those already in prison a chance to turn their lives around and reward them with some good time. Measure 11 needs to be repealed first so we are not just "warehousing" those who are already serving time. I do agree with this proposal but is only touching the tip of the iceberg!
4
Geyser, where did you get that population statistic....it seems low. Just curious.

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