Save our tax money: release all non-violent drug users from prisons.

[pnwmom]

Put them on supervised probation instead. People who aren't selling and aren't hurting anyone else shouldn't be imprisoned anyway.

For example, in Gov. Patterson's new budget for the state of New York:

"Nearly 2,000 prison inmates would be released early to save money."

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/525371.html


______________________

I bet you could release a lot more if you released all non-violent drug users.

[lonestarnot]

1. Not much discussion of this as a solution. Personally,

I think it is a very wise decision.

[Fumesucker]

2. Sorry, Dems have to keep their powder dry..

It's already so dessicated it's sucking the moisture right out of nearby rocks, but it could always be a little drier.

And besides, Republicans might say nasty things about them.

[HereSince1628]

3. The number of such persons is pretty large isn't it?

From prison out into society they become unemployed without a good system to help them get on their feet. I'm all for letting these people out of prison, but won't they need special assistance finding work to overcome the stigma of having been imprisoned?

[pnwmom]

4. From what I understand, it would be a lot cheaper to provide them some

support systems outside prison -- even welfare -- than to keep them locked up.

Prison is hugely expensive.

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. Prison is hugely expensive but cheap prison labor is hugely profitable and the prison guard union

might become hugely pissed off if the number of prisoners is reduced.


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drugs31-2008oct31,0,6913370.story


http://www.prop5yes.com/prop-5-falls-to-prison-guards%E2%80%99-millions-prison-system-now-faces-federal-court-takeover

[pnwmom]

13. Yeah, well, the prison guard union can join the rest of us

pissed off Americans.

[pnwmom]

5. WA state, for example, spends more than $46,000 annually per prisoner.

According to Pew Research, here are the figures for Washington. Dividing the total number of people behind bars into the amount spent on corrections equals more than $46,000 per prisoner in costs.

Washington

- In 2007, 18,126 people were behind bars in Washington, representing a 3.2% increase over the previous year.
- Washington spent $832 million in fiscal year 2007 on corrections.
- For every dollar spent on higher education, Washington spent 55 cents on corrections.

At the link, there are comparable numbers for all the states.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/419/states-prisons.html#here

[Obamanaut]

12. I did not look at chart for cost, but Fla for fiscal 07 - 08 has daily

avg of over 95,000 inmates.

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/pop/facility/avgdaily.html

Edited to add: And what is pitiful, there is a new prison coming on line in my county in '09, under construction now. The people who want the new prisons tout them as being a boon for the local economy, but it doesn't seem to work that way, from appearances. Where there are prisons around the small towns, they remain small.

My county, with it's new prison coming, has slightly over 70% HS graduation rate, and the neighbor to the north has about 71% (both figures from recent local papers, no links.) These are right at the bottom for the state.

[DCKit]

6. I've heard the number of non-violent drug offenders imprisoned is 328,000...

yet real criminals are doing the deed every day in Washington and on Wall Street.

Go figure.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pnwmom]

9. I'm aware of that, but I was trying to refer only to those who were convicted

of using -- rather than also convicted of selling. "Offenders" would include sellers.

[riverdeep]

10. That makes sense.

Therefore, it's not going to happen. Instead, they'll change it to one strike you're out. Let's have three out ten people in prison.

[MadHound]

11. What, and deprive the prison-industrial complex of all that cash?

Not going to happen. After all, that would violate the basic tenants of this War on Drugs, make lots of money for a few people while screwing over the rest of us.