Jun 072010
 

The best ways we can reduce the crime rate, long term, is through education to prevent crime and rehabilitative services to help prisoners change.  That makes this story so disturbing.

MandMins State reserve money that could have gone to education will likely go to state prisons and, according to some, support of crime initiatives is holding taxpayer money hostage.

Like every other state agency, Oregon’s Department of Corrections has been ordered by the governor to cut 9 percent of its budget, a total of $50 million.

“We have a bit of a box we’re in that is very difficult to manage,” said Max Williams, the director of the Department of Corrections.

Williams said voter-passed initiatives will keep him from making enough cuts.

“But I don’t believe we can get to the $50 million target without bumping into some amount of those restrictions that are on the system,” he said.

Those restrictions come from voter-approved initiatives Measure 11, the state’s minimum sentencing law; Measure 57, which keeps repeat property offenders in jail longer; Article 1, Section 44 is a voter-passed law that requires a judge’s sentence to be carried out, and numerous federal mandates, including inmate health care.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Tuesday said the Legislature will have to use state reserve funds to keep Oregon’s prison system compliant with the law.

“The choices they have are too severe. They can’t release people,” he said…

Inserted from <KATU>

Cutting funds to schools guarantees that more Oregonians will become criminals.  In these hard times, we should not be building more prisons, but mandatory minimum sentencing requires it.

Sadly, there are few places in a corrections budget where funds can be cut.  I fear that the most likely target will be programming to provide prisoners an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves.

I urge you to support the repeal of Oregon Measures 11 and 57.

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