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"Protecting the public while saving public money"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this op-ed out of Missouri, which is authored by a county-level prosecuting attorney. Here are some notable excerpts: It is a myth that prisons are full of first-time nonviolent criminals.  Fewer than 7 percent of the inmates in Missouri prisons fall within the Department of Corrections? definition of ?first-time nonviolent offender.?  That means 93 percent of Missouri?s 30,000 prisoners are violent or chronic felony offenders, according to the corrections department?s own narrow definition. More importantly, the term ?first-time nonviolent offender? includes people who clearly deserve to be in prison.  The term does not mean the offender is incarcerated without good reason or, in some instances, does not pose a danger to the public...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 09, 2010 (boomark / email).