Colorado Facing More Prison Cuts
Faulty projections about how much money the prisoner early-release plan could save may force Colorado DOC to consider other budget-cutting measures, including slashing corrections programs and staff, officials say. Reported by the Denver Post.
“It doesn’t appear to be working,” said state Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, referring to Gov. Bill Ritter’s plan to cut $19 million from the budget by releasing thousands of prisoners on parole up to six months early. “Their assumptions were bad, or something.” Lambert, a member of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, said the issue should be addressed when the committee meets in November and December. JBC chairwoman Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, said the state may have to go back and make more cuts … “This isn’t something we necessarily want to do,” Keller said. “We have to make hard choices.”
The proposal to slash $19 million from the Colorado Department of Correction’s budget this year is tied directly to the number of inmates released early. State officials estimated that over the two years of the program, 8,003 inmates will be eligible for early release. They initially projected that the parole board would deny 20 percent of the early-release cases, leaving about 6,400 who could be released. But Parole Board chairman David Michaud said the board has rejected about 80 percent, including 149 sex offenders. If that rate continues, 1,600 inmates would get early releases in two years. “I’m sure there would be an impact on savings,” DOC spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said.
The early-release initiative, announced Aug. 18, is part of a plan to fill a $318 million state budget gap. Sanguinetti said the DOC will now look at other cost-cutting options. “It would be up to the governor’s office.” Lambert said the DOC may be able to find cost savings in other parts of its budget without putting the safety of residents in jeopardy … Lambert said the DOC could reduce the budget by cutting staff, sending inmates to less costly private prisons or cutting programs. “We have some serious questions we need to ask them about this.” Michaud said other options for the DOC to save money include granting early parole to hundreds of illegal immigrants and to prisoners who also have been convicted of crimes in other states. The illegal immigrants could then be deported and the dual offenders could be sent to the other states to begin serving sentences there, he said. “Are there other avenues for savings?” Michaud said. “I think so.”
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