VT OKs Early Releases
The number of people Vermont locks up in prisons had been mostly in decline for about two years — until July 2008, when a 12-year-old girl died, allegedly at the hands of a convicted sex offender. News from the Burlington Free Press.
Since the death of Brooke Bennett, the number of inmates —
and the cost to house them — has risen steadily. The theory: In response to public outrage that the man charged with Brooke’s death had been freed from prison, judges have been sending offenders to prison more readily and for longer sentences.
The solution: Legislation that passed the Senate on Wednesday seeks to counteract that boom in the prison population by keeping about 200 nonviolent offenders out of prison and letting others off probation six months early.
“We’re trying to make it possible for the Department of Corrections to meet the challenge of reducing expenses by $10 million,” said Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington. “I don’t believe the Judiciary Committee is putting anyone in danger. We are moving up the date of when they return.”
The move is projected to save $4.6 million next year, and calls for reinvesting $1.3 million of that into community housing and substance abuse programs that would be targeted at those offenders in hopes of keeping them from returning to prison.
The legislation, which goes next to the House, calls for earlier release from probation of such offenders convicted of nonviolent misdemeanors and felonies — a list that would include drug dealers, drug users and burglars. Some 100 non-violent offenders who’ve served their minimum sentences but continue to be held for lack of housing would be released. And another 100 who are being held pending trial would not be imprisoned.
The bill would allow judges to set bail for offenders who violate probation conditions that do not constitute a new crime, an effort to keep them out of prison. The bill also calls on state officials to create a plan to reduce the number of people being held pending trial by 25 percent. That population has increased from 336 in 2008 to 402 this year.
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