Economy Helps Prison Hiring
March 12th, 2009
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The economic recession is helping New Mexico Department of Corrections fill its vacancies. The following clip is from KRQE-TV:
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Budget Concerns Force Another Look At The Death Penalty
March 3rd, 2009
In this time of economic turmoil some legislators in Kansas and elsewhere say the price of justice is too high. They have introduced legislation to take the death penalty off the books over financial concerns. CNN reports.
“Because of the downturn in the national economy, we are facing one of the largest budget deficits in our history,” state Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Republican, said in an opinion piece posted on TheKansan.com Friday. “What is certain is we are all going to have to look at new and creative ways to fund state and community programs and services.” The state would save more than $500,000 per case by not seeking the death penalty, McGinn wrote, money that could be used for “prevention programs, community corrections and other programs to decrease future crimes against society” …
A 2008 study by the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy research group based in Maryland, found that an average capital murder trial in the state resulting in a death sentence costs about $3 million, or $1.9 million more than a case where the death penalty is not sought. A similar 2008 study by the ACLU in Northern California found that a death- penalty trial costs about $1.1 million more than a non-death-penalty trial in California …
New Mexico, which also has a bill before the Legislature to abolish the death penalty, has already seen a case where costs dictated the outcome. Last year, the New Mexico attorney general’s office agreed to drop the death penalty for two inmates involved in the stabbing death of a guard, Ralph Garcia, during a 1999 riot at the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility. The change came after the state Legislature failed to provide additional funding for defense attorneys contracted to handle the case by the public defender’s office. In court documents filed at the time, Attorney General Gary King said his office could not “in good faith under these circumstances” pursue the death penalty against Robert Young and Reis Lopez …
In Colorado, House Bill 1274 proposes to put the anticipated savings from abolishing the death penalty toward the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s cold case homicide team.
Other States with bills for an economic end to the death penalty include Washington, Montana, Nebraska, Texas and New Hampshire.
California, Colorado, Death Penalty, Economic Issues, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Texas, Washington
Census of Facilities
October 10th, 2008
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The Bureau of Justice Statistics has just released the 2005 Census of Federal and State Correctional Facilities. The document has a wealth of data across all States, including the numbers of privately-operated facilities.
The document can be accessed from the Basic Stats list at the top right sidebar.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Federal Systems, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Private Prisons, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
The State of the States
January 25th, 2008
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State governments, facing leaner budgets this year as the national economy struggles, are exploring strategies to contain surging prison populations without building costly new correctional facilities, according to a report released this Wednesday (Jan. 23).
At least 18 states took steps last year to free up space at overcrowded prisons, prevent recidivism and otherwise stem the rising costs of corrections, according to “The State of Sentencing 2007,” a review of last year’s major criminal justice trends in the states. Actions included amending or agreeing to study sentencing or parole policies, expanding inmate rehabilitation programs and tweaking other criminal justice practices. The study was conducted by The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization that pushes for the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences and other changes to state and federal criminal justice policies.
According to the report, four states (
The study identified four states (California,
Taken together, last year’s state laws represent a shift in thinking among lawmakers, according to the report. “Although legislative sessions seldom close without some penalty enhancements being added to the criminal code, the tone and focus of many state legislative bodies has demonstrably shifted and, as a result, there is increasing opportunity for reform,” the report said. In an interview, the study’s author, Ryan King, said state lawmakers are more willing to change criminal justice policies because of the financial pressures states are under. Corrections trails only health care, education and transportation in taking state dollars. “There’s simply not enough money in state budgets,” King said. “That has brought a lot of legislators to the table with a willingness to look at alternatives (to building prisons).”
There are signs states will continue to seek alternatives to prison construction this year. In his State of the State address Jan. 7, for example, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter proposed converting a warehouse to a 304-bed rehabilitation center to help inmates with drug and alcohol problems to ensure they don’t break the law again.
The Report is stored in the Library under “Basic Resources”.
Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Sentencing, Washington, Wisconsin