...Advertisement...

...Advertisement...

February 29, 2008

Keep more Virginians out of jail

For Monday: With more than 1 in 100 people in the United States behind bars, America has the shameful distinction of having the highest rate of incarceration in the world. A newly released study by the Pew Center on the States http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf
found the prison population grew last year, as it has every year since 1987. Virginia's 5 percent rate of growth exceeded the national average of 1.6 percent.

With its more than 38,500 prisoners to support and guard -- the figure for Virginia as of the first of this year -- the Old Dominion needs to use every tool it has to keep corrections costs in line. Fortunately, the state has experience at this sort of thing. When the Allen administration abolished parole in the mid-1990s, it overhauled the sentencing system for nonviolent offenders.

Judges can divert a lot of low-risk offenders from prisons and jails with alternative sentences. But even in tight budget times -- especially in tight budget times -- the state needs to do more to keep people who present little danger to society out of jail, and on a path to productive citizenship.

Comments

# 1

[March 1, 2008 10:31 AM]

terry

You guys beg for laws making anything and everything illegal but complain about too many people being in prison.

I love watching dogs chase their tails.

If you make drugs, prostitution and gambling legal 75% (I made this number up) of the people in prison could be released.

I’ve never understood punishing adults for hurting themselves.

Note: apologies for any grammatical errors.

*Such profound statements are almost beyond comment and should only be taken at face value. Terry’s is indeed one of them. – Will

Post a comment





Search


Quick Thought

  • We're tweeting -

    The RT is now on twitter.com. To get updates and alerts about what's happening on The Roanoke Times editorial blog, click here, then click "follow." We'll send out updates when we put up the day's editorial and commentary for discussion.

  • Valid e-mail now required -

    From now on, in order to comment to The RT, we will require a valid e-mail address.

    We will conduct random checks to ensure that addresses are valid. The address you submit is not public, and not accessible to spam bots. It will not be used for any other purpose than verification.

    In addition, please remember that this is intended to be a forum for polite and respectful debate. Personal attacks against fellow commenters or the editorial page staff of The Roanoke Times will not be allowed. Address the argument, not the person.

    We will continue to delete any libelous comments.

    Thank you

  • Welcome to The RT -

    Welcome to The RT. That’s The Roanoke Times RoundTable, our new editorial page blog.

    What The RT becomes will be largely up to readers. But we envision a place for a healthy and civil dialogue among The Roanoke Times editorial page staff and the community.

    Read more.

Recent comments

  • You guys beg for laws making anything and everything illegal but complain about too many ...more - terry

Monthly archives

Categories

Latest columns

Today's editorials

Letters to the editor

About this blog

The Roanoke Times editorial staff engages readers in a respectful dialogue and exchange of opinion, including our virtual editorial board where you can discuss tomorrow's editorials today. Read more about the editorial staff

E-mail address for roanoke.com

RSS feed

.....Advertisement.....