[Vision2020] prison system

[Pat Kraut]

Would those mitigating circumstances include releasing another Duncan on innocent children? The changes I would love to see are that molesters of children would be held without bail and then held in a cell for life.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Reynolds, James 
  To: vision2020 at moscow.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 11:05 AM
  Subject: [Vision2020] prison system


  Here is how my view on the Idaho prison situation is coming along. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my edification on this subject so far. Please don't be hesitant to redirect my understanding. All contributions are very much welcomed.



  My opinion so far is we have to ante up the additional funds the Department of Correction is asking for the 2006 budget. We have to do this simply because we are imprisoning people we have decided to so we have to take care of their needs while they are so imprisoned. This is a case of "we made the bed.now we have to lie on it". I have been convinced that correction personnel need the perks (for prisoners) in order to maintain order in the prisons. A very good carrot vs. stick analogy was used to sway me to this way of thinking; "if you take away all of the carrots", what is left to shape prisoner behavior is not going to be pretty.



  So the bottom line so far for fiscal year budgeting seems to me is that the Department of Corrections is operating within a reasonable budget but needs the additional funds to maintain the same level of operational success with the increased prison population.



  On the 160 million requested to build more prisons I am not convinced that that is what Idahoans want. I have been convinced (so far) that what we want is an elimination of mandatory sentencing so that mitigating circumstances can be used by the court system to keep low-risk offenders out of the prisons. I have been convinced that if we put additional monies into anything it should be drug courts and rehabilitation. Keeping the low-risk offenders out of prison reduces the direct cost of housing them and gives the offenders a chance to redeem themselves by remaining productive citizens.  





  James Reynolds

  1424 Borah ave.

  Moscow



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