If you had to be a prisoner in the United States, this is certainly the time. Because of the severe economic downturn in the United States, the government will not be able to keep prisoners incarcerated as long as they have. Sentences will need to be lower, “good time” credit will have to increase and “alternative sentencing” will have to be enacted. “Tough on crime” initiatives will be toned down or completely eliminated and mandatory sentencing will be given a second look.
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts recently suggested, “a monthly cost of $2,076.83 [per inmate] to be used for imprisonment, and a monthly cost of $301.80 for supervision.”
Last month, The New York Post printed an article stating, “All of the city’s DA’s—with the exception of Manhattan—are drastically scaling back the hiring of new assistant district attorneys, in hopes of saving enough bucks to ride out the current fiscal crisis. . . The Bronx DA’s office is slashing their incoming crop from 50 to 10, while Brooklyn is taking in only 35 newcomers, down from the regular 60.” That means prosecutors’ case loads will rise and plea bargains will have to be more generous.
New York’s harsh Rockefeller drug laws are being reformed. Instead of receiving prison sentences, non-violent offenders will receive treatment, which will save the state money. California has been ordered to reduce its prison population citing poor health care due to overcrowded conditions and as a cost cutting measure. The state simply cannot afford to build more jails. Georgia has ordered state employees to work one or two days less a week. Where will the state employee cutbacks be made? According to reports, the cutbacks will come from Corrections and its Juvenile Justice System.
It will not be easy for inmates in the beginning. Programs will be abolished, the quality of food and medical care will go down and “quality of life” will become a matter of constitutional concern. Eventually, the courts will step in and prison authorities, if they do not do something on their own, will be forced to consider releasing prisoners earlier.
Deportable aliens of non-violent offenses will fare best. What sense does it make to keep a man or woman in jail to protect society when that inmate is not going to be a part of the society? Several states have already implemented “early deportation” programs. In New York, a non-violent state prisoner facing deportation can be paroled “for deportation only” after serving 50% of his or her sentence. That means if you are serving a five year sentence, you can be deported in two and a half. The U.S. prison system will have to create a similar program. It cannot afford not to. The less time a prisoner is incarcerated the less money has to be spent on him or her. It is that simple.