Print |
E-mail to a friend
OPINIONS
Editorial: Prison reform commission must keep public safety uppermost in its mind
West Virginia's prison population is growing, perhaps beyond the means of state government to house it. Already, many beds in the regional jail system are occupied by people convicted of crimes but for whom there is no room in a state prison.
According to The Associated Press., Gov. Joe Manchin is expected to create a commission that will review and recommend a number of alternatives to how West Virginians are sentenced and confined.
The idea came from a public safety summit earlier this month that tried to address West Virginia's growing inmate population. The state's estimated 6,000 inmates already exceed prison capacity and the number is expected to surpass 8,000 by 2012.
New projections show West Virginia's prison population is growing faster than previously anticipated and a new state penitentiary will be necessary soon. But whether a second or third is needed depends on what the commission can recommend, said First Circuit Judge Martin J. Gaughan, who presides over circuit courts in Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties.
A 1,200-bed penitentiary could cost at least $200 million and take several years to site and build.
Among other things, the commission will review research on why people commit crimes and what services can be offered to keep some convicted criminals out of the prison system.
The comment that sums up most West Virginians' feelings was made by state Sen. Ed Bowman, D-Hancock, who chairs the Senate's Government Organization Committee: "We need to make sure we keep the baddest of the bad guys in jail."
That's what prisons are for -- to protect the good people from the bad. While West Virginia's rural areas remain relatively crime-free, the state's urban areas have seen an increase in violent crime. People want to be protected. They want adequate law enforcement to catch the bad guys, and they want the bad guys to be put away where they can't hurt anyone else.
West Virginians are tired of the increase in crime. They want criminals put away where they can do no more harm to innocent people. That includes murderers, thieves, home invaders and repeat DUI offenders. Prison may or may not be the answer for most of these people.
The study commission must keep in mind that its first duty is to the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding residents of West Virginia, not to the prison system or the criminal. Otherwise it will be a waste of time.
