|
Minnesota
Sentencing
Commission
Report
Says
State
Could
Save
$30
Million
Per
Year
With
Treatment
Not
Prison
1/23/04
A special report on drug
offenders released last week by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission
has opened the door for another round of debate in the state legislature
over what to do about the spiraling cost of increasing drug offenders.
That report found the state could save $30 million a year if nonviolent
drug offenders were sent to treatment instead of prison.
Since 1989, Minnesota has
embarked an ever-harsher war on drugs, with the percentage of drug prisoners
rising from 9% in 1989 to 23% in 2002. That year, for the first time
ever, Minnesota sent more people to prison for drug offenses than for either
violent or property offenses, and for longer. Average drug sentences
more than doubled in length between 1988 -- the last year before the state's
current harsh drug laws went into effect -- from under two years (22.9
months) to over four years (50.2 months) in that period, the report found.
The commission found that
one reason Minnesota has so many drug offenders behind bars is that its
punishments are much stricter than those of neighboring Upper Midwest states.
But the state is also paying the price for its war against crack cocaine,
with penalties being increased throughout the late-1980s, and in an ironic
twist, a 1990 court ruling on discrepancies between powder and crack cocaine
made it worse. After that ruling, Minnesota decided to punish powder
violators as severely as crack violators instead of lessening penalties
for the latter. This is not surprising for a state who complex sentencing
guidelines explicitly equate drug sales over a rather low threshold with
"rape by force or threat."
That decision was only one
of many that led to "a combination of intended and unintended consequences"
for drug warriors and the state budget, the report said. "In addition,
reductions in treatment resources at both the state and local levels have
contributed to a growing number of drug offenders recycling through our
criminal justice system," the report noted.
The sentencing guideline
commission consists of three members of the state judiciary, a county sheriff,
a county prosecutor, a public defender, the state corrections commissioner,
and two "citizen representatives" appointed by the governor. The
makeup of the commission may help to explain the limited -- if progressive
within the context of Minnesota crime and drug politics in recent years
-- nature of its "options for consideration," which were:
-
Maintain the status quo.
This option would entail "additional appropriations" to pay for more prison
beds for the projected growth in drug war prisoners and for more prison-based
drug treatment programs. The commission put the cost of new prison
construction alone under this option at $58.2 million by 2012.
-
Reduce sentences by adjusting
"thresholds," or quantities of a given drug that trigger stiffer penalties
or a presumption of drug dealing. The commission gave the example
of a man, "John Smith," caught with 10 grams of cocaine. Under the
1982 sentencing guidelines, he would have been sentenced to a year's probation;
with changes in 1986, he would have served two years in prison; under the
post-1989 legislative regime, he would serve seven years in prison.
The commission suggested returning to the pre-1989 sentencing guidelines.
-
Reduce sentences by adjusting
the state's complicated sentencing guideline structure. The changes
envisioned by the commission under this option would involve downsizing
some drug offenses to reduce maximum sentences faced. The commission
found that Minnesota drug sentences were both "somewhat disproportionate"
in the region and perceived to be disproportionate by Minnesota judges,
who granted downward departures in drug cases at a rate much than those
for other offenses.
-
Develop, implement, and pay
for a community-based punishment and treatment program to reduce the number
of drug offenders returned to prison for parole or probation violations.
It would cost, the commission conceded, but "these costs would be less
per offender than the annual cost to incarceration an offender in a state
correctional facility."
-
Develop a comprehensive sentencing
policy for drug offenders "guided by the need to protect public safety,
hold the offender accountable for his/her illegal behavior and provide
a meaningful opportunity for the offender to address his/her substance
abuse problem and drug related behavior."
Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-Minneapolis)
didn't wait for the commission to introduce a bill raising the amount of
cocaine or methamphetamine needed to trigger the state's harsh sentences.
Now, anyone caught with a half-ounce of either drug faces seven years in
prison. Under Ellison's bill, that threshold would jump to two ounces.
"We've got to reserve our prison cells for the truly dangerous," Ellison
told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Other officials reacted to
the commission's finding that Minnesota's sentences were tougher than neighboring
states. "We have to figure out what is the right level of deterrence
and get in line with other states," Rep. Eric Lipman (R-Lake Elmo) said.
"Why would we be way out front?"
"If we're out of sync with
other states, it's worth it to take a look at it," Hennepin County (Minneapolis)
prosecuting attorney Amy Klobuchar told the Star-Tribune. "But we
must keep a focus on drug dealers. We can't go too far the other
way."
Visit http://www.msgc.state.mn.us
to read the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission "Special Report
to the Legislature on Drug Offender Sentencing" online.
To read about Rep. Ellison's
sentencing reform bill, HF1037, go to http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/legis.asp
and type the bill number in the search function.
-- END --
|
Issue #321, 1/23/04
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Death, Madness, Mayhem! Brit Tabloids in Fits Over Pot |
Review Finds Anti-Drug Campaign Works on Parents (Sort Of) But Not Kids -- Findings Contradict Drug Czar's Rosy Views |
Minnesota Sentencing Commission Report Says State Could Save $30 Million Per Year With Treatment Not Prison |
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Newsbrief: Peruvian Coca Growers Prepare to Gather, Government Gets Nervous |
Newsbrief: Bush Proposes More Money for School Drug Testing |
Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief: Kentucky Governor Unveils New Drug Offender Plan -- Less Prison, More Treatment |
This Week in History |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web-Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
The Reformer's Calendar
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