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Newsbrief:
Under
Budget
Pressure,
Washington
State
Officials
Consider
Shorter
Sentences
For
Drug
Offenders
12/15/00
Washington state prison officials
have suggested the state consider cutting the prison sentences of current
and future drug offenders. Their proposal comes in response to a
request by Gov. Gary Locke that all state agencies identify possible budget
cuts.
The state is facing a billion
dollar budget shortfall. Reducing drug sentences and granting early
release to drug prisoners could save $26 million in the next two years,
the proposal said.
According to the proposal
sent to the governor by the corrections department, shortening the sentences
of convicted drug offenders would free up 525 to 700 prison beds.
Margaret Vonheeder, deputy
secretary for administration for the Department of Corrections, told the
Associated Press the department also proposed reducing the sentences of
nonviolent drug offenders, including drug sellers.
"You'd be looking at people
who pose the lowest risk to public safety," Vonheeder said. "We've
talked about a lot of different sentencing changes."
The governor's criminal justice
policy adviser, Dick Van Wagenen, told the Associated Press the governor
is still reviewing spending proposals, but that changes in sentencing were
possible. "I don't think anything is going to be off the table in
terms of how the legislature deals with this," he said.
The corrections department
also suggested cuts in drug treatment and job training, despite Vonheeder's
admission that such cuts would be "antithetical" to the agency's mission
to rehabilitate offenders. Vonheeder said she saw no other way to
make large spending cuts without gutting entire programs.
-- END --
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Issue #164, 12/15/00
New Jersey Racial Profiling Documents Go Online: Historic Opportunity for Activists, Researchers, Public | On Campuses, Student Drug Reform Movement Gathers Steam, Federal Financial Aid Anti-Drug Law a Rallying Point | Latin America Experts Urge Next President to Reassess Drug Policy | OAS Body Meets to Evaluate Hemispheric Nations' Drug Policies, Could Provide Model to Replace US Certification | Rocky vs. Barry: Salt Lake City Mayor Takes on the Drug Czar | Follow That Story: British Columbia Premier Backs Vancouver Agreement, Heroin Maintenance | Follow That Story: Oregon Asset Forfeitures on Hold for Now, Cops, Prosecutors Worried About New Law's Impact | Newsbrief: Under Budget Pressure, Washington State Officials Consider Shorter Sentences For Drug Offenders | Alberta Judge Rules Parliament Must Create Medical Marijuana Source or Cultivation Will Be Legal in the Province | Media Scan: Daily News on Amnesty for Drug Offenders | Job Opportunity: US Drug Czar | The Reformer's Calendar | Editorial: Unattainable Standards
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