What’s In The Prison Reform Bill?

All hail, Kelly MacNeil, KUAR’s intrepid capitol reporter who also writes for the radio station’s new blog, Ark Things Considered. We’re a proud content partner with KUAR-FM 89 and you can catch Talk Business on Mondays at 6pm on the Little Rock public radio station.

MacNeil clearly spent her evening reading through the 167-page prison overhaul bill that was filed by State Sen. Jim Luker and others Wednesday afternoon. She offers these highlights of what the bill proposes:

• Give lesser sentences for certain crimes, mostly drug-related. Also nonviolent crimes like theft.
• Make some offenders eligible for parole earlier (though not, the Governor insists, violent ones).
• Require additional reporting about compliance with sentencing guidelines.
• Let probationers and parolees "earn" credits toward early release from supervision.
• Require an assessment of risk and needs for every parole applicant.
• Create supervision plans for probationers and parolees based on individual risk to reoffend, and evidence-based practices.
• This supervision and treatment would be partly underwritten by higher fees on probationers and parolees.
• Create minimum qualifications for Parole Board members.
• Require more reporting on parole decisions, and more reasoning when parole is denied.
• Create intermediate punishments for those who violate the terms of parole or probation, without sending them straight to prison.
• Increase reliance on electrtonic monitoring (ankle bracelets).
• Begin a grant program for jurisdictions that keep tighter watch on probationers.
• Expand drug courts.
• Create an incentives program for jurisdictions that reduce recidivism and crime.

You can read more of MacNeil’s comments at this link. Gov. Mike Beebe struck a deal with prosecutors on Tuesday to address their concerns as we’ve previously reported.