What’s In The Prison Reform Bill?
by March 2, 2011 7:00 pm 68 views
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.