As states across the country struggle with rising costs, including those associated with prisons, some are deciding to actually let prisoners go. Take the state of Illinois for example. Governor Pat Quinn says 1,000 prisoners will be let out early in an effort to reduce costs.
Over the next few months only certain inmates will be released; those who are serving the last year of a sentence and those who are “low-level and non-violent”. All early release offenders will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Based on these criteria, most of this group of 1,000 will be those who are serving time for drug and property crimes. An Illinois Corrections spokeswoman assured the public that prisoners who have been convicted of murder, sex crimes, domestic violence or who have active orders of protection against them do not qualify for release.
By releasing 1,000 prisoners, the state expects to save about $5 million a year, but it will cost the state $2 million to monitor them, which includes having a parole officer assigned to each person and providing drug and other rehabilitation treatment.
This may all sound like good news; however it isn’t for some of those employed by the Illinois state prison system. Governor Quinn is expected to lay off 1,000 prison employees
Hanke Gratteau, Executive Director of the John Howard Association and a former Chicago Tribune managing editor says “We should be using tax dollars wisely to be locking people up who present a physical threat to the community. But to just lock people up to punish them without programming doesn’t make any sense.”
If you know someone that may soon be released, send them money, so that when that loved one gets out, he / she will have some funds with which to integrate back into society.