State finally set to pass prison reform?

[eldondre]

Pa. Senate sends corrections bill to Corbett - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Passed unanimously by the state Senate Monday night, the bill expands the use of alternative sentencing, stops sentencing nonviolent offenders to state prisons and lessens the punishment for technical parole violations, among other efforts to create sentences that are less punitive and more rehabilitative. Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign the bill into law once it reaches his desk...
estimates the changes contained in the bill will save the state corrections system roughly $351 million over the next five years -- money that can in part be reinvested into grants to local law enforcement and probation, parole and victims' services, Mr. Corbett said.

seems like good news

[seand]

This is great news. Maybe the best news likely to come out of the Corbett administration.

[Volanova]

From what I've read, this is an overall good thing. Get the non-violents out of the system to make room for hitting the violent perps harder.

[Sharkfood]

Exactly what is a "nonviolent offender"? A burglar? A guy who breaks your windshield and takes your ipod?
These are the types of guys being let out on the street to cause mayhem?

[seand]

Exactly what is a "nonviolent offender"? A burglar? A guy who breaks your windshield and takes your ipod?
These are the types of guys being let out on the street to cause mayhem?

They are also the types of guys its cheaper to direct to ankle bracelet/pee-in-a-cup/work-and-pay-own-rent in a half-way house programs than to continually build full security prisons for. Keeping people in jail is expensive.

[Politburo]

If I read it correctly (S.B. 100), burglary is considered a violent crime if someone is in the home. Theft from vehicle is not considered violent.

Also if I read correctly, breaking into an abandoned building is no longer burglary (or maybe it wasn't to begin with and this is just clarifying, I don't know).

[seand]

I'd rather have junky kleptos wearing ankle bracelets, doing drug testing and paying their own rent in half-way homes than seeing murderers, rapists and armed robber having reduced sentences due to overcrowding.

[CHIOSSO]

You could kill the murderers and rapists, that would make room for more nonviolent offenders.

[seand]

Or you could move to Saudi Arabia and just kill them all.

Generally the supervised work-release programs actually have less recidivism than just throwing people in jail where they do nothing all day but work out lifting weights and exchanging tips on how to be a more effective criminal because people actually come out better prepared to transition to a normal life.

But if you like paying higher and higher taxes to keep locking up the same people over and over again we could stick with the old University of Crime model.

[CHIOSSO]

not worth the argument

[seand]

What do you know about prison?

What do you know? Do you want to brag about your time in the big house?

I've known a couple of individuals who went and asked them about it.

I've also read reports comparing actual recidivism between drug-court supervised work-release programs and just-lock-them-up-and-let-them-out-when-they-are-done and the numbers strongly indicate the former works much predictably to stop repeat offender behavior.

[raider.adam]

This seems sensible. Non-violent offender I would assume also includes the type of guy busted for having a bad of weed on him as well.

Save bed space to lock up the criminals with guns, not ganja.

[eldondre]

This is great news. Maybe the best news likely to come out of the Corbett administration.

sounds like another good one

Former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed's actions were the inspiration for a new state law that Gov. Tom Corbett signed that limits municipality authorities to only use their funds for projects directly related to their purpose.

Reed spent more than $8.3 million in funds from the Harrisburg Authority, which supplies water and sewer services to the city and surrounding communities, on artifacts for an aborted Wild West Museum.

Former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed's Wild West artifacts the inspiration for a new state law | PennLive.com

[seand]

Agreed. Why would H'burg need a Wild West museum? This sounds like Fumo but really, really stupid.

[ArcticSplash]

Agreed. Why would H'burg need a Wild West museum? This sounds like Fumo but really, really stupid.

Fumo would probably find ways to channel money to a state-funded alpaca rescue center.

Or a small business enterprise launch grant tailored towards ORECK vacuum cleaner repair.

[raider.adam]

Agreed. Why would H'burg need a Wild West museum? This sounds like Fumo but really, really stupid.

Yeah, Philly wasn't the only municipality raiding authorities like the DRPA. Or Blackwell using the PHA for birthday parties.

[seand]

We should hang all the career criminals. The dems are against tough laws becuase they all have a half brother or ten in jail.

Funny, I sometimes wish we could just shoot all racist spammers.

[seand]

Are you referring to the blacks who want to hang zimmerman? Are they racist?

All kinds of people can be racists. A big hint is if they take every single conversation off topic to spout on race based tangents.

[seand]

You sir are doing anything but "keeping it real". A quick glance at any of your posts shows the world in your view has one problem and one solutions and it all has to do with race. That is not "real", that is unhealthy obsessesion that says more about you than the outside world.