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Phoenix, AZ – Members of a special panel met Wednesday to review a report by
the Auditor General's Office which showed that the number of
people behind bars, less than 3,400 in 1978, has now ballooned
past 40,000. That's far faster that population growth. That can
mean expanding the Department of Correction. But Rep. Cecil Ash
who chairs the committee, said the budget deficit means the state
needs to look at alternatives -- especially if lawmakers want to
avoid spending cuts elsewhere.
(We're in a position where we have to tighten our belts in every
department. But the biggest lobby out there is for education,
more resources for education, because that's our future. And so
it's appropriate to examine the department to see if there's any
place where we can do better.)
He specifically wants colleagues to reconsider the laws they
started enacting more than 30 years ago establishing minimum
sentences for certain crimes. And Ash said the state also needs
to revisit the 1993 truth in sentencing laws which say inmates
cannot be released on parole until they serve at least 85 percent
of their sentence. Any move is going to run headlong into Sen.
Ron Gould. He will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee for the
next two years through which any changes in the criminal code
must pass.
(Just because we're in a budget crisis doesn't necessarily mean
that we need to let prisoners out of prison. It's a basic
function of government to punish evildoers.)
Gould said the state is in its current budget crunch not because
of mandatory sentencing but because it continued to expand
various social programs even when tax revenues started to decline
four years ago. And he had particularly harsh words about Ash.
(Mr. Ash, who's a defense attorney, if you take a look at his web
site, you'll see he seems to have a warm and fuzzy spot for sex
offenders.)
Ash said he's not suggesting that dangerous criminals be released
in the name of the budget. But he did express his dismay with a
law that says anyone guilty of multiple counts of possessing
child pornography must serve 10 years for each of them --
consecutively -- a sentence imposed on a Phoenix high school
teacher that ultimately was upheld by the state Supreme Court.
That brought a rebuke from Scott Smith, the lobbyist for Gov. Jan
Brewer, who was at Wednesday's hearing.
(I do not believe that reducing the sentences for offenders that
view child pornography is the best means to begin addressing the
budget crisis.)
And Smith said his boss is likely to have problems with any move
to revamp mandatory sentencing laws -- many of which were enacted
during the 14 years Brewer was in the Legislature -- to give
judges more discretion.
(Mandatory sentencing was established solely to address the
discretion issue. It was put in place for a reason because the
public and legislators were upset with lenient sentences that
were handed down.)
Ash conceded the nature of politics makes any chance of the kind
of reform he wants difficult, if not impossible, unless voters
take a closer look at the issue.
(Every two years people run on being not being soft on crime. So
it just keeps getting harsher and harsher. We've done that in
several areas. I think it's simply a matter of education.)
A final decision on what proposals to advance will come when the
session starts in January. For Arizona Public Radio this is
Howard Fischer.