PRISONER EXPRESS

That is the BIG unanswered question of all the new millennium that seems to be on the minds of all inmates, prison administrators, Texas lawmakers, and the general public.

When it comes to prison overcrowding, recidivism, incarceration rates, parole board reform, and state-wide budget cuts. Some have already started to cripple the proper functioning of the Texas prison system as well as the general public's health care and educational programs and services that will affect many Texas children and the elderly.

It is now known that a major "factor" presented to the U.S. commission on Civil Rights, by Marc Mauer on June 20, 2003 who is the assistant director of the sentencing project. He presented documented evidence of the rise in incarceration in the U.S. over the past 30 years. And what is shocking if not downright mind boggling is that this large increase in U.S. incarceration is NOT due to crime rates, but mostly due to the change in POLICY and sentencing laws.

So to answer a small part of the BIG question would be to focus on the CAUSE of the dramatically rising U.S. incarceration rates and NOT the crime rates themselves. The focus should be tightly viewed on Federal and State policy reform, sentencing laws, and alternative punishment for non-violent offenses like drugs, alcohol and white-collar crimes.

At this present time, Texas taxpayers are footing a $37,000.00 bill to incarcerate just ONE inmate for ONE year in the Texas prison system. And this includes those inmates that were sent back to prison on technical violations, of which some were sent back because they merely were an hour late to reporting to their parole officer, or missed one drug rehab class with a legitimate reason.

But these technical parole violators could spend one year ($37,000.00) or three years ($111,000.00) or even longer in the Texas prison system, all for reporting an hour late. Sad but true that the Texas taxpayer's dollars are being wasted like this. But a technical violation is a technical violation nonetheless here in Texas.

The Texas state legislation has received recommendations to cut some programs and services for children (250,000 of them) in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) here in Texas and another recommendation is a 33% cut to medical providers. This proposed medical cut would affect 500,000 elderly in Texas. There were also proposed cuts for public schools, drug rehabilitation centers, child protective services, domestic violence, preventative programs, state foster care and these types of proposals and budget cuts are not just being pushed and passed in Texas but seems to be a growing epidemic throughout the Federal and State legislative bodies and will proceed to grow more prevalent as the years pass if the issues are not addressed now.

But to spend $37,000 dollars a year on one inmate for a technical parole violation or non-violent crime, is a crime in itself.

This $37,000 a year could be used towards these same child and elderly programs and services, health care and education programs that the Texas state legislators and across the U.S. tend to cut, reduce, or dispose of altogether. One main reason why this type of alternative sentencing reform is grossly overlooked here in Texas is the Texas prison system (TDCJ) is the state's largest industry which brings in a reported 2 billion dollars a year for the state.

What seems to be a growing trend here in Texas is the deterioration of the Texas parole board policies and release rates and an increase in the state's prison incarceration and recidivism rates, but the states crime rates do not support the steady Texas prison system's growing incarceration and recidivism rates. Why is this? The answer lies in Texas sentencing laws, parole revocation policies, parole review, and release of inmates and Texas laws that apply to non-violent offences.

So part of the BIG question, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE lies in the dramatic change in the Federal and State Legislative POLICY, alternative sentencing laws, and a total reform of the parole policies, guidelines, and revocation system here in Texas.

If not, be prepared for our nation's incarceration rates to triple in the coming decades as well as more budget cuts to the elderly, children's medical and educational programs and services.

So do you sit and be silent as your tax dollars get grossly misused by placing parolees back in prison on a technical violation for being an hour late to report to their parole officer, which will cost the state $37,000 a year to keep this inmate in prison, which is your hard earned money, while your children and the elderly are victimized by all the budget cuts to their education, healthcare, programs and services.

It's your tax dollars, your vote, and your voice. Please use it to help bring about a change and reform. Or we all will forever be wondering WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?