PRISON OVERCROWDING: $700 million is too much; release nonviolent offenders early, panel says

Colorado prisons are overflowing with inmates, at a cost of nearly $700 million a year to taxpayers, in part due to mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, a panel of state lawmakers and sentence reform advocates said at a town hall meeting Saturday.

To ease the pressure on the state prison system, the 2010 General Assembly will be asked to pass a package of bills that would give judges discretion at sentencing to let some of those convicts out sooner.

The sentencing reform package also will include bills reducing penalties for possession of marijuana and other drugs. For example, possession of 4 ounces of marijuana would become a petty offense instead of a criminal misdemeanor. Possession of 8 to 16 ounces would be a misdemeanor under the bills, instead of a felony.

Similar reductions would apply to possession of small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine and various prescription drugs, with the exception of “date-rape” drugs.

The package also will address DUI sentencing laws, perhaps raising penalties for habitual DUI convictions, said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Donner was among seven panelists who spoke to a crowd of about 60 people at the Ruth Holley Branch of the Pikes Peak Public Library. The town hall meeting was sponsored by a pair of Colorado Springs Democrats: State Rep. Dennis Apuan and Sen. John Morse.

The lawmakers want sweeping changes to Colorado sentencing laws to reduce the prison population, save millions and create opportunities for ex-cons when it comes to jobs and substance abuse treatment.

Donner said the package of bills to be introduced by the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice is a first step.

“The commission is taking a comprehensive look at sentencing laws,” Donner said. “They just voted on 29 recommendations that will be submitted in bills to the 2010 Legislature. They represent the first phase of what will be several phases of sentencing reform.”

Though politically unpopular, reducing prison sentences is the only way to stem the rising tide of inmates, the panelists said.

They blamed the overcrowding on 1985 action by the General Assembly that doubled prison sentences across the board.

Since then, the state’s prison population has exploded, jumping from about 4,000 at the time to more than 23,000 inmates today. The cost of housing inmates has soared, as well, climbing from $57 million in 1985 to $677 million today.

Panelists asked the audience to pressure lawmakers to support reforms so there will be more money to help inmates make the transition back into society, get treatment for their addictions and training for jobs. They also want to make it harder to re-incarcerate felons for technical, or minor, parole violations.

They also want lawmakers to make it easier for ex-cons to find jobs by dialing back laws requiring many employers to conduct mandatory background checks.