Do Longer Prison Sentences Make the Public Safer?

An article in the New York Times on March 5 reported that many states began releasing prisoners early in order to relieve budgetary woes and financial pressures. Since then, the prison lobbying machine succeeded in its work of frightening the public, convincing taxpayers that by letting prisoners out before a sufficient number of calendar pages have turned threatens the fabric of society and the lives of every citizen.

This premise that a prisoner who served 10 years is somehow more prepared to return to society than a prisoner who served eight years has never made sense to me. Some prisoners may indeed pose significant threats to society and belong inside locked boundaries. But our prison system confines tens of thousands of minimum-security prisoners at a huge cost to taxpayers. In Taft Prison Camp, Lompoc Prison Camp, and Florence Prison Camp -- the three camps where I've served the past seven years of my sentence --1,400 men sleep in confinement, but every day hundreds of them interact with society through regular jobs. Fences do not confine any of those camp prisoners. Shouldn't they be serving their sanctions in some type of community-based program, where their own labor could cover the costs, rather than requiring $20,000 per year, per prisoner, in taxpayer expenditures?

Those who lobby to sustain the massive expenditures on America's prison system play a role in robbing state and federal budgets of numerous social programs like education, health services and infrastructure maintenance. It seems socially irresponsible to sponsor propaganda that spreads fear about the danger of releasing prisoners one day sooner than the expiration of their sentences. I don't understand why anyone would be swayed by such ridiculous assertions. How can anyone believe that society is safer if a prisoner serves 9,000 days instead of 8,000 days? Wouldn't it make more sense to release nonviolent prisoners who have built records that demonstrate their commitment to live as law-abiding citizens?

Truly, I'm beyond the delusions of expecting any relief from my sentence. I'm on my way to completing my 23rd year in prison and I know that by the time I complete the 26th anniversary of my arrest I'll be home with my wife. If taxpayers insist on spending more than $50,000 more to ensure that I serve every day of my sentence, then so be it. I'll use the time to continue preparations for my success upon release.

It doesn't make sense to me that Americans would support this colossal waste of resources that is our prison system, but that is a testament to the influence of prison lobbyists.

Photo Credit: meddygarnet