Corrections in the News

Have you ever decided to buy a new car and look at a unique model. You don’t remember seeing “your model” much on the road. You buy it and suddenly everyone’s driving the same thing. So it is with corrections in the news. Prior to my arrest and conviction I don’t recall reading much about prisons (“Corrections” is a very Orwellian word. There ain’t a whole lot of “correcting” going on in prison!). Put me in prison and almost daily I see something related to my current living arrangements. This week was no exception.



The Wall Street Journal reported that states, looking for ways to save money are “beefing up probation and parole programs to reduce the number of prison inmates”. Who is the biggest opponent of this fiscally driven prison reform movement? The correction officers unions and associations. As I’ve written numerous times before, there is no correlation between longer sentences and recidivism. And, states that have “reformed” draconian sentencing guidelines have in fact seen larger decreases in crime than those states who haven’t (that’s a hint Virginia).


The recent recession has just brought home a simple fact of life: nothing is free. For years politicians convinced naive voters they could build large prisons and lock up “bad people” for long sentences with no repercussions. The simple fact is prisons cost major dollars; dollars better used for education and health care and roads. And the “bad people” being locked up? They didn’t commit violent crimes. They have drug and alcohol charges or theft charges. Longer sentences don’t reduce crime; they just increase the number incarcerated and the cost to keep them.


Virginia may be finally getting it. A courageous Republican Congressman, Frank Wolf recently held a congressional hearing to establish “best practices” for prisons nationwide with the goal of decreasing recidivism and correction costs. Senator Jim Webb reintroduced his bill to establish a National Criminal Justice Commission with a goal of reviewing the nation’s criminal justice system. One of its stated goals is to reform sentencing laws to ensure violent offenders actually serve time and nonviolent offenders utilize alternative sentencing.


A bill currently in the Virginia General Assembly (passed initial committee vote) would increase earned monthly good time days from 4.5 to 7. Early release would drop from 85% of sentence to 77%. While still not true sentencing reform, it would make a difference. My release date would change by over one year.


True sentence reform must come to Virginia. First time nonviolent felons must be offered alternative sentencing. Good time credits must be given for inmates who seriously work at reforming themselves. Credits should be significant. An inmate enrolled in educational or vocational programs should earn good time credits to reduce his or her sentence to 25% of the amount given. Poor behavior in prison and that number can steadily increase.


Then, there is the story of Virginia inmate Thomas Haynesworth who has served 27 years for convictions on multiple rapes. Haynesworth has maintained his innocence his entire sentence. Recently, DNA evidence cleared him in all but one case. In the one case remaining there is no DNA evidence available. In each of the cleared cases the same rapist was responsible.


A petition is now pending before the Virginia Court of Appeals with the support of the Virginia Attorney General’s office to set aside all of Haynesworth’s convictions. But, how do you give an innocent man 27 years of his life back? How do you apologize for all that Virginia took from him?


The Haynesworth case shows the system isn’t perfect. In fact, the system is broken. It is too expensive. It unfairly targets African-American males. It is unjust.