O Governor, Where Art Thou - Again

Once again Governor McDonnell has been busy writing Op-ed pieces touting his “prison re-entry” initiative.  All the while, his administration is imploding with wholesale staff changes.  And, states near and far have recognized and aggressively pursued real prison reform.  Not Virginia; not on Governor Bob’s watch.

In one of my favorite scenes from the classic comedy movie “O Brother Where Art Thou”, George Clooney has finally tracked down his ex-wife and children.  “Kids, your daddy’s home”, he announces to a beautiful little girl in an over the top southern drawl.  “You can’t be our daddy; he got hit by a train.”  Clooney quick looks at his ex and asks “You told our children I was dead?”  Holly Hunter replies, “I certainly couldn’t tell them you were at the prison farm.  That isn’t respectable.”

That scene summarizes Governor McDonnell’s approach to the crisis that exists in corrections today.  Don’t tell the truth about the absolute failure of Virginia DOC.  Instead, write “respectable” Op-eds, long on clichés, yet short on accuracy.

This past week, the Governor published another Op-ed (this one in the Newport News Daily Press) discussing his commitment to re-entry.  As he does every time he reminds the readers “as a former prosecutor and attorney general I strongly support truth-in-sentencing (he apparently didn’t support prosecuting his political friend Steve Forbes back when he was the AG however)…and believe that those who commit a crime must take complete responsibility and fully repay their debt to society.”  I agree Governor.  Problem is, as I’ve pointed out dozens of times in this blog, “truth in sentencing” is an oxymoron.  Sentences for the same crime vary significantly around the Commonwealth and there is no statistical correlation between the length of sentence and either remorse or repayment of debt.  In fact, sentences decrease an inmate’s ability to repay his/her debt (Virginia is spending in excess of $25,000 per year to keep me here instead of me paying taxes and restitution to the victim of my embezzlement).

As Veronique de Rugy so clearly put it in the July 2011 issue of Reason.com:

“Housing nonviolent offenders with violent criminals for years on end can’t possibly help them reintegrate into society, which helps explain why 4 out of 10 prisoners end up back in jail within three years of their release.”

In other words Governor Bob, re-entry ain’t worth diddly if you keep your nonviolent offenders locked up long-term.  Truth in sentencing does not work!  As Sarah Van Gelder noted in a recent Op-ed promoting the summer issue of Yes! Magazine (aptly titled “Beyond Prisons”),

“A smarter and more compassionate criminal justice system could not only save lives and restore communities especially hard hit by imprisonments, it could save us from fiscal meltdown.”

That’s the billion dollar decision this Governor and the people of Virginia have to make.  Are they willing to admit the abolishment of parole and “truth in sentencing” has done nothing to curb recidivism rates and instead has led to an explosion in incarceration costs?

The Governor could be candid and truthful with the voters and call for sentencing reform and tie re-entry programs in with good time credits (in other words, let inmate performance direct their release date).  Or he can continue the same tired, failed approach that has led to an almost 400% increase in the inmate population in the past 15 years and a bloated DOC bureaucracy spending in excess of $1 billion annually.

And his re-entry program?  Please.  He’s put the people at DOC – the same people who have job security based on the increased inmate population – in charge.  And, it’s the exact same “transition out” nonsense that was in place before he took office.

You want meaningful re-entry programs?  Increase college offerings in prison; offer more educational and vocational programs; create meaningful drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services directed by people who believe a person can be rehabilitated.  Education, job training, treatment and above all hope that a person who commits to changing will be restored to society as soon as possible.  That’s a real re-entry program.  Not just the same political Op-ed mumbo jumbo that keeps getting generated by this administration.

Other states get it.  Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed legislation to overhaul prison sentences and send nonviolent felons to rehab facilities with significantly earlier release dates.  Kasich isn’t some liberal Governor.  He’s a staunch conservative and a GOP darling.

North Carolina has tripled the number of criminal record expungements granted allowing erasure of many nonviolent felonies.

And, in Kansas, as part of their early release program, Republican Governor Brownback is signing up a volunteer mentor for each released inmate.

Good, creative ideas.  Unfortunately, none of these are included in Governor McDonnell’s prison “re-entry” initiative.

Instead, the Governor travels.  Recently he was in Europe where people there don’t understand why America locks so many people up when other alternatives work better.  And, the Governor returns and finds wholesale resignations from his staff. 

As the Washington Post reported June 25^th, “Less than 18 months into his term, Virginia Governor McDonnell has been forced to revamp the office that develops and drives his policy agenda as he looks toward the most significant legislative session of his tenure….  Virtually the entire policy office has turned over – a rare occurrence for any governor in such a short period of time.”

It takes more than Op-eds to lead a state.  Governor McDonnell is approaching the half-way point in his sentence; er I mean term of office.  It’s time for real transformative policies.  Where are you Governor Bob?