Florida’s prisons are more expensive than ever. What will the next governor do about it?

SOURCE: Jacksonville.com

Here are some excerpts. To read the entire article, visit the link:

Even as crime rates and prison admissions have fallen over the past decade, ever-lengthening criminal sentences have left Florida prisons full of inmates and in need of a record $2.4 billion — a budget-busting challenge for the state’s next governor to resolve.

The Democratic candidates say the criminal justice system is broken and in need of fixing. All of them agree that judges need more discretion, that mandatory minimum laws need to be reformed, and private prisons should be eliminated.

This summer, there were 96,294 inmates in Florida’s prisons, and another 54,623 people sat in county jails on any given day. In 2017, 2,897 kids were sent to juvenile justice facilities. Florida’s incarceration rate is one of the highest in the country. More than seven out of every 1,000 residents were incarcerated.

In May, there were more than 51,000 inmates sitting in jail on any given day who had not been convicted.

Putnam’s (Republican) criminal policies are an outlier in the race. The agriculture commissioner has touted the endorsements of most of Florida’s sheriffs, the police unions and the state attorney general. In his policy paper, he promised to veto “any attempt to loosen criminal penalties on major drug traffickers and violent felons.” He also said he supports mandatory minimums and would “defend tough prison sentencing guidelines for all felony offenses.”

Gillum, King, Levine and Greene all said they’d support establishing a statewide sentencing commission to review the state’s criminal punishment code. The code hasn’t been overhauled in more than 20 years, when it was last changed to make it easier to send people to prison.

Those four candidates also all said they support bringing back parole to Florida. In the early 1990s, Florida stopped using parole, and it began requiring inmates serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. That sets Florida as having one of the harshest sentencing laws. In most other states, good behavior can allow inmates to get out earlier.

All of the Democratic candidates said they support restoring voting rights to people who have served their time for felony convictions.

All of the Democratic candidates have criticized private prisons.


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31 thoughts on “Florida’s prisons are more expensive than ever. What will the next governor do about it?

  • August 22, 2018

    I seem to recall hearing on the Florida government tv station that the proposal to restore voting rights to felons after they have served their sentence specifically excludes sex offenders.

    Reply
    • August 22, 2018

      That is correct – the current proposition on the ballot to restore felon’s voting rights would exclude murderers and sex offenders.

      Reply
      • August 22, 2018

        Murders & sex offenders… I get it. (dont like it, but get it)
        Ok, how about the person who drives drunk and kills people? He gets his voting rights back as soon as he completes probation.
        But he murdered people????
        (I just dont get how the law is so slanted)

        Reply
        • August 22, 2018

          The proposal (Prop. 4) says Murder and sex offenses. Driving drunk and killing someone would likely get a Manslaughter conviction absent premeditation or an intent to kill.

          Reply
          • August 22, 2018

            Ok, I stand corrected; but to me, the killing of another human being is murder. That was what my friend was charged with, what he was convicted of.
            I can only relay/reply with facts. The wonders of “plea bargaining”

            Reply
      • August 22, 2018

        Likewise, when there was a proposal a few years ago in Michigan to restore good time credits in prison, they added in a clause barring sex offenders from earning credits, regardless of their conduct in prison. That was despite the fact that sex offenders were already serving more time past their minimum sentences than other inmates. Good time bill wasn’t passed anyway. Surprisingly, all felons in Michigan can vote after serving their prison or jail time, even while on parole. Many ex-felons in Michigan don’t know that.

        Reply
    • August 22, 2018

      If you are a drug dealer, armed home invader, armed carjacker, burglar, bank robber, street thug, embezzler, etc. you will be good to go! Wouldn’t want the bureaucratic lawmakers appear to be weak on crime.

      Reply
  • August 21, 2018

    When will people be fed up with the Chinese menu?
    Pick from Column “A” or Column “B”.
    Dont you realize that there are Independents and others that run on this ticket?
    Look at the uproar when Bernie chose to run as an Independent.

    Please explore your options before you make your choice. You only have one vote. Make it count.

    Reply
  • August 21, 2018

    Aside from the next governor, we should also be wary of the next state attorney general. Sadly it seems there are no viable democratic candidates in the race. Although the two republican choices are poor at best, we should pray that Fuhrer White does not get elected:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuiLlO_K6dg&feature=youtu.be

    “Increase penalties on ‘child predators’ (read: all “sex offenders”) and strengthen (read: expand to “sex offenders”) the death penalty.”

    Seriously?

    Reply
    • August 24, 2018

      Oh, another republican candidate to down vote, Erikuh Albuh. She’s running for St. Johns County Commission, District 4. Her commercial and Facebook video states her claim to fame as a prosecutor was, “prosecuting child sexual predators.”

      https://www.facebook.com/ElectErikaAlba/videos/vb.143786086339465/214147362636670/?type=2&theater

      From her website: “I began my legal career as a criminal prosecutor where I worked my way up to the serious felony division and ultimately was assigned to prosecute child physical and sexual abuse cases.”

      https://erikaalba.com/

      Seems she was lying about that too:

      “Earlier in her legal career, she worked as a prosecutor for the Amador County District Attorney’s Office (California). Ms. Alba also served in a volunteer capacity one day per month as a judge pro tempore for the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento where she was deputized as a trial judge and adjudicated traffic and civil smalls claims cases.”

      https://www.foley.com/erika-e-alba/

      Corruption runs deep in Floriduh:

      http://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2018/02/erika-lorenz-alba-sjc-commission.html

      http://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2018/02/manchurian-candidate-erika-alba-im-not.html

      Reply
      • August 25, 2018

        Remember what I stated before…
        You DO NOT have to pick the “Chinese menu”
        Column “A” or column “B”
        There are others out there. Support them, stump for them, support them.
        Then go to the polls and VOTE for them.

        When will the average “Joe” comprehend this???

        Reply
      • August 25, 2018

        We must remember that politicians say what they believe will get them elected and once in office do as they please with no conscience as to what got them elected. They seem to believe that lying is part of the process. When we can’t believe our state and national leaders our country is in deep trouble.

        Reply
  • August 20, 2018

    In addition to Floriduh’s incarceration rate (833 per 100,000) being one of the highest in the country, it is also higher than any other country in the entire world!

    Higher than El Salvador (614), from which people are seeking asylum here in the US!

    https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2018.html

    It’s all fact, but Floriduh politicians are not interested.

    This is what they want to do, keep inciting the populace with bluster and NO FACTS to back up their claims:

    http://www.wtxl.com/news/lawmakers-look-to-toughen-up-sex-offender-laws-next-yr/article_a5ad4438-0e9c-11e3-960c-0019bb30f31a.html

    Reply
  • August 20, 2018

    ok, honestly we all know the next gov. of fl will 99% be a republican thus we should start looking at the republican with the smallest horns and shortest tail as i think the one that’s now a copycat of crooked scott and wants to become a lifetime politician has one of the longest horns and tails

    Reply
    • August 20, 2018

      Scott won in 2010 and 2014 by 1% with only 30% voter turnout. Your 99% republican prediction is foolish.

      Reply
  • August 19, 2018

    In Michigan, it was finally the cost that forced prison changes. Prison population has dropped from over 51,000 to 41,000 now, even though Republicans have controlled state government. They finally realized that all that spending had little to do with public safety. Still too many being held past their first parole date though. The big business lobbyists in Florida have been succeeding through phony scare tactics. Hopefully things will turn around down there too.

    Reply

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