With a looming $920 million budget
deficit, the state of Michigan is looking for alternative ways to
decrease spending and one of those ways may be to release
parole-eligible inmates of state prisons. Though the idea seems
radical and unsafe to a mainly conservative opposition, it follows
the precedent set by other thrifty states such as Oklahoma, Ohio
and Texas. Overcrowded jails compounded with the inefficiency of a
biased criminal justice system demonstrate that the intelligent
choice of minimizing jail costs is Michigan’s best
option.

During the days of Gov. John Engler, prison costs in the state
rose to their highest peak ever. Most inmates were serving well
over their minimum sentences, costing the state millions of
dollars. With Gov. Jennifer Granholm now holding the reins, jail
spending is starting to diminish. If implemented, this new proposal
would release up to 17,000 parole-eligible inmates, each costing
the state about $29,000 a year in jail, saving taxpayers a
startling amount. Most of these 17,000 would be non-violent
offenders, likely jailed based on drug-related charges and would
have completed their minimum sentences. In essence, the proposal
would seek to release people who can and should be released, since
they pose no legitimate threat to the state and are draining state
coffers.

While prison spending is expected to rise 1.1 percent in the
next fiscal year, health, education and welfare are in a seemingly
perpetual budget cutting cycle. Need evidence? Take a look at the
University’s rising tuition. The budget deficit and
specifically, prison spending, directly affects students at this
University. The state is spending millions of dollars on
incarceration, propelling a useless cycle of punishment and
criminal justice spending, rather than rehabilitation. By freeing
just a small number of jail inmates ready for parole, Michigan
would be saving enough money to distribute to causes that are in
desperate need of money.

For example, School Aid was cut $127 million this year alone
— money should be spent on the schools in Detroit rather than
the jails in Detroit. Since 1982, prison spending has increased at
a rate four times faster than higher education spending. What are
the benefits to spending so much money on jails while ignoring the
civil population’s general welfare such as education?

All in all, a few things are obvious. Michigan is in desperate
need of saving money. State prisons already consume too many tax.
Schools and hospitals are suffering, especially in inner city
areas. The release of non-violent offenders from jails is step in
the right direction. This would reduce the state’s whopping
prison population — fifth in the nation — and provide
millions of dollars to be spent elsewhere.