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Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen


3.05.2007

 

Nothing funny about corrrections

Rep. Jason Lorber, D-Burlington, is a stand-up comic, but he says his newest on-screen endeavor isn't one bit funny. Lorber is taping a series of interviews, which he has entitled Correcting Corrections, for Channel 17. He said he's hoping through the interviews and subsequent audience response, that some new ideas might emerge about how to reverse the seemingly unstoppable growth in the state's prison population.

Lorber became interested in this topic through his service on the House Institutions Committee and as a member of the Corrections Oversight Committee. In 2005, Lorber did his first in-depth research into the prison problem, producing a written document called 53 Voices. It was based on interviews with a host of different people connected with prisons. You can check it out here

Lorber's first guest for his new television series was newly elected Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan. The interview already aired, but Lorber said a podcast is available at this address

This week, Lorber tapes his next show, which will feature Rita Whalen McCaffrey, executive director of Dismas of VT Inc., Cara Gleason, executive director of Northern Lights, and Hal Colston, executive director of NeighborKeepers. These guests will talk about helping former inmates rejoin and become productive members of society.

He expects the show to air within the next two weeks. There is no set schedule.

If you have ideas to share, guests to suggest for future shows or reaction, Lorber said he would welcome them. His email is jlorber@leg.state.vt.us.

He also wants reaction to a bill he has introduced, H.386, which calls for a 10-10-30 work group to develop a 10-year plan to decrease selected crime rates by 10 percent and reduce the prison population by 30 percent.

So why do this show? Lorber said the public needs to know that Vermont's prison population is growing at a faster rate than all but four other states. "It's important for people to talk about this."

--Nancy Remsen

Comments:
Fish rots from the head down...

Put Hofmann back in charge of money, where he belongs. Like having Opey watching over the Mayberry jail.
 
Ah, a Burlington democrat trying to reduce the prison population! Certainly child molesters don't occupy much of the prison population, so my guess is that the lefties will make the usual hard decision and decriminilize more outrages. This way, they can take credit for "reducing" crime while, as usual, doing NOTHING.
 
Lorber is right on.

We spend more money than ever on prisons ... what do we get in return? Not much.

Anyone who is against government waste should be working with Lorber to reform corrections.
 
Ideas should be judged on their merits, not on where the person who presents them is from.
 
Kudos to Lorber for looking into the Corrections mess--and it is a mess. Not a sexy issue that a lot of legislators want to address, but they better start now because it's a powder keg just waiting for a spark. Start with the issues of overcrowding and understaffing (see Chittenden prison for living example)and go from there. Legislators treat the issue like the crazy uncle they want to keep locked away in some closet, so no one can see the problem. Act now or pay later. My guess is we'll opt to pay later.
 
Suggestion:why would anyone object to chemical castration of molesters? This frees up incarceration of one group, and also eliminates the need of a group of tax-payer funded "healers" that still claim they can "rehabilitate" perverts.
 
Suggest it to your local rep, bubba.
 
Bubba, Can we test this 'chemical castration' thing out on you first?
 
Bubba does protest too much. Makes you wonder what s/he is up to at night. Scary.
 
Hmmm...leaving the castration suggestion aside for the moment, I'll say that I'm glad that there's discussion on this blog about the need for Corrections reform.

Just 15 years ago we spent 4% of the Vermont state budget on Corrections. Now we spend 10%, which is more than we spend on higher education. This is happening despite a low and declining crime rate.

I would dispute the posting that says that I'm the only one calling for a change to this problem. In fact, the Governor has begun to join efforts to address this conundrum. I give him credit for that, and I also give high marks to Corrections Commissioner Rob Hofmann for his smarts, hard work, accessibility, and dedication. While I don't agree with Rob on everything, I'm glad to be working with him on Corrections.

The multi-million dollar question we have to answer is, "How can we continue to ensure the safety of our communities while making the best use of our Corrections dollars?"

If we can cut costs while maintaining or even boosting safety, we all win, whether we're conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between.

I believe that we'll find many solutions to reducing the costs of Corrections while keeping society safe by strategically examining our sentencing practices (particularly for non-violent non-repeat offenders), and by investing in alternatives to incarceration that build job skills, promote individual responsibility, and support victims of crime.

And by the way, when we talk about alternatives to incarceration, I don't think castration was what we had in mind.

Please contact me at jlorber@leg.state.vt.us or 802-863-9429 if you'd like to get involved in this issue, or be kept in the loop.
 
Wonder if Lorber knows any criminals that need "individual responsibility" or "job skills"? Face it, these punks, all they want is drugs. How about starting with what Barre's mayor suggested - execute dealers? Not a bad START.
 
Jason Lorber is doing good work on this issue and deserves the support of all Vermonters, regardless of political party affiliation.

Another organization that is doing good work on corrections is the Catholic Diocese of Vermont, which has an active prison ministry program. For more information, go to

http://www.vermontcatholic.org/vcc/prisonministry.html
 
Why doesn't Douglas put Doobie on this issue?
 
Lorber's been touting his "conversations" with 53 people report for more than a year now. Glad he did that much, but how about some real action now. Show up some day at the Chittenden facility (not far from you)unnannounced and ask for a tour.
 
Good idea.

I toured the Chittenden facility a couple of years ago. I also visited three additional Vermont correctional facilities.

None were surprise visits, in part because I wanted to make sure that a staff member would be available to escort me on my visit. I was able to dictate where I wanted to go in the facility, and learned a lot.

For those interested in visiting the facilities, I recommend you do so. It can be an eye-opening experience. And if you go, please contact me afterwards and tell me what you saw.
 
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