Budget woes leave some in jail too long, some out too soon, and many unemployed

Are criminals being let go, or released from jail early, or being denied justice because of budget cuts to your local and state judicial and corrections systems? It's probably time to ask. "Courtrooms and jails have become crowded to the bursting point, allowing justice to languish in many locations," Keith Matheny reports for USA Today. Experts told Matheny three factors are contributing to the sluggish distribution of justice:

• Tougher law enforcement without expansion of jail and court infrastructure;
• Failure to improve court procedures over many years;
• Overworked judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys continually postponing hearings.

Matheny cites examples: In Texas, 10 percent of all felony cases had no court date scheduled; in North Carolina, the continuance rate in cases involving child abuse and neglect or termination of parental rights topped 40 percent in nearly a quarter of the state's 100 counties; in one California county, 18 criminal cases, including two felonies, were dismissed because no judges were available to hear the cases.

Some states are addressing the problem by sending non-violent misdemeanor offenders to treatment programs rather than jail. South Carolina ended mandatory minimum sentences for first-offense simple narcotics possession, and expanded the use of probation, house arrest and work-release programs, reports Matheny. (Read more)

In several states, convicted felons used to go to state prisons, but now are serving their time in county jails. That leaves counties holding the financial bag for overcrowded state prisons, reports Deb Gruver of the Wichita Eagle. "As the state has downsized the number of beds in their prisons, we're kind of in a situation where we're ending up having to cover for them," Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn told Gruver. "It ties in to jail overcrowding."

Sen. Tim Owens, R-Overland Park, chairman of the Kansas DUI commission and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the overarching problem is that people want criminals to be punished but don't want to see their taxes go up to pay for doing so. "Is it fair to shift the problem from the state to the locals without some kind of financial assistance? ... I don't think it is fair. But both sides have to balance it," said Owens. (Read more)

Inmates who are released early have more difficulty finding work, reports Alana Semuels for the Los Angeles Times. More inmates are competing for the same low-wage, low-skill jobs. The lack of work could lead back to criminal activity and ultimately back to jail. "As difficult as the recession has been on people, it's twice as difficult for people with a felony to make it in this economy," said Marc Mauer of the nonprofit Sentencing Project. The reduction of job opportunities in manufacturing and construction and a rise in the number of former inmates looking for work as state prisons and county jails reduce their inmate populations, make for an even more crowded job market and many unemployed former inmates. (Read more)