12th October 2009
In the last 10 years, prison numbers have fallen in New York State from about 71,600 to about 59,300, and three prisons have been closed this year.
The opinion article in today's New York Times by Robert Gangi, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York (a nonprofit organization that monitors prison conditions) outlines how this has become about, while pointing out that muc more could be done to further reduce prison numbers.
Crime rates have fallen during this 10-year period, and it is suggested that the prison officers' union has formed the main opposition against closing of correctional insitutions.
Mandatory sentencing also comes under fire, having caused an "experiment in mass incarceration [which] was a failure."
Read the article here.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.