Releasing Prisoners Early due to budget cuts?  BLOGPOLL

By Amy Wood
Anchor
Published: November 7, 2008

  Times are tough, but so tough South Carolina should let prisoners out early? 

  Our Robert Kittle shared a memo from the director of state prisons warning, budget cuts will force his hand.  Joe Ozmint is telling state lawmakers the cuts will force him to close four prisons.  He says that means he’ll have to release 3,400 prisoners to keep his guards safe.

  Officials say it will only involve prisoners just months away from release (1 to 6 months).  But if the guy getting released early is the one who robbed or raped you or someone you know, how fair is that?

    One of our viewers posted a comment to our story with an interesting reaction.
    Bassmasterj posts….

  “Did the DOC ever consider doing what Joe Arpaio is doing [successfully] in Arizona.  Keep GUILTY and SENTENCED inmates LOCKED UP until they are appropriately scheduled for release, and keep them in a tent city, no coffee, no cigarettes, no TV, balogna sandwiches and white bread with water for meals.  THEN, you drive down the costs.  The serendipity of this is that you now have a deterrent to keep the career criminal (read: institutionalized criminal) from wanting to come back to prison.  Tent cities, razor wire, heavily armed guards with orders to shoot attempting escapees.  Times are tough for everyone, prisoners included.  Everybody has to suffer.“

    So should South Carolina go with the tent city plan?
    Vote in the blog poll and post comments below.