by David Safier
A classic passage from Dennis Welch's article at the online Arizona Guardian:
It appears that Pearce, a former Maricopa County sheriff's deputy, and Kavanagh, a former police officer with the Port Authority in New York City, want to spare state prisons from taking a major hit.
The proposal includes about $22 million in cuts for the Department of Corrections – far less than the state's other top agencies. Pearce has repeatedly said he doesn't favor cutting funds to state prisons and won't consider releasing prisoners early to save money.
Cut schools? Yes, it's a shame, but look, we have to be realistic, we just don't have the money.
Cut prisons? No, no, a thousand times no! Where will be put all those kids who drop out of our underfunded schools and turn to crime?
Note: The Arizona Guardian is a reasonably new online news source with four reporters and no newsprint. The passage above is the only mention I've seen of the Republican budget's take on prisons, meaning that Welch, who was once a night cops reporter at the East Valley Tribune, caught an important bit of information that others glossed over. With the possible (probable?) demise of the Citizen in March, it may be that websites like this one with a few reporters and low overhead will begin to fill the gaps left by newspapers closing and others cutting back on staff.
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I did contact my local state rep. David Shapira LD 17 and asked him to expand AZ DOC release criteria beyond that characterized by EspressoPundit of releasing non-violent offenders with only a year of less remaining on their sentence. I presume it will come down to what do legislators think is more important, maintaining government schools or maintaining high inmate counts? All I’ve seen is a bipartisan claim that everyone will protect government schools, but will they when the deficit hits the pan?
http://coaching.typepad.com/espresso_pundit/2009/01/the-real-janet.html