Federalism in ActionHow Conservative States Got Smart on Crime

by

Jason Pye

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“Heartbroken, we found a gleam of hope. Harken to the sound, a whistle blows. Heaven sent reply, however small, evidence of life beyond these walls. Born and bred in this machine. Wardens dread to see us dream. We hold tight to legends of real life, the way it was before.”

– Thrice 1

P risons serve an important role in our society. We are a nation of laws, and those who break the law must be held account-able. But past approaches to crime, particularly the so-called

“war on drugs,” and corrections have proved to be expensive and dangerous for our communities.

An important figure conservatives should keep in mind is that 95 percent of offenders who enter prison will reenter society. The question, then, becomes how can the corrections system rehabili-tate offenders, rather than simply warehouse them in prison?

For decades, politicians told Americans that they must address crime, particularly drug crime, by enacting tough penalties that would lock offenders up for long periods of time. Members of Con-gress would tout their “tough on crime” stance in their home states and districts. This was pervasive not only at the federal level but also at the state level, where legislators often passed similar laws.

While the policies—which include mandatory minimum sentences, “three strikes” laws, and “truth in sentencing” requirements—were successful at increasing prison populations, they did not deter peo-ple from purchasing or selling illicit substances.2

Over the past 40 years, the United States has spent more than $1 trillion combating drugs.3 But even as prison populations in the United States skyrocketed, totaling 2.227 million in 2013,4 or 910 out of every 100,000 adults, drug-related crime remained high as the market for well-known drugs has remained around $100 billion annually.5

Some have pointed to the decline in crime rates as evidence that the “tough on crime” sentencing policies of the 1980s and 1990s were effective.6 But correlation does not equal causation. The New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice has not-ed that socio-economic factors played a “more important” role in the drop in crime rates.

“[I]ncreased incarceration has been declining in its effectiveness as

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1 Thrice, “The Earth Will Shake,” Vheissu, Island Records, 2005

2 National Institute on Drug Abuse, “DrugFacts: Nationwide Trends” http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends

3 Associated Press, “After 40 years, $1 trillion, US War on Drugs has failed to meet any of its goals,” May 13, 2010 http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/ap-impact-years-trillion-war-drugs-failed-meet-goals/

4 Lauren E. Glaze and Danielle Kaeble, Correctional Popula-tions in the United States, 2013, U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus13.pdf

5 White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, What America’s Users Spend on Illegal Drugs: 2000-2010, February 2014 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/wausid_results_report.pdf

6 Jason Riley, “The High Cost of Letting Criminals Go,” Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2015 http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-high-cost-of-letting-criminals-go-1437523819

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a crime control tactic for more than 30 years,” the report explained. “Its effect on crime rates since 1990 has been limited, and has been non-existent since 2000.”7

Although it may be counterintuitive, the sentencing policies of this era have actually exacerbated problems in communities already plagued by crime. “It is difficult to draw strong causal inferences from the research,” the National Research Council of the National Academies noted, “but there is little question that incarceration has become another strand in the complex combination of nega-tive conditions that characterize high-poverty communities in U.S. cities.”8

More than 80 percent of Americans believe the United States is losing the war on drugs.9 Lawmakers in many states appear to have had the same revelation. With the mounting financial costs of incarceration and the consequences of sentencing policies in communities, many states have taken a new approach to deal with offenders. By getting “smart on crime,” they have managed to save money and make communities safer. In fact, more than 30 states have reduced, eliminated, or reformed their harsh mandatory min-imum and drug sentencing laws over the past decade,10 and crime has gone down, not up.11

7 Oliver Roeder, Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Julia Bowling, What Caused the Crime Decline?, Brannan Center for Justice, February 12, 2015 https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/what-caused-crime-decline

8 National Research Council of the National Academies, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences, The National Academies Press, 2014 http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/nrc/NAS_report_on_incar-ceration.pdf

9 Rasmussen Reports, “82% Say U.S. Not Winning War on Drugs,” August 18. 2013 http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/august_2013/82_say_u_s_not_winning_war_on_drugs

10 Vera Institute of Justice, Drug War Détente?: A Review of State-Level Drug Law Reform, 2009-2013, April 2014 http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/state-drug-law-reform-review-2009-2013-v6.pdf

11 Pew Charitable Trusts, “States Cut Both Crime and Imprisonment,” December 2013 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/multimedia/data-visualizations/2013/states-cut-both-crime-and-imprisonment

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“My administration started treatment programs and drug courts for people who wouldn’t be served well by sitting behind bars. We made sure our parole and probation programs were strong. Most of all, we evaluated prisons based on whether they got results. Did an ex-offender get locked up again? Did he get a job? Is he paying restitution to his victims? In Texas, we believe in results.”

– Former Texas Governor Rick Perry 12

J ustice reform has become such a hot topic in the United States over the last several years largely because of the groundbreaking, data-driven reforms implemented in Texas.

The Lone Star State’s prison population grew significantly between 1990 and 2010, rising from approximately 50,000 inmates in 1990 to nearly 174,000 in 2010.13 Over the same period, the incarceration rate grew from 293 inmates per 100,000 residents to 652.14

In 2007, faced with $523 million in immediate prison construc-tion costs to house the state’s growing prison population and $2 billion in additional costs by 2012, lawmakers, led by then-state House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden (R-Plano) and Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whit-mire (D-Houston), sought to take a new approach to corrections. Madden and Whitmire, as well as others in the state legislature, decided that the implementation of rehabilitative programming would be a better alternative than building new prisons or expand-ing existing ones.15

In the 2007 budget, lawmakers appropriated $241 million16 that would have been used to expand or build new prisons to imple-ment programs designed to reduce recidivism, or the rate of repeat offenders. Programs included those sponsored by faith-based or-ganizations and secular nonprofits and were targeted at an array of offenders, including drug and other nonviolent offenders, as a way to reduce their chances of becoming repeat offenders and a threat to their communities.

Because Texas has virtually no mandatory minimum sentences, state lawmakers and courts had the flexibility, in many instances, to sentence offenders in special courts, including drug courts, to complete rehabilitative programs, rather than serve potentially lengthy terms in prison.17 For those who were serving prison sen-tences, work training and education programs were offered to lower their risk of recidivist behavior. Community supervision pro-grams allowed offenders, not solely limited to nonviolent ones, to

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12 Right on Crime, “Former Texas Governor Rick Perry Joins Right on Crime Campaign” March 2015 http://rightoncrime.com/2015/03/former-texas-governor-rick-perry-joins-right-on-crime-campaign/

13 Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, December 31, 1978–2013,” Generated using the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool at www.bjs.gov

14 Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities per 100,000 U.S. residents, December 31, 1978–2013,” Generated using the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool at www.bjs.gov

15 Reid Wilson, “Tough Texas gets results by going softer on crime,“ Washington Post, November 27, 2014 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/11/27/tough-texas-gets-results-by-going-softer-on-crime/

16 Joseph A. Adams, “Texas Rehabilitation Programs Reduce Recidivism Rates,” Right on Crime, May 16, 2011 http://rightoncrime.com/2011/05/texas-rehabilitation-programs-re-duce-recidivism-rates/

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reintegrate into society, including helping them find employment, to further encourage them lower their risk of recidivism.

The reforms were overwhelmingly successful. Although the Lone Star State’s prison population declined by 12 percent, the crime rate dropped by an eye-popping 21 percent.18 And the drop in crime was across the board.

“Specifically, Texas saw an 8.3 percent drop in property crime and a 9.3 percent drop in violent crime. This included a 14.3 percent drop in murders, a 15.4 percent drop in robberies, and a 4.3 percent drop in rapes,” noted Right on Crime, a project of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation that worked on the reforms. “The drop in Texas outpaced the decrease in crime rates nationwide—only a 0.8 percent drop in property crime and 4 percent in violent crime.”19

Texas now has its lowest crime rate since 1968.20

The key to the success was reducing recidivism. In 2004, for exam-ple, 31.9 percent of offenders released from prison were back in jail within three years. But among those released in 2007, after the first wave of reforms was implemented, only 24.3 percent went back into to the corrections system.21 Recidivism is now at 22.6 percent,22 far below the average of 43.3 percent found among prisoners released in 41 states in 2004.23

17 Mike Ward, “Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root,” The Statesman, August 11, 2012 http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/texas-prison-population-shrinks-as-rehabilitatio-1/nRNRY/

18 Pew Charitable Trusts, “Growth in Federal Prison System Exceeds States’,” January 22, 2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2015/01/growth-in-feder-al-prison-system-exceeds-states

19 Jeanette Moll, “Texas Crime Rate Drop Indicates Progress,” Right on Crime, July 10, 2012 http://rightoncrime.com/2012/07/texas-crime-rate-drop-indicates-progress/

20 Pew Charitable Trusts, “Public Safety in Texas,” August 13, 2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2013/01/14/public-safety-in-texas

21 Allan Turner, “Study praises Texas for prison reforms but comes with warning,” Houston Chronicle, April 12, 2011 http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Study-praises-Texas-for-prison-reforms-but-comes-1689770.php

22 Reid Wilson, “Tough Texas gets results by going softer on crime,“ Washington Post, November 27, 2014 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/11/27/tough-texas-gets-results-by-going-softer-on-crime/

23 Pew Center on the States, State of Recidivism: The Revolv-ing Door of America’s Prisons, April 11, 2011 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/0001/01/01/state-of-recidivism

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“I’m not a lawyer. I’d never been interested in corrections. My district doesn’t have any prisons in it—it has a couple jails, but no prisons. I had never been on [the corrections] committee, never had a bill before that committee … I didn’t even know how much a prison cost at that time. Then, I asked the question that was the second most important question of my life. And that was, ‘Mr. Speaker, what do you want me to do? And he gave me the eight words that changed my life. He said, ‘Don’t build new prisons—they cost too much.’”

– Texas State Representative Jerry Madden 24

M aking communities safer was, of course, the number one goal of those who pushed for justice reform in Texas, which they managed to accomplish. But a byproduct of the effort

was cost-savings that allowed lawmakers to reinvest into expan-sion of reforms, creating new programming, or diverting limited dollars to other areas of public safety.

“The first priority will continue to be public safety, absolutely,” Madden said of the reforms. “But the toughest thing you can do to some people is not send them to prison, but put them in programs that will turn around their lives.”25

Texas spends, on average, $21,390 per prisoner.26 Although this expense cannot be avoided in many circumstances due to the nature of the crimes committed by the worst offenders in society, programs designed to reduce recidivism27 come at a substantially lower cost.28

As the recidivism rate dropped and new, less serious offenders were diverted to treatment programs, Texas saved $3 billion in planned prison construction costs and reduced populations and recidivism.29 The Lone Star State was also able to close three pris-ons due to the decline in its prison population.30

The success of justice reform in Texas has allowed state lawmakers to implement other policies designed to lower recidivism, which will, over time, increase the total budgetary savings.

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24 Olivia Nuzzi, “Prison Reform is Bigger in Texas,” The Daily Beast, April 12, 2014 http://www.thedailybeast.com/arti-cles/2014/04/12/prison-reform-is-bigger-in-texas.html

25 Mike Ward, “Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root,” The Statesman, August 11, 2012 http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/texas-prison-population-shrinks-as-rehabilitatio-1/nRNRY/

26 Christian Henrichson, Ruth Delaney, The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers, Vera Institute, January 2012 http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/down-loads/price-of-prisons-updated-version-021914.pdf

27 Marc Levin, “Breaking Addiction without Breaking the Bank: Cost-Effective Strategies for Texas Lawmakers to Reduce Substance Abuse,” Right on Crime, April 1, 2011 http://righton-crime.com/2011/04/breaking-addiction-without-breaking-the-bank-cost-effective-strategies-for-texas-lawmakers-to-reduce-substance-abuse/

28 Marc Levin, Adult Corrections Reform: Lower Crime, Lower Costs, Right on Crime, September 2011 http://www.rightoncrime.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Texas-Mod-el-Adult.pdf

29 Rep. Jerry Madden, “Lawmakers give justice reforms in Texas a boost,” Houston Chronicle, July 1, 2015 http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Lawmakers-give-justice-reforms-in-Texas-a-boost-6361712.php

30 Danny Kruger, “Why Texas is closing prisons in favour of rehab,” BBC News, December 1, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30275026

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“Let me be clear so that there is no misinterpretation—this is not a get out of jail free card. These reforms do not in any way diminish the seriousness of the seven deadly sins. If you com-mit one of these, you will spend time in our prisons. In fact, this transformation of our corrections efforts will ensure that we have the space and resources to incarcerate high-risk and violent offenders going forward.”

– Georgia Governor Nathan Deal 31

T wenty years ago, the justice reforms in Texas would have been politically impossible. But this new data-driven, smart-er approach to corrections has paved the way for other

states to enacted similar reforms, ones that meet the needs of their communities.

Georgia, for example, has implemented a series of justice reforms, beginning in 2011, under the leadership of Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who served as a prosecutor before his election to Congress in 1992. When Deal became governor in 2011, Georgia’s corrections system was experiencing a crisis. The state’s prison population had doubled, corrections spending eclipsed $1 billion, and recidivism was hovering around 30 percent.32

In 2011, at Deal’s urging, the Georgia General Assembly created the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians, which was tasked with developing reforms and recommendations to his office and state lawmakers. The initial recommendations were re-leased in November 2011, and those appointed to the panel could not have been clearer about the hurdles facing the Peach State.

“If current policies remain in place,” the report explained, “analy-sis indicates that Georgia’s prison population will rise by another 8 percent to reach nearly 60,000 inmates by 2016, presenting the state with the need to spend an additional $264 million to expand capacity.”33

State lawmakers have passed reforms over the course of Deal’s ten-ure in office. Georgia has seen a 10 percent drop in recidivism34 and taxpayers have saved $264 million in future prison costs.35 Impor-tantly, crime rates have dropped by 2 percent since 2012.36

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34 Bureau of Justice Assistance, Reducing Recidivism: States Deliver Results, June 2014 https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG-ReducingRecidivism.pdf

35 Judge Michael P. Boggs, W. Thomas Worthy, Report of the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform, February 2015 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2014-2015-GA-Council-on-Criminal-Justice-Reform.pdf

36 Pew Charitable Trusts, “Growth in Federal Prison System Exceeds States’,” January 22, 2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2015/01/growth-in-feder-al-prison-system-exceeds-states

31 Office of Governor Nathan Deal, “Gov. Deal’s State of the State Address: Charting the course to prosperity,” January 10, 2012 http://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2012-01-10/gov-deals-state-state-address-charting-course-prosperity

32 Judge Michael P. Boggs, W. Thomas Worthy, Report of the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform, February 2015 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2014-2015-GA-Council-on-Criminal-Justice-Reform.pdf

33 Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians, Report of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians, November 2011 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2011-GA-Council-Report-FI-NALDRAFT.pdf

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Among the steps Georgia has taken is the creation of a “safety valve” exception to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses for low-level, nonviolent offenders. For Deal, this step needed to ensure that prison beds were available for the worst offenders37 in the state. “Public safety will be improved by giving prosecutors leverage in certain cases,” he explained, “and by ensuring that our prison resources are reserved for the ‘kingpins’ while the ‘mules’ are given a chance at reform.”38

Deal has also taken steps to reform Georgia’s juvenile justice system and worked with lawmakers to create an innovative back-end reen-try system39 that, like that of Texas, offers work training, education, and other rehabilitative programming.40 And he is not showing any signs of slowing down his justice reform efforts.41

In addition to Georgia, Alabama,42 Mississippi,43 Oklahoma,44 South Carolina,45 and Utah46 are among the long list of states that have either already implemented justice reforms that fit their respective communities or recently passed reforms.

37 Families Against Mandatory Minimums, “New GA Safety Valve Continues Common Sense Trend,” April 25, 2013 http://famm.org/new-ga-safety-valve-continues-common-sense-trend/

38 Office of Governor Nathan Deal, “Deal signs second edition of criminal justice reform,” April 25, 2013 http://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2013-04-25/deal-signs-second-edition-crimi-nal-justice-reform

39 Mike Klein, “Georgia Approves Aggressive Blueprint for Prisoner Reentry Initiative,” MikeKleinOnline.com, October 31, 2014 http://mikekleinonline.com/2014/10/31/georgia-ap-proves-blueprint-for-aggressive-prisoner-reentry-initiative/

40 Naomi Shavin, “A Republican Governor Is Leading the Country’s Most Successful Prison Reform,” The New Republic, March 31, 2015 http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121425/gop-governor-nathan-deal-leading-us-prison-reform

41 Rachel Lu, “Justice Reform: Georgia’s Bipartisan Cinderella Story,” The Federalist, March 26, 2015 http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/26/justice-reform-georgias-bipartisan-cinder-ella-story/

42 Mike Cason, “Alabama prison reform passes; governor plans to sign,” AL.com May 7, 2015 http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/05/alabama_prison_reform_bill_cou.html

43 Pew Charitable Trusts, Mississippi’s 2014 Corrections and Criminal Justice Reform, May 2014 http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2014/09/PSPP_Mississippi_2014_Correc-tions_Justice_Reform.pdf

44 Rick Green, “Oklahoma governor signs bill to give judges more discretion in sentencing,” The Oklahoman, May 4, 2015 http://newsok.com/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-to-give-judg-es-more-discretion-in-sentencing/article/5416267

45 Nicole Flatow, “South Carolina Saved $3M Last Year On ‘Smarter’ Prison Terms,” ThinkProgress, January 17, 2013 http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/17/1464031/south-carolina-saved-3m-last-year-on-smarter-prison-terms/

46 Robert Gehrke, “Sentences for some drug crimes reduced under newly signed Utah law,” The Salt Lake Tribune, March 31, 2015 http://www.sltrib.com/home/2353425-155/guv-signs-sweeping-prison-reform-education

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“Conservatives should lead the campaign to changing the culture of corrections in America.”

– Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 47

I t goes without saying that justice reform—which includes chang-es to sentencing policies, rehabilitative and reentry programs, and the like—is not a cure-all for the problems that persist in

many communities across the United States. The reforms passed in conservative states such as Texas and Georgia offer a different, less costly, data-driven way to approach corrections.

Residents have responded positively. A recent survey of likely Texas voters found strong support for the reforms passed in 2007. The survey noted that 73 percent support sending offenders guilty of drug possession to treatment programs as an alternative to incar-ceration, and 61 percent believe that more money should spent on education and drug treatment to lower offenders’ risk of commit-ting new crimes.48

The survey registered overwhelming support for juvenile justice reforms, such as ensuring that young people are tried in juvenile court for status offenses. Nearly 60 percent of respondents ex-pressed support for a bill that would allow non-violent offenders to seal their records, so they can find apply for employment, edu-cation, or find housing.49 A bill to the latter end was passed in the 2015 session and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.50

The results from Georgia have been similar. Although there is no recent data, a survey conducted in 2012 found that 81 percent sup-ported the idea of reducing sentences for those convicted of drug possession and using the savings for mandatory treatment pro-grams. Another finding was that 76 percent backed allowing non-violent offenders to earn time off their sentences if the complete rehabilitative programs.51 Bipartisan support was found in each of the questions asked, although 55 percent of the overall respon-dents were self-identified conservatives.

Additionally, researchers gave respondents a series of statements and asked if they agreed. Here is an example of one of the state-ments: “Prisons are a government program, and just like any other government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck.” Fully 90 percent of Republicans agreed with that opinion.52

47 Jake Miller, “CPAC kicks off as conservatives mull future,” CBS News, March 14, 2013 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpac-kicks-off-as-conservatives-mull-future/

48 Right on Crime, “New Poll Shows Voters Strongly Support New Justice Reforms in Texas,” March 9, 2015 http://righton-crime.com/2015/03/new-poll-shows-voters-strongly-support-new-justice-reforms-in-texas/

49 Ibid.

50 Michael Haugen, “Texas Gov. Abbott Signs A Wide Variety Of Criminal Justice Reform Bills Into Law,” Right on Crime, June 22, 2015 http://rightoncrime.com/2015/06/texas-gov-abbott-signs-a-wide-variety-of-criminal-justice-reform-bills-into-law/

51 Pew Center on the States, Public Attitudes on Crime and Punishment in Georgia, February 2012 http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/Public_At-titudes_on_Crime_Georgia.PDF

52 Ibid.

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A follow-up survey conducted in 2013 gauged voters’ opinions on juvenile justice. The findings were overwhelmingly in support of steps to ensure that low-risk juvenile offenders be placed in situ-ations that would make them less likely to reoffend at some point down the road.53

53 Pew Charitable Trusts, Public Attitudes on the Juvenile Justice System in Georgia, February 2013 http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2013/03/Pew_PSPP_Geor-gia_poll_report.PDF

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Con

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ion C onservative states have led the way on justice reform over the

last decade. By changing the culture of corrections through sentencing reforms that limit mandatory minimum prison

terms to the most serious offenders and rely on treatment as an alternative to incarceration, rehabilitative programs for those who do serve time, and continued assistance when offenders reenter society, lawmakers have reduced recidivism, made communities safer, and saved taxpayers money.

The results from conservative states—these laboratories of democ-racy—are key as members of Congress look for ways to deal with the federal corrections system, which has seen explosive popu-lation and cost growth of its own since 1980. This is federalism in action. Through sentencing reforms and a focus on treatment as an alternative to incarceration, the federal government can lessen the cost-burden on taxpayers by using the lessons from the states to get smart on crime.

Conservatives have embraced the justice reform movement, and they should continue to do so. While passed with the best of in-tentions, the policies of the past have proven unsustainable, both in terms of the fiscal cost and the negative impact on poor and minority communities. The model that conservative states have provided fundamentally changes the nature of the approach. Pun-ishments are, of course, still meted out by courts, but the sentences given offer a means for offenders to alter the direction of their lives.

One such example is a woman named Sarah Gilleland, whose sto-ry was told by Gov. Nathan Deal in a joint session of the Georgia General Assembly in January 2012.54 “Sarah was a drug addict. The drug use that began as recreation resulted in a destructive cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. It took control of her life. At one point, she had no means of transportation, she lost custody of her little girl, she wound up homeless,” Deal explained. “But I mention Sarah tonight because she exemplifies many of the goals we hold for our corrections system.”

“Under the supervision of a drug court, piece-by-piece, she began rebuilding her life. With help, she beat addiction, she won back her daughter, she is now a sponsor helping other women who face the same trials, and because she provides a powerful example of hope and redemption, I have asked her to join us in this chamber tonight,” he said, pointing to Sarah in the gallery of the chamber. “Sarah was given a shot a better life and she took it. Her story is not the exception, it is playing out all across Georgia as people reclaim their lives through the work of accountability courts.”

54 CSPAN, “Georgia State of the State Address,” January 10, 2012 http://www.c-span.org/video/?303621-1/georgia-state-state-address

foundation.freedomworks.org 888.564.6273

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“That is why we must focus on transforming our corrections system into a last resort of opportunity—a place where low-level offenders are reclaimed and restored to society as functioning members of the community—working to support their own families and paying taxes,” he added.

Compelling stories such as this are not just told in Georgia, they are also told in other states that have adopted conservative justice reforms that focus on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration. And as more states and the federal government adopt the effort, more prison space will be reserved for the worst offenders in society, while those who have demonstrated a willingness to change their lives become productive citizens.