Let’s Rethink How We Punish

Patricia Caruso, head of the state Corrections Department, offered one of my all-time favorite quotes when she said a few years ago of Michigan’s swelling prison population: “We need to decide who we’re afraid of and who we’re mad at.”

We’re running out of time to make that decision. Michigan is releasing about 2,000 additional prisoners this year to trim the Corrections budget. Among their ranks are killers, assaulters, robbers and an assortment of other despicable characters who have served their minimum sentences, but could be held longer under Michigan law.

Next year, the stream becomes a flood, if the Legislature approves Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s budget. The governor wants to free 7,500 more inmates by rewriting sentencing guidelines.

It’s a budget move, and one I support. Michigan is broke and getting broker. It doesn’t have the luxury of being as harsh on crime as perhaps it would like.

This issue isn’t going away. Michigan must commit to a smaller inmate population for the long haul. So, going back to Caruso’s quote, we ought to use this opportunity to radically rethink how we punish.

Nonviolent offenders should not be behind bars, unless they present a habitual threat to property. Nor should those who have lived an otherwise law-abiding life but through a lapse of judgment took a one-time swerve from the straight and narrow.

We’ve got to reserve our prison cells for the really scary guys and find alternative ways to punish everyone else.