Capitol Comments

States Ponder Recording of Death Penalty Cases

By Jennifer Horne Boyter

The large number of post-conviction exonerations based on DNA testing has led many states to consider how to lessen the chances of wrongfully convicting someone for a crime he did not commit.

Electronic recording of custodial interrogations has emerged as a popular and powerful innovation for state criminal justice systems, especially in homicide cases.   

Recording interrogations provides an objective record of a critical phase in the investigation that later can be carefully reviewed for inconsistencies and used to evaluate the demeanor of the suspect. These recordings not only help guard against false accusations of police coercion, but also allow prosecutors, judges and juries to assess whether the defendant’s statement is both credible and voluntary, helping to prevent wrongful convictions. 

Southern States Reconsider ‘Tough on Crime’ Approach

By Mikel Chavers

Although the state of Oklahoma makes good use of corrections resources, Oklahoma  state Sen. Kenneth Corn believes the costs of staffing and running state corrections facilities and programs are still eating a bigger and bigger piece of the pie.

In 1991, the state was spending roughly $156 million on corrections. This year, the state will spend an estimated $506 million on corrections—an increase nobody is excited about.

Part of the increase in spending was a result of the state’s tough on crime approach, Corn said at the Southern Legislative Conference in Oklahoma City July 13. “We can lock everybody up—let’s be tough and crime; let’s put everybody in jail,” Corn said of those days.

“We’ve been passing these laws with little regard to what the financial implications are,” Corn said. And so far, no legislator is really stepping forward to change the state’s tough on  crime approach, Corn said. “We spend all of our time trying doing the political gotcha game—everybody wants to be tough on crime,” he said. “Sometimes I think it’s better for us to take a step back as lawmakers.”

Tennessee Signs on to Tracking and Monitoring Juveniles

Tennessee on Friday became the 34th state to pass a special agreement to track and monitor juvenile offenders in an effort to keep America’s children from falling through the cracks.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen signed House Bill 4099 June 20, and the state officially joined the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. One more state needs to join the compact for it to officially launch nationwide. Illinois may become the 35th state; its version of the compact—Senate Bill 2821—is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Every year thousands of juvenile offenders cross state lines and are lost in the system. Often left to fend for themselves and disconnected from social services and the help they need, young offenders who would otherwise be supervised commit violent and nonviolent crimes.

Some states are just losing track of children in the juvenile system.

But the compact seeks to change that.

Virginia Will No Longer House Other States’ Inmates

As many states face overcrowding in jails and rising costs to house prisoners, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine halted the state’s plan to accept prisoners from other states and incarcerate them for a fee Wednesday, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The two-year state budget approved by Virginia lawmakers in March included a proposal to house 1,000 out-of-state prisoners as part of a plan to address revenue shortfalls, according to the newspaper.

After several sheriffs expressed concern over the plan, citing that Virginia was leasing space in its prisons to out-of-state prisoners while Virginian inmates remained in local jails funded with local tax dollars, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The state is currently housing 300 Wyoming inmates and because the state will no longer accept out-of-state inmates, the state’s corrections budget will fall short by an estimated $12 million a year, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

An upcoming article in the August 2008 issue of State News magazine will detail what states are doing as they face overcrowding prisons and budget crunches within state corrections departments. Read how states are finding alternatives to incarceration to save money and to keep people out of prison.

CLE Workshop Offers Look into Cybersafety in the States

Rep. Johnny Bell was in a Kentucky middle school talking to children about the dangers of the Internet and cybersafety. He asked a simple question.

When he asked about MySpace and who had a MySpace page, he said, “Every hand in the building went up.”

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who accompanied Bell, advised the children that they were breaking the law, because they were under age 14, Bell said jokingly.

States Face Tough Times in Corrections

Kentucky has the highest growth rate in state prison population according to the new Pew Center on the States report, “One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008,” released in January. And that means corrections issues are on the minds of Kentucky’s state officials—and many other state officials across the country.

In fact, according to the Pew report, Kentucky isn’t alone.

Last year, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years earlier.

States Grapple with Growing Prison Population

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults is in jail or prison. That’s according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States and the Pew Charitable Trust.

That fact alone significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety, according to a Pew Center on the States press release.

Kentucky is no exception to that problem.

Justice Center Project Focuses on Mental Health

The Council of State Governments Justice Center has issued a request for applications from state Supreme Court chief justices interested in establishing a statewide task force that will work to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses involved in the criminal justice system.

Through this project, the Chief Justices’ Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, selected chief justices will receive technical assistance and a small amount of funding support to assist them in convening a collaborative, bipartisan group of state leaders to address criminal justice/mental health issues. Technical assistance will be provided by the Justice Center, with help from the National GAINS Center.

Shared Vision for Homeland Security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is marking its fifth anniverary this year, and 21 national organizations have developed a clear vision for how the nation should address homeland security in the 21st century.

The organizations -- including the National Emergency Management Association, a CSG affiliate -- make up the National Homeland Security Consortium. The consortium believes the nation is at a crossroads in its efforts to secure the homeland.

In its white paper, Protecting Americans in the 21st Century: Imperatives for the Homeland, the consortium calls for acknowledgement that homeland security is a shared responsibility between all levels of government, the private sectors and citizens. The consortium believes all those groups should be equal partners with the federal government in setting national goals and the supporting policies and procedures.

Read more about the white paper in a NEMA press release.

Justice Center Report Focuses on Mental Health Courts

The Council of State Governments Justice Center has releaed an updated edition of "Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Mental Health Court." The publication describes the 10 important program elements jurisdictions should consider when planning, implementing or enhancing a mental health court.

The Justice Center estimates the number of mental health courts in the United States has grown from four in 1997 to more than 175 today. But because of the diversity of program models and their relative newness, there has been no nationally accepted criteria for effective mental health courts.  The updated report -- the result of many rounds of rigorous review -- details aspects of court design and implementation that have been found in successful courts.

The current edition incorporates feedback from professionals and stakeholders at all levels of the criminal justice and mental health systems, including an online public forum and a series of experts' meetings.