Last week, Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Burdick told the Legislature, “the courts realize there are better ways to handle criminality than building bigger jails and prisons.” We also recently learned that Idaho is 3rd in the nation for portion of the population incarcerated or on parole, and a large portion of our imprisoned population is comprised of non-violent drug addicts. Before session, the Dept. of Corrections announced they would need $500 million to build more prison space. Because such an expense would take away from school and road funding, I think we need to take a hard look at our incarceration practices. I plan to re-introduce bipartisan legislation to reform mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders, which passed the House last year with a large majority but did not get a vote in the Senate. Here’s an article I wrote with my GOP co-sponsor describing the bill. I’ll need help from the public to convince the Senate Chairman to give it a hearing and get it passed. Please respond to this email if you’re willing to help advocate.
