State Initiatives: Georgia
Click here for a PDF version of the Georgia Right On Crime Statement of Principles.
In, Georgia, 1 in 13 adults is under some form of correctional control: either on probation or parole, or behind bars.i This is the highest rate in the nation – the national average is 1 in 31.ii About 1 in 70 Georgia adults are behind bars. Georgia spends more than $1 billion per year on its prison system that houses approximately 53,000 inmates.iii Corrections costs have grown five-fold since 1985.iv Longer sentences have driven Georgia’s prison growth. For instance, the average inmate released in 2009 on a drug possession charge spent 21 months locked up, compared with 10 months in 1990.v
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) says his colleagues need to take a closer look at the cost-effectiveness of their programs, stating: “I don’t think we ought to let public safety depend on getting a bargain basement price, but I think we do have to be conscious of the cost of incarceration.” He added, “I think the dialogue has already started.”
Ralston notes that he is a strong supporter of Georgia’s drug courts, an accountability and treatment approach for substance abuse offenders overseen by a judge.vi He said that cops and prosecutors tell him Georgia needs more discretion in the courtroom and more alternatives to prison.vii
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich urged Georgia policymakers to make improvements in the state’s corrections system in a March 2010 op-ed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution co-authored with former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, stating in part:
“If two-thirds of public school students dropped out, or two-thirds of all bridges built collapsed within three years, would citizens tolerate it? The people of Georgia would never stand for that kind of failure. But that is exactly what is happening all across the U.S. in our prison systems. Last year, some 20,000 people were released from Georgia's prisons to re-enter our communities. If trends of the past decade continue, two-thirds of them will be rearrested within three years. That failure rate is a clear and present threat to public safety. Not only is this revolving door a threat to public safety, but it results in an increasing burden on each and every taxpayer.”viii
In 2012, Georgia tackled these challenges by passing a major reform package. The package prioritizes Georgia’s limited prison space for the most serious offenders by creating a new system of graduated sanctions for burglary, forgery, theft, and simple drug possession. Low-level, first time offenders are punished using community supervision alternatives, and prison space is reserved for more serious and habitual offenders. The reform package also improved probation by, among other things, strengthening the state’s drug treatment programs, accountability courts, and electronic monitoring. The package also improves data collection so that the state may better measure the performance of the criminal justice system. The bill, HB 1176, passed both chambers unanimously (162-0 in the House, 51-0 in the Senate), and was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on May 2, 2012.
i Carrie Teegardin and Bill Rankin, “A Billion Dollar Burden or Justice,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 23 Sept. 2010.
ii Ibid.
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.
v Ibid.
vi Ibid.
vii Ibid.
viii Newt Gingrich and Mark Earley, “Cutting Recidivism Saves Money and Lives,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 24 Mar. 2010.
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Georgia to lock up fewer young offenders
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, Priority Issues, State Initiatives: May 3, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
From Rhonda Cook at the Atlanta Journal Constitution Originally published May 2, 2013 DALTON —With a swipe of his pen, Gov. Nathan Deal set in motion another phase of the effort to make criminal justice in Georgia less costly and more effective – this one focused on youthful offenders. Deal signed House Bill 242, adding [...]
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Free Beacon: Taking On Crime
Posted in Georgia, Pennsylvania, ROC Blog, South Carolina, State Initiatives, Texas: April 23, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Excerpt from The Washington Free Beacon, originally published April 23, 2013 by Andrew Evans Texas faced a choice in 2007: spend billions on new prisons to house its convicts or find creative ways to deal with criminals in the state. State leaders chose the second option, and Texas’ reforms, which have been championed by the [...]
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Georgia House passes juvenile justice reform bill
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, ROC Blog: March 27, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Good news out of Georgia. The Georgia House of Representatives just passed HB 242, the juvenile justice reform bill. It now goes to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature. Here is an excerpt from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Major changes are coming to how the state treats juveniles who get in trouble with the law under [...]
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Kelly McCutchen on WGAU 1340AM – Talking Juvenile Justice Reform in Georgia
Posted in Audio, Georgia, Juvenile Justice, ROC Blog: March 25, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Listen to this radio interview of Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Kelly McCutchen talk about juvenile justice reform in Georgia on talk radio station WGAU 1340AM in Georgia. The interview starts a couple of minutes into the show. As Right on Crime signatory McCutchen points out, Georgia is spending more than $91,000 a year, per juvenile [...]
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Right on Crime Campaign Applauds Unanimous Passage of Juvenile Justice Reforms in the Georgia Senate
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, ROC Blog: March 22, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2013 AUSTIN – Today, the Right on Crime campaign congratulated the Georgia Senate for unanimously passing a major juvenile justice reform bill. This legislation would enact comprehensive juvenile justice reforms recommended by the Governor’s Special Council on Justice Reform. The reforms would refocus Georgia’s juvenile justice system on programs that [...]
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Newt Gingrich and Kelly McCutchen Op-Ed on Juvenile Justice
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, ROC Blog, Uncategorized: March 20, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Check out this great op-ed by Newt Gingrich and Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Kelly McCutchen in today’s Marietta, GA newspaper. It’s about how Georgia can make some major reforms in their juvenile justice system. We expect a vote on proposed legislation this week. Here is an excerpt from the piece in the Marietta Daily Journal. [...]
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Georgia State Rep. Jay Neal on Oregon talk radio
Posted in Audio, Audio and Video, Georgia, Oregon, Prisons, ROC Blog: March 18, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Listen to Georgia State Rep. Jay Neal discuss criminal justice reform in Georgia on the Bill Meyer radio show in Oregon. He makes a solid case for reforming the system in Oregon, based on the Right on Crime principles he applied in Georgia.
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Right on Crime Applauds Passage of Juvenile Reforms in Georgia House
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, ROC Blog: February 28, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
AUSTIN – Today, the Right on Crime campaign congratulated the Georgia House of Representatives for unanimously passing HB 242. This bill would enact comprehensive juvenile justice reforms recommended by the Governor’s Special Council on Justice Reform. HB 242 would refocus Georgia’s juvenile justice system on programs that actually work to keep streets safer. The bill [...]
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Marc Levin on NPR’s On Point radio show
Posted in Audio, Georgia, Kansas, Oregon, Prisons, ROC Blog, South Dakota: February 21, 2013 by Brendan Steinhauser
Policy Director Marc Levin appeared on NPR’s On Point radio show to discuss the costs of prisons. Here is the link. Right on Crime supports applying the principles of limited government to the criminal justice system. We believe that the system should preserve public safety, provide justice, reduce crime and lessen costs.
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Hunstein: Georgia at “Crossroads in Juvenile Justice History”
Posted in Georgia, Juvenile Justice, Priority Issues, ROC Blog, State Initiatives: February 8, 2013 by Mike Klein
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein declared the state is at a “crossroads in juvenile justice history” and challenged the General Assembly to expand mental health services for “clearly disturbed youngsters” during her final State of the Judiciary address, telling lawmakers…
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