The New York Times’ Monica Davey has a report today on prisoner early release programs done by state governments that face budget deficits. The plans have mostly proved to be politically poisonous. Here in Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn prematurely ended an early release plan when 50 of the 1,700 prisoners the Illinois Dept. of Corrections released proceeded to commit new violations. In fact, Quinn went so far to say that he wasn’t fully aware of the plan — claiming that the Dept. of Corrections went against his directives.

Early release programs may not be the best way to balance a state budget. But evidence that some early release prisoners have committed new violations needs to be put in context. Namely, how many other people just released from prison immediately committed a crime? Is an armed robbery convict released after 11 years and 8 months of incarceration more likely to commit a crime than an armed robbery convict in prison for the full 12 years?

For both budget practicality and social justice, the federal governments and state governments have decided that only the most serious crimes deserve a life sentence in prison. Their will always be recidivism. But maybe the best way to reduce it is for the states to provide a closely monitored, structured environment for people who just left prison. This include programs like job training. Perhaps a silver lining of these early release programs is that they show the need to invest in post-prison programs. It’s a less expensive investment then longer prison sentences.

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