State Senate OKs plan to help prison inmates reintegrate into society

OLYMPIA -- The Washington Senate, responding to the chronic problem of repeat crime by ex-convicts, today approved a sweeping set of prison reforms aimed at better preparing inmates to function in society once they're released.

The prison system has been under fire for the revolving door of felons in and out of prison, with about 40 percent returning to a life of crime. Three law-enforcement officers died at the hands of ex-cons who were under state supervision last year.

The state also has been accused of being lax with its supervision and the Department of Corrections was criticized for releasing felons from overcrowded county jails before they served full sentences for violating their probation.

With Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, as the driving force, the Legislature has been studying the problem for the past year, even before the officers' deaths. The Senate on Saturday approved a sweeping set of recommendations of a task force headed by Carrell and Sen. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma.

The vote was nearly unanimous, 47-1. Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, voted no, but didn't speak against it.

The measure, which heads to the House for likely passage, would require each inmate to have a "re-entry" plan, including education, job training and other needs.

It also would link the ex-convicts with community services, coordinate tracking by the criminal justice system, and impose stiffer penalties for repeat violations of probation. The bill says the Department of Corrections must transform work-release facilities into effective community re-entry centers.

Offenders could get out of prison after serving half their sentences if they participate in education, drug treatment and other programs behind bars. Lawmakers also want to increase the maximum amount of partial confinement, such as work-release, that some inmates can serve, to 12 months or half of the offender's sentence, whichever is less.

The measure also deals more sternly with ex-cons who violate their terms of release. On the third violation, the offender would be shipped back to state prison to serve out the full original sentence.

The bill also seeks to speed up the process of restoring an ex-offender's voting rights. Carrell said the measure incorporates both sticks and carrots, punishment and rehabilitation, always with the goal of improving the recidivism, or repeat crime, rate.

"We're not implementing warm and fuzzy stuff that doesn't work," he said during the debate, which became a bipartisan lovefest. "It was actually reduce recidivism. I believe people will be coming out of prisons with less of a chance they will commit new crimes. Our communities will be safer.

"We are creating a new vision of how we're going to work with felons. We're going to work with them to give them an opportunity to go a different direction."

Regala and other senators noted that 97 percent of all felons eventually are released, and society is best served if their problems are addressed.

"This is about being smarter," Regala said. "It is not a silver bullet, but it is a major, major step forward."

Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, chairman of the panel that handled the legislation, said: "This isn't about 'soft on crime' or being nice to the inmates. It about public safety and having fewer victims of crime."

Gov. Chris Gregoire is requesting $25 million for various prison reforms, including many of those envisioned by the Senate legislation.

In December, after the deaths of the three officers -- two in car crashes, one in a shooting -- the governor ordered a review of the community supervision system and said, "We need a course correction."