Article: Richardson wants prison reform next session

[Morris1]

Thought you might be interested. I read all articles about Prison Reform.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/sear...costatimes.com

SANTA FE—With the state's tough-on-crime initiatives swelling the prison population, Gov. Bill Richardson said Friday he wants to make prison reform a legislative priority next year.

Richardson said a task force will look at ways to divert offenders from prison, provide inmates better school and work opportunities, and improve probation and parole programs. "I want some new ideas. ... We've not been as innovative as we should on prison reform," he said at a news conference.

[forever_ever_baby]

That is great great news thanks!!!!

[kima]

I just read somewhere that New Mexico's recidivism rate is 48% - which isn't too bad compared to other state's that are at 70%. It would be great to see this state as an example for others to follow. If NM continues to reform their prison system and start actually developing more programs to reintegrate and rehabilitate prisoners, it could be a great model for the rest of the country!

[forever_ever_baby]

wow

[gj07]

Now, should be a good time to write the Governor with our thoughts on this.

[Igor Louis]

The funny thing is, New Mexico is not tough on crime. Multiple crime felons regularly get sentenced to Probation, or time served. New Mexico is a "stopping-off point" for those felons fleeing California's Three Strikes law, who then come here and commit crimes with impunity.
Is there anything to be done to stop it? Perhaps relocate your family to another locale......

[gj07]

Originally Posted by Igor Louis

The funny thing is, New Mexico is not tough on crime. Multiple crime felons regularly get sentenced to Probation, or time served. New Mexico is a "stopping-off point" for those felons fleeing California's Three Strikes law, who then come here and commit crimes with impunity.
Is there anything to be done to stop it? Perhaps relocate your family to another locale......

I don't agree with you on this one Igor. That might be true in some cases, but the case I am speaking of the person was given 15 years for first criminal offense ever (drugs). This person could have gone to an alternate to prison for less than one hundred and eighty dollars; yet the officials wanted prison at a cost in the hundreds of thousands. What reason could there be for this, except the publicity of being hard on crime. Is prison really being hard on crime, when according to statistics I have read, 1/4 of the people going to prison for a non-violent crime will reenter prison again after release for this time a violent crime? I have seen how the news media in New Mexico contributed to this, by what they print. Both sides should be given by the news, but I did not see this happening in New Mexico.

What did the news print that wasn't true? How about they found over $250,000 dollars in this bust when they found the one they called the leader with only around one hundred dollars--a fact that never got printed. Lots of weapons they claim they found--they found him with none. The articles now read, convicted meth maker. He did not make meth, and did not have any chemicals for making meth. (I did not get the facts I am giving you from this person I got them from the court appointed attorney.

I agree with the other person posting here. This person also had a court appointed attorney who to this day has never discussed case with his client.

For these reason I will be writing to the Governor and I hope others will join me.

I don't mean to contridict you or to be rude; I appreciate the time you put into this site and the good advice you give. I just don't think you realize what is happening in some cases.

[doc's honeee]

And yet... many people are routinely railroaded in New Mexico. The reason they are put on parole/probation is a money making issue for the state. MANY innocent people take a guilty plea from shady prosecutors and judges to avoid jail time and just pay to stay out of the system. The public defender's office in NM is a sham. The prosecutor's office is judge and jury. There is a real reason NM is considered the most crooked state in the union. It has been flying under the Constitutional radar for a long time.

[Igor Louis]

I know the case you're referring to and I've seen the police reports and everything involved on the case, from the LE side of the operation.
I think the problem in that specific case was a combination of the drug (meth) and the operation they were running. From what I understood, they could have charged him with the RICO law, but didn't, for an unknown reason. He wasn't a meth cook, but he was the dealer.
The panic and fear surrounding meth has died down somewhat, but I can tell you with certainty that the drug is the closest thing to being "evil," if you will, that an inanimate object can get. The lives corrupted by its use...the people damaged in the cooking of it...the children that are forever tormented by being exposed to growing up in that situation or by having Hazmat-suit wearing LE agents burst into the home...those are the things that culminated in the sentence he got.
Had it been left up to me, it would have been harsher, as I've seen what happens to the 6-month old baby that knocks over an acid bottle onto their arm...and I could go on. Meth is a soul-killer, and whether they're the cook, the user, or the middle-man, they all contributed to untold amounts of pain.
I've had too many meth cooks on my case load.
Apologies on the rant, I try not to get too LE-centric on things on here.

[gj07]

Originally Posted by Igor Louis

I know the case you're referring to and I've seen the police reports and everything involved on the case, from the LE side of the operation.
I think the problem in that specific case was a combination of the drug (meth) and the operation they were running. From what I understood, they could have charged him with the RICO law, but didn't, for an unknown reason. He wasn't a meth cook, but he was the dealer.
The panic and fear surrounding meth has died down somewhat, but I can tell you with certainty that the drug is the closest thing to being "evil," if you will, that an inanimate object can get. The lives corrupted by its use...the people damaged in the cooking of it...the children that are forever tormented by being exposed to growing up in that situation or by having Hazmat-suit wearing LE agents burst into the home...those are the things that culminated in the sentence he got.
Had it been left up to me, it would have been harsher, as I've seen what happens to the 6-month old baby that knocks over an acid bottle onto their arm...and I could go on. Meth is a soul-killer, and whether they're the cook, the user, or the middle-man, they all contributed to untold amounts of pain.
I've had too many meth cooks on my case load.
Apologies on the rant, I try not to get too LE-centric on things on here.

I agree with you Igor; meth is evil. However, there were no men in hazmet suits breaking in the door.

I do not believe in drugs at all. I have never used drugs in my life and could never understand before how someone can get hooked on them. However, I do believe a person should not be tried by the newspapers before they go to court. I also believe the news should print the truth. I also believe a person should have a chance to tell their side of the story. I also believe that trying to reform a person is better than punishment.

I understand you and I are on different sides on this issue. I support you and I support law enforcement. However, I will do all in my power to try and turn lives around that are addicted. This is an issue that I had no knowledge of before or had any desire to know about. You have been working on this problem a whole lot longer than I have. However, from what I am reading about drugs, it is a very big problem, and prison time is not solving it.

I understand this can be a life-long craving from what I have read. I hope I can be there to give support later and prevent this from ever happening again. I plan to learn all I can about drugs in order to do this.

As I said, from what I read, prison is not solving the problem. If I can help others to get treatment instead, I will do my best.

You are doing a great job on this board and I appreciate all the help you have given me and others.