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BIZARRE DEMOCRAT PROPOSAL FOR EARLY RELEASE OF THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS
NJReporter ^ | 12/18/03 | NJ Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio

Posted on 12/19/2003 2:48:02 AM PST by thenderson

For Release:
Immediate
December 18, 2003

Contact:
Assemblyman Pennacchio
973-984-0922

PENNACCHIO CALLS DEMOCRAT PROPOSAL FOR EARLY RELEASE OF THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS 'BIZARRE'
SUGGESTS PRISONERS SHOULD BE SERVING LONGER – NOT SHORTER SENTENCES

Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio today criticized a proposal being supported by the McGreevey administration and some Democrat legislators, that would trim New Jersey's prison population by allowing prisoners to earn credits toward early releases.

"The Governor should not risk the safety of our citizens to balance New Jersey's state budget," said Pennacchio, R-Morris, Passaic. "The idea that we need to start letting thousands of prisoners out of jail early just to ease overcrowding and balance the budget is not only dangerous but also bizarre."

According to newspaper reports this week, State Corrections Commissioner Devon Brown is backing a plan that would make 40 percent of the state's 23,000 inmates eligible for early release through a "good-time" credits program for well-behaved prisoners.

"We are punishing these inmates for crimes they committed against society and they should pay the full penalty for those crimes," Pennacchio said. "Behaving well while incarcerated does not undo the damage they did to society by the crimes they committed when they were free."

Pennacchio said that he has no problem with reviewing the sentencing laws to ensure they are fair and sufficiently tough, but that doing so with the intention of allowing inmates to leave prison early is the wrong approach.

Assemblyman Pennacchio concluded "The administration's handling of Homeland Security is an obvious failure. Most notably the hiring and firing of Golan Cipel as Homeland Security Czar and Joseph Santiago as Superintendent of the State Police. Both appointments ended in failure and now this."

#####

Links to New Jersey Press, TV, and Radio Web Sites

NJ Governor James McGreevey
A Miserable Failure


TOPICS: Announcements; Crime/Corruption; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: nj
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1 posted on 12/19/2003 2:48:04 AM PST by thenderson
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To: thenderson
Just in time for the 2004 elections. Got to make sure that this important Democratic constituency can make it to the polls...
2 posted on 12/19/2003 3:01:49 AM PST by oblomov
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To: thenderson
Aren't there enough criminals out on the streets of N.J. ?
Does this guy really want to be responsible when some early parolee kills someone or rapes someone?
Oh yeah, money. Though about a third of govt is lost to graft and corruption and waste this bum doesn't want to make any hard choices, just let the criinals out to save bucks.
3 posted on 12/19/2003 3:04:49 AM PST by Joe Boucher (G.W. Bush in 2004)
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To: thenderson
Didn't saddam open the jails too ?
4 posted on 12/19/2003 3:13:26 AM PST by ChadGore (http://www.howard-dean-sucks.com)
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To: thenderson
According to newspaper reports this week, State Corrections Commissioner Devon Brown is backing a plan that would make 40 percent of the state's 23,000 inmates eligible for early release

In other words: 13,800 more votes on the "D" side of the ledger. (60% of 23,000 = 13,800.)

They're completely beyond any last vestiges of shame, at this point. Now even the city's graveyards aren't a potent enough source of make-believe ballots for them, any longer.

5 posted on 12/19/2003 3:39:09 AM PST by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle ("The Clintons have damaged our country. They have done it together, in unison." -- Peggy Noonan)
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To: thenderson
Arm your reps with recidivisim and parole stats USDOJ report

Parole & Probation. Cosst of Crime THey are an eye opener.

6 posted on 12/19/2003 4:04:43 AM PST by GailA (Millington Rally for America after action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/872519/posts)
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To: KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle; Republican Wildcat
They're completely beyond any last vestiges of shame, at this point.

Hmm...Just like FMR. Gov. Paul Patton of Ky.

7 posted on 12/19/2003 4:28:43 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :)
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To: thenderson
It's a marketing strategy.

http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/goto/?getPage=http%3A%2F%2Fabclocal%2Ego%2Ecom%2Fwpvi%2Fnews%2Fprint%5F12172003%5Fnw%5Fpoliticiandrugs%2Ehtml&return=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edrudgereportarchives%2Ecom%2Fdsp%2Fsearch%2Ehtm%3FsearchFor%3Dcrack
8 posted on 12/19/2003 6:40:08 AM PST by .cnI redruM (Dean People Suck!)
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To: thenderson
Not bizarre at all. This will happen, and it will happen in time for their democrat presidential votes. Thanks SOTU for passing on the bizarre replacement of NJ's last Senate candidate (the Torch) just because he appeared to be losing.
9 posted on 12/19/2003 9:08:43 AM PST by ntnychik
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To: thenderson
I wonder how many people are in jail in New Jersy for simple possession of small amounts of controlled substances?
10 posted on 12/19/2003 10:57:18 AM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: GailA
From the 1996 numbers in the USDOJ report you posted, 14% of inmates were either first-time or repeat non-violent drug-law violators:

About 7% of all jail inmates in 1996 were first offenders charged with a drug offense, and another 7% were recidivists with current and prior charges for drug offenses only. [i.e., No prior violent offenses.]

Assuming these numbers have held steady for the past 7 years, which may be a conservative estimate, releasing 14% of the NJ prison population would amount to 3,220 individuals who pose no real danger to others except in the fevered imaginations of the modern-day Carrie Nations. Assuming $30k per inmate per year, that comes to $96.6 million in savings. The problem then becomes firing the union prison guards.

11 posted on 12/19/2003 11:08:34 AM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: mvpel
But are those the ones being released?

Patton tried this in Kentucky. Some of those he released committed rape and armed robbery.
12 posted on 12/19/2003 12:59:16 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: skinkinthegrass
Yes, indeed.
13 posted on 12/19/2003 1:00:02 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: Republican Wildcat
I'd be interested in reading about this in Kentucky, if you have any references. Thanks!

I'd generally suspect, though, that releasing people convicted of non-violent victimless prohibition-related "crimes" with no prior record of violent crime would be a safer bet than most.

Perhaps you'd have to check to see if their conviction was a result of a plea-bargain down from a violent crime originally charged.
14 posted on 12/19/2003 1:02:53 PM PST by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: oblomov
The Dims aren't particular about their supporters and since they're criminals they can probably provide support at the polls to "disenfranchise" GOP voters through violent means.
15 posted on 12/19/2003 6:30:07 PM PST by Rockitz (After all these years, it's still rocket science.)
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To: mvpel
In NJ, basically nobody gets sent to a state prison for small quantities of drugs. Here, nobody in one of the state institutions is there just for being a misunderstood individual. Most inmates have worked long and hard to be a criminal.

Simple possession cases (for first time offenders) are nearly all downgraded to disorderly person offenses. The penalty then is just a fine.

The next notch up -- possession with intent to distribute and repeat offenses -- very often gets parole. Drug possession (or use) in violation of parole can result in a prison stay.

It is true that as part of a plea bargain deal, other charges might be dropped and then the remaining possession charge will merit incarceration. In this way, technically, someone will be jailed for possession of a small quantity of drugs. The original arrest might have been for drug possession, criminal trespass, possession of burglar tools, weapon possession, possession of stolen property, criminal mischief, terroristic threats, assault, and a assault on a police officer. To keep the criminal justice system operating, a prosecutor might agree to drop all but the drug charge.
16 posted on 12/20/2003 12:37:49 AM PST by thenderson
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To: Joe Boucher
Does this guy really want to be responsible when some early parolee kills someone or rapes someone?

Democrats don't care about people being murdered. They'll just blame Republicans for pointing it out like they did with Willie Horton.

17 posted on 12/20/2003 12:40:51 AM PST by #3Fan
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To: Rockitz
Honestly, I've never seen or heard of actual violence. What I have seen is intimidation -- large crowds of burly union members and paid "volunteers" deployed to yell and holler at Republican events.

There's also the practice, first used by the Corzine campaign, of exploiting large numbers of homeless people from Pennsylvania and New York as street workers (putting up signs and handing out literature). These "migrant" campaign workers are supervised by college students and political operatives. Many of these are also from out-of-state.
18 posted on 12/20/2003 12:49:50 AM PST by thenderson
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To: thenderson
"The original arrest might have been for drug possession, criminal trespass, possession of burglar tools, weapon possession, possession of stolen property, criminal mischief, terroristic threats, assault, and a assault on a police officer. To keep the criminal justice system operating, a prosecutor might agree to drop all but the drug charge."

OK, so possession of stolen property, terroristic threats, assault, and the occasional assault on a police officer are no big deal, but a little drugs go a long way.

At the risk of my own position and profession in the law, maybe the criminal justice system ought to be about stopping and punishing the assaulters and terrorists instead of the drug possessors. Just another wacko concept from this member of the thinking end of the population.
19 posted on 12/20/2003 12:57:10 AM PST by Unknowing (Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.)
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To: Unknowing
I'm not defending the practice of plea bargaining. Rather, I'm answering a poster's contention that many people in prison are there "just" for "prohibition" offenses. What I'm pointing out is that, though the conviction might be for drugs, it takes a lot more for someone to get sentenced to a state prison in NJ.
20 posted on 12/20/2003 5:16:26 AM PST by thenderson
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