On September 9. 2010 Reentry Central published an article on Missouri’s development of a formula designed to show judges the cost of incarceration options. Now, others are promoting this idea, including someone who had a complete mind change about locking people away.
Program Associate for the Versa Institute of Justice Center on Sentencing and Corrections Lauren-Brooke Eisen used to be a prosecutor who believed those who committed a crime should be sentenced harshly. She, and others, believed that the cost of incarceration was irrelevant in terms of the fiscal crisis that every state faces. Public safety was at the forefront of the battle to keep criminals locked up for long periods, so Eisen concluded. Then she learned that Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission (MOSAC) created a formula that judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and probations officers can use to calculate the cost of different sentencing options for each particular crime. The probable recidivism rate is also factored in. The results stunned Eisen.
In her blog for the Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Eisen relates that Missouri spends $16,823 on each inmate per year, and $1,354 per person on probation. Eisen gives an example of the cost of incarceration for second-degree robbery, a non-violent crime, that a convicted individual can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison under Missouri law. According to Eisen, using MOSAC calculations, a judge can establish that sentencing a person to five years for second-degree robbery will assure an actual incarceration rate of 3.1 years (based on Missouri inmates serving 62% of their sentences) with two years of parole added on. The cost for this option would be $56,000. The MOSAC formula shows that under this option, the recidivism rate is 40%.
By using a different option, sentencing a person to five years of probation, the MOSAC formula calculates Missouri would save $49,230.00, and the recidivism rate is estimated to be 30%. Those convicted of violent crimes would still receive stiff sentences under the MOSAC formula. However, Eisen reports that in the United States, 60% of prisoners were convicted for non-violent crimes, and suggests that other states might incorporate a formula similar to the MOSAC calculations to better serve taxpayers. Using a MOSAC-based formula, perhaps communities and families could remain intact, or at least a person’s time locked away from them would be lessened.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice
For more on the Missouri formula, see Missouri Puts Price tag on Sentencing, Reentry Central news 9/9/2010
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