The two-year spending plan passed by the Kentucky House budget committee allocates $70 million to reopen three private prisons.
Daniel Cameron is the spokesperson for Kentucky Smart On Crime, a group advocating for criminal justice reform. He said Kentucky needs to focus on getting its prison population under control.
“State prisons are bursting at the seams so a lot of folks are trying to figure out exactly how we can get a handle on this situation,” said Cameron.
Cameron said one solution would be reducing the amount of people incarcerated for low-level offenses such as drug possession. He said the state would be better off treating addicts, rather than incarcerating them.
Kentucky Smart On Crime is supporting legislation aimed at reducing punishments for non-violent offenses. Cameron said the money being spent on corrections could be used to go after serious violent offenders.
Kentucky has the 9th highest incarceration rate in the nation.
