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The Des Moines Register, Saturday, January 24, 1998, Page 1A
Paroles lag behind rise in inmates
- The number of paroles goes up by only 11 percent since
1992, but prison population grows by 48 percent.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
The Iowa Board of Parole freed
more than 300 convicts last year who had served time for drug trafficking.
The panel also sent home nearly 400 burglars. In addition, about
670 people serving time for repeat offense drunken driving were granted paroles, along
with about 90 sex criminals, 21 prostitutes, five people convicted of second-degree
murder, and hundreds of others who committed various crimes, state records show.
Overall, the five-member board granted 2,449 paroles during the fiscal
year that ended June 30, according to a state report. But that represents only an 11
percent increase in paroles since 1992, while the state's prison population grew by 48
percent over the same period.
Among all inmates, the average amount of time spent in an Iowa prison
before a parole is granted is two years and three months.
Parole Board Chairman Walter Saur of Oelwein and Gov. Terry Branstad
both said this week they think Iowa is following a prudent course in selecting inmates for
parole.
Saur said the parole panel is a "citizens' board" that
reflects Iowa community values. "We're trying to hold down the prison
population, yet release the nonviolent offenders."
Branstad said the parole board has a tough and thankless job. The
public usually hears about parole issues only when parolees commit serious crimes, he
noted.
"The good news is that we have had a lot less of those kinds of
experiences in Iowa than most other states," Branstad said. He credited that
situation to policies aimed at improving information used to evaluate inmates before
release and to other efforts, including a program that allows crime victims to testify
before the parole board.
Saur emphasized that making decisions on whom to parole can be a
complicated matter that is sometimes difficult for the public to comprehend.
For example, an inmate can be a sexual predator, but may have entered
prison on a theft charge. And sometimes judges or lawyers make questionable
decisions or buckle to political pressure in handling a criminal case, which places the
parole board in a delicate position in considering whether to release a convict, Saur
said.
The Rev. Carlos Jayne of Des Moines, a United Methodist minister who is
trying to organize a coalition of groups to oppose an expansion of Iowa's prisons,
contends many criminals shouldn't be sent to prison in the first place. Iowa has
nearly 71,000 men and women behind bars, while about 20,000 are in community corrections
programs.
"Our record in Iowa is so good in community-based corrections that
it doesn't make any sense to keep them in prison," Jayne said. Too many inmates
are serving extremely long sentences because of subjective decisions by prosecutors, he
said. For example, people may be charged with having drugs with intent to sell when
the drugs were simply purchased for their own use, he said.
"It is their word against the county attorney, and nine times out
of 10 the court takes the word of the county attorney," Jayne said. "Those
people need treatment. They don't need to be locked up. It is not going to do
them any good because we don't have enough treatment inside."
Branstad said he thinks the public would probably prefer to have
inmates serve even longer sentences than they are now.
The 2,400 inmates being freed annually "is a lot of people to
parole," and there isn't a need to greatly increase that figure, Branstad said.
"The concern that I have is that if you parole the wrong people and they go
out and commit rape, murder and mayhem, you are going to have big, big problems."
Saur said federal government surveys show that Iowa inmates are already
serving much longer sentences before parole for certain crimes than prisoners in many
other states.
Iowa had a prison population cap in the early 1980s which resulted in
the early release of hundreds of inmates on parole. The cap was abolished amid
complaints that it threatened public safety.
William Petroski can be reached
at
(515) 284-8547 or
petroskib@news.dmreg.com
500 lifers
- Iowa's growing population of inmates serving life
sentences means there is a fairly large pool of convicts who can never be considered for
parole unless they are granted commutations by the governor. Iowa now has 504
inmates with life sentences, mostly for murder, said Jim Felker, inmate classification
manager for the Iowa Department of Corrections. In 1997 alone, 40 inmates entered
prison to begin serving life terms in Iowa , which was the most ever in a single year.
Parole rates vs. prison population growth*
The Iowa Board of parole has increased the number of
paroles granted annually by only 11 percent since 1992. Meantime, the prison
population has soared by 48 percent.

* As of June 30 each year.
SOURCES: Iowa Board of Parole, Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning
Time
served prior to parole |
The
following shows the average time served before paroles were granted for certain crimes
in Iowa during the 1997 state fiscal year.* |
Distribution of a
controlled substance in the vicinity of a school or a park |
Four years, eight months |
Attempt to commit murder |
Eight years, six months |
Second-degree murder |
17 years, 10 months |
First-degree robbery |
Nine years, nine months |
Second-degree sexual abuse |
Seven years, four months |
Habitual felony offender |
Eight years, 10 months |
Second-degree arson |
Three years, five months |
Second-degree burglary |
Four years, 11 months |
Child endangerment,
serious injury |
Two years, seven months |
Homicide by vehicle, under
the influence or reckless |
Three years, six months |
Manufacture and delivery
of a counterfeit drug |
Four years, two months |
Manufacture and delivery
of a controlled substance |
Two years, one month |
Third-degree sexual abuse |
Three years, seven months |
First-degree theft |
Three years, 10 months |
Willful injury |
Three years, 10 months |
Third-degree burglary |
Two years |
Extortion |
Two years, four months |
Failure to obtain a
controlled substance tax stamp |
One year, eight months |
Forgery |
Two years |
Going armed with intent |
One year, seven months |
Lascivious acts with a
child |
Two years, five months |
Manufacture and delivery
of marijuana, less than 50 kilos |
One year, four months |
Operating under the
influence, third offense |
One year |
Receiving, transporting
and possessing firearms and devices by a felon |
One year, 11 months |
Terrorism |
Two years, six months |
Second-degree theft |
One year, 10 months |
Driving motor vehicle
while barred |
Nine months |
Operating vehicle without
consent |
10 months |
Operating while under the
influence, second offense |
Six months |
Prostitution |
10 months |
All paroles |
Two years, three months |
* Fiscal year
1997 ended June 30, 1997. |
Internet
access:
http://www.innovlink.net/cgi-bin/ibop/homepage.cgi
Offers a monthly update on inmates who are granted paroles and work release. |
SOURCE: Iowa Board of Parole
The Des Moines Register
Saturday, January 24, 1998, Page 1A
letters@news.dmreg.com
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