New Leahy Bill Targets Prisons’ Revolving Doors ...Directs Resources to Prison Drug Testing and Treatment

May 24, 2000

WASHINGTON (May 24) -- Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), joined by Sens. Charles Robb (D- Va.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), introduced new legislation today aimed at fighting what Leahy calls a "national embarrassment," the use and sale of illegal drugs in the nation's prisons.

Citing several recent studies, Leahy said drug and alcohol abuse were involved in the crimes and subsequent imprisonment of 80 percent of those currently serving time in the nation’s prisons and that drug users are more likely to be repeat offenders.

"We cannot hope to get a handle on our drug problem if we do not put a stop to the constant recycling of criminals through the doors of our nation's prisons," said Leahy, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We can no longer turn a blind eye to the fact that substance abuse and the resulting drug trade all too often are at the root of the problem," he said.

Leahy, a former prosecutor active on law enforcement policy issues, has seen the devastating effect drugs continue to have on our society. "Right now, our prisons are housing too many repeat customers who leave our correctional facilities only to return again, after committing yet another drug-related offense. It is obvious that long prison sentences without any intervention and rehabilitation are an ineffective remedy to this complex problem. We have tried those placebos. Now it is time for real solutions."

The Drug-Free Prisons Act of 2000 is a comprehensive new plan that offers grant support and that redirects existing funds to state and local governments that provide drug treatment and testing for offenders.

This bill would also reinstitute drug courts as a way to systematically deal with non-violent drug offenders. Drug courts are a more effective means of dealing with those individuals who have committed drug-related crimes. In a drug court setting, non-violent criminals would be sentenced to drug treatment and testing along with vocational services. Drug courts offer a substantial savings to taxpayers, by avoiding the costs of incarceration and providing an offender with the opportunity to turn his or her life around.

The Leahy bill has been endorsed by corrections officials such as John Perry, Vermont’s Director of Planning for the Department of Corrections and James Walton, Vermont’s Commissioner of Public Safety, who both feel that the bill will give law enforcement agencies the tools they need to test and treat offenders.

Said Leahy, "It is clear that if we do not take the proper steps, we will be continually forced to spend more and more public money to construct more prisons. We need to rid our prisons of drugs and ensure that inmates have access to the treatment they need while incarcerated."

The Leahy bill:

• Keeps Violent Criminals Off the Streets. To ensure that violent offenders are where they belong– in prison– the Leahy bill allows states to provide alternatives -- such as victim and community restitution, intensive community supervision, drug-testing and short-term incarceration -- to long prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders who are not a danger to society. States will use these funds expressly for the purpose of freeing up space in correctional facilities for violent offenders.
  
  
• Targets Young Offenders. The Leahy bill, through drug courts, provides a way to reach younger drug offenders before they descend into a life of crime. A drug court sentence includes vocational training and treatment with the threat of imprisonment for non-compliance with the requirements of the program.
  
  
• Saves Tax Dollars. Studies have shown that effective drug treatment for inmates in prison saves thousands of dollars for each inmate who completes a treatment program and returns to the community drug-free and employed.
  
  
• Allows States to Use Existing Funds. The Leahy bill allows states that currently receive money under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing Grant Program to use those funds to pay for drug testing and treatment, with a requirement that states receiving funds have penalties in place for drug trafficking in prison.