Lawmakers Contemplate Alternatives to Prisoner Release

State lawmakers are looking for ways to trim the budget of the Corrections Department without having to release convicted felons. That’s after the department’s commissioner warned that further cuts could force the release of thousands of non-violent prisoners.

Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz told a group of lawmakers the state is examining other options. He says one possibility is trying to fit more inmates into less space.

But Goetz cautions the state got into trouble that way in the 1980s. Tennessee’s system was found to violate inmates’ rights because of overcrowding, not enough guards, and the danger of violence.

“It was that violence – inmate on inmate violence – that was really the key part of the lawsuit.”

Lawmakers also wondered aloud if the state spent too much money on healthcare for prisoners. But Goetz says he’s reluctant to risk a confrontation in federal court for not treating sick inmates.

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