Releasing Criminals Isn't the Answer

With nine state corrections systems over full capacity and another 11 approaching it, we need to reverse the national trend toward overcrowded facilities in order to protect prisoners’ health.

But simply opening cell doors and releasing thousands of prisoners, as more than 10 states have done, is questionable at best and dangerous at worst. More than 7 in 10 people released from prison are rearrested within five years.

The American Rescue Plan Act provides America’s prisons and jails with $700 million to combat COVID-19. That’s why state lawmakers should reduce incarceration levels by investing ARPA funds in performance-based funding systems that encourage rehabilitation and reward reductions in recidivism.

Read the full commentary in The Washington Examiner.