Nathan Deal: Jailing Drug Addicts Is 'Draining To Our State'

Newly-elected Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) announced Monday in his inaugural address that putting drug addicts and abusers in jail was placing an unsustainable financial and civic burden on his state.

Here are his comments about drug enforcement, from The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

For violent and repeat offenders, we will make you pay for your crimes. For other offenders who want to change their lives, we will provide the opportunity to do so with Day Reporting Centers, Drug, DUI and Mental Health Courts and expanded probation and treatment options. As a State, we cannot afford to have so many of our citizens waste their lives because of addictions. It is draining our State Treasury and depleting our workforce.

According to a 2009 Office of National Drug Control Policy report, approximately 17% of Georgia's 53,268 prisoners had drug-related offenses listed as their primary offense. Approximately 21% of the active inmate population of the Georgia Department of Corrections also reported a drug abuse problem as of September 2009.

For more on how much it costs to jail inmates, take a look at the Justice Atlas of Sentencing and Corrections, a tool that allows users to calculate corrections expenses in their area by inputting a zip code.

Comments

[logan9]

10:14 AM on 01/12/2011

America: 5% of the world's population and over 20% of the world's imprisoned! O' land of the free!

[Sinister Minister]

10:11 AM on 01/12/2011

You have the power to promote common sense and cut your states budget governor, it's called a pardon.

[papapj]

10:03 AM on 01/12/2011

The crux of the matter is we have a private concern, whose main objective is PROFIT entrusted to deal with prisoners whose main concern to the public should be that they are rehabilitated and made fit to reenter society. Two different objectives which are mutually exclusive...of course, the high recidivism rate serves only to increase the profits of private concerns who are more and more being entrusted to run the incarceration system........Prison stock is a much sought after stock in come circles, and the prison population shows no sign of decreasing......so I guess the private corporations are again, doing right by their investors instead of doing what they should do for the public....

[rbenjamin]

09:04 AM on 01/12/2011

Another encouraging sign there are still some adults left in the Republican Party.

[AndyWright68]

06:16 AM on 01/12/2011

Jailing drug addicts is the real crime. Over half of the US incarcerated are nonviolent. The US has the #1 prison population with China a distant 2nd. Cages are for rabid animals not people who refuse to comply with ridiculous laws or even financial crimes.

[cadawa]

03:12 AM on 01/12/2011

Are the GOP going to be the new left? They wouldn't have to cheat to win elections since Americans are overwhelmingly progressive by issue.

[RobH413]

03:00 AM on 01/12/2011

Hallelujah. I have long been of the opinion that the necessary course correction -- in the "drug war" and the mass incarceration of Americans (particularly Americans of color) that has far surpassed anything in law enforcement history -- would have to be led by conservatives, whether conservatives of conscience or fiscal conservatives. Democrats are too meek and afraid of the "soft on crime" tag.

[SitandStay]

02:39 AM on 01/12/2011

And here's your sign.......the FOR PROFIT "system" set up in Georgia that Gov Deal's son, who is a Superior Court Judge in Hall County Ga, Judge Jason Deal, is a part of.
"The group will hold a fundraising banquet Wednesday in honor of Senior Judge John E. Girardeau, who pioneered Drug Court in Hall. Girardeau will hand over the reigns to Superior Court Judge Jason Deal in June. He presided over his last graduation ceremony on Wednesday."
"Girardeau said the nonprofit's services are much needed to ensure that those enrolled in the program receive successful treatment.
"I don't know of any other drug court (in Georgia) that has a support organization like that. We are very grateful for the efforts of these folks," Girardeau said.
He hopes to reach more people with the additional funds. The approximately 125 drug court participants each cost $3,500-$4,500 per year for the 24-month program. Funding is provided equally by Hall County, drug fines and participant fees, with a small amount from the state.
"We are only reaching only a small number of the people who could legitimately be served by drug court," Girardeau said.
Friends of Recovery also plans on starting an intervention program for the community, in a sense."
They say it is a non-profit in this article, however on the Georgia Secretary of State website, it was merged in 2009 and all The Road To Recovery incorporations are registered as FOR PROFIT.

[jkpcguru]

01:50 AM on 01/12/2011

Finally, a Republican with a good idea! I don't come across many of those! Day Reporting Centers sound like a good idea. Has anyone seen that work?

[SitandStay]

02:24 AM on 01/12/2011

Read the posts......carefully.

[MaryfromIL]

01:05 AM on 01/12/2011

Finally, some common sense about drugs and prison

[CPAwADD]

12:07 AM on 01/12/2011

Prisons, Roads and Education are the three biggest budget items for most states. Education has the best long term return.

[Rachel Connolly]

10:35 PM on 01/11/2011

excuse me...I thought jailing and imprisoning addicts didn't show up on the "balance sheet" because thats what the GOP says anyway..."we don't need those community programs! just throw them in jail!" "look at the waist on these community programs the democrats are trying to force on us." Can we say "duh!" I have been listening to this backwards crap for 30 years. Of course it is cheaper to invest $2,500 on a community program then $75,000 per yr. to house the addict...hate to say it but no one and I mean no one has been outraged for the last 30 years...and then we wonder why we have such a deficit.

[Eagleman]

10:07 PM on 01/11/2011

He is right

Just buy them a one way ticket and send them to San Francisco - pot capital of the world

[Cdcoop]

10:06 PM on 01/11/2011

Hey Gov how about dealing with clearing the roads so your GA citizens can get to work.

[clearthinker2008]

10:40 AM on 01/12/2011

You know? I've been stuck in my house since this storm hit and I'm seriously developing cabin fever!

[elbeas]

09:53 PM on 01/11/2011

What's he been smoking?