Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is pushing for criminal justice reform, focusing on lowering the state’s overpopulation rate in prisons and county jails.
According to a news release, the Governor says the state’s prison costs and populations are surging while the state’s infrastructure is crumbling, with the existing locations of the state’s institutions not being sustainable. He says the state’s incarceration population has increased 40% since fiscal year 2004 and the estimated cost increases to maintain corrections operations through fiscal year 2022 is more than $115 million.
Governor Beshear says, “While Kentucky is not more violent, we put more people in prison. Which affects our status and our future as money is pulled from other critical needs, like education and health care.”
Some of what reform the Governor would like to see include reduced the incarcerated population, decreased recidivism and revocation of probation or parole, address racial bias and racism in the justice system, provide meaningful addiction treatment and consolidate state prison institutions.
He says this session will be used to gather information and start discussions, and then hopefully they can start the reformation process strong in the future.