Lawmakers urge justice reforms
Series points out deficiencies that allow dangerous criminals to strike again
By Doug Pardue , Glenn Smith
Video
Probation - video from the Law and Disorder series
The daunting task of policing criminals on probation and parole.
Probation/parole
South Carolina risks losing its moral mandate to govern if it does not invest the money necessary to keep people safe from criminals who prey on the public time and again, one of the state's top legislators says.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said The Post and Courier's recent five-part series "Law and Disorder" offered compelling evidence that the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services is seriously understaffed and needs more resources to effectively perform its mission.
McConnell said the series also highlighted a number of other deficiencies in South Carolina's criminal justice system that lawmakers must address, including the need for more judges, sentencing reform and changes that would allow warrantless searches of criminals on probation and parole.
The newspaper's series, which ran
Aug. 24-28, described how criminals free on probation or parole kill, rob and rape all too often in a state where repeat offenders are routinely released into a system ill-equipped to maintain control.
"Anybody who reads this series of articles has to come away with the conclusion that this is a complex problem with no quick fixes and one that requires a series of improvements across the board in the different elements that come into play in the criminal justice system," McConnell said. "I hope this is a clarion call to the public to tell their legislators we need to spend more on criminal justice to keep people safe and break the repeat-offender cycle."
S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said he is in complete agreement with McConnell and intends to work with him in the coming legislative session to boost funding for the probation and parole agency and enact a host of anti-crime measures. "It's a path we need to head down."
Budget cuts and a slumping economy have left the state with about 130 fewer probation and parole agents than it had in the late 1990s. Some agents juggle more than 170 cases each and lack cell phones, cars and other resources to do their jobs.
At the same time, judges, faced with swollen dockets and overcrowded prisons, often allow probation violators to remain free instead of putting them behind bars. Frustrated police end up arresting the same people over and over.
"The system is so overwhelmed that in terms of the war on crime, day-by-day, it is a holding action," Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said. "We are keeping it from getting worse, but that certainly doesn't accrue to the benefit of the general public."
Beth Ferguson of Goose Creek can attest to that. Last year, while she stopped to buy a corsage for her son's prom, she was attacked by a convicted rapist who stuck a knife to her throat, beat her savagely and tied her up. He had twice been paroled for attacks on women, only to commit more violence.
Ferguson cheered when she heard of McConnell's and Harrell's plans to push for the state to abolish parole, beef up its beleaguered probation agency and enact other anti-crime measures. Maybe, she said, this will help someone else avoid what happened to her.
Laura Hudson of the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network said the state is violating the public's trust and endangering citizens by failing to address such gaps in the justice system. The probation and parole agency is a perfect example, she said, with agents "being given a job that can't be done" under present conditions.
Lynne Moldenhauer, supervising agent for probation and parole in Charleston County, said she welcomes lawmakers' efforts to add and retain agents. Starting pay for an agent is $26,750 and many eventually leave for better-paying law enforcement opportunities, stripping the office of manpower and experience.
"There are people who love this job," she said. "We have to find a way for them to make a viable living doing the job."
McConnell agrees. "We need to retain these people and make this something that talented people are willing to do," he said. "The public needs to understand that to make the streets safe we have to put an investment out there."
Joel Sawyer, press secretary for Gov. Mark Sanford, said the governor's office is well aware of manpower issues at the probation agency, but the sagging economy has created lean times throughout state government.
"We think they can do better with more, but the same can be said of almost any state agency," he said.
Mike Hemlepp, executive director of South Carolina Association for Justice, which represents some 1,300 trial lawyers, said his group has not taken a formal position on the subject but plans to make criminal-justice reform a major part of its 2009 legislative agenda. He said he has not seen the details of what McConnell and Harrell plan to do, but presumes the association "would support increased probation officers. They have a difficult job, and relieving their burden helps the entire system be fairer and more effective."
Jim Harrison, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he plans to meet with McConnell and Harrell later this year to see if they can meld various justice reform measures into a comprehensive bill to deal with parole and sentencing reform. The Richland County Republican said the bill would be based in part on the findings of a study commission that will begin work soon.
Reach Glenn Smith at gsmith@postandcourier.com or 937-5556. Reach Doug Pardue at dpardue@postandcourier.com or 937-5558.
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Comments
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
The state definitely is violating the public's trust and endangering citizens-and it isn't just happening through failures in the system of probation and parole. I don't disagree with taking serious corrective measures there; I just refuse to be limited to that one topic. When one looks at ways to clean-up crime one needs to remember criminal enterprises exist in all levels of society-even officers of the court.
September 6, 2008 at 4:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
Thomas, you said,
"Move over McConnell. You are old and stubborn. And most of all, gay and corrupt."
Care to back up that statement?
September 6, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
RE: "Our State's Judges are the problem. You understand that, don't you McConnell? The people have the right to select who their judges will be. Not YOU and your fellow crones in the legislature."
The general election of judges is a very bad idea. How can you as an untrained lawyer understand the concepts of habeus corpus, aforethought, or res ipsa and how can a voter know if the judge can? How can a political hack, who is an elected judge, apply the constitutional protections of the 10 amendments when they have to answer to voters? These types of hard decisions are political suicide. We've had an example just recently in this paper of a selected Judge who took the hardest path and dismissed a case to protect the more important ideas of the 4th amendment. That took courage. 47 other states have it wrong. Electing judges is a terrible idea. WE WANT JUDGES THAT ARE TRULY INDEPENDENT FROM POLITICAL PRESSURE ONCE THEY ARE ON THE BENCH. What is needed is lifetime appointments, no change in salary when sitting and insulation of the bench from political pressure. Should the voter have any say, they should have a vote after a judge is appointed to the bench to vote to keep or remove the judge before he/she attains lifetime appointment.
September 6, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinadude (anonymous) says...
RTC:
Thomas' statement is common knowledge in SC. Where have you been ?
September 6, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
Of course it would be nice if judges were truly independent from political pressure.
It would be even nicer if judges were truly independent from criminal influence.
Instead of life-time appointments they all need to be sternly familiarized with the risk of life-sentencing for their dirty deeds.
September 6, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
OH come on Lillycollette. Criminal Influence? They may be incompetent, idiots, ideologes or plain nasty - corrupt is the exception, not the rule in a lifetime appointment. Elections for judicial offices breed corruption. Judges need to have a freedom to decide cases impartially, without political influence. Lifetime appointments have a strange effect - the judges no longer have to look to the next election. Thier decisions are reviewed only based upon the law and the facts before them, not the most powerful voter block.
September 6, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
My comments are not an invitation to personal dialogue -- which can be thrown into a 'spin-cycle' for subjective interpretation. I say what I mean and mean what I say.
Failure to prosecute judges for criminal violations of law breeds corruption.
September 6, 2008 at 12:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
carolinadude, common knowledge to whom?
McConnell is not gay, nor is he corrupt. If people want to make these type of statements concerning a person's character then they should be able to back them up. Where have you been?
September 6, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
RE: You are either ignorant or willfully lying. Like the records holds, in 47 other states the PUBLIC elects it's own judges. Not tyrants, like here in SC.This is going to come back around and bite McConnell in the butt
THomas 1776
I've lived in a state with elected judges. Elected judges are more likely to be corrupt and pandering. The real decisions are made by the party bosses who are completely unanswerable to the electorate. I'd much rather have a judge who is impartial than one who owes his or her next paycheck to making the mob happy.
September 6, 2008 at 5:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mkris (anonymous) says...
RE: "You're argument is still seriously flawed, just like South Carolina's government is because of the good old boy legislators; like McConnell.Governor Sanford was not kidding in the least when he alluded as to how mess up our representatives have become.Take a poll of all voters in the state and I bet the House of Representatives and the State Senate get a failing grade - like US Congress ( a 9% approval rating ). You humor me when you assert 47 other states public elections for judges are tainted. These elected by the people for the people SC legislatures are a pretentious group who to often think they are messiahs. You obviously are connected, either direct or indirect, to the good old boy network that doesn't want to lose any power given to them by voters. Never snub the voters and never go against them. They will persecute you."
I never wrote that elections should not be allowed, only that pandering to voters by judges corrupts the system. The only way to have legally qualified and to avoid pandering and to assure a fair systen, as best as possible in a human system, is to have lifetime judges with no salary drop during tenure. I would see no problem with an up or down vote after an appointment and before lifetime tenure.
Oh and by the way not at all connected to the ol boys, most of whom just pander.
September 7, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
valsppets (anonymous) says...
The problem with our judicial system is not the people but the lack of knowledge most people have.Research on the internet about overcrowded prisons that are draining the state financially.Prison is not the answere to the problem.It is the problem.95% of people in prison committed non violent crimes.Most of these people have mental illness and drug addiction.If we had funds for more counseling and "crises intervention teams" which exists in some other states to deter those people who have these illnesses to rehab and counseling with medication instead of prison.Prisons create criminals due to the violence and stifiling closeness.Most of these people need help.There is drug courts and Mental health courts in some other states.Go to the internet.Look up mentaly ill in prison.Then go to consensusproject.org People need to know the truth.PRISONS ARE NOT WORKING!!!Open your eyes.They are criminal manufacturing plants.Most people come out with more to overcome mentally than they did when they went in.Mental illness is treatable.It does not mean they are crazy.Go to NAMI on the internet to understand mental illness and treatments.Please everyone open your eyes to the truth.These people are stuck in a circle and can't get out due to not having pre release planning and having counseling when they get out as well as some kind of job placement arrangement.If you want less crime and safer neighborhoods then help them with their illness and substance abuse issures.They can become productive citizens and will break the cycle of recidivism.It costs $20,000 per inmate to wharehouse these people.It will cost about $12.00 a day to help them get well e-mail me to change this non productive and failing system valsppets@aol.com
November 18, 2008 at 10:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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