Federalism in Action

How Conservative States Got Smart on Crime

by
Jason Pye

Introduction

Heartbroken, we found a gleam of hope. Harken to the sound,

a whistle blows. Heaven sent reply, however small, evidence
of life beyond these walls. Born and bred in this machine.
Wardens dread to see us dream. We hold tight to legends of real
life, the way it was before.
Thrice 1

risons serve an important role in our society. We are a nation

of laws, and those who break the law must be held accountable. But past approaches to crime, particularly the so-called
war on drugs, and corrections have proved to be expensive and
dangerous for our communities.
An important figure conservatives should keep in mind is that 95
percent of offenders who enter prison will reenter society. The
question, then, becomes how can the corrections system rehabilitate offenders, rather than simply warehouse them in prison?
For decades, politicians told Americans that they must address
crime, particularly drug crime, by enacting tough penalties that
would lock offenders up for long periods of time. Members of Congress would tout their tough on crime stance in their home states
and districts. This was pervasive not only at the federal level but
also at the state level, where legislators often passed similar laws.
While the policieswhich include mandatory minimum sentences,
three strikes laws, and truth in sentencing requirementswere
successful at increasing prison populations, they did not deter people from purchasing or selling illicit substances.2

Thrice, The Earth Will Shake, Vheissu, Island Records, 2005

National Institute on Drug Abuse, DrugFacts: Nationwide

Trends http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/
nationwide-trends
2

Associated Press, After 40 years, $1 trillion, US War on Drugs

has failed to meet any of its goals, May 13, 2010 http://www.
foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/ap-impact-years-trillion-wardrugs-failed-meet-goals/
3

Over the past 40 years, the United States has spent more than $1
trillion combating drugs.3 But even as prison populations in the
United States skyrocketed, totaling 2.227 million in 2013,4 or 910
out of every 100,000 adults, drug-related crime remained high as
the market for well-known drugs has remained around $100 billion
annually.5

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, What

Americas Users Spend on Illegal Drugs: 2000-2010,
February 2014 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/
ondcp/policy-and-research/wausid_results_report.pdf

Some have pointed to the decline in crime rates as evidence that

the tough on crime sentencing policies of the 1980s and 1990s
were effective.6 But correlation does not equal causation. The New
York University School of Laws Brennan Center for Justice has noted that socio-economic factors played a more important role in
the drop in crime rates.

Jason Riley, The High Cost of Letting Criminals Go, Wall

Street Journal, July 21, 2015 http://www.wsj.com/articles/
the-high-cost-of-letting-criminals-go-1437523819

[I]ncreased incarceration has been declining in its effectiveness as

Lauren E. Glaze and Danielle Kaeble, Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013, U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/
pdf/cpus13.pdf
4

Federalism in Action / 1

a crime control tactic for more than 30 years, the report explained.
Its effect on crime rates since 1990 has been limited, and has been
non-existent since 2000.7
Although it may be counterintuitive, the sentencing policies of this
era have actually exacerbated problems in communities already
plagued by crime. It is difficult to draw strong causal inferences
from the research, the National Research Council of the National
Academies noted, but there is little question that incarceration
has become another strand in the complex combination of negative conditions that characterize high-poverty communities in U.S.
cities.8
More than 80 percent of Americans believe the United States is
losing the war on drugs.9 Lawmakers in many states appear to
have had the same revelation. With the mounting financial costs
of incarceration and the consequences of sentencing policies in
communities, many states have taken a new approach to deal with
offenders. By getting smart on crime, they have managed to save
money and make communities safer. In fact, more than 30 states
have reduced, eliminated, or reformed their harsh mandatory minimum and drug sentencing laws over the past decade,10 and crime
has gone down, not up.11

Oliver Roeder, Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Julia Bowling, What

Caused the Crime Decline?, Brannan Center for Justice,
February 12, 2015 https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/
what-caused-crime-decline
7

National Research Council of the National Academies, The

Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring
Causes and Consequences, The National Academies Press,
2014 http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/nrc/NAS_report_on_incarceration.pdf
8

Rasmussen Reports, 82% Say U.S. Not Winning War on

Drugs, August 18. 2013 http://www.rasmussenreports.com/
public_content/politics/general_politics/august_2013/82_
say_u_s_not_winning_war_on_drugs
9

Vera Institute of Justice, Drug War Dtente?: A Review of

State-Level Drug Law Reform, 2009-2013, April 2014 http://
www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/statedrug-law-reform-review-2009-2013-v6.pdf
10

Pew Charitable Trusts, States Cut Both Crime and

Imprisonment, December 2013 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/
multimedia/data-visualizations/2013/states-cut-both-crimeand-imprisonment
11

Federalism in Action / 2

Texas is the Reason

Right on Crime, Former Texas Governor Rick Perry Joins
Right on Crime Campaign March 2015 http://rightoncrime.
com/2015/03/former-texas-governor-rick-perry-joins-right-oncrime-campaign/
12

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners under the jurisdiction

of state or federal correctional authorities, December 31,
19782013, Generated using the Corrections Statistical
Analysis Tool at www.bjs.gov
13

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Imprisonment rate of

sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities per 100,000 U.S. residents, December
31, 19782013, Generated using the Corrections Statistical
Analysis Tool at www.bjs.gov
14

Reid Wilson, Tough Texas gets results by going softer on

crime, Washington Post, November 27, 2014 http://www.
washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/11/27/toughtexas-gets-results-by-going-softer-on-crime/
15

Joseph A. Adams, Texas Rehabilitation Programs Reduce

Recidivism Rates, Right on Crime, May 16, 2011 http://
rightoncrime.com/2011/05/texas-rehabilitation-programs-reduce-recidivism-rates/
16

My administration started treatment programs and drug

courts for people who wouldnt be served well by sitting
behind bars. We made sure our parole and probation programs
were strong. Most of all, we evaluated prisons based on whether
they got results. Did an ex-offender get locked up again? Did he
get a job? Is he paying restitution to his victims? In Texas, we
believe in results.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry 12

ustice reform has become such a hot topic in the United

States over the last several years largely because of the
groundbreaking, data-driven reforms implemented in Texas.
The Lone Star States prison population grew significantly between
1990 and 2010, rising from approximately 50,000 inmates in 1990
to nearly 174,000 in 2010.13 Over the same period, the incarceration
rate grew from 293 inmates per 100,000 residents to 652.14
In 2007, faced with $523 million in immediate prison construction costs to house the states growing prison population and $2
billion in additional costs by 2012, lawmakers, led by then-state
House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden (R-Plano)
and Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire (D-Houston), sought to take a new approach to corrections.
Madden and Whitmire, as well as others in the state legislature,
decided that the implementation of rehabilitative programming
would be a better alternative than building new prisons or expanding existing ones.15
In the 2007 budget, lawmakers appropriated $241 million16 that
would have been used to expand or build new prisons to implement programs designed to reduce recidivism, or the rate of repeat
offenders. Programs included those sponsored by faith-based organizations and secular nonprofits and were targeted at an array of
offenders, including drug and other nonviolent offenders, as a way
to reduce their chances of becoming repeat offenders and a threat
to their communities.
Because Texas has virtually no mandatory minimum sentences,
state lawmakers and courts had the flexibility, in many instances,
to sentence offenders in special courts, including drug courts, to
complete rehabilitative programs, rather than serve potentially
lengthy terms in prison.17 For those who were serving prison sentences, work training and education programs were offered to
lower their risk of recidivist behavior. Community supervision programs allowed offenders, not solely limited to nonviolent ones, to

Federalism in Action / 3

reintegrate into society, including helping them find employment,

to further encourage them lower their risk of recidivism.
The reforms were overwhelmingly successful. Although the Lone
Star States prison population declined by 12 percent, the crime
rate dropped by an eye-popping 21 percent.18 And the drop in crime
was across the board.
Specifically, Texas saw an 8.3 percent drop in property crime and a
9.3 percent drop in violent crime. This included a 14.3 percent drop
in murders, a 15.4 percent drop in robberies, and a 4.3 percent drop
in rapes, noted Right on Crime, a project of the conservative Texas
Public Policy Foundation that worked on the reforms. The drop in
Texas outpaced the decrease in crime rates nationwideonly a 0.8
percent drop in property crime and 4 percent in violent crime.19
Texas now has its lowest crime rate since 1968.20
The key to the success was reducing recidivism. In 2004, for example, 31.9 percent of offenders released from prison were back in jail
within three years. But among those released in 2007, after the first
wave of reforms was implemented, only 24.3 percent went back into
to the corrections system.21 Recidivism is now at 22.6 percent,22 far
below the average of 43.3 percent found among prisoners released
in 41 states in 2004.23

Mike Ward, Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation

programs take root, The Statesman, August 11, 2012 http://
www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/
texas-prison-population-shrinks-as-rehabilitatio-1/nRNRY/
17

Pew Charitable Trusts, Growth in Federal Prison System

Exceeds States, January 22, 2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/
en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2015/01/growth-in-federal-prison-system-exceeds-states
18

Jeanette Moll, Texas Crime Rate Drop Indicates Progress,

Right on Crime, July 10, 2012 http://rightoncrime.com/2012/07/
texas-crime-rate-drop-indicates-progress/
19

Pew Charitable Trusts, Public Safety in Texas, August 13,

2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/
fact-sheets/2013/01/14/public-safety-in-texas
20

Allan Turner, Study praises Texas for prison reforms but

comes with warning, Houston Chronicle, April 12, 2011 http://
www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Study-praisesTexas-for-prison-reforms-but-comes-1689770.php
21

Reid Wilson, Tough Texas gets results by going softer on

crime, Washington Post, November 27, 2014 http://www.
washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/11/27/toughtexas-gets-results-by-going-softer-on-crime/
22

Pew Center on the States, State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of Americas Prisons, April 11, 2011 http://www.
pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/0001/01/01/
state-of-recidivism
23

Federalism in Action / 4

Conservatism in Action
Olivia Nuzzi, Prison Reform is Bigger in Texas, The Daily
Beast, April 12, 2014 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/12/prison-reform-is-bigger-in-texas.html
24

Mike Ward, Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation

programs take root, The Statesman, August 11, 2012 http://
www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/
texas-prison-population-shrinks-as-rehabilitatio-1/nRNRY/
25

Christian Henrichson, Ruth Delaney, The Price of Prisons:

What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers, Vera Institute, January
2012 http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/price-of-prisons-updated-version-021914.pdf
26

Im not a lawyer. Id never been interested in corrections. My

district doesnt have any prisons in itit has a couple jails, but
no prisons. I had never been on [the corrections] committee,
never had a bill before that committee I didnt even know
how much a prison cost at that time. Then, I asked the question
that was the second most important question of my life. And
that was, Mr. Speaker, what do you want me to do? And he gave
me the eight words that changed my life. He said, Dont build
new prisonsthey cost too much.
Texas State Representative Jerry Madden 24

aking communities safer was, of course, the number one

goal of those who pushed for justice reform in Texas, which
they managed to accomplish. But a byproduct of the effort
was cost-savings that allowed lawmakers to reinvest into expansion of reforms, creating new programming, or diverting limited
dollars to other areas of public safety.
The first priority will continue to be public safety, absolutely,
Madden said of the reforms. But the toughest thing you can do to
some people is not send them to prison, but put them in programs
that will turn around their lives.25
Texas spends, on average, $21,390 per prisoner.26 Although this
expense cannot be avoided in many circumstances due to the
nature of the crimes committed by the worst offenders in society,
programs designed to reduce recidivism27 come at a substantially
lower cost.28
As the recidivism rate dropped and new, less serious offenders
were diverted to treatment programs, Texas saved $3 billion in
planned prison construction costs and reduced populations and
recidivism.29 The Lone Star State was also able to close three prisons due to the decline in its prison population.30
The success of justice reform in Texas has allowed state lawmakers
to implement other policies designed to lower recidivism, which
will, over time, increase the total budgetary savings.
Marc Levin, Breaking Addiction without Breaking the Bank:
Cost-Effective Strategies for Texas Lawmakers to Reduce
Substance Abuse, Right on Crime, April 1, 2011 http://rightoncrime.com/2011/04/breaking-addiction-without-breaking-thebank-cost-effective-strategies-for-texas-lawmakers-to-reducesubstance-abuse/
27

Marc Levin, Adult Corrections Reform: Lower Crime,

Lower Costs, Right on Crime, September 2011 http://www.
rightoncrime.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Texas-Model-Adult.pdf
28

Rep. Jerry Madden, Lawmakers give justice reforms in

Texas a boost, Houston Chronicle, July 1, 2015 http://www.
houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Lawmakersgive-justice-reforms-in-Texas-a-boost-6361712.php

29

Danny Kruger, Why Texas is closing prisons in favour of

rehab, BBC News, December 1, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/
news/world-us-canada-30275026
30

Federalism in Action / 5

The Movement Grows

Office of Governor Nathan Deal, Gov. Deals State of the
State Address: Charting the course to prosperity, January 10,
2012 http://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2012-01-10/govdeals-state-state-address-charting-course-prosperity
31

Judge Michael P. Boggs, W. Thomas Worthy, Report

of the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform,
February 2015 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/wp-content/
uploads/2015/02/2014-2015-GA-Council-on-Criminal-JusticeReform.pdf
32

Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians,

Report of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform
for Georgians, November 2011 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/
wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2011-GA-Council-Report-FINALDRAFT.pdf
33

Let me be clear so that there is no misinterpretationthis is

not a get out of jail free card. These reforms do not in any way
diminish the seriousness of the seven deadly sins. If you commit one of these, you will spend time in our prisons. In fact,
this transformation of our corrections efforts will ensure that
we have the space and resources to incarcerate high-risk and
violent offenders going forward.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal 31

wenty years ago, the justice reforms in Texas would have

been politically impossible. But this new data-driven, smarter approach to corrections has paved the way for other
states to enacted similar reforms, ones that meet the needs of their
communities.
Georgia, for example, has implemented a series of justice reforms,
beginning in 2011, under the leadership of Republican Gov. Nathan
Deal, who served as a prosecutor before his election to Congress in
1992. When Deal became governor in 2011, Georgias corrections
system was experiencing a crisis. The states prison population had
doubled, corrections spending eclipsed $1 billion, and recidivism
was hovering around 30 percent.32
In 2011, at Deals urging, the Georgia General Assembly created the
Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians, which
was tasked with developing reforms and recommendations to his
office and state lawmakers. The initial recommendations were released in November 2011, and those appointed to the panel could
not have been clearer about the hurdles facing the Peach State.
If current policies remain in place, the report explained, analysis indicates that Georgias prison population will rise by another
8 percent to reach nearly 60,000 inmates by 2016, presenting the
state with the need to spend an additional $264 million to expand
capacity.33
State lawmakers have passed reforms over the course of Deals tenure in office. Georgia has seen a 10 percent drop in recidivism34 and
taxpayers have saved $264 million in future prison costs.35 Importantly, crime rates have dropped by 2 percent since 2012.36

34
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Reducing Recidivism: States
Deliver Results, June 2014 https://www.bja.gov/Publications/
CSG-ReducingRecidivism.pdf

Judge Michael P. Boggs, W. Thomas Worthy, Report

of the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform,
February 2015 http://gotsr.dcor.state.ga.us/wp-content/
uploads/2015/02/2014-2015-GA-Council-on-Criminal-JusticeReform.pdf
35

Pew Charitable Trusts, Growth in Federal Prison System

Exceeds States, January 22, 2015 http://www.pewtrusts.org/
en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2015/01/growth-in-federal-prison-system-exceeds-states
36

Federalism in Action / 6

Among the steps Georgia has taken is the creation of a safety valve
exception to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses
for low-level, nonviolent offenders. For Deal, this step needed to
ensure that prison beds were available for the worst offenders37
in the state. Public safety will be improved by giving prosecutors
leverage in certain cases, he explained, and by ensuring that our
prison resources are reserved for the kingpins while the mules
are given a chance at reform.38
Deal has also taken steps to reform Georgias juvenile justice system
and worked with lawmakers to create an innovative back-end reentry system39 that, like that of Texas, offers work training, education,
and other rehabilitative programming.40 And he is not showing any
signs of slowing down his justice reform efforts.41
In addition to Georgia, Alabama,42 Mississippi,43 Oklahoma,44 South
Carolina,45 and Utah46 are among the long list of states that have
either already implemented justice reforms that fit their respective
communities or recently passed reforms.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums, New GA Safety Valve

Continues Common Sense Trend, April 25, 2013 http://famm.
org/new-ga-safety-valve-continues-common-sense-trend/
37

Office of Governor Nathan Deal, Deal signs second edition of

criminal justice reform, April 25, 2013 http://gov.georgia.gov/
press-releases/2013-04-25/deal-signs-second-edition-criminal-justice-reform
38

Mike Klein, Georgia Approves Aggressive Blueprint for

Prisoner Reentry Initiative, MikeKleinOnline.com, October
31, 2014 http://mikekleinonline.com/2014/10/31/georgia-approves-blueprint-for-aggressive-prisoner-reentry-initiative/
39

Naomi Shavin, A Republican Governor Is Leading the

Countrys Most Successful Prison Reform, The New Republic,
March 31, 2015 http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121425/
gop-governor-nathan-deal-leading-us-prison-reform
40

Rachel Lu, Justice Reform: Georgias Bipartisan Cinderella

Story, The Federalist, March 26, 2015 http://thefederalist.
com/2015/03/26/justice-reform-georgias-bipartisan-cinderella-story/
41

Mike Cason, Alabama prison reform passes; governor plans

to sign, AL.com May 7, 2015 http://www.al.com/news/index.
ssf/2015/05/alabama_prison_reform_bill_cou.html
42

Pew Charitable Trusts, Mississippis 2014 Corrections and

Criminal Justice Reform, May 2014 http://www.pewtrusts.
org/~/media/Assets/2014/09/PSPP_Mississippi_2014_Corrections_Justice_Reform.pdf
43

Rick Green, Oklahoma governor signs bill to give judges

more discretion in sentencing, The Oklahoman, May 4, 2015
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-to-give-judges-more-discretion-in-sentencing/article/5416267
44

Nicole Flatow, South Carolina Saved $3M Last Year On

Smarter Prison Terms, ThinkProgress, January 17, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/17/1464031/southcarolina-saved-3m-last-year-on-smarter-prison-terms/
45

Robert Gehrke, Sentences for some drug crimes reduced

under newly signed Utah law, The Salt Lake Tribune,
March 31, 2015 http://www.sltrib.com/home/2353425-155/
guv-signs-sweeping-prison-reform-education
46

Federalism in Action / 7

Public Support
Jake Miller, CPAC kicks off as conservatives mull future, CBS
News, March 14, 2013 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpackicks-off-as-conservatives-mull-future/
47

Right on Crime, New Poll Shows Voters Strongly Support

New Justice Reforms in Texas, March 9, 2015 http://rightoncrime.com/2015/03/new-poll-shows-voters-strongly-supportnew-justice-reforms-in-texas/

Conservatives should lead the campaign to changing the

culture of corrections in America.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 47

t goes without saying that justice reformwhich includes changes to sentencing policies, rehabilitative and reentry programs,
and the likeis not a cure-all for the problems that persist in
many communities across the United States. The reforms passed in
conservative states such as Texas and Georgia offer a different, less
costly, data-driven way to approach corrections.
Residents have responded positively. A recent survey of likely Texas
voters found strong support for the reforms passed in 2007. The
survey noted that 73 percent support sending offenders guilty of
drug possession to treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration, and 61 percent believe that more money should spent on
education and drug treatment to lower offenders risk of committing new crimes.48
The survey registered overwhelming support for juvenile justice
reforms, such as ensuring that young people are tried in juvenile
court for status offenses. Nearly 60 percent of respondents expressed support for a bill that would allow non-violent offenders
to seal their records, so they can find apply for employment, education, or find housing.49 A bill to the latter end was passed in the
2015 session and signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.50
The results from Georgia have been similar. Although there is no
recent data, a survey conducted in 2012 found that 81 percent supported the idea of reducing sentences for those convicted of drug
possession and using the savings for mandatory treatment programs. Another finding was that 76 percent backed allowing nonviolent offenders to earn time off their sentences if the complete
rehabilitative programs.51 Bipartisan support was found in each
of the questions asked, although 55 percent of the overall respondents were self-identified conservatives.

48

49

Ibid.

Michael Haugen, Texas Gov. Abbott Signs A Wide Variety Of

Criminal Justice Reform Bills Into Law, Right on Crime, June
22, 2015 http://rightoncrime.com/2015/06/texas-gov-abbottsigns-a-wide-variety-of-criminal-justice-reform-bills-into-law/
50

Pew Center on the States, Public Attitudes on Crime and

Punishment in Georgia, February 2012 http://www.pewtrusts.
org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/Public_Attitudes_on_Crime_Georgia.PDF
51

52

Additionally, researchers gave respondents a series of statements

and asked if they agreed. Here is an example of one of the statements: Prisons are a government program, and just like any other
government program they need to be put to the cost-benefit test to
make sure taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck. Fully
90 percent of Republicans agreed with that opinion.52

Ibid.

Federalism in Action / 8

A follow-up survey conducted in 2013 gauged voters opinions on

juvenile justice. The findings were overwhelmingly in support of
steps to ensure that low-risk juvenile offenders be placed in situations that would make them less likely to reoffend at some point
down the road.53

Pew Charitable Trusts, Public Attitudes on the Juvenile

Justice System in Georgia, February 2013 http://www.
pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2013/03/Pew_PSPP_Georgia_poll_report.PDF
53

Federalism in Action / 9

Conclusion

onservative states have led the way on justice reform over the
last decade. By changing the culture of corrections through
sentencing reforms that limit mandatory minimum prison
terms to the most serious offenders and rely on treatment as an
alternative to incarceration, rehabilitative programs for those who
do serve time, and continued assistance when offenders reenter
society, lawmakers have reduced recidivism, made communities
safer, and saved taxpayers money.
The results from conservative statesthese laboratories of democracyare key as members of Congress look for ways to deal with
the federal corrections system, which has seen explosive population and cost growth of its own since 1980. This is federalism in
action. Through sentencing reforms and a focus on treatment as
an alternative to incarceration, the federal government can lessen
the cost-burden on taxpayers by using the lessons from the states
to get smart on crime.
Conservatives have embraced the justice reform movement, and
they should continue to do so. While passed with the best of intentions, the policies of the past have proven unsustainable, both
in terms of the fiscal cost and the negative impact on poor and
minority communities. The model that conservative states have
provided fundamentally changes the nature of the approach. Punishments are, of course, still meted out by courts, but the sentences
given offer a means for offenders to alter the direction of their lives.
One such example is a woman named Sarah Gilleland, whose story was told by Gov. Nathan Deal in a joint session of the Georgia
General Assembly in January 2012.54 Sarah was a drug addict. The
drug use that began as recreation resulted in a destructive cocaine
and methamphetamine addiction. It took control of her life. At one
point, she had no means of transportation, she lost custody of her
little girl, she wound up homeless, Deal explained. But I mention
Sarah tonight because she exemplifies many of the goals we hold
for our corrections system.

CSPAN, Georgia State of the State Address, January 10,

2012 http://www.c-span.org/video/?303621-1/georgia-statestate-address
54

Under the supervision of a drug court, piece-by-piece, she began

rebuilding her life. With help, she beat addiction, she won back
her daughter, she is now a sponsor helping other women who face
the same trials, and because she provides a powerful example of
hope and redemption, I have asked her to join us in this chamber
tonight, he said, pointing to Sarah in the gallery of the chamber.
Sarah was given a shot a better life and she took it. Her story is not
the exception, it is playing out all across Georgia as people reclaim
their lives through the work of accountability courts.

Federalism in Action / 10

That is why we must focus on transforming our corrections system

into a last resort of opportunitya place where low-level offenders
are reclaimed and restored to society as functioning members of
the communityworking to support their own families and paying
taxes, he added.
Compelling stories such as this are not just told in Georgia, they
are also told in other states that have adopted conservative justice
reforms that focus on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration. And
as more states and the federal government adopt the effort, more
prison space will be reserved for the worst offenders in society,
while those who have demonstrated a willingness to change their
lives become productive citizens.

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