The Corbin Times-Tribune from Corbin, Kentucky • Page 9

Corbin Times-Tribune, Sunday, December 18,1977 9 Specified Jail Terms Attorney General, Corrections Commissioner Debate Value Of Present Parole System By SY RAMSEY Associated Press Writer FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) A polite but important confron- tation is taking place between the Kentucky attorney general's office and the Bureau of Correction on how criminals should be sentenced to and released from prison. The tactics used are philosophical and statistical. The outcome could decide the longterm direction of Ken- tucky's prisons system, which has come a long way from its dark portrayal a few years ago by critics and a governor's commission. On one side are Attorney General Robert Stephens and his aides, who believe it is time to use the system of deter- minate sentencing.

Under that concept, defen- dants would be sentenced according to the severity of their crimes. Each offense would by legislation draw a specific term upon conviction. There would be no possibility of parole except that the sentence could be shortened by accumulation of good behavior time. On the other side are corrections commissioner David Bland and the state Parole Board. The board, of course, would go out of existence if the General Assembly makes the change recommended by Stephens.

They favor the current system--albeit an improved i which indeterminate sentences are imposed and the inmate can look forward to parole If he persuades the parole board he deserves to go back into society. Ironically, the data used by Stephens to promote the determinate sentencing idea comes from the Bureau of Corrections, which has cor- dially opened its files for sur- veys and comparisons. The conclusions drawn from some of that data are sur- prising. Stephens already has declared that indeterminate sentencing is based on a myth because his material indicates that inmates generally serve only one-third their terms, and that, somewhat strangely, the more severe the crime, the less the time served. 18 gold and diamond necklace 1775.00 matching 18 gold and diamond bracelet 1475.00 Distads 204 N.

Main Ph. 528-5323 Downtown Corbin Open Wednesdays Until Christmas Now another surfaced. pattern has His office studied the number of paroles granted plus the number of new inmates on a month-by-month basis for the fiscal years 1974 through 1977. It found what Stephens calls a "very significant correlation." Specifically, when the number of incoming prisoners rose in a given month, the number of paroles granted rose the following month. When fewer inmates came in, the number of paroles declined the next month.

This pattern implies strongly that the Parole Board could be basing its decisions in part on trying to stabilize the prison CHURCH OF THE gNFAZARENE PROUDLY PRESENTS JOHN W. PETERSON'S CHRISTMAS CANTATA piracies" WITH FULL ORCHESTRATIONAL TAPE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17TH 7:30 P.M. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18TH 7:00 P.M. Our 30 voice Sanctuary Choir will be under the direction of our Pastor. Come share in the greatest Miracle the World has ever known Christ's Birth.

L. Gene Cook, Pastor But this does not surprise Bland, who said recidivism is greatest on the part of those convicted of property rather than violent crimes. And Stephens agrees to the extent that, he said, a paroled murderer is not likely to repeat his offense while a parole forger finds it more tempting to do so. Legislators will be told in detail of the studies, in addition to receiving massive national documentation by both sides. But the lawmaKers may be more interested in the philosophy behind both con- cepts.

It is known as the "career development model" and shies away from notions long under attack by conservatives such as group therapy for prisoners. The goal from the outset is to make the inmate ready someday to hold a job in society-- through academic and vocational schooling and also on-the-job training whenever possible. Don Weaver, the new executive director of the parole board, said that as a former prosecutor, "I sometimes felt that most corrections people were wide-eyed liberals trying Kentucky Coalfields Are Quiet By The Associated Press Although striking miners continued to picket non-union mines, state police reported no trouble or incidents in Kentucky's coalfields. State police said Friday they were investigating a dynamite blast Thursday evening along a section of Chessie System track at Wayland in Floyd County. Damage was minor.

A state police spokesman said it was uncertain whether the blast was connected to the nationwide United Mine Workers strike. The spokesman also reported that a company house owned by the Canada Coal Co. was burned between Thursday night and Friday morning at John's Creek in Pike County. He said the state police investigation hasn't proven yet that arson caused the- fire, as company officials suspect. Meanwhile, State Police i i Brandenburgh reported on his investigation of charges of police brutality during a con- frontation Tuesday in Union County between union miners 1 Kroger Talks Are Recessed By The Associated Press Negotiations between the Kroger Co.

and representatives of the Amalgamated Meat- cutters Union were recessed Friday night in Washington and were to resume in Louisville, Ky. "probably sometime next week," federal mediators say. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said in a statement Friday night that "management has agreed to come up with a new offer and it's expected that they will present this to the union" next week. Meanwhile, a restraining order issued Friday in Fayette Circuit Court limits the number ofpicketstheunionraayhavein front of Kroger stores. Kroger officials requested the order, claiming union members blocked store entrances, threatened employees and customers and used physical violence to keep employees and customers from entering the stores.

Paroles in Kentucky prisons apparently are directly related to number of new inmates that arrive each month. population rather than on the merits of a parole request. "I don't know the relationship, but the facts are there," the attorney general commented. "I'm. told by statisticians there is only one chance in 100 that the finding was due to random cir- cumstances." Another discovery involves recidivism, the term denoting inmates who commit new crimes after release and are caught and returned to prison.

The data indicates that the less severe the crime, the greater the chance of recidivism by parolees. That supposedly is the opposite of what should be occurring. Advocates of determinate sentencing say their plan would punish the offender and add accountability and visibility to the criminal justice system. They assert that attempted rehabilitation and efforts at formal education are side issues that should not intrude into the simple scheme of punishment and self-responsibility. "Punishment, as long as it is fair and equally administered, is and should be a justifiable recourse for society to demand of its law-breakers," Stephens said.

But the attorney general may be reckoning without a new approach adopted by state prison officials. (rehabilitation) through hit- andmiss treatment programs." He said he has learned instead that Kentucky corrections of- ficials are tough professionals who do not coddle prisoners, but concentrate on the realities involved in. the need for an inmate eventually to-make an honest living. "Under the determinate sentencing system an inmate gains his release in the minimum time possible by avoiding penalties for misconduct in prison, not by capitalizing on opportunities," Weaver said. "However, life in the real world is not like that.

The objective is an open society is not to stay out of trouble, but to take advantage of the legitimate opportunities that come his way." Weaver said the probation and parole staff helps bridge the gap to the civilian World, and he cited the use of three job clearinghouses for former of- fenders in Louisville, Lexington and Covington. A bill being drafted by the attorney general's office sets sentences for specific crimes, with narrow leeway for judges. The thrust of the proposal is to increase the average time served for the more serious crimes. For murder, the determinate sentence would be death or life or 20 to 30 years. Current figures show the average sentence for murder in Ken- tucky is 30.5 years and actual time served averages only 6.5 years.

The other crimes, ranging from serious Class to fairly minor Class felonies, would be on a sliding scale downward, ranging from possibly 14 years for Class to only one year for Class One more aspect of the debate involves which system would cost the most--that is, which would retain more inmates in prisons. Stephens' office estimated that under current procedure the population would grow from 3,700 to 6,423 by 1985. It projects under the deter- minate sentencing system a decline of prisoners to 2,900 shortly and growth to 6,623 in the next eight years. your Stereo Radio, Phono, 8-Track Tape a mag- nificent Early American cabinet that's 56" long. Model 6364 has two 8" Bass Woofers and two 3" Tweeters for great sound.

And, you can even record your own 8-tracks from the radio or phono. An out- standing value at only You won't believe the you'll never believe the price! Just one of several Magnavox super performing modular music systems, model 1709 has everything that goes with great except a large price tag: A full-featured stereo radio with a built-in S-track tape player, a full-size automatic record changer (with dust cover) and two sealed back speaker enclosures each with aS" speaker. Here's really a sound buy lor great sound. MAGNAVOX quality in evefTaetail SINCE 1922 117-125.