The Birmingham News
June 14, 2008
 
 

THE ISSUE: It wasn't smooth sailing for a Birmingham program wanting to house state prisoners nearing the end of their sentences. But supervised re-entry must continue.

Good News From Above recently ran into some bad news here below.

The Christian ministry, which had served addicts and the homeless, encountered problems when it tried to branch out into serving the state prison population.

Good News wanted to use its homes in South Roebuck and East Lake to house prisoners who were soon to return to the free world. But when the prison system sent inmates Good News' way, controversy came, too.

Nearby residents were distrustful of their new neighbors. Zoning violations were cited. Questions were raised about the level of oversight the state is providing and about Birmingham bearing the brunt of the ex-con burden.

Certainly, there is room for improvement in the prison system's supervised re-entry program, which serves inmates nearing the end of their sentences. While it's not the Department of Corrections' job to enforce local zoning laws, for instance, the agency should at least make sure groups taking state inmates are aware of local laws and plan to follow them.

But the problems that occurred with Good News' foray into prison re-entry services are no reason to knock the whole concept of supervised early release. What the prison system is doing is a good thing for inmates and for taxpayers.

The supervised re-entry program is for prisoners who are on the verge of release anyway. To the extent a transitional setting helps them move into society more smoothly and successfully, everybody wins.

Some inmates can get that supervised transition in the private homes of relatives or others willing to serve as sponsors. But that's not an option for others. For them, an arrangement like Good News offered is the only way. It's a good alternative, even if there are ways to make it better.

As it stands, the prisoners are screened before being sent back into the world, and for transitional homes, the prison system checks to make sure the housing meets basic living requirements and is not in an area rife with crime.

Moreover, while in supervised re-entry, inmates are required to stay in close contact with the prison system. If they get in trouble (as have a l ittle more than 10 percent of the thousand-plus inmates who've gone through the program), it's back to prison.

Granted, most people aren't eager to have a house of ex-prisoners next door. Those concerns should not be taken lightly, even though they generally are not borne out over time. Most of us regularly come into contact with ex-cons, whether we realize it or not. At least in the prison system's re-entry program, the prisoners are supervised and have an incentive to stay on the straight and narrow.

It's also understood Birmingham officials don't want their city to become a magnet for people leaving the prison system.

But Birmingham happens to be more blessed than most cities with resources. And it's sort of fitting: Jefferson County accounts for close to a fifth of the inmates going into the state prison system, so it can count on getting a large percentage of them back anyway.

As such, supervised re-entry is the way to go.

It's the classic win-win: The state frees up prison space and stops paying for inmates' upkeep. Inmates have far more support, and the prison system far more control, than when prisoners are released after their time is officially up.

Most important of all: The program helps inmates get out - and stay out - of prison.

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