The Eufaula Tribune
Patrick Johnson
February 14, 2006
 
 

State Sen. Myron Penn wanted to attend the recent public input meeting on the proposed Eufaula bypass. He also wanted to attend a Jan. 31 public hearing on a bill to create the Center for Rural Alabama.

However, other legislative matters did not allow him to attend either meeting. That was Penn's response to a recent Tribune editorial criticizing him for not attending the Jan. 31 meeting.

Penn, the Joint Prison Committee chairman, said Friday he has spent much of the last several weeks dealing with prison overcrowding.

"Because we have three prisons in two counties (Ventress and Easterling in Barbour and a major prison in Bullock), the Department of Corrections is a big issue in our district. I've been in meetings every day this week."

Penn said nearly every prison in the state, including the three in Barbour and Bullock counties, is at least 75 percent above intended capacity. The federal government has also threatened intervention if the state does not address the problems.

"We're in a quandary," Penn said.

Penn had worked with state prison commissioner Donal Campbell on finding ways to lessen overcrowding. However, Campbell resigned from his position Thursday.

According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Gov. Bob Riley's proposed budget for next year ignored repeated calls from Campbell for hundreds of millions of dollars for improvements to state prisons.

"We were working toward resolving the problem. Now we're at square one," Penn said.

The senator said one challenge is applying a "Band-Aid" for short-term relief while also developing a long-term solution for the problem.

Sentencing reform, additional employees and a better parole process are all possibilities in addressing the problem. However, Penn said the state has already made the mistake of releasing some prisoners too early due to overcrowding. Thus, they did not have adequate time for rehabilitation.

"I've never agreed...with letting people out who shouldn't be let out," Penn said. "There were complaints from local corrections officers that people were returned back to society who were not corrected."

Campbell's resignation will likely have little effect on local prisons.

Penn, a co-sponsor of the bill that would establish the rural center, said he knew it would pass.

"I knew the economic development bill would pass," he said. "I attended the meeting most critical at the time."

The Tribune editorial stated: "No doubt, Sen. Penn is supportive of this legislation that is vital to his district, but he should have been present for his important Jan. 31 joint legislative committee's meeting."

Penn said constituents should look at his voting record.

"I'm always there when the roll is called," he said.

431 meeting

Penn said he was also not able to attend the Jan. 24 public input meeting, he was pleased with reports of the turnout. Penn said the Senate had not yet adjourned when the meeting was taking place.

School funding

When asked about Gov. Bob Riley's proposal to use $500 million of the state's education budget surplus for facilities, Penn said the idea has merit. However, he said the money should be prioritized for those systems with the greatest needs, such as Barbour and Bullock counties.

"They need some serious money, and not just the money Billy Beasley and I provided to pave the parking lot," he said, referring to a recent Barbour County schools project.

He said ideally the surplus could be used both for facilities and teacher raises-something Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association is pushing for.

"If we could do both, that would be the best-case scenario," he said.

Election plans

While Penn has not yet formally announced his candidacy for another term in the Senate, he said Friday he plans to run.

"I'm going to run again," he said. "The (constituents) have been very kind and supportive of me. Not only am I in office, but they're in office, too."

Back to News