Democrats Aim to Reduce Prison Population
October 15th, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda
Democrats in the state house want to give non violent offenders behind bars more gain time for good behavior.
Their goal is to reduce the prison population and avoid building more prisons and relieve the shortage of correctional officers.
Rep Diane Hart of Tampa is a co sponsor.
She has visited more than two dozen prisons and found most to be in disrepair.
“House bill 189 will reduce the state correctional population by 11 percent, equating to the release of over 10,000 people. By passing this legislation, we will save the state over one billion dollars over the next five years,” said Hart.
The gain time initiative would reduce the time non violent offenders spend in prison from 85 percent of their sentence, down to 65 percent.
It would apply retroactively to anyone now in prison.
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