Get out of jail free

For the great number of convicted felons who have committed serious violations of the law in the state of Indiana, they can be almost certain that they will breathe free air again. And if they keep their heads down and wait on a literal “get out of jail free” card from the Indiana Parole Board, this will most likely occur sooner, rather than later.\nSuch was the case for Richard Allen Dobeski, a Winamac, Ind., man who was released on parole after serving 40 years in prison. Dobeski was convicted of murder in 1964 for the deaths of a 6-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. In 2003, the Indiana Parole Board granted his release.\nBut Dobeski was rearrested last week for attempted criminal confinement after offering to pay a child to accompany him to a nearby beach and pose for photographs.\nIt is easy to treat this occurrence as an isolated incident, especially given the violent nature of Dobeski’s initial crime. \nBut paroled criminals are seriously inclined not to complete parole, and many end up back where they started after breaking the punitive rules imposed upon them or committing another crime. In late 2005, national statistics showed that 38 percent of all parolees – of which there were more than 700,000 – returned to prison or jail.\nConsidering such statistics does not exactly breed secure feelings in the hearts of law-abiding Hoosiers and raises serious questions about the ability of the Parole Board to assess criminals or the ease with which it releases prisoners on parole. Many Indiana criminals are eligible to receive one day of credit for every day they served in prison if they comply with Department of Corrections’ rules of conduct.\nSo why is it that potentially dangerous criminals are given second chances when statistics show that almost two times in five they will violate parole? It seems that Indiana law enforcement should be extremely concerned for its law-abiding citizens when violent offenders are involved .\nThe answer, as usual, has to do with money. Currently, keeping an adult inmate in prison costs an average of $58.99 per day or about $21,000 per year. Considering that in June 2007 there were 25,876 inmates in Indiana prisons, the total funding spent on inmates is quite daunting and takes a serious cut out of the DOC’s $500 million-plus budget. Inmate needs also put extra strain on Indiana taxpayers.\nHowever, before clearing out the prison because of fiscal hardship and tight budgets, another statistic should be considered. According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, in 2000 a violent crime occurred every 24.8 minutes. A history of violent crime in a person’s record should be enough to ensure that they will be the least likely to commit such acts, especially if the state already had them incarcerated. \nPerhaps Indiana should re-evaluate its commitment to corrections, or at least make sure that parole is granted only to those who have clearly been rehabilitated under intense scrutiny. It’s time to look at criminals as criminals and not as dollar signs.