COALITION URGES JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE TO REJECT $10.8 MILLION PRISON EXPANSION

In Time of Severe Budget Crisis, Funding of CSP II is the Wrong Solution at the Wrong Cost

Denver, Colo. — Representatives from a diverse coalition of organizations are urging the Joint Budget Committee to reject $10.8 million in new funding to open Colorado State Prison II (CSP II). The JBC is expected to take up the issue during the Department of Corrections (DOC) budget setting this Friday.
The DOC is requesting a FY 2010-11 Budget Amendment of $10.8 million, with more than $10.7 million from the General Fund, roughly $42,000 from the Cash Fund, and 229 FTE, to open 316 beds at CSP II. This request would open one of the three towers at the prison, beginning in September 2010. CSP II is an administrative segregation prison in which inmates are locked down in a single cell for a minimum of 23 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, a coalition of groups including the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, Colorado Public Defender, American Civil Liberties Union, and National Alliance on Mental Illness believe that CSP II is the wrong solution at the wrong cost.

“In the midst of an economic crisis, when the state already slashed over $2 billion to address the shortfall in the current year’s budget, and will cut another $1 billion in the upcoming year’s budget, how can the legislature justify funding a $10.8 million prison expansion?” said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. “Moreover, why is the DOC prioritizing spending $10.8 million on more prison beds after recently cutting $3 million in DOC vocational programs and $1.8 million in wrap-around services for parolees? Both programs were part of the Governor’s recidivism reduction package and are proven to be effective in reducing recidivism. It is counterintuitive and counterproductive to cut successful, research-based programs that promote productivity and safety both within prison and after release.”