Closing Prisons in New York....A New Battle

We have always fought the battle of building prisons in Colorado, be it state-run or private. We know that alternatives are available. On the flip side of the coin, Governor Spitzer in NY is trying to close prisons in his state due to a decrease in population and is running into some opposition.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York took on one of the state’s most powerful special-interest groups when he proposed a commission to determine which of the state’s expensive and underused prisons should be closed. He is in for a tough battle, but it is well worth fighting. According to the "Real Cost of Prisons" Gov Spitzer is also proposing a serious budget for the mentally ill to get them into a setting that would be more responsive to their needs.

NY TIMES OP_ED