As a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, I read with interest the recent calls by Gov. Nathan Deal, Chief Justice Carol Hunstein and others for reform to Georgia’s tough criminal sentences and costly prison system.
Notably, the $1.2 billion state corrections budget does not account for all aspects of the criminal justice system in our state, as local municipalities must also pay for policing, courts and jails. Nor does the $1.2 billion account for the staggering human costs — potentially productive lives that are spent behind bars. And, for the 2.5 million Georgians with a criminal record (nearly 25 percent of the state’s population), the impact goes beyond the cost of paying for a prison bed. A criminal record (even an arrest that didn’t result in a conviction) means an array of systemwide barriers to finding a job, getting housing and becoming a productive citizen.
Fortunately, there are proven alternatives in our state and across the country that are effective in helping people move past an arrest, address the problems that led to it, make its victims whole and allow the prison system to focus on keeping the most violent offenders off the streets.
For example, our public defender offices could be modeled on the Bronx Defender in New York or the Knox County Public Defenders office in Knoxville. These offices work at more than simply defending a case — they offer support that addresses the reasons why some are involved in the criminal justice system.
Closer to home, for 25 years the Georgia Justice Project, or GJP, has been offering a holistic approach to indigent criminal defense with its staff of lawyers and social workers who stay with their clients as the case is being resolved, and often for many years afterward. The GJP measures its success in two ways: legally and personally. Because the organization supports its clients in changing their lives, the GJP is often successful in getting cases dismissed or sentences reduced. But the staff is most successful in helping clients live productive lives after their cases are resolved. The recidivism rate for GJP clients is 17 percent, less than one-third the national average. The average cost per GJP client is about $2,000.
Problem-solving courts, particularly those that defer prosecution, are part of the solution as well. Drug courts, mental health courts and child support courts have been cropping up across Georgia and the rest of the country. Instead of simply addressing whether a law was broken, these courts identify the issues that, once successfully addressed, stop the cycle of repeat offenders.
Other diversionary pre-trial solutions, like the once-state-supported Pre-Trial Intervention Program or the Restorative Justice Program, can yield similar positive results. These options often offer first- or low-level offenders the chance to receive counseling or to make restitution in lieu of jail time.
For those whose arrests do not result in a conviction, the law should be changed so that a criminal record can be automatically expunged. Arrests alone are often an impediment to getting a job or getting into school. With tough economic times and intense scrutiny of job applicants, we should remove as many obstacles as possible to help transform tax burdens into tax payers. For those who are convicted but have paid their debt to society, we should look carefully at the many hurdles we place in their paths if we expect them to get jobs and become productive.
As we look at the whole criminal justice system, so, too, should we look at the whole person with an eye toward rehabilitation and reintegration into our communities.
Leah Ward Sears, a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, is a partner in the Atlanta office of Schiff Hardin LLP.
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