The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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Robert Hurt |
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
State Sen. Robert Hurt (R-Chatham) said he opposes Gov. Tim Kaine's proposal to release 1,000 non-violent inmates 90 days early as a way to help deal with the state's budget shortfall.
Kaine's budget proposal, if approved by the General Assembly, would save an estimated $5 million by 2010 and would leave it to the director of the Virginia Department of Corrections to select the nonviolent inmates for early releases.
But Hurt said there should be no early release of prisoners.
"I believe that the fundamental responsibility of government is to promote the public safety. I also believe that one of the most important accomplishments in modern Virginia history has been truth in sentencing, also known as the parole abolition," Hurt said.
"It is my opinion that to allow these prisoners to be released before they have served their sentences will not only jeopardize the safety of all Virginians, but also pose a significant threat to the rule of law,"ï¾ Hurt said.
"I believe it is just plain wrong to now go behind the backs of our judges and jurors and reduce these sentences in the name of saving money," Hurt added.
But Kaine said the rate of the state's budget for incarceration (now over $1 billion annually) has dramatically outpaced other spending items over the past decade.
"At a time of economic crisis, lawmakers should rethink costly policies, like prison expansion, that divert resources from education, health care and child services," Kaine said.
Hurt, who represents tobacco-growing areas in Franklin and Pittsylvania counties, said he also opposes Kaine's proposal to increase the state tax on cigarettes from 30 cents to 60 cents per pack.
"I am concerned that raising the cigarette tax would be devastating to our tobacco producers in Southside Virginia and all of those persons who depend on tobacco production for living - whether it is the farmer, the tractor dealer, or the fertilizer dealer," he said.
The higher tax would also put Virginia retailers who sell tobacco products near the North Carolina state line at a competitive disadvantage. |
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