FORT WORTH -- State lawmakers are being asked to reclassify criminal offenses, including marijuana possession and prostitution, in an attempt to reduce the state's prison population and cut costs of appointed attorneys for poor criminal defendants.
The American Bar Association, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union say prison time should be removed as a punishment for some crimes, while others believe that an overhaul of the entire Texas Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure is long overdue.
Besides saving the cost of paying for someone to be held in prison, reclassification could save taxpayers money because county officials would not have to appoint attorneys for indigent residents charged with crimes because being held behind bars is not a punishment alternative.
"Throughout the 90s the whole philosophical bent was to put people in prison and throw away the key," said state Rep. Lon Burnam, D- Fort Worth. "We have far too many people serving prison terms for nonviolent offenses instead of trying to become productive people in society. We can no longer afford to do this."
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