Delaware’s Criminal Justice System: Prison Overcrowding and Pretrial Detention

Guests: Joanna Champney and Robert Coupe

A recent investigation in The News Journal detailed a major problem that Delaware is facing: prison overcrowding. One prison in Wilmington is currently housing over twice as many prisoners as it was designed to hold and others are heading toward maximum capacity. Many of the inmates in these prisons were not charged with violent crimes and some are detained because they cannot afford to make small bail payments. This is a problem that is taxing on both inmates and members of the prisons’ staffs. Several parties throughout the state have been working on solutions for this flaw in Delaware’s criminal justice system. In this hour of Radio Times, we’ll speak with JOANNA CHAMPNEY, Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice and ROBERT M. COUPE, Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the State of Delaware about this issue and what can be done to improve the situation.