Reforming Pennsylvania’s Prisons
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Hour 1
Pennsylvania’s prisons are in trouble. The state has among the highest incarceration rate in the country – even with a recent slowing trend. In the past 30 years, Pennsylvania’s prison population has grown 500% and state spending with it. Last year the Department of Corrections ate up $2 billion of the state budget. Today the Pennsylvania prison population is at 51,273 — that’s not counting the inmates that have been sent to other states because of overcrowding. With the state looking for ways to cut the budget, the corrections system has become a prime target. So how should we reform the prison system? Our guests are state SENATOR STEWART GREENLEAF (R-Montgomery, Bucks) and University of Pennsylvania Political Science Professor MARIE GOTTSCHALK.
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[audio: 030811_100630.mp3]
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