Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406210096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I don't believe in the word rehabilitation," said Ron Angelone, the newly appointed director of the state Department of Corrections.
"It's not the Department of Corrections' job to rehabilitate people. It's our job to provide an environment for them to make a decision to rehabilitate themselves."
Angelone was in Roanoke on Wednesday night for the first of several forums he plans to hold with crime victims across the state.
Previously the head of corrections in Nevada, Angelone was appointed in May by Gov. George Allen. During his comments Wednesday, Angelone espoused much of the tough-on-crime philosophy that Allen made a centerpiece of his campaign.
Angelone said he fully supports Allen's proposal to abolish parole and keep violent offenders incarcerated longer, even if that means spending millions to build new prisons.
"Our job is to incarcerate and punish them for a crime they have committed in the past," he said.
Many of the people who attended the forum voiced frustrations over criminals who were released on parole after serving a fraction of their sentence.
Angelone emphasized that the Corrections Department has no control over how much time someone receives, or when he or she is released on parole. But he said it was important, if nothing else, for victims to understand what happens to inmates inside the system.
"Prisons are a very closed environment," he said. "After a person goes off into this unknown spot, there's often a void left" for survivors of the crime.
One speaker asked Angelone why prisoners are coddled with air conditioning, color televisions, gymnasiums and other luxuries.
"I haven't found too many prisons with air conditioning in Virginia," said Angelone, who was a prison warden in Virginia before going to Nevada. While inmates are afforded basic rights as individuals, Angelone said, some federal court rulings have given them too much latitude to file lawsuits over prison conditions.
While in Nevada, Angelone once was sued by an inmate who was not given the choice of creamy or chunky peanut butter.
"It cost the state of Nevada $12,000 and one day for us to go in there and have it dismissed," he said.
During two hours of questions from about 40 people who attended the forum, Angelone repeatedly suggested that they seek out legislators to lobby for changes in the state's sentencing and parole laws.
"You have to know the platform of the people you vote for every November," he said. "Voting is the only way that does it."
by CNB