THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 26, 1994 TAG: 9409260103
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Lawbreakers in North Carolina will soon be punished under a new collection of sentencing guidelines that supporters say will deter crime and opponents say will result in outrageous leniency.
Violent and career criminals sentenced after next Saturday will stay behind bars longer. To make room for them, more nonviolent offenders will stay out of prison and be placed under electronic house arrest and in community programs.
``This will deliver truth in sentencing and certain punishment,'' said Superior Court Judge Tom Ross of Greensboro, chairman of the commission that developed the new sentences.
Critics contend the plan is a failure in the making.
``There is truth in sentencing - the truth is they're not going to bein jail very long,'' said Rep. Robert Brawley, R-Iredell, one of two lawmakers pushing to be House GOP leader next year.
The new blueprint - called ``structured sentencing'' - is a one-page grid that shows whether a law-breaker should go to prison, and for how long.
Maximum sentences announced in court will be 80 percent shorter on average than what judges now impose. But the actual time behind bars will go up for most violent and repeat criminals.
The new rules do away with parole in almost all cases.
Instead of measures that almost automatically cut sentences in half once the case has left the courtroom, new incentives won't allow criminals to serve less than their minimum sentence. Prisoners who work, take classes, or get drug or alcohol treatment can shorten their maximum stay by up to 20 percent.
The new guidelines, approved by the state Legislature in July 1993, were the result of widespread agreement that something had to be done to repair North Carolina's justice system.
In each of the past three years, 30,000 people have been sentenced to prison. An almost equal number - about 29,000 - have been released each year after serving a fraction of their sentences.
The state's violent crime rate had almost doubled over the past decade. At the same time, taxpayer spending on state prisons and probation programs more than tripled to $700 million this year.
Politicians, police and other observers are hopeful that the sentencing reforms will slash the state's crime rate. Many are also skeptical.
``If this is going to change it so you know their sentence and how long they'll serve up front, I'm all for it,'' said Charlotte police Sgt. Rick Sanders, who investigates murders. ``Anything less than that is just more of the same.''
Charlotte victims' advocate Betty Benton, whose son was murdered last year, says she'll support the new plan ``as long as they put violent criminals in jail longer.''
``But based on past history, unless they enforce it strictly, it won't work,'' she said. by CNB