Putting our own house in order

OUR OPINION
Published: June 21, 2008

For once, a government official is exercising some good sense. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has ordered that the state Department of Corrections scrap its plan to rent Virginia prison beds to other states.

Kaine’s decision came after an outcry from county sheriffs across the state who were upset that inmates waiting to be transferred to state prisons were filling up their local jails.

It particularly angered Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul J. Lanteigne who actually sued the Department of Corrections because of the situation.

The consensus among the angered sheriffs was that it is ridiculous to allow inmates from other states into Virginia’s prisons when the space is needed for Virginia inmates. We agree with this rationale
and we are happy to see that Kaine does too.

The state already has 300 prisoners from Wyoming warming Virginia prison beds; they will remain, as will the proceeds made from housing them. But the plan to bring 700 more inmates from other states
has been halted. This makes sense since the state has 1,800 Virginia inmates, who should be in prison, just hanging out in local jails instead.

The ill-conceived plan to rent out our prison beds was a desperate attempt to make up for millions of dollars in budget cuts — money that the state will now have to do without. We hope the state can find
another way to make up that money, but selling out Virginia’s needs for the needs of other states should have never been an option.

Government has to learn that the needs of its people must be met first. Obviously, the state thought it was serving the people by trying to make up for its budget shortfall, but it can’t steal resources from
one pocket while sticking money in the other.

When there is a bed for every prisoner in Virginia, then the state can look at renting out any extras that remain. Until then, we think Kaine made the right choice.