We just wrote on this very subject the other day here, and it’s coming up again in another state now. Prison reform can be like burying toxic waste in your backyard. Sure, you can cover it up with dirt, and lay down some nice grass. The grass will grow, and from all appearances nobody will be any the wiser that there’s a huge problem lurking under the surface. However, when that toxic waste starts to leak out – whammo – nothing quite so green and lush anymore – and the clean up is a whole lot worse than the original problem.  If you’re an elected official who believes he has a future in politics – you’d better make sure the reforms you back don’t backfire during your political lifetime.

Alarmed by Kentucky’s exploding prison population – and fast-rising costs – state Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown has called a meeting today of the state Criminal Justice Council to find solutions.”This is not a down-the-road-type issue,” Brown said. “We are going to start working on this immediately.”

Brown said he hopes to work with the council, which is made up of legislators, prosecutors, defense lawyers and others, to develop immediate steps the state can take to reduce its prison and jail populations and find better solutions to housing nonviolent offenders.

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