Serving time in prison — even brief sentences of less than a year — can cause long-term health effects and lead to earlier deaths, according to new research on the health impacts of incarceration.
The study, conducted by the Council on Crime and Justice, examined proposals in the Legislature to reform drug sentences in Minnesota, concluding that using probation for more offenders as an alternative to prison could improve the health of the individuals, their families and communities by reducing exposure to things like disease, violence and trauma. Keeping offenders out of prison would also reduce crime rates and improve an offender's ability to manage drug addiction and mental health, the analysis said.
Over the past 15 years, an increase in new felonies and penalty enhancements passed by the Legislature has fueled a surge in the state's prison population. Since 2000, the rate of imprisonment has jumped nearly 50 percent.
As of January 2016, the state's corrections system held more than 10,100 inmates — about 560 over capacity. About 1,900 were serving sentences for drug-related crimes.
The Crime and Justice study found that negative health effects are most prevalent in Minnesota's low-income communities with high addiction rates, along with populations of color, which face disproprtionately high arrests relative to the state's racial makeup.
"Black American, American Indian, and Hispanic Minnesotans are more likely to be arrested, sentenced for drug crimes, and sentenced to prison than white Americans convicted of the same crime," according to the study."Disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system exacerbates the health inequities and social inequalities experienced by Minnesotans of color and Native Americans by limiting their access to employment, housing, financial assistance, and educational loans, which may result in perpetuated inequities across generations."
There are several drug reforms on the table, including an overhaul passed by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission last year that would lower certain penalties and reduce the number of offenders going to prison for substance crimes. Unless legislators block the proposal, it will go into effect in August. The study urged lawmakers to adopt the proposal.
The authors offered several other policy suggestions for legislators, including eliminating mandatory-minimum sentences, raising weight thresholds for serious drug crimes. expanding drug courts that could help keep people out of prison and conducting impact studies on how laws affect people of color.
"Because of the high cost to taxpayers associated with incarceration and the damage that incarceration does to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities, incarceration for drug crimes may only be justified when the offender is such a threat that only incapacitation will protect the public," the study concluded. "Otherwise, the costs may outweigh the benefits."
Andy Mannix • 612-673-4036
