In this June 1, 2018, file photo, people walk on a tour of the West section of the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa.
Jacqueline Larma / AP
Pennsylvania takes more steps to reduce prison population
-
Marc Levy/The Associated Press
Jacqueline Larma / AP
In this June 1, 2018, file photo, people walk on a tour of the West section of the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa.
(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania is enacting legislation that’s designed to improve how it handles nonviolent offenders in a continuing effort to reduce the state’s prison population.
Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed the two-bill package Wednesday, shortly after the Republican-controlled Senate approved the bills.
The GOP-controlled House did the same a day earlier.
Key provisions involve getting nonviolent offenders onto parole faster and helping get more nonviolent offenders into addiction treatment programs that are shown to lower recidivism.
Elements of the legislation, however, were precipitated by a spate of five parolees being arrested over the summer for homicide, most with connections to domestic violence.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
