By David Rogers, Contributing Columnist
In late July, Oregonians found out there was new opposition to much-needed criminal justice reform. Actually, it’s old opposition that has developed a new front group.
Steve Doell, director of Crime Victims United, has apparently created a new group called the Truth in Sentencing Project. The Truth in Sentencing Project went on the air in late July with a short radio ad in a new effort to manipulate the public.
The ad tells listeners that Oregon’s prison system is so costly not because of high incarceration rates, but because our average cost to incarcerate an inmate is so expensive. Doell’s ad tells people that “Inmate costs are $82 a day in Oregon. $52 a day in Idaho.” He suggests if we made incarceration costs more in line with Idaho we would save plenty of money. Continue reading