The state has halfway houses where some ex-cons go who don’t have anywhere else to go. I’d start halfway homes. There is a man outside of Fort Atkinson who takes in ex-cons from the county jail. He gives them a place to stay, helps them find a job, takes them to and from work and helps them find a car. These ex-cons from jail are halfway home. Soon they’re able to do move out on their own.



There are two prisoners I visit that I’d be willing to take into my home, help them find a job and become a productive member of society. What would happen if we released prisoners six months, a year or even a couple of years earlier to a halfway home? Remember, it cost $35,000 a year in prison. If someone with a halfway home took in an ex-con, helped him find a job and became a productive member of society we could reward him. A man released from Sand Ridge cost taxpayers $119,000 a year for supervision in a house with another sex offender. Is this insanity? Wouldn’t a halfway home environment be much better?

Another thing I’d do is do away with are supervision fees. If 100 men are released from prison and are required to pay the supervision when they get a job, what happens when not all of them are able to find work, and have no money to pay their fee? They become desperate. The state can provide them with a place to stay, food stamps and free health care. A number of these guys will use drugs and some will sell drugs. When they fail a drug test, they may be sent to prison for three years. Lets do the math: at $20 a month is $240 a year times 100 is $24,000. At $40 a month is $480 a year times 100 is $48,000. One man going back to prison for three years is $105,000. If 10 men go back for three years each it comes to $1,050,000. If some go back for new-armed robberies they commit, who knows what that’ll cost. The conclusion I come to, is the supervision fee Beyond Stupidity. By dropping the supervision fees we’d enabled more ex-cons to want to become productive members of society get there feet on the ground. 

When a person gets out of prison the first year is the hardest readjustment period to staying out. After three years he has over a 95% chance of staying out. After five years he has a 99% or better chance. What I would propose is dropping parole officer visits after five years for all with a good record. They’d be on what I call unsupervised parole. They can go anywhere and do anything they want. If they commit a new crime, then there parole would be revoked and face additional time for the new crime. After 10 or 20 years the parole would be totally dropped and the ex-con would be free.