This article, written by Nola M. Joyce, focuses on the issue of drastic growth in prison populations within the sample state of Illinois and what factors are potential contributors to said growth. The author notes that as prison populations continue to rise, so too do the costs of constructing new prisons in order to accommodate the influx. In addition, this article provides future projections of what the author expects prison populations to resemble in the future. Finally, the author simulates and proposes a multitude of policy options that could be implemented in order to hopefully bring the future prison population projections down.
Joyce declares that an important policy shift from indeterminate sentencing to determinate sentencing in 1978 was likely very much to blame for the upward spike of prison populations in Illinois. Joyce explains that under indeterminate sentencing, “No matter what the sentence, a person was eligible for parole in 11 years and 3 months,” and that with the shift to determinate sentencing, this practice was eliminated (Joyce, 1992, p. 360). In addition to the change to parole eligibility, serious crimes were given longer mandatory sentences while less serious crimes were given shorter mandatory sentences. What this effectively did was cause a “stockpiling” of serious offenders in the prison system (Joyce, 1992, p. 360).…show more content… The first policy change she examines is allowing inmates to earn Meritorious Good-Time Days (MGTs). MGTs allow inmates to reduce their time in prison by 90 to 180 days, depending on the offense they are being incarcerated for. Joyce states that between 1990 and 1991, over 5,000 inmates were released with an average of just over 60 MGTs for a cost reduction of $4.7 million (Joyce, 1992, p.
