• Subscribe
• Manage my subscription
• Sign up for e-headlines

Criticism of the Michigan Parole Board by the Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending isn't a new phenomenon. A new study by the group does just that, though.

Also old news is the Department of Corrections and its allies defending parole policies by saying they keep criminals away from us.

It's time to get past charge and countercharge. It's time to think of sustainable corrections policies.

And how sustainable is a policy that has tripled the prison population in 20 years and now takes $1 in every $5 spent through Michigan's general fund?

Yes, longer sentences and parole denials keep felons locked away for more years. But most are going to get out eventually, and each year they are in costs taxpayers more than $20,000 per man.

Are we going to go for life sentences for all felonies? Are we going to commit a growing chunk of tax money to imprisoning people, even at the expense of other public services?

If not - and we see no appetite for either in the public or the politicians - then something has got to give. A good place to start is reconsidering the Parole Board's rules and work.