AP analysis: Gov. Phil Bryant focusing on prison policy in 2014
Funding for education versus funding for prisons — it’s a constant source of tension when Mississippi lawmakers write an annual budget.
Now, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant says he’ll push to increase the prison budget as he seeks to focus on public safety during the 2014 legislative session.
“It is unfortunate, but Corrections is something we’re going to have to put more money in, if we are going to keep the really bad people off the streets,” Bryant told reporters during an Aug. 1 interview at the Neshoba County Fair.
The U.S Department of Justice said in late July that Mississippi in 2012 had the second-highest incarceration rate in the nation, only behind neighboring Louisiana.
AP
8/18/13