KICK THE LOCK-'EM-UP HABIT

As an op-ed article on the opposite page notes, this is the 40th
anniversary of America's "War on Drugs." This year, Florida began a
strategic retreat from decades of failed drug-related criminal
justice policies, and that retreat should continue even faster next year.

In the late 1980s, Florida overreacted to the arrival of crack
cocaine by instituting mandatory sentences that did little to
distinguish addicts from traffickers. Prisons swelled, and the
Department of Corrections began releasing inmates so the state would
remain in compliance with court-ordered limits on prison populations.
The system for deciding who to release, however, was spotty. One man
who had served barely half his sentence killed two police officers.
So next came the rule that all inmates must serve 85 percent of their sentence.

The bill for such rigidity hit in 2009, when the Legislature heard
that without a change in policy Florida might need 19 new prisons,
each costing $100 million to build and $25 million to run. Thus began
the move to change who goes to prison, how long they stay and how
prison prepares them for release. As part of that movement, Sen.
Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral
Springs, filed a bill this year that would have ended minimum
mandatory sentences for drug offenders. Not surprisingly, it failed.

"It's a big, hairy issue," Sen. Bogdanoff said, channeling former
Gov. Jeb Bush. "People don't want to look 'soft on crime.' " But the
bill intended only to leave sentencing "to the discretion of the
judge." One big problem is that Florida bases sentencing on how much
the drugs weigh. Someone with just seven Vicodin, Sen. Bogdanoff
said, could get three years in prison. At one point during this
year's session, the debate got down to whether to exclude
acetaminophen from the narcotic hydrocodone when weighing the Vicodin.

Down with the bill went a reform long pushed by 4th District Court of
Appeal Judge Melanie May that would target inmates for help after
they were released. Rep. Porth, a Broward County prosecutor, wonders
whether he and Sen. Bogdanoff aimed too high the first time. "Our
bill was all-encompassing," he said, and may not have distinguished
enough between drug users and drug sellers.

Still, other legislation increased the use of drug courts, which
divert addicts from prison if they qualify, and made it easier for
ex-felons to hold certain jobs without having to go through the long
process of having full civil rights restored. Also, it became clearer
this year that getting smarter on crime is not just a bipartisan
issue but one that has support from business groups.

Nationally, the debate goes on about "legalizing" or
"decriminalizing" drugs. In Florida, the debate should be about only
how fast the state can repair the damage from decades of misguided
criminal justice policies.