Virginia spends too much money locking up nonviolent offenders and not enough on programs to help criminals transition into life after prison, Department of Corrections director Gene Johnson said Tuesday.
Speaking at a statewide conference on prisoner re-entry, Johnson said the state should stop doling out lengthy prison sentences to nonviolent criminals and those with drug convictions and instead focus on locking away violent criminals—and then helping them successfully re-enter society when their prison sentence is over.
“At some point in time we need to stop locking up people we’re mad at and lock up people we’re afraid of,” Johnson told a crowd of government officials, private businesses and faith-based groups that help prisoners with the transition.