Although he would undoubtedly be loath to admit it, Gov. Jim Doyle seems to be discovering the hard way that extending the notion of liberty as far as it can be extended is simply good governance. Under Doyle’s recent plan to ameliorate the state’s obscene $5.9 billion budget shortfall, nonviolent prisoners serving time in Wisconsin‘s prisons may be eligible for early release and supervision. The plan will not extend to sex offenders, serious drug felons or any inmate who committed a crime involving bodily harm to another individual. The move is estimated to save the state $27 million in the coming biennium. The focus for these offenders will shift to rehabilitation, which, incidentally, is the mode of prevention that should have been utilized in the first place.

Nonviolent offenders, and drug offenders in particular, have occupied an odd place in the American political lexicon. Many politicians are unwilling to admit drug offenders will not be cured of their addictions via a sentence that runs the gamut from months to years in prison, repeated and widely documented incidents of rape and abominable dehumanization in general. Those same politicians of astoundingly low intelligence — usually from the law and order school of thought — have argued for harsh sentencing against many of the state’s current prison population.

To a large extent, their success can be measured by a cursory glance at drug recidivism rates for those incarcerated. A study conducted in Delaware and cited by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found that 76 percent of inmates who had undergone an advanced drug treatment program were still drug-free after their release from prison, compared to 19 percent who were drug-free and who did not undergo treatment. However, for those who believe prison inmates are morally indistinguishable from farm animals, the move also makes fiscal sense. The state currently doles out $29,000 a year per inmate. Conversely, the state government only requires $2,000 to $3,000 for extended supervision inmates. And the statistics bear repeating — those who are treated effectively are four times more likely to avoid drug use in the future.

The inevitable counterargument will be made — but these people were still incarcerated in the first place! Doesn’t it therefore make sense to simply throw them in jail and treat them afterward? Perhaps such an argument would be feasible in better times — perhaps — but it loses even a semblance of realism when the state is suffering from a budget deficit just short of $6 billion.

Naturally, the proposal has its share of critics. Winnebago County District Attorney General Christian Gossett argues many of the recent robberies in Oshkosh have been drug-related. And he may be right. However, given that rehabilitation has been proven to be more effective — four times more effective in the best of circumstances — than imprisonment, Gossett’s argument seems premised on the ludicrous idea that drug offenders can be kept in prison forever. Otherwise, he would serve his constituents much better by supporting a policy whose positive implications extend beyond election years.

As for the moral impact of Doyle’s policy, it is an outrageous shame that financial issues have served as the impetus for freeing individuals who never should have been imprisoned in the first place. It is a fortunate coincidence that returning rights that should never have been taken away will also prove fiscally responsible. In the future, it is not unreasonable to yearn for a state that values compassion, one that will only imprison those who are a danger to their fellow citizens. Basic liberties will be protected by nobler principles than the demands of a troubled economy. This is inevitable. And pigs will fly.

Sam Clegg ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in economics and history.