Racial disparities persist in WA prisons. Here’s a smart, proactive way to fix it | Opinion

It’s now the third consecutive legislative session that the Department of Corrections has requested changes to “earned time,” which would allow our state’s incarcerated population to reduce their sentences for positive programming. The agency asks that earned time policy be streamlined across the board and restored to previous levels. Since the DOC has historically advocated for keeping convicted people behind bars as long as possible, many are wondering: What’s the catch?

As it turns out, like many reforms, this one is being driven by a problem — actually, a few problems. First, the DOC has recognized that prisons suffer from significant racial disparity. Second, compounded by three years of COVID-19, prison conditions are poor and staffing is difficult. And third, the DOC is about to be hit with a massive wave of new admissions.

House Bill 1798 proposes changes to earned time that are actually well-thought-out responses meant to meet these emergent needs.

Earned time is the amount of credit a person can receive off their prison sentence for avoiding disciplinary infractions and participating in rehabilitative programs. In the early 1980s, Washington overhauled its sentencing system by enacting the Sentencing Reform Act, allowing almost all prisoners to earn up to one-third off their total sentence This was the foundational component for motivating rehabilitation.

But misinformed crusades to be “tough on crime” and provide “truth in sentencing” have reduced earned time for many crimes to a meager one-tenth, while completely eliminating earned time on mandatory-minimum sentences and enhancements. It’s now possible for a sentence of 25 years to be eligible for six months or less of earned time.

Ironically, even though we know these “tough-on-crime” initiatives were racially motivated and did nothing to improve public safety, lawmakers’ fear of being labeled “soft on crime” has been the chief headwind stalling the DOC’s efforts to restore earned time to the one-third level — and make it available to all portions of a sentence.

If the DOC succeeds in getting HB 1798 passed there will be three main and immediate benefits.

First, it will drive down racial disparities in our prisons by reducing the percentage of Black prisoners over a 10-year period. That’s especially significant since Black people comprise only 4% of the state population, but constitute roughly 18% of the state’s prison population.

Second, it will create safer environments in prison for both incarcerated people and prison staff. Elimination of earned time has left the DOC grasping for ways to encourage positive behavior. Previously, disciplinary infractions came with a significant loss of earned time. But without significant earned time to lose, infractions become somewhat meaningless.

Some have argued that providing incentives for positive behavior isn’t necessary because people serving long sentences eventually mature out of troublesome behaviors on their own — something sociologists call “aging out” — though this usually takes years. But this doesn’t mean incentives aren’t necessary. With a bigger carrot — more earned time to authorize — DOC could provide incentives for positive behavior from the start, making facilities safer immediately.

Third, it will free up space. The prison system is about to be swamped with new arrivals resulting from the three-year backlog of felony court cases postponed for COVID. This will quickly push the system past capacity. DOC is already struggling to staff the prisons it has at the current population levels. Without smart ways to create more space and manage new prisoners, it will be a mess: prisons will be overcrowded, more violent, harder to staff and less capable of preparing people for success after release.

Whether to address racial disparities, improve conditions inside prisons, or increase public safety, restoring earned-time opportunities for positive behavior and programming is smart and proactive.

At least now we know why the DOC is asking for it.

Tomas Keen is an incarcerated writer from Washington State.

Nick Hacheney is a social and environmental activist currently incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center.