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Kentucky Among States Already Reducing Drug Sentences

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Kentucky State Penitentiary, a maximum security prison in Eddyville, Ky. (Kentucky Department of Corrections)
Kentucky State Penitentiary, a maximum security prison in Eddyville, Ky. (Kentucky Department of Corrections)

Kentucky is one of a growing number of states that have directed money away from prison construction and toward treatment programs for low level, nonviolent drug offenders.

Kentucky legislation has reserved prison for the most serious offenders.

The state is projected to save $400 million dollars over the next 10 years by focusing on drug treatment and community supervision programs for drug offenders.

Kentucky's secretary of justice and public safety, J. Michael Brown, joins us to explain what the state is doing.

He also weighs in on Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement today that the U.S. will scale back the use of harsh mandatory minimums for many drug offenders.

Guest

  • J. Michael Brown, Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in Kentucky.

This segment aired on August 12, 2013.

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