Alternative proposed for nonviolent crimes

COLUMBIA --- Nonviolent offenders could avoid prison through an alternate court system being pushed by Attorney General Henry McMaster as both a better way to rehabilitate people and save the state money.

Too often, Mr. McMaster said, people put in prison for offenses ranging from gambling to drug possession are turned into hardened criminals by their time behind bars. But a combination of counseling, drug treatment, school, work and restitution -- with requirements varying for each offender's problems -- could change their lives, he said.

"Some people just need a second chance," the state's top prosecutor told a House panel last week. "It's very expensive to keep people in prison, and that money can be best spent on something else."

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Under the proposal, prosecutors could recommend the so-called middle court for those sentenced on drug and other nonviolent crimes. Mr. McMaster, a Republican, said he thinks it will ensure prisons are filled with more violent offenders who need to be there.

Chronicle Augustus